…was all about spending time with Carol. She’s not been 100 per cent lately so she’s been laying low the past few days. Today she was back to normal so we spent the day with just her. She picked us up mid-morning and showed us just three of the houses her daughter and son-in-law have owned. Jason likes to flip houses…sort of. They buy a fixer-upper, renovate it, then move in. A couple years later (maybe more, maybe less) they do it again. The first house she showed us was a nice two-story house on a very large lot. Next was their current house. While Jason worked at the dining table, Carey gave us a tour. The house is bigger than it appears from the front. Stairs go down, stairs go up and stairs go up ... read more

…I finally met the infamous Cousin Dickie. Dick is recently retired from the state prison where he worked for the past 32 years. He’s still a race car driver and now races pro-stock. He doesn’t have his own car; he drives for the owners. He’s also been known to fill in for other drivers in a pinch. He’s had a fairly successful career so far and is one of the top 10 drivers in the 60 year history of the Seekonk Raceway. He races at many other tracks, but Seekonk is the one he frequents. We met Dick and his lady friend, Kim, at their house. We also met Copper, Kim’s Dachshund. Copper is quite the medical miracle. At one point in his life he lost the use of his back legs. He was even fitted ... read more

...was another knock-around day. In fact, I didn't get dressed all day. I did all my chores wearing my blue and green plaid lounge pants and Mariners t-shirt. I did my laundry, binge blogged (about 6 hours getting caught up) and even went with Mike to gas up the truck in preparation for our midnight ride. Bob gave us really good ideas on how best to do what we want to do tomorrow which included driving overnight and arriving early in the morning. Also in preparation for our drive we tried, somewhat successfully for Mike, not so for me, to nap for a few hours later in the evening so we'd be awake for the drive. Around 11:30 p.m. we began packing: camera, water (frozen and liquid), snacks, sandwiches, my Mariners blanket for when the a/c ... read more

…Bob snagged Mike to help him at the Nemasket Hill Cemetery. Mike actually volunteered, but Bob didn’t hesitate to take him up on it. While they toiled away mowing, weed-eating and filling holes, Kathy and I ran errands. On our way home from her errands, we drove by the cemetery to see how the work was going. They were nearly finished. Bob appreciated Mike’s help. They got so much accomplished. Mike was a very useful engine. Our schedule this week isn’t nearly as packed with outings as the last two were. We’re doing more “everyday” activities and just hanging out at home. I get the feeling the people around us are worried we’ll get bored if we’re not going and doing, but honestly I like the down time. It also gives me big chunks of time ... read more

...and I finally met the elusive Cousin Patrick. He and Mike had great fun catching up and reminiscing. While we were there in his garage/man cave his wife, Maureen, and daughter, Bridgette, came home for lunch. They both work at a bank in town. Maureen is a nice woman and seems more than able to keep Patrick in line. Bridgette spent part of her lunch time working with her 9 month old German Sheppard. He’ll be a good dog when she’s got him trained. Patrick also has a couple of hens in a coop around the back of the garage. They lay the biggest eggs I’ve ever seen from a chicken. We had chickens and ducks when I was a kid, but I don’t even remember the duck eggs being this big. He had a carton ... read more