We left Rutland, Vermont for good in the fall of 2005. Our house sold soon afterwards and we've pretty much been on the trail ever since. Until now that is. Now we've come to settle -- for the moment -- in Providence, Rhode Island. OK, that's old news.
We just returned this past Monday from a flying visit to our old haunts in the Green Mountain State; we went to see a few folks and to catch up on all the news in the Great White North.
And white it was! We left the rain-drenched shores of RI and in less than four hours found ourselves gliding down roads where the snow walls were higher than our Mini. And it was brutally cold to boot.
We stopped at the hospital and Susie peeked in and said howdy to the folks still working in the ED. After that we took a quick spin around our old neighborhood and saw that all of the pine trees in our yard -- front and back -- had come down in last April's horrible storm. We had heard about the devastation but this was shocking. Thankfully no one was hurt and the house was pretty much unscathed. Still. . . .
Anyway, we drove the few short blocks to Jack and Pat's house, where we watched Jack prepare their offering for the evening's wine tasting: a roasted vegetable salad. Pat had to take their son to Lebanon, NH to catch a bus back to Providence and she showed up not long before we all had to hightail it over to the Louras house for the wine tasting.
As usual we all had a grand evening, spent mainly in catching up on all the news -- it had been over two-and-a-half years since we had all been together -- and of course eating scrumptious food. June provided an exquisitely tender corned beef --a first for me by the way -- and Debbi and Joe brought wonderful venison medallions in a rich brown sauce, and LoriLee brought the most fantastic crab cakes. John Louras generously opened his wine cellar and hauled out a half dozen bottles of some of the most delicious wines we had had in a long time: the Cote Rotie and Silver Oak seemed to be the big hits, at least with me! For dessert June brought oput a luscious cheesecake and Susie put our her brioche d'amandes. Man oh man. . .
To look at Winnie is to see what a life spent smiling can do for your physical and emotional well-being. She looked like a 20-year-old we thought. Constantly moving, saying hi to a half dozen folks in the cafe, smiling always, and a genuine smile with an honesty that catches you off guard.
We made a couple of quick stops and then hit the potholed roads for the trip back south. It was 30 degrees, gray and dreary spitting rain in Rutland but by the time we got home it was nearly 50 and sunny.
It was nice to see friends after so long an absence but I have to say I don't miss the weather up north one bit. And the roads. . . .
So here's a little slide show of some images of our wine group, both past and recent for you to ponder over:
Wish you were here,
Steve
We just returned this past Monday from a flying visit to our old haunts in the Green Mountain State; we went to see a few folks and to catch up on all the news in the Great White North.
And white it was! We left the rain-drenched shores of RI and in less than four hours found ourselves gliding down roads where the snow walls were higher than our Mini. And it was brutally cold to boot.
We stopped at the hospital and Susie peeked in and said howdy to the folks still working in the ED. After that we took a quick spin around our old neighborhood and saw that all of the pine trees in our yard -- front and back -- had come down in last April's horrible storm. We had heard about the devastation but this was shocking. Thankfully no one was hurt and the house was pretty much unscathed. Still. . . .
Anyway, we drove the few short blocks to Jack and Pat's house, where we watched Jack prepare their offering for the evening's wine tasting: a roasted vegetable salad. Pat had to take their son to Lebanon, NH to catch a bus back to Providence and she showed up not long before we all had to hightail it over to the Louras house for the wine tasting.
As usual we all had a grand evening, spent mainly in catching up on all the news -- it had been over two-and-a-half years since we had all been together -- and of course eating scrumptious food. June provided an exquisitely tender corned beef --a first for me by the way -- and Debbi and Joe brought wonderful venison medallions in a rich brown sauce, and LoriLee brought the most fantastic crab cakes. John Louras generously opened his wine cellar and hauled out a half dozen bottles of some of the most delicious wines we had had in a long time: the Cote Rotie and Silver Oak seemed to be the big hits, at least with me! For dessert June brought oput a luscious cheesecake and Susie put our her brioche d'amandes. Man oh man. . .
The next morning Susie and I said arrivederci to Jack and Pat and then rendezvoused with our old friend and former realtor, Winnie Denis.
To look at Winnie is to see what a life spent smiling can do for your physical and emotional well-being. She looked like a 20-year-old we thought. Constantly moving, saying hi to a half dozen folks in the cafe, smiling always, and a genuine smile with an honesty that catches you off guard.
We made a couple of quick stops and then hit the potholed roads for the trip back south. It was 30 degrees, gray and dreary spitting rain in Rutland but by the time we got home it was nearly 50 and sunny.It was nice to see friends after so long an absence but I have to say I don't miss the weather up north one bit. And the roads. . . .
So here's a little slide show of some images of our wine group, both past and recent for you to ponder over:
Wish you were here,
Steve
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