Happy Fourth Birthday, Katherine

My darling little god-daughter, Katherine, had her fourth birthday party at the Holyoke Merry Go Round, where a great time was had by all!

Abby Dabby Do

I just can't resist another photo of a beautiful doggie friend, my yoga teacher's dog, Abby, looking all warm and toasty in front of a roaring fire. Shouldn't every yoga class look like this? We have actually been "off" for a few weeks now, as Thursday is yoga day and the last two Thursdays have been major holidays. It will be good to get back. :-)

Christmas continued.....

Then, there was dinner with family, which was all lovely, warm, welcoming, fun and delicious.....

All in all, a lovely, wonderful, blessed Christmas, 2008.

Christmas, 2008

First we had plans, my mother and I, to go to New York for the day on the train. We were going to leave Springfield, MA at 7:40 a.m. and get to New York at 11:20 a.m. We were going to go to Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral at 12:00 and to lunch at the Tavern on the Green at 1:30, returning home on the 4:30 train. We were very excited about the plan. The very night I went to pick up the train tickets, I got home to a phone message that Amtrak had canceled our 4:30 train out of New York. They could put us on a 3:00 train. Not enough time for lunch! The next, and only other train out of New York was at 8:00 p.m., which wouldn't have gotten us home until 11:35 p.m. This would have been too long of a day and too late for getting home. Over the next several days, I tried every permutation I could imagine for trying to make the trip work. In the end, it just was going to be too much of a hassle. Meanwhile, I had let family know we wouldn't be around to joing them this year. They were disappointed. Thankfully, they graciously welcomed us for dinner after plan A fell apart. We then decided to go to an early Mass with a favorite priest, and 8:30 a.m. Mass. It was held at the residence where this priest resides, which was beautifully decorated. Let me show you a tree and the altar.....

(I wish I knew better how to place things here.......ah well, let me continue with my story.....)

After a beautiful early morning Mass, Mom and I went to a little neighborhood diner which was open and had pancakes (me) and a waffle (Mom), with syrup and butter (yum) and coffee (basic, diner coffee, not so yum, but charming all in all). The people were friendly, and this was a rather fun "new tradition" (perhaps).

Then we went to Mom's, to exchange gifts.....with Gracie, Mom's dog (the cute little cocker spaniel).

Next, we went to our friend and Mom's downstairs neighbor, Jeanne's for coffee. Jeanne's dog is Sky, the handsome german shepherd.

Uh oh. I'm getting a "Could not contact Blogger.com" message, after all of the above. Let me try publishing this much, and then I'll try to show you Sky, Jeanne's handsome german shepherd.....

Rainy Afternoon in November

'Tis the last day of November, chilly and rainy outside, warm and toasty inside. A lovely day to be at home, with my "couch kitty," enjoying the warmth and relaxation....

Mom on Thanksgiving, 2008

Above is the dining room for the annual Thanksgiving buffet at the Hofbrauhuas, where Mom, Jeanne and I have celebrated for the last several years. Mom looked pretty, all dressed up, as usual. :-)

Late Fall Sunset

A beautiful late fall sunset in Ludlow, MA, as I return from my school day in Boston.....