2019 Life Logs, Day 346: Newcomers Holiday Luncheon
Date: Thursday, December 12, 2019
Weather: Sunny and Cold; High 43, Low 21 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The Newcomers Holiday Luncheon was today at The Cape Club in North Falmouth. We had 116 members registered and The Cape Club accommodates a large group easily, The food was great, but as always, it is the company and conversation that makes the event. I sat at a table with my wine group and we added to the merriment by having a Yankee Exchange with a wine theme. Great fun! I rode to the event with Peter and Karen Baranowski. I asked them to pick me up a few minutes early so Peter could try and get a good photo of Shadow and I posing in front of the beautifully snow-laden bushes. It is difficult to get a puppy to pose for a photo, but Peter managed to get Shadow’s attention and got four great photos. I will use the photos in a holiday postcard, so thanks to Peter for doing this for me.
When I got home, two technicians from RISE Engineering arrived to check the flue system for the water heater in the basement, and once again it failed the test. The off-gassing was much less after having the heating and plumbing guy clean out the flue system. But the natural gas company, National Grid, cannot do the insulation work on the cottage as long as there is any off gassing. The technicians today suggested I get a second opinion from another heating and plumbing source before deciding exactly what should be done. But they did assure me that there is really no threat from the amount of off gassing that is currently happening. So if nothing is done there is no physical harm but energy will continue to be wasted and I’ll continue to pay higher bills for natural gas each month. After the technicians left, I spent some time sitting on the sofa with Shadow beside me while I booked a flight to Florida in January to visit with Mike and Linda Stuart, my biking friends, and Mark’s family. I think I have mentioned that Mike and Linda are taking a four- or five-month break from their biking around the world adventure to visit with family here in the US. They flew home from Thailand and I am not sure where they are going next. But in January they will be staying in Linda’s sister’s condo in Bonita Springs and by flying down for the long MLK weekend, I’ll be able to visit with them and with Mark’s family as well. And I have arranged the time gone, so that Heather and family will be with Shadow over the long weekend. So this trip is a win-win. After booking the flight, I took off again . . . this time to do a little Christmas shopping. There were some things I needed from Mashpee Commons and I needed to go to the supermarket. I then returned home to spend the evening with a puppy who had been left alone much too much for one day. I always feel guilty leaving him, but my hope is that absence makes the heart grow fonder. He is doing great and I’ll continue to try and balance my time away from home. This weekend he is going with me for his first road trip as we are going to visit with friends in New Hampshire.
