Charles Bulfinch

This is the Bulfinch church in Lancaster, Massachusetts. It was designed and built by Charles Bulfinch, almost 200 years ago. Bulfinch designed and built the U.S. Capitol dome and rotunda, along with the Massachusetts state Capitol. He originated the Federal style of classical domes with columns and ornaments.

For all of his many accomplishments he was paid very little and in July 1811 was thrown in debtors prison. And as irony would have it, it was a prison he built.

Love Hurts

A bear hug is a hug around the waist, but a dog hug is a hug around the neck.

Crate and Train

Grammy was reading a Thomas the Train story. Ethan and Janelle decided to act out the story using a crate as a train.

Children can teach us so much of how to see the possibilities in the things that are around us.

Walk'N Roll

Janelle is moving with great speed. She pulls herself up, grabs onto the handles and takes off like a rocket.

If you happen to pick her up when she is in motion, her little legs just keep moving, and moving and moving.

Ocean Front Property

I've worn so many layers of clothes due to the harsh winter, that I can't imagine what it is like not to wear a ski jacket.

But in a little while, we will be able to trade our mittens in for some fins and play in the water.

Ah, the peacefullness of the mountains and the tranquility of the ocean.

The Captain's Chair

The great thing about New England is the diversity of scenery. You can go maple sugaring in the mountains of New Hampshire one day and go to the ocean in Maine the next.

The weather was so nice that we went to Maine and we had lunch on the waterfront.

Ethan was very impressed with the view of the harbor from his perch above the chair.

The New England Experience

On our way to Parker's Maple Barn in New Hampshire, Ethan wanted to stop and examine the clock on the church. However, every town has a church like this, so we had to make many stops to check out each of the clock towers.

Ethan then looked at the clocks very carefully and proclaimed each one to be out of order. He said that each clock needed a new battery! Priceless!!

Maple Sugar House

The raw sap is being boiled down to make the Maple Syrup. It takes 40 gallons of Maple Sap to make 1 gallon on Maple Syrup.

People in other states have syrup that is artificially flavored, and is made from corn syrup.

Sounds like bad science to me.

Such A Sap

After the maple syrup buckets are full, the sap buckets are collected and brought to a maple sugar house.

People are paid for their sap on the basis of the volume they bring and the amount of sugar in the sap. Special gauges are used to measure the sugar content in the sap.

In The Beginning

When the maple syrup buckets are hanging from the trees, we are officially transitioning from winter to spring. It takes the cold nights and warm days for the sap to rise.

Covered buckets hanging from the maple trees, are a great New England tradition. You have to begin with the collection of the sap in order to make the syrup.

Bono of U2

So there I was at the Davis Square subway stop when the crowd goes wild and security tightens as Bono emerges to enter the backstage entrance.

The back of his head is below the raised right hand of his security guard.

Lucky to be in the right place at the right time.

U2 and Roadies in Somerville

U2 came to Boston to promote their new album. As part of the promotion, area stations and U2 teamed up for a performance to be held at a randomly selected lucky location.

The Somerville Theater which has a seating capacity of 900, was the lucky location. The roadies and the crowd were at the backstage entrance.

Shaping Up

Here it is March and yet another big snow storm. We are living in black and white world. Where everything is white except for the shoveled driveway.

The only way to recognize people and objects is by their shapes.

The Piano Man

I have come to the conclusion that it was a babysitter that came up with the phrase "Never a dull moment" and "Never a quiet moment".

Grampy was entertained by the piano playing of Eric, while Ethan provided the earpiercing screaming vocals and Buddy provided the background howling.

The Man In The Mural

The complexity of so many trains, so many tracks and it is up to you to make everything run on time.

Adults may focus on only one thing at a time. But a child loves the challenge of handling many things at the same time. They aren't limited by sayings of "Do one thing well", or "One thing at a time".

To live without restrictions and handicaps is to be a child.