Author Archives: Sparky
Carnival Breeze – Day 5 – Curacao
Curacao was another first-time visit for us. It was an unusual docking as we were ashore late – departure was 10pm. That gave us a rare view of our cruise ship at night. I had seen the photos of the colorful buildings along the harbor in Curacao and seeing them in person didn’t disappoint. But … Continue reading
Carnival Breeze – Day 4 – La Romana
We finally got to dock at a Caribbean island on Day 4 of our cruise. And it was one of the places we have never been: the Dominican Republic. Specifically, La Romana, a port on the southeast corner of the island and the third-largest city in the DR. We had been told not to expect … Continue reading
Carnival Breeze – Days 1, 2 and 3
Jett and I are midway through a 9-day (8 night) Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Breeze, one of Carnival Cruise Line’s biggest and best ships. Our itinerary includes stops in Grand Turk (Turks and Caicos Islands), La Romana (Dominican Republic), Curacao and Aruba. After the winter we have had, we felt the need to get … Continue reading
Snowiest? Coldest? Why not both?
We have just put the month of February, 2015, into the record book here in Boston. And what a month it was! Yes, it was the snowiest month since meteorological record keeping began in 1891 – some 124 years ago. It obliterated the old record of 44.5 inches with a new total of 65.5 inches … Continue reading
Trolling for miles
My Visa account got hacked in early January. The hacker did the “can’t remember password” thing and managed to guess the answers to my (so-called) security questions, then changed my password. I was notified by email that my password had changed, but didn’t read the message until nearly a day after it happened. I immediately … Continue reading
So not Florida
Because the house did not sell in the fall, we committed to staying in Massachusetts for the winter, living in the house and working on a series of minor improvements and repairs. And one major upgrade: replacing the countertop with beautiful new quartz. We missed Florida. We missed the weather and we missed the camaraderie … Continue reading
A good time to travel
I just filled the truck’s tank: 26.5 gallons at $2.90/gallon. It would be a great time to be traveling. Which we aren’t of course. No, we were traveling when the price of diesel was hovering around $4.00/gallon. Just more bad timing on our part. We may be ruining the environment of North Dakota for future … Continue reading
Senior softball
Now that we have had our first snowfall of the winter (ah, Florida, how I miss you!), it might be a good time to reflect on my softball season. Yes, at age 65 I continue to play softball. Specifically, I play in an over-55 league organized by the EMASS Senior Softball organization. That organization has … Continue reading
Winterization, part 2
Well, we waited as long as we could. We were hoping against hope that the house would sell before the end of October and we could escape to Ft. Myers for the winter. Didn’t happen. So we are going to let the listing expire, enjoy(?) our (hopefully) last New England winter and re-list in the … Continue reading
“You guys don’t do shit around here”
We have had a brutal winter here in New England. Record cold, record snow. I have spent countless hours shoveling the driveway and the sidewalks. And once, early in the winter, I shoveled the street in front of my house, to make room for someone – a guest or a neighbor – who might need … Continue reading »