Reflect upon your present blessings of which
every man has many, not upon your past
misfortunes,  of which all men have some.”
                  By Charles Dickens

This year, our family has been blessed with relatively good health. We have had our flu shots. Because I am over 65, during my checkup, I received the Super Flu Shot, which I hope will protect me against the virus.

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Here is a little bit more about the Birthday Book that Daughter Sue made for Hubby and me for our 80th birthdays. On one page there is a photo of the Keans’ cottage in Dennisport. The kids loved the place, which was so close to the ocean. We had so many wonderful weekends at their cottage, thanks to the Keans. Every time we are down the Cape, we go by the cottage to make sure it is okay. The photo just below that one is of the Dennisport Post Office. I often buy stamps there even now and the staff is so pleasant. On the next page we found a photo of the front of the Red Jacket Resort in South Yarmouth where we spent many happy weekends with our friends Elaine and Joan. Below that is a photo of the façade of the Irish Village in South Yarmouth. We now spend five happy days in the spring and five happy days in the fall at that hotel with our senior friends.

There is a photo of the Trappist Abbey (St. Mary’s Cistercian Abbey) in Wrentham that also shows the statue of the Blessed Mother. We have made a visit to the abbey almost every year since our kids were toddlers. (Their Butternut Munch Candy is sinfully delicious.) No visit to the Abbey would be complete without a visit to the Big Apple Barn just down the street from the Abbey, where we would buy a big bag of mac apples. If the workers were making donuts, we would buy a bag of them also.  Sue also found a photo of a sign for Ann & Hope. For several years, we would venture to Watertown each Sunday afternoon to see what the store had on sale that week.

When our kids were younger, we would take them, along with their Grandma McDonough, to Yoken’s Restaurant in Portsmouth, NH. What nice memories the photo of Yoken’s brings back. Their deep-fried boneless turkey in supreme sauce was to die for!  The gift shop at Yoken’s was delightful. It had jewelry for under one dollar (for the kids) to household items that probably cost over $100. One year, the kids pooled their money ($10 from each) and bought Hubby and me a set of long wind chimes that made me think me that I was watching the movie “Lost Horizon,” because of the sounds of these Tibetan-sounding chimes. 

For several years, we spent our mini-vacation at the Sun Valley Cottages near the Weirs in New Hampshire. We filled two cottages when the kids were small. (I was able to pick out the cottages that we occupied in the photo.)  There was a Coke machine on the property and I believe a bottle cost 10¢. Across the road was a hamburger stand, with wonderfully low prices. We dined out across the road for lunch and supper. We brought cereal, juice, and milk for breakfast. While I was in college, I spent one summer at a camp on Lake Winnipesaukee. (Sue found a photo of the camp.) She also found a photo of the “Mount Washington” boat that sailed each day on the lake. The people aboard the boat would shout a greeting to the girls at our camp and the girls would shout back, “Good morning, Mount Washington.”

The final few pages in Sue’s book are filled with photos of the big trips in our lives. The first was a photo of Space Mountain at Disney World. Our girls were sitting in front of me on that ride. When we got off, they told me that people outside the building probably heard me screaming. I was so loud! Another photo shows some of the hotels and attractions in Las Vegas. We liked Las Vegas but would have preferred  to go in the late fall. We were there in July when the temps were hovering around 120 degrees. We had to go in and out of the casinos along the main street just to cool off. The next photo is of Niagara Falls. We stayed at the Space Motel on the Canadian side. Back in the 60’s, our kids thought that the name “Space Motel” was something special. I must find the photos of the five of us in our raincoats aboard the “Maid of the Mist.” I will never forget feeling the spray from the falls upon my face. A nearby photo is of the main street in Oranjestad, Aruba. What a beautiful island that is. Sue found a photo of the Atlantis Submarine, a scary ride that we took while we were vacationing in Aruba. A moray eel went by our windows. The tropical fish were gorgeous. We found the people to be lovely. We called a taxi to take five of us to a restaurant. We tipped him well. He gave us his card and asked that we call him while we were on the island. One evening, we called him and he was a little late in meeting us.  “I am sorry that I’m late. I was asleep.” We felt terrible about disturbing his sleep but we know he appreciated our tips. On another trip to Aruba, which Hubby won, by the way, we hired a car and took a ride out to the lighthouse at the end of the island. We had to go through a flock of sheep to get there. Sue also put in a photo of the main street in Hamilton, Bermuda. That lovely island was our first foreign trip as we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. 

The final page of our book shows a photo of an Irish flag. That is followed by a photo of Blarney Castle. Hubby, even with his bad back, kissed the Blarney Stone. I was chicken and just watched. I regret that even now, 20 years later. I did enjoy going into the Blarney Woolen Mills Store near the castle. I bought some clan items (the inexpensive ones) for members of my family, who are all part of Clan Gordon. I would have loved to have purchased a kilt. Hubby and I took Sue’s advice and didn’t buy things during our ten days traveling through Ireland. She reminded us that we would have to carry our gifts throughout our trip. We saved our money and bought gifts for the family at Shannon Airport. I ran out of Irish money and panicked while at the register. The clerk said, “Don’t worry. Our cash registers can change to American money in the middle of a transaction.” I relaxed. The people at the airport even packaged up our gifts and put them in a box. When we arrived in Boston, our box was there in the luggage area. Both Hubby and I would love to go back to Ireland. That is still on our “Wish List.”

What a wonderful job Sue did on our Birthday Book. It must have taken her months to collect all the photographs. She already told us that she has some photos ready for Book #2.  Book #1 brought back so many memories.

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On Oct. 30, the day that Mayor Tom Menino passed away, a member of my family also died, of cancer. John Padgett of Roslindale, who was 92, was married to my Cousin Mary for an amazing 69 years. For years, we saw John and Mary at Cousins Margie and Janet’s cottage on the Third of July. Hubby loved talking to John because he was a submariner. He told stories of World War II and proudly wore a submariner cap. Even the frame of his car’s license plate said that he was a submariner. We cousins were delighted to be invited to John’s 90th birthday celebration. Where was the celebration held but aboard a boat. We all drove to Squantum and then boarded the boat, the “Boston Belle,” near Capt. Fishbones Restaurant. John’s own boat was tied up near the Belle, where we guests had a lovely time cruising around Boston Harbor and beyond. Hubby and I sat with Cousins Margie and Janet during the cruise. I’ll never forget the cake, made by Konditor Meister, for John’s birthday. The top of the gorgeous cake was covered with seashells made of icing. We loved the cruise. What a wonderful way for someone who enjoyed himself on the ocean to celebrate his 90th birthday.

We did go to John’s wake at the P.E. Murray-F.J. Higgins-George Doherty & Sons Funeral Home in West Roxbury. We arrived there about 4:15 p.m., right after the wake began. We spoke my Cousin Mary, and their daughter Marsha. I saw their granddaughter Brandy as we were leaving the funeral home. Brandy lives in Florida and came north to help her grandmother take care of her granddad when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer right after we had seen him in July. Margie and Janet came to the wake after we had left. They told me that at 6 p.m., a large group of submariners came into the funeral home and held the Submariner’s Prayer Service. If we had known about the service, Hubby and I would have stayed to see it.  Even at the funeral service the following day, there were at least five submariners in attendance, sitting in the row across from us. During World War II, John was awarded the Bronze Star. He was a lovely man, kind and considerate. His grandkids adored him. We could tell by the memories they told about him at the funeral service. He and Mary were the ideal couple. We will miss him, especially in July.

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Be advised: Thanks to info from my pal Jack, I learned that the hot dogs at Sully’s at Castle Island will be half price until the stand closes on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. We will see you over at Castle Island sometime in the next few weeks!

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This is a lovely Hindu saying: “They who give have all things; they who withhold have nothing.”