Wonder Years with Chris and Wendy

We have had a busy fall season, traveling back and forth to Baltimore, Maine, upstate New York and down to Charleston, SC. Lots of miles on the car and a few plane trips, and amazingly, we are still speaking to each other. Here are a few highlights! *** We spent one weekend in September at Sunset Beach with friends from Baltimore. We didn't meet Rosie and Yitzy until we all got to NC, but we have enjoyed many trips to their home at the beach as well as several visits here in  Burlington. We also connected with some mutual friends from Baltimore as well as (randomly) some old friends from our time in Wyoming. You can see in the pictures why it is aptly called Sunset Beach! *** One highlight for us was a visit from our dear friend Loren. We first met Loren 50 years ago while we were serving in the Peace Corps in South Korea. Loren was also serving in South Korea as a volunteer from Stanford at a private school in Wendy's county. Our  friendship has been long distance since those...

 August is coming to an end. It has been a hot summer and we have had many days when we just relaxed and floated in our local pool.  Time continues to fly by so quickly and we are grateful for the time we have to spend with our families and our friends who are like family to us. Visits have gone both ways, with time together at our home and at the homes of so many that we treasure. Here is a timeline of some of our summer doings! Kip's New Home We had a great time visiting with Kip and Vinod at their newly renovated home in New  York. Kip did an amazing job of designing the renovation and the added rooms to meld with the original 19th century farmhouse. I love the flow of this house, the decorating and the library, with its cool breezes and flowing curtains. And of course, I love the pool. Chris was a huge help to Kip in putting in the finishing touches. Here are a few shots of us with some special relatives.  Visits to Boston and Maine We went to New England twice t...

 My Aunt Dot, Dorothy Ann Bancroft Butler, passed away on May 1, 2025.  Aunt Dot was my godmother and was one of the adults who was always there for me as a child and as an adult.  My first memory from the age of three or four is of my Aunt Dot. She and Uncle Harry were living at my grandparents’ house while their house was being built and I was living on the same property. One day, my mom and my siblings and I walked up to see her. I I had my doll to show her and she showed me her new baby, Rhonda. “This is my doll,” she told me. Rhonda and Aunt Dot will always be linked in my mind, always together, always there for each other.  Aunt Dot was a wonderful aunt and a wonderful mother, an example to me of so much that is good.    I remember every summer going to spend a week at Aunt Dot’s house with her and Uncle Harry, Rhonda and Amy and then after many years, Daphne. What a good week we always had! That big back yard, the basement with so many toys, picking ...

 Wendy is getting ready for a trip to England and Scotland along with family friend and cleaning lady, Laura Rice. Check in here over the next two weeks if you are interested in the sights and adventures of these two intrepid travelers. We will try to update every few days, beginning on April 29.  Our trip has begun! Uneventful flight to London, subway, bus and taxi to hotel in Bath. So far we have explored Bath on foot and bus, visited Jane Austen Center, Roman Baths and the Bath Abbey. We’ve had glorious weather and excellent food. Heading back to London tomorrow. (May 1). Stay tuned for updates.  We are now in London and having a great time  too busy to post much but here are a few highlights   Charlie Chaplin in the the park The Tower of London And our favorite, right next to our hotel, the Tower Bridge  London was great fun  we visited the Tower of London, saw a play, went to a comedy club, did a river cruise and visited the Greenwich Time Ball wh...