Christmas 2023 🎄

On Saturday, 12/22/23, Stacey and I put Charlie in the car and headed north towards Scituate. As the sun rose over Virginia Beach, we enjoyed a spectacular view from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel for the start of our journey. We were both amazed at how incredibly calm the waters of the bay were. This drive is a long 600 miles, but certainly well worth it. Emily flew up and was sitting by a warm fire with Mimi and Bapa when we joined them in the Gathering Room on Hazel Avenue just before 7 PM. We are Home. 😍

Christmas Eve is upon us, and is looking like a pretty day here near the ocean. Charlie has found her perch, awaiting the return of Mimi and Bapa from church. Cooking, lounging, and watching sports we don’t care too much about is on tap for the day. Perfect.

We took a nice walk around the harbor this morning and saw some familiar sites. We loved seeing the lobster pot trees, especially the one by the movie theatre where we found the O’Brien’s buoy. I hear TJ climbed the “tree” to put it up high – great job Thomas James! Those days of climbing are long gone for me. Soooo nice to be back here… There’s no place like home.

Merry Christmas! We enjoyed Mass at St. Mary’s, where Stacey and I were married just over 30 years ago. It was a beautiful service, and the coffee cake was delicious back on Hazel Avenue as always! Breakfast casserole is in the oven, and Ryan & Melissa land at Logan at 2:15 – hooray! 🎄

Christmas is special for many reasons, but mostly because we are able to be together as family. I don’t think there is a better place, for us, to do that than 37 Hazel Ave in Scituate. We are so comfortable and happy here at Camp Mimi-Bapa visiting with the Lead Counselors and Proprietors. Ryan and Melissa landed a bit early, and we were all together in the Gathering Room before 4 PM. Gift exchange was amazing, like it always is. Genuine thoughtfulness and generosity abound. Bapa made his amazing chili, and Emily rounded out her selfless day in the kitchen making us a delicious Mac-and-cheese! There were some tears of joy before some guttural laughs watching Elf. A great start to a week with each other by the ocean again. Life is good. 😍

Today was quite foggy here in Scituate. It is nice to walk to the harbor and realize the beauty of nature, with fog completely changing perspectives as we walked along seaglass beach. Stacey found a few pieces, but I got skunked. The four I found had to be thrown back for more seasoning in the salt water. We saw Mimi and Bapa by the fishing pier and walked home with them. There is no agenda today, so I snuck in a nice nap with Charlie. Stacey and the kids took a plate of cookies to Dave at work down at the Scituate fire station. Tonight, we watch Bapa jam at Daddy’s in Hull with Whoever Shows Up!

The WSU jam was such fun! It is incredible to watch Bapa as he leads this group of both experienced and novice musicians. They rely on him to keep their timing and stay on track, and he does a fantastic job! We really enjoyed our outing, as did the entire crowd. WSU brought down the house!

Today was Christmas with the O’Briens! It was so special to have the entire Ferrier clan in the house together. Dave joined us first after his 24-hour shift at the fire station, and was quickly followed by the rest of his family who drove up from Connecticut. Mimi and Bapa did their normal, generous routine of delivering Meals on Wheels before we all gathered together in the Gathering Room. Abigail had a few classic one-liners, and even a one-worder, that had me chuckling aloud. Mackayla and Bapa donned aprons to prepare some delicious bacon-wrapped-pineapple treats! Gift exchange was followed by Maria’s Pizza and Trivia with our host Emily! Girls beat the guys pretty soundly, but we all had fun! Our Crowns were lovely, and the hot fudge sundaes made for a delicious end to a really nice day together. Camp Mimi-Bapa at Christmas is a special place!

We made it!

After a nice quiet morning sipping coffee and hanging out with the O’Briens, we went to TK O’Malleys for lunch. I remain a huge fan of their seafood chowder! The O’Briens all headed home after lunch and we made way for the Labak’s visit. Val heads to Accra, Ghana for the Spring Semester on January 19th! What an experience that promises to be. Mark is living in Chicago with a High School friend and working remotely. We all went to Cohasset for an early family dinner at the Red Lion Inn. It was spectacular! I continue to marvel at how incredible that place is since renovation. It looked nothing like it does now when I started washing dishes there 40 years ago! Time marches on.

I took a drive this morning by myself that I’ve taken with Chip many times before. It was a bit cold, very wet, and certainly somber. From Scituate, I went to Cohasset harbor to view Bassings from the end of Parker Ave, as we’ve done so many times together. I stopped at Sandy Beach before making my way along the ocean to Forest Avenue. Instead of a left on Main Street, I turned right to go visit Chip in the cemetery. We had a nice talk and I left an American flag with the Navy seal. I think Chip would appreciate that. I miss our talks Brother. Rest peacefully.

Saturday was a Boston day! We are very thankful to Mimi and Bapa for watching Charlie while we headed in to our favorite city. Even the chilly rain couldn’t dampen our spirits. Our day began at the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum. This is a unique place, essentially preserving her house and her collection of fine art. It was a bit quirky, but beautiful and fascinating. After a couple hours there, we parked near TD Garden and walked over to the North End in a light but chilly rain. After a nice warm cup of coffee at Caffe Paradiso, we poked in to Polcari’s and a great book store before meeting Christina, Anthony, Amanda, Eileen, and Chris for an early dinner at Al Dente. We simply love the place, and it did not disappoint! One of the specials was veal osso bucco – YUM! It was great seeing the Geromini kids, who continue to do so well. From there, we said our goodbyes. The rain had stopped for an easy walk to TD Garden to see the Bruins play New Jersey. After going down 2-0, the Bs ROARED back in an explosive second period with 4 goals, and they went on to win 5-2! AWESOME! We dropped Em at a hotel near Logan for her early Sunday flight to Richmond and were back in Scituate well before midnight. What a great day!

GO BRUINS! 🏒

My favorite Scituate days include limited plans that are always open ended. Stacey, Ryan and I walked Charlie down through the harbor to Seaglass Beach where Ryan flew his drone while we searched for seaglass among the rocks. We weren’t on a schedule – we just poked along the beach enjoying a nice morning.

Our afternoon included scallops wrapped in bacon prepared by Melissa and Ryan. They were DELICIOUS! New Year’s Eve found us comfortably in the Gathering Room after enjoying a seafood dinner that included fresh lobsters from Mullaney’s. Yum! Everyone rang in midnight in bed. Our kind of First Night!

12-31-23

New Year’s Day was spent mostly in the Gathering Room with family, while slowly packing our stuff for respective trips home. What a fantastic week making memories with our favorite hosts here by the sea! Thanks so much for a great time again here on Hazel Ave Mimi and Bapa! We can’t wait to return!

And so we all begin 2024 with our health and happiness intact. Goodbyes can be difficult, but we all look forward to being together again in various locations. The sun rose majestically over Scituate Harbor as we left this Home for other Homes. May 2024 bring memories as special as those enjoyed together in 2023. ❤️