Lori and I had the great pleasure and privilege to visit Venice for a week. We thoroughly enjoyed the extraordinary city and learning about its history, art, and culture.

Basilica of St. Mark at night

Approaching Santa Maria Della Salute

Vivaldi concert by The Interpreti Veneziani in the Church of San Vidal.

Basilica of St. Mark

View from Ponte dell’Accademia looking toward Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute along the Grand Canal

View along the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge at night.

Water taxi ride from our hotel back to Marco Polo airport included lovely neighborhood views from the canals.

Lori “retired” in 2018, I  (part-time) un-retired, and we had a very good year with many worthwhile experiences and lots of fun times with friends and family. We’re planning on making an even better 2019. We hope you do the same!

Paul began a part-time job as court clerk at Newfield Town Court.

Detail of the arms and filaments of the jellyfish in a beautifully-done Monterey Bay Aquarium display.

These trees are covered with Trentepohlia aurea; the orange coloration results from carotenoid pigments in the algal cells.

Lori is color coordinated on the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail

It took Lori about 3.2 milliseconds to completely adjust to retirement. Of course she’s now busier than ever.

This Fall rainbow appeared at the tail end of a brief heavy sleet storm.

We tried our hand at electric scooters, terrorizing the back streets and alleys of northern Dallas.

Corning Museum of Glass, always a favorite experience.

Georgia O’Keefe’s Hawaiian paintings were on display at the New York Botancal Garden

We thoroughly enjoyed a spectacular exhibit of Alberto Giacometti’s works.

Lori refired a mug to improve the glaze, something she does occasionally with some success.  Coming out of her kiln, it didn’t look the way she expected.  It is interesting though…

She is dubbing this the start of her Potter’s Tears Collection.

Four of us former zipperheads (i.e., IBM employees) visited the Bundy Museum of History and Art in Binghamton NY and thoroughly enjoyed it. The main attractions is the Queen Anne style Victorian house built by Harlow and Julia Bundy in the 1890s. The Bundy brothers started the first ever time recording company which became quite successful and, through various mergers and acquisitions, eventually became IBM.

Our museum guide was well versed in the house, its history and restoration, the Bundy family history, life in the late 1800s, and the whole evolution of the time recording business. The museum includes a nice display of many of the clocks, scales, and other devices made by Bundy Manufacturing Company through its incredible evolution.

The museum also has an improbable collection of other things related to Binghamton history including a lot of Rod Serling/”Twilight Zone” memorabilia, and a complete barbershop that used to serve the clean-cut Endicott IBM employees from 1940 through 1982.

The museum also features rotating displays; we saw some interesting artwork from a local (Endicott) artist and some (rather unfortunate) installation works by Binghamton University students scattered around the mansion.

It was a fun and fascinating couple of hours for us.  We recommend it to anyone in the area who might have an interest in Victorian homes, life around 1900, IBM origins, Rod Serling, old barbershops, or “interesting” art.

Decorated for the holidays, this original staircase in the Bundy Queen Anne style Victorian home dates from the 1890s.

Bundy Museum of History & Art

One of the many time recording machines on display in the Bundy Museum which provide exmples from the companies that eventually merged with Bundy Time Recorder, eventually becoming IBM.

From the “Living Doll” episode of the Twilight Zone, this doll is among a large collection of Rod Serling memorabilia at the Bundy Museum. Serling was born in Syracuse NY but spent most of his youth in Binghamton NY.

Originally O.K. Barbershop, it was located in Endicott directly across the street from IBM. The contents of the shop were saved when it closed in 1982 and are now on display.

Well this is it: we’ve witnessed the official beginning of Winter as cars start running off the road onto our property.  This morning’s was the first but certainly won’t be the last. If I recall, we had four cars run off our road last Winter. Fortunately, so far no injuries but that luck will run out eventually. In the Spring we’ll do rut repair assessment after the Winter adventures.

First car runs off the road onto our property this season.

A car is removed from our property after running off the road.

It is our considerable good fortune to have some good friends and good neighbors. A confluence of such over Thanksgiving was a treat.  Our friend Stella visited with us for a few days and we all headed across the street to neighbor’s Anne and Bill (and daughter Sidney and extended family Pickles, Ziggy, and Zelda) for Thanksgiving after-dinner desserts.

The next day we visited the amazing Corning Museum of Glass which always delights–we’re glad Stella enjoyed it as much as we do. Only a short drive away, we never tire of conjuring up a pretext for checking out their latest exhibits.

In front of Fern Green Tower by Dale Chihuly; lobby of Corning Museum of Glass.

Corning Museum of Glass

Corning Museum of Glass: Fred Wilson, Murano, Italy, 2011

Corning Museum of Glass: Karen LaMonte, Czech Republic, 2015

Corning Museum of Glass: Sean Augustine March; optical-grade dichroic borosilicate plate glass, five-watt LED bulb, silicone, cord, electronic components, wood.

Corning Museum of Glass