Little Anthony made his first appearance with his father in Boston this past week. First stop was Grandma Rachel's office in Case House. Zoom! Grandma grabs up baby and runs to the other offices on the second floor to show him off. Then it's off to the third floor. "Look who's here to visit!": coos the pround Grandmother. David meanwhile inspects his mother's new office.... hmmmm, lots of light from the corner exposure, a private bathroom, and a separate file storage room. Pretty fancy.
Rachel decides to hold a coming out party for baby Anthony on Friday night inviting a total of seventeen (17) people for dinner. Five of the young guests were children not much older than Anthony, including his Aunt Esther Tzau, who is actually 4 months younger than Mr Cutie Pie.
Anthony's visit is very comfortable. He traveled well by plane and ate and slept well in his grandparent's Weston home. The Tsais and the Wongs of Wayland lent the Baus lot of Samantha's (now 1 1/2 years old) old baby stuff.... high chair, car seat, toys, baby blankets, and more. Anthony ate lots of solid foods (whole jars at one sitting) and took very long naps (sometimes more than 3 hours at one time). Everyone was so excited with Anthony's visit and he seemed equally pleased to see all the new friends. He was a smash hit. When will he return? That's up to Mommy!
David and Kevin came home to visit with Anthony and enjoyed playing our newest board game, "Quoridor"... selected at the number 1 new board game of the year in 1998. First Rachel defeated David, then David and then cousin Michael from New Hampshire. Hey! What's going on here? Rachel was defeating everyone who dared to challenge her!
Kevin couldn't figure out what was happening. He tried half a dozen times to beat his mother. All to no avail. Disoriented and defeated, Kevin left in his rented car for his return to NYC. His mother offerred him coffee and money to lift his spirits. Clearly, Rachel rules the Quoridors. It's a great game, easy to learn and lots of different strategies to play. We recomment that you get one for your family's entertainment.
Where're the Stock Certificates?
Several companies we own stock in have "split" their shares over the past year because of booming values. Better check our inventory of stock certificates and make certain all is in order. Oracle extra shares there? Yep. Intel extra shares there? Yep. Microsoft extra shares there? Nope! Nope? Did we misplace them? Microsoft split its stock 2-for-1 back in February of 1998 and we should have more certificates. In addition, Microsoft will split 2-for 1 again in March. 1999. Where are the certificates?
After contacting one of Paul's brokers who referred him to the transfer agent for Microsoft who referred him back to Industrial Relations in Microsoft in Redmond, it turns out that Microsoft never issued the new certificates. There are companies that do "book entry" record keeping when they split their stocks. Microsoft is one of these. If you want more certificates, just write them and they will issue them to you. So, we didn't lose them after all!
David and Dad attend NEPUG
David and Paul attended a the New England Palm Pilots Users Group at the Back Bay Hilton on March 11th. (Read about Paul's last meeting with this group.) Highlights were a first view of the new Palm IIIx and the Palm V. Major benefits of the new system include a more readable screen, a fix to longer battery life, a clear path to wireless e-mail and smaller and lighter styling. Also great at the meeting were free food and lots of raffle door prizes.
Looks like the Palm Pilot group is listening to their customers, gaining market share and positioning themselves to remain in a strong position for at least another year or two. Today, Palm Pilot commands more than a 75% share of the PDA market. Their parent 3Com (Nasdaq: COMS) seems to be doing something right. Is this a good stock for one to add to one's portfolio?
Anthony Visits MFA
The whole Bau family, Kevin, David, Rachel, Paul and Mr. Cutie Pie decided to visit the feature exhibit at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, "Mary Cassett, A Modern Woman". Cassett was one of the few women to gain recognition as an Impressionist Artist who colaborated with her friends Degas and Pizzaro in Paris.
The most vocal art critic at the MFA that Saturday was Anthony. He found Mary Cassett's works to be of extremely fine quality and he loved the subject matter of mothers and chidren. You could hear his loud acclaims up and down the halls. David sheepishly made for the exit. Many older art patrons seemed to enjoy Anthony more than the paintings on the walls. My,oh my, indeed they do have good tastes too.
USAir 500 Delayed
David and Anthony left Weston for their return USAir flight home to Philadelphia amid reports of a large snow storm moving up from the South. Philadelphia had already received more than 12 inches of snow and many flights were delayed or cancelled. Being experienced travelers and having the baby, we called ahead to check the scheduled ETD.... all was fine.
Traffic was bad on the way to Logan, but we were still able to arrive 60 min. before the scheduled ETD. Oops, the flight was delayed according to the "monitor". Two and a half hours after its schduled time, flight 500 lifted off for the flight South. Little Anthony was getting a bit cranky at the end of the wait, but after lift off, he slept thoughout the entire flight home. Hew! David was saved. Actually, we're not sure who fell aspeep first. Was is Daddy or Baby?
Town Water Hook-Up
The Bau's of Weston have always used well water and private septic systems to supply the house. With a new aquaduct for Boston running very close to their property line, their wells will be threatened, and hense, they must be put on town water for a least several years. Last summer, the water mains were laid down on South Avenue. This March, Paul plans to have a contractor connect the water from the street to the house. This involves digging a trench down six feet ( to get well below the frost line in the winter) and getting below some of the stone walls around the house.
After a competitve bidding process, with five contractors competing, Paul and the Town of Weston selected K&K Excavation of Milton, Ma. as the general contractor. A contract for the work was just signed and the work is scheduled to be done either the last week of March or the first week of April. The work ( over $5,000.00 ) is to be paid for by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority via the town and via the owner. In addition, the home owners who elect to go on town water will receive "free water" for up to 5 or 6 years. After the aquaduct in completed in five years, the Baus plan to unhook the town water and go back on their own private wells.
Little Anthony made his first appearance with his father in Boston this past week. First stop was Grandma Rachel's office in Case House. Zoom! Grandma grabs up baby and runs to the other offices on the second floor to show him off. Then it's off to the third floor. "Look who's here to visit!": coos the pround Grandmother. David meanwhile inspects his mother's new office.... hmmmm, lots of light from the corner exposure, a private bathroom, and a separate file storage room. Pretty fancy.
David and Kevin came home to visit with Anthony and enjoyed playing our newest board game, "Quoridor"... selected at the number 1 new board game of the year in 1998. First Rachel defeated David, then David and then cousin Michael from New Hampshire. Hey! What's going on here? Rachel was defeating everyone who dared to challenge her!
David and Paul attended a the New England Palm Pilots Users Group at the Back Bay Hilton on March 11th. (Read about Paul's last meeting with this group.) Highlights were a first view of the new Palm IIIx and the Palm V. Major benefits of the new system include a more readable screen, a fix to longer battery life, a clear path to wireless e-mail and smaller and lighter styling. Also great at the meeting were free food and lots of raffle door prizes.