Catherine Piper Bau
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Bob the Builder
Do you know who Bob the Builder is? Do you know who Kipper the Dog is? If not, then you just have to "get with it". Bob the Builder and Kipper the Dog are two of Anthony's favorite video/TV stars.Grandpa Paul found that they are not only Anthony's favorites, but they are also lead toys at Toy 'R Us. So if you have a three year old and need an appropriate gift or video tape, try Bob the Builder and his friends Wendy, Lofty, Scoop, and Dizzy. Or Kipper, the dog with a slipper, that's Kipper, Kipper the dog.
Cochichuate Lake Fishing
Paul and his buddy Fred Sanford decided to try their luck at fishing at Lake Cochichuate... just a couple of miles down the road from the Weston home. Paul, purchased his fishing license and Fred being older than 65, gets his for no charge in Massachusetts.Fred who grew up in Wellesley and Natick, knows all the local fishing holes and took them to Perry Road. Here the two fishermen caught three "kivers" or some of you might call them sun fish... little fish aboutfour or five inches in lenght and not very good eating. We just tossed them back in the lake and decided to try another spot.
Into the Buick, and the two hopeful fishermen drove to the American Veteran's post on route 9 in Natick. We could get there only by driving past a manned guard station at the Boston Scientific headquarters building. This was an even better spot for casting the fishing lines as the water was clear and there was not a lot to get caught up on in the water. Six more kivers for Paul! Fred was disappointed and appologetic. Paul was satisfired and happy. Paul just likes to catch fish... he does not eat them anyway. As long as there's action on the line, Paul the fishman is happy. Fred and Paul plan to go out in another week and try their luck again.
Early Autumn Drive to Philly
At 6 am, Paul had completed loading the station wagon for the drive to Gladwyne. Ron had arrived by taxi and was ready to visit his grandniece and grandnephew. Then cousin Myrna arrived and she too was ready for the trip south.Just before getting onto the Mass Pike, the party pulled into Duncan Dognuts for coffee and a roll. The traffic was light along the Pike and down Route 84 past Hartford. Time for a "smoke Stop" for Ron.
The group continued onto Brewster, N.Y., where they turned south on Rt. 684.
"Are you going to take the Hutchinson River Parkway to NYC?" asked Ron.
Oops! Just in time, Paul turned onto Rt.287 West. We all the events of September 11th, for sure they wanted to avoid NYC and give it a wide birth. Then Tappanzi Bridge crossed the Hudson River north of NYC and they proceeded down the Garden State Parkway towards Pennsylvania.
Just before the Betsy Ross Bridge, they gased up the station wagon...$1.25/gallon. A good price considering the cheapest gas in the Boston area was $1.35 at the end of September.
Cousin Myrna was dropped of at her friend's home in Bala Cynwood... only a couple of towns away from Gladwyne. With all the good company and chatter, the trip flew by... Paul and Ron pulled in front of David and Heidi's house at 1 pm.
Lees of Webster, N.Y.
In late October, Kenneth and Rebecca Lee of Webster, N.Y. made a trip to Boston to meet up with their daughter, Veronica who was making a trip from Hong Kong to Providence, R.I. to attend a teachers' conference. Veronica teaches at the International School in HK and she and another teacher, Cecil, were sponsored by the school as part of their "professional development".Boston is a great town to visit as it so many historical sights, fun places to eat(like the North End) and great shopping... lots and lots of factory outlets with wide choices and fantastic prices.
Kenneth has a favorite meal in Boston. Yes, he likes the clam cowder and the lobsters, but his favorite is the rack of lamb prepared at the Aegean in Framingham. We've gone their every time the Lees are in town and never been disappointed.
Gourmet Eating?
Anthony can eat a lot or he can eat a little... it seems to very much correlate to whether he finds the food tasty or not. If it's not too tasty or interesting, he'll eat a little and then wander off..."I'm not hungry", he'll say as he goes off to play.He'll eat with relish his fish. He particularly likes his flouder and his Chilean Sea Bass. With fish for lunch, he'll eat everything on his plate and eat it quickly. He also loves chicken skin. Sometimes Grandpa will buy a rotissieri chicken from Super Fresh supermarket and Anthony will eat the skin and ask for more. "Anthony, you have to eat some of the meat with the skin.", admonishes Grandpa. Reluctantly, Anthony eats some chicken meat and then smiles and asks for more skin please.
Witches Dungeon Museum
Bryan and Emily Yee were visiting from Rochester, N.Y. and we were touring Salem, Mass., home of the Yankee clippers and of course the old Salem witch trials. We picked three things to visit that day, the Witches Museum of Salem, the Peadody-Essex Museum and a nice lunch at the museum cafe.The Witches Museum charged us a $6 admissions fee. We got a 20 minute play and a 5 minute tour of a simulated "jail" or dungeon. In the early 1600's when the trials were held, those conficted of being witches were put in small cells and held until their hangings. In "jail", the prisioners were required to pay for their cell. If you had more money to pay, you got a bigger cell. If you had no money, you got a little cell... so small that one couild not even sit down! One also had to pay for ones food. If one had no money, one might well starve to death before hanging. One also had to pay the fee for one's own hangman. Boy, those Puritans were tough.
We like Salem a lot and have taken many visitors to visit there. The Witches Museum is now, not high on our list. For $6, one was not well rewarded... not recommended.
Lots of Visitors in Boston
On the weekend of August 18th, Paul's sister Deanna will spend a few days visiting as she does each summer... it's always fun to have her company, go out eating and shopping and just hanging out together. That weekend, the Baus are also hosting a small dinner for Grace Lee and her sister and brother-in law.Bryan and Emily Yee from Rochester are coming for the funeral of an uncle and will spend that weekend at the Bau house in Weston. Then, the Baus invited Emily's sister and brother-in-law, Tom to also stay over at the house?!
Well, the dinner Saturday night was going to be a restaurant in Chinatown and Deanna was only going to be in town for a couple of nights... so the Baus thought that there were few nights to choose from in order to get cousins Myrna and Michael together with Deanna... hmmmm, Saturday night seemed the only night! And so on...
There is always an active social schedule in Boston... lots of visitors and lots of fun!
