New England 6

OCTOBER 2025

Another spectacular Fall weather month…

Lee Kiwanis Painted the Town Pink to raise money toward breast cancer. My church’s bell choir provided meaningful music for this event.

In the park, the Lee High Soccer team continues to raise money with a bake sale. They just happened to be in the booth across from us which made it very convenient to partake of the yummy goodies they made. Left to right - Maddy (goalie), Leanna (granddaughter) and Kristie (daughter-in-law)! 

60th Class Reunion - that’s right! Twenty five classmates and 10 guests of the Class of 1965 celebrated at Greenock Country Club. We scheduled it from 4-8pm, but most people left around 7pm. How things change! There were a few that continued the festivities at the Locker Room.

Wedding in NY - The next morning, we were on the road to Lake George, NY’s Wild West Ranch for Rich’s grandson, Kegan’s marriage to Cassidi. We may not be going to the real wild west, but we are reminded of it in this setting. Our room in the Bunkhouse has an awesome mural of the saguaros at sunset…

The bride and groom have their own suite at the end of the Bunkhouse which has a painting which looks like a scene back in our neck of the woods…

All weddings performed here get a banner on the Wall of Love. 

Isabella Rose (4 months old) participated in her parents’ wedding. Nora cleaned up the carriage that she and Perry were in as babies and Isabella was wheeled down the aisle…

Close Camp in Maine - We met sisters, Cindy and Leslie (and Johan) at camp to shut it down for the winter. Always fun times reminiscing, eating and drinking in between chores. We only stayed 2 nights as we had to get back for Market. Happy to say that we were able to make some big decisions about the upkeep of the camp - vinyl siding…

Final Farmers Market 2025 was an enriching day for Rich in a couple of ways. We had a number of sales on his 11 x 14 mattes AND a young lady was sitting on the bench across from us and kept looking at his banner on the front of our table. After a while, she approached him and said that her maiden name was Colomb which is not that common a name. Her dad had passed so she had no one to question about that side of the family. She started mentioning names and showing family pictures - low and behold, the names were familiar and he told her who was pictured in her photos! She was so excited. Rich told her he would have Nora look into it as she is the master genealogist in the family. Sure enough, she had Danielle in her Ancestry files and sent it to her. We started looking on Facebook and realize that she lives in Russel, MA about 30 minutes down Rt. 20. 

Leanna, first born granddaughter, was inducted into the National Honor Society. The four pillars of this organization are Scholarship, Character, Service, Leadership. We are very proud of her and her accomplishments.

Proud family ❤️

The Lee Wildcat Varsity Sports Roundup: The football team is steamrolling the competition (7-0) with Jake (23) standing on the sidelines cheering therm on. They will likely be playing in the Western Mass. Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium in Boston. 

The soccer team, with Leanna as a captain, ended the regular season on top (13-3).

The volleyball team, with Lily as a freshman starter, proceeded to Western Mass. Tournaments, but got knocked out.

The golf team was defeated in Western Mass competition, while 8th grade Zachary improved every time out. 

We are winding down on activities and shopping, in order to pack up and ready the house for low activity this winter. 

The Colomb Family: We went to Queensbury, NY to say our goodbyes to Rich’s sister, Eileen and Steve. Coffee, coffee cake, and great conversation filled the morning. 

We then headed over to Perry’s in S. Glens Falls to have an amazing dinner of seafood curry over rice a la Perry, lumpia (a Phillipino version of spring rolls a la Lyn), a variety of desserts (including Erich’s fresh lime pie). Nice surprise, Eileen and Steve came over to give Rich some old newspaper clippings about the Silver Diner and the Freight House - his two former restaurants. 

Nora was prepared to illustrate her Ancestry findings on the Colomb family which go back to the 1400’s in France! This is a passion of hers which is fascinating to view - pictures, obituaries, stories, et al. They all sat watching the big screen and sharing personal memories of the latest 2 generations. 

Mary’s Kitchen is fellow vendor on Saturdays at the Market. She is Rich’s age and has been a go-getter her entire life. She raised 6 kids while operating a flower/plant market and her husband, Mike, ran the adjoined convenience store. He bought her a beautiful home in Lenox. She refused to move in before it was in the condition she wanted. She knew exactly what she wanted. She had started making cakes for friends and neighbors. It grew and grew by word of mouth. She coined her logo, Mary’s Kitchen, and had a commercial kitchen built in the cellar of her home. Since then, she has been a baked goods destination for people far and wide. She invited us to visit her home before we leave for Florida, so we told her 1pm on a Monday. She said,”Don’t eat anything because I am going to feed you!” We protested and she said she would throw us out if we didn’t agree. We succumbed. She had the table all set with crystal glasses of ice water, lavash bread, yogurt, fresh tomatoes and radishes, rice with beef and beans, followed by Turkish coffee and a plate of desserts. She also gave us the leftovers and a tray of cookies, cupcakes, cheesecake, etc. This is her kitchen table…

As you can see, her whole house is decorated in fine furniture, chandeliers and china wear. She told us that she gets her china from Goodwill. I mentioned dusting all of it - she has a cleaning lady come dust and clean every 2 weeks. And a tour of the other rooms…

On that very same day, I already had a date to meet my Big Y friends for dinner at Tony’s house in Becket. Kim brought a delicious butternut soup, Pat brought red wine, bread, and crackers and cheese, Tony made a salad and bought turkey chili. Since my cupboards are bare in preparation for leaving, I shared Mary’s dessert plate. We had such a great visit and Tony has had so many upgrades to his house and barn, that it was like visiting Martha Stewart. He basically took the original furniture and put it in the barn, replacing it with new couches and chairs. The views were spectacular from the 3rd floor looking out over the Fall colors of Sherwood Forest. This is the TV room with a gorgeous Friendsgiving tree which will be converted to a Christmas tree.

Two days later, my friend Terry wanted to have a get together with our five high school BFF’s before I leave, so she prepared bolognese and pasta with a salad, fresh Italian bread, followed by a dessert of ice cream and chocolate biscotti. It’s no wonder I have gained most of my weight back! We did a lot of catching up and reminiscing.

A few shots of fine New England color this time of year. 

Farewell Pizza Party with my family… Kristie’s brownie sundaes a la mode for dessert. Sad goodbye hugs for all. My Mom - the matriarch - slipped out before we took the picture. Ugh!

Hitting the road for a new adventure bright and early Monday morning, so we loaded “Rocket” and checked the list again. Destination Fredericksburg, VA to see Eddi - then Bradenton, FL.