How to fill time in retirement

 My last drive to Vermont was in September of 2019. This time, being about four years older, I decided to give it another try. My goal was to make it to Virginia in the first day and then to Middlebury on the second. But between weather, traffic and construction, the goal can not always be met. My destination: I left Melbourne at 7:15 am on August 2 and I pulled in to the Holiday Inn Express in Roanoke Rapids North Carolina at 7:15 pm. It was about 682 miles in 12 total hours and I was only 9 miles from Virginia. There was a rainstorm in Georgia and lots of construction in North Carolina on I-95 that slowed me down. I left Roanoke Rapids at 7:17 am after having the complimentary breakfast at the Inn. Here is a picture of the Inn I stayed at, I actually have been to this one in a previous trip. As I said, I entered Virginia after gassing up in Weldon NC. The Welcome Center is right on the state line so my car was parked next to this sign... From that same spot I could also see the W...

 A month ago, my cousin Keith gave me some postcards and photos from his grandmother, my Great Aunt Eliza. I shared the photos and I have been meaning to share the postcards. Well, here they are with out much fanfare. I was planning to write about each one but have not done any research. My only notes is to remind myself that many of these postcards were from Europe where Aunt Eliza was working as a Red Cross nurse for the Great War. On some of them you will see annotations that "OK" the card for sending. I am assuming this was done by the local military in Belgium. Also, you can see this was way before zip codes, some of the addresses are just a name and a town. If you have any questions about the cards, feel free to email me. The first two are Christmas cards. Carroll Orvis was Eliza's brother. This next one is actually to Aunt Eliza, maybe a satisfied patient from her nursing in Belgium? Lois is my grandmother, Harold's mom... Esther Orvis is the sister of Aunt Eli...

 I only read six books in the first quarter of 2023 so I had to read more in the second quarter to get back on track for my yearly goal of 36 books. Last year my goal was 30 and I read 38, so I upped the limit this year. Ten books so far in the current quarter has gotten me back on track. I have decided to show all the books in a table (you know how much I love data and spreadsheets). Interestingly, of the ten books I did read, five of the books I gave a Grade of 3.0 (Great), and the other five I gave a grade of 2.5 (Good to Great). Also, five of the books were works of fiction and five were non-fiction. It looks like I really am an eclectic reader. The book Notes on a Wet Cocktail Napkin by Rusty Fischer was just published in 2023. I bought the book at Rusty's Seafood and Oyster Bar in Port Canaveral. I even got the author Rusty to sign it for me. I moved to Brevard in 1979, and Bernard's Surf and Rusty's have been important to Cocoa Beach and the Port, but also the site ...

 This is my Aunt Eliza, I just received these photos from my cousin Keith Willis (actually a second cousin). He also brought me some postcards to add to my collection. Keith's Mom Ruth, who lived into her 90s, was the first cousin of my Dad Harold. Ruth's Mom was Eliza and Harold's Mom was Lois, younger sister to Aunt Eliza. This is a nice portrait of Aunt Eliza, maybe from high school. Eliza Ann Orvis was born on 26 Feb 1887 in Vermont, daughter of James Hervey Orvis and Jennie Sargent. She married Walter John Hogbin and they had two children, William (1921) and Ruth (1923). Eliza died in the 1980s when she was in her 90s. She is buried in Bristol Vermont. While Eliza was the 2nd oldest of six kids, Lois (my grandmother) was the 2nd youngest. Lois Marjorie Orvis was born on 1 Nov 1894. She also died in the 1980s and was in her 90s. Looks like I have plenty of longevity in my Orvis genes. Other Orvis siblings include Martha (1885), Carroll (1891), Hazel (1892) and Esther (1...