Cooking the NYTimes and Other Assorted Retirement Activities

  A few of the local trees are beginning to show the first inklings of fall, leaves fading from green to early shades of yellow.  And it smells like late summer--a distinctive smell I recall from childhood, a scent that followed me home from school on those first few weeks when you raced home in a hurry to change out of the Catholic School uniform into shorts because it was still warm and light enough to play outside until dinner.  The shadows on our deck are growing longer.  The squirrels scamper around with nuts tucked between their jaws.   Yep, it's time to wrap summer up and put a bow on it. We had such a blissful summer, leisurely hours spent with those we love, wedding celebrations for family and friends, reunions and reconnections, time spent on the road and in the air.  Primarily for myself, but also for your reading pleasure, I thought I'd recap May through August. Following our return drive from Florida April 28, we flew to Chicago for the we...

                                                                                       Krka National Park Yesterday Dan and I drove up through the mountains to Krka National Park .  Click on the link.  It's well worth your time. We've had the opportunity to visit a number of America's stunningly beautiful national parks (see previous blog posts, including Thank You, Theodore Roosevelt), so were very much looking forward to going here.  It was a relatively short drive from Kastel Stari where we're staying and very scenic on the way up and over the mountains, including an incredible view of the Kastels area. I'll let the photos do the blogging. Welcome to Krka!  There are two main entrances into the park and we ch...

                                                                                                 The House Yesterday was a rather mellow day.  We had breakfast at a nice cafe on the beach at Kastel Stari, then headed back to the house where, at one point, just Bill, My Friend Jeanie, Dan and I were in the jacuzzi (not really a hot tub) part of the pool, all by our lonesomes, no adult children, no grands.  It was rather nice.   Luise Lumma, one of Jeanie's German grands, offered to make dinner tonight.  Luise is 12, so with her parents and older siblings assistance, she made her favorite dinner: fish sticks, mashed potatoes, salad, creamed spinach.  It was delicious! ...