Singular Souls

I was honored and privileged to help celebrate the lives of these two singular souls this past weekend . . . 

Mr. Corcillo . . . my first and best boss, at my first and best job,  the Norwalk Book Shop . . . 

And Anna Shubik Sweeney . . . our brilliant, kooky, unique, multi-talented friend.

Each of these lives has been so special and important and specifically unique . . . 

. . . and each of these souls has had such a deep and profound impact on those left behind. 

Both families are bereft.

I'm honored, humbled and delighted to have been an ancillary part of each of their lives, and am honored, humbled and delighted to have been part of their celebrations. 

Thank you, Mr. Corcillo. Thank you, Anna.

It's a better world because of you.

Do You Enjoy Knives?

 First of all, here's how it looks around here . . . 

The First glimpses of Fall . . . 

. . . Steven's house . . .  

. . . planting tulips . . . 

. . . and changing things up.

And Second of all, here's a Heartwarming Story.

A week or a month or two months ago, I dropped a knife on our kitchen floor. Our beloved 8" Chef's Knife, which we got for our wedding approximately one million years ago, fell right down, and the blade broke right in two.

It sat in pieces on our dining room table through all the weeks of all the things, then the other day we -- and by we I mean Mistah -- was trying to chop a neighborly-donated pumpkin into pieces to roast and we didn't have the proper tool and I got motivated to finally replace the knife.

I went to the Henkel site to buy a new one but the "warranty" section caught my eye. From the looks of it, Henckel guaranteed the life of their knives as long as the owners had said knives.

Hmmmmm, I thought. Could it be?

So I called them.

A lovely and delightful customer service person answered the phone and I told her the whole story and she said, 

"Well, since it's been over one year . . . "

"It *has* been over one year . .  It's been twenty-nine years this past weekend . . . " I replied. We both chortled.

"Well, congratulations! But anyway, since it's been over one year, you need to fill out a form and send it back with the broken knife and we'll assess the situation. But first email a photo of the broken knife."

And so I did.

They emailed back and said "we'll send you a new knife."

"But do I still need to send in the old knife?"

"Dispose of the new knife; we'll send you a new one. It will take two- to four-weeks."

I know, right?!

And then I got an alert from UPS saying it would arrive the next day.

Twenty-nine years . . . 

. . . and one day later . . . 

. . . we've got ourselves a new beauty.

Want to see me chop garlic and habañeros?

Because I could do this all day long . . . 

The best customer service, the best knife, and the best result.

And yes I do, Harold. I do enjoy knives.

Oh That Provincetown . . .

We got away again . . . 

. . . to this beautiful, iconic town.

It's a beauty, this town . . . 

We spent most of our getaway time right here in this exact spot . . . 

. . . but we got out into the world, too . . . 

. . . and man, what a beautiful world.

It's stunning natural beauty . . . . 

. . . and spectacular vistas . . . 

. . . wherever one looks.

And although we took no photos of our epic Dunes Trails bike rides, or of our delicious meals, we loved it all . . . 

. . . and that town will not be long without us.

40 Years Ago . . .

 . . . apparently, I was 18.

Apparently, we all were.

Class of '81, baby . . . 

We reunited on Saturday night at our beloved Calf Pasture Beach to celebrate our accomplishments. We've accomplished being 40 years older, which is no small feat. We've lost way too many classmates already, and were so thankful to be present.

I wish we all had more time together, but it was pure magic being with friends from high school, and -- like these lovelies -- girls I've have been friends with since we were in single digits together. 

Love you beauties.

The reunion, however, was not the only Event of the weekend. 

Earlier in the day was the 16th Annual Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation Walk for a Cure, from which I have no photos except when I got home before we headed out to reunite with my fellow Bears ...

The Walk was epic, as usual. The walkers were incredible, as usual. The Foundation is amazing, as usual.

But that was not the only other Event of the weekend either.

On Sunday we celebrated a certain matriarch's birthday . . . 

. . . with bruncheon . . . 

. . . and presents and cake and bubbly . . . 

. . . and all had ourselves a Time. 

And then I went home and collapsed.

Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you.

Thanks for an incredible weekend, all y'all.

See you at the 50th.

💗💗💗