Christmas and Christmas Eve 2007 in Preston

Our 2008 Christmas Card To You

Click the title link for our

2008 Christmas Card

....thank you YouTube!!

The Computing History Museum - YouTube

If you're interested in the history of computers, click the title link...good stuff!

Before or after you've seen the video, you can visit the museum on line by clicking here. If you can stand a 200mb download there is a fascinating video of the 25th Anniversary of the Commodore 64 there.

Glenn Miller Orchestra - "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" from YouTube

This is a wonderful version of this timeless song....with clips of the original Glenn Miller Orchestra in the opening of the video.

YouTube - St. Catherine Of Sienna Welcome Video

Update on my Amazon Kindle

We've had our Kindle now since November 29th. I've read several books with it, and am very happy with it. We tried a trial subscription to Time magazine and canceled that....I enjoy reading it on-line with the PC much more.
One thing I don't like about it is the drawings or illustrations. When you're reading a book that has detailed maps or drawings I find it much easier to read and reference in a real book then on the electronic Kindle. It is an amazing tool for reading reviews and they allow a free download of the first chapter on any book so you can get a feel for it. All in all I'd certainly recommend it! Go to Amazon.com where there is a video showing all of its features and capabilities.

YouTube - CT Good Sam Samboree's

Seaport Sams Christmas Party December 2nd, 2007

Seaport Sams Christmas Party

Learning Curves....Amazon Kindle

Our E-Reader, the new Amazon Kindle arrived yesterday (Nov 29th) and I've been busy playing with it. On ordering it from Amazon I had them include two books (The Coldest Winter and Stone Cold) and one magazine subscription (Time). The magazine and Blog subscription all come with a two week trial period, and we've already canceled the Time one. I find it much easier to read a magazine on-line as it seems to have better navigation.
I am very impressed though with the reading experience of books on Kindle. Like any new technology there IS a bit of a learning curve, but it's not that steep. Once you're used to it you hardly notice you are not reading a paper book. The on-line ordering experience, and the ability to preview almost any book for free, is also worth a lot. Feel free to give me a call if you have questions or would like to discuss it. Even though its only been out a few weeks there are a lot of reviews (pro and con) as well as comparisons with the Sony Reader on-line that you can also wade through, as well at at Amazon's own site.

Learning something new every day.....

People have been sending me select YouTube clips that they thought I'd find interesting, and I've used YouTube for some of my own work on the Preston CT website. What I didn't realize until recently is that there is a treasure house of musical content available for viewing there. I've always loved the Big Bands, and have found it's reasonably easy to construct a list of "favorites", and then group them into Playlists. If you click the post title or here you'll transport to the Big Band Play List I've set up for myself on YouTube.

UPDATE November 29th 07: Click here for our Rock N Roll PlayList from YouTube

Thanksgiving 2007 with the Payette's in Preston CT

Thanksgiving 2007

Veterans Day in Preston CT

We just did a video clip of the Veterans Day program sponsored by the Preston Historical Society. That full video is linked from the Historical Society pages of the Preston CT website. Click the link above to view a "Screener" that's been published to YouTube of this event.

Seaport Sams Last Campout for 2007

Seaport Sams at Country Aire, October 2007

Essex Steam Train & Riverboat Cruise, Oct 20th, 2007

Twenty folks (and some relatives) from our Seaport Sams camping club spent Saturday afternoon on the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat Cruise. It was a great day rolling through the countryside, and touring the upper Connecticut river. Click the title link to view a Picasa Photo Album from this event.

In photo, left to right: Alice, Cheyenne, Bob & Dakota Payette

Our last camping jaunt for the season is now behind us....

We spent the Columbus Day weekend near Shelbourne Falls Ma on the Mohawk Trail with our camping group the Seaport Sams. It was a wonderful long weekend, but it's hard knowing we won't be back on the road again until 2008 with this great group of friends. Click the title link to view a Picasa web album from this event.

Our camping group, Seaport Sams, just came back from Oak Embers...

Click the title link to view a Picasa photo album from our Oak Embers camping jaunt we just returned from.

Alice's mom passed today, September 24th 07....

Sept 25th update: Click on title for transportation to the Newington Memorial Funeral Home website for the posted obituary.


Alice’s mother (Nellie Lenart) passed away peacefully this morning at Haven Health Care in Jewett City. Alice was there with her brother Joey and our daughter Joanna. Arrangements are pending but she’ll be interred in her home town of Newington CT….Alice is going there now (Newington Memorial Funeral Home) with her brother to make arrangements. The obituary will be published in The Hartford Courant.


Update 26 Sept 07:

Nellie T. (Paliki) Lenart

LENART, Nellie T. (Paliki) Nellie T. (Paliki) Lenart, 93, of Newington, died on Monday (September 24, 2007). She was the beloved wife of the late Charles M. Lenart. Born in Ludlow, MA, daughter of the late Peter and Theresa (Hadalska) Paliki, she lived in Newington for the last 63 years and was a member of St. Mary's Church. She was employed by Keeney Mfg. Co. in Newington for many years. Nellie is survived by her sons, Carl Lenart and his wife Christine of South Windsor, Peter Lenart of Newington, and Joseph Lenart and his wife Trudy of Atlanta, GA; and her daughter, Alice Payette and her husband Robert of Preston; seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Her funeral service will be held on Thursday, 9 a.m. at Newington Memorial Funeral Home, 20 Bonair Ave., Newington, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial, 10 a.m. at St. Mary's Church, Newington. Burial will be in St. Mary Cemetery, New Britain. Family and friends are invited to call on Wednesday from 5-8 p.m. at Newington Memorial. Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Pl., Memphis, TN 38105. To share a memory with the family please visit www.newingtonmemorial .com.
Published in the Hartford Courant on 9/25/2007.

Deer Haven Lobster Cookout Sept 2007

The highlighted link will bring you to a Picasa Web Album of our Deer Haven Campout with the Seaport Sams Camping Club.

we're camping this weekend

call the cell or email if you need us!!bob and ALICE

Going South in March :)

This note was sent to our friends in the Seaport Sams Camping Club

Alice and myself have decided to attend the Good Sam Rally in Perry Ga, March 12th thru March 17th, 2008. We’ve sent in our reservation, and now have our first 2008 campout booked which should help us get through the winter. I’ve blind-cc’ed this note to all our Club members who have E-mail, as it occurs to us that it would be a blast if some other Seaport Sam members decided to come, and wanted to convoy along. The time frame for this Rally is good, in that the worst of Winter should be behind us so exiting and re-entering New England shouldn’t be too much of a problem. We’re probably going to make this a two week jaunt as we want to spend some time in the Savanna Ga area (we were there last year but on a tighter schedule) and also visit with some relatives in the Atlanta area. My thought was that we could work out departure and arrival dates with whoever was also going, and a loose itinerary. I know some folks don’t like to travel alone long distances (it’s about 1100 miles to Perry, Ga) and this might be a good way to break out of Winter into Spring. This past winter when we went South (it was a bit earlier, in February) we stayed winterized until Savanna and then flushed the water system at camp and had no problems.

Right now we’re looking at the Optional Tours http://www.therally.com/events/tours.cfm and getting ready to make our decisions on them….some look VERY good and interesting.

So, if anyone out there is interested click on the links above and call (860 892-5484 or cell 860 460-7945) or e-mail us (r.payette@snet.net) and we’ll talk!!

Best, Bob & Alice

An E-mail rant…………

There are people who are “connected” and use e-mail, through their desktop, notebooks and smart phones and who make it a point to not only check their e-mail often, but respond to it. Then there are others who have decided (and I think it’s a conscious choice) to be what could be called a peripheral user. These folks check in just periodically and may or may not respond by e-mail….they actually find it easier to pick up the phone and call. There are also fringe groups who have no e-mail access at all but I’m not going there.
I’m no spring chicken (62 and counting) but I just do NOT understand the later two groups (limited or no e-mail participation). I’ll grant that the junk mail, and the requirement for filters and anti-virus, can get to be a bit distracting. That having been said, the ability to communicate in almost real time (to my way of thinking) supersedes the hassle. The kids get it (with their texting and IM), probably too much….but they are using the wonderful technological tools that twenty years ago were unthinkable to most of us. They’ve been using computers since their first days in school in many cases, and their ability to access the world’s information is wonderful. Not to date myself, but I do remember many a day that I had to trek to the local library (it was about a three mile jaunt, and we’d hitchhike or take the bus or walk) to get information for a late report or school project. If the entire class had been given the same subject your chance of finding decent reference material was slim to none, and there was no inter-library system back then that was usable for a school kid. Today that same information, magnified a zillion times, is available at the home or notebook or smart-phone keyboard in seconds and I’m just awed by how information access has improved over the last few decades.
This all brings me back to my rant, which comes down to this: I find it difficult to imagine going back to the pen and paper letter mode of communication as a primary source, and I can’t imagine not having the world’s newspapers available 24/7 on line, as well as the rest of the internet information gold mine. There are problems and hassles….phishing, junk, porn etc that goes on & on. The upside is so wonderful and grand we’d be greatly diminished if it wasn’t available to us. Sometimes we do get TOO connected, and we have to make choices on our responses….but it’s great to be able to make these communication choices in 2007. See you on the web! Bob Payette

On the Road Again...for sure!

On the road again! As of today we can start driving, and lift up to 16 lbs. Life is GOOD! :)

Update on my surgery and recovery....

We were re-admitted to Hartford Hospital on Friday August 10th, and discharged on Tuesday August 14th. This re-hospitalization was due to an infection in my leg where they had earlier taken some vein for the heart-bypass graft. It took IV antibiotics to knock it down, and it now seems to be healing quite well. If friends would like to chat please feel free to call as we do have some time on our hands these days! Cell: 860 460-7945.

Back home from Hospital safe and sound....

I'm home from Hartford Hospital safe and sound. Call on the cell preferably if you'd like to chat (860 460-7945). Bob

Our Simba died today....what a bummer :(

Simba after his bath...

Our Sun Conure died today....just fell off the perch, and died at the Vets in Old Lyme. We have no idea what happened but it was very sudden. He was ten years old.

Just back from Ginny-B Campground

Our camping group (Seaport Sams) just came back from our latest jaunt. Click the title link to view the Picasa web album from this event.

New member of the Payette household....

We went to a Cavalier dog show in Danbury to talk to some breeders and found Kincaid....click the link. Joanna is holding the little devil in the album cover.

Video from the CT Samboree 2007, Brooklyn CT

Click the link above for a 15 minute video from the 2007 CT Samboree held in Brooklyn CT. This video features The Illusions Band, the Saturday night headline entertainment.
BROAD BAND CONNECTION HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

We just came back from the CT Good Sam Samboree in Brooklyn CT....

Click the link above to view photos from the Connecticut Samboree, which was held at the Brooklyn Fairgrounds in Brooklyn CT. Our camping club (Seaport Sams) had 27 "rigs" at this event. With the exception of Saturday, the weather was good and we all had a great time.

Goodnight Gracie :(

If you have Broadband, click on the title link for a short video of happier days (22.2 MB, so be patient while she loads).

A very good friend, a GREAT dog...the best... Gracie died this weekend. We're heartbroken.
To view a Picasa web album of photos taken over the years of our Gracie, please click the link below: http://picasaweb.google.com/BobNLPS/GoodnightGracie

Off for the weekend...

Alice and myself will be off for the weekend...time to get away from the computers and re-charge the batteries.

Things are settling down a bit...we hope!

We finally got the word that our tree damaged Miata can be repaired and we'll have her back next week. In the interim the computer on our Prius lost its programing after I'd left the dealer for a routine oil change, the car stopping dead in front of the Coast Guard Academy in New London. The dealer sent a wrecker, we towed it back and they put me in a rental car yada yada yada. We got the Prius back yesterday...seems a fuse blew on the ECM (?) which knocked out the programming and they've re-set everything back up. Major inconvenience but no harm, no foul. Today is going to be busy as we're moving Alice's mom from a nursing home in Mystic to one much closer to us in Jewett City. This will enable us to visit more often as it's right in the middle of our normal shopping-work grid.

The "Plan" was to beat the weather and get home from our camping trip where it was safe......

So much for good intentions ! :(. We lost power at about 3am....sometime after that Joanna heard a loud crash. When we got up, this is what we found....Between the multiple dents, broken windshield and side glass, the destruction of the convertible top etc we're not too optimistic about the future of my toy Miata. NOT a good start for the week. We finally got power back on at 4pm.

We just returned from our first campout of the season....

We just returned from our first camp out of the season at Deer Haven CG in Lisbon. There were several challenges to include weather, and we're looking forward to the better weather that's coming....for sure! Click on the title for a small photo album from this event.

In photo: The pot luck selection Saturday April 14th, 2007

Camping season has arrived.....kind of!

We're gearing up to leave tomorrow for our first camp out of the season with our Seaport Sam's Camping Club. Of course the weather for tomorrow is supposed to be either a hard rain or snow....isn't that always the way? We've got the motor home pretty much set to go....putting the essentials back in, have sanitized the water system etc and she's on the "launch pad" while we load her. Of course the noodles are going nuts because they LOVE to go camping and don't want to be left behind. On our Florida-Georgia jaunt a few months back they had to stay home and it took days to get their noses back in joint, for sure!

Busy is not the word for it!!

Recently I've been like the proverbial one armed juggler.....Busy, Busy, Busy. We've set up websites for the Preston Ethics Commission, and the Preston Building & Facilities Committee. Yesterday we were at an all day District Conference for District 1 of United States Power Squadron....click the hyper linked title to see photo's from that event.

Our recent motor home trip to Georgia & Florida..

We arrived home on Saturday March 3rd....

We arrived back home on March 3rd after a very interesting two weeks on the road. It was very warm and comfortable in the Southland, and a nice place to visit...BUT...the Preston woods is looking pretty good for sure :).

We're in Savanna, Ga

Leaving the house in Preston was the hard part...the driveway was iced over from the recent Northeaster and I was very afraid we were going to slide into a tree getting out. It was NASTY :(, but we did get out without a scratch.
We have arrived at a KOA in Savanna Ga, and will stay in this area for a few days before heading to Jacksonville for the Power Squadron conference. If anyone needs me, call the cell phone @ 860 460-7945 or submit a reply to this post and we'll get you when we can. The roads were messy in DC (recent snow) and we had some snow showers in Pa, but all in all it was a nice trip South. We finally quit and rested after reaching the South side of Richmond Va late Sunday. Do NOT call Alice's cell...like an eejet I left her charger home and it's dead :(.

Almost on the road...packing up the rig 17 Feb 07..

Well, we're about ready to leave and we're not going to miss the cold and ice. I'll be checking in now and again while we're on the road to our e-mail at r.payette@snet.net so feel free to give me a shout (as long as you don't want an instant response!). We should have wireless connections in Jacksonville and later in Atlanta, but there is a big question mark about some of the other scheduled stops along the way. Our driveway is a sheet of ice so we'll be exiting VERY carefully, for sure!

Just uploaded new Blog template....

We've just changed the "look and feel" of the Blog with a new template...I think we like it!

Blogger problem is now RESOLVED :)

It looks like the Blogger problem accessing prior posts and archive items has been fully resolved.

Major issues with Blogger functionality...

There are some technical issues that are preventing past posts from displaying as well as archived items. Please be patient while the Google engineers do their work :). Bob Payette

Time to start thinking about going South!

We'll be starting this weekend to get the motor home set up for our trip South in February. The Power Squadron Annual Meeting is being held in Jacksonville Fla the week of Feb 19th, so we'll be going there and then over to Ocala to visit brother Fred and his wife Ellie. It will be a good break from this weather...as I'm typing this it's 15 deg F and downright chilly! .

Happy New Year!!

Can you believe it, 2007?