Oh The Memories We Have

I suppose I should be doing a year end review of my life and blog today, New Year's Eve Eve.  But I'm not quite ready to.

Do a review, that is.

It was hard picking a topic.  After all, my Sirius XM subscription has expired - about the fifth time this week. Ditto my McAfee anti virus.  Fed Ex is still trying to find me to deliver a package.  I've won so many things from so many famous retailers and I'll have to get around to checking those emails out (NOT!)  And, some well known streaming service wants me to subscribe for only $2 a year (plus a package of ransomware and viruses, most probably.)

One of my favorite bloggers announced that her post yesterday would be her last one.  I'll miss her.

Wisteria window, Roberson Mansion, Binghamton New York

One can tire of today's world and think about years past.  I love visiting historic buildings and mansions.  But I wouldn't have been one of those living in those mansions, unless I (perhaps) was a servant.

Still, once you've reached the magic decade that begins with a seven, you have a lot of stored up memories.

Today, I caught myself thinking "let's go to the brewery that is where Pat Mitchells Ice Cream used to be."  Pat Mitchell died in 2002.

It's so comfortable being nostalgic, especially as another year draws to a close. I had a conversation with a cousin earlier this month.  My son and her daughter are four months apart in age.  When they were little, my cousin, her husband and their daughter came up a couple of times on the day before New Years Eve (what I call New Years Eve Eve) for a New Year's Eve event called First Night.

For the price of a button, families in the Binghamton, New York area could have a lot of non-alcoholic fun, and we did.  Have fun, that is, despite the weather.  I remember one of the times they came up here it was close to 0F (-18C).  But we were younger then, and a lot more tolerant of the cold.

If I remember correctly, the First Night national organization actually was headquartered in Binghamton for a couple of years. But I believe our last First Night was held in 2010-I know we lost some major funding.  First Night is alive and well, just not in Binghamton, New York.

My cousin was so disappointed to hear that.

I miss First Night, too.  

The closest we have is an annual New Years Eve family friendly celebration called First Knight, in a small village in our county - Windsor, New York, population about 880. It's a big community effort.  Someone I know who lives in Windsor does some volunteer work for them and it would be great if we went and checked it out.  But now that we are in that magic decade beginning with seven, we'd rather just sit home and watch a movie.

Growing older does that to you.

Clock, Roberson Mansion, Binghamton, New York

Time waits for no one at all.  

Clock, Lorenzo State Historical Site, Cazenovia, New York

Time marches on.

Tomorrow, I will take a quick look back at 2023 and some of the travel spouse and I did.  Nothing major - no cruises, no flying, no international travel.  But, oh, the places we went.  Each was interesting in its own way.

Come to think of it, in some ways, 2023 was a very good year.

I wish the same for you all, dear readers, in 2024.