Sunday, December 29, 2019

Winter walk & potluck lunch - December 25, 2019

HIKE & PARTY REPORT

WED, 25 December 2019, Winter walk & potluck lunch

Walk Leader & lunch host:  Susan Sabin

~5 miles, 10:00 am hike start from 40 Seaver Street, Wellesley, MA



Walkers (7+):  Susan, Adena Schutzberg, Butch Pemstein, Janet Miller, Marie Keutmann (& Zoe), Mike Hanauer, and Richard Vignoni.

A small group of walkers showed up at Susan’s on Christmas morning, each of whom reported that traffic was non-existent.  Two of our group of seven neglected to bring along their microspikes, not quite believing that the “wilds” of Wellesley would indeed be forested, wet, and wild.  In spots, those two had to proceed on all fours.  Not a one of the sensible group laughed, nor did anyone hitch a pony ride!  However, the good news for those in the minority was that they got much more exercise than those of us who stayed upright.
 
It was a lovely walk.  At about a half mile from walk's end, we shed our microspikes and proceeded down the middle of a major street (still no cars, AT ALL).  Lunch was intimate and, in the spirit of the WWs, spirited.  A wonderful time was had by all. 


Report by Susan Sabin


Monday, December 23, 2019

Winter hike & Hanukkah party - December 18 , 2019

HIKE & PARTY REPORT

WED, 18 December 2019, Winter hike & Hanukkah party
Party Hosts: Marie Keutmann, Richard Vignoni, & Barbara Jacobs
Party Cooks: Barbara, Judi Burten, Richard, & Helen
Wouldbe Ride Leader:  Glenn Pransky - ride cancelled due to poor road conditions
Hike Leader:  Marie Keutmann, assisted by Zoe
~4 miles, 11:00 am hike start from 68 Birchwood Lane, Lincoln, MA

Hikers (22 + Zoe):  Marie, Adena Schutzberg, Bob Anderson, Butch Pemstein, Carol Anderson, David Wean, Don Mannes, Glenn Pransky, Janet Miller, Judith McMichael, Julie Dodd, Margie Lee, Nancy Smith, Richard Fortier, Richard Mandel, Robyn Maislin, Ron Beland, Sally Chapman, Susan Broome, Susan Sabin, and first-timers Marlene Heroux and Terry Snyder.

Party Only (20):  Barbara, Helen, Judi, Richard, Bill Widnall, Bob Wolf, David Fay, Eli Post, Elizabeth Wicks, Frank Aronson, Gene Ho, Gerry Sheetoo, Harriet Fell, Janet Miller, Jerry Green, John Allen, Kathy Halmi, Ken Hablow, Mike Hanauer, and Patrick Ward.

The weather gods were not very kind to us for biking, but they gave us a crisp, sunny day that was perfect for hiking.  Marie and her dog, Zoe, led twenty-one hikers on a scenic, snow-covered trail around Farrar Pond.  Most of the hikers were wearing traction devices on the sometimes narrow trails.

While others were out hiking, Richard, Barbara, Judi, and Helen were hard at work in the kitchen and setting up for the party.  Barbara and Judi arrived early with a turkey that Barbara had cooked that morning, along with regular and sweet potato latkes and a kugel.  Helen continued the tradition of making homemade applesauce, while Richard, who had spent a great deal of time cooking in advance (including hummus, baba ghanouj, cranberry sauce, cranberry relish, and guacamole), carved the turkey.  Barbara and Judi reheated food in our finicky oven and set up and distributed food to several tables, so it was ready to go when the hikers returned. The many food contributions included some really nice appetizers, salads, side dishes and desserts. The delicious food and drink was followed by the traditional Yankee Swap.

Thank you to all those who participated and contributed, and to those who stayed behind and helped with clean-up.  Many thanks to the cooks and setup crew of Barbara, Helen, Judi and Richard and especially to Barbara who got up early and cooked the turkey remotely, due to our finicky oven, and who so nicely orchestrated the setup.

Lost and Found: Only one item was left behind:  a purple bandanna.

Report by Marie Keutmann.