It's been a fairly quiet day here. A little warmer than yesterday, but there's still that rather biting wind. Having the sunshine is wonderful, though, and according to the thermometer just outside my office window, on the south side of the house, it was a balmy 72 degrees this afternoon. The other side of the house registered somewhere in the low 40's, but for a short time on our small deck protected on three sides, it was summer!

Speaking of summer, I believe at least a few of our Joe's Ponders are heading home to the Pond a bit earlier than usual from their southern retreats. I'm guessing some have been dismayed at the weather there and may feel the need to experience the spring rites of muddy roads and retreating ice in their beloved Vermont. Welcome back! I'm sure we'll produce some interesting weather no matter when folks arrive back at Joe's.

Meantime, "Barre Day" has come and gone in Florida. Homer (Fitts) sent us a card from Venice, Florida, saying he and Margaret are enjoying the sun and friends. Homer was anxious that lots of Barre folks gather for their annual party in Florida. Maybe he'll send more detailed information later. He did say he was selling lots of Ice-Out tickets, and that's a really good thing. Go Homer!

You'll notice on home page of the web site (www.joespondvermont.com) that we have an addition on the red banner where we post special notices. Kate Chatot's book, "Parcel 141" has just been published after several years of meticulous fact gathering by Kate and a good many ups and downs as she fought to protect her rights. It should be an interesting and informative read. Click on the tag to go to "Local Products" from the home-page menu to see the book and find out how to get it. Congratulations, Kate!

My cousins, Earle and Martha Sanborn dropped in for a short visit this afternoon. It's always good to see them, and has been quite a while since we got together. I bump into my other Sanborn cousin, Mayo and his wife, Ida, more frequently as they often come to Cabot for various occasions like suppers, fairs and other events. Earle and Martha were coming returning from a basketball game their grandson was playing in. Martha and Ida grew up and went to school in Cabot, so they know a lot of Cabot families.

Earle and I got into some McAllan family history - his mother and mine were sisters. The McAllans were an immigrant family from Scotland. My grandmother came with six young children in 1907, to join my grandfather who had come to America the year before. They landed in Boston and went to East Barre where my grandfather was employed as a blacksmith in the granite industry. My grandmother died in 1921, so I never knew her; my grandfather died in 1942, while living with my parents here in Cabot, and I remember him very well. Earle never knew them, but my cousins visited Scotland a few years ago, and went to Aberdeen, where the McAllans lived. There are still a few McAllans there - in fact they brought back some McAllan Scotch Whiskey we all tasted and pronounced excellent. Another set of cousins from the Bolton side of the family also visited Scotland a couple years ago and brought me some whiskey-laced jams made by a company named McAllan. That was good, but I definitely prefer to keep my whiskey and jam separated.