What's new.

Lynne with Ella. Every week Lynne goes to Meaghan and Grant's to get what she calls her "Ella fix."

Marua has been offered an Internship at Boston University next year, to begin her graduate studies in Clinical Psychology.

Brenden (Lynne's son) graduated from Clark University on May 22, 2005. Maura will be going into her senior year at Providence. She is serving as an intern at Yale New Haven Hospital.

Dean's mom passed away on March 31, 2005. Although she was 92 at the time, her death was unexpected. See Memorial (as yet unfinished).

Dean's brother-in-law, Roy, recently went to Beverly Hills and ran into this famous famous celebrity.

We adopted Gimpy when his mother disappeared and we found him hurting. He appeared to have a broken leg and other damage. We fed him and protected him from an aggressive family of ducks. After a couple weeks he seems in pretty good health, although he limps a little. Maura calls him Tiny Tim.

Now we have to wean him away from us. He still shies away from other ducks, which is unfortunate. His wing feathers are growing now, and hopefully eveything will be okay.

(adendum: Gimpy recovered fully, met a female duck and eventually flew away. We hope to see him again next summer.)

Lynne and Dean went to Eastham, Mass., Cape Cod for their belated, September honeymoon. Had a wonderful time. This picture shows the cottage they stayed at.

They had a very small wedding. A Justice of the Peace and two witnesses, that's all. They told no one who was not involved beforehand, so as to avoid a fuss and keep things simple.

It was held in their backyard in the Shade Garden. The ceremony only took a few inutes, but it was just what they wanted it to be. Quiet, intimate, not on display, something that they could share almost in private. They did not have anything written beforehand. They thought it would be too contrived. And besides, they speak about their love to one another all the time. There really was nothing to say that was not already in their hearts.

Lynne's friend for many years, Darlene, performed the ceremony (see picture above). Rick and Sue (left) witnessed the event, and later joined Lynne and Dean for dinner at Fiddler's Restaurant.

Dean (always the writer) later put his thoughts of Lynne into words. You can read them at the following page: Wedding Day.

Lynne and Dean went to Providence Rhode Island on June 6th to see the spectacular WaterFire display. 14 times a years, 160 volunteers light up 100 braziers along the canal and basin in central Providence. Thousands of people come to see this, as the fires burn well into the night. Black boats silently fuel the flames while incredible music emanates from the basin and walls that shape the canal. It is almost a religious experience - like some grand ritual from ancient Greece (which the display is loosely modeled after).

Boats and gondolas provide a closer, deeper experience of the flames and music. What could be more romantic?

Along the walkways and bridges that grace the canals, street vendors offer souvenirs and treats

An art school is nearby, enriching the walkway with the displays of its students

This is a photo of the basin, but it hardly does justice to seeing it in real life. The flames, the sparks, the music and singing, thousands of spectators watching in awe.

The skyline is also incredible, a fantastic array of buildings huddled around the circled basin, their lights brilliant in the clean ocean air.

Content Design is slowly building its clientele. Most recently we took assignments for the Sue Bransfield for First Selectman campaign, and an economic development site for Cromwell, Connecticut. The MARC agency is finally uploaded to its own domain. Waiting in the wings is a site for Old Saybrook Family and Youth Services, and New England Training and Consulting. We still maintain the Clifford Beers site as well. We had brochures and inserts printed up, and shirts with their logo embroidered on them. Lynne also bought some pens with their company name and web site address for Dean's birthday. They look terrific.

We joined the Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce, and are meeting a lot of nice people.

Dean's nephew Jim got married on May 17th. Dean had the honor of being best man.

Jim is an engineer and served in Navy. He enjoys hunting and fishing and climbing trees.

Here's their wedding picture.

The wedding was held in Naugatuck, Connecticut. Everything went perfect - almost perfect. During a candlelighting ceremony, Lynne was asked to read something to the audience explaining the symbolism. As soon as she started to speak, the dj started playing the wedding march. He soon realized that he was not supposed to do that, but it was kind of too late for the people to hear the first part of her introduction.

Oh, well.

Nevertheless, the food was great, Mary Ann looked beautiful, Jimmy seemed more than happy, and now they are married.

Dean's mother, Loretta, had her 90th birthday last February. This photo shows her greeting one of Dean's oldest friends, Joe, and her cousin-in-law Harvey. The decapitated young woman in the picture is Crystal, the grand-daughter of one of Dean's sisters (Gloria, not shown). Gloria's husband Roy is in the background.

Loretta worked as a French interpretor for the State, and raised three children, including Dean's sisters Audree and Gloria.

Lynne and Dean have finally launched Content Design as a small, home-run business specializing in professional writing and web site design.

Lynne and Dean recently babysat for a poodle that belongs to Dean's other nephew Darin. It was quite an experience. The dog's name is Scrappy and, as is typical of poodles, he has an incredible amount of energy. Dean witnessed the dog achieve a milestone, managing to bite his own tail while spinning like crazy on the bathroom floor.