Between Christmas and New Year’s, we had an unexpected visit from our son Seth. Although his main purpose was to see a good friend of his who was in town from California, the fact that he came was our good luck.

The first morning he was here, he was a special guest on Minnesota Public Radio News for a one-hour discussion on travel “bucket lists” via Skype. How odd it was to be sitting in our dining room streaming Minnesota Public Radio live on my computer and listening to Seth who was on the air chatting with the host in Minnesota, but talking from his bedroom in Cambridge just above us. The wonders of technology…

Boston had its first snow of the unseasonably warm winter the night he arrived. More good luck, he shoveled for us in the afternoon, no technology involved…