Happy New Year from Somerville, MA!!

We spent New Year’s Eve and Day at Kathleen’s sister’s house in Somerville, MA, doing as little as possible after a busy and active two weeks in France. The Boston-area weather was uninviting, with light snow and gusty winds, so staying indoors was an easy choice. Somerville, north of Cambridge, was established in 1842 when it separated from Charlestown—the oldest neighborhood in Boston and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 17th century. Somerville holds the distinction of being the most densely populated municipality in New England, with its 82,000 people nestled into just four square miles. It is home to Tufts University and was the site of one of the first hostile acts of the American Revolution, when British soldiers raided a gunpowder magazine in September of 1774, seven months before the battles of Lexington and Concord. Map link: Somerville, MA

Tomorrow we fly home to St. Paul, and we are very much looking forward to being in our own home again!

Bonus Question: Which two U.S. Presidents died five hours apart on the same day?

Bonus Question Answer: Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both passed away on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Adams’ last words reportedly were “Thomas Jefferson survives,” even though his friend and former rival had actually passed away earlier that day. James Monroe, our fifth president, also died on July 4, five years later.