Senior NCO Dining-In

I attended the 26th Annual Senior Non-commissioned Officer Dining-In for the Connecticut National Guard this past Thursday evening, this being my 8th time attending this festive event in which the format dates back to medieval times. This event is a formal dinner held for military members only, a similar event called the Dining-Out permits family members to attend and is usually toned down a bit. This year's dinner benefited the Children's Foundation of Connecticut and is usually a fun time for all who attend, including Connecticut Army and Air National Guard members as well as Marine Corp reservists, Navy reserve and active members, and a few active duty Coast Guard personnel, along with a Canadian Army Reservist and many retired National Guard members totaling about 250 people. The evening honors all those currently serving in the Armed Forces throughout the world as well as all other veterans.

Times have changed, but the event is still an annual tradition were military members gather for an evening of socializing, drinking and fine dining with some mild mannered fun thrown in for good measure. The gathering of military members, otherwise known as the mess, have to follow professional military protocol and courtesies throughout the evening.

New Home Possibly???

Jen and I are contemplating selling our home to purchase this Colonial home in Thomaston, CT built in 1922. The house sits on 3.5 acres of hilly property and boasts only 1200+ square feet of living space but has two front porches that could easily be converted into additional living space. The porches are both 20X10 on so you could add another 800 square feet, making this a comfortable 2,000+ square foot home as opposed to the 890 square feet we live in today. The house has 3 bedrooms, and outdated kitchen, 1 1/2 baths both outdated but the full bath does have a claw foot tub and an old pedestal sink worth keeping.

Thomaston is a cute little town in the Litchfield hills of Connecticut. This house is situated just off Route 254 near the town's center. It would mean a 15 mile longer commute for us both but the asking price is $192,000. There is no garage but it does have a 2 stall barn on the property. The only foreseeable problem is the paddock is on a steep hill, making turnouts for the horses in the winter problematic. Probably so much that Jen wouldn't consider retiring her pony Feather Blue there but leaving her in Mill brook, NY for the time being. We are weighing our options and talking with our realtor to see if its all worth it or not. We'll keep everyone posted on this new development!!!