Filip told me the polish word for these, but I forget what it was. I think it was only a few syllables longer than the title above. In any case, our second polish dining experience included the two standard items: breaded meat and potatoes, plus beets and salad in a creamy dressing. Traditionally the meat was supposed to be ground pork, but the closest at the supermarket was ground turkey. The meat patties were like breaded hamburgers with extra onions and yummy spices inside. As usual it was a nice hearty meal.
We’ve started a tradition of having an approximately weekly “family” style dinner at my apartment where someone makes dinner for everyone to enjoy. There are four people in my house (Megan, Filip, Gal, and myself), plus we usually invite one or two others over for the event. It is great to let someone else cook dinner for a night, and it is nice to have an excuse to take a break, drink some wine, and enjoy some good food. 
Today Megan and I took a hike up Mount Toby just north of Amherst in Leverett. I had read that the hike starts near a waterfall, but the stream was all dried up when we went, so the Roaring Falls trail had a pretty weak roar. The very start of the hike quickly climbs up along some steep cliffs where you need to watch your step. After that, it levels off and follows an old fire road along the creek to the top of the mountain. The leaves are only beginning to change now, but it was a very pretty hike.