Thursday, January 2, 2025

Happy New Year

The weather outside was frightful, at least for a while. It's been a long time since I saw the thermometer read 2 degrees. But it did, and hovered there for a while. It didn't deter three intrepid boys and their little sister from trying to play in the snow though. And, when it did snow again, it was a little warmer and more fun outside. But the lake froze, the stream behind the house froze, and my toes froze.

But no complaints. We had hoped for snow for Christmas, and we got it. Not too much. Good enough for some sledding. Then it really warmed up, and all the snow went away. Until today.

Joe and his family were first to arrive, leaving DC at around 4 in the morning to get here by mid-day Saturday. Margaret and her family came up the next day, the same day that Joe drove to Boston to pick up Annie whose flight from India was on time!

As was probably true chez vous, there was some excitement and lots of speculation about Santa – his arrival, the fireplace, the toys on the floor that might cause him to trip, the reindeer tracks, the cookies and carrots, the letters. Oh, we also went to church Christmas Eve, and that too added to the overall excitement.

Christmas Day was predictable: surprises, chaos, gasps of wonder, paper, and then serious "some assembly required" work. All fun.

Mary spent a lot of time in the kitchen preparing meals; Leonor made her duck rice dish for Christmas Eve, and Annie added her own vegan recipes.

These days remind me of Pomfret when we all descended (ascended?) after Christmas and the same pandemonium and fun reigned over the house. Pop always wrote about how special those days were, wishing that when we were grandparents we would be able to experience the same. The contrast with the normal quiet in the house is welcome.

Some other highlights – nice to see Simon and John playing so well together; nicer to hear the pleases and thank yous, especially directed at Mimi/Avo Mary; nicest to have quiet time for naps for Baba/Avo John (and a few others as well); fun to go swimming and to the movies to see Sonic (Joe said the book was better); funner to sneak in some excursions to Dunkin Donuts, Panera's and our favorite pizza place; and funnest to play with Luisa's karaoke microphone present … that she will be taking home with her.

Yesterday, it was a return to quiet, as Joe and family did a reverse early am departure. Margaret and Andrew and Simon had already left on Saturday, braving an ice storm which we hope had turned to rain; and Annie escaped to go to Boston to visit friends. Hmm, she doesn't want to spend New Year's Eve as 5 Hancock.

Worthy of mention as well was Joe's detour on his way back from Providence to see a friend from St. Andrews. Where did the detour take him? 233 Pomfret Street, and he knocked on the door, and the Huoppis invited him in. He said that they mentioned a few times they were pondering putting the house on the market. Any buyers?

I hope the Dickson brothers' families all had as wonderful a Christmas as we did, with lots of joy and laughter and togetherness and marvel and singing and stepping on toys and puzzles and games. Speaking of games, did you know that Thomas cheats at Trouble? So do Simon and John. ( Maybe me too.) They have totally adopted the Vince Lombardi approach – winning is everything.

So, New Year's means resolutions. Got any??  I do. Or at least did. Maybe I'll do an every day but New Year's Day resolution. Let's see how long I can keep it.

Today is my sister Ann's birthday. She would be 72. She always complained about her birthday being too close to Christmas, that people just held over their Christmas gifts for her birthday.  Joe didn't complain, though since he probably got extra presents when we celebrated in Pomfret, with everyone there.

With that, love from up here.

 

 




Sunday, December 15, 2024

Only ten more sleeps

The snow is gone, but it sure is cold up here. In a few days it will warm up and rain. But we want snow! Not too much, and not in March, thanks. But for Christmas, yes.

Cold weather means we are rapidly going through our woodpile. Not sure if it will last through the winter, so I went out to try to split some more logs. No can do. But I was able to put a shovel in the ground and get a few more carrots. A harvest in December?

Yesterday, Mary went to Worcester for the annual New England swim meet, and she came home with a rubber ducky (first in her heat,) a slew of ribbons, mostly blue, and a hair-raising story about someone collapsing in the pool. After a long time of medical attention and transfer to the hospital, the reports are that the swimmer-patient is okay. Fingers crossed. (The swimmer was my age.)

Our big news since the last letter was that we had to cancel our trip to Fairport. I felt a tickle in my throat that turned into the sniffles, and thought it best not to expose anyone. Too bad, as it would have been great to catch up with David and Paula. But, it was the right choice, as the cold went into my chest, and stuck around for a while. Fortunately, Mary didn't get anything, thanks to Airborne, Zicam, garlic and ginger, and Sankar's father herbal mix. It worked for her, but not me.

Haircuts were on the agenda, but no dump. Must be getting ready for the holidays to get your haircut early and let it grow out in case it was a total mess-up. Anyway, we also saw Luisa, Thomas, and John got their coifs all nicied up.

Photos of Ronan down in Baltimore show an alert baby who's even smiling and perhaps laughing a little? I thought that didn't happen for months. Must be on the college track.

Facebook is my source of all news, at least Dickson news. The photos of Bill and family at the Polar Express in Denver show them quickly settled into their new landscape. Also, I found photos of Matthew and family also out doing Christmas activities, even without front teeth, for Everett.

We had a few conversations with John and Marilyn as he had an operation to take care of a gall bladder issue. Marilyn is looking at a knee operation soon too. Uggh.

Out in Illinois, Andrew and Lur went to a Wishbone Ash concert and gave it two thumbs up! Now there's a group I hadn't heard in a long time. Not sure I can name one of their songs.

We went to a concert as well, but of Christmas music. Wonderful full choral music, but only a few Christmas songs that we recognized. Still good. We'll try again today, at a different venue.

Finally, I wanted to share with you that I have a new Afghan student. The last one moved away with the acceptance of a better job in Springfield MA. My new student showed up in Pittsfield right before Thanksgiving.  His story, at least what I've figured out so far, is heart-breaking, as he fled his country since he was in the military and has spent the last few years in Pakistan, unable to see his family. He doesn't have a word of English, has a sixth-grade education, but proudly showed me pictures of both his family and army unit. It will be interesting to see him grow in language and confidence and in contributing in the year ahead.

With that, wishing you all the merriest of Christmases. Love from up here.

 

  



Sunday, December 1, 2024

Dateline, the nation’s capital.


Let's start this letter with the birthdays. And I do mean birth day. Welcome to Ronan Zoubek Dickson. All six pounds and ten ounces, and nineteen inches. Congratulations to Erin and Sean and one happy big brother Kiernan. What a nice name too!

Let's also shout out to Andrew S and Sankar who had anniversaries of their births this week.

And what were you all thankful for this year? For being together at Joe and Leonor's house for a spectacular dinner. Leonor's parents were there all the way from Lisbon for their first Thanksgiving.

We had come down with a loaded car on Tuesday in a surprisingly light traffic drive. Loaded with? Turkey and fixings and other contributions which along with pies from Margaret and sides from Joe and Leonor meant for a full table. We felt as if Annie and Sankar were almost there since we had been in the phone with them for 90 plus minutes earlier in the day.

Where were you last Thanksgiving? Easy for us as we celebrated in India. Can't say we started any new traditions there but we had happy memories.

Out in Dundee, Andrew and Lur played host to Claire and Daniel. They had just seen Claire at her orchestra concert before going to a Ripon football game. Further west we hear that Billy broke his foot during their move. Ouch.

Given the forecasts we expect there was a lot of white stuff at the Fairport Thanksgiving. I think Melodie and Jeff had driven oven up and I hope can make it back easily.

No white stuff for Annie and Sankar who are traveling this week, headed to Mumbai. And no snow for Margaret who had spent a week in Peru helping out on the APEC meeting that Biden and a few hundred of his closest friends attended. She had a few choice stories about the Chinese delegation that are not for this weekly letter.

And another traveler was Timmy who officially moved to Rhode Island. He's renting Maura's apartment. He packs it in as he had cataract surgery too! His first challenge will be to buy a new car after the accident totaled his last one.

I have a new name for this pre-Christmas season. It's called light show season. Seems like all these museums have discovered a way to balance their budgets. But nobody does it like the National Zoo where we went last night. A spectacular walk and we weren't the only ones out in the cold to take it all in.

We went to our old church in Bethesda with Joe and family this morning. A good message for the waiting inherent in Advent. Don't miss now. And I think I'm going to get an Advent wreath.

Enjoy the don't miss now season!

Love from the nation's capital.








Friday, November 15, 2024

Happy Thanksgiving

Guess what the big news of the past two weeks was? I know what you're thinking, but you're wrong. It was Luisa's christening. There were so many moments in the service that were touching and fun, unexpected and a little anxiety producing, but let's just leave it at "really special." It was supposed to take place a couple of weeks ago, but Joe and Leonor decided to postpone it so that we could be there (our plane from Lisbon was delayed.)  

A short recap – Luisa was a little worried, but the minister put her at ease (so did Leonor).  She was beautiful as the star of the show, but I guess I'm biased. There were, in Mary's words, three little "puppies" rolling around the floor at various times, that is to say young boys, named Thomas, John, and Simon. But they were well-behaved and made it to the end without incident! You can see them in the front in this picture, invited up there by the priest, who even let them dip their hands in the water. Jeff and Melodie were there, as well as a few friends from all generations.

We then headed back to Joe and Leonor's for a meal, chatter, and backyard playing. The chatter was not all about the same subject that had consumed us for the past year, but a little of it. Jeff and Melodie were at the tail end of a bout with pneumonia, so I got my third pneumonia shot this week (unrelated as the doctor recommended it this week at my annual physical.)  There was no school on Monday or Tuesday, so we took the boys to the pool for a few hours, and then went over to Margaret and Andrew's for supper. They were contemplating putting a bid on a house in their neighborhood, but given what happened Tuesday, we're glad they held off. This week, Margaret has been in Lima, helping prepare for President Biden's visit there tomorrow. I bet it's changed a lot since she lived there (1999 we left.)

While in DC, we heard that Sean, Erin, and Kiernan had come down the week before  for a visit with Joe and Leonor. Naaaiiice.

Annie and Sankar were back in India, but off on another trip. This time they went to Kolkata for Sankar's visa interview which did not go well. (Sad face emoji here.) Then they headed off to what looked to be a most spectacular park north of Kolkata.

More news up here is that Timmy is moving. He has found a place in Rhode Island and not just any place. He will be renting out the apartment at Maura's house. In the process of taking a load down, he had a car accident, but he's okay. His car, not so much.

We went to a movie, Conclave, and recommend it. Actually, we went to two movies, the other being a fund-raiser for Arrowhead which showed the film of Billy Budd, this being the 100th anniversary of the publication of the book. For those of you who like numbers, the film came out in 1962, exactly 62 years ago.

Speaking of Billy, here's a belated Halloween picture of his crew. They, by the way, have moved into their new home.

And we spoke with Paula on our drive back home from DC. All is well in Fairport, and we hope to stop by there after Thanksgiving.

What else passes for excitement up here? Dentist, doctor appointments, swim meet, fall garden clean-ups, and bridge. No haircut or dump, although we did get our new trash cans from the city. That was our political controversy over the past few years.

With that, we pass along our best wishes. Love from up here.  And Happy Thanksgiving.






Thursday, October 31, 2024

Halloween, Diwali, Birthdays, and Demolition

Happy Halloween!  Or should I say Happy Halloween week? How many parties did your children have? How many different costumes? 

Halloween does bring back many memories, such as the trick played at Cunningham Road when someone soaped the screens; I'm not sure we ever knew who did that. Or the cape that we used to share (or possibly fight over) for our costume.  Here's an entry from the real Pop's Weekly Letters, 1980: "I spent some time trying to create some order in the chaotic basement. Do you remember the long cloak that we found in the attic in Cunningham Road and which I think each of you wore at some Halloween?  Well, it finally bit the dust (or mold} and is now at the dump."

There are other more recent memories, of Joe as a mummy, converted to a car accident victim when the paper wrapping started falling off, or Margaret as an M&M, or Annie as a Princeton cheerleader. What's the best part of Halloween? The candy that we always buy for the trick-or-treaters who never venture back behind the haunted house in front of ours.

Except that maybe they will this year, because (drum roll) that house is no longer there. That occupied a good chunk of our attention these past two weeks. Once the pest control and asbestos removal requirements were out of the way, it was just a matter of scheduling the equipment. The excavator showed up Tuesday afternoon, so we knew the next day was a go. Sure enough, by 7am the crew was there, and they began at 7:30. Two hours later they were done with the tear down. The remainder of the day and the next was removal of debris, and Friday was levelling and rolling the yard.

A friend suggested we do a time lapse on our IPhone, and it worked.  Two hours in twenty-four seconds. Unfortunately, I couldn't upload it here. Maybe on Facebook.  

We spent pretty much all day Wednesday in front-row seats watching. Mary's nieces and brother Timmy were here to keep us company, which made the emotions of the day a little easier. Each time the crew shut down work, we would all go over and scavenge a little, pulling out bricks and a few other items. Corrinne mentioned that there was a custom to put a horseshoe in the side of the house facing north. Sure enough, not one minute later, we found a horseshoe at the bottom of the cellar hole, and a little while after that, I found another one, just lying on the foundation. We will find a suitable place for them.

What comes next? Not sure. But, I do have a pollinator flower mix, and am contemplating a pumpkin patch, a grape arbor, some fruit trees, some evergreen trees. Any other suggestions?

We need to get David over here to help out with landscaping ideas. He, by the way, mentioned that the senior housing group he's involved with has moved on to their next housing project. Paula was out when we talked, as she was at a Habitat for Humanity meeting! 

A few months ago, I remember writing that if you hear the word norovirus, run the other direction.  Apparently, Johnny didn't run fast enough, and he was down for the count. Terrible sickness.

Annie and Sankar are back in India, after a few weeks away, in Japan and Taiwan. Here's a picture of their Diwali celebration. 

It's October which is birthday month, so we send our wishes to Claire, Billy, and Kathleen. Anyone else? I think I hit Janet and Johanna earlier, but just in case, Happy Birthday!

Love from up here.

  

 

 






Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Home again

We're home.  Barely. Joe and Leonor once told us TAP Airlines (the Portuguese company) is short for "take another plane."  And we did just that. But TAP also gave us a Marriott to stay in while waiting and a bunch of meal vouchers.  But we got in very late Sunday night, and decided to drive home from Newark. Seemed like a good idea at 11pm. We were both awake. Not such a good idea once on the Taconic Parkway with no motels anywhere near.

Unfortunately, the delay meant we were going to miss Luisa's baptism, since our plan was to arrive and head to DC for the ceremony the following day.  Joe, and the minister at the church, were nice to postpone the baptism until we could be there. That didn't stop the party though as Margaret and Andrew and Simon headed over to join the cousins at the party. Leonor's brother was also there.  Looked like fun. FOMO.

Seems like everyone in the family was hiking these past two weeks. We have Colorado photos of Bill and Jen and family in the woods; Annie and Sankar are off on 5-day hike in rural Japan (yes there is such a thing as trees in Japan); and Joe and Leonor headed out to West Virginia for a taste of the country. Everett got a close encounter with a bird of prey on his outdoor adventure. And, I may have this wrong, but it looked like Jeff and Melodie were in the Minnesota woods (and lakes.)

We did a lot of walking in Austria, but really only one hike in the woods, up a mountain near Innsbruck. We didn't go all the way up the mountain, but for a while it seemed that's where we were heading. We can now check off hiking in the Alps on our non-existent bucket list. Most of our walking, up to 10 miles a day, was around the beautiful towns and cities, checking out museums and shops, palaces and shops, churches and shops. And restaurants and coffee houses. Since we had walked so much, we mistakenly felt we could splurge.

Food in Austria turned out to be a highlight. From beer gardens to a civilized lunch on the Danube River. But there were other highlights as well. The views obviously; going down, into a mountain, to see the oldest salt mine in the world; the Klimnt exhibit at the Belvedere Museum in Vienna; the medieval fair we happened upon outside of Innsbruck; meeting up with my childhood friend Steve Bidwell who took us under his wing in his adopted hometown, Wien (German for Vienna.)  Lots of memories, lots of photos, and few extra pounds. Despite the walking.

Once again, we were not the only ones traveling. John and Marilyn were on a cruise, with Colleen and Laura, but they were back in time for Milton the hurricane. Fortunately, they had only a little flooding on their street as they waited out the 80-mile winds. I should mention that it was a hurricane (Leslie) that caused our 36 hour delay in Lisbon. Never heard of Leslie the hurricane? Neither had I, as it was stalled over the Atlantic, right on our flight path home.  (I may try to get the copywrite for changing the way we name hurricanes – from Hurricane Milton to Milton the Hurricane. Sounds so much more combative, like a pro wrestler.)

Speaking of sports, I bet there's some joy somewhere on the streets of Jersey with the Mets defying all odds and surging at the right time. Not much joy somewhere on the streets of Dundee as the Brewers lost again in round one. Maybe even some joy in Fairport with the Yankees.

Let's close out with a happy birthday wish to Janet. 

Love from back here where we belong.

 





Wednesday, October 2, 2024

Europa

Dateline Salzburg

I had every good intention to do a letter before September ran out but I've either lost track of the days or lost track of everything. We closed out our Portugal chapter and have moved on to our Austria adventure. 

I used to say that after three days in a new country you're an expert and after three years you're an idiot. So now I'm in the expert phase in Austria. We know why Andrew and Margaret loved this place 

It's such an odd pairing - Portugal and Austria. Warm, sunny vs cold, cloudy, rainy. Understanding a little of the Romance language in Portugal to being completely befuddled by German. Wine vs beer. Drought vs. floods. Fish vs sausage. Our pairing came about only because of travel companions, different in each place but it made sense for us to combine especially as the airlines gave us an additional stop for free. 

Both wonderful though. Some highlights:

  • the butcher shop in Pinhao where we found the same butcher who was in a photo with Annie and Margaret eight years ago. He remembered us and showered us with free samples that led me to buy smoked sausages that have become my cologne on all my clothes.
  • Lunch with Leonor's family. A long, lingering, outdoor affair. Everyone there except Sebastian who had just landed in DC and was with Joe and Leonor. Would've liked to spend more time but ….
  • We had soccer games to go to. I think I'm done with European soccer leagues. I'll tell you later about the noise and the hooligan (playfully called ultras) gauntlet that I had to manoeuver through
  • The walk through vineyards and wine tasting in Pinhao … the evening of Fado that ended with the 79-year-old soccer teammates singing Old Nassau on request from the crowd
  • Should I mention our broken suitcase and repacking in the airport in a new costly one? No best leave that one out.
We met up with our Pittsfield friends yesterday at the airport and after a brief, costly panic at the car rental place, we were off to Salzburg. Next time we'll fill you in on this place.

We're not the only ones traveling. Annie and Sankar are making their way to Japan and sites nearby. Today they're in Singapore for a brief layover. And John and Marilyn are off on a cruise.

They managed to escape the worst of Helene on the east coast of Florida. But we have two sets of friends in Asheville who were hit hard, living through the devastation we all saw on tv, news feeds. Unbelievable. These disasters all seem remote until you know someone. I did check in with Rell but she's in Italy and missed whatever tore through Alabama.

Andrew and Lur hit the road as well, meeting up with a Lawrenceville friend in Wisconsin. They passed along this cute photo of Theo. Looks like Colorado agrees with him.

Today, we're going to have dinner and concert at the Salzburg castle. But to get there means a scary ride up a furnicular (fancy term for scary cable car/trolley). I'm pretty sure it won't be my last altitude encounter in the coming days.

So time to sign off with that scary thought.

Love from over here