Summer's on its way!

It's beginning to look a lot like summer.  Or at least a little. The grass is green, and in need of a mow. Daffodils and forsythia and warm weather and long days and work in the gardens. That means aching backs. But it's worth it. I am pretty sure that you all reading this are wondering, forsythia?  They came and went a long time ago.

It also seems like a long time ago, but since the last letter, we played host to two grandchildren along with Margaret and Andrew, who did a reverse spring break and came north. It was all Simon and Thomas though, with each day a new surprise, a new outing. Playgrounds, swimming at the Y, picking up pine cones, driving the tractor, playing in the stream, taking a walk by the dam and the stinky fish, reading Beauty and THE Beast, playing baseball and soccer, making volcanoes, we packed it in. They even charmed their ways to trips to Shaker Village, the Lego store, Panera, the Hot Dog Ranch and an ice cream place. They have so much energy and me not so much.

Margaret took the week off, but Andrew somehow squeezed in a week of work at his new job. They did get a little break as well as they went to a movie (Civil War) and trivia night at a restaurant in the next town. They came in second.

It's been pretty quiet since they left, and we've had to fill the void somehow.  Mostly with garden work, I think.

We talked to Andrew and Lur, and they had just come back from Kohler, Wisconsin where they saw Claire, of course, but also a concert at her school featuring Bela Fleck, the banjo player. Sounds great. Andrew is plugging away at his physical therapy. They passed up the opportunity to buy Billy's pontoon boat that we saw for sale on Facebook, followed by a very fast "sold" update. They're really moving.

Down in DC, sickness continues to dominate Joe and Leonor and friends. Joe got a second round of strep which saw him out of commission and on antibiotics for a few days. He was joined by Luisa also on antibiotics for an ear infection and then by Thomas for pink eye, or something. Unfortunately, their trips to the doctor did not coincide so I think they qualify for frequent flyer points for doctors visits. This will soon end, we hope, as we remember bouts of sickness as we changed and had to get accustomed to new environs.

Annie and Sankar returned to his hometown of Thanjavur so he could vote for the first time. They had to postpone their planned trip north as Annie's back went out and then Sankhar had a foot issue. We are hearing, from them, and seeing on the news, about the heat waves through the whole region. Annie said the other day it was 90 degrees at night, but felt like, according to her weather app, 108. Thank goodness for air conditioning. They will revisit their travel plans once the aches and pains recede.

And we had birthdays! Peter reached another milestone, and so did Elliott, at different ends of the spectrum. Pretty sure their days were special, and especially wonderful.  

And we hope yours are as well, whether it's your birthday or not. Love from up here. 

Eclipse-d

Did somebody say eclipse? Have we already forgotten about it? Seems like everyone saw it except us.  We were driving in Florida and didn't know what time it was supposed to be. Was it just cloudy or a partially blocked sun?

But we do have photos of eclipse viewings in Wisconsin, New York and Washington DC. In New Jersey they had an eclipse and an earthquake!  And an after shock.  And a blizzard. Hard to top that.

We were also in Florida for the snowstorm here, that turned out to be mostly rain and ice, so we're glad we missed it. We stayed with friends, in hotels, fancy and not so fancy, but the latter turned out to be more our style.  Coming back, we drove four eight-hour days in one week. That's lots of driving, but that's what you do on a road trip. We had a good book to listen to, Manhunt, the search for Abraham Lincoln's killer.

There were some firsts – first time in the Outer Banks, first time in Charleston, first time in the Everglades, first time on the Florida Keys. Wait there's more. We played pickleball with John and Marilyn for the first time. Fun.  And we have seen the future. It's called Buc-ees. Picture a gas station with 137 pumps and a convenience store bigger than Walmart. Coming to your location soon.

Recommendations? Key West was wonderful, with the exception of one loud and wild street. Mary was planning on moving there for a month at least. The Everglades was special; we really do parks well. Not sure we'd go back to the Outer Banks or Charleston, but at least we can check them off our nonexistent list.

John and Marilyn were great hosts. They are emerging from some health issues, but the key word is emerging; those health issues are past tense. Good meals, card games, walks and swims, and hours of conversation.

We also stopped in Hobe Sound and had a couple of hours of chat with cousins Sarah and Hope and her partner Bob. We reminisced about Greenwich, but also traded stories of house purchases and renovations. Everyone is well.

One more stop. Asheville, North Carolina to visit a college roommate.  Again, walking, talking, eating and card games.

We finally arrived back in DC for a night with Joe and family, and they treated us to rain-check Easter meal that we missed. Joe was still getting over jet lag from a week in China with his new best friend Janet. We arranged for Thomas to spend his vacation week with us in Pittsfield, so the next day we headed home, shortly after Margaret and Andrew also took off for Pittsfield. When we stopped at a rest stop on Rt 87 in New York, I heard someone call out "Dad!" And surprise! There were Margaret, Andrew and Simon. What are the chances of that?

On our way, we checked into Facebook when we could, and there was a mystery. Jen posted something about needing moving boxes. I wondered. Then I checked. Indeed, their trip out to Colorado was more than just a vacation, it was a house hunt. They put an offer down and are preparing to relocate to Denver. That's huge.

Our first day back was rainy and cold, but today, just like Camp Grenada, the sun came out and we played outside.

We spoke with Annie and Sankar who were on their first hour of a 24-hour train ride, back to Sankar's hometown of Thanjavur, in time for him to vote in India for the first time. We thought 24 hours was long, but they told us they were contemplating a 60-hour train ride next, up to the foothills of the Himalayas!  Hard to top that one too.

Conclusions from our trip? We were reminded about how big this country is, how different it is, and how there's room for everyone. There's hope.

I love ending a letter on hope. Love from up here.

 

 

 

 

April Fool’s Day

Some of what follows may actually be true.

Let's start with birthdays, of course. Simon turned five. Or was it four. He says five but his balloon says four. And I'm not sure there is such a thing as birth-days. I think they are all birthweeks. But he had so much fun.

We decided to come down for Easter but it would have been better to go for Simon's birthday a week earlier. A few minutes after leaving Pittsfield, Joe called to say he was just leaving urgent care with a diagnosis of strep throat. We momentarily thought of turning back but the car was packed and we forged ahead.

Not sure I've ever had strep but I know now I never want to get it. Sounds miserable. Margaret and Andrew graciously hosted us last minute. The next day Leonor went to urgent care as she was worried and feeling a little off. We offered to watch the boys while she was gone so we put on masks and headed over. Not wanting to spread illness back at Margaret's we left DC and abandoned our extensive Easter plans. We found a hotel on the Outer Banks and had a quiet Easter. We also found a Catholic Church that was packed. Overflowing.

Margaret and Andrew headed to Pennsylvania for Easter with Andrew's parents. Joe was feeling better so they had a proper Easter there.

Sounds like illness affected David and Paula's Easter plans as they had reduced numbers for David's famous grilled lamb.

We saw Peter and Janet (and Aunt Johanna) made their way for Easter with Kiernan. And Sean and Erin.

I think it was a quieter Easter in Illinois as Bill and Jen took the family west to Colorado for spring break.

Did anyone go to The Harvest? I should add that we drove by The Harvest when we were in Pomfret, and it is no more. Under new management with a new name. I hate change.

We spoke with Annie and she says it's getting hot now. They are still on their grand tour, staying at a farm south of Mumbai.

We took the blue highway route down to Charleston SC yesterday. I said I wanted to see America. Mostly we saw strip malls, car dealerships and fast food places. But also swamps and water and tree farms. We stopped at Myrtle Beach State Park which was a welcome oasis from the RV dealers.

And we had enough daylight when we got here to walk around this beautiful city, the historic part anyway. Some creepy parts, like the slave markets, the building where nullification was first promulgated by John Calhoun. We had to wonder how decimated the city was after the war and how they rebuilt it and preserved it. So much money.

We had planned to go on a Fort Sumter tour this morning but canceled last night so as not to have a hectic start. We'll save that for our next trip.

Today we get back in the car for a shorter drive to Daytona, to John and Marilyn's. Our third beach with a few more to go.

Looking ahead, we see snow in the forecast for Pittsfield and eclipse the next day. We like being away when it snows but last year we lost trees that could have been saved if we had been there to knock the snow off the branches.

Oh well. Hope it's melted by the time we get home. Hope our house is still standing. Hope the plow guy didn't push the gravel back to the lawn that I had raked back on the driveway. Little worries.

Better yet, hope you all are well and healthy! Love from down here.

(Actually there were no April Fools jokes in this letter.)

Dateline Cambridge

I feel like I'm in enemy territory. All this Crimson stuff and yards and Charles River. You may ask why, but you probably have already guessed. A swim meet. Mary's gonna take on six or seven events today and tomorrow. (News flash. Just saw a national record fall in women's medley relay.) Mary wasn't in that team but she did get a letter in the mail this week saying she had placed in top ten nationally for four events.

Even more amazing is a week ago at this time she was barely walking. In day four of her bout with Norovirus which she picked up in DC as it spread through the entire Joe Dickson family starting with the birthday girl Luisa herself. It's a stomache virus and run as fast as you can the other way if it comes to your neck of the woods. I was bedridden for four days. I don't know know how parents were able to take care of themselves and their children.

Luckily Margaret, Andrew and Simon didn't get it, and neither did Jeff or Melodie. We had all been over at Joe and Leonor's for a birthday party but they must have stayed far enough away from the sick birthday girl. Jeff and Melodie filled in some details of their trip to India including watching some official walk away with their passports!

We stayed with Margaret and Andrew and got in our grandparents fixes at both houses. Andrew's enjoying his new job with FDA.

Luisa wasn't the only one with a birthday. In fact there were so many, it's hard to keep up. Daniel, then Kiernan and then Lur. Pause. Then Erin. That's a lotta cake. All these milestones are important but when you're two! Wow!

And there's another birthday next week. Enjoy the build up, David.

Big news from India. Annie got her spouse visa which means she doesn't have to leave the country every six months. It took a lot of time and paperwork but she's official.

Recovery continues out in Illinois as Andrew is now walking pain free and doesn't lose his breath. He starts pt at the end of the month. Daniel took a Chicago break for a brief visit.

In between illnesses we continued to do a little prep work on our new project next door. The weather's been nice so we had a tree guy come out and see what could be saved. There are two apple trees but he was drawn to the large ginkgo at the corner of property. Big clean up. Another builder came by and was the most optimistic about trying to restore it. Uh oh.

Almost back to normal eating. But maybe there's a message there. My eating wasn't all that normal. Pop tarts?

Love from over here!

February 29

Leap year. No, leap day. How many weekly letters have been datelined February 29?  (Anyone? Alexa? Siri?)

I had an idea. Leap day should be a holiday. It's an extra day, for the whole world. People could be encouraged to take advantage of this extra day and do something different, extraordinary, memorable. The possibilities are endless and hopeful. What have I done so far? Gone to the gym, city hall, the barber, the grocery store and the library. Sigh.

What's memorable and wasn't recognized in the last letter is a father-daughter dance, that Billy and Auden and Elliot went to. In the same category was Claire's trip to Disney World with her school band as winners of a competition to play there. We need more details on both of these events. Perhaps we'll hear more this summer at the Poconos, but can we wait that long?

But wait, there's more big news. Luisa had a birthday! She's two. Where did the time go? We're heading down to DC tomorrow for the party on Saturday. Singing happy birthday to Luisa is one of her favorite activities, and the added benefit was this time, it was actually her birthday.  Joe had to miss the actual day, as he had a work trip to Fiji. Yes, you read that right. Fiji. Forty hours to get there, and forty hours to get home. But he's back and Luisa won't know for a few years that birthdays are really just one day.

And there's still more news. Simon was in his first fashion show. His pre-school celebrated Black History Month with a fashion show, and Simon decided to go as Jackie Robinson. So, you mothers will appreciate how Margaret had little advance warning, but somehow a baseball uniform materialized and presto, Brooklyn Dodgers #42 walked the runway.

Hold your breath, because there's still more news. We bought a house! Yes you read that right. Our offer on the house next door, the one Mary grew up in, was accepted. Sadly, the house has deteriorated to the point where it cannot be saved. A home inspector came by and confirmed what we could really all see with our own eyes. Anyway, we close on April 30, and we'll add a half-acre to this property. It also means we are back in the dreaming mode about what can go there. Mary nixed the idea of a Trump Tower, but we're open to suggestions, on landscape ideas, on tiny houses, sheds, fences, orchard, carousel. One more thing to talk about at the Poconos.

Finally, if you think once every four years is a long wait, Annie writes of her return after a couple of weeks of travel: "We had to be back in Thanjavur in time for a once-in-12-year celebration called Kumbabishegam at Sankar's family's ancestral temples, meant to re-energize the idols. We woke up at 4am to don our sarees and dhotis so we could get to the temples by 6am. The ceremony includes lighting oil lamps at the top of temple statues, and one step cannot start until an eagle passes overhead. At the end, they pour water over the lamps and then spray that water into the crowd. We attended the ceremonies at three temples, then returned to all three to pray. All together, it took about seven hours, and man were we all ready for a nap by the end."

Finally, leap day means that Daniel has to wait one more day before his birthday. Happy day tomorrow! And right behind you are Lur and Kiernan! Lotsa cake.

That's all from up here.  Love

  

 

Groundhog Day

The forecast is for a couple of inches of snow tonight. We'll believe that when we see it. Earlier this week, we heard we were gonna get anything from 4-17 inches, replete with snow emergency texts, phone calls and emails. End result? Barely a dusting. It's never happened that the forecasters predict less snow than we get. Actually, I feel a little conflicted. There's something fun about the quiet, the blanket-of-white visuals, and the prospects of cross country skiing, but then again, no snow also means no shoveling, no plows, less gravel in the lawn this spring.

It looks like New Jersey got snow, though. Facebook had a snow day luncheon for Peter and Johanna. And it looks like Peter got new glasses!  Snow days might be one more casualty from Covid.  Now, there are fewer snow days, as employers can just ask for virtual work hours. I'm not sure it works for schools though, as Margaret reminds us that Simon has had snow days while she and Andrew are expected to work from home.  How does that work out?  I think I know.

No snow in Rochester, as it seems like there are fewer lake-effect storms. How about this picture of Donald and his new instrument? Impressive.

And no snow in India, where Annie and Sankhar have started their post wedding trip at last. They headed to the state and region of Kerala and sent us some beautiful photos of the river near where they were staying. One river photo showed a group of elephants on their opposite banking.

It was birthday central here this week. Mary had conspired to get friends to send cards so I was inundated. It was fun. A few even wrote a letter! It's not every day you turn seven-O-aaagh!

It was also Valentine's Day yesterday, which unfortunately fell on the same day as Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of Lent. Since there was still a piece of birthday cake leftover, I unilaterally decided that birthdays trump Lenten fasting, but we both agreed that Valentines Day chocolates don't.

Big news up here. Our neighbor has moved, or is in the process of moving. This is the house that Mary grew up in, and has been in serious disrepair. The house is going on the market, and we fear he will be asking too much for it, above our budget. But we'll see. Anybody up for a painting party? Or a roofing party? Or a porch-ing party, window-party, mould-removal party, foundation-party, etc?

Both Andrews are in the news, at least the weekly letter news. Illinois Andrew continues his slow healing, definitely not fast enough. He hopes that things will improve by the end of the month. Maybe that's what the groundhog was predicting? Washington Andrew started a new job, with the Congressional Affairs office of the FDA. Good luck to you both.

A couple of movie recommendations. First, an old one. "Hector and the Search for Happiness" (fun) and "Poor Things" (odd, but it grew on me once I figured out what was going on.)  We saw the first one in Maine, where there was a couple of feet of snow on the ground, so we could legitimately put on our snowshoes. Not here, though, as our North Carolina friends came up to get in some cross-country skiing, but no luck, for the second year in a row.

I'm listening to my opera class as I write, and this week they're doing Il Trovatore. The female protagonist is named Leonor.  Actually, Leonora, but I keep hearing Leonor. Who, by the way, had a serious case of strep throat recently. Hope all is better. Joe says that Thomas is almost back to full use of his arm, which he broke in October.

How could I not mention Super Bowl Sunday, which has taken over from Christmas and Thanksgiving as our national holiday? We actually stayed up to watch the whole thing, praying that there wouldn't be a second overtime. It was nice to watch when you don't care. But I did have a question. Why did people hate Tom Brady, and none of that is directed at Patrick Mahomes? Today's mystery. I think I know; he's redirected that hate as skillfully as he redirects his passes, this time to Taylor Swift.

Anyway, hope everyone is healthy and happy …. And warm.

Love from up here. 

 

    

Groundhog Day

I'm channeling Pop tonight. Listening to opera (Wagner's The Flying Dutchman) while writing this letter. Actually, I signed up for an Introduction to Opera class, in order to try to understand what that Brooklyn, Depression boy saw in this form. Our first class featured several pieces that even I had heard of before.  Search for "Nessun Dorma" on your Spotify or YouTube and you'll recognize it.  And be moved by it.

Anyway, it's Groundhog Day, and we learn that there are just a couple of more weeks of winter, since there was no shadow.  Of course, he's only right about 39% of the time, according to NPR, but what's evidence to get in the way of a good story.

We had a first-ever winter occurrence here this week. We had a wet snow, 3-4 inches on Sunday night, and it clung to the branches, a beautiful sight that lasts too short. Except for this week. With no sun, no wind, and cold weather, the snow stay stuck on the branches all week long. Someone should write a song about the frosting on the Berkshires that seemed almost dreamlike, as seen from our backyard or even the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston.

We played host this week to Mary's Boston-era friend, Gerry Shannon, who came up from DC to remember the cold winters of her youth.  I often wonder when these two friends will run out of topics to talk about. If they were two men, it would have taken about 15 minutes. Anyway, we did fall into reminiscence mode, after a morning or cross-country skiing and snow-trekking which reminded us of a 1982 drive through a snowstorm with bald tires trying to find a place to go skiing. There were doughnuts, but not the eating variety, the spin around the road kind. Scary.

Illness still seems to be the curse of winter, and not just here. Mary and I traded colds and stomach bugs, and then she hurt her back. Down in DC, the Joe Dicksons have had strep, ear infections and colds, as well as the Margaret Dicksons. That didn't stop them from getting together last Sunday with Jeff and Melodie to watch the football games. My two teams lost, and now we have a Super Bowl, that I'm not really interested in. Where's Tom Brady when you need him? It was tough to watch Mahomes and Kelce break Brady and Gronk's playoff TD record.

We see Kiernan expertly manipulating a spoon and a drinking cup!  No spills. And Luisa was putting together jigsaw puzzles. Simon assembled a Lego vehicle, and Thomas had a chess outing. Where did they get these talents? We also see Everett carefully checking out an owl.

No snow in India, but more holidays.  Here's Annie's description of "a famous Carnatic music festival called Thyagaraja Aradhana in Thiruvaiyaru dedicated to Saint Thyagaraja, a composer of Carnatic music. I'm told it's one of the largest music festivals in India -- around 20,000 people attended. We went to two of the five days, and scored VIP passes through a friend who joined us. The last day is pretty epic. For this day, they clear out a large area in the audience, stretching from the center of the stage to the very back of the tent, where musicians sit on the ground with the audience on either side. At one end sit percussion and wind instruments, at the other, the flutes and violins. The singers take up the middle. Yes, I did take a few cat naps, but still, it was very cool." Looks like Annie was also channeling Pop, who admitted he rarely made it to the final act in the operas he loved.

Down in Florida, John and Marilyn just got back from a cruise around the Caribbean. They have graciously offered to play hosts for our planned road trip in April down south. Thank you!

Out Illinois way, the patient continues to make slow progress. If you want to know how tough it is, he was prepping himself for a walk in the driveway this week. What we take for granted. 

 Love from out here!