Memorial Day

Did anyone go to a parade today?  Hear a speech?  Put the flag out?  Have a barbecue?  Summer is officially here.  It's grand!
 
So was Annie's graduation.  Hard to believe it went by so fast.  I bet Annie's thinking the 4 years went by so fast.  Highlights included dinner at an Indian restaurant the night before (as we had done with both Joe and Margaret); being joined by Peter, Janet and Johanna (thank you!!); staying at Red Roof Inn was just like the Point; packing up Annie's stuff with help; getting a Hamilton sweatshirt (or two); seeing Annie before the ceremony; a nice speech by the founder of Ms. magazine and current head of Hearst magazines; an easy picnic lunch; an easy drive home.  Annie graduated with distinctions in Spanish and Psychology and a lot of good friends and good memories. 
 
We stopped by Grandma's on the way up on Friday and had dinner with her and Peter on Friday evening. She is well, and continues to walk to get some strength back. Mary and I had stopped at the Jersey shore on the way up; it was cold and windy but still nice to see the ocean. We had seen the movie the Wrestler and expected it would be more seedy, but it was very nice.

We drove back right after graduation and had Monday to catch up, with housecleaning and yard work, before the big storms hit. We were in touch with Peter and Janet who were in the same storms but had the sense to stop and get dinner, an anniversary dinner at that! Margaret and Annie stayed and drove back on Monday, leaving early enough to miss the traffic.

Annie is home for a couple of months before she starts her new job at a residential school for autistic children near Boston. Margaret and Joe gave her for graduation a real world basket, full of stuff she'll need, like a spatula, a movie called 9 to 5, and other assorted objects. She's off!

Love from down here.

What is going on?

This is the third time I have written a blog.  Hope it works this time.  Bet Pop never lost a letter in the ether.

So, one more try. I think I started with the weather each time - cold and rainy, this weekend. It was too bad for our house guests, the Lockerys, our friends from Lagos, who were here for their son's graduation from GWU. It looked like the rain would hold off for the ceremony on the mall today. We did have dinner with them last night and Joe and Margaret were able to join us. And it rained.

Another Peter, this time our brother, joined us last weekend ahead of his big federal appeals case on flight paths to the New York area airports. I gather the actual arguments did not go so well before this conservative court, but it sure was nice to see him and and talk important things like baseball and Supreme Court and teaching. And guitar. Peter played and gave Mary a few free lessons.

Did someone mention Mother's Day? YES!! We talked to Mom and she sounded like she was on a healthy upswing. She said Johanna had come over during the day. We had a nice dinner here which Joe, Margaret and Peter joined. Did someone mention the ice cream? I highly recommend Ben and Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch.

Next weekend, we're heading to Annie's graduation, via Pittsfield, Vancouver and Ottawa. John managed to convince people that he was needed back in Canada for a couple of days. Tough assignment.

Amidst the rain has been the effort to cut the grass. It grows like a terrarium here. Last year, John went green and cheap and got a push, reel mower. It savid on gas but cut lousily. So John went green and expensive and bought this week an electric mower. Let's hope it works more than once.

And then there's Sean's birthday (hope you had fun), Matthew's birthday coming up, Peter and Janet's anniversary, Claire's graduation. Big days, enjoy them all!

A rainy weekend

Why do I feel like Charlie Brown?  It's because I've just come in from outside in the pouring rain - gardening, not playing baseball.  And I'm soaking wet.  But I did get the tomatoes planted and some geraniums.  Let's see if they survive the cool and rainy weather we have forecast all this week.
 
Anyone have the sniffles and think they had swine flu?  Mary did, and lost her voice and had to miss a couple of days of school.  She didn't get swine flu, but even my allergies made me think I had the flu, at least for a couple of hours.  She wasn't sick enough to miss her guitar class though, and she has expanded her repertoire to Amazing Grace.
 
Margaret braved the weather yesterday to take D to the beach.  At least that was her plan.  She joined Mary for dinner this week, but I missed out because of work.  We talked to Annie a couple of times and she was putting the finishing touches on her thesis.  Since we haven't heard from her since, we assume she's out celebrating.
 
At this very moment, we think Claire is in the middle of her confirmation.  We tried calling last night, but no one was home.  Out celebrating too, most likely. Congratulations Claire.
 
And, at this very moment, we think Grandma is at Meadow Lakes church and then Sunday dinner.  She thought she was well enough to venture out again, for the first time in a long time.  She said too that Uncle Jim is back in the hospital.
 
The photo is from Jeffrey's camera, from last weekend in Hightstown.  Thanks Jeff.
 
Big news from Fairport - David's on Facebook! And I was his first friend!
 
The front page of the Washington Post has a picture of Justice Souter's New Hampshire home.  It could be the only home in America that looks more hard luck than 5 Hancock Road.
 
It's also been a sports week.  Last night Mary and I saw a great movie - Sugar, about a Dominican baseball player.  It's in Spanish (with subtitles), but more a movie about immigration than baseball.  We're also watched parts of two exciting playoff series this week - basketball (Celtics) and hockey (Capitals).  And, of course there's always the first month of baseball!
 
It's May and that means Mother's Day next week, and Sean's birthday and a couple of graduations coming up.  Big month.  If the past is any guide, then this month will fly by as well. 
 
That's all from down here.  Love.