Or, it may have to do with a nice afternoon/evening with David and Paula who stopped by here on their way home from a few days on the Cape. We had a nice dinner and shared father stories. Or tried to, if we could have remembered them. We did toast our own fathers, and remembered all they had done for us.
It sounded like there had been quite a bit of rain out on the Cape, but they were still able to squeeze in a "whale watch" and good meals and walks. Since I have never been to the Cape, they gave us some suggestions and encouragement for perhaps a September or mid-week visit in the fall.
Annie made it back from the weekend in Washington to see David and Paula. She had been to Melodie's birthday party on Saturday evening, so when Jeffrey called to do the dutiful check-in, Annie surprised him being up here!
I had nice conversations with both Joe and Margaret as they did their dutiful as well. More than that, with a surprise picnic table which appeared after my nap on Saturday. I was not sure if I was still dreaming when I saw the table in the yard. It will replace the one Peter "loaned" us in 1992 and has many family memories from our porch in Silver Spring to the outdoors here over that extended period. I wonder how long Peter and Janet had used it. It was not doing well, as boards were rotting away.
Earlier in the day, Mary and I drove down to Hyde Park, NY and checked off a visit to the FDR home. We had been passing the signs for years on the Taconic Parkway, but were always in a rush to get wherever we were going. So, we made this our destination and had a wonderful visit, with a promise to each other that there was more to see and that we would come back. Our tour guide wondered how many people in the group could relate to FDR's upbringing with tutors at home, horse-riding and governesses and a 21 foot yacht present at the age of 17.
We commoners found a diner up the road and had a great breakfast/brunch. So there. I love Fathers Day.
News from here: we have a new garden fence. It is the third since we owned it, and the first one I did not try to install myself. Our garden is now more protected than Ft. Knox. Take that groundhogs. I just wish the vegetables would grow inside. So much rain that there was actually flooding, which killed the marigold plants. Oh well. Hmm. Maybe a roof?
Other news is that Annie has a summer job. Two in fact. Moreover, it looks like she got every job she applied for. She will have a busy schedule and earn a little before starting classes.
On the job front, Mary also got a new job, at least until the end of the school year which is this coming Friday. She is tutoring a handful of students whose second language is English. One of them is a Chinese girl in kindergarten, who has been in country just a few weeks. Try to imagine what she's going through.
One of our highlights these past few weeks was dinner with Mary's niece and nephew, her brother Mike's children. Nice to reconnect, and they are doing well.
This time next week, I will be in Ft. William, Scotland getting ready to start my trek up the Great Glen Way. I don't know if it's psychosomatic, but my knees are beginning to hurt. Better rest.
In the meantime, our routine continues, and we are enjoying summer. We had our first campfire last Friday night, and I raised up enough courage to jump in the lake. We also went to the movies, Before Midnight, which we liked but were not really 'gaga' over.
Hope you all are enjoying summer. Only 365 more days til Father's Day!
We sign out from here wishing you all happy barbecues, with this photo from our archives. Love from over here. 
No comments:
Post a Comment