Fall! Too many trees are turning already. But, this week holds out for some summer weather, just in time perhaps for the first tomatoes to ripen. It's been a cold summer, and predictions are for an even colder winter. Winter is usually colder than summer.
Anyway, we enjoyed a summer, family week. First camping on the beach at Assateague, then the arrival of all three children and husband (!) and significant friends/partners or whatever boyfriend and girlfriend go by these days. Then on Saturday the entire Boyle clan who descended on 5 Hancock Road for a good old fashioned family reunion. Let's take each of these in reverse chronological order.
The photo says it all, but it's been years, decades even, since we saw some of the Boyles, the families of each of the five children of Dan and Loretta. Tim came the farthest, in both physical distance but also health-wise as a couple of weeks ago he was hospitalized for an intestinal blockage. Patrick came from Colorado, and Leonore from Portugal/London. Erin and Christopher from just up the road at Pontoosuc Lake. Margaret and Andrew also came from Mexico, as they had a vacation at a place just north of Cancun, an island paradise by the sounds of it and a potential future destination (get the details from Margaret.) Even Marj and Lew came up from Rhode Island.
Back to the reunion: Lots of food, lots of drink, a short drizzle, games, lots of catching up with new jobs and new addresses, new schools and even new hair-dos. Highlights included the arrival of the greatest generation members - Loretta's sisters, Ann and Mary - stuffed Rhode Island clams from Steve and Maura, Tim's ceviche, Kara's fruit salads (a healthy antidote for her mother's cheese cake tarts), Natalie's multi-colored cake, and a nice bonfire, started by Andrew and propelled by Pauline. Young Danny even unearthed Mary's rotary phone from 7 Hancock Rd. Lots of stories, and a sign of success were comments about another one next year.
The party had actually started a few days earlier with the arrival of Joe and Leonore, and then Annie and Greg, and finally Margaret and Andrew. We corralled them all to head off to Arrowhead to hear my tour on Herman Melville's home (joined by John and Marilyn.) There was hiking, shopping, canoeing, swimming and, yes, eating and imbibing. Wonderful evenings.
We had all just been together the previous weekend at Assateague, with Jeff and Melodie. There, we encountered Dickson luck with rain, as it poured on the first night, and Joe and Leonore arrived late, just after the storms had left, but had to put up their tent in the dark and wet sand. Jeff and Melodie arrived Friday. Camping on the beach requires suspending one's clean genes, if you ever had any, and getting used to sleeping in sandy tents. Camping near the cute Assateague ponies turned out to be its own adventure, captured by Annie's hashtag - #Assateagueponiesarejerks. Still, a good time was had by all, with extended beachtime, swimming, boogie-boarding and campfires and food! We even had a crabfeast. Ask Melodie about her superhero powers as a human metal detector. Ask Greg about sandwalls in high tide. Ask D about walking on the hot sand.
The busy weeks included garden harvesting (beans and lettuce and our first surprise potatoes) and a barbecue with Mary's swim team, where she got a top ten in the nation medal for a relay she swam in, a few months back. Friday, we celebrated with champagne Annie's job offer with Bank of America next year. Hooray and phew!
It's quiet around here now, as Annie and Greg were the last to leave this afternoon. The kitty has re-emerged after a few days of hibernation in the basement from all the commotion. So, even if the kitty is glad to have his house back, we miss you already.
Love from up here.
No comments:
Post a Comment