The economists are telling us that the housing market is back. And judging from the behavior of those reading this newsletter, we are proof! Joe and Leonor, David and Paula, Margaret and Andrew, John and Marilyn.
And now Jeffrey and Melodie! Great news. Why do we put ourselves through such ordeals? Stress and chaos, mess and dirt, work and exhaustion. But then joy and pride, accomplishment and fun, new and hope. Figuring out a new neighborhood and where the spatula goes. You can even paint a wall purple. It's yours ( and the bank's). Makes it all worthwhile.
We especially loved the photos and postings on Facebook especially Melodie's advice to clean up and clean out every few months. Or years? Mary took that to heart as she is about to tackle kitchen cupboards. New year's resolution?
I broke mine in the first waking hour of 2017. That broken vow came in the form of a cellophane wrapped muffin. So much for healthy eating. I have lost six pounds though since then.
We spent New Year's Eve at Jay and Molly Unger's Ashokan fiddle retreat. We sand and danced part of the night away, contra dance, zydeco, Texas two-step. It might have even been more fun if we knew how to do any of those dances. Good music though.
The new year also brought birthdays for Jeffrey and Margaret. And new jobs for Johanna and Sean. Congratulations to all!
And it brought protests. Mary and I participated in one here in Pittsfield on the 76th anniversary of FDR's Four Freedoms speech. The organizers thought they'd get 300 but we're hoping for 500. When 2000 showed up, we were worried! Could everyone fit in the church? The answer was no but even though it was bitter cold, people were ok, just happy to do something. Good speeches by Senator Markey and 11 others, including FDR's grandson. And Mary and I were in the local paper, which described our help with making signs. Not sure if we can count that towards our 15 minutes of fame. No one seems to notice when I go grocery shopping yet.
And more protests to come. This week we're heading to Washington for the Million Women March. We know quite a few people from here heading down as well. And I guess there are others around the country as well; Janet and Johanna are going to one in Trenton.
One of our resolutions was to try to be more spontaneous in our retirement. So, when Annie called and said she was going to be in Schenectedy for the week, we drove over for dinner to see her. You'd be surprised to learn that I ate too much at the Mexican restaurant we chose.
On a less happy note, out in Dundee, Andrew is suffering through some back issues and pain. He was going to have an MRI this week. Hope it doesn't mean surgery as he's already had three but more important we hope he gets better soon.
Our in-boxes this week carried news from David of the Poconos weekend set for
July 19-23. There's hope for you!
So with all that, happy new year and love from up here.
