Spring break

Most people (of a certain age) go south for their spring school break.  For Mary's spring break, we followed Horace Greeley's advice and went west.  All the way to Michigan, through Rochester and Cleveland, and back home via Stratford, Ontario.  There were many highlights, but top among them was seeing you all - David and Paula, Annie, Andrew Lur and Claire.  More later.

First, though, we begin our spring letter with Easter, which we hosted here with Joe and Leonor, Margaret and Andrew and Annie joining us for the long weekend.  We were pleased that Lenor's mother, Patricia, was able to see this neck of the woods, as she had come over from Portugal for a two-week visit that coincided with Easter.  It was the first time we overflowed, but we figured out sleeping arrangements with Joe drawing the short straw and getting the couch.  The experience caused us to bring in a local architect to figure out how to finish the basement.

Anyway, back to the weekend, with first arrivals coming Thursday.  Margaret called to say that D had been attacked by dogs at their park and as a result of his wounds they were unlikely to be able to come.  When they woke on Friday, the dog was normal despite the wounds around his neck and leg, that included some plastic tube to drain the yucky stuff (medical terminology).  So they made it up.   It was another 36 hours in the Berkshires with trips to the outlets, to our favorite wine and food store, a special lecture at the library (featuring me expounding on the old mills in the county,) Easter service, and our latest tradition, dinner at the Red Lion Inn.  

With our house emptied out, we welcomed Maura and her 7-year-old daughter Elsie the following day.  It had been a while since we had seen them and Elsie had grown up.  One of her favorite things is writing.  She left little notes around the house, for Joe and Leonor with names for boys, and other things.  Cute.  Elsie also helped plant our first crop - potatoes.  We set out on our journey the following day, but they stayed in Pittsfield a few more days, taking care of the kitty, and then performing a heroic service that saved one day of our trip.

Anyway, on to Rochester and David and Paula's lovely village home, that looks even lovelier in the spring.  What a great town.  I keep saying it looks like a movie set.  Besides heading to our favorite ice cream place (only once - will power), we sampled local cuisine, including a nice Mediterranean place, and went for a walk around the canal which only partially balanced the ice cream.  We then weathered a day of rain to take in one of the Finger Lakes, going through Geneva and seeing their colleges and then touring some of the local wineries.  

Our next destination was Holland Michigan but to get there you have to drive through Cleveland.  So we stopped to see Annie for lunch, and she showed us around the GE lighting campus, with buildings from the early 1900s.  Annie was getting ready to head off for her own spring break, to Philadelphia and San Francisco.  A wedding and work.

We made it to Hope College in time for a concert where Claire conducted the wind ensemble.  Wow.  She was great, and playing the oboe, she gets to sit right up front.  We stayed at the campus hotel with Andrew and Lur, who showed us around the area the following day.  This part of Michigan has not lost its manufacturing base.  Nor its prosperity.  Andrew is still struggling with pain from his back surgery, unfortunately.

Claire had one last concert, her final one at Hope.  We are lucky to take in a number of classical performances here with Tanglewood close by, but none have moved me as much as the Symphony No 4, of David Maslanka that the ensemble interpreted.  Check it out on YouTube with the US Navy Band: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2xcMoQ6ML4.  It's 30 minutes long, but worth it if you can make it to the end!  Needless to say, Claire was magnificent and has a wonderful group of friends.

Now here comes the part where Maura saved one leg of our trip.  We had decided to stop in Stratford Ontario on the way home, just a short way off the quickest route home.  Having worked at the Embassy when the passport requirement for cross-border travel came into effect, you'd think that I'd know or at least remember that we needed passports.  Nope, we left them home.  Anyway, Maura found them and had them delivered to the Hope College Hotel so we were able to cross the border with ease.  And get a view of Niagara Falls along the way!  

Now we're home, and the house is quiet.  We have some work to do in losing the many pounds we collected along the way, but I have to say they were worth it.

Other news:  Peter and Johnny had birthdays, Joe is on his way to Switzerland for work for the rest of this week, and Annie is enjoying her final leadership retreat in San Francisco this week.

Baseball has started, and we have lots of seedlings ready to get in the ground.  Spring is here.  

Love from up here. 

A few notes from the New Jersey contingent.

- I just finished a grueling two week trial representing a citizens' group opposing a proposal by JCP&L to construct a monstrously stupid huge transmission line through portions of Monmouth County that included the town where Janet's parents used to live. We were married in the back yard of their house and Johanna and Sean were baptized by Uncle Bob in the Reformed Church in Middletown. It's not over yet but it looks as if we have killed it. It's nice to be able to make a real difference.

- Doing a trial like this is all-consuming. You more or less leave the world as you know it and live in the trial. I got by on about three hours of sleep a night, getting ready for the next day after each day's twists, turns and surprises.

- I said to one of the other lawyers that I enjoyed a Trump-free experience for those two weeks. It was nice!

- Johanna is working with some interesting authors at Henry Holt. I am getting lots of free books – galley proofs as well as final prints. This week's catch is a book about books. How could I resist?

- Sean's first trial keeps getting pushed back. I can't wait.

- It's also been a tense time. One of Janet's cousins is now in hospice and David and Andrew had surgeries.

- Want to hear some utility jokes? A chemist, a biologist and an electrical engineer were on death row waiting to go in the electric chair. The chemist was brought forward first. "Do you have anything you want to say?" asked the executioner, strapping him in. "No," replied the chemist. The executioner flicked the switch and nothing happened. Under this particular State's law, if an execution attempt fails, the prisoner is to be released, so the chemist was released. Then the biologist was brought forward. "Do you have anything you want to say?" "No, just get on with it." The executioner flicked the switch, and again nothing happened, so the biologist was released. Then the electrical engineer was brought forward. "Do you have anything you want to say?" asked the executioner. "Yes," replied the engineer. "If you swap the red and the blue wires over, you might make this thing work."

- Q. Why do fluorescent lights hum?
A. Because they can't remember the words.

You get the drift.

April is the cruelest month...NOT

Which photo to choose to go with this letter?  It's the hardest part of this letter, since so much has happened since the last letter, including travel to see so many of you and as always lots of photos on my biggest rival, Facebook.  

We arrived home last night after a weekend in Washington anchored around a baby shower for Leonor and Joe.  Annie had flown in from Cleveland to join Margaret and Andrew for the happy occasion.  The highlight of the shower?  All the "onesie" shirts that some very creative folks drew on for the new baby.  Leonor and Joe are excitedly preparing, reconfiguring their house and stocking up for the arrival of what they are now calling cutie patootie.

The weekend was the end of a tour through the Rocehester-Cleveland-Dundee route with lots to report on there.  

It was a planes, trains and automobiles trip, along with buses.  We spent a night at the Fairport yellow inn, which David and Paula continue to enjoy, taking full advantage of the close walking distances to the village.  One nearby shop has the best home-made ice cream I've tasted.  I recommend the butterscotch ripple, by David swears by the back cherry.  Fun, but a little dangerous.

We drove to Annie's from Rochester, and she also has a great living situation, the ground floor of a house in trendy Tremont, or maybe it's transitional Tremont.  Either way, lots to do in the neighborhood.  We checked out a market in Ohio City (yes there is one) and had lunch with Mary's cousin, Joanne and her husband Scott, who live in Cleveland.  Did I mention an evening with LeBron?  Or should I say John Wall, as the Wizards schooled the Cavs.  Exciting, either way.

Mary headed back to Pittsfield, for school, leaving John to wind his way to Chicago, trying the Megabus, for probably the last time.  At least I can say I did it.  It might work for 3-4 hours, a little cramped for 7 hours.  The price was right.  I love how I save money but undergo unnecessary hardship. 

After a few hours in Chicago at the Field Museum, I hopped on the double-decker train out to Elgin where Andrew picked me up in the stretch van.  The next few days, we spent a lot of time chatting, in between dog walks, hospital visits, and a wonderful evening with Bill and Jen and Miles, Auden, and Elliot.  Unfortunately, Jen was on her first day of a cast, having broken her foot the day before.  They have a full plate as they have started a new business.

Other medical updates were also part and parcel of the past few weeks.  When we arrived in Fairport, David's neighbors walked by and said to him "Welcome home."  David clarified that they hadn't traveled any further than the local hospital to check out a heart issue.  Within ten days, with a few tests, he had a stent implanted to help with a blockage.  Good news.

Yesterday, Andrew had his back surgery which we hope will put behind him the last few months of pain caused by herniated discs.  It was not enough to prevent him and Lur from heading to Hope College to see Claire in her final recital over the weekend.  Anyway, wishing him a speedy recovery.

And, not on the same level, we are still dealing with some lingering intestinal issues (euphemism for diarrhea) from India.  

The drive home included much evidence of the changing seasons.  Grass was greener, red buds appearing on the trees, no gloves and coats....... until we pulled in the driveway, and saw snow everywhere, ice on the lake, etc.  Still, we are optimistic about the next few weeks.  On our list this week is to start seedlings indoors.  Eager

Hope everyone is enjoying the warmth.  Love from up here.

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