Joe calls and asks what's new and the only thing we can think of is that there's a robin made her nest in the hanging flower pot on the back porch. Maybe not so good for the robin, as the cat has been perched under the flower for a few hours each day, trying to figure out how to get up there. But we keep chasing the cat away.
Memorial Day. I remember Pop's weekly letters including the Memorial Day parade in Pomfret, sometimes his marching. Here's one from 1995: "Memorial Day. And in Pomfret, it's a bigger day than any other. Half the town marches, and the other half watches. There are Lions (the sponsors), Girl Scouts, Brownies, Boys Scouts, Little Leaguers, Fire Engines, Ambulances, Horses, Sheep, National Guard, an Air Guard fly-over, etc. And the inevitable recitation of the Gettysburg Address by Howard Baker, now in his '90's, and afterwards, many people will say, this may be Howard's last year... and we have been hearing that since we moved here."
Did anyone go to a Memorial Day parade? Sheepishly,no, I admit, but next year I will do better.
Joe and Lenor were on their way to the Eastern Shore for a week of vacation, baby-moon, they are calling it. Leonor is well, albeit uncomfortable. They had just gotten back from a wedding in Minnesota. Margaret was here, for half the day anyway. She had come up for her 10th college reunion (10 years?) and then spent Sunday here before heading back to Hartford to catch a plane. Andrew stayed home with the pets, but mostly to do school work. At this moment she should be flying the friendly skies. Annie found those skies are often unfriendly, as she had one of the experiences with cancelled flights, layovers, and arguments before finally arriving in Paris a day late for the wedding of a Hamilton friend. But she made it, and will spend a few days this week in the city of lights on vacation.
We saw on Facebook that a) Billy and Jen went camping with their children. I wonder if I should rustle up a few Dickson camping photos, from the 1950s. Their posts looked great, but they admitted to exhaustion. Kids love camping. b) that Jeffrey had some help in completing his raised bed gardening project. c) that Donald has a little tykes car that is the same as the one Joe got in 1982. I wonder what other auto company could survive with the same style from 1982.
We do have news from here: Mary did her usual record-setting times in a swim meet last weekend, especially as she had never swum the backstroke in a meet. I went to a stone-wall workshop at Arrowhead, with a group of teenagers and a ranger who worked at the Weir Farm National Park, in Wilton Conn. Another small world. And, we've been gardening, getting the flower beds and vegetables in. In fact, we've even had some asparagus, our first year from the garden. As soon as I finish this, I'm heading out to put the rest of veggies in the ground.
But before that, we can also report that David and Paul have put their flower beds in order, with a new dagwood tree and their own hanging baskets gracing their porch. And Johnny reports progress in his recovery from surgery on his neck.
Reading recommendations: Underground Railroad (although I think I'm the last one on the planet to have read that) and Man of Good Hope, which Mary was riveted to for a couple of weeks. Film recommendation - Finding Oscar, which featured a few people who I knew in Mexico. And finally, how many of you have done this: order a movie from Netflix that you've already seen? Our Kind of Traitor, we watched with Margaret last night, but could only vaguely remember. Embarrassing.
With that, out to the garden. Love from up here.
