Happy Memorial Day

Remember when Memorial Day was always May 31, no matter which day of the week it landed on?  Let's go back to those days.  No long weekends.  I think I'll run for office on that premise.  See how far I get.  Actually, even though the holiday was last weekend, it was nice to see everyone celebrated/commemorated the day in different ways.  I seem to remember it was one of Pop's favorite holidays, and he always participated in the Pomfret parade and ceremony.

We hosted Marj and Lew who had come up from Rhode Island for a memorial service for a friend/neighbor of theirs.  We had a barbecue and watched two basketball games.  We saw that Joe and Lenor had gone off to the eastern MD shore for a few days, and that Thomas enjoyed eating the sand.  Playing in it as well.  Margaret and Andrew spent the weekend in Charlottesville, and Annie headed south to Big Sur.  Wow.  Other travel??

It's been a busy month for gardening, and for us Memorial Day means planting time.  We were just in time to get flowers and vegetables in on Monday, and hope to be enjoying lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries, beets, beans, cukes and squash later in the summer.  For now, we've been harvesting asparagus and rhubarb, for Mary's famous strawberry/rhubarb pie.  We ordered four cubic yards of compost and have been enjoying the back-breaking work of filling wheelbarrows and hauling it around the yard.  It sure looks good, no matter what my back feels like the next day (week).

David and Paula hosted cousin Debbie and her husband Rod for a few days.  They had come up from Houston for a visit, and they took in Niagara on the Lake, Niagara Falls, the Welland Canal and other sites.  David said that he and Paula had also gone to New York City for a meeting and city fun stuff.  They were awaiting the influx of visitors for the annual Lilac festival.  

Yesterday, we headed south to Princeton to attend a memorial service for my college roommate's mother.  Mrs. Tobolsky passed away at the age of 99 just shy of her 100th birthday.  The ceremony was in the Princeton Chapel with a reception at Prospect House afterwards.  Sound familiar?  Mary and I got the chance to walk around campus a little, and saw a number of Princeton and Lawrenceville friends.  We stayed in the Palmer Inn on Rte 1 (sound familiar?) and Peter joined us for a free breakfast.  He filled us in on Johanna's new job and Sean's jury trial that had recently finished.  I had seen Sean's legal opponent in that case, another college roommate at Steve's memorial service, and Joe Krakora passed along that Sean was a "sharp" lawyer.  This weekend is reunions, and as a class officer, Peter is busy with all the planning that goes into that.  We saw a lot of preparations as we walked around campus.  I could not stay so that I could coe back here and attend the Berkshire Community College graduation where a young immigrant student I've been mentoring will receive the school's highest honor tomorrow.   

John and Marilyn are back from their trip/cruise to Cuba which they enjoyed, but said they wouldn't recommend.   

 

The photo this week is of a new friend, or couple of friends, who have placed their nest right outside the kitchen windows.  Last year we had a robin's nest on the back porch; this year, it's nice and easy to see the pair of cardinals tending their nest.  I do need to clip the hedge they've selected, but it can wait.

Summer is here, and the only sad part as we sit out on the porch, walk outside in sandals, hike outdoors and eat barbecues, is that we know it will all end in a few months.  Still, we have a lot to look forward to, including seeing you all in the Poconos.

Love from up here.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Week!  It's a celebration that never ends.  It looked like a big Mother's Day barbecue down in DC, with David and Paula visiting Jeff and Melodie who hosted Sean and Erin, as well as Margaret and Andrew and Leonor, Joe and Thomas.  One of Mary's best Mother's Day gifts was to see Thomas in a little play pool at Jeff and Melodie's.  She went out right away and bought him the latest infant Speedo racing suit and goggles.   Look out Michael Phelps.  It looked like a fun afternoon.  A prequel to the Poconos in July.  I think it got even more fun for Andrew and Margaret who were later seen by the paparazzi at a David Byrne/Talking Heads concert in DC.  

Sean and Erin had come down for the weekend, that must have been a sorely needed rest for both of them.  They spent the weekend with Joe and Leonor, and were able to get around and see some DC sites.  Later, we saw that Sean's big, terrible murder case returned a guilty verdict.  Congratulations Sean on justice served.  

What was your Mother's Day like?  We had a barbecue, too, and went for a bike ride, punctuated by a deluge of phone calls.  Or should I say a trio of calls.  A trio is a deluge for us, except for around supper time when the robo-calls start coming in.  We took a trip to a local nursery to start our garden planning, and, with warm weather finally, it does seem like we're almost there.

There have been a couple of birthdays - Sean's and Elliot's.  Big days.  And probably before our next letter, Matthew will mark another year.  Congratulations to all.  

I neglected to mention in the last letter that Annie had attended a conference in Chicago and she made a point to check in on her good friend from Mexico days.  She had kept up with Nicole for a few years, and thanks to Facebook she has been able to maintain the thread of her relationship.  Speaking of Facebook, we're seeing photos of Oliver in track meets and Tina growing!!

Since our last letter, Mary and I have concluded our spring fling trip down to DC and Daytona.  We had a great visit with John and Marilyn and went to a baseball game (Reds farm team) and the beach every day there. Good waves meant hours on the boogie board. They have a nice new home, with guest bedrooms!  They, by the way, are off on a cruise to Cuba this week.

We also checked in with Charlie in North Carolina on our way back.  He had been in Gabon with us this past March, so we rehashed those experiences, including a memorable trip back to the village where he had been posted in the 1970s,  On the way back, we had lunch with our friend from Seattle who was in DC for a few days.  Valerie is volunteering at a school for refugees and immigrants, so we shared stories.  I have been drawn into the Peace Corps refugee project a little more, so you'll see more, probably too much, from me on that.

Mary stayed a few extra days in DC, hanging with Joe and Leonor and Margaret and Andrew.  And did I mention Thomas?  Anyway, she saw first-hand how full all their lives are, working and studying and doing errands and daycare and commuting and exercising.  I'm sure it's the same for that whole generation.  I'm exhausted just thinking about it.  

I missed all that as I drove home in order to attend a meeting where we handed out the funding for the first Community Preservation projects in Pittsfield.  This was the first slate of projects since the referendum passed in 2016.

Speaking of projects, Margaret and Andrew are having their back yard done over, with a new fence and patio.   

Finally, it's allergy and tick season, so we're popping all the pills and spraying ourselves up here.  At least, we're not shoveling snow.

Love from up here.