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.