May showers

Our new motto up here is April showers bring May showers.  Nothing but rain for the foreseeable future.  We had a brief wonderful hint at things to come with some warm weather around Easter, but now back to cold, a cruel fake out for the daffodils and flowering trees into blossoming early.  Faked me out, as it's back to warm woolies.  At least we haven't had a blizzard, like Andrew said they endured in Chicago last week.

When I talked to Andrew he said they were watching Elliot and Auden while their parents took Myles to Avengers: Endgame.  I'm wondering if anyone else in the family saw it this weekend?  Perhaps it broke the all-time box-office record for Dickson viewing on the first weekend, leaping ahead of Titanic or the Christmas that Almost Wasn't.

Speaking of Easter, we hit the road and headed to DC for the weekend.  It had been a while since we saw everyone, and as much as Thomas had changed into a little boy, we still recognized him.  Don't know if he recognized us, but he did pull out my favorite book shortly after we saw him.  It was not the Book of Common Prayer that he did open up during the Easter service, but something called Things that Go.  Mary continues to be amazed how boys are drawn to construction equipment, remembering Joe's fascination and Margaret and Annie's complete lack of interest.  Hence pne of the photos this week.  

We had as usual a great weekend, with Easter dinner of ham and salmon over at Margaret and Andrew's.  Melodie and Jeffrey joined us for dinner, and we got caught up on all things Mueller, and importantly, plans for Melodie's birthday party.

Margaret had just returned from a week in Guatemala where she met with current, former and prospective Fulbrighters.  She returned with suitcases loaded down with beautiful weavings.  Put Antigua on your list of places to visit.  Andrew is getting close to the end of his program in public health.  Today, by the way, is Leonor's last day at her work, and she is scouting around for a new job.  Not anyone's favorite periods in life.

Annie started her new job at Doordash last week.  While in DC, we took advantage and did our first order, of Asian food, which came quickly and ready to eat.  We have yet to try it in Pittsfield, as they just started, but we're looking for the right day.

David passed along an article he saw about a Princeton professor, aged 71, marrying a former student, aged 26, who was his thesis advisee and a valedictorian.  I remember seeing an article in the Alumni Weekly a few days prior about a new rule that passed the faculty senate prohibiting relationships between professors and their graduate students.  Wonder why they didn't include undergraduate students?  Anyway, he also mentioned they are in the painting the porch business this spring, keeping up another Dickson tradition.

We saw the photos of Peter's birthday with Johanna and Sean and Erin, including a "P" cake made by Erin.  And we saw other photos of Johanna with John Lennon's son who is one of her book clients.  Fantastic!

John Boyle is still going through the long recovery from his shoulder surgery.  He is going to physical therapy which is so painful it sets him back a few days each time.  The good news – only six more months. 

Speaking of surgeries, we're off to see the doctor this morning to try to figure out what the heck is going on with Mary's hands and arm, we think some unintended consequence from her January back surgery.  She had an electrical test and MRI last week, so hopefully will have a few answers and then a solution.  She is gaming through the pain, trying to get in exercise and even a little swimming.

I've started teaching a class at the life-long learning institute on international relations, and we're filling in days with French conversation groups, hiking and photography workshops, including one on phone cameras that was really interesting and helpful.  We're clearing out gardens and flower beds, did our annual brush burn, ordered compost and mulch.  Nice to be outside, with hints at some wonderful times on their way. 

We're also beginning to plan for the Poconos, after learning that we will be joined by Janie and her daughter Susan this year.   

That's the news from up here, with love.

Home again

It's like I never left.  Back home and easing back into my familiar routines.  That means of course my old eating patterns.  I have quickly put on six or seven pounds of what I had lost.  Oh well.  

This week, the ice went off the lake.  It snowed last week, but yesterday the temperature hit 69 degrees.  Walking around outside, in the warmth of the sun, was wonderful.  There was even a line at King Kone when we drove by around lunch time.  Still, it's hard to think of warm temperatures, so when we go outside we're still wearing sweatshirts and jackets until we realize how warm it is and how unnecessary they are.  We see photos of climes further south and see trees and flowers in bloom, and can't wait til we catch up.  To that end, Mary bought some tulips yesterday to help push the season along.

Timmy dropped by yesterday, back from his extended snowbird break to parts west and south.  He spent a few weeks in a beach hut hundreds of miles down the coast from San Diego.His extended drive back took him through Utah - Zion and Arches, a snow-bound Colorado, Michigan, Pennsylvania and home.   I can't help but add that he saw no signs of a border crisis when he drove back into the U.S.  A ten-minute wait, he said.  

In contrast, my wait through customs at JFK was a crisis.  Thousands of people queuing up in those turnstile aisles going back and forth, in the craziest of mazes.  It took half an hour just to reach the main hall, as the numbers of planes arriving left us in the hallways.  I think I'd still be there except the young woman in front of me told me to download the mobile passport app and sign up, so I could get in a shorter line (that was still a hundred yards long.)  Two hours, and I was in the shorter line.  

Anyway, Mary was still waiting when I emerged, if only she had recognized me.  My beard was removed the next morning.  We had a fun couple of days, walking the length of Manhattan, it seems.  We went to the Tenement Museum, and Lincoln Center, to the Strand bookstore, our favorite French restaurant for steak and frites, and the Hungarian pastry shop at 110th Street. And saw a movie called Transit that I slept through mostly.  I wish I could blame it on jet lag.

Other travel - we see Sean and Erin in South Africa, hitting all the wonderful spots there.  I was momentarily worried when I read the story of a lion mauling someone in Kruger Park, but figured it couldn't have been either of them when it turned out to be a rhino horn poacher.  Margaret spent this week in Guatemala for work.  She sent back several messages saying something to the effect that if she ever goes missing, you can probably find her in Antigua, the old capital of the country.  And, Joe returned from ten days of work in Amsterdam and Paris.  

Andrew and Lur headed out to Michigan for a couple of Claire's spring music concerts.  Sounds like Claire, who teaches band for all grades is juggling quite a range of talents with success.

Big news on the west coast this week.  Annie turned in her notice to GE, with the announcement of a new job at a company called DoorDash.  By coincidence, when I went to download the DoorDash app on my phone, they said that the launch date for DoorDash in Pittsfield was April 10.  So, we'll give it a try this week.  (One of the other volunteers in Gabon hails from Dayton Ohio and he says DoorDash is big out there.)

Big news in Daytona as well.  After living in months with pain, John had shoulder surgery to fix a rotator cuff.  He's looking at an extended recovery process, giving new meaning to baseball players who lose a season getting their shoulders repaired.  Not sure if John will be throwing the curve ball any time soon, but he did say he has no more shoulder pain, but the wound is slowly healing.

Mary, too, has no back pain from her January surgery, but has some residual problem with a nerve going down her arm and hands.  Very painful and she has some tests coming up to see what exactly is going on.

Other big news - we did our taxes.  And happily, we're getting a little back, even though we couldn't itemize this year.  

And,now that I'm home, we're looking ahead to the summer months - two family reunions, with the Dicksons in the Poconos and with the extended Collins family up here.  We're trying to put together a Peace Corps reunion of sorts and we've arranged to head to Portugal in October to walk a portion of the Camino de Santiago with foreign service friends.  Nice to plan and think ahead.

Happy birthdays to Johnny and to Peter.  Enjoy the days!  Anyone else??

The photo below is another reunion with the man who lived in my house in Lastourville in 1977-8, a 14-year-old student who had no place to stay.  I saw him after 40 years this year.  Wonderful.

Love from up here