One of the unexpected pleasures of Coronavirus has been my decision to use the time at home to scan old weekly letters. Back when they actually were once a week, that means it's pretty slow going. I've only done a couple of years this time around, to add to the ten years or so I had scanned back when we were living in Canada.
Anyway, I come across interesting tidbits. Here's one from September 1989:
"We talked to five grandchildren last week! Actually, I am sorry to report that I hung up on one of the calls. I picked up the phone and heard this voice and figured it was a child playing with a phone… it was a child alright, it was Johanna and she was calling to tell us that she was about to move into Ann's old four poster bed." Seemed an appropriate memory on this day of remembrance of a shocking June 15 back in 1978. There are many other memories, but I'll take the fancy bed with a canopy in Ann's room. I'll try to pick out a passage every now and then from the old letters.
There are other advantages to Coronavirus. One is that Andrew and Margaret were able to take the time off and come spend a week with us in the glorious days of summer. They brought along a surprise – Simon! He has kept us happily occupied with the excitement of naps, poops, eating, and even smiling. This is a good age, when the parents have started to figure out what calms him down. The good news is he slept through the night a couple of times. That means they might come back!
They had the run of the place to themselves for a night last week while we made our way to Boston for Mary's angiogram. All went well, and fairly quick. Back home by 4pm with a bout of nausea on the way home. Now, we're just waiting to hear when the valve replacement will be scheduled.
News from Brazil is Joe bought a car, so that he could make his way to and from work, whenever work starts up. No more Uber, and Leonor will have her own car to shuttle two boys around. Little John is gaining weight, which is good. What's amazing is that he still hasn't reached his due date. And, here's a photo of Thomas at Zoom story time. They also decided to put their house on the market, as they couldn't lock in a renter.
And another positive Coronavirus outcome is that Annie has signed a lease in Great Barrington. She's due here in early July, but we haven't heard final confirmation of their travel plans. Can't wait.
Last week, I handed out a stock tip on Mike's Lemonade. Here's another one – weed whackers. I have been investing heavily in weed whackers and still can't find one that works, or at least works for me. I spent an hour on Sunday trying to start my latest version, and I have two blisters to show for it. It still doesn't work. Any ideas?
Opening up story – Daniel has gone back to work in Chicago, as things open up ever so cautiously. Stay safe there buddy. In case you're wondering, here's the website of the business he's working for, with his photo on the tab – Meet the Team. Lur and Andrew have decided to hire someone to come in for a few nights each week to help with her parents. Difficult decisions.
Our garden is coming in, slowly, but, without much rain, we are having to water it every night. We've had a couple of harvests of lettuce, and our first strawberry. But, there is a mystery: what happened to the asparagus this year? Hope it comes back next year.
What else? We've had a couple of dinners with Timmy over, and we've even ventured to have friends over to sit around the campfire. Easing but not anywhere near where we'd hoped to have been – going to plays, concerts at Tanglewood, museums etc.
Of course, the news is pretty depressing. What happened to our country? I guess, our new normal for a while. Memo to the next generation: sorry about that.
And sorry the news is so one-sided. Have to do a better job in getting your news. Last week, we were hacked, so I had to change the email for posting to the website. I guess you could send me anything directly for posting.
Love from up here.
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