Just about every month about this time, Mary and I look at each other and say, "I can't believe we're half way through……September." The days, even in the era of Covid, go by quickly. The weather sure feels like it though. Cool nights, down in the 30s, and crisp, sunny days. Still need the rain as the Mayor has instituted conservation guidelines for water. It doesn't matter as much for our garden as it's days of production are largely over. We have large bowls of plum tomatoes that we need to get the canning equipment out soon.
Mary continues to swim in the lake, though, venturing out the other morning when it was 39 degrees. She insists the water is warmer and loves it. The bed, under the comforter, is even warmer.
Our Covid isolation days are slippng a little. We spent a few days in the Northeast Kingdom. Don't know where that is? Northern Vermont, near the Canadian border. We were with two public health friends, Charlie and Annie, who wore masks in the house. And, we certainly did not come into contact with anyone up there.
We even took an old people's day trip over to Plymouth to check out the living museum there. I am going to be teaching a course on the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrim landing this fall, so I thought I better get some background information. It was very helpful and also nice to do something like we used to be able to do, even though everyone, including the Pilgrims and the Wampanoags were just slightly out of costume. Did they have surgical masks in 1620? One other sign of the times: the place used to be called Plimoth Plantation. This summer they changed the name to Plimoth-Patuxet.
This week, Cliff and Sheila, our other socially isolated friends from Maine, have stopped in for a visit. We have done some retiree outings, including to have lunch with Annie and Sankar, a trip to a local distillery to taste some gin and whiskey, and a few hikes. Another sign of the times. The distillery is selling its own brand of hand sanitizer. I got some, along with a bottle of American whiskey. Annie and Sankar had just come back from a weekend at the beach in Gloucester.
And, we had a visit from Gerry and Dennis, from Virginia, but they actually followed the rules and got tested before setting foot in our great state.
We talked to David and Paula, and they were finishing up some house projects, not the glamorous kind but painting bathrooms and foundation work. They were expecting to see Matthew and Tina and the boys, one of whom starts school this week. We also heard from Andrew who passed along his late summer Covid reflections listed below. They continue to be in the throes of caring for Lur's parents.
Down in Florida, John and Marilyn continue to be well, hunkered down. They said that Brian has started a new job and Sage is starting her senior year in high school…..in front of a computer.
Over in Portugal, Leonor continues to be surrounded by family and friends, all willing helpers with two little boys, who seem to be having the time of their lives. They will be heading back to Brazil before the end of the month. Joe has been able to catch up on reading and running. Must be lonely.
And back to DC, Margaret and Andrew had the unfortunate discovery of a flooded basement after a torrential rainstorm, and they had the unhappy task of mopping and shop-vaccing up the basement that they just refinished. It sounds like nothing was ruined, luckily.
September is a season of travel. Sean and Erin are back east, as evidenced by this photo. Claire has returned to school, a bit warily and rightly so. Colleen has moved from Pittsfield to Long Island, got a new job and a new house. She doesn't waste time. Billy and Jen have bought a house in Dundee so they will be moving soon, back closer to Andrew and Lur. We see Janet is also back at school. And Timmy is days away from his move back out west, this time to the state of Washington, far from the fires.
And, here are Andrew's reflections:
" Some deep thoughts from this week. Too much free time?
-Wow! Update on the Carleton library children's book selection. Huge selection, no doubt courtesy of the Dickson boys. Good job, guys!
-You know fall is near for when you let the cat out, everything but the tail goes out.
-Your car gets three weeks to the gallon.
-Newspaper cartoons aren't funny anymore.
-I got two issues of the New Yorker in one day. Hmmm.
-Got a letter from Lawrenceville announcing they got hacked. Oh no, the Russians will find out how I did in French. I still blame it on Mr. Megna.
-Biggest challenge of the week: Reading labels at the grocery store with my glasses fogged up. Love my mask!
-Anybody want tomatoes?
-You know your dog is getting old when you are waking him up."
And with that, our love from up here. Stay healthy.
