Today is Johanna's birthday. I remember many weekly letters where Pop tells the story of a fishing trip in the Adirondacks with David when they heard the news of her birth, and headed home. Happy day, birthday girl!
It's official. Fall is here. And so far, it is glorious. Certainly better than California. But, we're not gloating here; in fact, feeling pretty bad for friends out west, and we've spoken to a number of them.
Fortunately, Annie is not there, at the moment. She extended her stay here in the Berkshires for another month, and has found a new place in Virginia for a few months. Neither she nor Sankar have to be physically at work for a while, so they're footloose and nomadic and taking advantage of the opportunity to check out places to live, far and wide.
They came over for brunch and a hike recently to Pittsfield State Forest, a wonderful benefit for having them close by. They also have been checking on their radishes, kohlrabi and spinach they planted in the garden.
Speaking of the garden, does anyone need plum tomatoes? I think we planted too many. Pretty much everything else is gone, though we did plant some fall lettuce which is almost ready to be harvested.
For various reasons, Leonor is staying in Portugal for a little longer, but hopes to rejoin Joe in Brazil soon. We see a lot of photos of the beach, and I'm sure Joe wishes he were there too. She applied for a job at the Embassy there and got it, so she's now going through all the lengthy clearance procedures. Here's one form – list every foreigner you've had contact with for the past 5 years. It'll take some time.
Simon had his 6-month birthday recently – hard to believe. He's at day care and is now sitting up. Margaret and Andrew are back at work, and like many young parents, balancing all those competing demands.
Mary's brother Timmy flew out and back from Portland to check on potential places to rent; he found one and is planning on moving out there in a few weeks.
While he was there, Mary and I headed east for a weekend with foreign service friends in Exeter NH. These were the two couples that we hiked the Camino de Santiago last year. So, we relived those days without masks by taking walks around that lovely town and along the beach, with masks.
Lest I forget, Paula also had a birthday which included a visit with their grandchildren. We see pictures of Donald and Everett in their respective school/day care sites.
This letter's photos include one of Peter and Janet's house, recently painted by Sean and Erin (looks fantastic!), Claire at an outdoor restaurant (check out the disinfectant wipes) and Mary swimming in the lake with her wetsuit. We've had our first frosts, but she's out there a few days each week.
As she heads out to the cold water, I am lying in bed, reading the on-line paper, or books on the Pilgrims for the class I'm teaching now, or fretting about my tours at the Herman Melville home.
Tough life, but we all continue to be affected by this #%**!* virus and pray that you all are safe and healthy.
There, I got through the letter without even mentioning the debate the other night.
Love from up here.
No comments:
Post a Comment