Robins

There they were, many of them.  Robins.  In our yard, and there was even some snow still.  We haven't seen them for a few days, so I'm not sure if they were just here for the weekend, like many New Yorkers, but they must have seen the prediction for snow later this week.

The big news last week was Simon's first birthday.  The year went by fast, and slow at the same time, according to his mother. Sounds about right, based on our experience.  Wait until he reaches 20!  We did a birthday zoom, and saw him crawling and pulling himself up and waving and clapping.  They're all coming up for Easter week.  Yippee.

There was another birthday party over in Fairport for David's big day.  It seems there was a big meal and a homemade cake with Matthew and Tina and the boys.  I did get the lowdown from David who was taking advantage of the break in the weather to enjoy some outdoor time on his porch.  I keep telling myself to take notes; I suspect Pop had a list – he always had a list.  The king of lists.

Out in the Midwest, Claire used her spring break to head south, not to Miami but to Dundee, and then off to Wisconsin to catch up with friends.  She has been teaching in-person this whole year, and now she's relieved a little since she has gotten her vaccine.

And our friends down in Brazil got their first shots.  Phew, especially as the news of the virus there sounds downright scary.  Joe also mentioned he is going to participate in a "Hot Ones" challenge.  (Google it.  Apparently, it's a new reality show, and quite possibly a new tradition for the Poconos, if and when we head back there for our family reunion.  Still to be decided.)

This week is moving week for Annie.  She and Sankar are packing up to head south for the next few months – Asheville, North Carolina.  We hear there are 52 breweries in that city.  Hmmm.

Here, we've passed our two weeks waiting period after our second shot and….. nothing.  No parties, no Miami or Cancun.  Just more of the same, and you know what those are: swimming, hiking, sewing, life-long learning classes.  We did go to Boston one day for a doctor's appointment, and we felt almost giddy taking a road trip.  Anticipation.

On the way to Boston, we also checked in with Daytona, and we're pleased to learn that both John and Marilyn have gotten their shots and are planning a trip north in a few weeks.  Their justification is to help Heather move to a new house, but they'll be checking in while up here.  Great.

Finally, in the either "I never knew," or the "I totally forgot" category, here's a March 29, 1982 Pop's original weekly letter excerpt: "Yesterday was my mother's birthday and sad to say I don't remember too much of those days, except that she was sick for a long time.  She had been a school teacher in a bad section of Brooklyn, and I remember her saying one day that one of her students had gone to the electric chair on that day.  Her father was a house painter (do you suppose that's where I got the painting passion?) and her grandfather was an iron worker brought here by John Erricson to work on the Monitor.  Her name was Florence Dorothea Holm and the old pictures show that she was a beauty." 

And a few more details for your great grandmother, gleaned from Ancestry – her father's name was Hjalmar, born in Sweden on February 5, 1857, which meant that his family would have immigrated when he was very young, if his father was to have worked on the Monitor.  Anyway, since we have a tradition of naming newborns after family members, I'm just throwing out Hjalmar as a possibility.

With those little nuggets, we wish you all a happy Easter.  Love from up here.

(Clipping above from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 9, 1921)

Spring Forward

Happy Daylight Savings Time!  It means we "spring forward" but it's actually snowing here and is supposed to go down to 8 degrees tonight.  That's right.  One digit.  But, this week it was up to 60 degrees one day, so there's hope.  And, we saw a picture of Washington with blossoms on the trees. 

 

In fact, it was a pretty hopeful week all around.  We got our second vaccines yesterday, an hour or so before Yo Yo Ma got his and so missed out on his impromptu cello concert for all the nurses and volunteers at the community college.  But we heard it made CNN!  We're famous.  Almost.  I wanted to go treat myself after the shot, but then I realized the shot was, in fact, the treat.  So far, not much bad reactions.

 

A lot of melting took place with the high temps this week, and we had small little lakes all over our yard.  But the basement is dry fortunately.

 

We decided after years of hemming and hawing to move forward with some renovations – mostly to carve out a bathroom and closet in our too-large master bedroom.  What convinced us to move ahead?  Part of it was the wonderful outdoor winter activities with no bath to soak in afterwards.  Part of it was the end of Covid and feeling comfortable with workers in the house.  And part of it was the record-breaking stock market.  Can't last forever.

 

We spoke to Vermont, Brazil and Washington several times. Annie and Sankar had been skiing a few times, but they're moving into their final two weeks up north. On to Asheville NC next. Brazil remains on tenderhooks because of the virus, and Joe and Leonor never know when they're going to shut everything down. And we see in both Brazil and Washington toddlers taking their first crawling movements and standing on their own.  Simon's going to be one year old coming up, right after David has his birthday.

 

A note on Mountain Springs/Poconos.  We hope to make a final decision in early April.  Talk about hemming and hawing.  One day, it doesn't look so good, and then a few days later, well, maybe.  Anyway, we'll let everyone know in a few weeks.

 

Anyone remember my quiz from last letter? "Which of the grandchildren are puppeteers?  Which are into ballet?  Who's been snowshoeing?"  Answers: Myles, Thomas and Elliot, and Donald.

 

Some sad news from Dundee.  Andrew and Lur had to put their cat down.  I can never remember whether the cat's name was Maynard or Tucker. A hunter and a character is what I do remember. He appeared in a recent weekly letter with his legs crossed. Update: I have just been informed that the cat's name was Murphy, after MRF and that stands for?

 

So, here's a weird coincidence.  As we finished one Netflix series, we turned to "All Creatures Great and Small" on PBS, and Mary remarked that we have become our parents, as the original series was one of Loretta's, and Mom and Pop's favorite shows.  Then, the weekly letter that I scanned today had this entry: "When Uncle Bob gave me a book on the Yorkshire vet of TV fame, he didn't realize that I would get out the maps and try to retrace some of the towns and places shown in such beautiful color. Nor did he suspect that I would come to the fine conclusion that Mom and I ought to try a trip to that fine land this fall. Probably just dreaming, but that can be fun, too." (May 4, 1981)

 

Even funnier, as we were watching the other night, I thought the countryside looked so beautiful, we should go to Yorkshire on a trip.  And, now that we have our second vaccine, we, too can dream a little. 

 

And, even funnier, the next weekly letter that I scanned was from April 27, 1981; it started out "Happy Daylight Savings Time.!"

 

And with that, love from up here.