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)