Superheroes

Starting this letter on Friday the 13th, but I'm just superstitious enough not to post it until tomorrow.  But not superstitious enough to postpone writing it.  

Mary's off on a ladies' night out with her book club group that consists of eastern Mass folks, but has been able to meet over the past year plus via Zoom.  Sounds like she had a good time, when she checked in this morning.  Glad that at least one of us did.

It's hot here, as I am sure it is wherever you are.  Rainy to hot means tons of mosquitos.  Out in Dundee, Andrew says they have been experiencing the impact of nearby tornadoes, with downed trees in the neighborhood.  Claire had been there, on her way to a return stint at the Green Lake camp to fill in for counselors who had to leave early.  

We also checked in with the Fairport gang, to hear about their upcoming trip to Nantucket in September.  Their stay is all part of their 50th wedding celebration, and Jeffrey, Melodie and Matthew and Tina and the boys will be joining them.  I told them we'd go down to the Mass Pike and wave as they went by.  And then, the voice of Donald echoed on the phone.  He had been staying with David and Paula while attending a day camp for music.  Going in to second grade this year, he has been doing choral and voice lessons this summer, but he mostly wanted to fill me in on all things superheroes.  His excitement about Black Widow, Spiderman and Black Panther reminded me of a young Matthew and Star Wars.  Or even Thomas.

I got a text this week from an unknown number, but fortunately Billy identified himself and asked for details of the Poconos next year.  He almost committed to joining us next July 14-17, which means we may need more cabins.  It would be great to see his family who are all grown up/growing so fast.

Paula had wondered that we probably could have made the Poconos work this year, but I suspect we would have been right on the edge.  We are back to wearing masks here when we're indoors.  Could be the new normal.  It was fun going around unmasked for a few weeks.  

Sickness seems to be a theme in DC and Brazil.  Simon has been missing a few days from day care which makes it hard or impossible to work with a sick baby at home.  He is really moving around on two feet.  And Margaret said in the midst of all that she had a root canal.  Down in Brazil, they have been passing around a stomach virus which as you can imagine doesn't sound pretty at all.  Fortunately, no positive tests for Covid anywhere.

A big thank you to Janet for putting me on to DeerScram.  It seems to be doing the trick, along with netting, coffee grounds, and spray.  All out war, or almost all out war – no guns.  Yet.  Anyway, they are leaving the peaches and blueberries alone and we are the beneficiaries.  This year I gave up a big chunk of the garden to two pumpkin mounds, and they are trying to assume control over the whole garden.  We do have three nice big pumpkins.  

What else?  We had visitors from DC, foreign service friends from South Africa, and we're looking forward to a visit from Margaret and Andrew who are coming up on Sunday.  With Simon of course.  
Also on the road were Jeffrey and Melodie who looked to be out In Minnesota, and Annie and Sankar who have finished up one-week stays in New Orleans and Austin, and are on their way to Santa Fe.

We had a busy Herman Melville week as well, with the annual marathon reading and the hike up Monument Mountain.  To everyone's surprise, Paul Giamatti, the Sideways and Billions actor, jumped on via Zoom, and we convinced him to read the ending for us.  Quite a thrill for our little museum.  In the process, I learned that he is the son of the former Major League Baseball Commissioner and President of Yale and literature professor, Bart Giamatti.

I have finished as much as I have for scanning Pop's Weekly Letters, but Johnny sent me his old photo scanner that can digitize slides and negatives.  A new project.  Thanks, Johnny, I was almost getting bored.

With that, hope you all are well and taking care – Love from up here.