Not too early to shut down the garden though. I almost pulled up the beans a week ago, but with the rain, we're into a renewed bumper crop. How does that happen? We're also harvesting more tomatoes than ever, both cherries and big guys. We have another day of canning coming up, but we've run out of jars. Off to the hardware store.
We had a wonderful time with Simon and his parents. Margaret's new job keeps her going at all hours it seems. She was helping get papers ready for the Secretary's visit to Mexico earlier this week. I remember those days. Glad they're behind me.
Anyway, we did all the things mentioned in the last letter, and more. Two days of rain hampered our ability to go outside, but did not deter Simon who just wanted to be outside, even in the rain, even in bare feet, even in his pjs. Andrew got in a couple games of golf, and they all hit the rail trail, with Simon on the back of Andrew's bike and Margaret briskly walking.
Mary talked to her brother Timmy, who is leaving Montana and moving back to southern California. He said there's nothing in Montana. Of course. That's the point. He's more of a sunshine, warm weather guy. Speaking of warm weather, John and Marilyn said they've had a string of 115 days of temperatures over 90 degrees. I'll never complain about heat up here again.
Here's a story. Of a desk. A desk you all will remember. Pop's roll-top desk. Even though we think Andrew got the majority of stuff from Pomfret, somehow I ended up with the desk, and all the stuff inside. There's three hole-punchers, a staple remover, two magnifying glasses, a drawer full of cuff links, buttons, matches, keys and coins. And of course, I've added a few things to the numerous cubbies over the years. But the wood stain was wearing off, the cubbies were cracking and bending, odd pieces of wood were floating around. So, ten years ago when we moved in, I showed it to Paul, a local furniture restorer who quoted me $500 to fix it all up. I should have done it then. Guess what? When I showed it to him again this past June, he quoted me a price that must have approached Opie Adams quotes to fix up the Woodie.
Anyway, we bit the bullet and weeks (months?) later, he finished. He fixed it all up new, but then locked the roll top down so we couldn't open it up. A locksmith had no luck either. Paul and I look a risk and lifted the entire top up and dislodged the lock. Phew. it's back in the study, looking and feeling much better. Taking all the stuff out to give to Paul meant a golden opportunity to throw away, give away stuff. Marie Condo I am not. A lot of it ended up back in the desk for the next generation.
We had a long chat with the folks in Brazil, including some reading time for Thomas and John. Fun. Thomas has been battling an ear infection among other symptoms. We have bought our tickets for Brazil, as have Annie and Margaret and their best friends. Thanksgiving in Brazil, again.
We see a couple of babies getting older and bigger on the Tinybeans feed. Kiernan is sitting up and eating solids. Still no Fluff yet, I imagine. Luisa is super alert, and watching her older brothers intently.
School starts means that Claire is back with her musical bands, and Donald is entering third grade. What? We also see he got a trip to the concert hall for some classical music.
Annie and Sankar are heading this way this weekend. We were worried about the train strike as they had plans to head to the city on that mode. Crisis averted. Looking forward to seeing them.
Finally, we are doing our bit for climate change. Solar panels installed. Using the finance option, it's a no-brainer. We're paying the same in finance charges as our electric bill. Like I said, no brainer.
With that, hope you're all well and enjoying the transition to a new season.
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