Winter's flying by

January is over.  One more month of winter.  Then spring.  Of course, maybe more spring in DC and NJ than IL, NY and MA.  And FL never really gets winter, unless you count going down to 60 degrees at night winter. You might have to actually wear sneakers there rather than sandals. But give up the shorts?  Never.

So, the big news of the last two weeks was, you guessed it: a late push of the KC quarterback who was already out of bounds that sent the wrong team to the Super Bowl. It wasn't the big news for everyone?  Mary thinks it was.  Right? Just one more question on this.  Who feels sorry for the guy who pushed him?  Not Patrick Mahomes, I bet. There's always next year, but I was shocked to read an article titled – Why are the Bengals So Annoying?  Really?  Have we become the Patriots? I could only wish.

Back to family. Looks like there was a brief hospital stay for Everett who was experiencing some stomach issues that wouldn't go away. From the looks of him in the hospital bed, I might even say it was a case of fake-itis, that got out of hand, except he'd have to be at least five years older for that.  Glad to hear he's okay, and that he's not Ferris Buehler.

We're getting ready for our trip to points west, which means a phone call to Oakland.  Annie had just become certified as a professional coach, and is hanging out her shingle for clients looking for new careers, jobs, etc.  She and Sankar gave us a few tips on where to go and what to see in Hawaii.  Sankar is still in Brazil and loving it.  Who wouldn't?

Speaking of Brazil, Joe has a departure date to return to Washington. He'll be coming back in March, while Leonor stays down there for a few more months so the boys can go to school/day care. Here's a photo of Thomas in the shirt he designed. The adults in that family are planning a trip to Rio for Carnevale. Sounds like fun, when you're of a certain age.

Down in DC, we hear that Simon has new names for his parents.  Margaret and Andrew.  Not Mommy, Daddy. And we pass along a photo that will be in his bio when he surpasses Alex Ovechkin for most goals scored.  

We had a couple of phone calls with the folks in Port Orange, but mostly about a hot water heater.  Yes, and you can imagine, there's a little story and maybe a lesson. You wouldn't remember our Christmas letter that talked about living in this house for ten years, and things beginning to break. Well, the hot water heater that Johnny installed 16 years ago went kaput, a good eight years after its estimated life span.  The lesson, though, is don't go to the movies. We had fir the first time, I think since Covid, gone to our local cinema to take in A Man Called Otto (recommended by the way).  When I went to put the cat in his sleeping quarters – the old basement – I couldn't help but notice WATER!  Pretty much everywhere. I grabbed the shop-vac and started scooping out the water, and then saw it was coming out in spurts from the bottom of the hot water heater. The story doesn't end there, but I see this has already gone on too long, and, suffice it to say, we were without hot water for almost a week. The actual lesson is - we take for so much for granted. And, also, it's nice to have a plumbing consultant at the other end of the line, who will answer the call. Thanks Johnny.

Mary did her annual one-hour swim with her team this past week, and topped it off with a team potluck dinner (not here, fortunately.) She won the award for most times swimming the 500in practice  – 20 laps. Also in the pool was John, who took the award for being officially old.  He's signed up for deep water aerobics, and he and the teacher are the only men in the class. 

So dry-er (or damp) January is almost over. What does that mean for February?  We find we're not so keen on jumping back into wetness. 

With that sobering news, we'll sign off, sending our love from up here.

Hibernating

It seemed like a good idea.  Until I got outside.  Walk over to the lake and take in the view of snow-covered Mt. Greylock in the late afternoon sun.  Of course, it was cold, but I didn't take in the wind off the ice. There were three groups of fishermen, but they were all on the other side of the lake with, perhaps, a little protection. Anyway, venturing out of hibernation helps with cabin fever.

So does getting tickets for Hawaii! That's our destination for March, with a stopover in Oakland to see Annie. Now, we just have to avoid FAA glitches, Southwest Airlines, weird weather, and illness. Yes, we got travel insurance.

Illness also seems to go hand in hand with January. Paula's gone a couple of rounds with cold symptoms, Simon had a stomach bug, and Margaret had pink eye. We both finally tested negative for Covid since the last letter, but we feel close to the edge of something pretty much every day.

Weird weather is what Annie is getting out on the west coast. She says her house is okay, as it sits on top of a hill, but there's flooding everywhere. Her electricity was out one day, and she drove to work, and the roads were eerily empty. Sankar is missing it all, finally leaving the Brazil beaches this week.

Neither weird weather or pink eye prevented Margaret from heading back to Mexico City to help out with the "Three Amigos" summit. It sounded like a 75-ring circus, or maybe that was a 75-car motorcade she was in on the way to the airport to meet Air Force One.

The Brazil folks weathered an insurrection, just a few miles away, but they were safe.  They are taking advantage of this long weekend to go back to the beach, a different one, near Fortaleza. We did see in the annual NY Times 52 places to go in 2023, there were two from Brazil. And, yes, Luisa is crawling!  Look out.

It took me a while, but I finally figured out the method behind Sean and Erin's Friday Tinybeans postings of photos of Kiernan in a diaper, marking the weeks since his birth. It will make a wonderful time lapse. I can't wait to see them all in one video. Of course, he may not be willing to pose in his underwear when he turns 14, or 27.  Or, maybe he will.  And, yes, Kiernan is crawling too!

The first part of January marks important events, like Jeffrey's and Margaret's birthdays, and when we called down to DC last night, Jeff and Melodie were over visiting, bringing Hopper along for Simon and celebrating, most assuredly.  Remember that cold day in January in upstate New York for Tina and Matthew's anniversary?  Happy days.  We also remembered sister Ann (who would have turned 70) and Grandma Boyle on their birthdays, and Grandma Dickson who left us in the first days of the year.

How's everyone doing on their resolutions?  Happy to report from here – not so well. Hope that makes you feel better. 

Other highlights? It seems that January is a good time to go to the dentist. Both Mary and I had successful visits, if you count success as not enduring much agony. I had two fillings removed and replaced.  Big deal.

We do notice the days getting longer, little by little, which means we're heading in the right direction.  A direction that includes - mark your calendars - the Poconos, from July 20-23. It was Andrew who noticed that the man accused of those terrible murders in Idaho was picked up near Mountain Springs. I said near, not at cabin 29. 

Finally, we thought we lost our kitty this week. He has gotten a little more adventurous braving the cold weather, but we couldn't find him all day after he ventured out in one morning.  Right about dark, I turned on the light on the screened-in porch, and saw his head sticking out from under a tarp I had covered the picnic table with.  He was hiding from the cleaners and their loud vacuum cleaner. Still. They had left eight hours earlier. 

And with that, happy Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.

Love, from up here.