Only ten more sleeps

The snow is gone, but it sure is cold up here. In a few days it will warm up and rain. But we want snow! Not too much, and not in March, thanks. But for Christmas, yes.

Cold weather means we are rapidly going through our woodpile. Not sure if it will last through the winter, so I went out to try to split some more logs. No can do. But I was able to put a shovel in the ground and get a few more carrots. A harvest in December?

Yesterday, Mary went to Worcester for the annual New England swim meet, and she came home with a rubber ducky (first in her heat,) a slew of ribbons, mostly blue, and a hair-raising story about someone collapsing in the pool. After a long time of medical attention and transfer to the hospital, the reports are that the swimmer-patient is okay. Fingers crossed. (The swimmer was my age.)

Our big news since the last letter was that we had to cancel our trip to Fairport. I felt a tickle in my throat that turned into the sniffles, and thought it best not to expose anyone. Too bad, as it would have been great to catch up with David and Paula. But, it was the right choice, as the cold went into my chest, and stuck around for a while. Fortunately, Mary didn't get anything, thanks to Airborne, Zicam, garlic and ginger, and Sankar's father herbal mix. It worked for her, but not me.

Haircuts were on the agenda, but no dump. Must be getting ready for the holidays to get your haircut early and let it grow out in case it was a total mess-up. Anyway, we also saw Luisa, Thomas, and John got their coifs all nicied up.

Photos of Ronan down in Baltimore show an alert baby who's even smiling and perhaps laughing a little? I thought that didn't happen for months. Must be on the college track.

Facebook is my source of all news, at least Dickson news. The photos of Bill and family at the Polar Express in Denver show them quickly settled into their new landscape. Also, I found photos of Matthew and family also out doing Christmas activities, even without front teeth, for Everett.

We had a few conversations with John and Marilyn as he had an operation to take care of a gall bladder issue. Marilyn is looking at a knee operation soon too. Uggh.

Out in Illinois, Andrew and Lur went to a Wishbone Ash concert and gave it two thumbs up! Now there's a group I hadn't heard in a long time. Not sure I can name one of their songs.

We went to a concert as well, but of Christmas music. Wonderful full choral music, but only a few Christmas songs that we recognized. Still good. We'll try again today, at a different venue.

Finally, I wanted to share with you that I have a new Afghan student. The last one moved away with the acceptance of a better job in Springfield MA. My new student showed up in Pittsfield right before Thanksgiving.  His story, at least what I've figured out so far, is heart-breaking, as he fled his country since he was in the military and has spent the last few years in Pakistan, unable to see his family. He doesn't have a word of English, has a sixth-grade education, but proudly showed me pictures of both his family and army unit. It will be interesting to see him grow in language and confidence and in contributing in the year ahead.

With that, wishing you all the merriest of Christmases. Love from up here.

 

  

Dateline, the nation’s capital.

Let's start this letter with the birthdays. And I do mean birth day. Welcome to Ronan Zoubek Dickson. All six pounds and ten ounces, and nineteen inches. Congratulations to Erin and Sean and one happy big brother Kiernan. What a nice name too!

Let's also shout out to Andrew S and Sankar who had anniversaries of their births this week.

And what were you all thankful for this year? For being together at Joe and Leonor's house for a spectacular dinner. Leonor's parents were there all the way from Lisbon for their first Thanksgiving.

We had come down with a loaded car on Tuesday in a surprisingly light traffic drive. Loaded with? Turkey and fixings and other contributions which along with pies from Margaret and sides from Joe and Leonor meant for a full table. We felt as if Annie and Sankar were almost there since we had been in the phone with them for 90 plus minutes earlier in the day.

Where were you last Thanksgiving? Easy for us as we celebrated in India. Can't say we started any new traditions there but we had happy memories.

Out in Dundee, Andrew and Lur played host to Claire and Daniel. They had just seen Claire at her orchestra concert before going to a Ripon football game. Further west we hear that Billy broke his foot during their move. Ouch.

Given the forecasts we expect there was a lot of white stuff at the Fairport Thanksgiving. I think Melodie and Jeff had driven oven up and I hope can make it back easily.

No white stuff for Annie and Sankar who are traveling this week, headed to Mumbai. And no snow for Margaret who had spent a week in Peru helping out on the APEC meeting that Biden and a few hundred of his closest friends attended. She had a few choice stories about the Chinese delegation that are not for this weekly letter.

And another traveler was Timmy who officially moved to Rhode Island. He's renting Maura's apartment. He packs it in as he had cataract surgery too! His first challenge will be to buy a new car after the accident totaled his last one.

I have a new name for this pre-Christmas season. It's called light show season. Seems like all these museums have discovered a way to balance their budgets. But nobody does it like the National Zoo where we went last night. A spectacular walk and we weren't the only ones out in the cold to take it all in.

We went to our old church in Bethesda with Joe and family this morning. A good message for the waiting inherent in Advent. Don't miss now. And I think I'm going to get an Advent wreath.

Enjoy the don't miss now season!

Love from the nation's capital.

Happy Thanksgiving

Guess what the big news of the past two weeks was? I know what you're thinking, but you're wrong. It was Luisa's christening. There were so many moments in the service that were touching and fun, unexpected and a little anxiety producing, but let's just leave it at "really special." It was supposed to take place a couple of weeks ago, but Joe and Leonor decided to postpone it so that we could be there (our plane from Lisbon was delayed.)  

A short recap – Luisa was a little worried, but the minister put her at ease (so did Leonor).  She was beautiful as the star of the show, but I guess I'm biased. There were, in Mary's words, three little "puppies" rolling around the floor at various times, that is to say young boys, named Thomas, John, and Simon. But they were well-behaved and made it to the end without incident! You can see them in the front in this picture, invited up there by the priest, who even let them dip their hands in the water. Jeff and Melodie were there, as well as a few friends from all generations.

We then headed back to Joe and Leonor's for a meal, chatter, and backyard playing. The chatter was not all about the same subject that had consumed us for the past year, but a little of it. Jeff and Melodie were at the tail end of a bout with pneumonia, so I got my third pneumonia shot this week (unrelated as the doctor recommended it this week at my annual physical.)  There was no school on Monday or Tuesday, so we took the boys to the pool for a few hours, and then went over to Margaret and Andrew's for supper. They were contemplating putting a bid on a house in their neighborhood, but given what happened Tuesday, we're glad they held off. This week, Margaret has been in Lima, helping prepare for President Biden's visit there tomorrow. I bet it's changed a lot since she lived there (1999 we left.)

While in DC, we heard that Sean, Erin, and Kiernan had come down the week before  for a visit with Joe and Leonor. Naaaiiice.

Annie and Sankar were back in India, but off on another trip. This time they went to Kolkata for Sankar's visa interview which did not go well. (Sad face emoji here.) Then they headed off to what looked to be a most spectacular park north of Kolkata.

More news up here is that Timmy is moving. He has found a place in Rhode Island and not just any place. He will be renting out the apartment at Maura's house. In the process of taking a load down, he had a car accident, but he's okay. His car, not so much.

We went to a movie, Conclave, and recommend it. Actually, we went to two movies, the other being a fund-raiser for Arrowhead which showed the film of Billy Budd, this being the 100^th anniversary of the publication of the book. For those of you who like numbers, the film came out in 1962, exactly 62 years ago.

Speaking of Billy, here's a belated Halloween picture of his crew. They, by the way, have moved into their new home.

And we spoke with Paula on our drive back home from DC. All is well in Fairport, and we hope to stop by there after Thanksgiving.

What else passes for excitement up here? Dentist, doctor appointments, swim meet, fall garden clean-ups, and bridge. No haircut or dump, although we did get our new trash cans from the city. That was our political controversy over the past few years.

With that, we pass along our best wishes. Love from up here.  And Happy Thanksgiving.

Halloween, Diwali, Birthdays, and Demolition

Happy Halloween!  Or should I say Happy Halloween week? How many parties did your children have? How many different costumes? 

Halloween does bring back many memories, such as the trick played at Cunningham Road when someone soaped the screens; I'm not sure we ever knew who did that. Or the cape that we used to share (or possibly fight over) for our costume.  Here's an entry from the real Pop's Weekly Letters, 1980: "I spent some time trying to create some order in the chaotic basement. Do you remember the long cloak that we found in the attic in Cunningham Road and which I think each of you wore at some Halloween?  Well, it finally bit the dust (or mold} and is now at the dump."

There are other more recent memories, of Joe as a mummy, converted to a car accident victim when the paper wrapping started falling off, or Margaret as an M&M, or Annie as a Princeton cheerleader. What's the best part of Halloween? The candy that we always buy for the trick-or-treaters who never venture back behind the haunted house in front of ours.

Except that maybe they will this year, because (drum roll) that house is no longer there. That occupied a good chunk of our attention these past two weeks. Once the pest control and asbestos removal requirements were out of the way, it was just a matter of scheduling the equipment. The excavator showed up Tuesday afternoon, so we knew the next day was a go. Sure enough, by 7am the crew was there, and they began at 7:30. Two hours later they were done with the tear down. The remainder of the day and the next was removal of debris, and Friday was levelling and rolling the yard.

A friend suggested we do a time lapse on our IPhone, and it worked.  Two hours in twenty-four seconds. Unfortunately, I couldn't upload it here. Maybe on Facebook.  

We spent pretty much all day Wednesday in front-row seats watching. Mary's nieces and brother Timmy were here to keep us company, which made the emotions of the day a little easier. Each time the crew shut down work, we would all go over and scavenge a little, pulling out bricks and a few other items. Corrinne mentioned that there was a custom to put a horseshoe in the side of the house facing north. Sure enough, not one minute later, we found a horseshoe at the bottom of the cellar hole, and a little while after that, I found another one, just lying on the foundation. We will find a suitable place for them.

What comes next? Not sure. But, I do have a pollinator flower mix, and am contemplating a pumpkin patch, a grape arbor, some fruit trees, some evergreen trees. Any other suggestions?

We need to get David over here to help out with landscaping ideas. He, by the way, mentioned that the senior housing group he's involved with has moved on to their next housing project. Paula was out when we talked, as she was at a Habitat for Humanity meeting! 

A few months ago, I remember writing that if you hear the word norovirus, run the other direction.  Apparently, Johnny didn't run fast enough, and he was down for the count. Terrible sickness.

Annie and Sankar are back in India, after a few weeks away, in Japan and Taiwan. Here's a picture of their Diwali celebration. 

It's October which is birthday month, so we send our wishes to Claire, Billy, and Kathleen. Anyone else? I think I hit Janet and Johanna earlier, but just in case, Happy Birthday!

Love from up here.

  

 

 

Home again

We're home.  Barely. Joe and Leonor once told us TAP Airlines (the Portuguese company) is short for "take another plane."  And we did just that. But TAP also gave us a Marriott to stay in while waiting and a bunch of meal vouchers.  But we got in very late Sunday night, and decided to drive home from Newark. Seemed like a good idea at 11pm. We were both awake. Not such a good idea once on the Taconic Parkway with no motels anywhere near.

Unfortunately, the delay meant we were going to miss Luisa's baptism, since our plan was to arrive and head to DC for the ceremony the following day.  Joe, and the minister at the church, were nice to postpone the baptism until we could be there. That didn't stop the party though as Margaret and Andrew and Simon headed over to join the cousins at the party. Leonor's brother was also there.  Looked like fun. FOMO.

Seems like everyone in the family was hiking these past two weeks. We have Colorado photos of Bill and Jen and family in the woods; Annie and Sankar are off on 5-day hike in rural Japan (yes there is such a thing as trees in Japan); and Joe and Leonor headed out to West Virginia for a taste of the country. Everett got a close encounter with a bird of prey on his outdoor adventure. And, I may have this wrong, but it looked like Jeff and Melodie were in the Minnesota woods (and lakes.)

We did a lot of walking in Austria, but really only one hike in the woods, up a mountain near Innsbruck. We didn't go all the way up the mountain, but for a while it seemed that's where we were heading. We can now check off hiking in the Alps on our non-existent bucket list. Most of our walking, up to 10 miles a day, was around the beautiful towns and cities, checking out museums and shops, palaces and shops, churches and shops. And restaurants and coffee houses. Since we had walked so much, we mistakenly felt we could splurge.

Food in Austria turned out to be a highlight. From beer gardens to a civilized lunch on the Danube River. But there were other highlights as well. The views obviously; going down, into a mountain, to see the oldest salt mine in the world; the Klimnt exhibit at the Belvedere Museum in Vienna; the medieval fair we happened upon outside of Innsbruck; meeting up with my childhood friend Steve Bidwell who took us under his wing in his adopted hometown, Wien (German for Vienna.)  Lots of memories, lots of photos, and few extra pounds. Despite the walking.

Once again, we were not the only ones traveling. John and Marilyn were on a cruise, with Colleen and Laura, but they were back in time for Milton the hurricane. Fortunately, they had only a little flooding on their street as they waited out the 80-mile winds. I should mention that it was a hurricane (Leslie) that caused our 36 hour delay in Lisbon. Never heard of Leslie the hurricane? Neither had I, as it was stalled over the Atlantic, right on our flight path home.  (I may try to get the copywrite for changing the way we name hurricanes – from Hurricane Milton to Milton the Hurricane. Sounds so much more combative, like a pro wrestler.)

Speaking of sports, I bet there's some joy somewhere on the streets of Jersey with the Mets defying all odds and surging at the right time. Not much joy somewhere on the streets of Dundee as the Brewers lost again in round one. Maybe even some joy in Fairport with the Yankees.

Let's close out with a happy birthday wish to Janet. 

Love from back here where we belong.

 

Europa

Dateline Salzburg

I had every good intention to do a letter before September ran out but I've either lost track of the days or lost track of everything. We closed out our Portugal chapter and have moved on to our Austria adventure. 

I used to say that after three days in a new country you're an expert and after three years you're an idiot. So now I'm in the expert phase in Austria. We know why Andrew and Margaret loved this place 

It's such an odd pairing - Portugal and Austria. Warm, sunny vs cold, cloudy, rainy. Understanding a little of the Romance language in Portugal to being completely befuddled by German. Wine vs beer. Drought vs. floods. Fish vs sausage. Our pairing came about only because of travel companions, different in each place but it made sense for us to combine especially as the airlines gave us an additional stop for free. 

Both wonderful though. Some highlights:

• the butcher shop in Pinhao where we found the same butcher who was in a photo with Annie and Margaret eight years ago. He remembered us and showered us with free samples that led me to buy smoked sausages that have become my cologne on all my clothes.
• Lunch with Leonor's family. A long, lingering, outdoor affair. Everyone there except Sebastian who had just landed in DC and was with Joe and Leonor. Would've liked to spend more time but ….
• We had soccer games to go to. I think I'm done with European soccer leagues. I'll tell you later about the noise and the hooligan (playfully called ultras) gauntlet that I had to manoeuver through
• The walk through vineyards and wine tasting in Pinhao … the evening of Fado that ended with the 79-year-old soccer teammates singing Old Nassau on request from the crowd
• Should I mention our broken suitcase and repacking in the airport in a new costly one? No best leave that one out.

We met up with our Pittsfield friends yesterday at the airport and after a brief, costly panic at the car rental place, we were off to Salzburg. Next time we'll fill you in on this place.

We're not the only ones traveling. Annie and Sankar are making their way to Japan and sites nearby. Today they're in Singapore for a brief layover. And John and Marilyn are off on a cruise.

They managed to escape the worst of Helene on the east coast of Florida. But we have two sets of friends in Asheville who were hit hard, living through the devastation we all saw on tv, news feeds. Unbelievable. These disasters all seem remote until you know someone. I did check in with Rell but she's in Italy and missed whatever tore through Alabama.

Andrew and Lur hit the road as well, meeting up with a Lawrenceville friend in Wisconsin. They passed along this cute photo of Theo. Looks like Colorado agrees with him.

Today, we're going to have dinner and concert at the Salzburg castle. But to get there means a scary ride up a furnicular (fancy term for scary cable car/trolley). I'm pretty sure it won't be my last altitude encounter in the coming days.

So time to sign off with that scary thought.

Love from over here

Road Trip

We love a road trip, we have come to realize. Our second road trip of the year took us to see brothers and friends, and children and grandchildren. And a niece. You could say we packed it in.

It started with a stopover in Fairport. Over tea, we caught up with David and Paula, recounting the Poconos that they missed (sad face emoji here), health concerns, and gardening (their yard looks fantastic.) We went into East Rochester for a wonderful dinner. Over breakfast the next day, David filled us in on a commendable project he's been helping guide, senior housing with dozens of new units.

From there, we crossed through Canada to reconnoiter with Andrew and Lur in Midland, Michigan. My goal of getting a Tim Horton's double-double added 45 minutes or more to our trip, due to Canadian love for red lights. And the coffee wasn't even as good as I remember. Anyway, back to Midland, a town Lur had suggested as a midway point, which makes sense due to its name. We found our air b&b with some difficulty as it was in the middle of NOWHERE! But it was great. Turns out that Lur chose the town, not because of its catchy name, but because of the Dow Gardens there, which were really spectacular and worth the visit. Equally worthwhile was the cute town center, where we had lunch at Café Zinc, an uninformed choice that turned out to be excellent.

We headed east while Andrew and Lur turned west, since we wanted to spend a little time on Lake Huron, though the beach we found was technically on Saginaw Bay. We found a diner for lunch, and I mention that since I ordered a milkshake that came in one of those old-fashioned metal containers. Yum. Still dreaming of it.

And then up to Traverse City, on Lake Michigan, where a Peace Corps friend has a house. I had kind of heard of Traverse City before, but really only because he bought a house there. But, I should have heard of it. Cherry capital of the United States, with wineries (not vineyards there), a national park (Sleeping Bear Dunes), and shops and shops. So many shops that were not franchises, except for Orvis, which gives you a sense of the prosperity in that area. They even turned an old insane asylum (that's what it was called) into an indoor mall. We went hiking and Mary got to swim in Lake Michigan. I have to mention Cherry Republic, a store there that sells everything cherry, and has buckets of free samples. Someone spent a little too much time in front of the chocolate covered cherry bows.

Along the way, we decided to extend our trip by returning via Washington to catch up with Joe and family, and Margaret and family. We made it to Pittsburgh as a layover, where we discovered that this is a sports crazy town, fanatic over their home teams. When we left the hotel early the next morning, we discovered it was not quite early enough, as we were at the end of a long line of tailgaters who had arrived the night before for what we assumed was a college football game.

In Washington, we got our grandparent "fix," watching boys race around Sherman circle on bikes and scooter, and Luisa trying to avoid getting run over. I have to share John's question at supper that night, "What was the best thing that happened today?" Hard to choose.

The next day, I headed out, but Mary stayed on another night. My adventure took me to the sporting capital of the U.S., New York, where I had to avoid Giants football traffic and the US Open tennis final to get to Citifield to see a baseball game with Peter and Johanna, who wisely took public transport to get to Queens. It would have only been better if the Mets had beaten the Reds (but I wasn't complaining.)

Mary stayed on in DC and joined the crew for services the next day at our old church in Bethesda. It was hard to get the youngsters interested, but it sounds like the kind of church service I would have really liked at their age. They arrived as the congregation was singing the ending recessional, as they had changed the timing of the services for church picnic. So everyone went out and stayed for two hours, for food and bouncy house and playground. Later that day, Margaret came over to Joe's, as Andrew and Simon had headed up to his parents' house for the day.

A week has passed, and we have caught our breath, but only momentarily. We squeezed this road trip in before we head over to Portugal and Europe for three weeks.

One thing that the road trip made me remember is how big and diverse our own country is, how much each state has to offer that we've never heard of. But, we also know that the best road trips are the ones that take us through your home towns!

Love from up here.

Things Fall Apart

If there was a motto for the last few weeks, it would be "things fall apart."  Specifically, washing machine, lawn mower, blender, airplane schedules, and maybe a few other things, but fortunately not our spirits. And that has led as well to my retiring from retirement all over again.

For I have hired someone to mow our lawn. A big step, as Margaret said, life-changing. I actually like sitting on the machine and spacing out, but the new guy has come a couple of times, and the yard looks nice, maybe even nicer than before. My ride-on that I had bought used 5-6 years ago had broken down for the fourth time this summer. When the repair guy came, he asked me how old I was, one of the criteria he was suggesting for the choice of repair or buy another one. After recovering from that indignity, he had a point. And, as we were going to be gone for a few weeks coming up, I explored a lawn service. I didn't have to go far. There was a sign down the road that said "You grow it; I mow it." And now we have a lawn service. Too much information? Sorry.

I have another story about the washing machine breaking down, but I can't convince Mary to get a laundry service. So, waiting for the machine and the accompanying dryer has meant she has made several trips to the laundromat, and she is reenacting 19^th century laundry techniques of a clothesline. Fortunately, we bought the house next door, so there are trees close enough to hang a line, the same trees Mary's mother used.

Speaking of the house next door, we had two barbecues, one for the Boyle family and the other for friends, to come and see the house and take away any souvenirs they want. Both events were fun, and a number of items have been stripped and hauled away – spindles from porch railings, sconces, hinges, pencil sharpener, bottle opener, wall paper, shingles. We are just waiting now on the asbestos removal, that appears to be more extensive a project than originally thought.

As I write, Annie is on a plane somewhere between Washington and Chennai. Her original flight was canceled due to a bad storm in DC, but she's finally on her way. While in DC, she was able to get together with Jeff and Melodie (see photo.) Joe and Leonor also had the misfortune of a delayed flight, and they too were on their way to the airport when they found out, but they got to extend their vacation a couple of days. Hard to do with three young children.

Margaret and Andrew were here for almost two weeks, and we can report the good news that they didn't get the Covid that they found in the house when they arrived. Simon kept everyone busy, fun busy with marshmallows and water balloons and excursions to every playground in the area.

This week was back to school week, which means for Thomas it was first grade!  Wow. Exciting times and going too fast. Hoping that everyone else's back to school transitions went well. 

As soon as I stop writing, I'm going to finish packing for our road trip, that will take us to Fairport, Midland Michigan (where we'll see Andrew and Lur), on to Travers City to visit a Peace Corps friend, back to DC to check in there, up to NYC for a baseball game with Peter and Johanna and then home. I'm already tired, but it will be fun to see everyone.

Love from up here.    

Ice cream

Halfway through August, and there are hints of fall in the air.  It's a little chillier in the evenings and a few trees are looking orange. Too soon? Yes.

In fact, the first part of this month has been a bit of a blur. We were supposed to have a visit from John and Marilyn and then a Boyle family barbecue to say goodbye to the house next door, but Covid interrupted our plans. Mary was very sick, a little scary even. I had mild, cold-type symptoms, and Annie gave us the care we needed for a couple of days, until she got sick too, despite our sincere attempts at quarantining and masking. She was pretty sick with fatigue and cold symptoms.

None of this Covid household deterred Andrew and Margaret from making their way north. But the time they arrived, I was in the clear, but we continued our segregating efforts. So far, so good. Simon has a wee hint of a cough, but we hope that's just from all the exertion he puts forth every day, every hour, every minute.

Where are Joe and Leonor, you might ask? As far away from the Covid household as possible. Portugal, to be precise. They spent some time in Lisbon before heading out to a beach in the south. Everything looks fantastic. They're supposed to be coming home next week.

Annie had recovered enough to join Margaret in NYC for a play and an overnight. The play was about Lincoln, Mrs. Lincoln to be exact. "Oh Mary." Pop might have been happy if it actually had anything to do with Lincoln. Annie and Margaret said it was very funny and worth seeing. Apparently, the playwright did no research at all on the Lincolns, and made everything up.

There was also a birthday, an August birthday, for Everett. Surely, it was a great day.

And, there was another birthday.  Herman Melville's.  August 1. It too was a great day, and I gave two talks, one at the library and one at the top of Mt. Greylock, and I only saw one person sleeping. Mary and I also participated in the annual Moby Dick marathon reading.

What do you do in the summer? Eat ice cream, so we have some ice cream pictures to share. I snuck one in of Kiernan eating fluff, but it looks enough like ice cream, and I'm pretty sure there was ice cream Everett on his birthday.

We've been swimming in the pool and in the lake, going to splash parks and playgrounds and the library, playing baseball and tennis, and doing projects around the house.

Speaking of the house, the permitting process for the demolition next door is moving along, as it has cleared three different city commissions. There's an asbestos removal component and then a pest control abatement, and then we're good to go. They sure don't make it easy.

The garden is producing a lot of cucumbers, and tomatoes are right around the corner. We can't eat the beans fast enough, and I'm not even sure I like beans that much. We gave away a lot of peaches, and I figured we split the harvest 50-50 with the squirrels. Andrew sent along a picture of his garden.   

And that's a wrap.  Enjoy the remaining days of summer.  Love from up here.

Poconos Redux

When the calendar reads August, I still think of my teaching days since it meant that the summer was over.  Sometimes, though, I think of soccer practices starting. Now, though, I think mostly of the vegetable garden and what we're going to do with all the cucumbers.

But end of July means our bash in the Poconos is still fresh in mind. Every year I say best ever, and this year is no different.  From the weather standpoint, it was wonderful, with just one brief storm on our last evening that only slightly affected the last dinner together. We all had different slices, but here are some highlights

-- grandchildren tops my list.  They had so much fun, especially the first night, when they ran and ran and ran around the pirate ship playground with Donald chasing the younger boys, and even Luisa. Normally, we hang out around the supper cabin, but everyone followed the youngest set down to the pirate ship. I have included a few pictures; looking at them, I cringe when I imagine this crew ten years from now.  No, I don't cringe; I welcome it.

How do you measure success? Here's one measure – exhausted children sleeping in the cars all the way home. Here's another – I took a couple of books and magazines and might have read a couple of paragraphs.

-- swimming to and jumping from the dock, endlessly, exhaustingly

-- wildlife, including deer, bear, heron and snake sightings. I think Jeffrey caught a few fish too; I know Simon caught a worm. Anyone else?

-- boat rides. Mary and Margaret stretched their diplomatic skills to make sure Thomas, John and Simon all got their share of boat rides.

-- endless chatter among generations, between generations. We picked up a lot of newsy items, most of which will go in the other letter – not for Pops Weekly Letter. But, it's important to catch up; so much happens in a year.

-- the multi-birthday party for Mary and Donald, Thomas and Everett. I managed to make my way through way too many desserts that night.

-- Rell's perseverance through computer shutdowns and plane and rental car delays to get there late at night.

-- visiting each other's cabins, exercising, napping, tv downtime, babysitting, board-gaming, wandering, tether ball and see saws and Oliver's yoyo contraption, sand castles.

We missed people too.  David and Paula, Janie and her crew had to take rain checks for health reasons. Next year, fingers crossed.

Mountain Springs really is an ideal place for gathering with people in their own cabins, in easy reach of the lake and sandy beach and playground, and so picturesque, with the view from cabin porches of the sun spotting through the trees with the lake in the distance.

With that in mind, put it on your calendars for next year – July 17, 18, 19. I reserved Sunday night for two cabins as well; let me know if there's more interest in one more night and I can reserve more.

Non-Poconos news: Billy and Jen made it to Colorado and then boarded a flight for Cabo San Lucas for a rest; Daniel took his parents to a concert, and Claire is heading home this weekend. Paula and David entertained with a few of Paula's college classmates they hadn't seen in years.  Joe and Leonor and little friends are in Portugal for a two-week vacation where they celebrated Thomas' birthday on his day. Annie is back in Pittsfield, but, not for long, as she heads to Boston next week. And Colleen and Laura got married.

I should add it's also Herman Melville's birthday. August 1, 1819.  But you already knew that. 

Love from up here. 

Castles in the sand

Once upon a time …. we went to the beach in Delaware.  The end.

That's how my stories to grandchildren all start out. They are not impressed.  Not sure why.

Anyway, we spent the last week at a beach house in South Bethany, Delaware. The "we" is Joe's family, Margaret's family and Annie, as well as Mary and me. Impressions? Fun, first of all. The house was great, and would have been greater if there had been an outdoor place to play. It was a block away from the beach, which we ventured towards every day, sometime around 9 am. The weather cooperated, and despite calls for rain several days, we managed to avoid the worst of the deluges. That allowed us, mostly little boys, to play in the sand, build castles, dig, jump off the erosion "mountain", and with the help of a parent or grandparent withstand the crashing waves. And they did crash. Pretty rough at times. But, we did give it our best. Margaret and Annie were supposed to go surfing, but called it off due to the weather and the consequent rough waves.  Mary and I also managed a beach walk each day, using Pop's tried and true method of walking into the wind first, and returning with the wind at your back.

The town and its boardwalk provided other entertainment, with shops and ice cream and French fries and racing and shouting. Leonor and Andrew took three rambunctious boys to "Funland," and Margaret took a couple of the same set to a water park to blow off steam.

And, we celebrated Annie's birthday, a thirty-something affair. Margaret made her an Oreo ice cream cake, vegan and everything. Unfortunately, I didn't hear the dictum about not eating the Oreos, so I had to go out and find more for her to complete her masterpiece. The photo included here shows Luisa ready to pounce on anyone who comes between her and that piece of cake.  Annie is still eating it, back here. That's right, we packed up Saturday and Annie came back to Pittsfield with us, after spending her first week or so in DC, alternating between Joe and Margaret's houses. Now if we could just get the sand out of our hair, our car, our clothing, our shoes. When will someone invent a beach without sand?

We weren't the only ones to travel. Trying to piece together clues (and photos) from Tinybeans, it looks like Sean and Kiernan joined Erin for her annual medical conference, somewhere that you had to take a plane to, and somewhere near a beach. It was Kiernan's first plane ride, but he might have liked the trains between the terminals the best. Sticking with the NJ clan, we saw that Peter, Janet and Johanna went to a US Women's Soccer game.

Claire is also traveling and will stop in Dundee and deposit her kitty for a few days. Andrew and Lur report that they won a couple of awards from their community garden, including a ten-year award. They have their first tomatoes. Lucky! And both Claire and Daniel were there for Andrew's birthday.  Happy day!  Before Andrew and Lur leave for the Poconos, they will have a farewell dinner with Bill and Jen who fold up their tents a couple of days after the Poconos.

How was your 4^th? Hot? Yes.  But fun, too, I bet.  Jeffrey and Melodie caught a Nationals baseball game. Fireworks impressed the children at Joe's house, but over at Margaret's not so much. Simon had noise-cancelling earphones because there were a lot of booms right on their street. We went to the parade in Pittsfield, that featured a youth marching band all the way from Ireland. We withstood the heat to go to friends' barbecue, but I went home early for my ritual 4^th of July nap!  Once a year.  Maybe.

We also saw Tina and at least Donald headed to Niagara for a French and Indian war reenactment, which looked very realistic!  Last of the Mohicans. Who by the way re from the Berkshires.

Our next letter will include a recap of all things Poconos. The excitement is building.

With that, we'll sign off with wishes and kisses. Love from up here.

 

   

 

   

Happy 4th!

July?  Slow down, summer. But, speed up tomatoes and cucumbers. I guess I can't have everything.  We're actually having our best crop of raspberries and cherries, although those are sour, not sweet. And the lettuce is doing spectacularly, which is why I want the tomatoes and cucumbers to catch up.

Our zoo of deer, groundhogs, rabbits and some other large critter (giant scat in the lawn) outside the garden has so far not discovered the good food inside. Can't say the same for the folks out in Illinois, who are resigned to the fact that the deer have to eat as well. Andrew and Lur this past week were up at Green Lake for their annual getaway. Their stay coincided with Ripon reunions, Andrew's 45^th.  They also spent a day with Claire who came over for the annual pontoon boat ride. She is moving to a new house in Sheboygan, closer to a lake.

Other big news of the week is Annie's home!  At least on this side of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. She arrived a week ago and went straight to DC.  She's been hanging out with the folks down there as well as her friends. We will get to see her this coming weekend when we all descend on a beachhouse in Bethany, Delaware for a week. A little pre-Poconos get-together, advance planning. Annie's planning on staying here through August. Yeah!

Speaking of the Poconos, we heard from Sooz that her mother (Janie) had a bad fall and has three fractures in her spine. Janie was in the hospital for quite a while and has now been transferred to a rehab facility where she will stay for about a month. They will not be able to join us in PA. I'll be sending out cabin assignments shortly. Hold your breaths!

Yesterday was Leonor's birthday, and she celebrated with a girls' night out on birthday eve, and then a pool party and cake with Andrew and Margaret and Simon, and I believe Jeff and Melodie were there as well. Too much fun. Thomas, John and Simon have been going to day camps, and coming home exhausted and rather dirty, we hear. That's a good sign. Luisa is continuing her day care, and unfortunately, John had another bout with strep.

Another birthday celebration, this time Marilyn's.  She and John came up to New England for a little over a week, and we went down to Colleen and Laura's house in Hartford for her party. They have a houseful of dogs including three new puppies, all well behaved. The next day, they came up to Pittsfield for a memorial service for a cousin, Connell Boyle.  Both events mean a lot of food, good food, and it's hard to control myself facing buffet lines. Connell was a vet so he had full military honors, along with a surprise gun salute.

We talked to David a few times. He had seen the new Shaker stamps, but didn't know that they were released right here in Pittsfield!  We're famous. I went to Shaker Village for the unveiling of the stamp designs, and picked up some first day covers to add to my collection.

On the cultural calendar, we started our Tanglewood summer, with a concert by Jon Baptiste. I have to admit to low expectations since I had only heard snippets from his time on the Colbert Show. But he was an incredible musician, and put on a great show. I've been taking a drawing class, although I don't see a lot of progress. And, Mary finished her birding classes, and we are back to French conversation group at Edith Wharton's home. C'est bon et on s'amuse.

I got through a letter without talking about the heat, or the cold, or the house next door, or a certain debate.

So, better wrap it up before heading off on a rant.

Love from up here.

 

Calling all fathers

Dateline: Chapel Hill North Carolina

On the road again. A quick trip to come to our Peace Corps friend's daughter's wedding. And it's an excuse to stop in DC on the way down and back. I will admit to having a secret desire to return to the dark days of the pandemic when no one was on the roads. Especially between Washington and Richmond VA. And around Baltimore. And through Delaware. Maybe even the Garden State Parkway.

I misread Jeffrey and Melodie's Facebook post that they were also on their way to a wedding in NC. I missed the Y as they were headed to NYC.

Either way it's going to be hot. Heat waves this weekend and all next week up and down the east coast. Even in Pittsfield, it'll reach 90 each day. We talked with John and Marilyn, and they had just gotten off the golf course where it was closing in on 100 degrees. That's commitment.

I thought we were on the move but then I read Annie's latest letter which had travels to temples, to islands and then to a place Mary and I went to back in November. Our big excitement was the rest stop on the NJ Turnpike.

Actually, we got to walk Simon to school. That counts as adventure. Margaret had been in training all week on the new world of disinformation. And their refrigerator broke down over the weekend, but it worked to our advantage as Andrew made a wonderful Italian beef stew served on rolls. Better than The Bear. (TV show recommendation)

We'll stop at Joe and Leonor's on the way home. They've been busy with all the end of school year festivities. When did they start doing graduations for pre-K? Field days, concerts. Did someone say heat wave?

David was in Pittsfield last week. He had a weekend planned for reunions at Darrow and came by for chats and dinner the night before. He cut short the reunion since the room on campus where he was supposed to stay looked more spartan than the Shakers ever endured.

Speaking of reunions, I usually flip through the Princeton Alumni Weekly rapidly. This time I stopped on Peter's class (1973) and saw he had taken on responsibilities as the Class Zoom Director. That's a challenge for people our age as zoom meetings usually spend the first ten or so meetings with people complaining that they can't hear or they don't know how to raise their hand or they forget to mute and talk on their phone and so on and so on. Good luck!

We were invited out to dinner this week but when we told our hosts that the menu would have to be low residue colonoscopy prep, they picked a different date. Mary had her five year colonoscopy date and passed with flying colors (pun intended.).

Out in Illinois, Bill and Jen are full steam ahead on their move to Colorado. They have July dates for the move and plans to rent while their new house is being built. Ambitious.

We saw Timmy a few times as he has moved back to Pittsfield. We took him on a tour of the house next door which sadly doesn't look like we'll be able to salvage. We had applied to This Old House but knew it was a long shot. Next week we go to the excavation company. Sad

A milestone. Forty years ago Mary, Joseph and I went to DC to start Foreign Service training. At the swearing in, Joe through his glass milk bottle on the floor near the Director, Charlie Wick. If I remember right, I think Peter and Janet were there too.

Finally, June 9 passed with memories. Pop would have been 101.

Love from down here.

Back and forth

My aching back. Every time I load a wheelbarrow full of mulch, I wonder how many more years I can do this. Mary, in ordering three cubic yards of the brown stuff, even offered to hire a young man, who our neighbor recommended, to spread it around the garden. "Why?" I rejoined, "You'd be taking away my fun." So, just to set the record straight, an aching back is not fun.

Spring mulch also heralded a passing of sorts. My wheelbarrow died. Actually, the handle that I had cobbled together with wood and screws (I'm thinking here of the chair Andrew and I built in Wilton) finally came un-done as I dumped and wiggled the load into a garden bed. This had been a free wheelbarrow, one we found in the shed on our property in 2007, a shed we promptly tore down, a shed that had a brick path to it, that we uncovered years later, as we were preparing yet another garden bed. The wheelbarrow is no more, but the brick path is an ornament of sorts to Mary's flower garden.

Too much information? Yes, but it has been a quiet week in the family. There is news, though, especially birthdays! Joao/John turned four! And, it looked to be one of those birth-weeks of celebration. Party and cupcakes and balloons and presents and then start all over again. Matthew also had a birthday, and Sean did too, which should have been in the last letter. Matthew's birthday calls to mind Peter and Janet's anniversary, as their wedding and Matthew's birth happened in the same week. Congratulations all!

I'm not the only one with an aching back, as Andrew and Lur put their garden in at the community garden, and David finished up his spring plantings. Maybe even Simon has an aching back, as he was seen mowing the grass in front of their house. Never too soon.

Speaking of mowing the lawn, my ride-on mower also broke. No, to be accurate, I broke my ride-on mower, for the second time this spring. It wouldn't start, so I lifted the hood to see if it was something simple, and then promptly broke the plastic hood when I "set" it back down. Okay, it wasn't shutting properly so perhaps I might have jammed it down, just a little. But I wasn't angry. Really. Because the grass was tall, it meant I had the pleasure of a 4 ½ hour lawn mowing job with a push mower. The repair guy said I was flooding the engine.

Too much information, again? Yes. Here's a quick tour of the fam.  Annie and Sankar are on a four-day hike in northwest India, which means not far from the Himalayas. The photos from their lodging are just stunning.    

We also see photos of Jeff and Melodie enjoying the spring with baseball and crab feasts, separately, of course. Photos of a hike through Rock Creek Park with Joe and Leonor and friends. Photos of concerts, cub scouts and fishing outings with Donald and Everett.

In the last letter, I spoke too soon about no one getting sick after our last trip to DC. Margaret promptly came down with Covid and had bad cold-like symptoms. Fortunately, neither Andrew nor Simon got sick.

Back to me. We had a wonderful overnight visit to the Big Apple, to catch an off-Broadway play that our neighbor designed the costumes for. The Life and Slimes of Mark Summers. Very entertaining and creative. Who knows Mark Summers out there? We now know that Mark Summers was the host of a Nickelodeon show where the child contestants were "slimed."  Somehow we missed that at the time, but not the rest of the audience.

We took in a couple museums, including a first-time stop at the Guggenheim, which, pun intended, floored me. Loved it and recommend it highly. If you look closely at the picture, you might be able to see Mary.

I could go on, perhaps about our back and forth with the project next door, but that's enough for one letter. And we still have not decided whether to tear it down.

Love from up here.

 

Happy Mother's Day

Halfway through May, and what do I have to show for it?  My first tick bite. Too soon to tell if it's going to kick off a bout with Lyme and antibiotics.

You may ask, how did it happen? Or, you may not really care.  If so, then skip to the next paragraph. Kind of a long story. We closed on the house next door, and the first thing we did was a quick walk-through. Then I got on my mower and cut the grass. Then I started the clearing process of invasive vines and thorn bushes and trees. With my new chain saw (small) and clippers and weed wacker, I began to tackle the overgrowth. Hence a tick.

Our bigger news was the day after we closed, we hopped in the car and drove to DC. Margaret and Andrew had plans to go to Ireland for a long weekend, kind of an anniversary present. So, our present to them was to watch Simon while they were gone.

We had fun, they had fun, and maybe even Simon had fun too. We spent quite a bit of time with his cousins. Joe and Leonor hosted us a couple of times for dinners, including a Mother's Day barbecue, where I left the steak on a little too long. (How do you say sorry in Portuguese?)

They also had a barbecue the Sunday before that, with Sean, Erin and Kiernan; Jeff and Melodie; Margaret, Andrew and Simon. Four little boys and Luisa. Wait until the Poconos when they're ten or so. And Donald and Everett too.

With Simon, we went swimming and tried all the playgrounds within a 50-mile radius it seems. Simon's swim lesson was cancelled, so we headed to the mall, where our tour guide, Simon, pointed out the Capitol, the Washington Monument and the dinosaurs.

Margaret and Andrew were able to get last-minute tickets to a Bruce Springsteen concert in Belfast, so that was an added bonus. They packed it in back in Dublin, staying on Temple Bar, going to a museum, maybe a pub or 2, going on a hike along cliffs, and Andrew even go to play golf. Yes, it was sunny too.

In India, they play golf, but Sankar is more a cricket guy. So, he somehow persuaded Annie to go to a match in 110 degree weather. The photo showed them smiling. The next day they headed north, all the way to the foothills of the Himalayas. Annie may be the first Dickson to see those mountains first-hand, but hopefully not too close. I should add that the Cricket World Cup will be in the U.S. this summer.  

Did someone say Mother's Day? Kind of skipped over that tremendous day. Hope everyone's festivities were spectacular. We saw that Tina got a special spa day, with Everett doing the facial and make-up.  Someone is brave, and hint, it's not Everett.

We heard from Johanna, who says she has a new job!  Congratulations. There's a story there, but it'll have to wait until you see her in the Poconos. Otherwise what would we talk about? (Aside – I don't think we have any problem on that score.)

Up in Fairport, we talked with David a couple of times, and he is busy and sore from the garden preparations. And Paula came down with strep. So sorry.  Hope you had recovered by Mother's Day.

More news!  Mary talked to Timmy, and he's moving back to Pittsfield. LA proved too much for the man. He wouldn't be the first.

With that, wishing you all a happy, healthy rest of the month of May.