Thursday, October 31, 2024

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.

  

 

 






Tuesday, October 15, 2024

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.

 





Wednesday, October 2, 2024

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