Back, because we spent the long weekend in Washington. We had planned to go down to visit while Andrew was away in Italy for a friend's wedding (I should be more precise, Tuscany – not too shabby.) As the day approached, the news of the nor'easter also approached, frightfully. And there's a pilot here at Hope Lodge who we've befriended and he scared us a little. My attempt to cancel the trip failed as the airline refused to reimburse, so we decided to make a run for it. Our flight outtahere was smooth. One leg down.
We had a great Uber driver at the DC airport (Margaret, since she was on furlough) take us back to their new house. Great because she is also the bearer of big news, as she can no longer conceal a little tummy push. Yes, she's going to have a baby, in March! The due date is scheduled for the day after Simon's birthday. That is going to be some birthday party! So happy for her, for the proud Dad, and the big brother.
We had a good long chat with Paula and David, and Paula seems to be doing so much better. Nope, not seems, but is. No coughing on our call. It seems a new medical approach has really helped, and she is already talking about the Poconos next summer, and even a trip down to DC.
Jeff and Melodie came over for dinner, bringing dinner, on Sunday. They talked gardens and showed us some photos of pretty wild giant yellow squash that looks like a trombone, and in fact its name sounds like trombone. In the tradition of big Dickson squash. And they made delicious soup with it. They are well, settling into new jobs, and taking care of so many feral cats. We saw Ollie too.
Phone calls filled us in on the news from London and India. It seems that every conversation with Annie and Sankar somehow manages to make its way eventually to the subject of leeches. There's more to report, on tree plantings, monsoons, and upcoming festivals, as they wind down their work time on their land and head back to Thanjavur for Diwali. From London, I wish I had made a video of our zoom call, as all I can think of is the Art Linkletter show "Kids Say the Darnedest Things." Among other things, John told us about taking off the training wheels on his bike, while fighting off kicks from his baby sister. When she started singing with us, she had to fend off pokes from John. In the middle came Thomas who tried to tell us about rugby, but he didn't stand a chance with his two younger siblings. It was a very fun way to spend half an hour!
It's mid October and that means several things. First, Janet's birthday! Congrats and hope it was as special a day as it was when you turned five! And if memory serves right, Daniel is getting ready to leave for London, for several months. Off on an adventure.
Sandwiched in between was a cancelled trip down to Princeton. There was a reunion of former soccer teammates, to watch a game and have a memorial dinner for one of mates who passed away. After a couple of accidents, I cancelled our trip down, which meant losing a chance to see Peter and Janet. Peter was at the game and saw my old teammates, and we won. A good team this year.
Mary talked with Marilyn a few times. Rough days for her; she recounted several "sightings" of John, that are too odd to pass of as something other than his presence.
The weekend in DC was marred only by tummy cramps and related problems. Spent a fair amount of time lying down. We postponed our flight for one day, erring on the side of caution, for both weather and stomach. Turns out we didn't need to do, but it did allow us a chance to hear about Andrew's trip as he was our Uber driver back to the airport. A long delay due to weather, but we made it back, Mary to her book group and me to my treatment.
And we got back to meet Blades, the Boston Bruins mascot who sponsored dinner of pizza and ice cream. I had soup and crackers, but good fellowship with Blades.
Love from over here. Next letter comes from Pittsfield!!
We had a great Uber driver at the DC airport (Margaret, since she was on furlough) take us back to their new house. Great because she is also the bearer of big news, as she can no longer conceal a little tummy push. Yes, she's going to have a baby, in March! The due date is scheduled for the day after Simon's birthday. That is going to be some birthday party! So happy for her, for the proud Dad, and the big brother.
We had a good long chat with Paula and David, and Paula seems to be doing so much better. Nope, not seems, but is. No coughing on our call. It seems a new medical approach has really helped, and she is already talking about the Poconos next summer, and even a trip down to DC.
Jeff and Melodie came over for dinner, bringing dinner, on Sunday. They talked gardens and showed us some photos of pretty wild giant yellow squash that looks like a trombone, and in fact its name sounds like trombone. In the tradition of big Dickson squash. And they made delicious soup with it. They are well, settling into new jobs, and taking care of so many feral cats. We saw Ollie too.
Phone calls filled us in on the news from London and India. It seems that every conversation with Annie and Sankar somehow manages to make its way eventually to the subject of leeches. There's more to report, on tree plantings, monsoons, and upcoming festivals, as they wind down their work time on their land and head back to Thanjavur for Diwali. From London, I wish I had made a video of our zoom call, as all I can think of is the Art Linkletter show "Kids Say the Darnedest Things." Among other things, John told us about taking off the training wheels on his bike, while fighting off kicks from his baby sister. When she started singing with us, she had to fend off pokes from John. In the middle came Thomas who tried to tell us about rugby, but he didn't stand a chance with his two younger siblings. It was a very fun way to spend half an hour!
It's mid October and that means several things. First, Janet's birthday! Congrats and hope it was as special a day as it was when you turned five! And if memory serves right, Daniel is getting ready to leave for London, for several months. Off on an adventure.
Sandwiched in between was a cancelled trip down to Princeton. There was a reunion of former soccer teammates, to watch a game and have a memorial dinner for one of mates who passed away. After a couple of accidents, I cancelled our trip down, which meant losing a chance to see Peter and Janet. Peter was at the game and saw my old teammates, and we won. A good team this year.
Mary talked with Marilyn a few times. Rough days for her; she recounted several "sightings" of John, that are too odd to pass of as something other than his presence.
The weekend in DC was marred only by tummy cramps and related problems. Spent a fair amount of time lying down. We postponed our flight for one day, erring on the side of caution, for both weather and stomach. Turns out we didn't need to do, but it did allow us a chance to hear about Andrew's trip as he was our Uber driver back to the airport. A long delay due to weather, but we made it back, Mary to her book group and me to my treatment.
And we got back to meet Blades, the Boston Bruins mascot who sponsored dinner of pizza and ice cream. I had soup and crackers, but good fellowship with Blades.
Love from over here. Next letter comes from Pittsfield!!
