On the move

Happy income tax day. Except, for us, it’s not-so-happy income tax day for the first time in a long time we have no refund, but a hefty owe.  Hope you all got a refund.

I hope you’re sitting down because there’s so much news here it’s exhausting.

Mid-April must mean travel.  We see Erin and Sean and two little boys enjoying beaches and pools and water slides and even an airplane ride on their way to the Dominican Republic. Did you see Big Papi?  Before they went to the DR, they had a visit from the grandparents, in beautiful spring weather.

We also see Bill and Jen and four children at the Grand Canyon. First of all, those kids are growing up way too fast.  Second of all, the horseback riding brings back all kinds of memories. Third, the standing on a glass platform looking down over the canyon brings forward all kinds of acrophobia trauma.

Matthew and Tina were finishing up their excursion to Florida with an obligatory side-trip to Sea World.

Over in London, the two-week spring break saw the circus come to town, to Blackheath that is. Nothing like a circus for delight, even from afar when we see the happy photos.

What did you do for Easter? Did the bunny come and hide eggs? The bunny came here and left some chocolate that promptly disappeared. Down in DC the bunny came but so did Jeff and Melodie for an Easter dinner. By the way, we enjoyed a Sunday dinner at a place that some of you may recall – the Gateways Inn, where Mom and Pop hosted a rehearsal dinner on December 19, 1980, and where the Dicksons camped out waiting for the big day following.

Out in Illinois, Andrew and Lur met Daniel’s girlfriend named Sierra. They came for one of Andrew’s famous barbecue dinners. Not connected at all, but Andrew is still taking it easy from his operation.

Does mid-April also mean things fall apart? We were without water for the better part of Sunday when our hot water heater transformed into a geyser. We got cold water back and then because of one teeny tap that couldn’t be replaced, we had to have a whole new water heater installed. Fortunately, the old one wasn’t so old, so it was still under warranty. Then our laundry faucet went kaput, again fortunately since the plumber was here fixing the water heater. And we finally gave up on our fancy 8-in-1 toaster over, that did everything but toast bread.

Hooray!  Sankar finally has an appointment at the consulate for a visa to travel to the U.S.  His date, though, is in November, which means he can’t come this year to the Poconos. And there’s no guarantee that he will get a visa.  One step at a time.

Meanwhile, Mary is busy with one old pastime and a new one. She is the queen of sourdough bread in this neck of the woods, and even teaching the process to a few friends. She is also busy at work on a couple of quilts.

And April means garden work, plugging away at the annual list. Gravel is raked out of the lawn, we did our annual brush burn, had a tree removed, planted nine pine saplings next door, and a host of other small little odds and ends. Our forsythia is blooming nicely, and daffodils are poking out all over the place. 

And I do get the feeling there’s no turning back to cold weather. No coats, no hats, no gloves. Loving it.

And so love to you all from up here.

 

What is it with climbing?

It's spring! Let's celebrate!  I'd feel better if the temperatures were above freezing; today they dipped down, and the April showers show little bits of white in them. I've started raking the driveway gravel out of the grass, but with a little trepidation. I still haven't pulled up the plowing stakes on the sides of the driveway. Still fresh in our mind was the April Fool's Day a few years back when Sankar attempted to ride his motorcycle out our driveway in the snow and cold.

We do have little green stems poking their heads up, and even purple flowers on the crocuses, but every year they get faked out and pay the price. Still, I've bought some vegetable seeds and garden soil and even assembled my battery-operated rototiller.  Can't wait.

All this is proof that we're home, after a week in Daytona and then a couple of days in DC with Simon and Darcy. One of them is gaining weight, and the other is climbing around on a new playground set. Guess which is which?

And they both had a birthday! One turned six, and the other one month. Another guess? I should add that Jeff and Melodie came over to see Darcy and the other residents too.

Speaking of climbing, the London boys have a two-week school break, and Leonor took them to a climbing gym. Sheck out the photo of John below. Yikes. (Don't tell them about El Capitan in Yosemite.) Thomas also had a ballet recital and is off to rugby camp.

Billy was in Chicago for work recently and checked in on Andrew and Lur. All's well in Colorado. The Dundee folks ventured into Chicago for a late birthday dinner with Daniel.  Andrew continues the slow process of healing from his surgery.

The big news from India is Annie is official. She has her paperwork in hand, so she can travel back and forth. She's hoping to join us at the Poconos, and they are at work trying to get a visa so Sankar can come too.  Joe has bought his tickets home for the weekend, and beyond. Just a reminder – the Poconos weekend is July 16 – 20. I should add that Annie and Sankar have a walled structure on their land and even an outhouse! Progress.

Another birthday boy was David. He said that Matthew and Tina and the boys came over for a celebration. Best birthday ever. Paula is trying to get tickets for the Antiques Roadshow engagement in nearby Mumford. Fingers crossed. And, check out the photo below of Matthew and the boys and his in-laws. What are they staring at? Yes, the space launch from Cape Canaveral. They are down in Florida for spring break with Tina's parents. Marilyn also saw the take-off from her front porch. Historic.

Down in New Jersey, Peter's been auditing an English class/seminar at Princeton, and has his eyes on another one for the spring. A Moby Dick class. It's contagious. My book on Melville in the Berkshires is out, and the review is FANTASTIC. At least the one I wrote. Waiting for one in the NYTimes Book Review.

Other than that, we're happily back to our routines here. Mary's signed up for some strength-training classes, and back to French, swimming, tutoring, and hanging with her mates. Me, I'm preparing for my spring class at the life-long learning institute. And not staying out of trouble, at least the "good trouble" that John Lewis coined. We went to a protest rally last Saturday. It wasn't spring that day, but the turnout warmed us up.

With that, love from up here.