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.
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