Welcome Elliot

Let's start with the good news.  Great news indeed.  Jen and Bill are parents of three children, welcoming Elliot Grace into the family on Saturday around 10am!  The picture here shows the happy family, and raises a few outstanding questions.  Why isn't Jen more tired?  Is Auden closing her eyes because she's in denial, and doesn't want to be the middle child? When did birthing rooms have cool couches (I could have used one to take a nap.)  And can it really be true that Elliot will grow up to be as big as Auden and Miles (and Bill and Jen?)  Congratulations to Bill and Jen, and to the proud and happy grandparents.

I was tipped off that Jen was due during a phone call with Andrew who was worried that with a cold going around that it might be hard to see and hold the baby.  But photos showed everyone around and holding Elliot, so there must have been some quick recoveries.  Andrew also said Saturday night was Daniel's senior prom, so there was a busy weekend in Dundee.

Other life events included Peter's birth, day.  And he had previously announced that on the eve of his birthday, he caught the first fish ever in his life.  Two of them, to be precise.  We also send out congratulations to Sean, who, as we saw in the last letter from Peter, has started a new job as a clerk for a judge in New Jersey.  Wonderful.

We've been back a little over a week, and still feel tired, although our hours are getting synced.  We stayed in Annie's new apartment in South Boston the first night, and drove home the next day, only to return on Sunday to help her with the move-in process.  Then a week here, and down to Washington for this past weekend.  Margaret is heading out to Nigeria and Cameroun as part of her work, so we wanted to see her and everyone before she left.  It was a fast visit, but worth it.  Dinner at Joe and Leonor's the first night (where someone ate three hamburgers!) and then a visit to the Arboretum to see the azaleas in bloom.  And a movie - "Spy".  On the silly side, but we could all use silly.

We spent a fair amount of time discussing Portugal in September and are trying to work out an excursion to northern Portugal for a few days after the wedding on Saturday the 24th.  Getting excited. We'll let everyone know soonest what we've cobbled together. I learned an indispensable word in Portuguese "Shcoop."  It means sorry, I think.  

From Fairport, we heard there were a few cases of pretty serious flus that took quite while to shake.  Hopefully everyone is better now.  David also attended a Shaker box workshop and got a band saw, so expect some great projects out of his garage! 

John and Marilyn have moved into their new home, and sold their old house.  There are a couple of nail biter stories that went along with those two events, but all turned out well.  Heather went down to Daytona to help out.  When we talked to Johnny, he was out on the golf course, and he put the phone down to tee off.  We heard a pretty solid whack.  

We saw a lot of photos from Guadeloupe, and it looks like to was a great vacation for Johanna and place to visit.  

We are slowly getting back to our routines.  UMass, swimming, naps, regular food, history projects, teaching.  I did do some spring things last week, including a brush burn and a lawn mower tune-up, including my first mow.  But, as it sinks in, we realize that as hard as the living and work was in Sam, there's a lot we miss.  

In our travels, I discovered a new punch line that can be used in almost every single conversation: "Well, when Trump becomes President....."  It's a sure way to get people to laugh, and to like you.  Check this space next November to see if you're still laughing.  And if anyone likes me.  

On that, we end as we opened, congratulations to Bill and Jen and we're looking forward to meeting Elliot.

Love from up here.

April in Paris

We're on the train from Paris to Amsterdam. Not Paris New York, but the Paris. It's one of those high speed trains (TGV) and it's packed. How come they can do it and we can't? That'll change when Bernie becomes President. Which means it won't change. We'll spend a couple of days with Henk and Marje who visited us years ago in Rhode Island and who came to Gabon with us last year.

Anyway, a week ago was the inauguration of the school we had renovated. Seems like a year ago. We left Sam the following morning and barely had time to catch our breath from the final full day of work to transition to Libreville and then red-eye flight to Paris.

We are working hard at the French bakeries to put back all the weight we had lost. We've done a few touristy things, like go to the Tuileries gardens, but we've also done a few new things and checked out some different quartiers. Oh and did we mention the ice cold Amstel and red wine and cheese?

And we're back on full Internet and catching up with Facebook. Most prominent was the Washington Post story on Johanna's illness. Mary gets a daily email from Amazon (which owns the Post) which highlights the most "trending" story, and it was on Johanna! I'm sure there's a story on how they learned of the story, but we'll save that one for face-to-face communication. Perhaps at Mt. Springs this summer, or even before. It was a good story, and relived a pretty scary time in her life.

We also saw that Oliver set a personal best for running the mile. I suspect it will not be his last personal best.

We were pleased/excited/thrilled to get an email from Joe and Leonore about September in Lisbon! We'll have lots of details to work out but we're looking forward to it already. Maybe we'll just stay here and meet you there. Maybe we'll win the lottery too.

Life back in the U.S. is inching back into our plans. Annie returns from her long trip to China and Malaysia tomorrow, and will finish her move to Boston this weekend, just in time to meet us when we return next Thursday! Mary has been keeping up with the two classes where she tutors with letters and photos. And my history activities are awaiting my return.

We expect to go down to DC the week after we get home, just in time to see Margaret before she takes off on a two week trip to Africa as part of her job. She and Andrew had been to Mexico for a friend's wedding while we were away.

We also just found out two more moves. John and Marilyn close on their new home near Daytona today, and we saw on Facebook that Kathleen is moving to New York City.

Lots of catching up when we get home, with the primaries, with baseball, with new movies, with spring! Speaking of which, spring here is glorious. April in Paris!

Love from across the pond. We close with a new motto we spotted in a bathroom here.

Good news!

First things first: Sean started his new job as a law clerk for the Presiding Judge in the Hudson County Superior Court, Chancery Division. Congratulations!

We enjoyed one of the longer spring break trips we've ever had – ten days in the Southwest. Some highlights and lowlights:

We flew first class both ways. When I booked the tickets, first class fares were only about eighty dollars higher each way, so we sprung for it. Our flight out left Newark at 8:00 and arrived in Las Vegas at 10:30 local time. Sean was kind enough to drive us and took Dasha for the duration. He and Johanna house sat the house the weekend we were gone. Our trip back was a red eye: departed LV at 11:00 and arrived at Newark at 7:00 am. Although there was a lot of turbulence, we mostly slept. Because there is no charge, we checked bags for the first time in many years.

I had booked a Toyota Corolla at Sixt, a big European company just getting started in the US. But they had no cars at all when we got there, because of the NCAA basketball games, they said. They gave us the next car that came in: a Mercedes small SUV. I mostly enjoyed driving it, although the controls were very confusing. I never figured out some of the heating controls. The transmission was electronic auto, and it took me a couple days to figure out how to put it in park (press a button at the end of the stalk.)

Gambling is everywhere in Nevada, starting with the airport itself and hotels, gas stations, convenience stores, many restaurants and more. It's pretty depressing. Casino hotel room rates mid week are very cheap, so we stayed at one south of the Strip. After you checked in, you had to walk the entire casino floor to get to the elevators. We had no interest in seeing Las Vegas, although we drove along the Strip a couple of times. On our first full day I tried to go fly fishing in a park north of the city, but high winds defeated me. Janet spent the day catching up with old friends from West Orange and high school.

We spent most of the trip in Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce Canyon. We planned things so that we would spend at least a day and a half in each park, to allow for real exploration and hiking. But even going to and from these national treasures is spectacular country.

Grand Canyon was very crowded and we didn't think the Park Service did a good job of managing the crowds. It's Spring Break, and so that accounts for the crowds, including hordes of Asians taking hordes of photos. We spent as much time waiting for and riding the shuttle buses as hiking.

Zion was our favorite and we did some prodigious hiking here, even to the point of getting lost one day and having to go back a re-ford a stream we'd had difficulty getting across.

Bryce had a surprise for us. The weather turned very cold – one day did not get above 24 and blustery winds made it worse, and it snowed. We had insulated jackets but no hats or gloves, and so we were not prepared. They closed the southern half of the park and the trails were icy and slippery. But it was magical seeing the park in snow.

We're so used to driving 45 minutes to the farthest reaches of New Jersey, we forget how big this country is. We drove 1300 miles and hiked 24 miles, and we still saw only a very small portion of the southwest and the parks we visited. We live in a very beautiful country.

Happy spring

Happy birthday David. How cool is it to have a birthday on the first day of spring? Every year is fresh and new and green and flowery, with days getting longer. Our sources tell us though there may be snow.

No snow here. Lots of rain, almost everyday or rather every night. It has not been enough though to deter us from work. We'd love a rain day to stay home.

A couple of points not found on the blog. Mary has been extremely creative and resourceful in making our house a home. Our living quarters are the best in the village; we have electricity in the evening and tile floors and lots of comfortable couches. Mary has developed a trash pit for burning our waste (photo of the yard behind our house) and she has even gone into low-tech plumbing to figure out a healthy septic alternative. We have hooks and clothes lines and a mosquito net as well as a camping type of kitchen sink.

My daily routine begins with about a 30 minute focus on water: walking to the pump for two buckets, filtering 2 liters of water and positioning waster water for our flush system. It will make me appreciate the 1 second turn of the taps back home.

We've heard some news from you all and welcome more. Matthew is back to work a couple of hours a day and us walking unassisted at home. Donald has new glasses and is active and learning.

Annie has found a new apartment in Boston not too far from where she'll work. And we hear of sickness in both Joe's and Margaret's houses.

We marked the one month anniversary of Joe and Leonor's wedding with a toast here.

I get a short email from the Times every day with short snapshots of news, so we're able to keep up a little. Presidential politics sure seems historic. We even get a short Berkshire county news email, with stories on spring time. No news on the spring training front.

So we hope you all are well and healthy and safe and happy. Love from the equator.

Wedding bells

Time slows down for major life events such as Joe and Leonor's marriage this week.  So much was packed in, in such a short period of time, so many important moments that I will undoubtedly leave one or two, even more out.  

What was obvious was that everyone present wanted to share Leonor's and Joe's happiness beyond the small circle that was there.  I think the phrase heard the most after "congratulations" was "see you in Portugal."

So, in the sharing as much as possible vein, there were three events: a rehearsal-type dinner the night before where the Fontouras met the Dicksons; the civil ceremony in the DC courthouse; and a reception/dinner at Old Ebbet's Grill.

The first dinner at the Lebanese Taverna started out noisy, but pretty soon, I think our party was making the most noise.  We eventually drove everyone out of the place, and were the last to leave.  It's remarkable how everyone from Portugal spoke English, and how they were even speaking English to each other.  None of them had been to Washington, and the first to arrive were caught up in the snow storm on Sunday.  They had beautiful pictures.  The next group from Portugal arrived in the bad weather, but were able to enjoy rather quickly the beautiful spring-like weather that followed.  They did what everyone in Washington does: they walked, the length of the mall, taking in museums and all.  I should mention that when Joe arrived, he handed his work-phone to Leonor who kept it out of his grasp for the next 48 hours.

The ceremony at the courthouse took place the following day in the afternoon.  Mary and I picked up Joe at his house, and we made a mad dash through the traffic and arrived there after everyone else, but still on time.  There's a small cute chapel tucked away in the corridors of a large bureaucratic building.  The judge (or presiding official) was very nice, saying at the outset that her instructions would be longer than the actual ceremony.  But the language was familiar, and moved more than a few of us to teary eyes.  Leonor's friend took some photos that we will see soon.  The photo on the below, though, I believe was the only one of the happy couple on their way out of the courthouse.  If you look closely you can spot the wedding bands on their left hands!!

We went from their right to the Old Ebbet's Grill across the street from the White House, or the Treasury Department, and we had to restrain Joe from going over to check in to see if they needed him.  Not really.  Proseco, steak and crab cakes were on the menu, but so were some very heartfelt remarks from nearly everyone present.  We learned a few things about Joe, we remembered the first time we met Leonor (setting up a tent in the pouring rain at Assateague,) we heard how they met and met the young woman who introduced them. In his remarks, Andrew made note of the exclusive in-law club that Leonor had joined. Leonor's brothers spoke, one in Portuguese, with Leonor translating, but the other in flawless English.  It was all really special, with many moments that Leonor and Joe would revisit for many years to come.  And, of course, when we broke up, we were all talking up a Portugal visit.

We did get together at Joe and Leonor's house Friday evening for pizza dinner (along with Gerry and Dennis, our hosts). We picked up Annie at Margaret and Andrew's the next morning and headed home.  Margaret and Andrew were on their way to Lancaster for the weekend before heading to Mexico for a week.  The wedding couple looked exhausted, ready for a rest.

On the way back, we stopped in Princeton for a brunch with Peter, Janet and Sean where we caught up on their news.  Sean is living in West Orange with his high school friend, Clint, and working at Rutgers; Janet had just returned from a week of school trips to NYC with Princeton Day students, and Peter is taking a class on African-American literature in the 20th century.

We got home late on Saturday and played host to our friend Charlie from North Carolina who was up here visiting his son who goes to Williams.

This week, we're off to Gabon, but with fresh memories of a great week, and a wonderful wedding.  Congratulations to Joe and Leonor, and see you in Portugal.

Love from up here.    

   

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February is for Valentines

Happy day of love to everyone!  We need it to survive the arctic blast of cold, not just here but apparently wherever you are.  I do think we here in western Mass may have outdone everyone else as the high temps for the day reached 1 degree.  That is not a typo.  As a result, for the first time, we have kept our wood-stove going for 24 hours straight.

We had a memorable week up here.  A Super Bowl party, followed by a Super Boss party.  Annie, Margaret and Andrew came up over the weekend (and D).  It was nice to be able to watch a Super Bowl where we weren't really invested in either of the teams.  We could just eat our chili and once-a-year Fritos and relax.  Even the half time show was good, though none of us were really sure why Coldplay was there.  

Anyway, Annie got up early the next morning to head back to Stamford CT for work and Margaret and Andrew both worked from home.  Until..... it was time to get in the car and go to Albany to see Bruce, better known as Springsteen, in concert.  My first, after having listened to and been inspired by him for my entire adult life.  It was wonderful.  I know from Peter and Janet and Jeff and Melodie and many others that he gives us a great show, and he did not disappoint.  It's easy to philosophize about this appeal, especially when you have people from all generations belting out the lines to Hungry Heart, or why some lines about fighting or racing in the streets appeal to someone who has never done either.  But it works, and we love his music.  

There was another concert Super Bowl weekend, this one at Hope College, and the photo here is of Claire and her roommates who are also musicians.  Andrew and Lur went to Michigan to watch the inaugural concert for a new music center at Hope.  The entire program was organized by the students, featuring jazz and classical ensembles.  And Claire.  Congrats.  

Yesterday was bachelor and bachelorette parties in Washington, for Joe and Leonor.  Sounds like they had some fun, extended activities planned.  Hope the weather didn't intrude too badly.  We are heading down there tomorrow, for the big day, this coming Thursday.  Exciting.

Other news, includes Annie moving to Boston.  She is now officially looking for apartments and will transfer there by first of April.  And, Margaret has a new job, working on a large exchange program for Africans.  It's an Obama legacy program, and she may end up traveling to Africa to recruit and select participants.  Can I come?  Joe too has been busy at work, as the New York Times implied this morning with worries about the Chinese economy.   Hopefully, he can fix their issues in time for his wedding!!

Big news from Florida as well.  John and Marilyn have a new house, in the same town.  The photos and descriptions sound great.  What we zoomed right in on was the number of bedrooms.  Looks like they have guest room(s)!  It is near a golf course, tennis courts and swimming pool.  Hard to even imagine swimming when it's 1 degree outside.  But congratulations. Other news includes a nice dinner with Colleen and Pauline who are now in NY at the Westminster dog show.

We've seen some good movies - The Revenant (though Mary covered her face so much I am not sure she can really say she saw it) and Spotlight, as well as the Martian, Brooklyn and The Big Short.  We were going to go out tonight to watch the Oscar nominated shorts, but it's too cold.  

Primary season has started, so we see a lot of family comments, on Facebook, and in conversations.  Looks like we're a little all over the map, though, I think we can all agree it was nice to see Chris Christie head back to New Jersey.  Although I am not sure the New Jersey Dicksons want him back.  

And, we started packing for Gabon today.  Our portable "loo," donated shoes, flashlights, medicines, etc.  Not sure we have much room for clothing.  Departure is Feb 25, less than 2 weeks away.  Yikes.  

Did someone mention birthday?  No?  Well, it was spectacular.  

Happy Valentines Day everyone, We love you!  

Engagement, Snozilla

Happiness is Joe's and Leonor's engagement.  It's official and what we were hoping for!  With what sounds like a memorable proposal, spontaneously in the falling snow, in Central Park.  Joe reminded me that he has done what neither Pop nor I did which was make a formal marriage proposal to his future wife.  (Joe remembered that Pop's question had to do with spending the rest of their lives together.)  I know Mary and I had a conversation at the end of which we knew we had agreed to be married, without me ever having said the magic words.  Whatever happened to tradition?

Anyway, we're very happy for them.  They are planning a small civil ceremony in February, and then a church wedding and reception at a later time and place to be determined.   

The falling snow in Central Park was not the marathon snow event that started in North Carolina and stopped just short of Pittsfield.  It;s nice to see that even though some official came up with names for winter storms (like hurricanes), that social media is giving these their own name, that sticks better - Snozilla.  We saw great photos of snowball fights, indoor card games, snow angels, and dogs in snow that you all in Washington, New Jersey and  New York posted on Facebook.  And it looked like fun, until Annie said she spent 4 hours on Sunday digging her car out, as she had to use a windshield scraper since all the shovels had been sold out.  That has to qualify for something Annie.  

Too bad the snowshoes Margaret got for Christmas about ten years ago and never worn were up here, because we did not get a single flake of snow here.  I know if we take them down to DC, then we'll get a big snow here.

In the "adventurous but not very smart" category, Mary and I decided to stick to our plans to go to Boston to attend a Robert Burns night celebration that Cliff and Sheila host every year.  We knew before that driving through snow is no fun, whether it is one inch or one foot.  We saw the first snowflakes around Sturbridge and then drove through pretty messy stuff at pretty sow speeds the rest of the way.  They ended up getting about 4 inches of snow, but overall it was probably worth it.  Poetry and stories and bagpipes and good food.  Oh and a little whisky.

After Boston, we stopped in to see Mary's high school friend Judy for a cup of tea (keeping with the anglophile tradition of the weekend) and then rushed home to see Tom Brady almost pull out a win, despite being hit over 25 times, more than any quarterback ever in the playoffs.  Do I hear the violin music?  Or is that just groans?

We spoke with Andrew who was working at a food bank with Lur, and also was going to go to a basketball game of Daniel's.  He has hurt his foot but hopes to be back in the lineup this weekend.  We also talked to David, who was on the train, on his way to New York City.  He mentioned he had lunch on the train with a guy who was traveling by train all the way from San Francisco.  

We were also fortunate to have a short visit from Annie, who used Pittsfield as a layover on her way to and from meetings in Schenectedy.  She is still waiting word on when she moves to Boston.

A month from today, we will be on our way to the village in Gabon.  We have a corner of our bedroom full of stuff to take.  I hope we have enough room in our suitcases for clothes.  Our latest purchase: a "Luggable Loo."  We will not take a photo  of that.

So, the days are getting longer, but it's not getting any warmer yet.  Next week, Groundhog Day will definitively tell us about the rest of winter.

Hope you all are well.  Love from up here.