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. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ides of March

Dateline - Daytona. Or more specifically Port Orange.

We're down here to check in on Timmy, Mary's brother, who landed back in the hospital again after another fall. We flew out of DC where Mary has been spending the last two weeks helping out the parents, the big brother, and the teeny weeny girl, Darcy. It's hard to believe that she was born a mere two weeks ago. Life has certainly been totally changed since then. In a good way.

I had left DC even before everyone got home in order to keep a few medical appointments. Looks like I'm a candidate for cataract surgery soon. The checkup in Boston went well.

And it was a different planet in the first of March then two weeks later. And not just because of war. I came home to a couple of feet of snow and now it's almost all gone. I even saw our first robin. As you can imagine with all the melting, there's water everywhere. Lakes in the yard. Another sign of spring? The changing of the clocks.

It was a different planet for Kiernan, Daniel, Lur and Erin too. What do they have in common? Birthdays in the first two weeks of March. Wow! A record of sorts. Hoping each and every one had the best birthday ever.

Another hospital story. Andrew had hernia surgery and is on the slow road to recovery. But, no other choice.

It's official. Annie is the closest thing you can get to a dual national. India doesn't recognize dual nationals but it does have a category that comes close. She got word that her status was approved. So now she doesn't have to get a tourist visa all the time. Now if only Sankar could get a tourist visa to come here. They're working on it.

Joe and family are back from a trip of a lifetime. But that's probably not accurate since I suspect there will be another to top that by this time next year. They are back to juggling work and children schedules.

From the "Wayback" machine. I found a few notes in Grandma's handwriting this week. She was recording some family stories. Her mother Velma was the eldest of five children and the only one to go to college. She ended up a teacher in a one room schoolhouse and among her students were her brothers and sisters. She also got a job in an insane asylum. Then she went on a hike with a friend all the way out to California. And back. She then went to Washington DC and got a job in military intelligence which sent her to Bern Switzerland as a secretary. She didn't stay long and came home and worked in a retail store where she met a man five years younger than her and later married him. Talk about packing it in. Talk about an independent woman! Grandma wrote, "Pioneer."

In the months ahead, there are more wayback stories in this treasure trove.

We see photos of snowshoeing in New York State, rugby in England, brotherly love in Maryland and DC.
Two Dickson authors. Simon has written his first book. Spoiler alert. It's about Yoshi. And the same day Darcy was born I received 100 books in the mail. It's about Melville.

Simon wants his mother to talk about his book at her book club. He'll be a good salesman.

With that, we'll sign off with a wish that March indeed will go out like a lamb.

Love from down here

Two birthdays

Two birthdays on the same day. 

One was a real birth. Start spreading the news. 

The other was the fourth anniversary of a real birth. Happy birthday Luisa!

Andrew wrote this morning saying they were on their way to the hospital. Margaret's blood pressure was up and the doctor wanted to check things out. We were in Boston at another hospital (Mary had a stress test) and hurried home. By the time we got home, Margaret called and said the baby was going to be born today. A C section. She said "Luisa will have a birthday twin." 

So, we canceled everything and started to prepare for an early am takeoff. Simon will stay with a neighbor tonight. 

The world stops. Nothing else matters.  So happy for mother, for father, for brother and for baby sister.  Why is it always such a surprise, this miracle?  And check out the picture. Why is it always such a surprise, this teeny weeny size?

I had a whole other letter drafted in my head about the traveling Wilburys, I mean Dicksons, since Joe and family spent ten days in South Africa, Annie went to Jaipur, Jeff and Melodie were in Mexico, Daniel was touring Europe, Claire went to NYC for her band concerts. So did we, and Peter. Janet went to Hershey PA. 

So much going on and deserving of prominence each one. 

But another Dickson?  How wonderful. 

Love from up here

Oaxaca, Jaipur, Cape Town and Hershey

Home again.  We've been home already a week, and it really seems like we were in Oaxaca for more than a week. But we sure hit reality at Newark Airport at 2:00 in the morning. Minus something and minus something or other with windchill. But the car started the next day.

It sounds so boring when I sum up our activities – eating, walking, shopping, chatting, museum-exploring, and sleeping. Repeat. But what we like about travel is figuring a place out, going from being intimidated to owning it. Time to move on. On our last day, I said to Mary how much I appreciate Mexico each time I visit. We have many photos, but I'll just include one, a sample of the colors.

Since there are so many more important events. Joe and family are in Cape Town. What a setting. It's school break, and they have long planned to visit a friend of Leonor's who lives there. Her house is in the photo of Thomas below.

Daniel has left London, having finished his four-month course successfully. He's off on a European tour with friends from Chicago. His final project looked pretty awesomely complicated. Bill and Jen were supposed to go to London, but canceled, perhaps because his work trip fell through. They were busy with Theo's birthday party. He must be four?  Wow. 

Anyone else have a birthday?  Hope I'm not forgetting anyone.

Annie also traveled, to Jaipur, a city that is known for its textiles and international book fair. Also temples and palaces and elephants and camels.

Margaret didn't travel but is starting to feel contractions. The doctors moved up her due date to mid-March.

Janet also traveled, up to Hershey PA with a group of students from PDS on their winter project.

The weather continued to dominate our respective abodes. Peter said his driveway is still full of ice, and he had to get a plow in so the oil tank could be filled. The snow is piled high up in Fairport, and David shovels a little every day, because it snows a little (a lot?) every day. Andrew and Lur promised to send their warming temps our way, and it seems to be working. Thank you.

I saw our first bird in the window feeder today. We have seen evidence of dwindling stocks but this was our first actual bird. So, I decided to re-fill the feeder today which meant venturing over in the snow. Up to my knees.

So much more has happened – from Bad Bunny to spring training, from Valentine's Day to this long weekend.

Oh, now I remember. I had a birthday. Thanks for all your cards, calls and wishes.

Love from up here.   

 

Let it snow



Dateline Oaxaca. Mexico. Where Margaret had her birthday party last year. We couldn't resist when our Seattle friend Valerie said she was going to be spending a couple of weeks here in February. We'll be here just one week. Looking forward to no commitments, no schedule, and most of all no cold. 

Yes, snow and cold dominated not just family news but national news. We had our biggest snowfall since I've lived in Pittsfield, and judging by what we saw and felt driving and flying here, I'm pretty sure there were superlatives used to describe the weather everywhere. Heck, even in Dallas where we laid over for a few hours, it was 28 degrees. 

Something about a snowfall is exciting and fun. Watching it come down and then checking its progress every hour, gauging accumulation against some physical marker (a fence post or a lawn ornament), calling up or texting friends and family to compare - it's really magical.  We even ventured out. Mary wanted to shovel the walk, and it was so light, that the height didn't seem to matter. I, stupidly, walked over to the lake, trudging through a foot or more and listening to the tall pine creak and groan. Before falling on me, I imagined the obituary. 

Anyway, Chicago was spared the snow but got the cold; Fairport got snow from the storm and the lake, Washington got snow, then ice, and Princeton somewhere in between. 

The best part of the snow is grandchildren. Nobody enjoys snow like a kid. We loved taking the phone outside to show those folks in London or India what they were missing. We sent photos to Margaret who was on the beach in Mexico for a friend's birthday party what she was missing. Her photos that came back were of sun and sand and infinity pools. 

Worst part of snow? Ask Andrew S who spent 90 minutes digging his car out of the snow/ice. Or school cancelled but not work, or at least telework. 

Shoveling for us was almost easy until the plows dumped their slush at the end of our driveway that turned to ice in the negative temps. I didn't need to go to the gym that day. What a workout. 

When we look at the weather in Pittsfield this coming week, the temperatures won't get above freezing. Neither in Newark where we parked the car in a snowbank. I shudder to think what we'll face on our return. 

In the meantime though we'll enjoy the respite. 

Love to you all from aqui, abojo. 

John Dickson

Happy Pongal

 Picking up from last letter, I mentioned that everyone we knew was sick except for us.  Not no more.  Not for Mary. Down for the count with a fierce bout of flu. Moi, my advice is to buy stock in Airborne and Zicam. I'm okay for now but not so confident for the future. Right now, it's all Zicam and Airborne.

We're pretty sure the sickness didn't come from Washington DC where we joined Margaret and family for her birthday. No one there was sick. And, we had fun. From ice cream cake and presents to swim lessons and Simon-sitting, hide-and-seek to walks and naps, a good time was had by all. Margaret and Andrew went out for a karaoke party; hence the picture with Melodie, taken by Jeff who I understand doesn't sing. Doesn't sing?  Everybody sings.

We're hoping the London group is finished with their sicknesses.  Back from Portugal, Joe started his new job at the Embassy, so everyone there is off in different directions each day. Joe is working with someone who was in Toronto when we were in Ottawa. In Brazil, he worked with people we knew from Mexico City. Small world.

In India, it's Happy Pongal all around. You'll have to Google it, but you won't find mentioned that it's Annie's favorite celebration. She and Sankar just hosted their first sustainable living workshop, on avocado tree grafting.

Closer to home, we see videos of Ronan walking across the room.  Time certainly does fly. Pretty active boys in that household.

Up in Fairport, the news is all about home maintenance. They are putting on a new roof, with emphasis on the present tense. Now, in the middle of winter. Imagine climbing on a roof in this temperature. Anyway, given the racket and David and Paula's sleep schedules, we hope that it's finished quickly.

Pretty chilling temps in Chicago area as well, but they already did their roof replacement in the fall.  They had a long chat with Daniel who talked about his trip to Edinburgh and Amsterdam over the holidays.  Must have been good since his buddies are coming over for a multi-country tour of Europe once he's finished with his course.

The temperatures also hit home when we went to New Bedford for the annual Moby Dick marathon that they schedule for January because that's when a 21-year-old Melville departed on his first whaling voyage. All we could think of walking around that frigid city was setting out on a ship at that time of year. No way. Couldn't they have waited until May?

The marathon was fun, and not just for me. Mary enjoyed the enthusiasm and the arrangements.  People cheered and read with dramatic emphasis. I got to read in French. I knew it was crowded compared to ten years ago when we were there, but the whaling museum wrote afterwards and said over 3000 people participated.

From New Bedford, we headed to Boston for Mary's cardiologist check-up (all good) and on the way we stopped in Taunton Mass. We had four ancestry clues to look up and struck out on each of them, but we did find a Deane Street. Uncle All's old hand-written genealogy, now updated by cousin Jay, takes the Deane family in Taunton back to the 1630s. We'll have to go back when the local history museum is open to find the John Deane and Nathaniel Deane houses as well as the former's tombstone.

Speaking of ancestry, Mary got a calendar in the mail that one of her cousins puts together that also tells family history.  Pretty interesting stuff. Our house sits on but two of the 50 acres her family once owned on this street.

The days are indeed getting longer, so we're heading in the right direction, even if it will take a while.

Love from up here. Stay warm.