Two weeks ago

Where is everyone? We wanted to play badminton and bocci. We are going to have s'mores.

We heard from Joe that he and Tamara stopped and saw Bill, Jen and Miles today. The two of them continued on to Michigan as Tamara had a shipment coming.

Joe is not the only one on the road. Peter and Janet took off for Kentucky.
They got Johanna's dog Molly stabilized before leaving. Molly had a brush with what looked like a fatal illness for a while.

And David also avoided illness when he discovered a tick bite.

Mary and I had a fantastic trip back in time when our Peace Corps friends gathered here, in Maine and Vermont last week. We shared slides and stories, reconnected, danced and ate African food. Wonderful.

Annie is planning her trip back in September as a bridesmaid for a friend's wedding. Margaret had a busy work week with an orientation for all the Fulbright teachers heading overseas.

Mary's back continues to bother her and she is trying lots of different things to get better.

Thanks for all the calls, letters and e-mails. Sure was nice to see everyone.

Love from the Berkshires.

The Pause Button

Sometimes you just want to hit the pause button.

Hopefully there are many more photos out there!

Happy Birthday Grandma

It's 6pm Sunday night.  As I write now, I am looking at a group photo of our first weekend together in Mountain Springs, maybe in 1990.  And I am reminded that we did not get a group photo this time around.  

While much has changed since then, we did keep up the fine tradition of eating, drinking, chatting and playing.  And collecting memories.  Swimming, boating, shopping, hiking, campfiring, guitar playing, dog walking and more.  It all happened so fast. And now, we are back to the quiet sounds of ... our busy road.  Come back!    

It was wonderful to see everyone and have everyone here.  And we know there was a little bit of selfishness on our part, especially because so many of you had to come from so far away.  We heard from a number of you throughout the day, while we were taking naps and doing a little tidying up.  and I know that at least five Dicksons are not at their final destination yet.  I hope everyone else is home by now.

Grandma celebrated her 85th in the best way of just being with her family.   Can't top that.  I will try to finish the recording and transcribing over the course of the next few months.  

So let's end up with a big thanks and a pat on each others' collective backs.  Everyone pitched in to make the weekend a special occasion!  

Happy July 4th

Uncle Sam at the Pittsfield parade. A year ago we saw a picture of Jeffrey proposing to Melodie on the 4th!

Lots of news. First off, happy birthday Andrew; happy anniversary Andrew and Lur. We talked to the birthday boy who said Jen and Miles were able to stay in the hospital a week but all checked out and came home in fine health. Andrew on the other hand hurt his back again.

Speaking of anniversaries, we heard David and Paula had a good trip to Stratford Ontario to celebrate their 40th. Stratford hosts Shakespeare festivals all summer long.

And Annie has a big birthday coming up. Did we tell you we saw her? In China?

Got to give that girl credit. She has figured out the most complicated, most foreign place I have ever seen. She's speaking the language, moving around the city like a native. And it us one tough, fast, huge city. But extremely interesting, rich in culture and history and an exploding economy. Annie showed us around, gave us a tour of Chinese sites and culinary diversity. She and her friend Greg have rich lives, exciting jobs and a nice circle of friends. We have pictures! And stories!

One of the big heroes of our trip was Peter who got up at 5am to take us to Newark airport and then stayed up til midnight to pick us up at the end of the trip. And all he got was a hat and a Rolex watch. Does it still work? We saw Janet who joined us for a Fathers Day supper. And that was after a Fathers Day brunch the day before with Joe and Margaret in Washington.

Another hero was Grandma who let us use her pad to store what remained from our move out of Bethesda and park our cars and our tired bodies both before we left and after we got back. Grandma is well but still has trouble with her eyesight.

And then we fought our jet lag and drove north. We're almost there. The construction is winding down. Yesterday we turned on a kitchen faucet for the first time in three years. We have a screened in porch.

And we have boxes. Our shipment came this Wednesday and we started the long unpacking process. John and Marilyn came over and helped us place and rearrange furniture. That means heavy lifting!

Lots to do before you all come for Grandma's birthday. But we did go up to Jiminy Peak and confirm rooms. I'll send details via e-mail.

Well, it's a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Think I'll unpack some boxes.

Love from over here.

Welcome Miles!

Pingyao

Either Mary has learned Chinese or that guy speaks English. Can you guess which?

Not again

Yes again.  But it could be our last big move.  Ooops I just jinxed it.  There will be more I'm sure.

The movers pulled out yesterday on their third day of packing and loading.  We had spent the weekend closing out Joe's storage unit and taking some stuff down to Margaret which gave us a chance to check out her new place, which she has set up nicely.  She was without air conditioning, though, and the temps were in the 90s.  A throwback to the old days.  No wonder it was a small city.

We're not the only ones moving.  Peter said Sean is looking for a place in NJ before he goes to law school this fall, and Johanna may also be moving.  Joe is getting ready for his move up north later in August.

Things are shaping up for the big July 28 celebration, with everyone decided on their attendance.  We're looking forward to it!

The planning has been the fun part as I get e-mails from Matthew and Jeffrey and Melodie, and phone calls from David, Peter and Andrew!   On one of those chats we got the latest from Bill and Jen, who are getting closer to the due date.  Billy may be moving to a new job!  Congratulations!

We also heard from Patrick who just graduated from Manhattan College.  And cum laude.  He said his group, The Facelifters, recently won an award for New England's best new band.  I googled Facelifters and came up with a MySpace site: http://www.myspace.com/thefacelifters.  Two things stood out - first they have over 500 fans and second, it merits a parental advisory.  Looks like fun.

Last week, Peter and I went to Meadow Lakes for lunch with Grandma, Aunt Ruth, cousin Debbie and her husband Rod Barnes.  Everyone looked great.  That's a feat for Aunt Ruth who is 92 and coming off cancer treatment this winter.  But so did Debbie and Rod, and so did Grandma!   And we talked - politics!  Anthony Weiner.  Among other things.  

Our social life also included attending a wedding of the daughter of friends of ours from Peru.  Very nice.  And, on the nature front, as the movers were packing I sat on the deck and watched a chipmunk moving food back and forth, with full cheeks going one way and then empty cheeks the other way.  The the tables were turned when I got my lunch and sat down; he watched me eat!

Here's a sign.  Mary left for work yesterday, on the third and final day of moving.  She said to me: "don't you wish you were going to work?"  The answer was no; I'd even rather be moving.

Next letter comes from China!  Oh and did I mention it was Fathers Day on Sunday?  Only three more shopping days.

Love from down here!