Music, Music, Music

Our Shrewsbury concerts are usually held outside
the Shrewsbury Meeting House.

And we get a big crowd. A different food vendor
comes each time and provides dinner.

Our friend Sally joins us each summer for 
all Opera North productions and we have a
lovely picnic first. 

 

We don't lack for opportunities for live music near us of every kind. This last week alone we saw the New York City Ballet at Saratoga, the Marriage of Figaro at Opera North in Cornish, NH and singer/song writer Rod MacDonald right here in Shrewsbury. Earlier we saw The Little Prince and next week The Man of La Mancha, both Opera North Productions. 

That's Opera North's tent named "Charlotte"

The view from our picnic spot and the Opera North tent. It overlooks the Connecticut River.

A view inside the tent for The Little Prince!

Sunset at the outdoor Vermont Symphony concert
in nearby Castleton

This Thursday we're seeing White Christmas at the Weston and a few weeks later The Book Club Play at the Dorset. Right here in Shrewsbury we have a series of 6 concerts throughout the summer and could go to any number of others in nearby communities. Sean and Will joined Scott for a Vermont Symphony Orchestra evening and we'll get down to Marlboro for one of their Chamber concerts.  The choices are endless! And that's only July!

Another Great Fourth of July

Scott set up a "Slip & Slide" out on the lawn and it got plenty of use. 

We have been hosting a Fourth of July weekend since around 1982 or 3. So over 50 years. For most of that time it was 5 families: Wolfs, Silversteins, Youmans, Barns, Bond D'Arpas, and ourselves. Until 2007 it was held at our home in Ludlow, Tall Timbers on Lake Rescue. When we moved to The Hundred Acre Wood in Shrewsbury, the party continued. Now there is a third generation appearing! 

Sean, Nora and Grace try to persuade Rowan to
jump in.

Sean & Will

Rowan and Grandpa

This year we had 18 total gather over 5 days, coming and going at different times. First to appear was our youngest son Sean and his husband Will and son Rowan, along with our daughter Zoë, who flew in from California. Then our next oldest son James with his wife Morgen and son Kolya. Morgen's sister Claire, her husband Bill and daughters Grace and Nora joined us again this year the following night. Larry Barns and Zuzia came the same day. Finally Scott Silverstein, his wife Laura and son Calvin drove down from Richmond, VT for two days. We missed members of the Wolfs, Bond-D'Arpas, Youmans and the senior Silversteins this year. 

Zuzia, Kolya, Morgen, Claire, Bill, Heather & Zoë

The weather was generally excellent with only one day of occasional rain. Most people were up at the lake mornings and afternoons! As usual there were amazing meals at least three times a day. We also celebrated Rowan's second birthday although the actual date was a few days later. I'm sorry to say that I was very remiss in taking photos! But a selection from the very few are included here.  More on July doings in my next post!

Sean Rowan, Kolya

Claire & Nora , armed with a water gun!

Morgen in the second tube 

On the swim raft: Scott, Will, James, Laura and Zoë & Morgen behind. Calvin and Kolya are in the water. 

Scott, Rowan, Sean, Will, James, Zoë, Scott S. and Morgen

Of course S'mores were on the menu! Laura and
Claire are supervising Heather, Kolya and Grace.

Kolya became quite efficient at them!

Rowan's birthday cake was a hit with 
everyone - lemon cake with yogurt.

Morgen, James and Zoë enjoy a good book!

Our one rainy day we had a thunderstorm with good sized hail!

Home At Last

My line up of herbs on the railing.

Window boxes brighten up the deck

Vases of peonies - they don't last long!

Spring has meant a lot of rain and quite cool weather for us since our return. But yesterday and today summer finally arrived with bright sunshine and warm temperatures. The garden is really beautiful this time of year with the peonies, rhododendrons, phlox and poppies adding lots of color to the various bright greens. I planted 5 window boxes with annuals and a large herb collection on the railing in front: parsley, basil, thyme, mint, oregano, and rosemary. 

Heather, Sean and Rowan - out for a brew

Gary, Will's Dad, also came for a visit on his way
to Spain.

Rowan loves to laugh and Scott really gets him
going!

Will and Sean

We've been kept really busy with community events and social occasions. But our first weekend we spent down in Boston with son Sean, son-in-law Will and our youngest grandson Rowan. He has grown up so much in these last six months. He'll be 2 in July and chattering away already. We even understand most of the words! He's a darling. 

I'm back at work doing 4 hour shifts at Pierce's Store, volunteer of course. And we had a huge turnout for our spring wine tasting. I made 4 different appetizers for sale - all goes to support Pierces, a non profit co-op. We had a 7 piece band too! Scott is now attending his many board meetings in person and now can return to his Quaker meeting on Sundays. We had their annual meetings and dinner at our house one Sunday. There are a variety of concerts too - here in Shrewsbury and around our area. The bluegrass group, Green Mountain Boys, performed at our Town Hall to a packed crowd. My book club met to discuss Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean. The meetings are once a month at a member's home and this time we all stayed for a pot luck dinner. 

The food and wine line. We had 8 different kinds
of appetizers. I made 4 of them.

A view around the room. The events are held in 
the renovated garage behind Pierce's Store. That
me on the left.

There were seven musicians overall but they
weren't all on stage at on every piece.

The Green Mountain Boys (and woman) at the
Town Hall. 

We both joined our local MINT, a Makerspace facility. "Makerspace programs provide space and resources for individuals to design, experiment and invent, fostering creativity, problem-solving and collaboration." Here in Rutland it's in a huge former warehouse with a warren of activity. I've rented a 8ft by 8ft space as a studio and Scott uses the variety of machines, like 3D printers and woodshop machines. Their funds ran out and they had to let go of their paid staff so now it's all being run by volunteers!

My last living first cousin on my father's side, Judy Halburg, celebrated her 90th birthday in June. That's her in the center with Heather on the left. Over 100 guests attended a beautiful luncheon in her honor. Most of them were descended from my father's sister, Judy's mother, Edna. 

Scott has returned to baking sourdough bread!

 

We both volunteer at our local library and I'm a member of the Rutland Garden Club. We maintain over 16 gardens around the city and mine is the local Senior Center. Scott helps me with is along with 2 other members. I must admit this is getting to be difficult for me, along with my own huge garden, but it's OK for now. I'm not walking as much as I should but we do Bone Builders twice a week. It's an hour of weights, stretches, meditation designed for Seniors. But we are sure keeping busy as you can see from this write up! 

And on the 1st of July our family and friends start arriving for our annual Fourth of July weekend. More about that in my next post. 

On the Road Again!

The view from our deck down to Baby's usual spot. We're finished with digging her out and careening down the driveway!

Our little tree down by the pond 
looks quite wintery and sweet.

After Michal and our 5 grandchildren left, we had five days to pack and get the house ready for the winter (without us, but with expected visits from our kids and friends). I did yeoman's duty at Pierce's, working there (volunteering) running the store 4 hour shifts on 3 days! We left January 2nd from Exit 1 RV in Fairhaven, VT where we have been storing Baby since late October. We had only a sprinkling of snow there. But we had around 8 inches at home as you can see from the photo! The truck was packed as we are gone for almost 5 months. 

Scott at Chez Pierre in Gansevoort, NY near the Saratoga
RV Park. This was a favorite spot of Brian Armstrong and
myself back in the 1970's. It's still run by the same family!

From there we drove an hour and a half over to Saratoga RV and spent one night before a long day driving down to Washington DC. We can't use the tunnels in Baltimore because we carry propane tanks, so had to drive right through the city. After 2 nights there visiting our son James and his family, we hightailed south again to try and get out of the coming snowstorm. We got as far as Ashland, VA and spent one night there. We didn't escape the snow though, as we woke up to several inches of snow and slush. It took several hours of careful driving before we left the snow line. The temperatures however didn't go up.

The view out our RV window at the Americamps
RV Park in Ashland, VA in the morning.

Walt & Honoree in their kitchen

Our next stop was our yearly visit to our old traveling buddies, Walt & Honoree, at their beautiful home in Carthage, NC. Baby's spot on the edge of their pond is one of our all time favorites. We had a great time as usual with cold but clear sunny days. Some great walks, meals, card games, and conversation! One wonderful surprise too. They have volunteered to keep Baby on their property while we are away in New Zealand and Australia! We're flying out of Raleigh, about an hour away. This will save us a lot of money in storage fees and we'll get to visit them again in the spring!

Now we're off for another visit with old friends, Stephen & Kate Kelley in Pawley's Island, SC. But that will be covered in my next post!

That's Baby in her favorite spot at Walt & Honorees home in Carthage, NC

 

2024 - Finishing up the Year!

Scott and I took some long walks in nearby 
Central Park and got to watch the runners in the
NYC Marathon.

Daniel and Shira contemplate one of my 
chocolate chip cookies. I brough tons of 5 
verities and they were all gone in a few days!

 

Cookie, Uzi and Maya pile up on Josh

Uzi, Heather, Maya and Shira at the Museum of
Modern Art.

Before our trip to Ireland we went down to NYC to visit our oldest son Josh and his family. Michal and their two younger children moved to Manhattan in September. They joined their oldest three kids who are all at Columbia University: a Senior, Junior and a Freshman. Their Coop apartment is on the corner of Park Ave. and 84th and has room for all of us. So we'll be visiting NYC more often!

Heather with Jessie and her son.
Mollie's 3 children and Rowan were
there as well, but somehow I only
took 2 photos!

And here's the other one: Doug, Carol, Julie and Gene.
These are both at the Holiday Open House

After returning from Ireland we had several parties to enjoy. First, Pierce's had a dinner for all their volunteers and staff - great fun and excellent food. Then our annual Holiday Open House in Boston which this year was hosted for the first time by Marty Wolf and her daughter and son-in-law, now living next door, Molly and Patrick. Scott and I stayed with Marty for the weekend to help out with the preparations. We had a big turnout with lots of family and friends. Last was a pot luck dinner for my Book Club members and their spouses at our good friends and neighbors, Lily & Eldred French.

Everyone dressed and ready for a day on the slopes. Michal, Maya, Daniel, Shira, Uzi & Cookie.

It was Daniel's 22nd birthday and we
made a three tier chocolate cake
filled with s'more ingredients!

Michal, Cookie, Shira, Scott, Uzi & Daniel - lighting the 
Menorahs

This was our year for Thanksgiving so the rest of our family was celebrating Christmas with their in-laws. But Josh's family accepted our invitation to come visit us for the week and celebrate Hanukah with us. Yeh! The only sad news was that Josh could not goin us. He was stuck being the doctor for his partnership during the holidays. Michal, my daughter-in-law drove up from NYC with our grandchildren, Daniel, Cookie, Maya, Uzi and Shira. What a great time we had and the weather cooperated with lots of snow. They skied two days at Killington, made snow forts and snow men, sledded, and roasted a LOT of marshmallows. 

Also in November Kolya got to go on his first
real tent camping trip on the AT.

And now we're on our way south - more on my next post.

And I couldn't resist adding this
fun photo of Rowan and a pair of
outsized boots.