SUMMER '21 - MORE
Well, as usual the newsletter stimulated some folks to make their own input. Still waiting on a couple of folks, but in the meantime, here's what we have so far.....
Judi Chatfield sent the news and also some nice pictures. not only of herself and Fred, but also her cats.
We got through a year and a half of Covid, but we coped, how we found new skills, were nourished by nature around us. It was not a wasted year!
I had returned January 28, 2020 from Italy, just before the outbreak of Covid was announced.
Fred and I stayed in Sharon which was like a Brigadoon Bubble - off the beaten track, with minimal incidence of Covid. Fred did all the shopping in the area, while I stayed home. We didn't realize it until he had a physical in June that he had had a mild case of Covid - we thought the coughing was a replay of a bronchial condition he had at Christmas. There was no fever so he didn't bother to go to the doctor. We got our vaccinations locally early on - Connecticut made sure that seniors had access to the shots.
I'm quite happy surrounded by my books, wildlife, watching each day evolve seasonally.
I took zoom courses in Renaissance Women Writers, and The Canterbury Tales. The Frick Museum weekly lectures were a pleasure. Netflix series kept us entertained. ("The French VIllage" about Vichy France was a favorite). Fred had to learn to zoom for a Yale Alumni Board meeng. My book group kept going via zoom monthly, and I am happy to report it is now meeting again in my studio. I've been doing a lot of photography - check Instagram at site Minouche.miss.
With Summer 2020 the neighborhood came alive - masked, somewhat vaccinated, every house on the road fully occupied. New Yorkers became full time residents. A weekly Sunday drinks and croquet gathering brought us together. Gradually it expanded to the adjacent roads, and we met neighbors we only knew previously by sight while walking.
Because of the influx of New Yorkers moving up here during Covid, local workers are so much in demand. House repairs entail endless delays.. Miraculously after a wait of a year some windows were replaced; on the same day Fred managed to get a contractor mason to redo the driveway, build a stone wall, and reset the path to the kitchen, plus the pool service finally showed up that afternoon 20 days late. We await the plumber. Wise classmates have moved into condos. I can't see that happening. for us.
I have been to New York three times since last November for my sketch club lunches at the Century Association, and visiting museums, but these are day trips in and out traveling off peak trains.
I have not made definite travel plans. A scheduled trip to Bhutan got postponed twice,
Europe is a lure, but l wait. I should go visit my brother Bill in Jacksonville who is suffering from diabetes. The thought of air travel is still daunting.
My very best to all.
Judi Chatfield Schwerin
Well, shortly after Judi sent this, she happened to mention that she was on her way soon to see her entry in a photo exhibition for The Century Club. Naturally, that got my attention and after some encouragement, she sent a brief summary of that activity, and the picture. So, here you go....
Sending this as the train pauses at Chappaqua. I always think of your dad when I am on the train here. I preferred it in its original charming state before they built up stair platforms.
The photo attached. « Here’s looking at you Babe ». Taken at MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) last November. Masks required, and there were very few visitors. These two Japanese fashionista tourists are busy with their iPhones. Who is observing whom? The man in the portrait watches with amusement.
I am catching them with my iPhone, and you too are a spectator.
Observe their dress, postures, diagonals.
This is my entry for the annual amateur arts show at The Century Association. The club’s membership is largely professional artists and writers. There is a banquet for the amateur participants during which between courses we get up and move around the room, wall by wall, and must comment on our entries. Voting takes place for categories of paintings, drawings, sculpture, and photography. All light hearted fun.
Sue McKinley Carpenter sends her greetings, news of the year and pictures of Ireland from her 50th Wedding anniversary:
To all of you who contributed to the Summer 2021 newsletter with your inputs: I read every word and loved hearing about you. It made me decide I wanted to catch you all up on some of the goings-on in my life. At this stage in our lives, the wonderful thing is hearing about how we are all managing as we are about to turn the big 80. (or have). Believe it or not, I’m up to being on a committee for planning our next reunion!
One very happy event in our lives was celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary in Donegal Ireland - The area in which my grandfather was born. It was the perfect setting for a family gathering with ancestor history all around. As family rotated through, the beds would be filled and emptied as new company arrived. It was sentimental, happy memories, amazing moments of showing relatives their roots. That was in May and June 2019. We spent our usual summer at our cottage at a tiny lake in Pennsylvania. Memories of Carolyn Hill, Dave Williams, Gay Mayer, and Peter Davidson and I sitting around the breakfast table planning our reunion in Mount Kisco/Chappaqua is always a fun memory. Summer 2020 was uneventful as we all socially distanced with few visitors. Usually everyone clears out from the lake by September but Charlie and I, who are lucky enough to have a well and electricity, stayed on through every holiday until the middle of January. We happened to be home in Vestal for the 48 inch snowfall (which made the national news) We felt a sense of adventure back at the lake building fires in our wood stove, cooking our meals, having our Thanksgiving and Christmas on our own and knowing we were safe from that big bad pandemic outside our little world. There was definitely good to be found in the quietness of Covid and in the lack of running around. We went through the joys of no TV. I sang virtually with my choir, and attended many zoom meetings.
So let’s all start thinking about where our next reunion should be! Love to all, Sue
Got a quick note from Liz Lewis Usborne about meeting up with Debbie and George, and a nice photo to go with it.
My husband Roger gave Debbie Moslander Baxter and her husband George a private tour of the USS MIDWAY MUSEUM when they were in San Diego a couple of weeks ago. Debbie and I were also College Classmates at Denison.
And then, as if by magic, on the same day, Debbie sent the same picture and a quick roundup of their recent travels.
In July George and I worked up our courage to fly to California to reunion with George, Jr. and his family whom we had not seen for over a year and a half.
We had a wonderful time in San Diego with Liz Lewis Usborne and her husband Roger who were very generous with their time, taking us on a tour of the Midway and of historical sights in and around their beautiful city. We loved the famed San Diego zoo!
So amazing to see our family again: We rented a house in Malibu with lots of bedrooms and visited the Universal Studios theme park, the Getty Art Museum and saw “Peter and the Wolf” at the Hollywood Bowl. That’s Calvin, one of the twins, with me. Of course the beach was the big hit of our two weeks with them!
Bob Burch sends some nice pics and unveils his newest pursuit -- into the wild blue yonder!
Hi all -- Looking at the photos in this newsletter reminded me that I have a (step)sister who lives in Port Angeles and another who lives in Spokane. We all try to get together every so often and here are a couple of photos from Olympia National Park and Julie’s home in Port Angeles.
From left to right, Jane and my sisters and Julie’s husband for lunch at the top, me and Julie as I showed them how to filet a salmon caught that morning and Jane and Jean in Julie’s back yard.
Seems to me that here are almost as many of us with reasons to be in the in the Seattle area as there are in Boulder. Maybe a chance to get together???
Anyway, here is another photo that shows what I am about these days. I have always wanted to learn to fly. Last Christmas Jane called my bluff and got me a one-hour introductory lesson. It was everything I had ever dreamed of, and am now halfway through the course to get my pilot’s license!
Ed. note -- Bob brings up a good point. There is actually somewhat of an infestation of us here in the Northwest. Perhaps there will be an opportunity for a regional get-together in the future. Maybe Bob can fly in to join us!
And, one final note -- you may recall that earlier Jan and I had connected with Joan Kather Henry and her husband Bill in Sequim on the Olympic Peninsula. Well, a week or so ago, we were all joined by Becky Beckwith Walsh on Bainbridge Island at the Bloedel Preserve. It's a beautiful botanical gardens and woodland hiking trail. Becky lives on Bainbridge, and it was great to see her again. We had a very enjoyable time hiking and catching up.
So, now it's your turn. make this page a little bigger and send in a blurb and/or picture. As I always like to say, somewhere, someone is thinking about YOU and wondering how you are doing. It's real easy to add things to the page, and I am anxious to do so. There are a million stories in the Quaker Kingdom -- send me some of them!
I remain your humble servant - Dave, at raccoon1942@comcast.net