Category Archives: Family

12/30/2020 – Wednesday – Noah and Nyla visit

Usual walk loop in the morning.Noah and Nyla came by around 3pm. We sat out back with the heater for an hour. Louie the dog also came. Chased tennis ball endlessly. We had a very good chat about school, studies, and politics. Karen had to shut me up several times. Noah showed real animation. Nyla always does. It was a buoyant visit.

Sent photos of earlier Christmas tree to Leiden division.

12/7/2020 – Monday – Life’s Little Instruction Book, library…..

Karen brought out a pile of books from her collection upstairs. This to select ones for each of the kids and grandchildren for Christmas. Amongst them was this little book:

The author is H. Jackson Brown, Jr. Once I opened it I quickly formulated my Christmas present to the same crowd. 

I spent several hours combing through the little book for ones that I liked, writing little explications or critiques. Now I am working though the ones that I think are silly or wrong. Finally I will add some wisdom from Mr. Wonderful. I want to print it as a little booklet.  Karen has suggested Mr. Wonderful yawning for the cover.

Library Board Development Committee meeting

Very productive meeting to get this important process rejuvenated. Miranda Barry, Carol Pledger, Caitie Hilverman, and AnnaMaria Assevero.

Orton Sibling Zoom

Everyone in attendance. OK. Wondering about sending email suggesting a shift to every other week?

12/6/2020 – Sunday – walk, Leiden Zoom, dinner with Dave and Hazel

Snow on the Catskills already….

Went for a walk. Not our usual  route. Down  to  the Promenade, then on to the water  treatment  plant,  up 2nd to Robinson. At end of 3rd walk down steep hill and back up to Washington St. At the Fire Station walked around to County Social Services building this revealed a path across the eastern end of Oakdale Park. Through the woods to clamber on up to Oakwood Blvd. Along Oakdale Beach on 6th St on to Warren and then home. 3 1/2miles.On Robinson St.

Past the County Social Services bldg. to the path around the eastern end of Oakdale Park.

A lot of this was new territory for us. And new perspectives on well know ground.

Zoom with the kids in Leiden

Jesse scored in the top ranks for selection to the high schools in Leiden.

Dinner with Dave and Hazel

Karen roasted a beer can chicken, made tomatoes and cabbage stew, and I made faro. Dave brought his homemade butter nut pecan ice cream. Temperature was 30 degrees. Dinner lasted for 1 1.2 hours. With the 2 hours with Ted and Anne Saturday looks like a tank of gas lasts for around 4 hours.


More Brokenwood tv

4/30/2020 – 7/1/2020

I have not felt motivated to write much during this period. The pandemic and its associated tribulations interfere.

We’ve been quite busy with socializing mainly virtually but with warm weather outdoors chiefly people’s backyards. We’ve moved our drinks with Ted and Anne to our backyards on a weekly schedule. Dave Drake has come by for food a number of times. He is working his way through a myriad of curry dishes. Zoom meetings weekly with Esther Hanig, Ellen Feldman, Dave Drake, the Orton siblings, the Leiden crew. 

With less regularity Andrea and company have Zoomed and appeared here physically. Though we have seen Noah and Nyla twice now in the backyard once including Noah’s girlfriend Kiara Guyton. Andrea actually talked with us for almost two hours in a singe stretch. Probably my longest conversation with her in decades. Nyla wrote a great high school essay, “Aunt Jemima Ain’t Chure Mammy”

4/19/2020 – Sunday NY Times, Zoom with family and friends, walk…..

Bought Sunday NYTimes paper. it included a separate section on Quarantine Parenting. Travel section was 4 pages, similar for Sports. Made whole wheat pancakes. Think I will experiment with half and half next week.

Visited Walmart for shopping and prescription.

Longish letter to Walter Stitt in production.

Visited with Leiden crew at 12:30. Good visit. The top floor house project is moving slowly. Only two guys working on it. No Andrea and her crew. Not even a note that they wouldn’t attend. I’m not surprised. Reflects her long term priorities.

Out for a walk…..2pm. Down to river and back up the 2nd st. Stairs, up Allen beyond the court house then home down Warren. Many, many more people out and about. Warm weather. Feels very Spring like. Continue reading

3/18 – 4/7/2020 – Coronavirus Isolation

Wednesday 3/18/2020

Hudson Area Library closes; all programs stop.

Friday 3/20/2020

Gov. Cuomo announces shit down of all non-essential businesses.

Saturday 3/21/2020

HAL hold first online Board of Trustees meeting; library closed

Tuesday 4/7/2020

Today marks the end of the third week of isolation. Excepting for a couple of trips to the grocery, bank, and liquor store we have had no contact with any one closer than 6 feet.

Walks

Fortunately for us we have been taking daily walks, sometimes lengthy enough to be called hikes. It has been remarkable how few people we see during these walks. You might think that people would be getting out for exercise, air, nature…. maybe this reflects how sedentary we have become as a society. Our walks have mainly featured a route up Warren St. around the hospital and then back down the hill to home – about 2.5 miles (4K). We have extended and varied this to make it both longer and more challenging. 

Here are reports for a few.

Continue reading