Day 31: A little conversation

On Tuesdays, my friend Amy and I meet to catch up on the week's news.  Sometimes Steve joins us.  We talk about everything: school, our families, childhood, my book, plumbing, travel, gardening and future plans.  She took my place as chair of the social studies department, so I act as her sounding board and she keeps me connected to the team and teaching that I love.  We're going to Alaska together in August and that should be a riot cause when we are together we laugh and laugh.

We drove around all of Cassadaga Lake before we finally discovered a covey of mallards and a pair of swans.  The ducks seemed to be having discussion, perhaps about how delighted they were with the 60 degree temperature and an open pool of water.  Only a thin sheet of ice covers part of the shallow, spring-fed lake.  

On Center Road, we could see all the way across the iceless Lake Erie.  This winter has been extraordinary!

Day 30: Damn Wires

It seemed that wherever I pointed my camera today, wires interfered with the shot.  I wish they were underground.  We drove to Blasdell and in the distance along the shore of Lake Erie was a windmill farm  All over Europe windmills punctuate the skylines, but here it is an unusual sight.  We'll have to get closer to capture them.

I'm dependent on electricity, like everyone else.  My tv, computer, microwave and refrigerator are great conveniences, but I am comfortable without them, too.  Our days camping on Quest provide an escape from the barrage of noise and images from the electronics that dominate our lives.   Every day, I need an infusion of nature and our time walking is a small dose. In the spring, more hours will be spent outside.  It worries me that most people, but especially children, are so disconnected from the natural world.

Day 29: All in a day

Blue sky graced our walk through the village today.  It felt and looked like spring, especially with crocus and daffodils reaching for the sun.  But by mid afternoon, thick gray clouds and a brisk wind foretold a change on the way and by 6:00 we were having our first snow burst of the winter.

Day 27: Treasures

We have to get outside for a walk tomorrow.  We spent another Saturday sorting, organizing and planning costumes at school for the musical and more hours of post-flood cleaning and rearranging upstairs in the loft.  In the process of getting rid of junk, I look at our old things with new eyes.  I don't want a cluttered life.  I want to streamline, but Steve likes to be surrounded by his "stuff".  It's a struggle, but he is beginning to let things go.

All of our kids are artists, no doubt a gift from the Cobb side.  Grandma Betty's bold, abstract painting has hung in our stairwell since we moved in 23 years ago.  She's been dead for 18 years now, but the painting reminds us of her every day.  In another room is a drawing of the Blue Lake Construction Company that Steve created when he was just seven years old.  Its remarkable detail previews many of his interests later in life.

A quiet, reflective day, topped off by Forest Gump with Molly in my lap and Steve by my side.

Day 27: Plumbing

We spent a long, expensive day with the plumber.  One of the pipes feeding water to the baseboard heating unit up in the loft sprung a leak.  We had to empty the bookcase and move everything away from the wall.  One of the heating fins had sliced through the copper pipe so that water trickled out and dripped on the kitchen counter.  What a mess, but it's all repaired now.

The culprit

The repair

Day 26: Interview Project

About twenty years ago, I created a project that required students to interview a family member or friend who had traveled or lived in a foreign country.  Most chose a veteran, but some picked people who had served in the Peace Corps or emigrated.  It became an important community-based personal history project. All over town, families talked about their experiences and secrets were revealed.

Today I was interviewed for the project and it was a joy.  Since I stopped teaching, I have not had opportunities to tell my stories about holding a baby panda in China or finding a bathtub full of red ants in Morocco.  Michaela asked a few questions and then let me talk.

I went through all my travel journals and created a chronology of travel from 1993 through 2012.  Twenty years of foreign travel and I thought going to Iceland in June would be country number 30.  But, I found that we had never been to Luxembourg, as I had thought.  So now, we have to visit another country in the fall to make it to 30!

Day 25: Roots and branches

In 1955, when I was six years old, my parents built a small ranch house on Chestnut Street.  They did most of the work themselves with help from relatives and friends.  My job was to care for my little brother and sister while they worked.  It was the perfect house for a young family of five, but after a few years, there were seven of us and the house was too small.  

Next door lived a little old lady named Miss Kent who was like a grandmother to us.  In her yard was a tree with a branch I could reach if I shimmied up.  Climbing trees became one of my favorite escapes.  Up in the canopy, it was quiet and there were no demands on me.  It's my first memory of finding solace in trees.  

Day 24: Resilience

It's the year of the water dragon and that means it's Justin's year.  He was born in 1976, the year of the dragon.  He got second interviews for two great jobs.  Hopefully, he'll land one of them and it will mark the end of a very long dry spell.   He has had a few very rough years and he is due for some good luck.

Dusty miller is not a showy, colorful flower in my garden, but it is tough and resilient.  Soft, creamy green, even in winter, you can step on it, crush it, cut it down and it always comes back.  Like Justin.  This is your time.

Day 23: Castaway

It was another beautiful day for walking through our favorite places in Fredonia.  In the cemetery, the ancient trees rattled and cracked in the wind.   Along the bank of Canadaway Creek we found a chewed up, abandoned Wilson soccer ball.  A big dog had thrashed and chased it, but lost it to the wind.  Further on, daffodils stood five inches tall.

Tonight the FHS class of 1967 met again to work on our 45th reunion.  Our classmates are so loyal and dedicated to creating a memorable experience for all who return.  High school was a long time ago and represented such a small part of our lives, but we are bound together by our years together.

Day 22: Waffles and Penelope

We reviewed many pieces at Penelope today: two Penny poems, a Sarah poem, a book proposal from Carolyn and a script from Valerie.  They also offered much valuable feedback on my chapter so we had a productive morning.


Warm waffles slathered with butter and maple syrup top the menu with deviled eggs and fruit on the side. Everyone looks forward to the meal and to coming together to visit and work. Another adjustment is on the horizon.  One of the founders of the group, Susan L., is preparing to move to North Carolina in May.  It will be difficult for her to leave, but she and her husband will be much closer to their son and granddaughter and other relatives.   Steve and I talk about this scenario, too.  All of our kids are in NYC, but we are not at all interested in moving.  I know that we cannot escape the changes that our friends are going through now, but how long do we have?   For now, we plan to enjoy every day we have together.

Day 21: Junior Superheroes

After working a few hours at school on costumes, I dug in at home to finish the chapter titled, "Junior Superheroes" and worked straight through till 9:00.  My friends in my writer's group, Penelope will be here tomorrow morning to critique my work.  Their perspectives are always so helpful.

When I interviewed Chris Nowicki, he called the student leaders "Junior Superheroes" and that certainly fits them.  They are at the heart of Quest. I think if the program continues after our retirement, it will be because of them.  It was hard to condense comments down to ten pages because they gave me so much valuable material, but I'll inject more of their stories into other chapters as we go along.

Day 20: Pre-arrival

Tomorrow the college students will be returning to begin a new semester.  The town has been very quiet and Temple Street has had little traffic for the past month.  They will be shocked to find that BJs is closed temporarily, but no doubt will find new haunts.  

Happily, I am no longer teaching EDU 105.  Although I enjoyed the interactions with the students very much, the demands of the course were too much on top of teaching at FHS.  I would not be doing this 366 Project or writing a book if I was still working there.  Almost all of my creativity had been squeezed out of me by the time I retired.  Nevertheless, I am very grateful because my life would have been very different if I had not enrolled in Fredonia State 45 years ago!  

Day 19: Pesky critters

I spent most of the day writing and transcribing interviews, but we were able to escape for a long walk despite the frigid temperature.  Paddy decided he needed some fresh air too so I let him out.  Every ten minutes I called for him, but he would not come.  Finally, I went out and followed his footsteps around the house and there he was, under the back deck.  But he wasn't alone.  The neighbor's black cat was with him.  I guess they were having a few beers.

Three deer visited too.  The photogenic one gets up on his hind legs and tips the bird feeder to lick the seed.

Day 18: Old friends

Another fire in downtown Fredonia tonight, but fortunately BJs and the block were saved.  It's not a place that I've patronized, but going to BJ's has been a rite of passage for many of Fredonia's youths and college students.

I was totally unaware of the fire because our book club was meeting at my friend Rachel's house.  That's like the over 60 version of BJs.  Every month we read a book and meet at a different member's home.  Thoughtful discussion, wine, lots of laughter, and rich desserts fill the evening rather than beer and loud music.  Among our group, some have been friends for forty years, like Rachel and me.  Although we are mostly retired teachers and nurses, our perspectives and viewpoints are quite different.  Some of the books have had a powerful impact on us, others are lighter fare.  It's rare when we all agree on a book, but that's ok because we agree to disagree.

Tonight we discussed Messenger: The Legacy of Mattie Stepanek and The Bachelor Brother's Bed and Breakfast, two vastly different, but valuable books.

Day 17: Colliding Fronts

We walked this afternoon during the couple hours of sunshine and 55 degree temperatures that were squeezed in between the ferocious rains of the morning and the brutal wind storm that came this evening.  

In between I did an interview with Annie.  She was very helpful and I will be able to use many of her reflections on Quest.  The most valuable comment she made was that Quest is really about the people.  It's a family of whose members may not be related, but we are certainly connected by our love of the outdoors and each other. 

This is a really happy time.  There's lots to do, maybe too much at times.  The blog, exercise, musical, photography and, oh yeah, finish writing a book.   I sit at the computer until my eyes hurt to write about the importance of nature in our lives! 

Day 16: Dad's birthday

Today would have been my dad's 86th birthday.  He's been gone since October, 1996, and we still miss him and mom.  He did not like having his picture taken so I have only a few photos of the two of us.  Actually, he posed more often with the giant fish he caught.  One of my favorites pictures was taken when I was just a few months old when we were living on the corner of Center  and Leverett Streets.  Years later, Steve and I bought our first house on the opposite corner of the same streets.

I'm sure our parents would be very proud of how well their five children and ten grandchildren are doing. It's a shame they did not live past their early 70s.  Their health issues have certainly been motivations for us to take better care of ourselves.

My mother is gorgeous and beaming with Dad and their young family in the second photo.  My brother Mike is riding on Dad's shoulder and I am trying to escape, as always.  I've heard it was taken on a visit back to Staten Island, but that's not certain.  I've set it with some of my favorite travel artifacts: candlesticks from Sweden, a giraffe made in Ethiopia that we bought near the Leaning Tower of Pisa and a rug from a suk in Morocco.

Day 15: Iceless

Lake Erie should be covered in ice in January, but this year the change in the jet stream has kept our area abnormally warm.  On this bright sunny day, we walked the beach at Point Gratiot.  A few brave gulls floated on the lake's calm surface.  Farther north on Lake Boulevard, hundreds of geese and gulls basked in the sun or bathed in the lake like it was spring.

Revising and editing is so difficult and slow and I don't like sitting inside in front of the computer so much of the day.  Can I possibly make my deadline of April 1?  I don't know.

Day 14: Size and Sort

Today was not my favorite work party.  All the costumes used or lent out over the past year are tumbled together in bags and boxes and now have to be sorted, hung or boxed.  Ancient, grimy shirts, dresses, trousers and oddities from decades of musicals are sorted into categories.  Of course, it makes the next stage of locating and assembling this year's costumes much easier.  But it can be filthy work.

Another foray into the prop room yielded more signatures.  One of the students on stage crew pointed out his dad's autograph on the ceiling from three musicals in the 1980's.

Winter swept in over the last two nights and yielded a foot of snow.  We walked, but it was short and brisk.

Day 13: Winter arrives

Winter finally arrived and we stayed hunkered down all day.  Despite strong winds and biting snow, a flock of doves and a cedar waxwing visited the bird feeders.  Steve kept the fire going and the cats curled up close.  I got lots of writing done on the junior leader chapter and lined up four more interviews for the next few days.

Day 12: Travel plans

It's been just two months since we returned from our journey to Portugal and Spain, but we are itching to travel again.  Now that we are done with medical issues, we are booking tickets for our spring and summer trips.  I got tickets for Sleep No More for Feb. 20!  Evan loves the show so much that we have to experience it.  We are also set for Iceland in June.  Next week, I will book our cruise to Alaska for August.

All around our home are remembrances of past trips.  I'll photograph them on rainy days, like today, when I can't take my camera outside.  I love Ireland, partly because so much of my family emigrated from there and because it feels like home.  I want to return to tour leisurely without a crew of kids.  Years ago, I found a Belleek sugar bowl at an auction, so when we traveled to Ireland in 2003, I got a delicate creamer to complete the set.

Treasures, each with its own story.

Day 11: Progress

Another 50 degree day!  We walked for hours past familiar places in Fredonia, but now I look at everything more closely.  Our town is changing.  I remember when Wheelock School was originally built and dedicated.  Now it is all rented out and the playground is empty.  As soon as our kids reach college age, they're gone and very few return to raise families.

Steve's eyes are mending and he spent time doing errands and working with the stage crew.  I had a productive day with hours of uninterrupted time to revise, edit and write.

Day 10: Skim coat

Today Steve shaved and drove for the first time in his life without glasses!  On the way home from his follow-up exam in Jamestown this afternoon, we stopped to capture scenes from the sunny winter afternoon.  On Kabob Rd. is the entrance to a Chautauqua County waterway named in honor of Steve's dad, Marden E. Cobb.  For over twenty years, Marden was chairman of the county parks commission. He and Steve often went out to scout properties to purchase.  Luensman Overlook was one they surveyed that the county later added to the system.  When he died in 1991, the canoe trail was dedicated in his honor.  He had a tremendous impact on Steve's love of the outdoors.

Only a thin layer of ice covers the surface of Cassadaga Lake.  A thick band of clouds prevented better shots of the lake, but the sky was far more stunning.  Along Risley Street, I found more milkweed pods with seeds bursting and squirrels scampering along branches.