It's been a full, satisfying and exhausting week. As a reward, we collapsed and slept ten hours, maybe more if we count the time we slept in our chairs.
I always prefer to have rain for the first hike so the kids understand why they are expected to have all the required equipment and so they learn how to face and overcome obstacles right away. They begin to realize they won't melt! It's so ridiculous to run inside when it rains. If we have the proper equipment, we can handle any adversity. I liked the way Margaret put it. This hike is for kids to get to know their equipment, how it works and how to use it. Although they awoke to rain, all we had during the day was a gentle misting while I was taking the individual photos. Unfortunately, I was so busy, I only took about thirty throughout the day.
As is customary, we had two new things happen. First thing in the morning, we had a boy who would not get out of the car. He was curled up in a ball in the front seat and would not respond to any of us who tried to get him to join the fun. The mom called grandma who apparently regularly defuses his anxieties and he eventually joined us.
Then in the afternoon, we had to return to the trail to search for a pair of lost glasses. $600 prescription glasses lost on a backpacking trip. The dad was furious at the child and Steve was very upset. Steve, the parents and the child retraced from Howard St. while Josh and I started at Rosa Court. In the big empty field that used to be a vineyard, the child found the glasses! Incredibly lucky!
We were so delighted to have our Quest leaders travel from afar to join us. Sean, who is a state policeman in Vermont gets the prize. He worked second shift on Friday, then drove all night to arrive about a half hour before the hike. Margaret drove in from Syracuse, Vince from Rochester and Alycia from Buffalo. This weekend, Lindsay will drive in from Columbus, Ohio. We are so grateful for their commitment and expertise.
On top of Quest preparations, my sister Laurie was here from Wednesday and I tried to help her with the house and yard as much as I could. We pulled brush and weeds, picked up branches, raked and trimmed shrubs. Steve mowed and I planted flowers so now it looks like the house is occupied. Laurie painted the master bedroom, washed windows, repaired screens, patched walls and cleaned woodwork. She's a demon! We had such a good time together and I was happy to have her here for my birthday for the first time in probably forty years.
So, it was a grand birthday. Laurie was here, Justin called from Japan, Evan sent flowers, Colin sent funny photos of April and him, lots of sweet messages arrived, we had dinner together at the Mustard Seed with lemon meringue pie as an appetizer. Then, I got to backpack with over a hundred of my friends. Yes, I am truly blessed.
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Day 1846: Happy Birthday from the future
At 9:00 tonight, my son Justin called to wish me a happy birthday because in Japan it was already April 28. He called just before boarding the plane to return home. It was wonderful to hear from him, especially because he was so happy. We knew from his pictures that he was reuniting with old friends, exploring the cities and experiencing the culture. Ever since we visited Japan back in 1993, he has been yearning to return. Not only did he meet Moichi, but he also had dinner with Julie Oniki who was the exchange student in the Class of 1995.
He said it was a life changing trip. I got the impression that he wants to move there and it would not surprise me at all. If that's what he wants, we'll support him.
I just want him to have a safe trip home. With DT making threatening comments about North Korea and moving battleships into the area, Kim Jong Un is likely to respond with a preemptive strike against Seoul or Tokyo. DT makes indiscriminate and volatile comments that publicly humiliate the North Koreans. He has no awareness of the impact of his words.
In ten minutes I will be 68 years old and on the next day I will backpack six miles with 95 teenagers. My husband had 4 yards of black mulch delivered and began spreading it through my gardens. Tomorrow night, we'll have dinner and lemon meringue pie at the Mustard Seed with Mary, Laurie, and Steve. What more could a girl ask for?
He said it was a life changing trip. I got the impression that he wants to move there and it would not surprise me at all. If that's what he wants, we'll support him.
I just want him to have a safe trip home. With DT making threatening comments about North Korea and moving battleships into the area, Kim Jong Un is likely to respond with a preemptive strike against Seoul or Tokyo. DT makes indiscriminate and volatile comments that publicly humiliate the North Koreans. He has no awareness of the impact of his words.
In ten minutes I will be 68 years old and on the next day I will backpack six miles with 95 teenagers. My husband had 4 yards of black mulch delivered and began spreading it through my gardens. Tomorrow night, we'll have dinner and lemon meringue pie at the Mustard Seed with Mary, Laurie, and Steve. What more could a girl ask for?
Sunday, April 23, 2017
Day 1845: A March for Science
Yesterday Steve, Mary and I participated in Buffalo's Science March along with about 2000 other scientists, environmentalists, progressives and those who believe in evidence based public policy. Marches were held in over 600 cities and communities all over the world. In Washington, DC, more people marched yesterday than attended the inauguration. What a statement! However, the message was lost on DT and his party.
At one town hall this past week, a Republican congressman asked what evidence they could present that would convince him of the threat of global climate change. He said nothing they could present would change his mind because that was all liberal science. Contrast that to Congressman Higgins from Buffalo who spoke at the rally about how the EPA had resurrected the Buffalo River and the Great Lakes. The EPA, the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act were signed by Nixon! What happened to the Republicans since then?
Tomorrow I will again call Tom Reed's office and talk about the funding for the Great Lakes preservation. The proposed budget eliminates 97% of the funding of in order to build a stupid border wall and increase military spending. Reed will never vote to oppose DT, but that can't stop us from trying to sway him. He's voted 100% of the time with DT.
Science has been my nemesis this week. Of course, I have used up the memory on my laptop with all my photos. Evan helped me today because I was panicking about getting photos from Saturday's one day hike to send in with the manuscript. He compressed the photo files from 344 GB to 178 GB. But, after four hours only 1 GB had been uploaded. At this rate, it will take another 29 days! It's because of Netsync's slow processing. I'm so close to being finished with the book that the computer issues are very frustrating.
Most of this year's campers have submitted their photo release forms so my plan is to use this weekend's photos of the whole group and the pyramids that kids build in the afternoon as illustrations. It's been easier to get their releases than past campers simply because I have access to them. And they are really excited about being included in the book.
This week I finished another round of editing after my friend Carol B made a few suggestions on the consistency of the layout, spacing and indentations. She used to edit scientific journals so it's her specialty. I also broke up the long narratives of the three chapters on the hikes with section headings to make it visually more appealing. So the manuscript is again ready to go. I just need the photos.
The week ahead will be crazy. Today we scouted the Center and Meadow Toad part of our route because there is major construction underway. Several windmills are being installed over the summer. Much of the preliminary site work is done and we needed to check if our route would be impacted. It is. The property we cross on Friday to get to lunch, the area Evan calls the field of endless dandelions, will have a windmill. Already many trees have been cut down and the slash blocks our path. The crew is due to return to clean up the site, but we don't know when.
On Tuesday, the adult and student leaders will meet for our annual orientation. I've spent days trying to balance all the cook and hike groups and may finally be done. Probably we should have had 24 groups rather than 23, but we had too many groups of 4 hikers. Steve and I won't have a regular cook group so we will be floating. Hope everyone can adjust.
It was great to be outside this week. We did lots of walking and gardening and also opened the pool and mowed. I cannot wait to swim!
At one town hall this past week, a Republican congressman asked what evidence they could present that would convince him of the threat of global climate change. He said nothing they could present would change his mind because that was all liberal science. Contrast that to Congressman Higgins from Buffalo who spoke at the rally about how the EPA had resurrected the Buffalo River and the Great Lakes. The EPA, the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act were signed by Nixon! What happened to the Republicans since then?
Tomorrow I will again call Tom Reed's office and talk about the funding for the Great Lakes preservation. The proposed budget eliminates 97% of the funding of in order to build a stupid border wall and increase military spending. Reed will never vote to oppose DT, but that can't stop us from trying to sway him. He's voted 100% of the time with DT.
Science has been my nemesis this week. Of course, I have used up the memory on my laptop with all my photos. Evan helped me today because I was panicking about getting photos from Saturday's one day hike to send in with the manuscript. He compressed the photo files from 344 GB to 178 GB. But, after four hours only 1 GB had been uploaded. At this rate, it will take another 29 days! It's because of Netsync's slow processing. I'm so close to being finished with the book that the computer issues are very frustrating.
Most of this year's campers have submitted their photo release forms so my plan is to use this weekend's photos of the whole group and the pyramids that kids build in the afternoon as illustrations. It's been easier to get their releases than past campers simply because I have access to them. And they are really excited about being included in the book.
This week I finished another round of editing after my friend Carol B made a few suggestions on the consistency of the layout, spacing and indentations. She used to edit scientific journals so it's her specialty. I also broke up the long narratives of the three chapters on the hikes with section headings to make it visually more appealing. So the manuscript is again ready to go. I just need the photos.
The week ahead will be crazy. Today we scouted the Center and Meadow Toad part of our route because there is major construction underway. Several windmills are being installed over the summer. Much of the preliminary site work is done and we needed to check if our route would be impacted. It is. The property we cross on Friday to get to lunch, the area Evan calls the field of endless dandelions, will have a windmill. Already many trees have been cut down and the slash blocks our path. The crew is due to return to clean up the site, but we don't know when.
On Tuesday, the adult and student leaders will meet for our annual orientation. I've spent days trying to balance all the cook and hike groups and may finally be done. Probably we should have had 24 groups rather than 23, but we had too many groups of 4 hikers. Steve and I won't have a regular cook group so we will be floating. Hope everyone can adjust.
It was great to be outside this week. We did lots of walking and gardening and also opened the pool and mowed. I cannot wait to swim!
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Day 1844: Celebrate Spring!
It's been an adventurous week for our family and that promises to continue for a few more weeks.
Justin and Kaoru are at this moment flying to Japan. It's a trip he's been dreaming of since 1993 when he and I first traveled to Japan. That expedition made an indelible impression on him and has shaped his life ever since. He will spend two weeks and she'll stay on longer to visit with her family whom Justin will finally meet. One of the most exciting events will be when he is reunited with Moichi who was a student who stayed with us for a few weeks back in 1991. Now he's married with two kids. They've stayed in contact for all these years, so they are very excited to get reacquainted.
Evan and Matt and a few friends are rock climbing in Kentucky. Although he's an experienced climber for inside walls, it's his first time climbing outside on rock faces. Looks terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.
We got home from California on Wednesday after visiting Colin and April.
This is part of his studio's gallery which displays some of the unique lighting designs that his firm produces.
On Saturday, we went hiking in Elysian Park and snapped this selfie against the backdrop of downtown Los Angeles.
Then Sunday, we caught some rays at Venice Beach.
After we departed, Colin and April flew to Denver for Amy and Mike's baby shower.
And we had two gorgeous days to work in the yard.
I'm so glad we had mulch left over from last season, because then we didn't have to waste time waiting for a delivery to get started polishing the gardens.
It's been a great vacation, but tomorrow we must get back to work.
The next five weeks are going to be all backpacking every day.
Sunday, April 9, 2017
Day 1843: Family Therapy
We hunted for Molly for days, but our hopes diminished with each passing hour. When strong winds brought the rain, I shuddered thinking of her hiding somewhere alone and cold. And when the snow fell, I actually hoped she had died so she did not have to endure the harsh conditions. We looked in every possible nook in the yard and talked with neighbors. The neighbor to the west said she didn't even know we had an old gray cat cause she had never seen her in all the years they've lived there.
I decided the realistic possibilities were too grim to ponder, so the boys and I began to make up happier possibilities. She's ticking off items on her bucket list. She's backpacking to California, taking a train to NYC, heading south to visit cousins in Kentucky. Or, in a nod to Paddy's back story, she's returned to her home planet where she will reign as queen. Wherever she is, I hope she is at peace, for she gave us much joy for nearly twenty years.
On top of that, the week was full of cook classes, gear rentals, set break down and the installation of the new floor in our bedroom. We worked on flooring from 8 to noon with Terry, then spent 1-5 at school. We could not have packed more into each day. By Thursday night, we could barely move. Fortunately, our flight to California was at 6:00 pm Friday, so we had all day to do laundry, clean and pack.
Being here in LA with Colin and April was the perfect way to bring a sad and strenuous week to a close. On Saturday, we began the day with a fabulous southwest style breakfast prepared by our son, who happens to be a great cook. Then we hiked for miles through the hills of Elysian Park, had Vietnamese noodles for lunch and pizza for supper. Today, we had an LA brunch, traveled to Venice Beach, and had tacos for a late lunch. I think I've gained five pounds this weekend. All the while, we visit, talk politics, rest, and laugh. Family is the best therapy.
I decided the realistic possibilities were too grim to ponder, so the boys and I began to make up happier possibilities. She's ticking off items on her bucket list. She's backpacking to California, taking a train to NYC, heading south to visit cousins in Kentucky. Or, in a nod to Paddy's back story, she's returned to her home planet where she will reign as queen. Wherever she is, I hope she is at peace, for she gave us much joy for nearly twenty years.
On top of that, the week was full of cook classes, gear rentals, set break down and the installation of the new floor in our bedroom. We worked on flooring from 8 to noon with Terry, then spent 1-5 at school. We could not have packed more into each day. By Thursday night, we could barely move. Fortunately, our flight to California was at 6:00 pm Friday, so we had all day to do laundry, clean and pack.
Being here in LA with Colin and April was the perfect way to bring a sad and strenuous week to a close. On Saturday, we began the day with a fabulous southwest style breakfast prepared by our son, who happens to be a great cook. Then we hiked for miles through the hills of Elysian Park, had Vietnamese noodles for lunch and pizza for supper. Today, we had an LA brunch, traveled to Venice Beach, and had tacos for a late lunch. I think I've gained five pounds this weekend. All the while, we visit, talk politics, rest, and laugh. Family is the best therapy.
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Day 1842: Another opening, another close
It was a wild and joyous week that ended on a sad note. The show sold out both Friday and Saturday nights and the kids were jubilant. For five of them, including four leads, their performances were greatly enhanced by a course of antibiotics to deal with the strep throat that made the rounds. Most likely it was due to exhaustion and perhaps too much kissing. Last night when we closed, tears flowed freely, especially among the seniors, and I held a stage crew gal while she sobbed that it was over. For the adults, there was no sentimentality. We worked like maniacs till midnight taking in costumes, sorting, hanging, organizing and filling bags of laundry. Then at 10:00 am this morning, seven of us tackled the sets and by noon, we had dismantled half of the main unit.
In green room before the last show, the seniors often share their thoughts and I was especially moved by several of the young men who talked about the musical family. Two had moved to Fredonia in middle school and found a place for themselves within the school in musical. Our lead told a different story. He started by apologizing to everyone for the person he was up through sophomore year. As a junior, his mom made him get up off the couch and try out for a role in Aida. He got a bit part in the chorus with no lines. This year, she pushed him to try out for a major part and he landed the lead. His life has changed completely.
We planned to take a long walk, relax and then go to dinner with friends, but of course we had to get ready for Terry to come tomorrow and finish the bedroom floor. I made about twenty trips upstairs with all of my clothes and junk from the closet. We've emptied the dressers and moved most of the furniture. He'll have to help us with the larger items.
But mixed in with all of this ordinary stuff, we hunted for Molly. She went outside to nap in the sunshine about 1:00, just as she does most days, but she never came back. We have searched the woods, creek, garage, under the decks, in the gardens, and the entire house multiple times. She just vanished. If she had a seizure and died, we'd find her body. And I can't imagine she would venture through the mushy backyard or across the street. Could a predator or a person have taken her? Could she have gone off to die somewhere? I've checked all her favorite spots and there's no sign of her. Weeks ago, when she was ill and weak, I was prepared for her to pass away. But not this. Twenty years together and then suddenly, she's gone. I'm still holding on to hope, but tomorrow, we'll have to call our sons and let them know.
In green room before the last show, the seniors often share their thoughts and I was especially moved by several of the young men who talked about the musical family. Two had moved to Fredonia in middle school and found a place for themselves within the school in musical. Our lead told a different story. He started by apologizing to everyone for the person he was up through sophomore year. As a junior, his mom made him get up off the couch and try out for a role in Aida. He got a bit part in the chorus with no lines. This year, she pushed him to try out for a major part and he landed the lead. His life has changed completely.
We planned to take a long walk, relax and then go to dinner with friends, but of course we had to get ready for Terry to come tomorrow and finish the bedroom floor. I made about twenty trips upstairs with all of my clothes and junk from the closet. We've emptied the dressers and moved most of the furniture. He'll have to help us with the larger items.
But mixed in with all of this ordinary stuff, we hunted for Molly. She went outside to nap in the sunshine about 1:00, just as she does most days, but she never came back. We have searched the woods, creek, garage, under the decks, in the gardens, and the entire house multiple times. She just vanished. If she had a seizure and died, we'd find her body. And I can't imagine she would venture through the mushy backyard or across the street. Could a predator or a person have taken her? Could she have gone off to die somewhere? I've checked all her favorite spots and there's no sign of her. Weeks ago, when she was ill and weak, I was prepared for her to pass away. But not this. Twenty years together and then suddenly, she's gone. I'm still holding on to hope, but tomorrow, we'll have to call our sons and let them know.
The view at 10 am
And at noon
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