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.

Day 9: Geordi Laforge

Steve and I enjoyed his first walk without glasses!  He is truly a bionic man now since his last cataract surgery was been performed today and the miraculous turic lenses were implanted.  After more than 60 years wearing thick lenses and struggling with extreme nearsightedness, he sees more clearly than ever.

Day 8: Full moon

There's a superstition that crazy things happen when there's a full moon.  When Steve worked in the ER at the hospital, they always expected an onslaught of patients.  Maybe that's why my husband has had a rough day. He has one more eye surgery ahead of him tomorrow and then the joy of corrected, clear vision, perhaps without glasses.

We made the long trip to my brother's new house near Warren, Pa. to celebrate his 60th birthday.  On the way back, we were struck by the stunning full moon against a dark blue sky.