As Promised: Catching Up

First, today, our hearty congratulations to Aidan who won the Senior Tri-County Competition with his recording of...

Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 107: Mut 1, Allegretto

Aidan Bolding, cello. Seth Trumbore, accompanist.

(at 14 min 19 sec -- 21 min 50 sec)

And...

As promised: Keoni sent the remaining two recordings from JYARD Quintet's May 22nd concert...

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Memorial Day brought an email from Majorie Spiers, resident of Halesworth in the UK, who keeps in touch commemorating the airmen who flew out of the airfield there by Halesworth during WWII. My friend Boyd Morse, now deceased, flew 32 missions in all. On D-Day, he and his crew flew two missions instead of one. Here, quoted in part from Majorie's email and some pictures she sent...

May 31, 2021. "...our own WWII airmen who flew from Halesworth were remembered here today.  The flags were raised over the Memorial Site on Halesworth airfield, to half-mast at 8am and to full at 12noon.  Red and yellow roses have been placed on each of the memorials to the 489th BG, the 56th FG and the 5th ERS.  

We placed our wreath on the 489th Memorial yesterday to remember the first combat mission of the 489th BG on 30 May 1944 and also to remember the two airmen who died on that first mission - S/Sgt Aldo Pellini and Lt Joseph Garber.

The attached photos of the Memorial Site show Halesworth Airfield today.  We remember them all with heartfelt gratitude.  

We send our best wishes to you all on Memorial Day and hope you have a wonderful time with your families and friends. 

Friends of the 489th Bomb Group

Halesworth - UK "

489th Bomb Group crew members gathered in Halesworth, the UK on May 30, 1944, the 50th Anniversary of their combat missions beginning. My friend Boyd Morse in back, farthest left.
From Marjorie Shiers.

Thank you, Marjorie, and friends of the 489th, for so faithfully keeping the spirit alive. It remains an inspiration and confirmation that all that the people and this connection stood for is alive and well, and reminds me of the responsibility to nurture and grow it.

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From Tucson, the artist group of which Paula is a part are again gathering for art, inspiration, and food at Tohono Chul Park. Here is her rendering for this milestone...

A few minutes ago, Paula sent her May colors that I'll share with you, also...

My faves are Ladybug and Gambel's Quail chicks. I can picture the tiny chicks all in a row running across a dirt road right behind their mama.

Keoni collaborated with Jasmine Carey, a photographer, who asked him to improvise a soundtrack for her footage of a baby whale for a photography expo. Here's the result...

I'm the astonished grandmother this morning finding out and watching this melding of audio and visual smack-dab in front of me on a phone app that both grandsons now use all the time. Keoni put the finishing touches on this piece sitting with me on the couch while I sewed missing buttons on his shirts. He hosted some Perky Joe's pastries for us and I added fruit and eggs. What's not to like. Soon, he'll be heading to California for his summer music plans.

Another fine visit, about a week ago--both Keoni and Aidan came over for lunch and a movie...

The apartment was all ready!

...and, here they came. Aidan made a big batch of popcorn they brought along.
What a great break from pandemic life!

We laughed and visited, then watched "The Intouchables" and laughed some more.

And, here's some more good news--my friend Pat will be moving into Dock Manor, too, on June 19th! We lunched, celebrated, and danced...

And, the two of us went to the Philadelphia Horticultural Society's big annual Flower Show...

It was 10 a.m., and already 93F at the entrance! The show's transition to a park after 150 years indoors was not a good one--surely, not helped by a heatwave. I found absolutely nothing I was looking for and Pat agreed that the whole thing was bust. So we left after about an hour. Then, celebrated some more with a late takeout lunch back at the apartment.

Out west, Elijah and his dad Duane are at Grandma Valerie and Grandpa Tim's in Albuquerque where Elijah will be doing a couple of basketball camps. Go Elijah! Have a good time, too!

Valerie sent a picture of Nigel who runs the household but it turns out misses Izzy who was at the groomers...

Nigel: "He's not in here! What'd you do with him?"

Today, the heatwave broke and it is now 82F mid-afternoon this Thursday. I'll try for a walk at the farm later. 

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And now for the Farm Report: On a walk, before the scorchers hit, I found a tree had fallen across my path...

These are ash trees, dead now for well over a year in a die-off from the borer invasion. Sad and now destructive as they've dried and fall in winds and storms.

John sent these photos of them a couple days later...

Further news from the farm...

Sebastian, Frezz, and Bert greet me at the gate.

So, do Xylo and his mom.

Often, Wendy will be at one of her diverse labors.

The garden is already yielding a lot. I have enjoyed Wendy's lettuce largess, and got to taste the strawberries, yum.
Thanks, Wendy.

Keoni and Aidan standing where the tree fell a couple of days later!

Wendy sent this of Toby and his dog buddies hanging out.

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Personal Catch Up Desk: Snippets that missed publishing over the last year.

May 6, 2021---Who's in charge?

So much, so much, so much. I am swearing. A lot. Subjects in my head leap-frog over each other, seconds pass, another, then another. Seconds, not minutes go by. Repeat. 

Who's in charge? 

Raise your hand if you've been hacked. Hmmm...lots of you, I'll bet. Add that to the general mix of our times. Hack thwarted, thanks to swift credit card company action--many, many thanks. It could have been so much worse. Collateral lists require days of attention to complete the necessary steps.  

Days later: I think I hit all the bases. Less swearing. Must be a good sign.

It also helps with NO news after quick skims of the e-newspapers early in the day. 

None whatsoever after breakfast--thoughts become cleaner, calmer.

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May 4, 2021

Four crowns and one more to go. How did this happen!? 

Answer: Seven years of trying out dentistries, I did not find the one. Also, what was missed were cracks and failed fillings; either the dentists didn't look at the obvious on X-rays or maybe just dumb dentistry. This news from my latest dentist whom I found just pre-pandemic, saw late summer, and who outlined items that would be addressed. But my other medical issues intervened until this spring when I resumed dental appointments and got to see my own digital X-ray images. Even I could see what was needed! So I'm pretty mad at my prior PA dentists.

What's the point of telling you all this? The new dentist is the best I have ever had or even heard of! Not only does SHE run a very professional, technological, competent, careful, compassionate, informative office with seven or eight FEMALE employees with one male periodontist, but they also did my first four crowns two at a time, 3-D printed them, baked, and installed them right then and there! 

Plus, my retirement dental insurance switched in January to a much more comprehensive dental plan that covers a LOT more of the expenses. Whew!

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January 1, 2021. 

Begin again. Welcome, 2021.

Wait for it...Self haircut (turned out okay...if George Clooney cuts his own hair, so can I)

I wonder if I’ll be warped when this is over. 

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12-16-20 - The geese just did a morning flyover. It is welcome this day of my daughters' and family's mourning. The geese reminded me again of the important parts of living on this planet. 

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Saturday Morning, August 29th, 2020--

The Weather Desk: What's left of Hurricane Laura is here now as she journeys back to the sea. The destructive devastation wreaked with her Gulf Coast clash is no longer sustained. The Atlantic awaits. Images of the path she plowed remain in my heart. And, those from our fiery West Coast.

We are engulfed in extremes.

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The raspberries bloomed and it won't be long to picking time.

I'll close for now with wishes and anticipation of new and better times. No, I don't want it to be like the past. I hope for refreshment and heightening of our senses of our world and all the interesting folk, creatures, and elements that live with us on, under, or in the sky; for acceptance of ourselves as we are with a new awareness of each other. Really, are we still so scared of others that we have to act crazy? We all know someone who died of the pandemic, the many, many deeply mourning those lost, those still sick, those severely injured. We're all vulnerable. It's so simple. Find someone to dance with you, sing a song, smell the fresh breezes. Find a way. Get vaxxed.

Live. 

Together.