The Years To Remember

Last weekend I made a quick trip to Corning. I could say I went to help my mom, which I did, but mostly went to visit with my Connecticut sister and her husband, and to have my brother help with my taxes. I filed them in late January, but because of the inheritance and the K-1 form, I needed to file an amended return. I understood very little about the changes, but my taxes are now done. Again. We had a nice time visiting (4 siblings this time) and mom is always pleased to have company. My youngest sister's new house backs up to the cemetery and her back yard has a gate into it. So we went exploring and found our great grandmother's grave. She lived with my Dad and his parents when they came over from Sicily. She died when my dad was 15, and she used snuff. We are unsure who this child was, buried next to great grandma. Maybe a cousin of my dad's? This week at home has been quiet for the most part. The renovation team cleared out Tuesday evening with a plan to finish the jo...

 Wednesday 2/22/23 The Moxham Mountain hike was on a perfect spring day. There were 3+ feet of snow on the ground with temperatures in the upper forties and a bluebird sky. Thank goodness we only needed to wear spikes as snow shoes are so much harder to hike in. Our destination in view from part way to the summit. Lunch view was sublime, but the snow soaked the seat of my pants. The whole crew. Saturday 3/24/23 How appropriate to read this article in The Washington Post about dealing with being the stuffing in the sandwich generation. The stresses of caring for aging parents along with assisting adult children (sometimes grandchildren too) are overwhelming for folks of my generation - most often women. I am currently at my mom's helping her with a  medical issue and the usual tasks of daily living which she is desperately holding on to. The guilt I feel when I'm not here is balanced by the stress and frustration when I am here. She refuses to pay for help which she can easil...

 Sunday 3/19/23 In my search of ways to get out of the house, I discovered that the Stirling and Francine Clark Art Institute  in Willianstown MA, is free through the end of the month. Friends AM and AJ were free to join me so we set off on a hiking/art/dinner afternoon.  There are 140 acres with trails to explore on the grounds at the Clark, so we set off to do a reasonable 3 miles. It was to be the last of winter weather for awhile, so we were quite alone on the trails in the 28 degree, gusty and snow showery day. There were lots of downed trees and limbs, and the snow was post holed and uneven to walk on. Yet the sun would come out and warm us so it was a pleasant 2 hours in the woods. The Stone Bench Even the fencing is artistic surrounding the Art Institute. After a couple of hours we went inside to enjoy both American and European masters art works. The Clarks were a wealthy couple who loved art and collected an impressive body of work. Some of the paintings that re...

 The snow storm that was supposed to stop at 9 pm Tuesday night kept going well past midnight. That meant I had to get up at 5 am to shovel, so the builders could get in. I think I shoveled that driveway four times for this storm. The total snowfall here was 21 inches. I haven't spoken to a single person who hasn't let me know how very done they are with winter. Starting the final shoveling at 5 am. I use the arms of the Adirondack chairs to guess at snow depth, but it got too deep! I took a drive Thursday to do some errands and saw that just 3 miles away there was only 6 inches of snow. According to the weather folks those of us up on the plateau had 'upsloping' to thank for the deep snow. And I live just on the approach to the plateau. One of the guys working on the renovation had 31 inches of snow to deal with. The builders were duly impressed that I cleared it all myself with a shovel. I did have aching shoulders and abs for a couple of days.  As for the work on th...

 Saturday was a nice quiet day at home, though I did take a drive over to the Farmers Market for some greens, but added some cheese and hard cider. It is so easy to buy things there just because they give samples - cheese, cider, and pesto - but my pesto is better. Sunday I made a chicken and mushroom quiche and salad for my first annual Oscars Watch Party. We hatched this plan at dinner the other night and I reluctantly agreed Saturday morning while at the Farmers Market. First though, Susan, Amyjean and I went over to Barberville Falls and hiked the ridge trail and then down to the waterfall. It was a nice warmish day and the falls did not disappoint. Then back to my house for dinner and Amyjean made an Oscar cake. We barely made it to 10 pm before we called it a night.  By the thinking rock. Barberville Falls The red carpet Oscar's cake. My heart just needed these in the house. Monday was a rest day for me, but because I struggle with a need to accomplish, I went on a 4 mil...

Sending the drone up in the woods is a bit tricky. The building crew are not slackers, that is for sure. They show up each morning shortly after 7 am and stay until ? I have been doing my best to be out of the house because the noise is loud and disconcerting, and it's weird having strangers traipsing around all day. Ken is not a stranger, but he usually just pops in at 7 to tell me about what's going on - dining room ceiling damaged (his crew will fix it) - and the pace of work. We also had a little therapy session as we traded our trials and tribulations with our adult kids. Demo complete; plumbing and wiring in the works. Wednesday the cutting and sawing was so loud, I grabbed my breakfast and left early. I had a hike planned to celebrate Ann Marie's birthday and to accompany Amyjean on her final ECOS trail patch quest. We hiked the  Christman Sanctuary - short but very pretty, then the Bozenkill Preserve . That was a bit longer so we just about hit 5 miles before we he...