Greetings from the Greens:
Well- it’s been an eventful three weeks since my last missive- filled with Ticks, hot and steamy trips to the heartland and red leaves showing up in early August. But. ..I get ahead of myself. When last penning the chronicles- I was off to the dinner party with pond-induced rash in hand. Well, it got worse and worse, and after having a fever shoot up to over 102 that Sunday night, and feeling like death warmed over- we set out to find medical care. So…..we are in the mountains and don’t know from shit about where to go, which eventually led to an hour and a quarter drive and delightful 5 hour stay in the Dartmouth ER. Long story short, I apparently had a lost battle with a tick and wound up with Lyme Disease. By all counts , it is acute rather than chronic- which hopefully means my 20 days of gut killing anti-biotics will do the trick. Follow up in progress- but mostly better.
So- after that crisis- we had the Belgians show up the next day for two nights (see the pix)- who were absolutely wonderful with two teen age boys who were working on their English –which led to requests for “we-fee” (internet access) and turning up the bass (rhymes with pass, like the fish ) on the stereo. We have continued to have a great run with our Airbnb guests- all of them being incredibly pleasant, considerate and fun- with the possible expectation of the woman from the Bronx who got out of the car complaining (hmm-must be hereditary). We had our most recent guests very impromptu last night a very nice uber-nerd couple form UMASS who may have done a bit too much acid in the day and walked around staring at trees for 36 hours.
We spent about ten days journeying back to the heartland for a whirlwind visit, which included a plethora of dog play for Lucy with all her cousins, a manic two day trip to Toledo for work (the Subaru went down- so I drove the ancient Jeep- and got stuck on the magnificent I-75 for an hour in bumper to bumper with no AC), a Jenn visit to Cleveland to Ry and Lauren’s new house warming party, several Lyme related doctor visits, and a number of social outings..…all in the context of 90 degree-90 percent humidity weather with no air conditioning and house shut up for months…delightful…..AND…. no internet, cable or cell service at the house, which led to the hunt, for entertainment, (Trainwreck movie with Tess), phone service (find a spot in yard and sit real still) and internet (driving around to find a free pirated “we-fee” in the middle of the night). As I said, delightful.
We also had a few really fun events at home: consorting with Marcus in the yard, doing the annual Pelatonia benefit gig with the Bunty boys and gathering for Steve and Sue’s birthday dinner the night before we left…which also included our dear and longtime friend, Ed Uhlman, who has made a sudden decision to re-locate to the homeland in Germany…..so turned out to also be farewell dinner for him. Tess and Jake came to both the concert and the birthday dinner- so we packed in a lot of family time in the heat and humidity…the family that stays together, sweats together. .
Worst part of being in Ohio though, was the imminent advance of the evil empire in the form of the construction of the long dreaded Sawmill parkway, which is moving forward after years of being stalled. When we next return, we may well find ourselves in the middle of a golf course development…..also delightful. Had to convince Jenn not to tie herself to a tree with a yoga mat and a shotgun.
You can check out pix of the above events (which I have conveniently labeled for the first time( which must be Lyme induced OCD)- and make sure to give a good look to ‘Marcus’ yard masterpieces: The Slice of Life and The Soul Patch…the boy is apparently bored at “the farm” without me.
So- all told it was really good to get back to the mountains. We did it on Monday the 3rd in a blitz 11 ½ hour dive straight through- which Lucy, bless her heart, slept through most the whole way. We stopped twice for meals (both McDonalds where we had not been for ten years, but try finding something else on the NY thruway).We took I-90 which saved a little time- but almost drove us to early death through boredom and eating Mickey D (the Big Mac was almost $5- the last time I was there it was under $2..and overpriced then) for that part of the journey, Jenn insisted on drinking coffee and then we would have to stop for her to pee on the side of the road. I tried to protest, since we kept seeing signs that said “It Can Wait!”- which she thought was about something to do with cell phones..…I think that they were clearly a message to her.
We got home to have the contractor we had been trying to locate for two months- show up unexpectedly and ready to work early the next morning…this is Vermont you know. So- we are underway with our water stoppage projects—- on top of that the barn painters called back after a month of being lost to say they would be here tomorrow. Hopefully, they will not collide. I will try and find somewhere to go all day so Jenn can manage these home improvement projects.
We’ve had a busy week since our return with a trip to the Weston Playhouse (Guys and Dolls), several esoteric dining trips to the middle of nowhere, and a beer soaked night at Hops in the Hills at the ski resort, and sundry guests…plus we got out for our long missed Kayak on Friday….see Lucy go….
Jenn has finished her objet d’art with her new antique table…you can see it in pictures…and is currently out trying to become a master gardener, or just to have gardens look acceptable in case Karin shows up at some point to see how her babies are doing.
We start this week a month and half of visits from many friends and family from the heartland with Jane and Jeff Grummel on their way as we speak. In case you wondered, we are giving friends and family a VERY GOOD deal for the room- despite what the Airbnb website says….so feel free to make an offer, we can be quite flexible on price- especially if you bring your own breakfast.
Wednesday August 5th- woke up to red leaves outside our bedroom window…..what is wrong with that picture. It is coming, isn’t it?
Love and Peace….Go Bernie,
Stu/ Dad/ Uncle/Cuz/Ferlin’
