May of '22

Jasmine

Monday May 9   We are still in toasty, humid New Orleans. When I get home from my walk my shirt looks as if I had taken a swim. New Orleans is still beautiful, the scent of jasmine on the air helps make walks more bearable. 

 The good news is, after being exposed to Covid at our lunch Friday (May 6th, at the Ormond Plantation), we both tested negative this morning. Perhaps the fact that we were boosted three weeks ago contributed. Melanie had a luncheon planned today with several friends but our potential Covid put paid to that. We'll have to carry on packing. 

We left New Orleans on the 12th, camped overnight outside DeFuniack Spring (F), spent the next evening with niece Jamie in Valdosta (GA) and then headed toward Virginia Beach (VA) with an overnight outside Florence (SC) where we met a fellow golfer, sailor, RVer (Page Stanley) who was on his way

North for the summer - we plan to keep in touch and may meet again somewhere/sometime. The next day we went on to Virginia Beach for a long weekend with Jeanie and Dan. While there we celebrated one of Melanie's birthdays which shall henceforth be numberless (maybe). 

Wednesday we drove to DC where we parked on the street in beside John & Shelley's front fence which had been 'decorated' with No Parking signs to ensure we had space for the truck and trailer.where we had dinner with John and Shelley (twice) and with Melanie's cousin Faye (once) plus a fine brunch with my cousins Dunc (& Kim) and Ken to celebrate Dunc's recent 72nd B'day. Ken had just returned from a trip to Israel but we were all Covid free and enjoyed a big lunch which ended with a large chocolate cake. Dunc and Kim will be heading back to the west coast in the next few days; they've not been home for a couple of years. Kim's mother is in a home in Annville (PA) about six blocks from where Michael and I grew up (1948 to 1955).

Now, Monday May 23rd, we are in Ridgefield (CT) at Melanie's brother's home. What a long strange trip it's been - not really but I had to get in a line from the Grateful Dead. Saturday morning we pulled out of Silver Spring early and came up the Jersey Turnpike, circumvented NYC on the Garden State Parkway and I-287, arriving in Ridgefield (CT) early afternoon. 

Since then we've been relaxing, except that after dinner Saturday night there was "blood" in the toilet bowl. I spent a restless night, thinking about how I might connect with a physician in Danbury to get a colonoscopy, how it would impact our trip to Nova Scotia, etc, etc... Sunday morning - more "blood." I had to tell Melanie. She replied, "We had pickled beets in our salad last night."  Nuff said. 

And I had enough energy to walk a 3.2 mile loop around the neighborhood, and later in the day another three miles or so.

Sunday Julian and Julie took us out for an excellent Thai dinner (no beets) to celebrate our 41st wedding anniversary - that's the official number, our actual number of years together is 46. 

The weather has been lovely, quite warm on Sunday. Today, Monday, it's a bit cooler. The spring greenery is lovely, dogwoods are in full bloom, baby geese are on the pond; the forsythia have already come and gone. Arizona has it's beauty but I miss the greenery of the east.

Tuesday morning we got back on the road, stopping for an overnight with Bob & Judy in Concord (MA). As usual we had rum with Pelligino Lemon Mint soda which makes a great highball. together with  appies, dinner, and wine.  We slept in the Casita and we're up early and saw Bob & Judy before we got away around 8. We stopped at the NH Liquor Commission to purchase a few beverages to bring through Canadian Customs, and stopped in Kittery (ME) to pick up some Lindt Chocolates and hit a couple of other shops for odds and ends. Onto Freeport (ME) where wedry-camped in an LLBean parking lot overnight. Also did a bit of shopping there. 

I am very much looking forward to getting 'home' even though we've heard there is a leaky hot water pipe in the downstairs bath, so we were up early and through Customs in Calais (ME) around noon - only problem was my ArrivCan paperwork was not complete so we had to wheel around, back into Calais to find an internet connection so I could fix that problem. We sailed on through Customs, a very pleasant officer and no issues.

We carried on a few miles to St. Andrews (NB) and the 'other Athertons' - Stan and Jill. Another lovely evening catching up on events of the past year and talking about trying to find them a rental in Green Valley for 2023, otherwise they may be forced to spend a winter in Portugal or Spain - what a pity. 

Up and away early Friday, 6:30, in a light rain. We made our Canadian re-entry official by stopping at the Tim Horton's in Sussex for a box of 20 Tim Bits, and a coffee for Melanie. On to Amherst where it was raining harder, we stopped at the Superstore for gas ($2.05 per litre) and basic groceries. We were amazed at the increase in food prices, e.g. a roasted chicken was $10 and a pound of butter was $6+. We made it home by noon and did a partial unload of the truck, took a nap, and then were off to Bev and Jean's (Tanguay) for a seafood dinner. It was great to be with them again and, as usual, we played ketchup over drinks and dinner. It's staying light a lot longer up here - still twilight at 9:30.  

Saturday we finished unloading the truck and got Melanie's car out of the shed - no problems - so we took 

a short drive around Coldspring Head and Amherst Shore. Stopped in to see Jeanne and Loren (Christie) who are not yet 'in residence's, just opening up. Back home for a nap and then out to dinner at Paul and Joan's with Fran and Tony, Heather and Hal. Of course we'd seen the Christies and the Morley's in Green Valley this past winter but had not seen Heather and Hal since last fall - so it was another ketchup evening.

Ah to be in Nova Scotia now that Spring is here - Spring weather, black flies, mowing and gardening, blossoms on the apple and cherry trees, though the heavy rain yesterday knocked most of the cherry blossoms off, more fragile I guess.. We need a new mailbox. Have to fix that leak in the bathroom and put a sheet of corrugated siding on the barn roof - big hole. 

While I was mowing Sunday morning Melanie went out to cut rhubarb. She's now in the kitchen - cleaning and dicing. Doubt it will be a rhubarb pie but stewed rhubarb is excellent, sort of pure pie filling without the crust.            

Sunday afternoon we walked down to see Don and Claire (Roy). They are the best of neighbors. They keep an eye on our place all winter and share a key when the ladies come to open up and clean or Ray needs to get in to turn the water on. In years gone by they have also taking the covers off the windows and swept up all the dead flies for which we've been eternally grateful. Now I'm going to take a break, see if I can start the tiller, maybe get a couple of patches in the garden ready to plant. No problems, hooked up the battery which had been stored in the cellar all winter and away she went.  

Diner was roast chicken from the Superstore, a salad made with lettuce from a grocery in Freeport (ME), and some stewed rhubarb - delicious. I also drank a litre of water from one of our new bottles; I got eight of these and plan to leave several here, some in New Orleans, and some in Green Valley. We got our indoor-outdoor thermometer working and we're surprise to find it was 75 in the house, a bit warm. 

Monday we went in town (Amherst) after Melanie's 9 to 10 fitness class to do more shopping and catch up with things like a flapper for a toilet tank, our auto insurance, an auto recall (2007Hyundai), get a ten round card at the golf course, check in at the Y about swimming laps, etc... All chores completed successfully and back home to 'mount' the new mailbox. Tuesday was gardening day, tilling, shoveling, taking and puting in around 20 tomato plants complete with cages. That entailed dragging hoses out of the barn, getting old attachments and nozzles out of the shed and watering the new sets. I also got mower going, then trimmed both sides of the lane and a few spots around the yard. A quiet evening at home and early to bed.

So endeth the month of May.