A Weekend with Family

 

Friday Jeff picked us up, Susan had tickets, and Katie provided the entertainment at the spring performance of PUB, the Princeton University Ballet.  Katie danced in two of the numbers and was, of course, our star. However, the entire program was pretty amazing with very expressive dance numbers.  Some were beautiful; some were breathtaking; and one was very dark and sombre.  The performance was at 5 so we ordered a pizza pickup at Romeo's in Plainsboro Village for 7. Jeff, Susan, Katie, and Eli came over to our apartment for pizza, fruit salad, and brownies.  We even used the dining room table, a very rare occasion for our setting a table for six.

This morning Laura sang with her church choir in a Blue Grass mass as a part of

the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church service.  She asked if we could pick up three of her children.  Two children rode with her earlier.  Yes, we had three seatbelts in the rarely used back seat so we were happy to help.  How could we say that we could not get our grandchildren to church?! It did mean an early start from Princeton to get to Gladwyne and then on to Bryn Mawr but in spite of rain, we were in our seats plenty in time.  Ruth rode with her mom earlier and found us.  The music was accompanied by a professional blue grass band and was beautiful and unusual.  There were maybe ten numbers interspersed through the service which had the regular elements of confession, sermon and prayers.  

We had lunch at the Conways and then headed home in the rain.  Once again, we are happy to spend time with family and to support the activities they enjoy--and then to come home to our own place for the evening.  

Birthday Number 77

I have read Revelation this week because I am reading through the New Testament using Evolution of the Word by Marcus Borg.  It was not an easy read but I noted the frequent use of the number seven and thought it might be a good omen for my Number 77 birthday yesterday. 

The day did not start well. I felt sick the night before and spent much of the night with a heating pad on my sore stomach wishing for sleep.  Sleep finally came around 3 am and I felt fine the morning of my birthday.  I was relieved because we had dinner plans.

Jeff and Susan had suggested treating us for my birthday at a restaurant that we had never visited but had been recommended to us--153 in Rocky Hill, a little town just a few miles away.  The name of the restaurant is underwhelming and so is its outside appearance.  153 had been closed for quite a while because of Covid but was open again and busy last night.  We had a very nice dinner there and then went to Jeff and Susan's for ice cream cake.  Katie joined us at that point.

I tried to eat cautiously and so I have half of my "chicken milanese" left for dinner tonight.  Jim can have one of his frozen meals that he enjoys (and I never do!).  

It was wonderful to hear from family and friends via texts, emails, and Facetime (Dan and Alex).  Laura and Michael sent flowers which are very bright and cheery.  Jim kept looking for a package that did not arrive so I still have something coming but he did write me a very dear note and that means the most to me!  

At our age, there is the somewhat sobering thought of wondering what the year will bring. Many folks added the message of wishing for good health and joy in the year ahead.  It was a lovely day yesterday and I feel thankful and optimistic today!

Signing the Lease Again

 It has been four years since we met with Eboni and signed the lease on our apartment at Barclay Square.  Jeff was kind enough to go along with us on that occasion and we all got a glimpse of another second floor apartment. Ours was still occupied.  The day had a bad omen in that we hit a deer on the road leading up to the complex and we felt terrible about that.  Eboni was very nonchalant about it however.

So here we are four years later and commiting to another year.  If we signed the lease month by month it would add $500 to the monthly rent. Who knows at our age what the year will bring? But we have been very pleased with our spacious apartment, with the office and the maintenance crew, and with our quiet location.

Last night we drove ten minutes to Jeff and Susan's house where we joined Katie and Eli for the first cookout of the year.  Jeff and Susan have been so gracious and welcoming to us and we are grateful to be a part of their lives.  They were happy that Katie spent Easter with us and we are pleased to be watching her dance at Princeton again in a week or two.  Our other children and their families are farther away but visiting them is a day trip or an overnight trip--not a 700 mile trip as it used to be.  

Yesterday we joined our former church via a video service because I was not feeling well enough to worship in person at our Princeton church.  When Andrea prayed for members of our South Bend congregation, we were aware of how much we were a part of that fellowship in a way that will probably not happen here in a large church and at our age.  I guess we feel as if we are members of two churches and that is a blessing too.

One load of laundry is in the dryer and I am thankful to have a washer and dryer in our apartment. On Wednesday maintenance is coming to do a brief semi-annual inspection, turn off the gas pilot in the fireplace, and replace the filter in the air conditioner.  How nice to have someone else take care of us in that way.  I miss having a yard and a charcoal grill and our lovely three season room where we ate dinner almost every night once it got warm enough.  I hope our buyers are enjoying seeing the daffodils pop up in the back yard.  I miss the ease of attending events at Notre Dame--inexpensive tickets to performances and easy parking. I miss friends although it is good to still be in touch by email.

Signing the lease again is a time for reflection and although there have been some medical difficulties and of course Covid issues, we are content with our move. We have found good doctors and we are familiar with stores and libraries.  And we will not have to purge belongings to the same extent and sell a house again.  

A Sculpture Walk

 

Public Table

This morning, Elizabeth Steel, a Princeton Seminary student and a member of our church (Nassau Presbyterian), led a walk through Princeton University campus stopping at five outdoor sculptures.  There were about 25 of us and even though rain threatened, we had fine weather during our walk.  We met at our church which is located at a corner of the university campus. 

The Song of the Vowels

Elizabeth would ask us what we might think the work was titled. She then gave us a bit of information about the work and also quoted a text from Scripture that she thought was relevant.  It was interesting to me that two of the sculptures had Biblical roots--Abraham and a bound Isaac and a very abstract idea of Moses and his horns. The Abraham and Isaac sculpture had been commissioned by Kent State after the shooting there but they decided to turn it down so it found a home at Princeton.

My back rebels at slow walks but I found places to sit a few times and used our umbrella as a cane which did help.  I was a bit embarrassed to be so needy but sitting down comes as a great relief.  The walk was worth the effort however--in appreciating works on campus and in getting to know a few more people from our church.  

Easter Sunday

 

Laura and Michael invited the family for Easter dinner.  Because Jeff and Susan were planning to celebrate Easter in Washington, DC with James and Michael, we offered to give Katie a ride to the Conways. And then I was inspired to ask Katie if she wanted us to pick her up a few hours earlier for church. She said she would be happy to go with us so we got off to what was an early start for us--picking her up at 10:15 so we could park the car and walk the few blocks to church.  We were plenty in time although by 11 am, church was very full.  Our pastor Dr. Davis said that with life under a pandemic, he wondered if we'd ever see the church that full again.  It was a joy to sing next to Katie and she too said she liked hearing my alto line with her soprano part.  The church service was very festive with flowers, brass, and many echoes of "Christ is risen" followed by "He is risen indeed."  

After church we drove to Gladwyne and soon were enjoying an Easter feast of ham and tenderloin accompanied by asparagus and fruit--and Dan's hot cross buns.  Henry helped me put together my traditional bunny cake although he was concerned that the bunny did not have feet and the concept of a bow tie was puzzling.

After our feast, we walked the grounds and enjoyed the blossoming cherry trees and daffodils.  It truly is an"estate" on Dodds Lane.

Historic Arraignment

I was going to post this blog without a photo because I didn't want a photo of the indicted ex-President facing me every time I opened it.  But I just found this New Yorker cartoon and I like it!

Most of my blog posts are about family life--day to day occurrences and highlights of our trips and holidays.  Occasionally I have posted about events going on in the world around us and then the word unprecedented gets used.  CBS news used the phrase I have put in my subject line as its lead to tonight's news. Today's news is "unprecedented" and historic and sad. 

Former president Donald Trump was indicted in a Manhattan courtroom today on 34 counts of falsifying business records.  The indictment charged him with paying a lawyer retainer fees when they were actually repayment for money the lawyer had given to a porn star to keep her story of an affair with Trump quiet.  Supposedly Trump was signing checks during his first year in office as payment to Michael Cohen, his former attorney who is testifying against him.  Today's indictment also spoke of a second affair that was kept quiet and payment to a doorman who told of a child  fathered by Trump--and that third story supposedly turned out to be untrue. All of this was to suppress stories that might have affected the 2016 election which put Trump into office. 

This story is going to go on for months. The trial in New York will not be until next January.  By that time, Trump may be indicted in Georgia for trying to change the results of the election (asking the secretary of state on a recorded phone call to find around 11,000 votes) and indicted in Washngton, DC for inciting the January 6 assault on the Capitol.  And then there are the classified documents that were found at his home in Mar-a-Lago although that may be a weaker case except for his insistence that all documents were found when the FBI found more after they had a subpoena and did a search.  Documents have also been found at President Biden's home and former Vice-president Pence's home although they both were cooperative with the FBI looking for material.  

Trump is using this indictment to raise money by selling t-shirts with his photo and "not guilty" across the front--for $47 because he wants to be the 47th president of the United States--as he has already declared his candidacy.  He has raised millions of dollars already.