Contacting Authors

If I have any hobby, it probably is reading books.  I spend quite a bit of time perusing book suggestions and making lists in a little notebook and on a "for later" list at our local library--and a "want to read" list on Goodreads.  I don't bother to finish books that I find boring or unpleasant.  I almost always have one book in process.

And after I read a book that I have really enjoyed and rated five stars on Goodreads, I find it very difficult to pick up another book.   So right now, I am at a loss to get involved in another volume.

I just finished Agatha Christie Mallowan's memoir about being on archaeology digs--Come Tell Me How You Live.  It was great fun to read Christie in a different role than as an author of mysteries.  Her book was funny in parts as she told of the difficulties of packing and also impressive as she wrote about the discomforts of living and working at digs.  

I have developed a very happy habit of contacting authors that I have enjoyed.  But I cannot do that this time!  It can take a bit of effort to write an author.  I have sent messages to publishers who forward the email.  I have left messages on websites.  My last contact seemed hard to reach but Ilyon Woo, the author of the Pulitzer prize winning book Master Slave Husband Wife, had an instagram account so I messaged her there and very quickly got a response.  She was happy I had enjoyed the book and yes, it was a lot of research.  She said she had gotten obsessed with the research.

Because my husband and my daughter are published authors, I know that they appreciate hearing from readers.  It has given me joy to contact authors and to encourage them when they have given me joy in reading. I can't think of any author who has not responded to my note of thanks to him or her.

Covid Vaccines Again

 I got notice that we could get a Covid booster at CVS again.  I made appointments for both of us very easily online at a local Plainsboro CVS where we had done previous vaccines.  We checked in when we arrived and had no wait at all to be helped.  When I mentioned how efficient all this was compared to our struggles to get that first vaccine, the technician agreed and said how easy it is to forget how life was at that point.  Empty store shelves, hospitals overwhelmed by folks in the ER, not enough ventilators, churches and schools closed.  People are still getting Covid and we hope we will avoid it.  We are drinking lots of water today and wondering if we will feel some side effects later.  We are feeling very grateful to be able to do this step so easily today.  

September 18  We both drank lots of water and had no side effects at all--just felt the injection spot when I lay on the side last night.  Happy to be vaccinated and hope it really works!  As we shopped at Target this morning, I remembered that was the first place we went that said we had to be masked to enter when folks were aware of the dangers of exposure.  

Another Go at Our Memories

Five years ago, when we packed up and moved from our home of 25 years, I spent hours and weeks sorting through boxes of letters and cards and childhood memorabilia (report cards! piano recitals!).  It was sometime fun and sometimes very sad as I tried to look up friends from long ago and realized they were no longer with us.  There were many items that I saved, packed into shoeboxes and then into two larger boxes.  They found a home in our spacious garage at our apartment complex and I forgot about them.

Last week, I noticed water on the floor of the garage.  It was coming from a faucet that was leaking--a faucet that we had never used.  Sadly, it meant that the boxes were damp on the bottom.  I began a rescue operation in which items were pulled out and deposited in dry boxes.  I had to throw out a few things but many may be salvageable even if they smell a bit moldy right now.  

We had to laugh at some of the cards we had given each other over the years and some of the handiwork of our offspring.  (Dr. Dan VanderKam and his secretary Laura VanderKam--sexism that I guess did not matter at the time).  Most of the items I put away for another day.  I don't have the zeal for sorting it all out again.  

And then there were all the work items I saved thinking that I might tutor as a volunteer again.  Covid put an end to that ambition for a couple of years and now it just seems like too much effort.  But I found I  could not throw it all out.  Six volumes of Megawords?  Word charts?  A guide to phonics?  Too many memories and hard work were represented by those books and information.

So what will happen to it all?  Maybe I will be ambitious again and be more ruthless in editing all that paper.  If we move to assisted living, we would need a storage unit for it all.  That would give me some motivation. Maybe I will pass on and my children, in cleaning out our place, will find it easy to dump it all. But for right now,  I don't have to do anything but let some wet paper dry out and postpone most decisions for another day. 

Moonflowers

I have enjoyed moonflowers for many years.  I buy seeds from Amazon in April and start them in the house--first softening them in water and then putting them in a pot in the window.  When a few of them germinate, I rejoice and plant at least one vine outside when there is no danger of frost.  The last few years I have been able to pass on a second vine to a friend.

It takes months of watching the vine grow and grow but show no sign of buds.  At long last,  a few weeks ago, we had our first blossom.  Jim has been very faithful in remembering to water the plant--which means a trip downstairs with a full container of water.  He has also been good about looking out for a blossom because if you don't get a glimpse of it at night, it is too late in the morning.  The blossom will last one night and then wither and die.

The flowers are beautiful and have given us joy over the years.  They shine brightly white in the moonlight and are aptly named.  I hope we can enjoy them for another month until there is a fall frost.

A New Wedding Ring

 Several months ago I realized that I was unable to get my wedding rings off my fingers.  I went to a local jewelry store, Hamilton Jewelers, on Nassau Street here in Princeton and they cut the rings off my hand.  I put them in our safety deposit box at home and waited for the marks on my finger to disappear.  It took months and I kept delaying the choices I knew I needed to make about resizing the rings. Cutting the rings off was "complimentary."  New rings were pricey! 

Finally we went back to Hamilton Jewelers yesterday.  I had a photo of a single wedding band that I showed them and they agreed it would be "beautiful."  It would also be expensive with the price of gold very high.  I asked for 14 carat gold, not 18 carat.  The single band had to be large enough to fit my little diamond in the setting. It sparkled beautifully in the bright lights of the jewelry store and I knew I would be happy to have it on my hand again. 

I had a moment of panic when I reached into the zipper pocket in my purse to pull out the little bagged ring and it wasn't there!  But I had already handed it to the gentleman who was assisting me.  He had turned me over to another assistant when one more customer came in and wanted to sell his Patek watch to the store.  My transaction was less complicated I guess. 

So the ring is ordered.  It will take a few weeks to come in and then they will set my diamond in it.  I am very happy with my choice and very thankful we have better financial circumstances now than when we first exchanged wedding rings 57 years ago!  I will finish this post when I can take a photo of the ring on my hand.  

Years ago, when I joined Facebook, I was feeling frisky and wrote that my status was "in a relationship."  So I was--even as it was a married relationship.  When I get my ring, I think I will post a photo with the words that it is a new wedding ring but not a new husband.  Maybe then I can change my relationship status to "married."  

September 13  Today was an intermediate step.  The gold wedding band has arrived and it fit.  Now they need to place my diamond in it.  There will be another two week wait.  Traffic was terrible getting into Princeton--and then three doors were locked at the jewelry store.  It's probably a good idea to lock doors, but I couldn't find an entrance.  I was thankful for Jim's help in driving me there and walking with me back to the car.  

September 18  Yesterday Karen called and said her jeweler had to make some changes.  I said I trusted her and then as evening came on, I got worried about spending all that money and not liking the ring.  So this morning I emailed her and asked for a photo--and it arrived and it will be fine.  Not worth the worry I put into it.  It is just a once in a lifetime purchase--even if this is its third ramification--and it's a lot of money.  Again, another lesson for me not to get obsessed or fixated on things!  

September 26  My ring has arrived.  I am very happy with it.  Karen thought it was beautiful.  I said I felt like a newlywed and when Jim came to pick me up, I gave him a kiss.  Karen enjoyed that!

57 years

 

57 years of marriage is worth celebrating and we have!  We had a family dinner at Ocean Grove last weekend which I wrote about last week.  Last night we made the very short trip to Ruth's Chris for their happy hour, a day early for celebrating but happy hour does not occur on the weekend. We found a table easily and ordered sandwiches and wine at reasonable prices for Ruth's Chris at least.  When the waitress asked if we wanted to see the dessert menu, we thought Why not?  It's our anniversary.  We settled on the bread pudding and wondered why it was taking so long to come.  Probably it was because they wrote Happy Anniversary on the plate.  We asked the waitress to take a photo of the two of us--as we have not mastered the art of taking selfies.  

Then today we bought an ice cream cake at McCaffrey's and enjoyed a celebratory dessert after an ordinary but tasty meal of chicken thighs and vegetables.  Jeff and Susan stopped by this afternoon with a gift--a framed photo of the 18 of us as seen on the last blog post.  

We wrote notes to each other as we often do on special occasions and I treasure those notes.We did the NYT Spelling Bee and the NYT crossword puzzle as we do daily.  Although today, we struggled to get to "genius" on the spelling bee but finally after a second try and using hints this afternoon, we succeeded.

It was so long ago that we said our vows at the 12th Avenue Christian Reformed Church in Jenison, Michigan.  We spent our first night of marriage at our second floor apartment on Humboldt Street in Grand Rapids, Michigan and then left for a week long honeymoon to Montreal and Expo 67 and upstate New York.  We could never have imagined that 57 years later we would be Grandpa and Grandma VanderKam and would see our family grow to 18 of us.  We are grateful.  At our 30th anniversary, Jim toasted us saying "To 30 more years."  I hope and pray we make it to that--and beyond--in good health and enjoying each other's company. 

The Baby Game

 

Seven years ago, Laura and Michael rented a large cottage in Ocean Grove, New Jersey and invited the entire family to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary.  It was a great week with beach time and lots of good eating.  I had tried to think of ways that the whole family (with a variety of ages among the cousins) could participate in activities and I came up with a scavenger hunt and a baby game.  The scavenger hunt paired older cousins with younger ones and asked for cell phone photo proof of their finds.  It was a great success and got everyone exploring the village of Ocean Grove. 

The other activity was a baby game.  I found baby photos, printed them up in black and white, and numbered them 1-14.  The goal was to match the baby photo with the adult or child.   Our winners with perfect scores were the two mothers among us--Susan and Laura.  This year at Ruth's request, the baby game was found and brought along. I added two more photos to the mix--Henry and Alexandra. Two of the older cousins had their special friends along--and they joined in trying to recognize the matches.  Ruth was very pleased that this time she had a perfect score!  

57 years ago on August 24, 1967, Jim and I made our vows and how grateful we are to celebrate with 18 of us in the family photo this year!  (Thanks to our resident photographer Susan who set up the tripod and remote camera and kept us all smiling!)