Photo by Nancy |
Jane McCauley Jan. 19: This sure has been quite a winter. I haven't been out in two weeks due to icy conditions. The back roads of Hubbardston are the worst I have witnessed. Just too much snow, rain and freezing temps. Spring can't come fast enough for me. Thank goodness for my quilting and sewing to keep me sane. Enclosed is a photo of the Hubbardston Nonesuch apple, taken at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, MA. Wondered if anyone told you that Donald Lytle passed away. The funeral was Monday at Miles Funeral Home. He was 93. Will scan the obit if you want it. [Ed. Note: Thanks to Jane, Tom Howlett, and Steve Howlett for sending us this important news of the death of a longtime friend and Muser. Bob was able to download the obituary from the Worcester Telegram. An extensive article about Donald is in the Muse for May - June 2007, Part 3. A relative of his was trying to locate him and found an earlier article in the Muse. I wrote a long response. We will be making a memorial website, so if anyone would like to contribute, we would appreciate all additions. A lot of Musers knew him, as he was a longtime resident of Hubbardston. --NAM] |
in winter Gallery photos |
Charles Frost School Mathematics: The item about Janice's math teacher institute grant resonated with Nancy Wood. She wrote, "I read with interest about the grant for developing an elementary school mathematics program. My mother's cousin, Patricia Davidson, was for many years a professor at UMass in Boston, where she was involved in teaching mathematics and mathematics education. She has written some books on the subject." Nancy also reports, "Our daughter Sheila is back at Earlham College in Richmond, IN, after taking off last semester to work on organic farms in Ireland and Greece. Among her souvenirs from the experience, she came home with two liter bottles of olive oil from the farm in Greece. We will not have to buy any for a long time." Hope you like Italian food, Stuart! Down on the Farm: The Pandolfis were also delighted to hear about Jan's grant. Nanci Jo writes, "I was sitting here in the dining room reading alound to Joe about Jan. He was all for changes to our math system and thought highly of what Jan was doing based on what he and Jan had discussed this past summer." She reports that the winter in central CT has been very cold posing challenges like freezing water buckets and shoveling paths to the barn. Tragedy struck when a falcon swooped up one of their favorite chickens. "It took us over an hour to round up the other seven chickens as they were so frightened. They were hiding under trees and dense shrubbery ... they were shaking and quite content for us to carry them back to the barn. Needless to say, they are not free ranging unless we are down there. ... One of the chickens has taken to sitting on top of the horse, very comical." Reconnecting With Jeremy: Recently returned from Oregon, Derek and Rosalind went to church in downtown Boston last Sunday, then to the Longyear Museum, and then to a talk on Longfellow at the Christian Science Benevolent Association (BA), where Jeremy was the introducer. The woman who was the expert on Longfellow co-authored a book about him with Libby Hughes, whom we knew in Hong Kong in the late 1960s. Libby has written over 15 books. After the program Jeremy gave her parents a tour of her spacious and well-equipped office on the second floor of the BA. Napoleon Wouldn’t Have Done It That Way: We heard recently from Major Ian Finlayson, an old friend and a classmate of Derek and Pamela from their school days in Australia. He has just started his new assignment in Canberra as executive officer for attache and overseas management for the Department of Defence [that’s the way they spell it out there]. He keeps very fit and does distance running wherever his work takes him. He was jogging in Paris on a recent trip and, as he put it, “managed to trip over a manhole cover and break my little finger. Ironically, it was outside Les Invalides, the hospital Napoleon established for sick and injured soldiers -- they would not let me in!" Photos: Derek took those photos of “High Ledge” on his return to Maine. Doesn’t it remind you of “Varikino,” the dacha or summer house in Doctor Zhivago? Super Bowl: Our condolences to you New Englanders, as you presumably were rooting for the Patriots. We, too, had high hopes for the team. Maybe next year. Happy Chinese New Year (Gung Hey Fat Choy in Cantonese). |
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Christel M. Murdock Feb. 22: The last few months since Alison and I saw you have been a heck of a time. I believe I have finally figured out what the cause of my incredible fatigue was - allergies. The doctor refused to refer me to an allergist, but I started taking allergy pills in the morning and at night, and I was suddenly feeling much, much better, able to wake in the mornings and make it through my day. After my fifth request, I was granted the referral, and I'll be headed to an allergist in the next few weeks to find out what I need to eliminate from my home/work. Also, I gave up meat for Lent... and my choice keeps reminding me of you... I fit in! I have been really enjoying finding alternatives to some of my favorite foods, and I make a killer tofurky sausage and spinach pasta! I have tried three different meat alternatives, and I believe I have chosen a winner... I love chicken-style seitan. I was going to cheat on my birthday, but I made a restaurant choice that allows me to maintain my integrity and stay veg all the way through March 22nd! Anyway, it was just a quick update. I hope you two are doing wonderfully and hope to see you in September! |
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Lori Howlett Have you heard of an organization called Quilts of Valor? "The mission of the QOV Foundation is to cover ALL war wounded and injured servicemembers and veterans from the War on Terror whether physical or psychological wounds with Wartime quilts called Quilts of Valor (QOVS)." Their website is QOVF.org if you're interested. An old friend of mine from New Hampshire sent an email about the organization, and of course I thought of you (I still have the wedding quilt you made for Michael and me hanging in our dining room). Anyway, hope you and Uncle Bob are doing well and staying warm this winter Does it get as cold in Maryland as it does up here? It was a whopping 12 degrees this morning; an improvement over the 5 degrees it was Sunday night when I left work, though. And in case you wanted to know: scrub pants provide absolutely NO protection against the cold! We're all doing fine. It's sort of a banner year for us this year with birthdays. Michael will be 45 and I'll be 40 in February. March will see Amanda turn 21 (!!!!) and Jessica will be 2. Patrick was 16 the beginning of this month. Alyssa will be 19 the end of July, and Michael's daughter--Kayleigh--will be 16 in November. Eeek! How did my kids get so old? I don't think I'm old enough to have a 21 year old. But then, is any parent ever ready for their kids to have "landmark" birthdays? I wonder what mom and dad think about my turning 40? I can remember when they were that age. Odd. [Ed Note: Lori, in response to your QOV question, my large quilt guild, Faithful Circle Quilters, has been providing quilts for wounded soldiers pretty much since the war began. At one time, the wounded most often landed at Baltimore, and the news media were not allowed to show pictures or articles about this aspect of the war. After the negative findings about Walter Reed and other hospitals for the war wounded, I think they may be more spread around now. A member of our guild was a psychiatric nurse with appointments at Walter Reed most weeks. So that is where our mission began. To the best of my knowledge, we are still sending some, but we are also providing quilts for Project Linus. I have to confess that I haven't been active this year and am behind in making charity quilts.] [In response to your shock at realizing you will soon have a 21-year-old child, I can make you feel better. I now have not one but THREE children in their FIFTIES!!!! When I thought about that one, I considered looking in the mirror to make sure I was still someone I could recognize. Valerie is now approaching her BD 55, Roy will turn 54 the next day, and Darrel turned 50 in December. I can still remember when they were babies, which of course is a very good thing, since I am now old enogh to be losing part of my memory. Thank goodness we have done nine volumes of our memoirs, to keep all that history readily available! You might want to start writing now, with your complex family of variable ages. It would be a good idea to write what you remember from your own childhood, as that is something to open and enjoy from time to time. If you saw our most recent one (Volume IX) at your parents' house, you probably noticed that we used (or alluded to) some items that had already been written previously. Maybe you have copies of letters you sent to the Muse, which would be a good starter, because I recall some fine updates you wrote. Of course, you can access any previous website copies, but we also have the older ones (I hope) in paper. Bob was planning to do them in digital copies also, but he is now heavily involved in the church's newsletter. So it may take a while. It's good to have something to look forward to, anyway. And remember, you are nowhere nearly past your prime!] |
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Darrel Murdock Sometimes you don't hear from people because they are going through hard times, yet sometimes it's because they're having such a good time. My excuse is I was way busy having a fantastic time. Yes, that's a good word for it, fantastic. Just over a year ago reality and fantasy came together in my world. The dream of a lifetime, the best friend and literally everything else and more came into my life. So, we've been having lots of fun and getting things done because we're taking it to a ''whole nuver level" and getting married on (or before) May 31, 2008. As previously mentioned in The Muse, Mary and I went hiking for our first date. I was thrilled to meet someone who adores the beauty of the Great Outdoors as much as I do, double thrilled to discover the knack she has for capturing it with the camera, triple thrilled to find we could talk excitedly about a diverse number of subjects for hours, and it went on exponentially like that (and still does). So I asked her on 7/7/07 what she would say if I asked her to marry me, and she said “yes”, so I asked her to marry me and she said yes again! I really enjoyed 2007. Mary and I saw and captured so many fantastic images that we can't even believe it. We enjoyed every cuisine we could think of, sang every song we could remember, gardened and landscaped together, and co-authored a really bright future that is already unfolding. Fun stuff, really cool. Then at the end of the year 2007 I turned the much-anticipated age of 50. I couldn't wait to say, "I'm 50" and wait for people to say, "Really, wow. I thought you were much younger". But the big pleasure was shorted by two factors, the fact that I had already been saying I'm almost 50 for quite some time, and the fact that a week later I had a freak accident that almost killed me. I was testing the hard snow at the edge of a frozen waterfall to see if it was safe to stand there and take some pictures. I just wanted to make sure I didn't sink down and fall. I was holding onto a strong vine while I chipped with my heel at the snow. Unfortunately it was disguising two inch thick ice strangely forming a hollow dome 4' above the river, which had been diverted to the side by fallen ice. The next thing I knew I was hanging inches above the rushing water, suspended only by the ice that hadn't broken and my dislocated arm, still clutching the vine. If the vine had been jerked out of my hand, my face would have smashed into the ice, I would have slid into the water and gone under the ice just 20 feet before the High Falls at Minneopa. Seven weeks later I thought my shoulder wasn't getting better fast enough, went to the doctor and found out my tendons were torn. So I have a rotator-cuff injury and have to do some time in the surgery room and then heal for a spell. Mary agreed that in the future I'll be using my 10X optical zoom more and tempting fate less. Hey, no problem. I'd love to ramble on and on and on, but it hurts to type and I've had my fun. Love you all, talk to you soon! |
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