CATCHING UP

So, the day after my final Final I drove to Pa. to visit my mom and brother and nephew. Things there were a bit tense, as my brother and nephew are planning to move out on their own and my mom is upset with the change. A lot to adjust to.

Saturday morning I headed up to Bethel, Pa. to the Golden Age Air Museum/Aerodrome to check it out. As I got close I could see a bi-plane doing an aerobatic routine, so I just wanted to head straight across the fields and get to the drome! My brother and nephew were following in their car and were amused that I kept slowing down and speeding up. At one point when I was on a back country road almost to the aerodrome, I just stopped and opened the moon roof and watched. When we got there we found it was a Great Lakes. The aerodrome doesn't have weekly shows like Old Rhinebeck but was getting ready for their one in August. It is a nice little field, very tidy.

From there I drove up to Hudson, NY to stay with Melanie for a week. What a great week! Sunday we went to Old Rhinebeck to watch the air show there. It was so incredibly hot that I was drenched in sweat just standing still. It was great, of course. Stanley Segalla was there with his Cub and I always enjoy that. They also got one of the old wing warpers (a Hanriot, I believe) off the ground, a great site.

Monday we putzed around, went to a thrift store (where I found tea lamps with stars cut into them, two silver for Kjrstn and one brass for me, as well as some of the Bagthorpe series!) and just took it easy. Watched a couple of DVDs that I really liked. I Heart Huckabees, which I thought would be goofy, but instead turned out to be really esoteric. Also, What the Bleep do We Know? I was really tired and actually dozed off somewhere during the film, and it is well over 2 hours long, but I got the message and felt it impact my thoughts and feelings. I am going to see it again soon, I got a copy from Netflix and will watch it soon.

Tuesday I went to Lenox, Mass. to the Kripalu Center for Yoga for a day. Took a meditation class with Rudy Pierce, a body image class, pranayam, and moderate level Yoga with Jennifer Reis. Picked up the Dynamic Yoga DVD (Stephen Cope) and Guided Relaxation CD by Jennifer, as well as a CD of Breathe to Beat the Blues by Amy Weintraub. All in All, a fantastic experience. Plus, the food was so healthy. It was a good jump-start to a healthier, more disciplined life. I did Yoga every morning at Melanies. And meditated. Been keeping up with that as well.

Wednesday we met the kids (they'd been with Paul in the Caribean) and went to the Bronx Zoo. Another scorcher of a day, and the kids were exhausted (having arrived back at 1AM), but we all trouped on and had a pleasant day. Tradition, you know.

The kids have all gotten so big! Well, time has a way of doing just that, letting kids grow when you are not looking.

Radha is tall and slender, her curly hair a halo. When she isn't trying to control the world, she is great to be around. She continues her devotion to the bug and reptile/amphibean world.

Everhett looks so much the same, blond hair, pearcing eyes.

David talks a lot more, always interesting. They are all such amazing people. Melanie wants me to move in, and I would in an instant if I didn't have another life (with Bill, obviously). The airport in Red Hook is for sale (Sky Park) and if I had a spare couple of million I would buy it and build us houses (and a hanger) there.

Thursday I went to Woodstock and had lunch at Loominus with Pat and CarolAnn. Same old, same old there. After visiting I went to town and walked around, stopping in stores and looking to see if anyone I knew was around. I stopped up at Frank Engels and spoke with Megan for a while. Bought Woodstock Chimes at Golden Bough, saw Gayla, saw Tiny, saw Jay (from jaritas), saw Pia (at the library) and went to Mirabai, as well as the store on the green with the crystals, etc. Really didn't buy anything, just realised that I don't need to miss it much any more. I can go to Ashville for a hippie-fix if I need one.

Friday I'm not sure what we did, just hanging around with the kids, doing errands.

Saturday I drove up to Syracuse (Cicero, actually) to have a picnic lunch with the Central NY 99s at EJ's house. Denise was there, of course, but again, I felt that I had moved on somewhat. It was nice to see the airplane that Denise has been building in her basement for the past upteen years.

From there I drove up to Silver Bay which is on the north-west part of Lake George. Joni and her family were staying there and I wanted to see her and her new baby as well as Jimmy and their son Teddy. Stayed there until Monday morning. Sunday was a gloomy rainy day, and we just hung out and visited. The Silver Bay Association is a retreat type set-up, reminded me of Blooming Grove. Families stay there summer after summer, and there are daily events and weekly ones and it all seems so lovely and normal. Joni was a bit frazzled, it is never much of a vacation when you have littles.

Monday I stopped back at Melanies to take a shower (I didn't want to dirty up more of Joni's towels, there was enough for her to do!) and we ended up going to Goodwill where I found some nice blouses and a great cotton sweater. Then I drove down to Walkill to see Mary and Rodney at the Carriage House of the School of Practical Philosophy.

How I miss being there. So centered and peaceful, so focused. Rodney mentioned doing a email version of classes and coming up for residentials. Wonderful! Jim Barrett came by for a spell in the evening to visit. He has lost a lot of weight and is looking pretty smart. His new job has him working hard, I think. He seems bothered by something, but he didn't say.

Tuesday I had planned to get a start on my trip home, but ended up driving Mary to the Stewart Airport to pick up a rental car that they needed. We stopped off at yet another Goodwill and I found some other nice things. Jeez, who'd of thunk I'd spend days of my trip at thrift stores!

Then I started the long trip home. Took two naps of two hours each in the car and got home around 9 AM.

Bill stopped home at lunch time to see me. He's so sweet.