June 23 - 30, 2022
Drove the motorhome up to Raymond, Maine after I got someone to cover my Wednesday shift at Tanglewood. Wind had damaged the table umbrella, so we got a new one.
We bought a Welcome sign from fellow-artist in Congress, AZ, Tom Kern
Charlotte (winter renter of my condo in Florida) and Shotsie (labradoodle) came for a visit as their summer home happens to be Raymond, Maine. We did not know each other before she started renting 5 years ago. A very small world we live in.
Shannon and the boys arrived the next day with the girls, Maci and Sky.
Rich and Maci - how she’s grown
A sad story about the family that started the comfort dog project for school kids that Shannon is part of - they (Kohlenbergers) sold their house and were renting for a short period of time in Becket, a nearby town. The house caught on fire and burned all of their belongings, including 1 eleven year old male and 3 breeding poodles! Thankfully none of the humans were hurt...
The weather was just beautiful with sunny, breezy days for swimming, sea-doing, paddle boarding, hammock swinging, crocheting and lobster eating.
Hammock city! That’s me in the lower left corner - tough selfie!
Jake and Zach were happy to go up on the roofs to brush off the vast amount of pine needles. Time for the youthful generation to take on some of these duties!
A good time was had by all!
Back in the Berkshires, we stopped to check out River Dale Market and Deli in Lenoxdale and decided to have a delicious sandwich there. At least a dozen laborers came in to order lunch-to-go while we were there. Wishing the owners well...
Attended an engagement party on Onota Lake Pavilion. It was great to meet up with so many relatives and friends that I haven’t seen in ages.
Rob Zerbato and Melissa Govoni
7/2/2022, Saturday
Zach has COVID! The rest of the family got it in January, but not Zach. He was pretty sick for a day, but bounced back the next day and told me he is ALL better.
James Taylor performed at Tanglewood on July 3 and 4 to a sold out crowd. He lives in Lenox and is always beholden to the Box Office staff. He gifted us with JT T-shirts and this gorgeous bouquet...
July 10, 2022, Sunday
Rich knew that his family was gathering for this special 80th birthday! What he didn’t know is that Nora invited cousins, David and MaryEllen, that he had not seen in some time. Their fathers were all brothers.
Elaine (MaryEllen’s cousin of twin mothers and waitress at the Silver Diner back in the day) arrived like a burst of energy - she recently had a double lung transplant and relishes every moment of her second wind of life!
Grandkids
The Nora’s toasting
Make your own Sunday - Colomb style
To top it off, Nora put together a slide show of memories through pictures that her grandmother turned over to her in a shoebox for safekeeping. A lot of memories were shared that day…
July 17, 2022, Sunday
Happy birthday to Lyn, Perry’s wife ❤️
It wasn’t easy keeping the SURPRISE birthday party I had planned a secret. We had been sprucing the place up for a while now without raising suspicion, but when I was bringing in food to prepare for 24 people, including his children and grandchildren from Glens Falls, NY, I had to say something. So I suggested that since we had cleaned out the cabana, dug up sod around the pool cement, power washed the pool cement padding, the deck and the stockade fence, painted the front of the fence (courtesy of Driscoll (my son, Randy) and Edwards (Sean) Painting Company, maybe we should have my family over for a cookout. He bought right into that and at least I could now talk out loud about the million details racing through my head. I’m not a party planner, nor do I cook for the masses like my sisters (Cindy and Leslie) do, so they were being peppered with texts from me seeking menu suggestions and recipes. Im surprised they didn’t block my number!
There was no mention of a birthday celebration so when my family and birthday balloons arrived, he was surprised. The Gangs All Here! Fifteen minutes later, his family came in through the gate where we were all seated in the shade. See the video in the body of the email to see his reaction… After we ate, Terri and Jim FaceTimed in to join the party for a digital introduction to everyone. Now The Gangs All Here! This was the first time our families were together 💕
