New England 3

July22, 2023 - Saturday 

Seven weeks post-surgery, and I have zero pain and full mobility. Finally I can be a better assistant with the Farmers’ Market set up. Today was one of the better attended in Lee and it felt so rewarding to have people milling around our booth in awe of Rich’s work. We always say if we had a nickel for every “you do beautiful work”, he’d need a wheelbarrow to hold them. On this day, the patrons put their money where their mouth is and he sold a little of everything he has to offer. This is a young girl, Lily, with her father who was very impressed - he is a Lego Village builder in their home so appreciates what it takes to do. He was impressed that this piece they took home is based on Arizona sandstone. 

July 23, 2023 - Sunday

Today was my first “in person” attendance at church since last summer. I love that I can go to my church online each week, but it was special to be participating with the choir again. 

 

It was such a perfectly gorgeous day today that we took a long, top-down ride over Berkshire backroads in search of more buildings to draw…

Yoyo Ma’s stone building at the entrance to his home. 

Dilapidated buildings on Cold Spring Road

 

… ended up at Dairy Queen in Winsted, CT. Our goal was to treat ourselves to an ice cream since we have been eating “better" for a whole week. We didn’t know which ice cream joint we would end up at… It was worth it! We didn’t get cones as they would have melted before I got back to the car with them. Rich had a shake and I had a Peanut Buster Parfait - delicious. We'll get back on track tomorrow.

 

July 24, 2023 - Monday

A very interesting man, Wayne, stopped by our booth several weeks ago and as a fellow artist, was fascinated with Rich’s woodwork art. We talked for a long time and he gave us his name, phone and address to get in touch to see his workshop. He has lived in this unique house for 20 years. He rebuilt it with low maintenance in mind - the roof is made of rubber which looks like roof tiles, the windows are powder black steel with wood behind it, the sidewalk is heated, etc. 

He and Nancie met in Hudson, NY and when she joined him in Lenox, he designed and helped build the crooked house-studio with a stone mason. It wasn’t easy to create a crooked chimney, fireplace and roof so he had to use rebar to keep it all in place.

I had drawn a picture a couple of years ago of a fairy house because I loved the roof. Hers is much cuter! 

She started quilting in 1976, but gave it up in 2005 due to frustration with the strict, straight, rigid lines of traditional quilting. When she started up again in 2017, she defied that standard by making her lines crooked and haphazard. Some of her most popular items are done using vintage clothing to create new “rags" with quilted denim patches. She has won “Best of Show” numerous times and all of her work can be seen on Instagram @ragsfrombritches. 

 

Wayne finds vintage clothes online and Nancie decorates it with marvelous quilt pieces. She used material from WWII Naval uniforms in this piece.

Adorable toddler size jacket

The master bedroom is decadent with all shades of denim. Often times people give her their old jeans. This bedspread was done in courthouse steps pattern and the reverse side always has a message hidden somewhere. 

In the same room is her favorite wingback chair which she had upholstered with the pattern she wanted. 

Wayne took it upon himself to make a miniature out of cardboard and cover it in denim for the bureau.

Old chest resplendent with spare quilt, pillow and huggable. 

The spare room …

Since he makes at least one item every day, you can imagine how many pieces adorn their home. 

Next was the tour of his workshop -WOW! He believes in repurposing whatever he can find. Just looking around or on the ground reveals so many treasures that others might consider junk. Often, he transforms them into mobile art without using batteries - just mechanical kinetic power. 

See the video in the body of this email for 360 tour.

1928 Ford on display 

FUN AT FARMERS MARKETS:

As I have said, it is a LOT of work to set up at the markets, but we have been satisfied with the monetary outcome. It is also like a social experiment when you talk with the shoppers a while and learn that they too are artists, or live across the country, or even live down the street. 

Seeing people’s faces when they examine Rich’s “real” work - the detail, bright colors, and use of raw materials - is most rewarding. These are his latest - magnets for the fridge! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New England 3

June 2023 - Making good progress in my recovery from right hip replacement. I overdid it last weekend - sitting and standing at the Farmers Market followed by a party for an adorable 3-year-old kiddo, my sister’s grandson. 

Have slowed it down to get back to where I was. Five years ago, I had this surgery on the left hip and was home alone. I don’t know how I did it, but assume it is the aging over 5 years. OR I am spoiled! 

This was a special month for our family - 3 graduations to the next level of education. Zachary moves to 7th grade. Jake bridges to Lee High School. 

Lily steps up to 8th in Lee Middle School. 

Leanna also bridges over to Lee High School. 

They were inducted into the National Junior Honor Society. They wore gold braids around their neck to signify this accomplishment and pledged an oath to the society. Such a proud moment!

Went for my 4-week follow up appointment with my surgeon. All is progressing well - I can swim this afternoon (which I won’t - rainy, yucky day), I am off of the oxycodone and only take Tylenol twice a day as needed. 

Rich’s ear lesion was indeed malignant, BUT thankfully it was growing outward. They feel the deep cauterization they did has removed it entirely. Follow up in August to be sure. 

Old Saybrook, CT - drove to the Connecticut seashore for lunch with Paul and Jan followed by an ice cream cone. It was well worth the trip. Felt good to go on a new adventure. 

Went out and about for dinner and theater with Debbie Mougin and her daughter, Monica Zanin. Cabaret was a terrific show with amazing talent! The theater emptied in silence after the last powerful act!

July 2023 

Terri and Jim from Tucson paid us a visit this year. Terri is now retired and Jim is on vacation/working remotely. They hadn’t been to our camp in Maine in 6 years so they spent a couple of weeks there chilling. Then they came down the pike to Massachusetts where they split their time between our mom and 3 sisters in the area. Their vacation home away from home was Road Runner (Rich’s motorhome) parked in my driveway. My son-in-law loaned them e-bikes to experience and they really enjoyed the ride.

Of course, we spent a lot of time focused on meals and gatherings with family. This is us at the Knox Trail Inn as the time wound down on their stay. 

This was Rich’s cut of prime rib…

After several days, Jim returned to the blistering heat to Tucson while Terri relished the rainy climate here another 11 days to help Mom purge no longer needed items accumulated over the years, spend time with family and wrap her head around being retired. She did a yeoman’s job of infiltrating every nook and cranny of the upstairs, downstairs, cellar, and garage. I don’t think I had that much energy and drive at her age (9 years ago). Mom would slip back into her little tv cubby with her iPad when she could escape. She didn’t get a nap for many, many days as her decisions were imperative - keep, pitch, donate. One of the things discovered during this upheaval was a worn leather pouch containing letters that her mother had written to her father before they were married. 

Terri and I spent a fair amount of time transcribing the letters to digital format on my laptop for ease of reading and sharing with others. Mom was able to inform us of her fond family memories which, along with Ancestry research, enriched the document.

Her happy retirement floral arrangement held up very well in spite of the hot, humid weather. 

One of our last meals was Mom's Mac ‘n Cheese casserole with rotisserie chicken, slaw and tomato/cucumber salad. It was delicious. 

We celebrated Rich’s birthday at Perry’s in South Glens Falls. These are the Colombs I could grab for a picture. 

Rich had several commissions to deliver last weekend. Kibby and Phil (our gracious Lake of the Ozarks hosts), were in NY for a class reunion so we met up for breakfast and the big reveal. It was sooooo good to see them and catch up.

Another commission was from a second homeowner in Stockbridge. She bought one of his 3-D Treasure Boxes at the Lenox Farmers Market and came back the next week to order 3 more specifically themed boxes for her other grandchildren. She came to pick them up and ordered 2 more for the final grandchildren. Needless to say, he has been very busy visualizing, carving, assembling, and finishing these pieces. He even decided to use polymer clay for the first time on some of the items. 

Now, it has been 7 weeks since the surgery and I am back to normal - no more walking aids, no more meds, no more stair lift. I am doing a fair amount of physical therapy, walking on the treadmill, doing more chores around the house, walking downtown weather permitting. Will be dancing before long!

Tata for now…