May 24-25, 2024 - Friday - Saturday
Rich was very industrious creating over 40 new drawings this winter! It paid off at the Lee and Lenox Farmers Markets this holiday weekend. Customers were delighted with the old and the new. It's so validating for Rich to have repeat customers! We are very pleased with the proceeds.
May 26, 2024 - Sunday
We chose Sunday, the warmest/sunniest day, to gather for Memorial Day at my house. My mom, my two kids and their kids had a beautiful day in and around the pool. Everyone brings their specialty dish to eat and we provide the protein and potato salad. Followed by a little music jam with Randy and me. Can’t believe I didn’t get a picture or two!
RIP 💔 too many losses of friends:
Roxine Carty
George Ingegni
Tom Kelly
June 4, 2024 - Tuesday
On a lighter note, several friends and I went to see Wizard of Oz’s 85th Anniversary on the big screen with the extremely talented 16-year-old Judy Garland playing Dorothy. We’ve all seen it time and again over the years - with our children and grandchildren, but on TV. But now we saw so many things that we hadn’t noticed before (or hadn’t remembered)! To think this movie was produced in 1939 using 4 directors over 6 months (4am-7pm days) at the cost of $2,777,000. There were many things that went wrong during its making - Buddy Ebsen (Tin Man) was poisoned by aluminum dust, Margaret Hamilton (Wicked Witch) caught on fire due to a faulty trap door, the snow was made of asbestos, a director slapped Judy Garland, etc. Considering it is such a light-hearted, whimsical film, it is quite a contrast to the “cursed” events that occurred. I did not recall those claims as I watched each scene with a new, older, more technical point of view.
How did they find over 120 munchkins? My research shows that most of them were adults with dwarfism who fled Germany to get away from the Nazis. They didn’t speak English and were treated like children. They were paid $50/week and were handled badly.
How did Toto do such an amazing job - never getting underfoot in the very acrobatic scenes with the Scarecrow or with all of the main characters skipping up the Yellow Brick Road? He and his trainer were paid $125/week.
How was that set so beautifully detailed with bright colors and rich with imagination 85 years ago? It was NOT refilmed as I thought to make the vibrant colors. It was filmed in Technicolor and black and white (for the Kansas scenes).
How did they do all the magnificent costumes and makeup? The Cowardly Lion’s costume was made of lion pelts and weighed nearly 100 pounds. It was sold for over $3 million at auction. How did they make his tail wag and move randomly? Of course, it was a fishing pole above the set with line attached to it.
How was the set and its moving parts coordinated? The only thing I found is that it was filmed entirely on stages at MGM’s Culver City studio which still stands and is part of the Sony Pictures Studio Tour, where you can see behind the scenes of where the magic happened.
How much were the actors paid/week? Judy Garland $500; Ray Bolger $3000; Jack Haley $3000, Bert Lahr $2500; Margaret Hamilton $1000.
I highly recommend seeing this film in movie theaters near you!
June 6, 2024 - Thursday
In 2012, I was sitting for my oldest grandson, Jacob, at their house. It might have been the day after his 2nd birthday party as I was bending over to gather up tarps and blankets in the yard. It was a hot, sunny day and suddenly I passed out. I woke up to him saying, “Mimi fall down?” Don’t know how long I was out, but it was scary since there is a river on one side of the property and Main Street on the other. So I went to the doctor who put a heart monitor on me for a month. One night I woke up in a cold sweat - my heart was racing and I felt like a car engine boiling over! In no time, the phone rang - it was the person monitoring me. I said, I was fine. My heart was racing, but I am fine now. They informed me that they had already sent a police car to check on me. Sure enough, an officer came to my aid. I said that I didn’t need an ambulance - Bob could drive me up to the hospital 20 minutes away. When we got to the ER, they were waiting for me. Apparently my heart had paused for 18 seconds and they were passing the EKG around the room in awe to prove it. Into the OR we went to put in a pacemaker to correct the electrical malfunction. The surgeon was training another doctor on this procedure, so I asked to be awake so I could listen in. They wouldn’t let me watch with a mirror. Afterwards they had me do a sleep study as that might have contributed to the event. I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea and prescribed with a CPAP. Well, that was 12 years ago and I have a mobile app with a monitor that I transmit to the cardiology dept. quarterly with annual visits to the cardiologist. Everything has been just fine - until lately. I noticed a shortness of breath, rapid heart beat, and pressure in my head 😳! So I called my PCP and sent a non-scheduled transmission to my cardiac doctor’s office followed by a call. Turns out my pacemaker battery is on its last leg, so I will get a brand new shiny pacemaker on Friday, June 14th. If the wires are ok, I will be home the same day. If not, I’ll stay over. It maxed out on June 2nd, so is working differently to conserve energy. I have a pre-op appt on Monday morning. Can’t wait for a surge of energy!
June 8, 2024 - Saturday
We had a decent day at the Lee Farmers’ Market - Rich made a new batch of mini-boat magnets and sold two today.
His son, Perry, came over with his family to see his set up and visit at the house afterwards. It was the first chilly and windy day we’ve had in a while, but the kids don’t care - they quickly jump in the pool. The wind drove us inside where we had a little musical relief - Perry builds and plays electric guitars, but played some cool riffs on Rich's acoustic. I played a couple of songs and PJ tuned the bass ukulele while Lynn and Ellie listened. Then we had cheeseburgers, potato salad and watermelon.
June 9, 2024 - Sunday
When I am on the road, I am happy that I can go to my church online. And now that I am home, I get to sing with the choir in person.🎶
The Lee United Church of Christ was founded in 1778 and has the tallest steeple in New England. The building is rich with history. This is Rich’s rendering of it...
Amy stopped in for a visit this afternoon and we spent 2 hours catching up with each other.
June 12, 2024 - Wednesday
Today is four years since our first in-person meeting at Lilac Park in Lenox. 💕
June 13, 2024 - Thursday
Decided to take in a free jazz concertina at Edith Wharton’s Berkshire home, The Mount. Our M.O. is to attend intimate venues, arrive early and leave early. This allows us to get good seats right up front and grab a shuttle before the mass exodus. We really enjoyed this group - Tarik Shah and Friends. Tarik plays the stand up bass and three songs into it, he lost two strings. I must say he improvised and figured it out without skipping a beat. (Short clip in the body of this email.)
The theme this year is sculptures - here are a few along the way:
This is a panoramic view from the main house porch:
June 14, 2024 - Friday
Happy to report that my new pacemaker is installed and ready for action! Arrived at hospital at 8am - released at 1pm. Love these drive-through surgeries!
June 15, 2024 - Saturday
A rare quiet time at the pool in early morning. Notice on the right side, the basketball hoop that Jake and friends made in Carpentry. This replaces the one from last year - Rich has already had to tighten things up on this one due to overpowering usage by strong, zealous 15-year-olds!
Until next time, tata💕
