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…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New England 3

April 19, 2023 - Wednesday

Art projects with Leanna and Lily while listening to Hamilton🎶

Leanna learning ukulele with Mimi - she’s got potential!

Spilling the Tea with Miss Lily - Since I have a mic and amp setup now, she couldn’t control her desire to have a radio talk station. Her subjects were Taylor Swift and the Kardashians with all of the drama.  

April 28, 2023 - Friday

Young Nora, Rich’s granddaughter, is thriving at Wells College sophomore year. She will be studying in Italy for 4 months this fall. 

April 29, 2023 - Saturday

Both Leanna (14) and Jacob (13) are in the 8th grade and will be inducted into the Junior National Honor Society. So proud!

 

Leanna is playing for AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) basketball which takes them all over New England on weekends. 

Got sad news today that Miss Ellie (93), guitar playing crooner, passed away. So honored to have played with her in the jam sessions. She and I harmonized some songs together.  😢

May 3, 2023 - Wednesday

Met up with a few of my former Big Y colleagues which we usually do quarterly, but have kept up as allowed. We have been known to have a virtual gathering while I am traveling, and since they all live (unbelievably) within a mile of each other, means me being remote. This time they came to Lee and we had great visit catching up on each others’ lives. Sorry - forgot to take picture 😬.

 

May 10, 2023 - Wednesday

Birthday cake for Perry at his house.

Siblings gazing at the pool.

Lynn and Ellie with tulips in bloom.

May 13, 2023 - Saturday

BEWARE! I feel compelled to share this story even though I lose face with it. I consider myself tech savvy for my age and thought I had learned the things to do and not to do with suspicious emails. BUT I had a very close call with a PayPal email stating that I had a new transaction of $1,299 on my account. “If this was not you, please call this number immediately” - it wasn’t me and I called to straighten it out. I had hovered over the return address and it was PayPal Customer Support so I was sure it was legit. They informed me that there were 95 purchase invoices for iPhone 14’s @ $1,299 each from Miami - the fear factor. But they would help me fix this situation. I became suspicious enough to ask Rich to Google PayPal and call them to confirm this was a legitimate number of theirs. It was NOT. I put Rich’s phone next to mine to let her listen to the conversation on speaker phone. After a few exchanges, I whispered, “Should I hang up?” She said, “Yes” and we continued the conversation with the steps to take now - basically changing passwords on any and all accounts. The moral of the story is - check the return address AND THE PHONE NUMBER IN THE EMAIL. Do not call it unless you confirm it is actually PayPal. I came to find out that PayPal is the most used and abused channel that scammers use. PayPal itself is a great barrier between you and the bad guys when you make online purchases, but emails from them should be treated with the utmost caution. 

 

May 16, 2023 - Tuesday 

Met Nora at Steve’s Restaurant for brunch before 1st doctor appointment in Glens Falls. While there, a gentleman approached and stuck out his hand to shake with Rich. He introduced himself as Paige Levack and Rich and Nora were so excited to see him. He is a long lost relative who used to wash dishes for them at Rich’s restaurant, J R Egans. His mother had done a lot of research on Ancestry.com and would be very interested to see all that Nora has done. They exchanged numbers and will catch up soon. 

 

Rich has a pea-sized lesion on the top of his left ear. His doctor took pictures of his ear and sent to a dermatologist in hopes they can get him in sooner than later. We then went to his cardiologist and got a clean bill of health. Yay!

 

As it turns out, the only appointment he could get with a dermatologist in Glens Falls wasn’t until November! So he tried in Malta which is same medical organization but a little closer location -  not until August. So Nora called Malta to push it up and they gave her an appointment back in Glens Falls in July. Still too far out for me, but what can you do?

 

May 27, 2023 - Sunday

Went to a party on this gorgeous day at Marie’s and met new friends of friends. 

The ladies…


David Showalter

As we chatted with them, it turns out that David Showalter grew up in Glens Falls and asked where Rich’s kids lived. He mentioned Queensbury which is where Rich’s sister Eileen lives. He is a pharmacist for Price Chopper, so I mentioned that Rich’s brother-in-law was a pharmacist - he asked his name, Steve Lareet. I know Steven Leeret from school - he sat near me in band and played the trombone. His father was the superintendent of schools at the time. WOW! It doesn’t end there - it turns out that the Showalters, Leerets, and Dolberts all hung out together when the kids were growing up. Who are the Dolberts? Early in our relationship, Judy and Gary Dolbert bought a new 5th wheel and asked if Rich and I could go with them on their maiden voyage to Dorset near Manchester, NH. Rich has been RVing for so long that they felt he could get them started. We hit if off and met up in Rhinebeck, NY later in the season. Sadly, Gary passed away that winter, but she set up her rig at Alpine Lake in Corinth, NY. We still meet up with her any time we can. She has a very large family and is on the fly all the time. Well, you might think that is enough coincidence, but I asked this wife if they were familiar with Whitehall, NY - they were. Did you ever go to the Silver Diner? Oh yes, anytime we went to Ticonderoga for our family vacation, we stopped at the diner. Well Rich’s family - 3 generations - ran that diner…. If you talk long enough and ask the right questions, there is oftentimes a connection. If Dave hadn’t asked the name of the the pharmacist, we would never have known the connection. 

 

May 29, 2023 - Monday HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

My family came for a cookout and swim in the pool. Unfortunately, my hip issues distracted me from remembering to take pictures. I got one of Rich (after he did a yeoman's job of making a delicious macaroni salad and grilling) and my Mom:

And this is one of a previous swim with Lily and friend, Hannah.

May 30, 2023 - Tuesday

Today was the day of my “drive-through" hip replacement - at last HIP HIP Hurray! A beautiful deer ran right in front of us on the way to hospital - close call! I swear we hit his beautiful white tail… Dr. did an anterior (front) incision which is what I wanted to match my other hip which was done 5 years ago. Entered the OR at 9:47am; into Recovery Room at 12:50; passed Therapy release test (with flying colors) at 3:30pm; after lots of paperwork and review, left hospital at 5:00pm! 😳

 

I asked how the new outpatient for joint replacement came about. It was during Covid that patients and their families were frustrated with not being allowed in the hospital. So the authorities started troubleshooting and decided to experiment: they selected stronger, low risk patients for the trial with having early surgery and released in the same afternoon. What they found was that when getting up in the night to use the bathroom, some patients fell. This is due to the new strong medicines in their system, rugs, darkness and movement. So the new protocol is that your coach has to accompany you to the bathroom or other times walking. Walking is the only therapy until I see the doctor in a month. Yay! I will be dancing this Fall in Congress, AZ. 

 

I have such a deep respect for the medical profession. Big SHOUT OUT to Berkshire Medical Center, Berkshire Orthopedic Associates (Dr. DeFalice 💗), as well as my sister, nurse Cindy, Rich’s sister, nurse Eileen, brother-in-law Steve, and daughter nurse Nora, friend nurse Joanne, and Kathy’s daughter, nurse Amy. 

 

May 31, 2023 - Wednesday 

It was a little rough falling asleep last night until I took the Valium. Then I slept blissfully for 5.5 hours. Moving slow but sure today, but standing tall for the first time in a long time. My grandson, Zachary, reminded me of how hunched over the walker I was when I told him his neck would be all messed up from peering into the phone screen so much. He said, “Well I will never look like you, Mimi!” I said, “What? I know it looks awful bent over with my butt sticking out (he cringed), but I didn’t know you noticed.” Can’t wait to see him now after the surgery. 

I felt dizzy and faint when coming out of bathroom this morning - Rich and son Randy were there to walk me to a recliner. It passed right away, but was a very painful day for walking…

Tata for now, nurse Colomb says I have to do some walking. I really struck it Rich with this guy❣️