30 Jan: Sorry to say that Ron & Cynthia are again separated by half a continent. HowSomeEver we are both getting things done, Ron photographing genealogy materials, Cynthia with doctors visits and packing for her next big adventure. During his second walk of the day, Ron called Joe H. who invited him for salads for dinner coupled with amusing electronic gadgetry.
29 Jan: Beautiful blue skies ensured that Smooch Smooch enjoyed a smooth flight from STL to Texas. We consistently get asked, "Where is home?" and just as often, people are puzzled when Ron says he is homeless or adds, "Wherever our feet are." Ron figured out a perfect answer, "Home is when I hold her in my arms." After being apart for 16 long days (the longest in 2.5 years!), we had a marvelous five day homecoming, voting each other the most popular at our party of two: he easily won the title Homecoming King and she Homecoming Queen. She is off to the lake house and Ron is back to work until 2 March!
We had a fun day on Friday afternoon at the Belleville LDS Library/, so we returned on Saturday PM when lunch plans with stepmother Helen were cancelled because she was ill. The Illinois genealogy section had early records of Silas and James Bankson families only twelve miles from Trenton, IL where Ron graduated from high school. Silas and James lived half mile from each other and about nine miles from the Trinity Lutheran Church. Dick E., a friend from Belleville Junior high stopped in at Denny's for a nice visit.
26 Jan: What a relaxing day to spend by the fire updating the blog and adding a few coins to Eric's site. Highlight tonight will be drinks at 8 with Lawrence and Margaret at the Fox and Hounds, the in-house tavern with a huge stone fireplace.
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| Warm Hearth at the Cheshire Hotel STL |
25 Jan: Today's the day! Boyohboy! Smooch Smooch due to arrive tenish, weather permitting. Smooch Smooch I love you! (For those of you confused, Smooch Smooch is Cynthia and Smooch is Ron.)
What a wonderful homecoming !! Delayed, of course, by Texas weather, thunderstorms and tornadoes oh my, and Missouri weather, rain at 31 degrees; but the plane touched down at just before noon, Enterprise found us a rental car at 9am, Walmart provided flowers, and we were overjoyed to see each other again after 16 llooongg days apart. (Fortunately we both stayed VERY busy, so the time passed quickly.) It is easy to get lost trying to find Clayton Road from the airport, but MOST amusing to find ourselves driving by the Micro Center and Trader Joe's while lost. I wanna tell you that Nancy gave us the perfect advice to stay at a boutique medieval English hotel: Cheshire Inn. The rooms are named after English authors such as Beatrix Potter, John Milton, Evelyn Waugh, etc. Cynthia LOVES our room and the ambiance, the new management is delightful (Harry supervises a team of superstars), but we had to go out to eat until they finish remodeling the restaurant where, amusingly, we met Lawrence and Margaret last year for dinner. The roads were still clear of ice (at 31 degrees now), and we made it safely to a delightful trout and steamed veggies dinner at Oceana.
24 Jan: Ron had a busy day today: two photo sessions of genealogy papers; late breakfast with Carol at Denny's where Maxine sneaked up from behind to cover my eyes and play "guess who"; her husband Doug is another joyful delight; in the late afternoon, Ron and nephew Eric uploaded photos onto Eric's RPM coins website - special photos taken through a microscope.
Thanks to Maxine for the photo of Ron and evile sistah Carol. | |
| Loving Older Sister Carol and Ron Yesterday and Today |
23 Jan: Edwardsville, Illinois near Dunlap Lake, Eighty-one geese snacked on something in the front yard this morning. After counting, I moved to the window for a better view, and fully half of the goose necks extended straight up, and their noisy communication increased dramatically. Then the gooses went for a walk across the frozen lake, another amusing sight. Only two more days until my beloved Smooch Smooch arrives from Texas. I love you. Another cold, cloudy day = another good day to stay indoors photographing hundreds of genealogy papers (literally hundreds per day, thousands per week). The camera battery takes a couple of hours to recharge, so later, after shooting another couple of hundred pictures, I'll walk to Deals to get more cereal.
22 Jan, Sun: Photography continues in Illinois. In Texas while re-packing the car, Cynthia happened upon a poem evoking poignant memories of a visit to Jerry (now deceased) and Maggie. Jerry gifted us with a copy of the poem he wrote for his wife.
Whatever signs of age our years ensure
the states of love, un-aged, will yet endure,
and though our art and flesh are past their prime,
nothing in our bond can change with time.
Whichever of us goes, then none are gone;
there's no such thing as the surviving one,
Whichever stays, the other's also there
but gives no indication of just where.
Jerome Y. Lettvin
SMOOCH!
21 Jan: The Edwardsville Public Library has a good genealogy collection, but does NOT have the Rev. War Pension Applications books. Ron and nephew Eric met for "lunch" at Denny's and spent the afternoon inserting pictures into Eric's RPM Coins website after first uploading 40 photos to Picasa. Back in Texas, our Lexus, "Mom", strutted her stuff all the way home from the auto 'beauty' shop! Smooch smooch is even more pumped than "Mom."
20 Jan: Connie & Ann invited me to see the Monet "Lily Pads" exhibit at the Art Museum, so we drove over about 11:30 and were back by 4pm. The painting is 42 feet long ! and is marvelous because there are so many diffuse colors in the water. We arrived home just as the freezing rain was beginning. Connie reminded me that the 25th is only a few days away ... Oh joy, Oh JOY, Cynthia arrives that day. Smooch.
19 Jan: Another day of bone chilling cold. Silly me decided to walk to the storage locker for one small box. I sat in the office a few minutes to thaw before digging around in the locker. The box I wanted is in Texas, the other two boxes of interest were empty. On the return my nose and cheeks became numb leading me to suspect frigid temperatures, and sure enough, time and temperature at one bank said 4:45 and 27 degrees.
18 Jan: Where does the time go?? Fun, fun, fun. It is midnight-thirty, and I shoulda been asleep hours ago, but the techie in me just wouldn't let go of the search for ALL the right phrases to respond to one simple question, and 3 hours and 5 paragraphs later I hadn't done anything really useful. I hate meetings. OK, computer finished its job; goodnight. Joe H. picked Ron up at the Edwardsville library and carted him over to Micro Center in St. Louis where we both bought 2 Gigabyte SD cards for $6 each. Ron was overjoyed to find a Trader Joe's next door for more fat free bread.
Thank you, Linda B. for the marvelous poem:
Ron and Cynthia
on the occasion of their marriage in the church of their ancestors
May 12, 2011
Now the Old Swedes' ChurchPrepares for their future life.
Scans its memories
Where did they come from?>
See their ancestor's bones dance
Within their bodies.
The swallow flew on
Through sun and stormy weather.
She found a warm roost.
Here the antelope
Finished his long migration
He knew he was home.
Thus bound together
On the winding path of life...
They motorcycle!
Spring gave beginnings,
Summer shaped their growing.
Now, pick Autumn joy!
17 Jan: Sister Carol again carted Ron to the storage locker to get two remaining two boxes, then we repaired to Denny's for nourishment. Amazing what one can learn at age 64; the lady at the next table tipped the waitress nicely, then pulled out two more ones for the cook.
16 Jan: You can shove as hard as you like, but you won't move a 1000-pound steel object. Ron and nephew Eric found that even with a hydraulic cart lifting the front 6 inches, we were still unable to move it much. But eventually we raised it enough to shove a 4x4 more than halfway under it. When we lowered the jack, the object teetered up onto the 4x4s, enough to be above the water line (we hope). The sledge and industrious shoving repositioned it within an inch of the wall. All is good, and tomorrow we will see who sprung what muscle.
14 Jan, Sat: Today's forecast was a balmy 40 degrees, so sister Carol volunteered to drive Ron to the storage locker to grab 14 boxes of genealogy junk. We ate breakfast at Denny's with nephew Eric. It is a delight to see my sister & nephew. Ron certainly got a fair exercise lifting boxes and carrying them up a short staircase.
13 Jan, Fri: Temp did not reach 30 degrees. BRRR. Breakfast was a bowl of cereal and three beers. Well! That was what was available in the refrigerator.
12 Jan, Thurs: Smooch Smooch phoned at 7:05 while Ron was walking [in the rain] with Jim Z to the Trolley Stop for breakfast. We managed some quick I love you's while Ron and Jim waited for the proprietor to open the door, ate and boogied back to the seminary to pick up belongings. We shoulda checked the train schedules; he missed the SEPTA train by 10 minutes and waited 45 for the next. Math computed quickly 9:45 + hour ride to airport + security lines = close call. Adding the rainy weather into the equation promised a later take-off. If the the flight to St. Louis, MO had departed on time at 11:40 AM, he would have barely made it. As it was the flight boarded only 10 minutes late. Arrival time in STL is mid-afternoon. Then the fun began as Old Man Winter said "Welcome home, Ron." It was chilly at the airport and waiting for the Metro, awfully cold walking to the bus, but downright brutal at 21 degrees with fierce winds walking the mile to Brian's. Ron ain't so smart, so he walked another mile back to Dierbergs to shop for cereal, etc. That mile was against the wind .. ufta.
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| 8 Month Anniversary: Smooch and Smooch Smooch |
11 Jan, Wed: Working away in "New Sweden." Enjoyed a marvelous dinner with John & Emily, a classmate of his & wife, Jim, and John P at Campbell's in Chestnut Hill.
10 Jan, Tues: Up at five AM - much work to be done in the Archives and on Peter Craig's computer. And much fun to be had at Trolley Car Diner and McMinamis Pub.
9 Jan, Mon: Heavy rain challenged my smooch driving the Lexus to the airport; passenger Ron enjoyed seeing how the torrential rain really filled the streams and rivers. (Even the lake is up several feet.) The normally heavy traffic was a bit lighter but came to a stop once or twice before we arrived at IAH with bare minutes to spare. Then Ron waited an hour because the airport closed briefly for the heavy thunderstorm to pass. After boarding and taxiing, there was another delay for the east-bound airways to clear. At 11:20 AM the flight to Philly finally flew "up and away" arriving at 3:38 Eastern time. Ron boarded SEPTA (Philadelphia transit trains) for an hour's train ride to the Mt. Airy station, four blocks from the seminary. Security anticipated his arrival with a lodging key in hand. Ron enjoyed dinner with the guys and the small bed in the seminary dorm provided a good night's sleep.
8 Jan 2012, Sunday: Packing Packing Packing! Ron is packing for Philadelphia
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| Water level at Lake House now Beachfront |
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| Blue Heron |
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| Rick and Crew catering at Lake House |
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| Water Front now Beach Front |
6 Jan: MD Anderson Appointments for Smooch Smooch
5 Jan: Results are in. In doctor Gould's professional opinion, I am still alive. What a relief ! I cannot tell you the anxiety that we have both endured, thinking that he might deliver the opposite opinion. Cynthia is doing wonderfully well. On the other hand, two of my arteries are ENTIRELY plugged. Just consider me another of God's miracles. Life is good, and Cynthia is reassured after reading blogs of individuals who have lived for decades with such a condition. (Yes, Virginia, it is possible through an adaption called "collateral circulation." Motorcycle is running! Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!
4 Jan: Doctor Appointments! PET scan.
3 Jan: Fun at the Lake House - Home for Now
2 Jan: Point Clear, AL to Montgomery, TX in 9 hours.
1 Jan: New Year's Day in Point Clear at the Grand Hotel in pictures:
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| Sudoku Ron 2012 |
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| Hot Tub at Point Clear - Grand Hotel |
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| Beach Walk Marvelous Homes |
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| Family Friendly Grand Hotel |
1 January 2012: Happy New Year!!!! See Photos
