Monday, December 31, 2018

Baxter Pays a Holiday Visit


Dear George,
Baxter came for a visit when Jennifer and her family took a holiday trip to New Mexico.  Katja, still grieving the loss of our sheepdogs, was wary about having a new dog in the house, but Baxter's smile won her over in a minute.  



I took a lot more healthy walks than I normally do.  Baxter's not that large but he has the strength of a dynamo.  



Baxter hung around with us in the house.  Here he is napping while I fiddle with the computer.



He did remind us when mealtime was approaching.  



Actually Baxter was most interested in human food.  (He gobbled up a bowl of milk chocolates and stole a quarter pound of turkey off the plate while I was eating.) 



Baxter also spent a lot of time staring at doors or walls.  His family speculates that he is standing guard. 



Here he watches Katja blow-dry her hair.  



Or joins Katja to watch Jeopardy on TV.   



Not interested in the Bengals-Steelers game though.   Just as well.   



Baxter gives a big yawn.  



He has a very comfortable bed.  



However, he begged to get into bed with the humans.  



Very hard to resist such a plea.   



Baxter is happy when his dream comes true .

Baxter's family returned last night and he went home.  We do miss him.  But perhaps he will come to visit again in the New Year.  That's a good New Year's wish.
Love,
Dave




Monday, December 24, 2018

A Christmas Dream




Last night I had a perfect dream 
The doorbell rang on Christmas Eve
And there on the stoop
Were my mom and dad
I couldn’t believe it
They were just as I remembered from my childhood
Young and healthy, loving, fun
My mother full of laughter and high spirits
My dad with his shy grin and quirky jokes 
Then right behind them
My brothers Steven and Peter 
My brother-in-law George
All home to visit from far away
Overjoyed to be together after so many years 
Vicki and Katja came in
And Margie and Faith and Gayle
All of Vic’s and Doris’s grandkids with their families
The first time everyone was together at once 
My dad and I went across the road
And chopped down a handsome white pine
We hauled it back and took it to the auto body shop
Where Vic had it spray-painted white
Soon to be covered in home-made ornaments
The children frolicked in the foot-deep snow 
Making snowmen and snow angels 
Throwing snowballs at the Norway Pines 
Our Irish setters, Mike and Micki, racing about 
Our NOLA grandchildren, V and L, had never seen so much snow 
Steven made us all Manhattans and Old-Fashioneds
We munched on sardines and creamed herring 
And traded memories of Christmases past
Peter, of course, remembered more than anybody
Steven teased Vicki about her childhood
And she gave him a stiff punch in the arm 
Doris was busy cooking a turkey in the kitchen 
Katja made the stuffing
Margie, the sweet potatoes and green beans
And Doris, of course, her beloved Schaum Torte 
I played the Hammond Chord Organ
Everyone sang “Silent Night”
And “We Three Kings of Orient Are”
(My terrible singing voice actually sounded much better than usual) 
Soon my grandfather, aunts and uncles, and cousins arrived
Uncle Ralph brought perfume samples from the drugstore
Uncle Karl, elegant gifts for the ladies
Family friends too
The O’Haras, the St. Peters, the Worths, the Caleys
So warm, so thankful
We opened family gifts
Steven got a BB gun
Vicki, a baby rabbit 
Finally we all drifted off to sleep
Ready for Santa’s visit 
It was the best Christmas ever 




Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Seasons on the Menominee River: A Sestina




Our home on the river sat alone in the forest
Acorns from the great oaks, strewn through the yard
We first got our water from a pump in the driveway 
Four children, a few porcupines, our Irish setter dogs 
Father took us for picnics to Indian Island with our boat
Like the turtles and crayfish, we were denizens of the river 

January brought foot-thick ice on the river 
We crossed to Pig Island, followed deer tracks in the forest
Buried beneath a snowdrift, our beloved green boat
Each new snowfall, barefoot races through the yard  
Ice in their paws, hearts thumping, our brave dogs
Come dark we huddled near the fireplace in the house 

Easter morning, a bunny visit, painted eggs in our house 
Then Chinese Bells Day, clinking ice chunks filled the river
We braved the old road with our bikes and the dogs
Brought our mother blue violets from deep in the forest 
Or dandelions that popped up all over our yard
The arrival of spring, the thrilling launching of our boat 

Summertime, we set off to the channel in the boat
Between river and woods, we barely lived in our house
Steve and I did overnights in a pup tent in the yard 
We constructed a log raft for diving in the river
And I built my camp hidden back in the forest
Forbidden to my family, but welcome to dogs  

Autumn, now cooler, near perfect for dogs
We fished for perch and guppies in the boat
And gathered red and gold leaves from the forest
Ghost stories at the fireplace at night in our house
We’d ended our season of swimming in the river
Replaced it with basketball, touch football in the yard  

All these memories of our house, river, yard
And lingering affection for our long-gone dogs 
Our lives were shaped by growing up on the river
We were pirates on the high seas in our trustworthy boat 
Savored whitefish and meatloaf at suppertime in our house 
Few spots more enticing than our great U.P. forest 

Acorn fights in the yard, expeditions in our boat
Camping with the dogs, playing basketball at our house 
We grew up on the river in the heart of the forest








Friday, December 14, 2018

Winter Camping at Our House




Dear George, 
The other day we carried some kitchen stuff down to store in the basement, and Katja alertly spotted a pool of water underneath our furnace boiler.  That seemed abnormal so we called the furnace people, and they sent Jason over later in the day.  After checking it out, he came upstairs with the unpleasant news that the boiler was shot and would have to be replaced.  He added that the broken unit was giving off carbon monoxide and that we should turn it off.  Carbon monoxide, he reminded us, kills people in their house.  (As we learned later, Jason had had to leave the basement because he couldn’t breathe.)   

A second technician, Joel, came the next day to assess our boiler needs.  By then the temperature in the house had dropped from 70 to 62 (not terrible, but chillier than our preference).  Joel determined that we needed a new boiler that would be about the price of a compact car.  He recommended their top of the line unit which would certainly last twenty years or more.  I thought to myself, “We won’t be in this house (or even on this Earth) twenty years from now,” but Joel was persuasive.  He determined that they would need to order the new boiler from out of town and that it would take at least a week to get it.  Katja, disturbed by the prospect of no heat for a week, said she would just run the old boiler till then.  Joel reminded us that the boiler was spewing out carbon monoxide and that we would die in a day or two. 

After the initial shock wore off, I decided that this could be a fun adventure — sort of like winter camping in our own house.  We went to the mall and purchased a couple of space heaters, one big and one medium.  For all of the immense good that they do, space heaters aren’t that expensive — $50 and $100.   The big one kept our bedroom at a cozy 70 degrees last night, and the medium one works excellently in the computer room.  The rest of the house has dropped to 58 and appears to be on a steady decline.  Joel said to call him if our in-house temperature drops below 32 because they will have to come and drain the pipes.  Our weather forecast calls for a low of 27 by Monday.  We won’t die of carbon monoxide (unless Katja secretly turns the heat back on), but there is some risk of being frozen to death.

Love,
Dave



Thursday, December 6, 2018

Gray December Days



Dear George,
December has arrived, and the days are gray and chilly in Cincinnati.  Nonetheless, the forest is looking beautiful, as it does in all of its seasons.  Muted browns and grays, leafless trees which allow for expanded views to the horizon.  Here are some December photos of Burnet Woods, the mid-city urban wilderness some four or five blocks down from our house.  
Love,
Dave






















































Thursday, November 29, 2018

NOLA Thanksgiving



Dear George, 
We are just back from an eight-day vacation in New Orleans with our sweet family: our son J, our daughter-in-law K, and our grandkids V and L.  Also K’s dad Ted had just arrived from Michigan, and her mom Linda had recently moved from Michigan to the Esplanade apartments at City Park.  This was the first time that all four grandparents had been together with the grandchildren — a special family occasion.  

We arrived on Monday, and Tuesday was Grandparents Day at St. Andrews School.  Here are the third and fourth graders doing a choral number.  Our grandson L in the red shirt is just to the right of the man in the checkered shirt, and our granddaughter V is three kids to his left.  Needless to say, we were enthralled with the children’s performances.  




Back at the house I was happy to spend time with the family dogs, Iko and L’il Paws, and I felt that Cody the cat was becoming friendly. 










On Thanksgiving Day we went to the fairgrounds for the horse races.  The races were good, but even better were all the New Orleans folk decked out in costumes. 







J and K’s friend Katie had a big Thanksgiving party.  Here V begins the collective reading of a poem about New Orleans.  



We had many good New Orleans meals during our stay.  This is Pier 424 Seafood Market on Bourbon Street.  Other highlights included NOLA (an Emiral Lagasse restaurant), Carmo’s (Caribbean), Felipe’s Taqueria, Desire, Cafe Beignet,  and, at home, J’s delicious beef brisket. 



I think Katja ate about 72 raw oysters during our stay.  Here we are at our favorite place, the Desire Oyster Bar in the Hotel Sonesta. 



We visited the French Quarter 3 or 4 times, including this nighttime scene on Bourbon Street. 



J took us to the Tulane-Navy football game.  We left when it appeared to be a Tulane blowout, but they wound up winning in a squeaker. 



We went to the new Pacific wing at the World War II Museum, and it was a powerful experience, particularly since my dad had been stationed there.     



Linda had us over for “game night” at her apartment complex.  I think it was my first time participating in three generations of a family playing poker and Trivial Pursuit.  Our grandson L was the best poker player.  Lots of fun.  



We love the New Orleans Art Museum,  The main exhibit this time was the Orleans Collection, originally assembled by Philippe II, the Duke of Orleans.



We also took in the movies: “Green Book” (terrific) and “Instant Family” (also good). 



Every time we visit New Orleans Katja is eager to go to Saks, which she claims is much better in NOLA than in Cincinnati. 



One of my favorite things about New Orleans is taking the Canal Street trolley from J and K’s house in Mid-City to the French Quarter.  It not only provides a two-mile tour of Canal Street, but the fee is a mere forty cents for seniors. 



We had our last family dinner out at Katie’s Restaurant in Mid-City.  Ted and I shared a muffeleta, and even half  a muffelata was too much for us.



The Ogden Museum of Southern Art is always a treat.  This time, bayou oil paintings by Newton Howard and Southern Photography.  Plus a duck blind for the clientele to explore.



Then, before we knew it, we were back in Cincinnati, greeted by a Wooly Mammoth in the airport.  Many thanks to J and K, Linda and Ted, for a happy family get-together.    

Love, 
Dave