Visiting Phil's tree in the Memorial Garden

 Several mornings this summer I've walked from our cottage to the Lakeside memorial garden (Chautauqua Park) where our son Phil was interred last August.  He died in April 2020 after a brief battle with glioblastoma which had been found on October 1, 2019 after he had two seizures. I do that for a destination when I walk--it is beautiful, quiet and peaceful with park benches and fountains. I decided to call it Phil's tree, since there is no real grave.  It's a young Oak, surrounded with dwarf Iris, and five magnolia bushes behind the tree. Today I noticed there is a path into the woods to the north that I'd never seen before, so I went from stone and man made memorials, to the deep quiet and the dampness and smells of a forest, almost as dark as dusk although the sun was shining. There were several trails, but I eventually came out at another spot by the shelter where services are held. 

  

 

 

First world problems on a hot Sunday

 The neighbors have invited my husband for a sailboat ride, and now it's starting to thunder.

I told another neighbor I saw his daughter waiting tables at the Patio this morning.  Staffing is so light the "alumni" wait staff from years ago have been called in.  He told me she isn't his daughter, but was friends with his daughter and everyone makes that mistake.

My husband rarely complains about a sermon, but today we had a sweet young thing in her second church and third pregnancy.  It wasn't a bad sermon, but for people in our 80s, it was completely irrelevant.  We're finding that a lot these days.  "How to do it good" sermons and articles just have lost their appeal.

Speaking of that service, Michael Shirtz did a lovely, jazzy contemporary (his own, I think) arrangement of C. Austin Miles' "I come to the garden alone."  We don't hear it much these days, but early in the 20th century it was either loved or hated.  Adeline Jasper sang it at my grandmother's funeral in 1963, not knowing that my grandmother was one of the haters (according to my mother).  She considered it too shmaltzy and danceable for church--as did many others.  But it was a very popular hymn in those days.

Last night's program at the gazebo was breathlessly hot, both in weather and music.  The terrifically talented Chozen-Few from Cleveand played Motown, reggae, pop, jazz, blues and mostly 80s, so the gen-x grannies and over the hill boomers were getting up to dance to prove they've still got the moves. The squirrels in the tall trees surrounding the gazebo were going crazy jumping from limb to limb.  After 1.5 hours we left, and found out today it went on another 30 minutes.  We missed the sunset.

I left my beach towel at the Patio Restaurant this morning--I'd used it to cushion the hard bench in the park at morning worship. So I had to walk back in the heat to retrieve it.

On my way to the store, my neighbor on Oak handed me a sack of homegrown tomatoes while packing up his truck to go back to Dayton.  When I got them home I put two in the sun to ripen a bit.  Now it is cloudy and the sun has disappeared.  Wondering, is it too early for Ida to hit Ohio?  Ike (2008) did a few years back and in Columbus many neighborhoods were without power for days. 

Nap time is beginning earlier and earlier.  Today it was 11 a.m.

Bug-out Biden

"At this point, we are left with two questions: Why did Biden do it? And what will happen next? The answer to the first is that, for all his years in government, Biden, unlike Petraeus, has no idea how to take advice. Strong leaders appoint chief lieutenants who know more than they do about a particular area of competence. A good leader takes input from all circles, engages in collaborative discussions, and forms a consensus before reaching a decision. Biden, in his haste to pull out early, showed no willingness to do anything of the sort.

 
And why? Political reasons. For Biden, the prospect of leaving twenty years to the day after 9/11/2001 was perceived to be a coup for the majority of Americans who wanted out, so much so that the public’s short-term memory would overlook the multiple human tragedies occurring nearly fifteen months before the November 2022 congressional elections. "

https://www.hoover.org/research/dire-consequences-afghanistan?

We had a brass duet program in the park--a French horn and Trumpet, husband and wife from the Toledo symphony.  During a Q. & A.  one man in the audience stood up and said in a teary voice,  "I'm so distraught about what is happening in Afghanistan, I wonder if you could play the Star Spangled Banner for our brave troops."  So she did.  It was beautiful.. . and sad.

Preacher of the Week

John Ed Mathison is our preacher of the week at Lakeside. Before retiring at 70, he was senior minister at Frazer Memorial UMC in Montgomery, AL for 36 years. It grew from 400 to 9,000. Now at 83 he has a busy schedule of training ministers and speaking at conferences. Today he mentioned something I know I'd heard before, but he said they surveyed 800 of their new members to find out how they got to the church. 92% were brought by a friend or neighbor. That's probably the case for most churches. https://johnedmathison.org/ He has a blog and a radio spot called "Got a minute" in which he shares his faith and humor for 58 seconds on secular stations.

My walking routine--no rain today

No one has ever accused me of being an athlete, but I do walk 2 miles every morning along the lake front and maybe another 2-3 miles during the day. Or maybe it's a stroll. However, this morning on my walk I fell in step with a younger woman, about 65 maybe, and she was really stepping. I changed my pace because we live on the same street and it seemed rude to fall down on a park bench to catch my breath. I barely made it to my front porch before I collapsed.

A poem about Lakeside

We'll be putting our Lakeside house on the market soon (turn key) so I'm removing personal items. Came across this poem about our Lake Erie written on a dinner napkin (probably the Patio) by a guest, which my husband matted and framed. Duke taught a poetry class at the Rhein Center, and he and Bob went to high school together.

The lake swells and drops
In rolling rhythm
As the morning sun announces
The beginning of a new day.

Reflections of sunrise
Glisten in the water
As my eyes divert to keep
The brightness at bay.

Only the artist can capture
This spectacle of light and water
On a morning like this in a
Place as inviting as Lakeside.

Duke Thomas Low 7-13-07

It's a hard life at Lakeside Chautauqua

Some days at Lakeside are not so lazy, but I'll still fit in time for a nap.

7 am: Walk along the lakefront.
8 am: Bob meets the Guys Club at the Patio for breakfast.
9 am: Preacher's hour Rev. Thom Shafer, Steele Memorial
8:30-noon: Farmer's Market at Old Schoolhouse
10:30: Taste of Lakeside, Blue Bird Cafe at Walnut Plaza
1-2 pm: Women's Club opening, Green Gables
Noon-3 p.m. Taste of Lakeside, B n B tour
5 ish: Supper with the Kullbergs at the Patio Restaurant
7:30: Vespers with Rev. Shafer

It's a tough life, but someone has to do it.

Another ZOOM group

 I participated in yet another ZOOM group at 4 p.m.  This is a writer's group, and if you're accustomed to ZOOM meetings, I think it works well.  The "facilitator" is Martha (Marti) who lives just a few doors south of me at Lakeside and is a published novelist.  She's been teaching at Lakeside's Rhein Center for many years, and last year because of the pandemic her group developed on line. I took her class many years ago and really enjoyed it.  This year, I was invited to join this group, although I haven't done much creative writing for many years.  Blogging and posting on Facebook are not usually creative--I just let off steam. I think there were 9 of us including Marti, 5 of whom I already knew. They are speaking/writing from Michigan, Toledo, Columbus, Florida and of course, Lakeside. 

Marti suggested a topic--writing a letter to someone, alive or dead--if we already weren't working on some thing.  Two of the women are working on novels, so they proceeded with that. I wrote a letter to our son, Phil, who died in April 2020 about music, his big love.  Then we all shared our writings after 30 minutes and commented on each others efforts.  That's something I need to really work on.  Being positive and supportive is what makes any writing group work.  The whole point is to keep writing, not perfection.  It's so easy for me to spot the flaws or the gap.  I'll work on being more supportive.

Our new washer has arrived

 Our new washing machine, an Amana, was delivered this morning. The 40 year old Kenmore was great--best I've ever had--but sprung a leak our first week here, and who has a part? Now we'll have to hire a plumber (who weighs less than 120 lbs), because the hook up is spliced and diced and the drain pipe opening is near the ceiling. A second home has all the appliances that fail in the other home, but only about 1/5 of the living time. In the last two years I've replaced the oven, the dryer and the washer. The new owner will enjoy them.

The entrepreneur

Met a young entrepreneur today in Lakeside. He's opened a shop of "vintage" sports wear. Used t-shirts, jeans and athletic logo clothes from the 80s and 90s. Although I have clothes older than he, it was great to see the ambition. He "sources" his own stuff by going to yard sales and resale shops. If Jeff Bezos goes into space, this guy has his feet planted firmly on the ground.

Returning to normal

Here at Lakeside, Ohio, things look pretty close to normal. Hand shaking and hugs. Very few masks. Several programs inside Hoover Auditorium due to bad weather (but that's a start). Restaurants with normal seating. The dock is closed but that's because of a 2 day storm with 9' waves that possibly damaged it and threw benches and light poles into Lake Erie.

  

It was beautiful but strange last night.  Gorgeous sunset and no one on the dock which has been declared unsafe because of the storm a week ago.  I've never seen this before.

Checking through old exercise blogs

 I used to be in an exercise blogging group, Exercising through the Church Year (40days40miles.blogspot.com).  I never met any of the women, and by 2015 there were only 2 of us still writing, and then only once or twice a year, so it sort of died a natural death.  Since I didn't establish the blog, I only contributed, I can't delete it!  But today I was browsing through some of things I'd written about exercise and weight loss or exercise and osteoporosis, and I clicked on one of the other women in the group, Michelle Francl-Donnay.  Found out that although she never said much in our group, she is a writer--a science writer in chemistry. Tracked her down and see she also writes for the Vatican.  Here's an interview  Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe: Molecules, Particles and People - ideaXme (radioideaxme.com)  She's had an interesting life.

Science Writing | Michelle Francl-Donnay (michellefrancldonnay.com)

Speaking of exercise, I did pretty good today.  I did 6 miles at the wellness center here in Lakeside, and 2 additional miles walking.  It's partly cloudy, but has warmed up some.  Some days I've walked to the wellness center (which would make sense), but today I drove since the sky looked iffy. 

Memorial Day, 2021

 Our terrible storms on Lake Erie have cleared out (Port Clinton was in a state of emergency) and the holiday to memorialize the fallen heroes of our wars has appeared warm and sunny.

I walked to the Wellness Center on Sixth St. (about a mile) and then spent 3 miles on the exercycle.  The cycle had been moved (and maybe replaced, not sure) to a different window, so I couldn't see the pool.  However, I did see the small woods and open lot, and had the fun of watching a young deer nibbling tender shoots for breakfast.  I walked back home through the woods and Seventh Street rather than walk along the lake, the lakefront still being strewn with debris from the storm.  So I had five miles in before 8 a.m.

Then at 10:30 I went to the Memorial Day event on the lawn in front of the pavilion, and enjoyed it immensely.  We are usually not in Lakeside on this holiday, and I found the small town atmosphere with a mayor and city council (from Marblehead), and locals telling about the service of their fathers in WWII quite moving. One man's father had been in the Philippines waiting for the invasion of Japan, when the bomb was dropped.  He said there was much rejoicing--something we don't often hear about that terrible loss of Japanese people, yet it did save thousands of American lives. One woman told of her own father whose 4 year enlistment was up on December 8, 1941, so he was commanded to remain another 4 years. She was born after he returned after the war.  Bob Grim, head of the Lakeside Board also told of visiting Normandy with a 95 year old veteran who had been there when he was 19 years old. 

I sat next to a woman, my age or older, whose name was Nancy.  It was her first time in Lakeside and she was quite charmed by it all.

I took me back over 75 years, probably a year or so after WWII to the Memorial Day service in Mt. Morris.  The rifle salute scared me then as much as today, but I knew my Dad was home. I also thought about Uncle Clare, killed in 1944 in China and how my mom and grandparents grieved. Collecting My Thoughts: Remembering Uncle Clare on Memorial Day

A look at Lakeside's weather for the holiday week-end

I read this on Facebook.  Temps have dropped (Thursday evening).

"For those packing for the weekend - here's a quick heads up that the weather starts off  HORRIBLE! Friday will be wet and cold and windy, with steady rain all morning turning to showers in the afternoon. High temps barely above 60 (so plenty of room at the pool.  Winds will be blowing steadily out of the northeast all day, turning quite strong by Friday evening with gusts > 35mph at times. So no dock walks either .

Saturday will still be chilly but drier with some sunshine (although the NWS still says there is a chance of showers until 2 pm, I just don't see that as much of a threat after sunrise at the latest.) Highs in the 60s.

Back to near 70 with sunshine by Sunday and well into the 70s and dry Memorial Day too."

A day of small pleasures, May 25

Beautiful day in Lakeside with a walk through the neighborhoods to observe the new builds and remodeling, and lunch on the deck.  The internet down for 5 hours, just as were admiring all the work our daughter had done to add new features to our Roku and get everything up and running. We are planning to try out the Slack House historic cafe this evening. It's named for an old residence/former boarding house that was removed in the early 60s when the mentality was tear it down and build something new. Now it's in the building that replaced it. Each generation and director has fresh ideas--some work, and some don't. I visited the new archives site today, in the location of the old "Shadetree" a store of many evolving tastes.  I will miss the former archivist, Dakota. I also visited the Memorial Garden on my morning walk where Phil's ashes were placed last August. I can find the spot because of the dwarf iris which bloom early, are hardy and carefree, and the young oak shading the spot. It was lovely and quiet at sunrise.

First day back at the lake May 22, 2021

We ran into the usual detour on Rt. 4—but every year in a different place, so we get to see something new. This time we were routed through Bellvue on 269. Many people always take that route, but it is 6-7 miles longer. More scenic, however.

Sitting on the porch last evening we saw and talked to as many people in one evening as we would in a week or two in Columbus. Scott and Carol our neighbors next door, Ross our neighbor across the street, both Bob and Martha neighbors half a block south of us, Tom and Lori almost neighbors 2 blocks, Jon and Katie neighbors one block north, and we saw Don, a former neighbor in Columbus who has moved further to the east of us here, out jogging while we ate dinner on the deck. Today I ran into Steve, our neighbor who is a retired antique dealer and getting ready for next week’s sale. Stopped at the Patio Restaurant and bought 4 donuts and saw the owner’s son. Walked to the little grocery store and saw Ray, and got a free cupcake from his granddaughter’s graduation party last night. Yes, there are many people around this week-end.

One block to the east of us is Lynn Avenue, and we found out 3 male neighbors died over the winter. One was going through an incredible remodeling—turning a very modest cottage into something quite spectacular—even moved the house briefly and put in a basement. Our properties almost touch although we’ve only met them at one party when Scott and Carol were celebrating their 50th. So now his widow is left to see this through without him, and he was only 55. Last year it was our street. Our son Phil died, Jan’s niece whom I remember from when she visited as a child, Jon and Katie’s daughter in law, Claude’s wife Brenda across the street, and another neighbor we always spoke to as she walked her dog, but didn't know her name.