July 16: S. Hamilton and Ipswich, Massachusetts
Good morning to all of you! I was going to write you yesterday evening, but our high-spirited game of Scrabble occupied me and my teammate Owen (Marthe and Josh’s grandson) and was such a high-intensity game that by the end I was absolutely exhausted and went to bed. But what a glorious game it was!
I am writing you from South Hamilton, Massachusetts, where I am once again visiting Josh and Marthe. I got up at 4:00 a.m. yesterday morning for one of those early-morning flights that seem to be a trademark of mine. I took Uber and was pleasantly surprised at how dependable and efficient they are. Due to a snafu with Super Shuttle at the end of the European trip, I am asking for a refund and will never use the Shuttle again. Being a Virgo and German, I don’t take kindly to inefficiency!
But I digress. The flight was over three hours long, but I am reading a good book and the time passed quickly. I wasn’t in a particularly good seat (a center seat in Row 32) but as an American Advantage member using mileage for a free trip, I probably could not expect much more.
Marthe had forgotten her cell phone, but Josh kept in touch with me, and she and I met at Baggage Claim and then drove all the way back home to deposit luggage and then to get some lunch and explore the 1799 house that Marthe and Josh have bought and are restoring and making their own. That entailed a drive to Ipswich (5miles from South Hamilton). First we went by a sandwich place and picked up two avocado sandwiches (Marthe’s had additional turkey). We also bought drinks and some cherries, which we ate on the newly installed deck off the back of the house. It is an amazingly large house featuring 11 fireplaces, several bedrooms, an enormous ballroom size atelier for Marthe’s future art projects and a suite of office rooms for Josh, a view of the Ipswich River, a rather elegant staircase to the second and third floors, and a beautifully rolling back yard featuring day lilies that are currently in full bloom, as are the dogwood trees, which in the South bloom much earlier. The house project will take an enormous amount of money, time, effort, and historical knowledge to restore properly, and yet there must be room in this plan to accommodate the modern-day wishes of its owners. The balance will be a challenge to achieve, but I am very aware that this project is near and dear to Marthe and Josh, and I applaud their courage and intrepid sense of adventure in the pursuit of this, their dream!
After lunch and a full tour of the house, Marthe and I went to the Audubon Center to pick up Owen, who is in camp there this week. We took him home with us, and then he and I got to work setting up for a Scrabble game. Since last year his vocabulary has increased tremendously, and he can almost singlehandedly create words. When he is not familiar with a word, he asks about it and retains the meaning. He is growing up a fine young man, and is being homeschooled. Later in the evening, Marthe and Josh formed a team, playing Owen and me (the rival team) in an exciting, close game. Josh was constantly disagreeing with words he felt were non-Scrabble words, such as “queso,” which would have been a huge point-getter. However, our revenge came later, when Owen and I were able to place the word “queer” at the end of the game. Exciting evening, along with an excellent dinner of tacos and sherbet for dessert.
So here I am this morning, sitting in the enclosed porch of the house in the quiet neighborhood, enjoying Beethoven on WRR and gazing into the leafy canopies of the trees. Later on this morning, Marthe and I will be motoring to Lake Squam, New Hampshire to see my friend and former hiking companion on the 2004 Norway trip, Hilde Sanderson. Looking forward to seeing her again and hearing the loons on that lake. Meanwhile, off to breakfast. Stay tuned and see yesterday’s photos on Facebook. As ever, SV
I am writing you from South Hamilton, Massachusetts, where I am once again visiting Josh and Marthe. I got up at 4:00 a.m. yesterday morning for one of those early-morning flights that seem to be a trademark of mine. I took Uber and was pleasantly surprised at how dependable and efficient they are. Due to a snafu with Super Shuttle at the end of the European trip, I am asking for a refund and will never use the Shuttle again. Being a Virgo and German, I don’t take kindly to inefficiency!
But I digress. The flight was over three hours long, but I am reading a good book and the time passed quickly. I wasn’t in a particularly good seat (a center seat in Row 32) but as an American Advantage member using mileage for a free trip, I probably could not expect much more.
Marthe had forgotten her cell phone, but Josh kept in touch with me, and she and I met at Baggage Claim and then drove all the way back home to deposit luggage and then to get some lunch and explore the 1799 house that Marthe and Josh have bought and are restoring and making their own. That entailed a drive to Ipswich (5miles from South Hamilton). First we went by a sandwich place and picked up two avocado sandwiches (Marthe’s had additional turkey). We also bought drinks and some cherries, which we ate on the newly installed deck off the back of the house. It is an amazingly large house featuring 11 fireplaces, several bedrooms, an enormous ballroom size atelier for Marthe’s future art projects and a suite of office rooms for Josh, a view of the Ipswich River, a rather elegant staircase to the second and third floors, and a beautifully rolling back yard featuring day lilies that are currently in full bloom, as are the dogwood trees, which in the South bloom much earlier. The house project will take an enormous amount of money, time, effort, and historical knowledge to restore properly, and yet there must be room in this plan to accommodate the modern-day wishes of its owners. The balance will be a challenge to achieve, but I am very aware that this project is near and dear to Marthe and Josh, and I applaud their courage and intrepid sense of adventure in the pursuit of this, their dream!
After lunch and a full tour of the house, Marthe and I went to the Audubon Center to pick up Owen, who is in camp there this week. We took him home with us, and then he and I got to work setting up for a Scrabble game. Since last year his vocabulary has increased tremendously, and he can almost singlehandedly create words. When he is not familiar with a word, he asks about it and retains the meaning. He is growing up a fine young man, and is being homeschooled. Later in the evening, Marthe and Josh formed a team, playing Owen and me (the rival team) in an exciting, close game. Josh was constantly disagreeing with words he felt were non-Scrabble words, such as “queso,” which would have been a huge point-getter. However, our revenge came later, when Owen and I were able to place the word “queer” at the end of the game. Exciting evening, along with an excellent dinner of tacos and sherbet for dessert.
So here I am this morning, sitting in the enclosed porch of the house in the quiet neighborhood, enjoying Beethoven on WRR and gazing into the leafy canopies of the trees. Later on this morning, Marthe and I will be motoring to Lake Squam, New Hampshire to see my friend and former hiking companion on the 2004 Norway trip, Hilde Sanderson. Looking forward to seeing her again and hearing the loons on that lake. Meanwhile, off to breakfast. Stay tuned and see yesterday’s photos on Facebook. As ever, SV
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