Rita's

I finally got to go to Rita's. My son had raved about this ice cream chain when he was on his mission up here in PA and Delaware. He talked about "water ice." What a weird name!

But wow! I had what they call gelati. It's not anything like gelato actually. It's Italian ice layered with frozen custard. I had wild black cherry ice that had little chunks of real fruit in it mixed in with vanilla custard. Very, very good. I had it on my cheat day. The cheat day is an essential part of a diet for me. If I don't cheat once a week, my body can learn to live on about 1200 calories a day. Painful! But the cheat day gets my metabolism going again. I also used the cheat day for the library luncheon I went to. The luncheon was very interesting and will appear tomorrow on my writing blog.

So I'm looking forward to going to Rita's again. There's one in Kingston which is only about ten minutes away. Literally and figuratively cool!

Hazleton Liberty Band

I went to band practice with Michael last night. He has joined the Hazleton Liberty Band, one of the oldest continuous community bands in America. This band which enlisted twice in the Civil War played for the surrender at Appomattox. Impressed? I was. They have a caseful of instruments their members used during the Civil War.

We stopped off at the Hazleton Library before the rehearsal to pick up a copy of the band's history. I always visit the children's section of a library and this one was sweet with a story time theater in the middle and funhouse mirrors on the wall. Writing books that would end up in a room like that would be, as Dash would put it, totally awesome.

The whole event would have been ideal had it not been for my rather grouchy attitude about the weather. The temp never got above 47 or so yesterday and we drove to the rehearsal in a driving downpour, battling fierce side winds. Icy rain and even sleet down the neck was the order of the day. I think I wouldn't have whined so much if my leg hadn't hurt worse (Must be going to rain, Ethel. My lumbago is kickin' up agin.) and if I hadn't known that it was April the 20th. That weather would have been perfectly nice in February or even March.

I enjoyed watching Michael play and realized that even though he's had quite a career as a tubist--All-State Band in high school, LSU Tiger Band in college--I've only seen him play tuba in a band twice before. Both of those times he was sitting at the back of a group and I could only get a glimpse of the top of his head. He always played euphonium in the Denton Community Band which is not the same thing at all.

He was the only tuba last night and his enormous Holton filled the room with good sounds. His grandchildren would have been proud. He was making more noise than anybody. But after the first piece, the band director did ask Michael to play louder since he could still hear the two piccolos. If the band doesn't play in tune, it's not for lack of a good foundation. Imagine seeing your husband do something wonderful that he's really good at for the first time after having being married for 38 years. Life is full of good surprises.

Year's wrapup--Saudade

Well, I did it. My daughter who's having a birthday today couldn't believe this is the first time I've highlighted my hair. But it's true. I'm pretty excited even though the change isn't drastic. Michael came home so late last night from work (11 P.M.) that he's not really seen it yet. I think he'll like it though.

I seem to be getting better. Slowly but surely I seem to be able to do the things I used to do without effort. Washing dishes is a whole lot easier now. So is doing laundry and simple cooking like making a salad. The physical therapy is obviously good but I think my own efforts at home to take care of my back are helping a lot too. And the power of grandchildren's prayers cannot be overestimated. I really appreciate all the thoughts and prayers offered up for me.

I've been too busy writing to blog so here's the year's wrap a few days late from our one year anniversary in the house.

Looking back I see that this move was one of the most difficult things Michael and I have ever had to do. It was easier because we are so sure we were led here. Whatever you believe in, fate, kismet or the hand of God, it was working here.

Leaving behind people we love was the hardest followed closely by the absolute disaster it was getting our earthly goods transported up here and one house sold and another bought. Family health problems requiring me to spend time in Utah and in Louisiana have been tough. So have my four months of being sick from one thing or another.

Once we got here (Michael in January and me in April) I really believe that we did our best to adjust. Michael's attitude about new church friends, new area, new house, new climate, new food, new everything has been very positive. I've tried to keep a smile on my face even when it was hard to do. I did not get through the two house sales without some bad temper days and I certainly wasn't wonderful in the decision-making process, but I'd like to believe that I've tried to find what's good and wonderful up here and to at least find amusement in what's been less than wonderful.

And I wouldn't be happy to move back to Texas right now. I have tons of stuff I want to do here before we move somewhere else to retire. The art museums alone are enough to make me start drooling. And there's Gettysburg and Fallingwater and Boston and Niagara Falls. I could go on and on. We're just not finished here. In fact, we've only just begun!

The Portuguese have a beautiful untranslatable word, "saudade." I've been listening to a lot of Brazilian and Portuguese music lately. I think it's because only the Portuguese understand this bittersweet, tender feeling for something far away and unattainable which you love and miss so much. I have so much "saudade" for people and places I miss. Some of it has not so much to do with the move, although it was way easier to get to the grandkids in Utah from Texas than it is here. And my Portuguese-speaking daughter believes that you can have "saudade" for Mexican food too.

Is Shavertown, Pennsylvania home? Yes and no. If you asked me where I'm from, I might or I might not say here. But when I've traveled to Texas or Louisiana or Utah, I am very glad to be back here in my own little house. This is the best place in the world for me right now.

Good Friday service

We went to St. Stephen's Episcopal Church for Good Friday services. They have maybe the best organ in the valley here. Malheureusement, you don't hear a lot of organ music on Good Friday. Who knew? Certainly not me. But the choir was awesome and we actually got to participate in plainsong and chanting. And we got to participate in singing O Sacred Head Now Wounded and Were you There?

The building is quite amazing. There are wooden angels on each rafter. And the dome behind the altar looks like it is made of mosaic. Lots of beautiful stained glass too. I wonder if my dad ever visited this church? I doubt it. Compared to Forty Forty Presbyterian where he went, it is very, very, very high church.

What we did hear of the organ makes us want to go back and hear it again. The service required so much standing. We decided that you have to have a lot of stamina to be an Episcopalian. I had to be seated for a lot of the service. Standing is the most difficult thing for me right now. But we enjoyed the somber service very much. The choir sang the story of the Crucifixion as a play. It was very impressive.

Today Michael has the day off! And we might even do something fun! Something that doesn't require me to walk or stand.

Yesterday I got to talk to my granddaughter on her birthday. I explained that I couldn't believe she was seven. I could almost hear the eye-rolling. She said, "But Grammie, you remember that I was six last year." I replied, "Try explaining that to Grandpa Bond." My sweetie doesn't believe you necessarily have to get older at each birthday. He was 33 for many years.

Why it's still weird to be here

Just when I think I'm settling in, I get disoriented again. For one thing, the picture is of my car this morning. Yes, snow in April. And I was freezing in the house all day yesterday because the thermostat didn't get turned up until about ten o'clock. We turn it down to 58 at night and then move it up to 68 in the morning.

Michael's band rehearsal is canceled for this coming Monday because of the holiday. He asked me this morning, "Is Easter Monday a holiday?" I didn't think so but then I looked it up on Wikipedia. If you trust Wikipedia, Easter Monday is a holiday in a long list of places including France, Hong Kong, Swaziland, the Ukraine and Egypt.

Evidently Catholics and the Polish in particular do celebrate Easter Monday in this part of the US. The biggest celebration is in brisk Buffalo, New York. Reading over the website Dyngus Day Buffalo is like going to another planet. The six basic elements of Dyngus Day are: pussywillows, squirt guns, vodka, kielbasa, polka and beer. Who knew? And they're going to do all this in the snow?

As I said, it's still weird to be here.

Happy Birthday to My Blog

I missed it! My blog's first anniversary. I've been so busy writing that I forgot to write a post for its birthday. And I know so little about blogging, I don't know if I was supposed to do something special! I think your hundredth blog is some kind of milestone but other than that I'm clueless.

My first post last year was April 2nd. So here's one candle for a year and another candle to grow on. I'll try to do another big anniversary blog on April 11th. That's the day we moved into the house.

A year ago, I would have been shocked to foresee in a crystal ball what has happened this year. I knew back then I had a problem with migraines but I couldn't have guessed I'd get a cough that lasted two months or do real damage to my back. I would also have been shocked to see how hard Michael has had to work. And what a tough year my folks and my cousins have had. I would have thought that we would have traveled more. (Actually I've traveled a lot but without Michael and that's not half as much fun.) And that we would have unpacked more of the moving boxes and been more settled in. And I would have expected to be more involved in the community and better off in my writing career. But there have been good surprises too. My son's success running his own shop, my oldest daughter's new plans for graduate school, a new grandbaby and another on the way and a brother's engagement. Two beautiful weddings even though I missed one of them. Lots of good stuff has happened. Unfortunately lots of it has happened in faraway places.

What's up in PA this week? It's rainy and cold and overcast today but we've had some sunshine the past few days. I would have put my top down one day but wasn't sure I could get it back up because of my back. I'll have to try it out when Michael's here.

More corruption in high places. The mall is deserted. Another company is laying off hundreds of workers. That is hardly news here, but there's also been a disturbing run of violent acts. I'm assuming that this is going on everywhere judging from the news. You can't put people under this much economic and social pressure and expect them all to behave nicely. We figured that out from inner cities long ago.

One of the soft ice cream places is open. That's a sure sign of spring. And daffodils are coming up and are blooming everywhere except our yard which is shady. But we'll have them eventually.

Big potluck at church tomorrow. Just like last year. I noted last year that it was low on vegetables so I'll try to bring something with vitamins in it.

On a personal level, I got my MRI back and the news isn't too bad. I won't be having surgery which is awesome news. I won't be getting better tomorrow which isn't very good news. But all in all, I'm happy with the results.

So, happy birthday, little blog. Your whole purpose was to document a move and I think you've done that well.

Prices slashed!

Now that I am officially grounded and couldn't fly anywhere without begging people to push me in a wheelchair around assorted airports, I have been getting email updates from all my fave travel websites about prices to Dallas, Salt Lake City and Prague. Why they keep sending me prices to just those cities, I cannot fully explain.

Yesterday's recession bargain basement prices were nothing short of amazing. EWR (that's Newark for those of you who don't live a short two and a half hour drive from a New Jersey airport) to SLC for only $2.18. That's right! Only $2.18 to fly to see my grandchildren and the website is advertising no booking fees. That saves me an additional five bucks. They're also offering $2.38 flights from EWR to DFW. My boy lives there and it's that close to my Texas girl and my folks. These prices truly are hard to pass up and yet, I must. Since I only have to stand for 30 seconds for rivulets of fire to start running down my leg, I don't think flying is in my immediate future.

The sad thing about this little April Fool's post is that the prices are real if you multiply them by 100. Ah, cruel fate!