January 2024 - Sources of Entertainment; Winter

Sources of Entertainment

I was going to take a pass and skip Chris's Column this month, but came up with just a few random and unrelated topics to share.

I don't usually do book recommendations here, but If you're looking for a good read and source of entertainment during these long days of winter, I recommend Scott Kelly's memoir "Endurance:A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery" (published 2017 by Alfred A. Knopf). 

You'll recall that, as the title says, Kelly spent just short of a year aboard the International Space Station; at the time it was the record for American astronauts.  Kelly writes about his childhood with his twin brother (now Senator from Arizona) Mark Kelly, and how his distracted and unfocused youth took a dramatic turn after reading about the early astronauts in Tom Wolfe's 1979 book "The Right Stuff".  Scott Kelly goes on to describe his days as a military fighter pilot as well as his early space missions, his marriages, and his bout with cancer.  

Considering the connection that all of you Hamiltonians have to the space program - however remotely - you may find the technical details in the book of interest. 

Click here for more about the book

Another source of entertainment, if you wish, is the YouTube video of the  Randolph Singers Christmas concert, which went off without a hitch on December 10.   Last month, I reported that John and I had our first bout of Covid.  Fortunately, they were relatively mild cases and I was all ready to sing by day 11 after testing positive.  Even more fortunately, I did not transmit my germs - no one else in the group reported sick afterwards!   

Click on the picture or HERE to view the Randolph Singers Christmas Concert

A source of entertainment in our household  the last few weeks have been our appliances, a new "smart" one and an old one that might be smarter than we think.

First the "smart": one of the gifts I found under the Christmas tree this year was an iRobot (aka Roomba).  Yes, I know that there are some women who don't consider appliances to be acceptable gifts, but I'm not one of those women; I don't need "bling". Anyway, the idea of asking for one came to me one day as I was lugging our vacuum cleaner up the stairs to do the bedrooms: maybe it would be nice to outsource the second floor to an appliance.   

It's a new world out there with appliances: my washer and dryer, like many recent inventions, are Wi-Fi compatible, meaning that I theoretically can operate them remotely using an app on my cell phone.  (Seriously, have we become so lazy that we can't walk to the laundry room and push a few buttons?).   

The Roomba, however, has no on and off buttons, and can only be run via a smart phone app.  After a somewhat lengthy set up, I fired up the app and spent the next hour and a half mesmerized by the little disk as it made its way from room to room - negotiating around furniture, avoiding the stairway, and vacuuming under dressers and beds (yay!).  Most impressive was how it would occasionally stop in its tracks, resolutely navigate back to the "mother ship" to empty out its contents, then head back to where it had left off.  Now that's entertainment!

Speaking of entertainment, our planned entertaining this past weekend hit a temporary bump in the road when our old microwave chose to die on New Years Eve morning, just hours before our houseful of overnight guests were to arrive.  The creepy thing was that John and I had actually discussed the need to replace it just the day before - making me wonder if it was perhaps smarter than it let on.  With the nearest appliance store about 30 miles away, we considered our options; after all, it was just 40 years ago that we got along without one. The crisis was averted when our neighbors came to our rescue with a temporary loan of their extra microwave.   Meanwhile, we've ordered a new one which will be ready for pick up on Friday.  I wonder if it will come with an app?

Winter(?)

What's wrong with this picture is that this is what Vermont should look like in April, and not the day after Christmas!

For those of you who have escaped the Northeast to warmer climates, this may not seem particularly upsetting, but the above picture was taken here in Randolph at 4 PM on December 26, during a multi-day spell of of heavy fog after record-breaking rain a week earlier. 

I know that some of you are thinking "careful what you wish for".  I promise that if we get a good dumping of snow, I'll provide an update and some pictures.

In the meantime, I hope that 2024 is off to a good start for all of you, and that the year will bring you many happy times with best friends and family!

December 2023 - Covid Cabin

 To Good Health! 

Well, it was bound to happen - after almost four years, Covid finally made it to our house.  

John came down with it first on the Monday after Thanksgiving: that holiday's gathering with 30+ members of the Lussier clan is the suspected source, though no one else in the bunch has reported getting ill.  For the next three days I served up a lot of hot tea and soup, proud of my stalwart immune system --- until it finally gave up on me by Thursday morning.  

By that time, John (with the help of Paxlovid) was on the road to recovery and able to do a little grocery shopping, taking advantage of our supermarket's online-order-parking-lot-pickup service.  Happily, we both had relatively mild cases and each tested negative by day 6 - John last Saturday and me just this morning as I write this on Tuesday.  Now it's just a matter of masking up in public for another five days. 

I admit that I was somewhat bummed out this past weekend to have missed out on some fun once-a-year events in our community - the downtown Christmas tree lighting, holiday bazaars at all the local churches, our own annual trek to get a Christmas tree, and out-to-dinner plans to celebrate our 43rd anniversary which falls today as you read this (December 6).  It still remains to be seen as to whether or not I'll be able to sing in the Randolph Singers concert this coming Sunday. At the very least, I'll be in the audience to support the group I've been rehearsing with since September.

Still, we're happy to have this all over with well before Christmas, and thankful that our bouts were more like nasty but short-lived head-colds than anything more serious.

Thankful also for neighbors and friends that offered their help and left soup and cookies on the front porch for us.  

Thankful as well for the four-leggers that made sure we were feeling better:

 

The view from my recliner as I was trying to rest and read:

 

Breaking the house rules - dogs allowed on the furniture while I recovered (and yes, I cropped the picture to hide my "bed head" and pale face!):

                                          🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄

 

Wishing all of you good health, a happy December, and  very Merry Christmas!

Be careful out there!

November 2023 - Halloween; Photo Gallery

Halloween

Yesterday was Halloween, a holiday that has morphed from "All Hallows' Eve", the night before the Christian holy day of All Saints Day.  The holy day itself is somewhat intertwined with ancient Celtic traditions marking the end of harvest and the beginning of the season of darkness. (More at this LINK).  It's also linked to astronomy, as one of the four "cross-quarter" days of the year, as explained in this video from Earth & Sky.

In Mexico and other parts of Latin America, the days surrounding November 1 are celebrated as the Day of the Dead.   Similarly in Poland and other parts of Europe, the holidays are observed by visiting the graves of loved ones.  I don't know how generally widespread the tradition is here in the U.S., but it remains very strong in New Britain, Connecticut, specifically at Sacred Heart Cemetery.   

On the days leading up to the feast day, folks decorate their loved ones' graves with flowers and votive candles.  The lights remain for several days until the candles burn out, and in the meantime a Mass is celebrated at the cemetery on the Sunday prior to All Saints Day.  

Sacred Heart is where my parents and sister are buried, so I paid a visit this past Saturday afternoon, decorated their site, and returned with my nephew in the evening to walk around in the moonlight.  With scores of other people there, the feeling was one of peace.

 

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Photo Gallery

Nothing more in particular to write about this month, so I'm simply sharing some photographs I've taken this season.  

First, some early morning shots: our house is on the eastern side of a hill, so we get some great sunrise views....

 

October 9

Just before 7 AM - October 25....

.....same view, about 30 minutes later.

....and there are always scenes that catch my eye on my morning dog walks:

October 27 - Morning valley fog, and sun peaking through the trees

"Stick Season" in Vermont

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Peace and Happy Thanksgiving until next month!

 

 

October 2023 - Vermont's Busiest Weekend

Sleepy Hollow Farm, Pomfret, Vermont

 If you were planning to spend this weekend in Vermont and haven't booked a room yet, you're probably out of luck.  We can't even offer you any space at our house because we'll be hosting one group of five Thursday night until Sunday morning and another group of four Sunday night until Tuesday. 

Tourism is one of Vermont's primary industries, and Columbus/Indigenous People's Day Weekend (also Pulaski Day Weekend) tops the list, bringing leaf-peepers from around the country and even around the world.  

I'm not complaining. I welcome the occasional bustle and/or chaos of house guests.  I also love that tourists in general choose to visit, enjoy - and spend money in - our beautiful state.  Sure, we have to put up with additional traffic as buses and out-of-state SUV's clog the main streets of our charming towns, but I remind myself that we're pretty much free of that congestion most of the rest of the year.  Memories of rush-hour traffic in and around Hartford help me put things in perspective.   

Most of the visiting hordes are happy just to see a general store or two, take a few pictures, pick up some souvenirs, and sample some local cider, cheese, or maple whatever.  

Some, however, get weirdly caught up in the experience (too much pumpkin spice?) and lose all sense of time and space.  I have personally witnessed vehicles stopped in the middle of the road, engines running, doors open, while their passengers jump out and race to snap a picture of a covered bridge as if it was going to float away if they hesitated.

But then there are always those who push things even further.  One such example that has actually made the national news this year is Sleepy Hollow Farm in Pomfret, Vermont.  Sleepy Hollow Farm, with its its winding driveway, red house and vintage barns is not unlike so many other quintessentially New England-y scenes in Vermont.  Thanks to Instagram and other social media, however, a few pictures of the farm have gone viral in recent years, even earning it a discussion on Tripadvisor. 

The notoriety would all be great for any commercial enterprise, but that's not the case with Sleepy Hollow .  As described in THIS LINK (USA TODAY), the leaf-peeping hordes can be a relentless group, jamming up the roadway, and tromping on the lawns for that perfect selfie (some have reportedly even complained that there should be port-a-potties available for the public).  As a result, the town has closed the road to Sleepy Hollow Farm to all but local residents for the duration of leaf-peeper season, September 23 to October 15.  (Related story about another popular spot, the Jenne Farm in nearby Reading: CLICK HERE.)

Jenne Farm, Reading, Vermont

The Internet being what it is, the news has been misrepresented and exaggerated by some to claim that the entire state has shut down.  So, let me reassure you that Vermont remains open - if you can find a room - and we welcome all tourists who come in peace.  Even if Sleepy Hollow Farm is off limits this year, there are hundreds if not thousands of equally photogenic locations throughout the state.  Tread lightly, take lots of pictures, and enjoy that cider, cheese, and maple syrup!

September 2023 - Back to the "Old Country"

I have 26 first cousins.  Three were born in the U.S., and the other 23 in Poland, 12 of whom immigrated to the U.S. in their youth.  Of the 11 who never left Poland, six have passed away.  Thanks to email, Facebook, and Skype, I have been able to keep in touch regularly in recent years with the five remaining.  I first met them all on a family trip to Poland when we were teenagers, and now we've all either surpassed or are quickly approaching our 70th year.

I decided last year that it was time to go back to Poland to see them in the flesh again. 

I started planning my trip way back in April, and originally considered the idea of going alone.  Since my mission was simply to ensconce myself in my parents’ village of Jednorozec (population 2,000) and see family, I didn't want to subject John to a week of just sitting by and listening to me speaking Polish with relatives.  He's already had to put up with more than 40 years of just that at Lesinski gatherings in Connecticut (thanks for your patience, dear!).

Still, although I’m fluent in the language, the idea of being in a foreign country with a rented car was a little intimidating.  So, I was happy when my niece Joanna agreed to come with me – a copilot who understands and speaks Polish as well.

Our home for the week...

....the back yard - old barns and my rental car

We arrived on August 7. For our week’s accommodations, we stayed in a house on property that has been in the family for over 100 years.  The site originally contained the three-room cottage built after the end of WW I by my great-grandfather Wojciech.  It was the home of my grandparents, then my parents and --- significant for Joanna – the place where her mother (my late sister Ann) was born.    

After my parents came to this country in the late 1940’s, the house was passed on to my father's sister Hedwig and her husband. Eventually, their eldest son - my cousin Zbyszek (now living in the U.S.) inherited the property and replaced the aging cottage with a two story house.  The first floor has permanent renters, and - lucky for us - the second floor bedrooms and bath are reserved for visits from extended family.  Basic, but comfortable, private, and conveniently located in town.

 

Joanna & me, near the iconic Jednorozec (unicorn) statue in the center of the village.  My cousin Christine & her husband Peter can be seen on the balcony of their home in the background.

As can be imagined, it proved to be a very busy but fulfilling week.  My cousin Christine is the only one still living in the village, but other cousins were within a couple of hours' drive, and came to visit to catch up on our lives and share some family history and lore.  

I last visited in 2004 with my father; reuniting after all these years was kind of like reading a novel, where characters appear briefly and fade into the background, reappearing years or decades later with expanded families and back stories to fill in. 

In between family time, Joanna and I visited some larger nearby cities, driving through the flat rural countryside and recognizing town names from my parents' stories over the years.

One such destination was the city of Przasnysz (population 17,000) - an easy 12 mile drive for us, but a journey of several hours by horse and wagon for my father when he used to accompany my grandfather there on market days in the 1930's.  The 15th-century city had been pretty much leveled during the first World War. The entire region saw extended heavy fighting between Germany and Russia in 1914-1915 (Jednorozec in fact is the site of a German cemetery from those battles, where over 1,000 soldiers are laid to rest).  

Former market square in Przsasnysz; now the site of a history museum.

Przasnysz: monument on the site of the execution of Polish partisans during WWII

German soldier's cemetery from the First World War: 1,000 + buried here.

 Another trip took us to an outdoor museum in the town of Kadzidlo, a small Sturbridge Village-like reconstruction of what a typical "Kurpie" (pronounced Coor-pyeh; our region of Poland) settlement would have looked like, and featuring the region's folk art.

Back in Jednorozec, we made multiple trips to the town cemetery, as my visiting cousins all wanted to pay their respects to the generations before us.  My four grandparents are all buried just a few feet from each other, giving me the distinct and somewhat comforting feeling that I was standing at my personal ground zero.  As an amateur genealogist, the cemetery was of special interest to me, but disappointingly, the graves of ancestors buried prior to 100 years or so ago are long lost due to the wars that hit so close to home.

With my cousin Karol (Carl) Lesinski at our grandparents' grave

I'll spare you all the other details and the 250+ pictures from my journey, but I'll just say that I would repeat it in a heartbeat.  My niece Joanna returned home to her three siblings and encouraged them to take the trip as well, so I'm thinking that I may have a future as a tour guide for the rest of them.   I'm grateful for the social media that allows me to keep up the connections with family so far away, but I know that there are more trips to come.

August 2023 - Vermont Flooding; Travels to the Old Country

It's mid-summer, so I'm taking a break from writing anything lengthy this month.  

Instead, I'm sharing links to a couple of admittedly unrelated topics that have been in the forefront of my thoughts lately.

VERMONT FLOODS

Downtown Montpelier, as clean-up continues

By now, you have all probably all seen footage of the extensive flooding in parts of Vermont three weeks ago.  The national news coverage has faded, but life in many communities around the state are far from back to normal - including the state capital of Montpelier.   THIS LINK provides some photographs of the work in progress.

For an explanation of how Vermont's topography contributed to the flooding, CLICK HERE.

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CONNECTING WITH THE PAST

 

My mother's birthplace in Jednorozec

At the same time that some of you will be sitting down to breakfast at the Gathering Ground next Wednesday, I'll be dining at my grandparents' home town of Jednorozec in Poland.  My niece Joanna is going to accompany me for a week-long visit starting this Sunday, the main purpose of which will be to reconnect with cousins who I first met as a teenager (and, thanks to modern social media, have been in touch with through the years).  

You'll find more about the village at the Wikipedia LINK, or, if you want to challenge yourself in a foreign language, you can go to the Jednorozec web page, HERE.  I won't be posting to any travel blog, but will write more and share some pictures in the next NFTH.

July 2023 - Friends of the Library

 

As the head of Randolph public library’s Friends group, I’ve been consumed for the last couple of weeks with preparations for our annual July 4^th outdoor book sale.  I’m using that as my excuse for not writing much this month.   But it’s also my excuse for taking the opportunity to give a shout out to the dozen or so women volunteers that make up our group.....  

In addition to many hours of sorting and cleaning thousands of donated books prior to the sale, our intrepid group spent today setting up tables, tents, and signs, carting around dozens of boxes of books, staffing the sale, and then taking everything down at the end of the day....a physical day, definitely earning that extra July 4th piece of pie or strawberry shortcake!  

 

Oh, and there were a handful that started the day by marching a couple of miles in the town’s July 4^th parade, carrying banners to advertise the sale.

 The entire effort was worthwhile, as we made over $700 in four hours - all with books priced at no more than two dollars each. It helped that the weather gods were in our favor and the predicted all-day rain didn't materialize until well after the sale was over.

As long as I’m shamelessly plugging our group……

Aside from the annual sale, we run a small used book shop in town which is open a couple of days a week, all year 'round.  It’s a win-win for the community: a place for folks to recycle their gently used books, a place for others to purchase those books at bargain prices, and the source of a few thousand dollars earned annually for special library programs, children’s books at Christmas, and other projects.

 

 

Did I mention that the average age of our group is between 71-72 years of age – ranging from mid-50’s to mid-80’s? That in mind, I frequently remind the group of our collective might with the motto:

"Where would the world be without gray-haired lady volunteers?"

 And so, if you're ever in Randolph and would like to meet one of these mighty women, or if you just need a good read, stop by our shop at 28 Pleasant Street!