David is home

posted by Helen

Just an update to those who are interested in David's progress. Today was THE day.

I took David home at around 6 PM. Jed and Dave were there already working on the railings of the deck. Barbara was also there and helped David get settled. Dave, Jed and Geoff are still with David right now, probably inaugurating the deck with music.

I'll be back to see him tomorrow at noon to bring him lunch. We need coverage for the evening visit tomorrow, 'though I'll bring him food enough for a couple of meals.

Thanks to everyone who has supported David and, by extension, Dave and me over the past month. It has been so heartwarming to realize we live in such a loving community.

Deck Party for David

posted by Helen

Our good friend, David, broke his leg last month on his deck.

In revenge, a group of his friends banded together and destroyed the old deck, replacing it with a new one this past Saturday. Photos are available here.

Lest you fear the deck is unsafe without railings, the team will be returning this week to fix that.

Too Busy?

posted by Helen

I was talking with a friend today and I mentioned that I was too busy.

"Too busy?" she queried. "Too busy updating your blog everyday?"

Well, no.

I have been a very bad blogger. But I also hadn't realized anyone was actually reading the darn thing. So, here I am. I was working hard, then I was away on vacation and then I came home.

I haven't been working all that hard since coming back. I even took a week off from the volunteer gig writing up local news for the Vermont Standard. I still have that vacation afterglow that makes feeding the dog seem like a challenge.

So here is a brief pictorial of the last month ...


Riding on the White River Flyer

At Lake Pinneo

5 PM in the Quechee Cemetery

At Joey and Maria's Comedy Italian Wedding

The Mammals in concert at Middle Earth

On the patio with Dave and David

Quebec City at night

Butterfly sipping nectar

Yellow -- it just makes the world a better place

Chateau Frontenac (we didn't stay there)
There isn't much else to say. Summer is still here; enjoy it while you can. Cueillez des aujourd'hui les roses de la vie.

Je me souviens

posted by Helen

We are in Quebec city for a week of rest and relaxation. Our first day here we rode our bikes down rue St. Jean and observed a dog in the upper left window of the building pictured above. Here is a closer look:

He sits there calmly regarding the street scene below. I've passed by several times since, including once at about 9 PM, and he is always there.

Full Green Corn Moon

posted by Helen

Yesterday at 6:54 AM was the full moon. It completely escaped my attention at the time so tonight I was surprised to see the rising moon was on the wane already.

The season turned slightly in the last 24 hours. The air is crisper. Last night we sat on the patio watching the fire die down and Dave went inside to fetch a quilt to wrap ourselves in.

It's been hard to figure out what to write lately. We have a houseguest -- a welcome one who has a broken leg and needs care. The problem has been I've been increasingly uneasy lately when friends tell me I'm a saint.

The truth is I'm okay. I'm even pretty nice. But I get tired and cranky, and I crab at my poor husband. I don't even know how I feel about what we're doing sometimes, but I know it is the right thing to do.

And it is also the right thing to take our slightly delayed vacation next week. Fortunately we have a lovely friend who is moving in to help out while we get lost in Quebec City.

For a change, we decided to stay in one place for a whole week. Typically we'll stay one or two nights somewhere and then move on. I'm looking forward to a big fat cafe-au-lait and croissant in the morning, biking wherever I need to go and just sitting in an outdoor cafe watching the world go by. To paraphrase some movie from some other time, is this heaven? No, it's Canada.

5 years today!

posted by Helen

This is what I saw in your eyes: Defiance. Intensity. Love.

Didn't you know how strong you are? How powerful? In a burst of passion you would make your break to freedom and then graze blissfully along the shore as if nothing had ever happened out of the ordinary. What a pleasure to watch you run unbridled, feet pounding, earth shaking, grass flying.

I will never shape your words, or presume to finish your thoughts. I will only seek to understand who you are, and stand my ground in awe and wonder as you gallop nearer and nearer to me.

At the end of day, I will come to you with a handful of simple pleasures and lead you home. And it will be full of warmth and light and laughter and friends.

And you will always be free.

(Dave Clark, August 5, 2001)

The First of August

posted by Helen

Today is the Swiss National Holiday. I grew up celebrating this holiday at a family picnic hosted by the Swiss Home in Mount Kisco, NY.

The Swiss Home was a retirement home for elderly Swiss Nationals. As kids, my brothers, sister and I couldn't have cared less about the inhabitants of the home. The attraction for us was to spend the day running amok with the offspring of other Swiss immigrants.

There was bratwurst to eat, a roulette game that was so exotic to us, a large bell on the hillside just daring us to ring it and a band playing the Swiss Landler music that our parents loved to dance to. Best of all, at dusk we walked in a "lampion" parade from the bottom of the property to the site at the top of the hill where a bonfire was lit. It was magical.

Tonight it is too hot for a bonfire, but I miss it all the same.