RON+PAM IN WILLITS-MENDOCINO COUNTY

My friends Ron and Pam live in a small town in Mendocino County in California. Currently they live in a cabin on 200 acres that you need a 4 wheel drive vehicle to get to. I think of them as pioneers, living off the grid along with a community of like-minded people interested in creating a sustainable lifestyle and reducing their carbon footprint. No need of an electric bill. The cabin is oriented for maximum solar heat with solar panels. This photo was taken by their friend Wendy on the north trail from their cabin.

Here is Pam in their 'lower garden'. Ron told me they recently planted Kale and that they are now growing almost 20% of their own food, including leeks, red + green chard, spinach, chives, tomatoes and broccoli. They also eat wild plants like bay leaves which they tell me, repels ants when you use it to wash yourself or your clothes. Although small, they eat the wild crab apples, plums and pears growing all around them.

Occasionally deer (see photo), horses and turkeys wander by their cabin and peer in through the screen door.

Ron always wanted to live in a small town ever since I first met him in the late '70's in Boston. It's always nice to see a dream come true !                                                                                                                                                

CAROL GETS A NEW FLOOR

Let's renovate ! Doesn't that sound like fun ? Let's move
everything, I mean everything out of the living room and put down a new floor !











Sounds simple enough............(groan)............let's see, it's April 27th and I am finally starting to revive from all the work it took. I will spare you the details of the previous floor which the building manager told me, had to be replaced.......'this floor is done' he said. Ok....

Oh, I forgot about the tile that went down in the hallway and the kitchen....that was week one renovation work.....just two nights without a stove ! The following week, they came in to replace the living room floor. After I moved all the small stuff into my bedroom, the crew of guys came in and moved all the big stuff.

They came in at 9:00 and I had a finished floor by 4:00 pm.

I only had one meltdown at about 2:00, no internet access so I visited mimi to get my email fix. Also, I became very upset when I couldn't remember where anything was ! It seemed like I would never be able to work on my synagogue project again because I would never be able to find everything. Never mind the momentum I finally had going..........can you say 'disruptive' ?

I am happy to have a new floor despite all the work it took.
Next month they'll do the bedroom. I'm starting the organization process now.

ART SHOW IN THE LIBRARY

Prints of my Paperbag Drawings are now being shown in the library in the building where I live. I've never seen my paperbag drawings shown altogether - looks nice. With the exception of the yellow Brookline bag, they are all views of my apartment in Berkeley, interior shots and looking out the window in my kitchen.....

click on photos to enlarge

MY COUSIN ELLEN'S TRIP TO AUSTIN

Is this not the most beautiful little girl not only in Texas but the world !!?? Ellen went to Austin for Aurora's 3rd birthday over the Easter weekend. Please read about all the fun they had and see gorgeous, beautiful photos of Ellen, Amber and Aurora right here on Amber's Adventures and look for Portraits, but also check out the birthday party, the theater and Easter eggs....and check out Ellen's photo recreations on the 'chicken blog' .

BACK IN BOSTON 12.28.10

We left sunny Florida, 75 degrees and sunny, after enduring frost warnings almost everyday we were there ! I hated to return to blizzard conditions Boston........it was like going from bright light to essential darkness.......as in NO LIGHT.......instead what passes for light here in the winter which I like to call 'relentless grey'. And the blizzards continued, all winter long........snow, snow and more snow.

After Barry spent the day on his snowblower he announced he'd had it...........his back and sciatica were acting up. He said, "that's it; i'm not leaving the house until I don't see any snow and the grass is green."

He also took the semester off from Berklee School of Music, he said the stress of the trip, first a vacation and then a funeral were too much for him and he needed the semester off. His boss said ok, + his job would be there when he returned.

I haven't seen Barry since we left Logan Airport and he drove me home.

My way of coping with the darkness and dreariness of the winter was to get working on my synagogue project and NOT looking out the window. Much progress has been made. 

BARRY'S PHOTOS 8.26.09

Barry took this shot of the Fenway, taken from the 50th floor of the Pru + sent it to me 8.26.09
He also sent me an audio file called, A Child is Born but I don't know how to get mp3 files on the blog. Stay tuned.....

Barry's photo of the Boston Public Garden.

CARL 'YAZ' YASTRZEMSKI + ROBY

Bernice emailed this postcard to me with a question:

"Carol, This postcard was mailed to Robert Sandler Sept. 10th, 1968 from Boston, MA. I did some
research and it seems to me that it says Best Wishes, Carl Yastremski - what do you think???"

PASSOVER APRIL 18, 2011

Passover came this year and not only were my memories of long ago and Boby, but also Roby, missing Roby. No Passover call this year wishing each other Happy Passover....Bernice gave me a copy of a Passover Haggadah written by Roby. In honor and memory of him, we used his Haggadah at the Seder. I never knew he wrote a Haggadah; he might have mentioned it, but I forgot. It was very powerful to hear his words come out of my mouth, as though he was speaking right through me. His interpretations of the ancient Haggadah offered a more modern and progressive, speaking-to us-in-the 21st century feel to it. I wish I had been able to attend one of his Seders.

ROBY AND BASEBALL 2011

Ordinarily I look forward to the start of the baseball season here in Boston with great excitement knowing that Spring and warm weather are soon to follow. This year it came with a tinge of melancholy knowing that I wouldn't be having any discussions of the game with my Uncle Roby, lifelong Red Sox fan + author of He Tipped His Cap about Ted Williams. (To read the article click here)

Here is a photo of two generations of Sandler family baseball memorabilia. Bernice gave me the baseball and the Red Sox cap belonging to Roby. My cousin Ken lent me a piece of the left field wall at Fenway Park given to him by his father, Hy Josephs.

The baseball lived for a very long time in Roby's office on one of his book shelves, third shelf on the right.

In the midst of all his books and scholarship and family photos, taped to the side of his bookshelves for a very, very long time is the Boston Red Sox pennant.

I almost forgot my own ticket stub from 2000 when my friend and I sat in the bleachers one warm, muggy night at Fenway.......