Catching up since we came down

The problem with waiting a long time to blog again is that I have to go back so far. Not blogging has not felt right but I've had writer's block ever since leaving Maine. More about the reasons for that in a later blog.... For now I will just catch you up on the last 2 months including the blog I started several weeks ago.

December 2, 2018

We had more than a month in the Ashland, Virginia RV park- a place where the noise of I-95 is horrid unless you are indoors. We had lovely mornings of waking late in the RV, drinking coffee in front of the fireplace and listening to Steve’s sweet music..

Weekends were full with visiting grandchildren in Leesburg and sailing with friends in Weems on the Northern Neck. We got to see some friends we had not seen since leaving.

One week we spent a lot of time with members of our staff in Haiti who came to Richmond for the annual Board retreat. Steve took Mario, our Program Manager, to the Smithsonian and to see the Whitehouse—from afar as the security was keeping people far from the sidewalk for some reason that day.

That weekend we spent two days with the Midwives For Haiti Board of Directors - problem-solving and strategizing how to best meet our mission to increase access to skilled care for pregnant women in Haiti. Friends Terrie Glass, who was our first board chair, and Carolyn Arthur, did a super job of leading our group in both strategy and team-building activities.

The MFH BOD in October. With a picture of Carrie Wortham in front. Our birth center in Cabestor is named for this amazing young woman who worked for us in Haiti for one year and in the US for a year before being killed on her bike. She used to work for Impact Makers in Richmond and they have given us a lot of hours toward our projects and the space to have our meetings.

Before the retreat weekend, Steve took our Haitian Program Manager, Mario Cleophat, to Washington, DC to see the White House and the Smithsonian.

I did not know this but, after having visited both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Baseball Hall of Fame in our travels, Steve had decided he needed a new career as either a baseball pitcher or a rock star. When he and Mario visited the Science Museum in Richmond he threw baseballs where they gauge the speed of your throw. As the fastest he could throw was 44 mpg, he decided the pitcher career was out so that left the rock star option. So he bought a guitar!!

Now starting a musical instrument when you are 68 years old is not common so I was both surprised and amused when Steve came home with a used guitar he bought from a guitar repairman. (The guitar is a Seagull acoustic guitar and was sold to the repairman by another older man who had tried beginning guitar and gave up.)

Since buying the guitar about 5 weeks ago, Steve has rarely missed a day of practicing. Wow, it looks so hard. Learning how to plan each key is complicated when your big fingers just do not seem to want to arch and press without touching other strings. The weekend we were in Weems with friends both of the other men, David Cooley and John Keating played guitar and sang and Steve only played about two chords over and over. But it gave him hope. I’m pretty proud he is trying.

Putting up the sails for one last sail before winter.

That weekend all three couples tried to sail from Carter’s Creek into the Rappahannock and the Chesapeake Bay. But even though we dressed warmly, we women did not enjoy the cold, complicated by waves that occasionally threatened to make us both wet and cold. So that did not last long. The second day, John and David took a short sail before putting the boat away for the winter. Steve filmed them with his drone and added music to the video for a nice memory for us all. The link to it is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCmTh8hMnr8&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0jK8u0PVEwHVps6VVL4ETQhG8iY-Zzx4udSydeOPnK8KRQwHQZZJUvfnk

Enjoyed the Brian Wilson concert with son, Peter, on November 3rd in Richmond. Brian Wilson had to helped onto the stage. The best part for me was standing next to Peter and hearing him sing. He has an amazing voice he has not enjoyed enough.

While we were in Virginia, we did a month of having Hello Fresh meals sent to us at the RV park
- 3 meals a week. Takes the decision-making out of "what to eat tonight and we learn some new recipes and flavors. This was pork with a cherry sauce, coucous, and broccoli.

Being back in Virginia meant I could meet up with good friends, Rachel Brown and Mona Pence. This was at Proper Pie in Richmond. That and a visit to the Virginia Fine Arts Museum made a lovely day.

Both Polette and Chase have birthdays in October so it was fun to spend some weekends with their families.

She wanted donuts instead of cake. They were a hit.

Yeah, Chase is six!

Friends Brenda and Thurman Brickhouse brought this
decadent cake to dinner with us in the RV.

23 Reasons to live in an RV. All apply to us except #17 as we do not have dogs.

After Virginia we did a long drive to Charleston, South Carolina to spend Thanksgiving week with Steve’s daughter’s family. The children, Will, Henry, and Meriweather were fun to be around. Meriweather and I had some good games of Go Fish and Sequence. David, the son-in-law, have parents who live near-by and we enjoyed them and a lot of food on Thanksgiving day. David smoked two turkeys in his Green Egg smoker.

I did 3-4 miles of walking each day and listened to audible books and music which kept me motivated to go again the next day.

Steve shopping for shoes with grandsons, Will and Henry.

Reading with Meriweather.

Building a gingerbread turkey with Meriweather.

Good walking trails in Mount Pleasant with lots of birds and turtles around.

Our view from the RV in Mount Pleasant, SC

December 27, 2018

Then on to warmth and sunshine again in Florida!!

We had 3 nights free at this RV park near Rockport, Florida where they want you to consider buying an RV site that costs as much as a 4 BR house in Richmond. Nope.

Our view from our RV in Rockport, Florida

French onion soup for lunch in Rockport.

Current RV park in Port Charlotte, Florida

Lovely places to walk.

Our RV site for the month of December.

Steve got way too close to this snake for my comfort.

We biked in Boca Grande which has a lot of super expensive homes and beautiful trees and landscaping.

December brought birthday gifts of a bike bell and a bike holder for my phone.

Niece Laura and her husband Carl visited us in Florida.

Retired friends, Carol and Jerry, took us along to a Christmas light display put up by one family near North Port, Florida. I have found it harder than I expected to be away from my children and grandchildren at Christmas.