First week in Ithaca, June 20 - 28

The trip was a marathon. We got up at 2:45am to drive to the airport. Our flight to Copenhagen left at 6:15. After a 4 1/2 hour layover we continued our journey with a new flight to Newark. It was one of those modern planes with a little screen on the back of each seat and a dozen movies and games to choose from. I watched 3 movies: "the water horse" (very cute!), "Horton hears a Who" (interresting concept), and "Northanger Abbey" (I love Jane Austin films!). Got to Newark at 2:20pm and took the bus to Port Authority, arriving just as the bus to Ithaca was leaving. We had 2 hrs to buy supper to eat on the bus and a frappucino at Starbucks before the 6:30pm bus left for Ithaca. By this time I had acute dementia, with an attention span of 1 minute, short term memory of 10 seconds. It is an amazing and frustrating experience. Also my Alternatives Visa card wasn't working. Even though I tried several versions of what I thought was the PIN. Slept most of the way on the bus. We arrived at 11:30, walked to the house on Meadow street and collapsed into bed.

40TH BIRTHDAY
Our first day in Ithaca was also Husband's 40th birthday. We woke up at 7am. My brother-in-law, Joe had made coffee. Went shopping for breakfast things at Green Star. My alternatives card still wasn't working but I finally got the explanation: Alternatives Bank had changed every bodys PIN a month ago. I vaguely remembered Mother and Father mentioning this during one of my phone calls. We spent the morning going to Staples for office and school supplies. Then to the Ithaca Festival where I danced two contras. Finally we met up with my brother, Roland and Sharon to order the t-shirts for the aniversary at the T-shirt express. Husband was exhausted by then and we went home to nap and read, do laundry and clean the kitchen.

Birthday dinner at the Thai restaurant on the commons, to celebrate both Sharon (29 last sunday) and Husband. Mother and Father came. Mother looks as usual. Father has lost a lot of weight, but looks good. Older, and distinguished with his cane. Joe joined us as well before going back to Rochester. His only meal with us all before he and my sister come back from California.


All in all a good day. Met and hugged several dancing friends. I just love the ease with which you can exchange hugs in America. Good to see Mother and Father, Roland and Sharon, and Joe. Katya and Poussette, which are my sisters cats, are here as well, and as they readjust to Ithaca and us, I'm sure we'll be seeing more of them.

MIDSUMMER PICNIC
My parents had their midsummer potluch picnic and bonfire on Sunday. They had invited all the people who've visited father in the hospital as well as neighbors and their Waldorf and church friends.

Though the forecast had been for rain (70% chance) the weather was clear and warm. It had rained all night, so maybe that took care of the 70%. I had agreed to hostess the event and Roland was to be «fire chief» so we all came out early. Everyone brought food. In keeping with the tradition mother supplied her famous vegetarian lasagna (made by me) and strawberry shortcake. There was lots of other yummy food and deserts as well. Although the guests came from a variety of venues in which my parents have been active: the union, biodynamic agriculture, waldorf, chorus, church, neighbors etc, and thus did not know each other, - some people even brought friends/relatives who didn't know my parents - everyone seemed to get along.

As dusk deepened and the fireflies started lighting up the evening we wound our way up to where Roland had built a bonfire and there we sat around the fire singing, while the flames and sparks rose up and the kids roasted marshmallows in the embers a little later.

"Rise up O flame! By thy light glowing,
Show to us beauty, vision and joy!"

ITHACA IS GORGES
Monday, Husband and I went to Buttermilk Falls, he to run, I to hike. I love this trail, and walking in the early morning when no one else is out, green light filtering through leafy trees and vines, the stillness broken only by bird song and the splashing and rushing of the river. It had rained all night, and I had to splash through puddles on the stones of the gorge path. I did a figure 8, walking up the rim trail to the first bridge, then up the gorge trail to the second bridge, back down the rim trail to the first bridge and the gorge trail down to the pool at the bottom of the falls. The whole trip took me 40 minutes, and I sat on a bench by the pool reading until Husband, who had run all the way to the top and then around Lake Treman, came. The whole run, at least twice of what I had walked had taken him an hour!

In the evening I went to the contra dance on the commons. There was lightning and thunder when we started, and by the ende of the first dance it had started to rain. We moved under the roof of the pavilion - just in time. No sooner were we safe under the roof than a veritable downpour started that lasted for 3 dances. It was a crowded but cozy with the musicians and dancers all under the roof together, and the floor is better for dancing. Still, we continued dancing on the pavement, splashing in the puddles, when the rain stopped. There was just more space.

WAITING ROOMS AND OLD FRIENDS
Spent tuesday and wednesday taking father to his appointments and waiting around in doctor's offices. It is incredibly time consuming, which is why we wanted to take it off Mother's hands. Yesterday we went to the oncologist, who was very happy with how things are looking. Today it was the eye doctor. We did some stuff on the farm as well. Husband mowed the lawn, I hung laundry and cooked. Went swimming with Mother at the YWCA yesterday.

Ingvild has been visiting her school and catching up with teachers and old friends. We went to dinner at the Morales' tuesday evening. He made Guatamalan tacos, and showed us his garden. He is a wizzard with trees and bushes, trims yews into fancy shapes. Facinating. The house was full of teenagers. Ingvild and her friends, the Morales kids and their friends...I really liked Cindy Morales, the mother. She is a nurse like me, and Lauren's parents were there too, so there were some adults to talk to.

Wednesday night we had dinner with Roland and Sharon. Talked about their experience of Father's illness and how Mother and Father are dealing with it. A good talk. Roland and Sharon, especially Roland has been carrying a lot of responsibility. I think it will be good for him to get some distance when they go to California.

Friday we drove up to Taughannough to go kayaking with David Morales, Lauren and Ingvild today. What fun! Saw lots of crayfish near the shore, under the stones.I'v never seen them before. They are like little lobsters.

LES MISERABLES
Our birthday present from Mother and Father was tickets to the musical Les Miserables playing at the Merry-go-round theatre in Auburn. It was a lovely drive through Fingerlakes farmland, and a very nice performance. Not your usual catchy melodies, and not a lot of dancing, but a beautiful story. Very typical Victor Hugo.

What's new

I have a week off from work before we leave for the US. I've been spending it in the garden. Weeding, planting etc. Getting it ready for a 3-week absence. It's really looking nice. We have been eating home grown spinach, radishes and turnips in salads all this week. The beans and sweet peas have come up in the nick of time. I can't wait to see how much everything has grown when we come back.

The last few mornings I've been waking up feeling a little blue. I think I am dreading seeing Mother and Father as invalids. Being a continent away their situation is sort of abstract to me. I guess I am a little afraid to really face it, let it become real.

I chase the blues away by running in the forest with Topsy. We've been out orienteering every morning while Tor is at work. Like dancing, orienteering refreshes and renews me.

But I was going to summarize what is new in this family:

Ingvild is finishing her first year of dancing High School. Her dancing has steadily improved through the year. Her grades are good, especially in the subjects that were final for this year: English and Science.

Irene is thinking of going back to school to get her high school diploma in the fall. Meanwhile her boyfriend Stian finally got a job as a plummer after 7 months of unemployment. They have bought a boat together with a couple of Stian's buddies, and have been fixing it up. In a couple of weeks they hope to have it on the water.

Tormod has taken a break from college. He has gone to the US "to seek his fortune", promising to come back if he hasn't found it by the end of november. At the moment he is working at a garden center on Martha's Vineyard for room and board, while looking for paid work and getting his drivers licence.

Audun went to Bosnia with the Red Cross Youth organization in May. They visited several Romani camps and red cross organizations there. It must have been an interesting experience.

Tor is leaving his job at the dairy farm where he has been for the past 6 years, to manage the isolation facility of the pig breeding assosiation, thus changing his focus from cows to pigs so to speak.

Nothing new with me, except that I was rejected by the International Red Cross for their delegate course because I lack specialization. My backup plan is to go back to school to in January, provided the colleges don't consider me too old.