A Milestone to Celebrate

About to celebrate a milestone in my life; our granddaughter graduates from high
school  on Sunday. It just seems a short while ago that she was just two hands
full of squirming life.

Lib and I moved here five years  ago believing that we probably wouldn't be
around for an extended number of years. Arthritis in my hips and scoliosis in
her back were turning us into pitiful old invalids. Then something wonderful
happened.. We were persuaded to take advantage of modern medical practice and
God and fine surgeons gave us a new  lease on life!!

 We had purchased a comfortable  one story home in Brandermill near Midlothian, Virginia.  Brandermill was one of the first " planned" communities in Virginia and is a lovely place to live. Some of it is lakeside property...the Smith Creek reservoir from which Chesterfield County gets its water is just a short distance from our house . A few of our neighbors live right on the lake. This morning I went for a therapy walk of some 1.7 miles and enjoyed the panorama that only a walk may provide.Two years ago I could scarcely walk across the room!! This morning was my longest one to date since my new hip replacements.

The homes are laid out on lanes and loops.  There are large oak, pine, and pear trees.  There is a definite forest feel throughout Brandermill.   A deep blue sky and the sounds of many happy birds in the trees made for a feeling of contentment.. Now and then a neighbor and I would cross paths as we did our walking routines. I felt exuberantly alive and joyous this morning. We have a good   blend of young families and retirees. Even though we don't avail ourselves of it, there is community pool within hearing distance. During the warm summer months it is a busy place indeed.

Part of the joy of living in Brandermill are our neighbors...the ones who aredear to us and known by name... and those who we wave to as we drive or walk past. Nancy Berger who lives on the loop at the lake is our community rep and organizes an annual "meet your neighbor " function that convenes on our front car port.Our direct next door neighbors are Dr. Roger and Rene’ Bourguignon What wonderful friends they have become.

The seasons here are varied and stimulating. Spring flowers and trees revel in their new finery. Summer is warm to hot...with occasional thunder storms and lightning. Fall is just glorious and winter snows are
an anticipated possibility though not guaranteed.
                                                                                                                                                                 

Entrance sign to our neighborood

Living room

Looking out the back window

View from kitchen window (front of house)

Fall  afternoon

Our place snow decorated

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME!!

I believe in karma! At least it appears to occur in portions of my life! When I was in my young teens I played softball, but nor baseball. My father who had invested a great deal of personal time in my violin instruction feared I might break a finger. I also played a little basketball. My sports tended to the more solitary type such as cross country, some pole vaulting, and hiking.

My grandson is making up for my lack thereof. He is 11 going on 12 and is one of the pitchers on the various teams he plays for. From the time we moved to Richmond five years ago, to the present moment we have attended many of his games. And I am slowly learning some of the
nuances of the game.

Yesterday his team won smashingly (I think that is a cricket term (cricket is European baseball and is played by many more people than baseball}). His grandmother and I were elated even though he didn’t pitch. (Turns out he was being held in reserve for today’s game). Today was sort of the reverse of yesterday. He pitched well...but the other team had a line of great hitters. In the first inng they got 6 or 7 runs..an advantage that Devin’s team was never able to overcome. They were able to slow down the accumilation of aditional runs, but the score was still something like 4-9 in the other team’s favor.

It was pleasant both afternoons, but this time it was warmer and windy. Several times the wind
stirred up an unpleasant amound of dust and threw it in our faces. Guess that is supposed to be one of the pleasures of attending a ball game. Makes one feel as if he has participated in a measurable way. As I said at the begining...I believe in karma. Karma is visitng baseball on me to make up for all the glorious years for which I was deprived.

Woodstock School

It was a magical place for me 60+ years ago...and still is. In the foothills of the Himalayas near rhe towns of Landour/Mussoorie is Woodstock School, an experience that tends to continually beckon. How fortunate are those who can return, not as students nor teachers, but as assistants to staff.

What must it be like to return year after year to a special place and time in one’s own past, especially with a mate. To be able to take up the strand of that magical time and watch its continued tendrils as they move out into the present and near future. How fortunate to have health and financial resources that allow a couple to still climb the mountainside paths, to inhale the Spring time breath of a Himalayan morning, or to ride a motor bike down to Dehra Dun.

I wonder what it must be like to walk down “the ramp” from Parker Hall to the complex of biuildings that used to be the lower school, lady faculty living areas, and the administrative suite.
To remember how it used to be and how improvements over time have altered it.

It must be exciting to be there for a few months each year, watching the new Woodstock grow and prosper. To use the skills one has a couple to promote and assist that growth. And to be rewarded in turn by being able to to return to a treasured place/experience.

It would seem to be somewhat like a time warp, to walk with one’s mate through the Landour bazaar, eating lunch at a favorite spot, and remebering together what it was like in a previous
life. How wonderful to be able to live as it were in two times at once! This is what I miss most,
to be able to share this in a meaningful way with my wife. She wasn’t there so its impossible for her to relate to that experience. It is a door that only I can open and revisit.

I met Dan and Anne Lind many years ago when they first returned from India and Woodstock. He was the new strings teacher in Charlottesville, Virginia and I had been in Roanoke for perhaps 10 or more years. What a joy and coincidence to discover we had been at
Woodstock; I as a student and then he much later as faculty. We have kept in touch through
Anne’s blogs.

So on this quite cool Virginia morning I visit Anne’s blog...it’s on my small list of links, or
an art teacher’s blog “Where in the World?” also on my list of links and for a few moments
my memory and I revisit a beloved place.

A Return to Normalcy....

The day we anticipated has come and gone. Yesterday Lib and I went to Charlottesville, Virginia for a significant post operation consultation. She is on schedule and has been released to do pretty much whatever she feels like as long as it doesn’t hurt. She also received a 6 week prescription for some strengthening physical therapy. With the water aerobics she will recommence next week that ought to really augment her feeling better.

I have returned to some activities good for me, too. I’m playing once more in the Richmond Philharmonic...we’ll be performing Tchaikowsky’s great 5th symphony, Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto, and a fluffy Rossini Overture. With my quartet we’re working on Brahm’s Opus. 60 piano quartet.I’m also getting in some violin lessons with my grandson, Devin. He’s holding his own and plays at a higher level, I believe, than I did at the same age level. We have the same problems, my father could not consistently teach me for various reasons, but I believe Devin is getting a bigger dose and we don’t have the long times of being away from the instrument.

Last year I put out a rather significant cash outlay to have our lawn mowed. Now I can do it on my own and have several times already. Today will be another ....and though it will be tiring, I should be able to get most of it done as the weather is crisply cool. No...I don’t have a riding mower as we did in Roanoke, it’s an electric push mower, that makes me walk a lot which is just what the doctor ordered. Last month I bought a small electric chain saw and trimmed our crepe myrtles back to the nub.I would not have even considered doing something like that this time last year.

Lib and I attended a Curry Club gathering in Charlottesville almost a month ago. Reconnected with a Woodstock alumnus that was in the Madison University orchestra with me in the early 60's. We discovered that both of us had attended Woodstock and someone alerted the local newspaper and an article was written about us. She reminded me of that article and our time in the orchestra. What a coincidence!!

Later this month Lib and I will return to the Roanoke area to Camp Bethel for “Sounds of the Mountain”. If you search my blog you will find some information about that. It will be fun to see old friends and some of my kin at this happening.

Check out my links, “Anne Linde” , and “Where in the World”. These are  tickets to my abiding interest in Woodstock School and the Himalayas. As a retiree with more time than money, the Web and YouTube provide  cheap ways to revisit here. I go there several times a week and am usually amply rewarded.

Our grandson is out of school this week, so we will have even larger blocks of unencumbered time to do whatever interests us. Have recently acquired an iPhone....the kind that talks to you. Interesting, interesting, where technology is moving!!

Thanks to my readers for being so patient. Blessings! Bill

Walked a Mile!

Dear Readers,

       I apologize for not keeping up with my blog,,,,but since Lib’s big back operation in December we’ve been home bound and nothing worth writing about has occurred and this one won’t be long either.

       This past Monday I was able to participate in a string quartet with some of my favorite musician friends Francis ( cello), Dave (viola), and Larry (violin). It has been several months since we’ve been able to get together and it was great to read through some favorite Mozart quartets! As Lib becomes stronger and is able to stay home unattended, hope to do more of this.

      Yesterday I walked a mile with a cane! I’ve not been able to do that for 6 + years due to arthritis in my hips and a bad back. Had a laminectopy on my back those many years ago, but never walked more than a half mile. Then last year I had the hips replaced and there was no pain in walking, just needed to build up strength and endurance. I was walking about a half mile before Christmas and had t Lib not  had her operation, I might have reached the mile goal sooner. Now we’re both better thanks to the skills of the surgeons and  God’s grace!

     It’s too late to play in the upcoming RPO concert, but I hope to be able to do the Pops concert in June.

     It’s been a strange winter here in Brandermill...one of the mildest yet. Haven’t seen any snow and except for a wintery cold snap in December, it’s been like Spring most of the time. Now watch us have a late winter and some significant snow!

LOOKING BACK....

What an eventful 2011 has been for us! As bookends we started out with my two hip replacements that began in January and ended around July with my being able to walk and sit pain free. The other beng Lib’s extensive back surgery where two rods and screws were inserted to correct the curve of scoliosis and other assorted lower back conditions. That was this December so she’s just beginning recovery as it were.

Between those we were brushed by the remnents of a hurricane and lost power for several days. Then we experienced our first ever earthquake!

Otherwise we have been blessed with relative good health for our age and ability to participate in group activities; (Lib -water arobics) and I with symphony orchestra performances and quartet sessions. We were also able to make some day trips to Roanoke and Harrisonburg to see friends
and family. This summer and fall we attended numerous baseball games to watch our grandson and his team. He’s also growing as a violinist/fiddler/guitarist.

Our other family in Delaware has a daughter graduating this school year and two sons actively achieving in their sports and intellectual interests.

The ability to keep in touch with several groups of family and dear friends via the interenet keeps us up to date in their lives and helps immensely for us to maintain community. We aere especially grateful that Lib could do her convalescing at home instead of at Charlottesville!

Thank you Lord for your loving kindness, for all your mercies and grace.

THANKSGIVING PRAYER

Heavenly Creator,


I’m grateful for life in this beautiful busy exciting world. Really grateful that I can walk and move without the pain that I had this time last year. Thankful to be surrounded by a loving family of children, their mates and grandchildren. Thankful that Lib selected me to share these many years with her. It’s been an interesting journey and we look forward to relishing whatever time we still have together.


Thank You for friends old and new and the happy memories associated with those who are not physically present in my life, but who contribute to it through their messages of interest and goodwill. 
Thank you for the memories of a loving father and mother, their exemplary lives, and the lively family which still manages to be lively when they gather together. 


We look in anticipation to Christmas and the good news it proclaims.