Tornado Ellen storms the tornado stricken Mnich household

Tornado Ellen storms the tornado stricken Mnich household

Well, the information highway hopefully has accomplished the spread of the family news and we should all be aware of the situation in Springfield at the home of Matthew, Courtney and Hunter. And we are all thankful that they escaped what could have been more damaging and harmful effects of Mother Nature. It does seem like the universe is playing some nasty games this Spring throughout the country.

Thanks to the “first responders” for their “call to service”. I'm sure on the scene first were Ellen and Bill, of course. Chad and his family were fortunate to be able to take time to step up to the plate. The rest of us are in the background, thinking of Matt and his family, hoping that they move forward expediently, let the Insurance Company deal with the urgency of the situation, and get the professionals in to repair and rebuild. That said, perhaps when things settle down, we can think of something that would be helpful.

Albeit pale in comparison to Matthew's issue, the flooding here in Northern Vermont and the Adirondacks has been very troublesome and the damage is unbelievable. Everything is flooded out. Just getting across Lake Champlain (above flood stage for over a month) to get to NY is a trip in itself. Our waterfront at Tupper was destroyed. The camp is OK, but we have major dock damage, and 2 that are just plain gone, all this without insurance coverage. Eliza and Mike have been pumping their finished basement out 3 or 4 times a day for a month now, waiting for the ground waters to disperse.

Thanks to technology for dispersing all this information in a timely fashion. I do believe there is some redeeming value to facebook other than gossip, trivia, and a way to sometimes pump up our ego's. It is great for networking and instant news. And yes, I am on facebook but like to keep a low profile. However, it is nice once in awhile to hear an old familiar voice on the old telephone.

Talk about tornado's...that would be little Benny glass. WOW, does he has the moves, and he is fast. It was fun to see him and his sister Sahna last week just being a family. And they are off to Florida for a week on the beach.

So, hope Matt and Courtney get home safe with lots of energy leftover as they will need every once to put things back together. Good luck, guys!

Love,

Jeannie

The 10th Anniversary of The Kidney

A decade later, and the kidneys are still working like new, in their respective bodies. That is a cause for celebration. And, that is exactly what we did the weekend of Oct 23, 2010. In an extraordinary group effort, every one of the children of Charles and Ethel Kortz were in attendance and many of the spouses/significant others were able to join.

We gathered together at The West Mountain Inn in Arlington, Vt – www.westmountaininn.com - for a weekend of fun, food, and fables. What a great spot, and the food was good. I think the large common room by the fireplace is what made it special for us. I just hope the Inn doesn’t blacklist us because we were quite rowdy. And thanks to Lynne for the recommendation.



Thanks to Mary for bringing the activities to the table. The family trivia was an unbelievable hilarious event and the laughter was out of control. Some of the trivia questions and answers had us in stitches and provided fodder for further conversation. The “Yankee swap” was great and Jay and I ate the whole box of Mike and Ike’s after lunch today.



In her usual fashion, Ellen contributed “closets of stuff” to pass around and provided many chuckles amongst the gang. Bags of candy, aprons, ceramic leaves…did I leave anything out? Yep, we can always count on Ellen, the “stuff meister”.

The award for traveling the farthest goes to Cathy flying in from DC…Kiev doesn’t count since she was already in the country. However, Mary and Walt did have the longest drive, coming from the Cape.

So, the effort put forth to secure a special place for a special occasion was well worth it. We should all think ahead to the next time and I will be happy to pass the torch and let someone else do the planning. And if anyone else comes into a “big wad”, they can pick up the tab.

On an ending note, Jay and I stopped at Hildene – www.hildene.org - on our way home and it was well worth the tour. I would recommend it to anyone who is staying in the area.



Toodleloo for now!

Jeannie

Lump Day for Asa

Lump Day for Asa and Top Notch Granny Care

So, for those of you who saw Asa at Matthew’s wedding with the lump on his neck, this is the update. He finally had the surgical procedure for the removal of the infected node (that just would not go away) yesterday and it went very well. As normal protocol they did send out some tissue for biopsy and the results will trickle in as they tested for many different things. He has about a 3 inch incision and the recovery is uneventful - normal activity and no restrictions. Asa had no issues with the procedure and was very comfortable with the whole process. The pre-op instructions did say no make-up, perfume, or nail polish, and they figured it was not appropriate for a 3 year old boy. Lily had just polished his nails a few days prior!

But, Jay and I had to sleep over the Kramer’s the previous evening and had Asa while the rest of the family went to the open house at Lily’s school. Eliza always tells me “watch him like a hawk Grandma, he is trouble”. I left him alone to brush his teeth after dinner, and 5 minutes later he looked like a stand in for The Blue Man Group. He had taken off his clothes, and rinsed his body in a fluoride treatment solution. So, a quick bath took care of the problem and now I just needed to explain to Mommy why I gave Asa a bath.

The End.

Toodleloo for now!

Jeannie

Goodbye Tupper

Tupper 2010 is over, thanks to some cold and rainy weather. Cabin quirky is the word. Oy, we were busy this year! And enjoyed every minute thanks to the best weather that we can recall. We always enjoy the loons, the mergansers and the mallards; at least 2 distinct blue herons on the lake; the Eagles; kid fishing was good; lots of humming birds; and in September we had a few bear sightings. And of course our favorite visitors, Lily and Asa

were here for long weekends and a week at the end of July. Their friends The Finns joined them for 3 days. Aaron flew in to Saranac Lake on Cape Air and spent Memorial Day and July 4^th weekends with us. Beth and Sahna joined us for a weekend and they shared The Ice House. Mike was here with Abby and Devon and he took the catamaran back with him. Mary and Janet were with us for 3 days early in the season. Crista and Troy were here - the new guy needed to see Tupper. Our old friends Kathy and Jay visited with their grandchildren – 9 year old Marley and 6 year old Hawk.

And more old friends Karen and Kurt spent a week. So, yep, we had company; and I probably forgot somebody.

Early in the summer we went to Montreal for a few days, and treated ourselves to a stay at The Fairmont - The Queen Elizabeth, dinner at Gibby's and a carriage ride back to our hotel; walked and shopped around Old Montreal, and had a great time. We made a return visit to Canada in August and visited Ottawa, toured the historic capital buildings on Parliament Hill, hung out at the Byward market and enjoyed the cuisine. However, we “cheaped out” and stayed at The Days Inn...yuck, yuck, yuck – do not go there.

We did the fourth of July dinner cruise on Raquette Lake with Aaron and went back again when our friends Kurt and Karen visited. We toured The old great Camp Santanoni by horse and carriage and had a picnic lunch with champagne and caviar. So, lots of fun stuff to keep busy and interesting. We even made a habit of going to the Sinfonietta in Lake Placid on Sunday nights. And Lily joined us for a local performance at The Wild Center.

Lots of paddling on and off the lake. Our newest paddle this year was The Oswegatchie, a remote wilderness paddle, a favorite of the beavers, forcing us to carry over beaver dams. Lily got her own kayak this year, but swimming and fishing took first place since the weather was just so wonderful.

And, a Hudson River rafting trip was an adventure extraordinaire, as you can see by this picture of Jay. A day on the river with rapids, warm weather, blue skies, a mediocre lunch.

My high peaks goal has taken a back seat this year, thanks to the really warm weather. But really, my hiking partner Mike Kramer has either been off to Austin on business, busy with his hoop house on the farm, or just plain not feeling well this year. So, I hiked a lot locally, doing small peaks with Jay and many by myself. I hiked Ampersand to kick off the season to test my right knee which had been given me some trouble since ski season. No problem going up, but going down is problematic. BUT, Mike and I did finally hike Wright Peak from The Loj and I will admit to being slow. It felt great and once again motivated me to pursue my love of hiking the Adirondack peaks. Another hike up Ampersand by myself to “keep on hiking” and I do hope to get back on track and continue my quest. I will say that a few extra pounds does make a difference, and...is it possible that one slows down a bit at 63? - I think not!.

We ended the summer with a seminar at The Adirondack Loj in Lake Placid with Jane Desotelle on collecting wild mushrooms and have determined that there are 5 varieties local to the Adirondacks that we are comfortable consuming.

So, our project for this summer was a new and bigger porch, but, alas, we only got as far as the footings. We were expecting Brother Mike in September to put it all together, Well, hopefully next Spring we can get back on track. .Other than that, always lots of maintenance and small stuff. We did improve the main camp with new interior “paneling on one of the walls. The property is looking nice with more landscaping and rock stuff. And, a composting toilet is seriously in the planning/researching stages, since our septic system is pretty much kaput; perhaps a small building which will accommodate the washer and dryer also.

Back to Vermont and The Green Mountains.

Toodleloo for now.

Jeannie

Matt and Courtney's Wedding Celebration

Matt and Courtney celebrate their marriage

The family gathered together Saturday August 21 at Matt and Courtney's house in Springfield, Ma to celebrate their “tying the knot” in Mexico on June. We managed to get quite a few of us together on yet another wonderful day of sunny summer weather. And good thing it was on Saturday...Sunday was a long rainy wet cool day!

It was especially nice to welcome Christine and Chris's newest baby Owen to the gang. And certainly was a treat to see little Benny...a little guy always on the move. Courtney's parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews were all there to enjoy the day and meet some of the overwhelming Kortz family.

Matt and his buddy entertained us all with his legendary guitar playing. The food was really good, as was the champagne. It was a really relaxing atmosphere and gives some thought to why we go through the formality of the big wedding with all the expense of the event in a fancy place. It seems so much more comforting to hang out and socialize in a more intimate and personal setting. Just some food for thought for the next in line...hey, who is next?

Toodeloo for now.

Jeannie

Off to Tupper

The summer migration to Tupper is complete. Jay and I are officially settled in to Island life here on Bluff Island. The gang is all here and it is reminiscent of going to camp years ago and seeing your old summer friends. Well, now our friends are a bit older and grayer, but quite lively and always available for a cocktail or two.



As we made our final trip to open camp, our borrowed truck looked more like we were going to the dump. We bought an old door at a salvage center to replace our main camp door so we can get some more much needed light into our dark living room. And we have a new queen size mattress for “The Lily Pad” – the big bunk house.

Our first guests were the kids and the grandkids on Memorial Day weekend. Aaron flew in on Cape Air from Boston to Saranac Lake. We had amazing weather for early season, perhaps better than all of last year. We swam, fished, had a camp fire, played and ate. And, I finally have a serious scrabble partner in Lily. Asa got a new Superman fishing pole from our island neighbor Lloyd and it was a big hit. We did have an issue with Lucy, the Kramer’s new black lab as she wanted to retrieve the bobber as soon as it was cast.



A last day trip to The Wild Center – The Natural History Museum of The Adirondacks – and a hike around the grounds gave us another photo op of Lily climbing a “tip-up” – an uprooted tree root.






Overall, a good start to the season. But, we are headed back to Vermont Wed thru Monday while Eliza and the family vacation in Orlando. The dog, the ducks, and the veggies need a babysitter and alas this time it is us. Currently it is 50 degrees and we have the wood burner keeping us toasty. Hey, a good day for some summer fiction.

Till the next post – tootleloo!

Jeannie

Cathy overcomes "de-feet"

Good Morning and Happy Mothers Day to all!

Once again, a quick blog to let everyone know that Cathy is on the mend. Her double bunionectomy was uneventful and healing quite nicely. Other than having to wear "monster" shoes for 3 weeks, life "is a couch" (not a beach), and she is quite mobile. Her freezer was full, thanks to some contributions from family members, and I did very little cooking. We did get out on Wednesday for a play and saw God of Carnage with Lucy Lui and Jeff Daniels...fabulous. And then on to a Afghan restaurant in Cathy's neighborhood for a really fun dinner.
So, 4 days in New York was enough for me. I guess I have been away long enough to notice stuff that just did not faze me in the past. Women are pencil thin, everyone is just in their own space, and just the volume of people on the street overwhelmed me. I am happy to be home, even as I look at the 32 degrees and snow falling...it was 80 degrees - hot and sunny in New York.
Cathy and I had 4 days to "hash out" the kidney reunion (among other things), and I will be making final plans this week, so stay tuned.

Love, Jeannie