Lise’s Blog

I now have all of the pages up that Bob Ewald provided me.  It truly is fascinating to think about our past.  I think we need to get Aunt Betty talking, I’m sure she has much to say about her life, and her parents.  Bob has put a lot of personal notes in the files, so be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom to be sure you view all of the generations. 

I’m having some technical difficulty with this website, I may need to move the blog to another host site if things don’t improve.  Right now it’s difficult to edit and navigate.  I have been enthralled by Bob Ewald’s memoirs, which he has included in his geneologies.  He takes us to his childhood, describing the horse-drawn ice wagon, the impact of the depression on his family, and his intimate knowledge of the movie world (his Dad worked for Paramount Pictures.)  He chronicles how he served in WWII and finished college on the G.I Bill and then we follow as he criss-crosses the country with his family, building his career in the insurance industry.  Definitely recommended reading.  Bob is a wonderful example to us, modeling how we can highlight and save the past for future generations.  Make no mistake, this is a process which demands time and effort.  Reading the geneologies makes me want to visit Jesberg, Germany, for surely we have some relatives there             

If you’re looking for American history, natural wonders, beaches, and great food, I’d recommend heading to Newburyport, Massachusetts.  Avi and I had a wonderful weekend there.  We stayed at the Essex Street Inn: http://www.essexstreetinn.com/  It took us about three hours from Northfield, including a few miles on Route 1, which was very busy on a Friday afternoon.  We found a tavern for dinner in a very old brick building.  The architecture of the buildings is just fascinating; many fine examples of early American homes.  There are many brick buildings which were erected after a fire in 1811. 

There is a floral competition for the best windowbox, the flowers were just amazing.

We went to the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge and saw some comorants, gulls, egrets, and ducks, even a couple that were upside down…

One of the high points of the weekend was exploring the tall ship Friendship on Saturday.

Altogether, with two lobster meals, it was a real treat.  I think Montreal will be our next destination for a weekend getaway. 

I won’t be posting over the weekend as I’ll be away, visiting Newburyport, MA.  See www.newburyport.com.  It really looks awesome.  Avi and I are staying at the Essex Street Inn, in a deluxe suite.  (We’ll see what deluxe actually means…) I can’twait to get my feet into the sand!  It has been a very busy few weeks.  Two weeks ago I had to go to a deposition regarding the car accident we had in March, ’03.  It has taken this long for things to start showing progress.  I was deposed by the other party’s insurance attorney for 1 1/2 hours which I can tell you was no fun.  At the time of the accident, Mark had a severe concussion, and we both had neck strains.  We all had chest soreness from our seatbelts and/or airbags.   Our 3-month-old van was totalled; Collin’s glasses even flew off his face and were crushed in the impact.  We decided to sue, a difficult decision.  Before this event I had always thought I would never sue anyone, but I was so angry and felt so wronged by this woman who roared off I-95 without slowing down, failed to brake, came into our lane and slammed into us.  One of the things we learned was about gap insurance.  We received $5,000 less that we owed on the van from the insurance company, it had already depreciated that much.  Gap insurance could have saved us that.  No breathalyzer was given, but I’m sure the woman was drunk.  Unfortunately there is no evidence of that.  But she was cited for several traffic violations.  Ever after the accident, I have felt how absurd it is that we all hurtle down the highway, going 65 or more, in our fragile metal shells.  It’s a wonder more of us aren’t hurt. 

The other big news is the sale our our Rabbit Hollow house.  I lived there for 17 years, and Mark and the boys,when they are with him, still do.  Now, we’ve sold it to a lovely couple who have owned a home in Northfield and really fixed it up, so I know my house is going to be taken care of.  It’s the end of an era, Matt was 1 when we moved there, and he is now 19.  It was a lovely place to raise children; we spent hours and hours exploring the pond, river and woods.  I remember when Collin went through a newt phase and he kept some of them in an aquarium in his room.  We experimented with homeschooling in that house.  That lasted only one year, but it was really fun.  My hand has been on every inch of that house, I have painted and gardened and decorated…to my heart’s content and I am going to miss it terribly.  But it is time to move on.  My plan is to stay where I am, renting in the pool house for now. Mark will be moving to a nice ranch house on Dickensen Drive in Northfield Falls.  Changes…

Ben and I went to the Vermont Lake Monsters game after work last night.  It was a beautiful night for baseball, if a bit cool.  The Lake Monsters are a “Class A” short-season affiliate of the Washington Nationals. (I got that off their website, www.vermontlakemonsters.com) Last night they played the Tri-City Valley Cats (I had to look it up – the tri-cities are Albany, Schenectady and Troy.)  The Lake Monsters lost 3-0 but we enjoyed ourselves nevertheless.  It’s always fun to see their energetic mascot, Champ. Ben encouraged me to walk back to the car after the game instead of taking the shuttle bus, and he was right, it was a very pleasant walk.  We walked through the University of Vermont hospital complex, the site of lots of building in recent years.  The even have an underground parking garage (first I’ve seen in Vermont.)  I was sleepy on the drive home, but Ben had a late Pepsi so he was fired up and talkative, enough to keep me awake. The Lake Monsters season ends this week. summer is really coming to an end. 

Welcome to my blog!  I’m starting a blog primarily to find out how it works, I plan to have one for Bipolar and one for Government Documents as well.  I’m having fun experimenting.  One purpose of Lise’s blog is to serve as a place where the family can communicate and keep in touch.  So please check out the Family News page. Hope to hear from you!