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December, 1994 1994 The big news for the first part of the year was the weather. Fortunately we were not committed to anything that required our leaving the house. There was one storm after another through January, February, and early March. There wasn't a big accumulation of snow. Over and over, it would snow, it would thaw, and then it would freeze during the night over and over with the result that the ground was covered with ice. We had a condition where the water from the melting snow would collect over our driveway and be frozen by the next morning. We had a skating rink of ice several inches thick. Plowing didn't improve matters much. Going out for the morning paper was a real chore. It took a long time to try to find a path which avoided the ice. Many people fell and broke bones. After awhile the roads weren't bad but we were trapped for a week or so because of the ice covered driveway. There were a lot of people without power for long periods. It would be a mess if it happened to us since everything depends on electricity. I bought an emergency generator but hope we never have to use it. We decided to make changes in our Living Trust and had a lawyer, Rodham Eastburn, of Eastburn and Gray draw up an amendment to the Trust. It was possible to get out on Valentines' Day and I got a little crazy. Mary Liz always said she would like to go to La Bonne Auberge. We had been there years ago and I knew it was expensive. We were stir crazy from the weather so we felt the need to celebrate. We had an enjoyable dinner and the food and service were excellent. However, once is enough. My frugal nature would not permit me to repeat a $180 check to cover a crab cake dinner for two without appetizers and only a little house wine. Mary Liz planned a trip south to Georgia to visit Virginia Rodgers, a genealogy acquaintance of long standing, in McDonaugh. It was a nice trip starting with a visit and lunch with Dudley Hill and his new wife at Ginger Cove in Annapolis. After lunch, Dudley drove us around his Alma Mater, the Naval Academy. Next we had an over night visit with Robin Lee at her new home in Alexanria Va. We had dinner at an interesting restaurant in downtown Alexandria, which has been nicely restored. The Civil War battlefields have always been of interest to us. For some reason we had never visited Manassas. This time it was included in our trip. Our route took us near Marion Monahan's present home in Charlotte, N.C. We enjoyed getting reacquainted after a short visit with Marion and her male companion. The main purpose of the trip was to exchange genealogical information with Virginia Rodgers. We had a pleasant couple of days with her and her brother and husband. We visited several cemeteries and other places important to the Harper/Turner genealogy. We arrived home the 1st of April after a pleasant relaxing drive North. The usual round of get togethers with our friends, usually for lunch, continued. The big event was my 82nd. birthday which was celebrated, as usual, very quietly. Everything was status quo until the end of June when once again Mary Liz put on her travelling clothes. This time it was to the Ricklemann reunion. I'm not keen on these, but being the fine husband that I am, I agreed to participate. The reunion was poorly prepared and a dud as far as I was concerned; however, there were a few interesting additions to the trip. We stopped in Dallas and stayed with Julie. She was very glad to see us and we enjoyed the visit and the opportunity to see Julie Ann, Ray, Harry, etc. again. One pleasant event in Dallas was our getting together with the Murrells. They were one of the group we were with all through the trip from Sicily to Venice. They were most hospitable and lived in a beautiful home with Mrs. Hunt as a neighbor. Bill is a retired accountant who still handles a few very desireable accounts, such as Greer Garson. In fact he has her mint condition Rolls Royce. The Murrells have many projects and we spent a very enjoyable time with them. We drove To Marlin for the reunion. Everyone met for cocktails but it was poorly organized and very boring. I finally prodded Mary Liz into getting the "show on the road" and that helped. One redeeming activity was the barbecue that Kay and Carl Evans once again had at their plant in Reagan. There was plenty to eat and drink and I did get a chance to talk to a few interesting people. The reunion just seem to fade away to an end with people leaving at various times, sometimes without a good bye. We returned home via an over night with Julie. We got her to try a little red wine and we cautioned her to not be too free with her funds now that she is a widow and faced with moving into expensive retirement quarters.
I decided to stop working at Rohm and Haas since they wanted me to spend more time on the job. I certainly stayed active at At the end of August we had a call to Orcas to attend Carol's son Jimmy's wedding which Carol was arranging. We made it a short one week trip and stayed with Ed and Carol one night but moved to the Kangaroo House when Jimmy's group got into town. This year we each had Lyme Disease and we became paranoid about the problem. As a result we now have an 8 foot high plastic mesh fence along the line where the deer enter our property. So far it seems to work. In the spring we have arranged for a spray to kill the young deer ticks. We arranged for a big project. We had the shingles replaced on the house. I thought they would only last a few more years and, in any case, they would have to replaced before the house could be sold. It was expensive, house $12000, garage $3000, but I felt it was better to do it now. Early in November a very good friend of many years died. Barbara Bamman was always a lot of fun. I remember when she and Mary Liz went flying off the cabin of the Boystoy into the Bay when Bob came about. The memorial service was typical of Barbara. It turned out to be a cocktail party. All of the children were there and it was good to see them again. To end the month, there had to be another funeral. Irene Mikita a neighbor friend of many years that smoked herself to an early demise. We have been trying to help Joe through these trying times. On December 7 we attended another Memorial service for an old friend from Rohm and Haas, Vida Baxter. I 'd known Vic since he started at R & H and Mary Liz met Vida in Wanamakers when they were shopping for Xmas gifts for their boys. I think Ed Jr. was about one year old at that point. The service was an opportunity to see many old Rohm and Haas associates. It seems that this is becoming a morbid tale about the final days of the friends of Mary Liz and Ed Sutton. I've decided not to buy green bananas any more. The year ended with many social functions, some with Mary Liz's young friends from the neighborhood, and with the Wrights and Phillips our new neighbors.
This year the bridge club will celebrate the new year with lunch at the Kimberton Inn on the 30th. |