The Fourth of July in Guilford

TD and I went out to visit my parents in Guilford, Connecticut, for the holiday weekend. My sister Cynthia and her partner Barb were visiting too from Colorado Springs so it was quite a jolly get together. Like everywhere else in the Northeast, it was hot!
Guilford is a pretty town located on the Long Island Sound that I have written about here before. It's a historic town too, and this is its story: in May of 1639 Reverend Henry Whitfield and a group of Puritans left England in search of religious freedom. They arrived by late summer at what is now New Haven. They negotiated with the local Native American Indians and their leader Wequash, and bought land and settled in what is now Guilford. Later, in the eighteenth century, Guilford was attacked during the Revolutionary War by the British soldiers coming from New York. The local militia defeated the foreign enemy. Now, Guilford is considered to have one of the largest collection of historic homes in New England, with important buildings from the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

On Saturday, we went down to the town beach where people were happily boating

and kayaking.

I decided to go for a run on...Whitfield Street, which links the beach with the town green. There are many beautiful nineteenth century houses on the street. One house in Guilford from that era was a stop on the Underground Railroad during the Civil War, where respite was offered for slaves on their journey to freedom.
This sparkling house on Whitfield Street was as white and ornate as a wedding cake.

It has a deep, columned porch on three sides. This house reminds me of 611.

Instead of traditional white, this house is a dusty ochre with forest green trim.

Hanging pots decorated a porch

and clouds of hydrangea bloomed against a pale lilac exterior.

This white house from 1852 was guarded by a fence of evergreens

but when I got closer a gap in the middle revealed a secret giveaway of free books.

We had a swell weekend in Guilford, and I hope you had a nice Fourth of July too.

Happy Gay Pride Day

The Gay Pride Parade on Fifth Avenue

This past Sunday was Gay Pride Day in New York City. It was the twenty-fourth that Ted and I celebrated together! And that's what I'm proud of.

We started the day at our liberal and artistic church, Judson Memorial on Washington Square South. The service began with a flash mob – a public dance in Washington Square choreographed by Aiden O'Shea and Alana Hartman, which ended with two women getting married. Ted participated; here he is in the center in white shirt and blue shorts.

Here he is again, arms outstretched. Ain't he cute?

Then we went inside for a happy service led by associate pastor Michael Ellick with wonderful music from music director Michael Connelly. It was a joy, I'll tell you that. Growing up Catholic in upstate New York I never in my farthest dreams imagined that I would be in a Sunday church celebrating gay pride.

Then it was off to march in the parade down Fifth Avenue. It was hot out, really hot. It's such a different experience to watch the parade from the sidelines, and then step into the parade. People are looking at you and waving and cheering so you wave and cheer back, it's kind of like you're on center stage. Ted and I walked by a group and they yelled at us, "You're beautiful!" Marching in the parade is a wonderful experience.

Behind us there were cheerleaders flying through the air the entire way down Fifth Avenue. I don't know how they did it.

My favorite part of the parade: all three churches on lower Fifth Avenue are out on the curb offering welcome cups of cold water to marchers – Marble Collegiate Church, First Presbyterian and Church of the Ascension, Protestant churches all.

We were saying to the people giving out water, "Thank you," and they were saying back to us, "Thank you."

Unlike Catholic Saint Patrick's Cathedral where in the past marchers could not even stop or go up the steps. Ugly right-wing fundamentalists stationed there with placards yelled hideous things to the marchers passing by. Shame on Saint Patrick's.

We walked past the Flat Iron building, one of the most striking and elegant in New York, built in 1903 by Daniel Burnham.

The ad on this bus shelter said "Live United" and I liked it combined with the American flag. It was extremely disappointing, to say the least, that marriage equality was defeated in New York state this year.

I say live and let live.
Live united.

Mount Everest Man

Our great friend Don Healy is back from the summit of Mount Everest! You may remember that I wrote about his climb before he and his wife Joyce left New York in March. Well, I am happy to tell you that he made it to the top on May 24th, a few days after his 65 birthday. And don't forget, he has an artificial hip.
The Healys had a jolly celebration this week in their home on Jane Street, and Don presented a slide presentation of his journey, which was quite amazing. The Healys live in a great house which is reached by traveling through the alley of a building which fronts Jane Street. The Healys' house was originally a blacksmith shop built in 1833. Around 1850 it became a bakery, and the baker built the front house. The Healys completely renovated and created a three storey home with a central stair well and exposed brick walls. We started with drinks in the courtyard and then moved up to seats on the top floor for the slide presentation. When it started to pour, rain splashed on the big sky lights overhead. It was very cozy.
As many good things do, this story begins with a book. Don said that he has wanted to climb Mount Everest ever since he was a boy and read The Conquest of Everest by Sir John Hunt.

While training for mountain climbing a few years ago, a serious bicycle accident left him with a shattered hip and debilitated for eleven weeks. Nevertheless, in March with a new hip he and Joyce left for Kathmandu, destination Mount Everest.

Joyce trekked with Don to base camp (a difficult climb in itself) and returned home in April. Don continued his eight week climb to the summit. EIGHT WEEKS! You can read about his adventure in detail on his blog. The extreme weather and lack of oxygen are only two factors which make it very dangerous. It took Don eleven hours to climb the last very steep mile because he had to take four breaths of oxygen for every one step.
But make it he did, pictured here on the summit where other climbers have left their prayer rugs.

Then began the careful descent; more accidents happen going down the mountain than going up. Don made it back safely, fifteen pounds lighter.

Upon returning, he set about raising money for the Hospital and Rehabilitation Center for Disabled Children (HRDC) in Kathmandu, which specializes in orthopedic surgery for children in rural areas with congenital deformities. Because of his hip replacement, Don wanted to sponsor an organization that provides orthopedic care to those in need. To find out about making a contribution, go to his web site Everest Hip Hop, and click on the "Donate" button.
With his accomplishment Don proved that age and physical setbacks need not be barriers to achieving one's goals. It's an inspiration to know a true adventurer, and it's a good story too: There was a feature about Don in The Wall Street Journal, and he appeared on the Today show, interviewed by Matt Lauer:

Congratulations Don!

Flowers From the Market

TD and I headed over to the Union Square Farmers' Market on Saturday where things are now in full swing. We always go first to the north east corner of Union Square to the Durrs' truck. They have a plenitude of offerings year 'round. On Saturday there were bouquets mixed with different flowers, which look pinkish here because of the red tent overhead.

There were clouds of what I call little daisies; I don't know their proper name.

These are branches of cranberry something, I couldn't understand the guy's accent. I love flowers, but I also love things that are not flowers – vines, leaves, branches, berries like this.

Other vendors offered a wealth of potted plants for the garden

and buckets of lilies.

We bought a bunch of the little daisies and cranberry branches and a mixed bouquet.

The cranberry branches went into the galvanized florist's bucket. TD added in some of the daisies. I like an arrangement that is loose, airy, simple and natural looking – as if it was just cut from your own garden. It gives a feeling of the country when you're in the city. Over-sized is good too.

I took the bouquet apart and put some of the red bits into our radicchio vase from Tiffany's. The colors of the flowers repeat in the hand-painted vase.

TD likes a flower on his bedside table so he got the sunflower.

The little daisies went in the entry hall, where they light up at night.

After all the arranging, everyone was pooped.

A Trip to Rochester

The Erie Canal

We're celebrating Aunts and Cousins week here at Bart Boehlert's Beautiful Things. You may remember that the weekend before last, we attended the graduation party of my aunt Ellen, age 73. Last weekend TD and I went up to Rochester, New York, for my aunt Molly Boehlert, born Molly Gilroy from Utica, New York.

Molly married my father's brother Bob who was a widower with one child. Together the couple had four children. My uncle Bob sadly passed away twenty years ago. When we attended a Boehlert family reunion on Oneida Lake two years ago, I wrote about my aunt Molly so I won't repeat it here except to say that when I was growing up, I spent many summer and winter vacations with my cousin Peter, born the same year as I. Molly was always taking us off on some adventure – to a neighbor's swimming pool or to the beach at Lake Ontario or to a picnic in the park. Now Molly is seriously ill. To mark her eightieth birthday an invitation arrived in our mailbox for "a celebration of life." How could we resist?

We had the good fortune to stay with my cousin Peter and his wife Lorie in their great home in the charming village of Pittsford, founded outside of Rochester in 1789. Pittsford is well known for its historic district and beautiful houses.

The town has a lot of nineteenth century brick buildings which I love. This is the Phoenix Hotel, which was built in about 1812 to serve the Erie Canal and carriage trade. It was restored in 1967 and now houses local businesses.


Here is the town hall, built in 1890.

A picturesque brick house is now the Canal Lamp Inn bed and breakfast.

Gardens and flower boxes were in full bloom.

We took a walk along the Erie Canal, which was completed in 1825. This phenomenal feat of engineering and human toil was built to link the great Lake Erie with the Hudson River so that goods could flow from the Atlantic Ocean to the Midwest; it helped make New York City the chief U.S. port. The Erie Canal links the upstate cities of Albany, Utica (my hometown) and Rochester so it was always a presence in my childhood.

Peaceful, tranquil, and flat, the Eric Canal takes us back in time.

I'd like to take a boat ride on the Eric Canal.

This residential dock perched over the canal looked like a relaxing spot.

Lunch along the Erie Canal.

Later in the afternoon, we visited Artisan Works, a non-profit organization housed in a huge warehouse which supports local artists. There was miles of art everywhere, on the walls, on the ceilings, and on the roof.

We stopped at Molly's house which has been the family home for fifty years where I visited as a kid. Then we stopped at cousin Brian's who has just bought a big new house. That night we had a delicious dinner with Peter and Lorie and their adult daughters Maggie and Dottie and her fiance Bryce at Richardson's Canal House, the oldest original inn on the edge of the Eric Canal. The inn was first a farmhouse, built in 1818, and then a tavern which was popular with the rollicking canal builders. The building was restored in 1979 and placed on the National Register of Historic Buildings. We ate outside under a tent and when it started to pour rain we remained dry. An illuminated guide boat sped by on the dark canal.

The next day we went to visit a couple who are friends of Peter and Lorie's and own and live in the historic Strong mansion, which I read on the internet, "was perhaps the most lavish ever built in Monroe County except for the Eastman House," the home of George Eastman, a founder of Eastman Kodak. The beautiful Strong mansion had seven, I think, bedrooms on the second floor which reminded me of Winterthur, the DuPont house museum in Delaware. On the second floor Peter's friend built a two-storey library filled with rare books. On the ground floor was a full-size indoor swimming pool. On the way home we stopped at Wegman's, Rochester's rather stupendous grocery store chain. It really was impressive. If you're in Rochester, don't miss a trip to Wegman's; Cher doesn't.

On Sunday we were off to the main event at a nearby restaurant, Molly's party! It was great to be with her and all of my cousins and their children. One of the joys of these family parties is to see my cousins' children who are growing so fast that they are almost unrecognizable. Molly received a serious diagnosis but she is a very strong person and has rallied incredibly, defying expectations. She was trained as a nurse and I bet she was a resolute nurse, determined to make patients get well just as she was determined to entertain us when we were children.
A very happy birthday to my aunt Molly.