Count down...

Twenty-nine more days- max. Til' I leave for my trip. Or it might be 26...depends on things. I still have things to get ready, and things to shop for. Mostly, I am going to be waiting. Waiting for return phone-calls. Waiting for the money to come in, waiting until it feels right to go. I need to doctor up some photos--take out the defects and specks. I decided as a gift to the ones who are doing these things for me, to give copies of some very special Astor Photographs. To the owner of Astor-courts, I am going to give to her an original photo that I have. It would mean more that way. I hope she likes it.

Beechwood

Argh!!! I waited one year too long. Beechwood has been sold! I sent an e-mail but it was returned. I do have the name of the supposed current owner with an address who I will write tomorrow. His wife is a novelist, so perhaps because of that-- he might be sympathetic. I just want a tour, not to buy the place. I might just show up and see what happens. Maybe it will be sold or given to the Newport Preservation people or maybe they will keep running it as a tourist place or maybe it will be a private home that if you ask nicely...you can see. :( I'm sad...

Plugging away...

Got the time line for my trip done...and it looks like if we don't do anything but our research and not dawdle on the way...we ought to be able to hit every spot I need to, and a lot of I want to. I have details to finish and a lot of people to start contacting for various stops. All of which I can't do until Monday because ...nobody answers phone calls from pushy researchers...did I say pushy? I meant to say,...um...dedicated researchers...that's the ticket. I am tired and want to go to bed, but I still have my regular writing work to do. Ugh. Don't you just hate those days when all you want to do is sleep and sleep is the last thing you should do if you want to stay productive?

Rhinebeck

While I was in Omaha visiting Nebraska, I made contact with the head of the Rhinebeck Historical Society and the Museum of Rhinebeck History. Between the two of them (I am not listing their names to respect their privacy...not that there's a big risk of all these Astor groupies flooding them with requests ...but you never know...) There is so much potential history there and material for my books, ...more than there was at Stanford. Here I have listings to drool over, and to fantasize about and well-- ahem, more than enough to make all of the trip coming up worth while. I should have kept this blog updated with the whole back and forth between us -- but, I didn't but I do promise to do better in the future. Today, I am trying just to catch up and get back in routine and the time is running away with me and I am struggling to get laundry done and to get the house cleaned up and the finances cleaned up and ...and...and...fighting a migraine as I go. I promise to bore you...I mean, write a better blog tomorrow.