A little under the weather

This past weekend was a mixed bag. I've been on an antibiotic since last Wednesday and it seemed to catch up with me on Saturday. I was preparing the service in Guilford, and Ellen was wondering if she might end up having to fill in for me, which is what she did the last time I was scheduled to preach at Guilford (and did a wonderful job, I might add). But I rallied and felt able to do the service (maybe that extra hour that we were given helped), and everyone said it was a wonderful service. But I was pretty wiped out afterward, so we came home and I went to bed. Ellen went to another movie - Radical Grace - which was about the "nuns on the bus" and she loved it. I felt better Sunday eve after a rest and went with her to see Requiem for the American Dream which featured Naom Chomsky reflecting at length on what is happening in our country economically. It could have been a Bernie Sanders ad. But it was sobering.

I got a reasonable nights sleep and we went to OLLI again today, this time on music in Malawi in the A.M. and Pure Water for the World in the P.M. Both very interesting. The morning featured Tom Toleno's wife Andrea, who is an elementary school music teacher in Keene, NH, and both learned music from children and adults in Malawi, and also taught sight-reading to adults there. She had some charming videos of children singing in school. 

During the noon break we walked this beautiful, leaf-strewn road:

A old road, closed to traffic, near the OLLI building.

This road goes by a pretty swampy area, and I took a picture of this lovely mosaic of leaves under water:

After OLLI we talked briefly with Katie and Savanna, who come to the afternoon session, and then hightailed it up to Bellows Falls, about 12 miles up the road, where we joined Kathy Leo and Tom Goldschmid at a Hospice volunteer training session. We gave a brief presentation about Hallowell, the Hospice singing group we have been a part of for 13 years, and what the experience of singing at the bedside means for us. We sang some songs as well. The group was very appreciative. 

Afterward, Ellen mailed some cards at the BF post office and I took some shots of downtown Bellows Falls at dusk. 

    Main Street in Bellows Falls at dusk

     Bellows Falls Post Office

  

Tonight I'm snug in bed while Ellen takes in 2 more movies. She can't get enough. Next year, she says, she'll see them all if she can! 

Another thing that happened last week is that Ellen spent time with Tamar on Friday, and they worked on making felted pumpkins, which Tamar really liked doing. Here's what one looks like:

Amazing what you can do with a little wool!