Yet more catching up.

I can't remember recently going this long without writing a post for this blog. I'm not sure exactly why that is the case, but it is what it is, and this is an effort to bring things up to date. I apologize to my followers who have been wondering and worrying. I'm okay! I think the last post was about the Primary Election in Vermont - that was a month ago! Yikes!! The next thing after that that I can remember was on Thursday the 15th - we had John and Cynthia over for supper on the deck - a lovely summer evening meal. Ellen made her signature veggie salad platter - beets, potatoes, carrots, green beans, deviled eggs, etc. I have a photo of Cynthia showing off the platter - a work of art as well as being delicious!

Cynthia displaying the beautiful veggie platter Ellen made.*************** We have actually seen quite a bit of John and Cynthia lately - that would not have been possible if they had done what they originally planned to do in August, which was to spend three weeks on Grand Manan Island in the Bay of Fundy. They had reserved a little cabin at the "Hole-in-the-Wall Campground" and had planned to drive up in their Honda Fit, with their kayaks on the roof rack. Sadly, just days before they planned to leave, the clutch on the Fit began to fail, making it very difficult to shift gears. Their attempts to get it fixed in time to go on their trip all failed, and to make a long story short, they cancelled the trip. As it turned out, they got a new clutch installed in September and were able to re-schedule their trip - they left for Grand Manan on September 8th and will return on the 17th - not as long a trip as they originally planned, but they are having great weather and really enjoying their time there. Meanwhile, back in August, they came with us to a concert starring Keith Murphy and Becky Tracy and two of their friends at the Retreat Farm (Saturday the 17th); then they came with us for an evening dinner cruise on a boat on Lake Sunapee in New Hampshire (Tuesday the 20th), and then came over at least twice later that week, once to have a long and fruitful talk about my physical condition and issues of safety, especially here at the house (e.g., things like going up and down stairs), and once to actually get some things done (like putting in a second railing on the stairs to the third floor). We've had some good times together that would not have happened if they had not cancelled their trip. That, I guess, is an example of being given lemons and making lemonade. But for John, especially, there is no substitute for going to Grand Manan, so I'm glad they are there now.

Keith and Becky and friends at the Retreat Farm concert. ******************* Of course, other things happened as well. Sunday Aug. 18th there was a Hallowell sing for Tom Goldschmid and Kathy Leo. Tom has pancreatic cancer, but is doing fairly well at the present time. It was very special to sing for them. We sat in a circle in their living room, and they sang with us. There was also a Village Harmony concert that same Sunday afternoon, at the Guilford Church. This was a group that had a camp in Westminster-West, led by Mary Cay Brass, Kathy Bullock, and Carl Linich, and this concert was their culminating event. We had to dash down to the church right after the Hallowell sing, and even then got there a little late. But it was a great concert - a really interesting repertoire. I didn't get to talk to Carl Linich, but it was wonderful seeing him again, and hearing the Georgian music he led. When I went on the Northern Harmony tour back in 2001, he was my roommate, so I got to know him pretty well.

Village Harmony concert at the Guilford Church. **************** Monday was the start of the Democratic Convention in Chicago - Monday night was Joe Biden night - but I also had a doctor's appointment Monday afternoon. Tuesday the 20th was a special day, as I mentiioned above - John and Cynthia came with us to Lake Sunapee, NH - about an hour's drive - to go on a dinner cruise in a boat on the lake. We were early, so we drove around the lake, which is pretty heavily developed with cottages and mansions. That was an interesting little tour. When it came time to board the boat, we were disappointed to learn that the boat we thought we would be boarding had been reserved for a private wedding, so we were put on another boat - the "MV Mt. Sunapee" which was not quite as charming - a bit newer and with less character. But it had everything we needed, and actually had an open-air top deck which the original boat did not have which Cynthia and John both enjoyed and was especially good for taking photos - no obstructions! So it worked out fine. It was a lovely evening and we got a nice sunset. It was a buffet dinner which Ellen thought was at best average in terms of food quality, but which I enjoyed (I knew it wasn't anything like what she would prepare, but it wasn't bad). There were ample gluten-free and vegetarian options for John (we had checked that out ahead of time). We had a good time.

Scenes from the Lake Sunapee dinner cruise.****** The Democratic Convention continued through Thursday, and there were a lot outstanding speeches, with the prize perhaps going to Michelle Obama. Overall, it was an uplifting event for sure.

Michelle Obama. ********* Thursday the 22nd, I had a gathering of retired clergy in the morning at the Dummerston Church - another good discussion, this time on the chapter titled "Loneliness," (i.e., as one grows older, one loses family and friends and watches one's world fade away). In the evening we had a Hallowell rehearsal at the West-West church - something we always enjoy. Then we came home and listened to the final speeches of the DNC, including Kamala's acceptance speech. A lot of good energy there! On Friday the 23rd, we went down to Shutesbury to have supper with Katie and Brendon. We had a lovely supper on their screened porch. The only glitch was that when we left to come home, I left my laptop on the porch. But Katie brought it up to the Brattleboro Farmer's Market the next morning and met Ellen there. I didn't go to the Market with Ellen because Peter Amidon came to the house to visit me. That was very nice. I'm not sure if he had a specific reason for coming or just wanted to be in touch, but he did offer to set up a wood bee for us to get a pile of wood stacked. Ellen normally would say, "I can handle it," but lately she is having hip and leg pain and stacking wood isn't so easy anymore. So I think she is appreciative (though it hasn't happened yet). Sunday there was a Union Service of the usual four UCC churches (Guilford, Dummerston, Centre Church and First Church, West Brattleboro), this time at Centre Church. There was a good congregation and a good choir, led by Mary Milkey-May, whom we like - a good choir director and a fine organist. Centre Church has a very nice pipe organ. Scott Couper, pastor at Centre Church, gave a very rousing sermon. Centre Church is located in the heart of downtown Brattleboro, and a lot of homeless people spend the night on the church lawn. The church has even installed a porta-potty for their convenience. But Scott has to pick up a lot of needles and trash every morning. Housing is so expensive in Brattleboro that there are more and more people who have nowhere to live. It's a big problem, and Scott clearly feels the church has a responsibility to help alleviate it, but the question is - exactly what should it do? How much should it have to do? It was a timely sermon. After the service, the "coffee hour" was really a full-blown lunch - we didn't eat the full spread, but what I had was good.

The coffe hour "spread" at Center Church. ******************* That brings us up to the last week of August - a week in which John and Cynthia came over several times, for one reason or another. The highlight of the week was a visit from my granddaughter, Katie, and her friend, Gabby. We hadn't seen Katie since she came last year with her housemate, Christian. Things have changed, and now Katie is living with Gabby! Gabby (a.k.a. Gabrielle) is a very easy person to be around, and Katie seemed relaxed and happy with her. They were going to a wedding in New Hampshire, and came a couple of days early to see us. We met John and Cynthia at Panda North for supper Friday, and on Saturday, Katie and Gabby took a trip around Vermont because Gabby had not been in Vermont before, and then J&C came over Saturday and joined us for supper here at the house. K&G enjoyed looking at photo albums of Katie when she was a little girl. K&G left for the wedding Sunday morning, so we said our goodbyes when we went to church.

Above: Gabby (left) and Katie (right). Below: Katie (left) and Gabby (right) looking at photo albums. ****************** I still have two weeks to cover but I'm going to get this already very long post up now!