It slips away...

Time goes by, fall arrives.  The weather is ... odd.  A Nor'easter parked in the Gulf of Maine dropped 4-5 inches of water over 4 days.  Finally the sun came out this weekend. 

Friday night was "Uke Night" at a local music store.  David and I went.  There seemed to be about 20 or 25 people there, including kids, younger people and, of course, our generation was well represented.  We took turns suggesting tunes from the Daily Ukulele (a songbook with 365 tunes), and then strumming them.  We were likely among the less accomplished players, but it was still fun.

Saturday night we went to the Rockport Opera House to a concert of local Maine folk musicians to support a local Maine organization - We The People (wethepeoplemaine.me) - which is part of a larger national movement to repeal the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision through a Constitutional amendment.  The hall was packed (again, our generation well in attendance, actually very over-represented), the music was good, the feeling was upbeat.

 As we were driving home last night, I asked David if it seemed to him that there was more "going on" here - culturally, politically, etc. - than there had been in Connecticut, or if we are just more attuned to it. He thinks there is more going on. I think in Connecticut the "goings on" seemed to be targeted at the wealthier - Hartford Stage, Hartford Symphony, etc. - while here there are a lot of smaller, more locally based happenings happening. Not a very scientific analysis, I guess.

So here's another sample from the Free Press "Miscellaneous" section of the local Calendar of Events:

• "Extreme Savings: A Crash Course in Couponing," 6-8 p.m., Great Salt Bay School, Damariscotta. $24: 563-2811 or clcae@aos93.org.
• "How & Why to Keep Bees in Top Bar Hives," 6-8 p.m., Medomak Valley High School, Waldoboro. $20: 832-5205 or msad40.MaineAdultEd.org.
• "History and Myth in Russian Foreign Policy," 7 p.m., Camden Library. Prof. Seth Singleton gives the free talk.
• "Tugboat Work & Seamanship," 7 p.m., Rockport Opera House's meeting room. Talk by Captain Ron Hawkins.

I like how you have to spend money to learn about "extreme savings".  Do you think you have to bring your own bee or bee hive to the bee class?  The tugboat event sounded interesting, but I think we missed it already.

Today was chore day - vacuum, rake leaves, mow the lawn (dare I hope for the last time this season?), clean up a couple of the garden beds and mulch.  Hard work, especially the raking.

I am getting ready to travel to Atlanta this coming week for Cachao's 8th birthday and birthday party, to which I received a handwritten personal invitation informing me to come in a Ninja costume, to bring a present and my invitation, and in so doing, I will be able to join a Ninja dance, have dinner and Ninja birthday cake and go trick-or-treating.  Sound like fun?  Photos to come post-trip.

MPBN - our local public radio station, sponsored a contest recently, asking the question "What to MPBN listeners look like?" - and asking listeners to take a photo of themselves listening to MPBN and send it in.  Many were posted on the MPBN website.  Here's the one I sent in:

I wish you bright autumn leaves, chilly nights, frosty mornings, and Peace.