You don't need a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows

But it wouldn't hurt.  Is it global warming?  Or is Mother Nature just really pissed off?  The weather has been bi-polar (no pun intended).  For example, here are the temperatures from February 4, February 10,  February 14 (check out the "feels like" temp!) and today, February 20th:

Just slightly confused.  During that time period, we actually experienced winter:

For about a week it was beautiful.  Cold, but only 36 hours of minus degree temperatures.  The rest of the time, just seasonally cold, cold enough so that when you walk, the snow crunched under your feet.  I got to wear my new coat every day for a week - at least during morning walks.

Today I wore 2 fleeces under a raincoat.  In mid-February.  Ick.  For this I moved to mid coast Maine?  I could have moved to Atlanta and been near my grandchildren.

Apart from the confusing weather, things have been generally busy and somewhat confused, at least for me.  Randomly, here's what I've been up to:

• I attended two meetings of the Maine Democratic party, one in Belfast and one in Rockland.  Both covered how to participate in Maine's caucuses.  Yep, like the famous Iowa caucuses (and the Nevada caucuses taking place today!), Maine's delegates that choose the party nominees are selected in caucuses, not in primary elections.  The whole (Democratic) caucus process is incredibly arcane and cumbersome, and very interesting.  In 2008, about 150 people turned out in Rockland for the Democratic caucus.  (I learned that caucuses are held on a municipal basis, so ours is here in Rockland.)  At the Rockland meeting, a representative of the Hilary and of the Bernie campaign spoke.   Both were local legislators, but Bernie's was inspiring. Troy Jackson is a logger from upstate Maine who's been fighting the LePage administration in the legislature over labor issues.  Our dismal governor attacked Troy by name a couple years ago, ridiculing him as not belonging in the government and telling him to go home and cut logs.  Troy is fiercely pro-Bernie.  Troy pointed to the influence of Money - in Augusta, in Washington. He said he's tired of Democrats compromising.  He said you never hear LePage or any other Republican talk about the need to compromise.  For once, he said, he wants to vote for a person whose values and policies he really believes in.  I hear you, Troy, and I stand right there beside you:  Go, Bernie!
• I decided to attend, and am now 3 out of 4 sessions through, training by the Restorative Justice Project to be a mentor or some other volunteer role.  I think I've mentioned that David went through this training the first year we moved here and has served as a mentor 3 or 4 times, in fact, is currently a mentor for a young man.  I'm not yet sure how I want to participate but I support the program and have learned from the training sessions.
• We - mostly David, but me, too - have started working on the house again.  I learned that I actually enjoy steaming wallpaper off of old walls.  So I've taken up that task, and then David comes behind and repairs the plaster - a very intense job because the plaster is old and the wallpaper has been up a long time, several layers, the bottom layer a very long time.  In fact, yesterday I found someone's signature and the date 1927 under the wallpaper in the hall - we're doing the walls by the staircase, the upstairs and downstairs hallways - here's a photo:

Appears to say: L L Rowe APR 1927

• Synagogue-related activities busier than usual lately.  In addition to treasurer tasks and Board meetings, I have attended a couple of joint meetings of the Policy and Ritual committees (I joined the Ritual committee this past year).  We've been addressing the issue of what to do about saying kaddish when we don't have 10 Jews for a minyan.  The new policy is to collect some relevant prayers and readings that can be recited by the mourner and congregation in lieu of kaddish if there is no minyan.  I offered to - and now must actually - work on preparing the readings/prayers for copying in booklet form.
• I started Tai Chi, just a 6-week course, at The Dancing Elephant, which is where I had been going for yoga (okay, okay, I hear you about the name The Dancing Elephant?? But given how klutzy I am when "moving" around the studio, I think it's a good name).   The Tai Chi classes are an hour (versus 90 minute yoga sessions) and less expensive ($10/class versus $15).  I had tried a Tai Chi class a year or so ago through a separate adult-ed program and didn't care for the approach taken by the teacher or for driving in the evening to Camden to the school where the classes were held.  I assumed the sessions at The Dancing Elephant would have a different teacher.  First session was this past week - turns out, it's the same teacher as through the adult ed program; oh well.  The class is small, 6 students, 3 women, 3 men.  Maybe it will be okay.  It's certainly more convenient, closer to home and takes place during the day from noon to 1:00. It did remind me how much I loved Tai Chi so I think I'll stick with it for the 6 sessions at least.
• I've been fairly good about regularly practicing ukulele and have decided to take another formal class at Bay Chamber Music School which starts at the end of the month.
• I've read a bunch of books - right now, reading 3:  Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, Essays After Eighty, by Donald Hall, and In The Company of Crows and Ravens, by John M. Marzhoff and Tony Angell (beautiful drawings!), plus some poetry and a book about Maine presented through a year's worth of daily entries, which I'm reading week-by-week.
• Trying to follow the permutations of Antonin Scalia's death in the media while trying not to enjoy the jokes too much.  ("You should only say good things about people who die.  Okay.  Scalia died.  That's good.")  Wishing I could deeply believe what I wrote on Facebook - that I wish he had retired, not died. I want to believe that; does that count?

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In the narrower and now muddy world of mid coast Maine, I remind you - if anyone is still reading this blog or happens upon it - that applications are due very soon for Miss Sea Goddess for next year's Maine Lobster Festival.  Unfortunately for me - fortunately for the public - I aged out of applying some 40 years ago!

Let's see how Bernie does in Nevada, and what the hell happens in the Republican primary in South Carolina, the first state to secede from the United States, leading to the (first) Civil War, home of Strom Thurmond, the state where a white racist felt comfortable slaughtering Black people in a house of worship.  Geez, mentioning Bernie, for a second I felt a slight frisson of hope, then thinking about South Carolina and the Republicans, I think I may need to throw up.

Peace, peace, far and near - Bernie for President.