Waltz from Jarna

My first session out on the island, I brought my "boat" fiddle - the one that is less valuable and more appropriate for living in a tent. What I found was, after working for nine hours and then doing camp chores, there was little energy remaining for playing anything so I brought it home. I also brought harmonicas and a tin whistle, all with the same result - not being played. So, it's a real treat to be at home and have the fiddle (the nice one) on the table, ready to be played at any given moment.
SK returned to the States after a month's travel to Europe, bringing some lovely Swedish tunes back with her. It was fun to try some of them out myself, although I don't have the ear yet to figure out all the subtle nuances that make the music truly Swedish in sound. SK, however, has that gift and we enjoyed listening to her while she visited here.
Richard, Toby and I went to Portland yesterday afternoon in search of the Men's Wearhouse where Toby was to be fitted for a suit for Bryan and Erin's upcoming September 27th wedding. I used the GPS while Richard drove - my first time really using this particular unit (my previous experience was with Bryan's smaller Garmin) and I think I did quite well putting in way points and navigating through the various features, though I never did find out how to get the silly thing to stop avoiding the toll highway (it kept wanting to redirect me to I-295 which we kept wanting to avoid!). The trip was a success, and we even managed to find the art supply store where I found a new watercolor sketch pad and some new watercolor pencils that I love.
Bryan is flying in tonight for a weekend visit, possibly bringing his friend Raphael along. Raphael lives in Florida and the plan is for him to fly into Manchester at about the same time as B so they can finish the last leg of the journey, to Wayne, together. Bryan has lots of plans while he is here in Maine, the main one to attend the wedding of Paul Wilson and Cynthia Phinney on Saturday- it should be a beautiful ceremony and reception.
Jen, Avery and Paige will be coming this weekend as well - an overnight visit so we'll plenty of time to have a lot of fun! I'm looking forward to some good girl time with Jen, and some play time with the short people.
Today I'll be making pesto with basil I picked this morning (before the rain and thunder), cleaning the house up (taking care of the rest of my camping gear), perhaps writing and sketching a bit, and playing some tunes!
Waltz from Jarna comes from the Waltz Book, Volume Three.