Baker's Favorite

Avery and I made some of these classic cinnamon roll treats this afternoon, and ours looked very much like this picture I found. The ones we make at the Apple Shed are actually much bigger, but I need to work on my recipe at home to get them just right. Still, it was a good first attempt today and Avery had a good time mixing up the cinnamon and sugar 'til it was just right, and then sprinkling it over the dough. We served them up nice and hot with some Edy's vanilla bean ice cream on the side, mmmm... just the thing on a cold rainy November afternoon. Baker's Favorite comes from the Reckless Reel, and I'm guessing it refers to Elke Baker rather than someone in the kitchen covered with sugar and flour!

Give Me Your Hand

So, I've been having some discomfort in my hands and forearms for a few weeks now. I saw my physician last week, and she prescribed an anti-inflammatory and a visit to a physical therapist that I went to see today. Though I'm still not sure exactly what's going on, I have some direction in working to manage the situation using stretching exercises to re-build muscle tone in my forearms and to strengthen my hands. It's been difficult to think that my activities might be limited, and has given me new motivation for LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST while the livin' is good! A little wake up call :)

Give Me Your Hand comes from the Waltz Book, volume two.

Simplicity Contra

We started out this morning with a trip to our local community recreation center to meet with the new director of activities. We'd proposed doing a contradance, either as a one-shot-deal or as a regularly scheduled event and apparently there's interest in that happening... whahooo! This is just what we were hoping would happen.

Early this year we took a caller's workshop, and have been seeking (and accepting) opportunities to call dances. We've organized and presented some community contradances, have called at some regular series dances in the area, and continue to try out dances here at home. We'd decided that this year we would use any chance we could get to gain experience and confidence, regardless of the financial impact, and that we would hopefully have some sort of regular thing to do next year. Not a bad plan. We've had varying levels of success, mostly very positive, and we've learned a lot... enough so that we put together some proposals in the hopes that we'd generate some fairly regular gigs.

So, this community center could be the start of a dream come true. The director is interested in having a weekly learning session which would essentially be an easy family style dance, and a monthly community dance. The weekly dance would be attended by sign up and would be more of a regular beginner session and possibly a specialty workshop. The monthly community dance would be offered at "Family Friendly" and affordable hours & rates, encouraging participation at all ages and levels of experience. The weekly sessions would hopefully build confidence and interest to make the monthly dance something everyone would look forward to.

We also have had interest from some adult education programs in the area, and our idea here is to offer a four-week session where we'd focus on some history & basic figures the first weeks, ending in a final contradance at the fourth session. Seems like there's interest here too, at least on the organizer level... we'll see how many people are interested in signing up. It's possible that this would also be an avenue for developing area-wide interest in contra style folk dancing, which would include some New England squares, circles, longways sets, triplets and even some of the old-time "chestnuts" called in the old-style way which is to call and play at the same time. It's pretty exciting to be bringing this kind of community activity back into the limelight, and we're appreciative of all the lessons, coaching and experience we've had this year. I'd also like to mention that we've had great support from our fellow musicians as we endeavor to put these programs together, it's great to have made such good friends. The key to all of these dances is to keep things interesting and also fairly simple and easy, so that everyone has a good time and gets to enjoy dancing. Keep your fingers crossed for us as we continue to do what we love, close to home!

In other news today, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! We enjoyed visiting, sharing a gift of homemade applesauce, and having lunch together (thanks mom for delicious corn chowder and homemade bread).

Simplicity Contra is actually a contradance written by Dan Pearl.

Orange Cape...

... in the shape of a carrot! That's what Avery dressed up as this Halloween, check out their blog for photos. It was fun to share in the festivities this afternoon and evening... reading a book about pumpkins (compliments of a woman I work with), dressing up to go trick-or-treating (Avery suggested "Gram, go home and get yow costume and come right back, okay?"), walking to houses in the neighborhood and hearing Avery's well rehearsed "Trick or Treat" and then his "Thank You". When some folks were talking about other neighbors who'd just had a baby the day before, Avery chimed in "We're getting one too!" which amazes me because he's just so conversational and understands so much.

Real life adventure before we headed out, another bat at the Richard household. Yes, that's right, a Halloween Bat made a brief appearance before being ushered out into the night.

Once we got back home from collecting treats, Avery had just as much fun handing out candy and pretzels "to the children". He cracks me up!

When I got home I found out that we hadn't had any children come to our house, which is not surprising considering where we live and that we don't really know many children close by. Glad I ventured out and got a little taste of the magic of the holiday!

Orange Cape can be found in Here's to Every Country Dancer.

Gravel Walk

The fall flowers are compliments of Jen, Jason and Avery... the pumpkin has a couple of cousins inside the house. We opted for pie pumpkins instead of jack-o-lantern style pumpkins this year. Not having any little children living at home, we didn't feel the need to carve but still like having the illusion of decorating for fall. Nice thing about setting pie pumpkins around is that they can be cut up, cooked, and saved for pies for Thanksgiving, which is exactly what will happen to ours. These pie pumpkins are a deeper orange too, and I like that. The white flowers are definitely a nice contrast, especially against the crushed rock.

The leaves are really just about gone from the trees, having been blown away and rained upon last weekend. Temperatures finally dipped down into the 20's, frost covered the windshields of the vehicles and the lawn, and it's feeling (and looking) like fall. Time to start thinking about hunkering down and settling in for the winter! I mean, only think about it, no need to take drastic action yet! We had a nice fire in the woodstove this morning, kept it burning for a few hours until the sun started heating up the house.

Gravel Walk comes from the Portland Collection (first, also known as the un-numbered volume).

Woodchopper's Reel

Avery has decided he wants to be a carrot for Halloween this year. Jen put on her thinking cap and got her creative juices flowing and created this adorable costume for him to wear. It's hard to know just how much A understands, and how much of what he talks about is compiled of stories he's repeating but he seems ready to don his carrot attire, get his bag and go door-to-door to query "Trick or Treat?" Uncle Bryan has been waiting for this photo, and I think everyone else will enjoy it too!

It's that time again, when all the season's firewood gets stacked and stored in preparation for the cold weather ahead of us. We filled the porch, and also got a couple of stacks of firewood in the room off the kitchen as well as filled the living room storage area. It's nice not to have needed much of it yet, but it does seem pretty strange to be at the end of October and the temperatures still so mild.

Avery has decided he wants to be a carrot for Halloween this year. Jen put on her thinking cap and got her creative juices flowing and created this adorable costume for him to wear. It's hard to know just how much A understands, and how much of what he talks about is compiled of stories he's repeating but he seems ready to don his carrot attire, get his bag and go door-to-door to query "Trick or Treat?"

Saturday we went to Bar Harbor to call for their regular contradance. It's the first time we've done this together and we had a good time. The band was great, the crowd had a great time, and we felt like we'd done a nice job selecting dances that were appropriate for the evening. We were fortunate to have been invited to spend the night, made new friends, and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast with them before heading back home. We're hoping to reciprocate in the near future, our hosts are interested in going out to the Skye Theater in Carthage... quite a distance from Bar Harbor, so we offered that they might like to have dinner with us at our house, go to a concert and then they'd stay here in Wayne before heading back the next day. We like the idea of trading off like this, it makes for the opportunity of conversation and friendship as well as saving everyone involved the additional cost of a hotel. We wonder if it might be possible to trade hosting with others, even from out of state. Anyone out there have experience with this idea?

Woodchopper's Reel is a standard fiddle tune that can be found in the Fiddler's Fakebook.

Harvest Home Hornpipe

Seasonal fare that is hearty and healthy! This dessert is easy to make, and filled with good stuff like apples, walnuts and dates. The base is a crumb mixture of walnuts and dates, pressed down and refrigerated. Apples are thinly sliced and cooked on the stovetop with honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and ground cloves with apple juice. Once apples are cooked, they are placed on top of the crust. The remaining juice gets cooked down into a syrup and then drizzled over the top of the whole thing. Mmmmm. I used Cortlands for this dish.

Harvest Home Hornpipe comes from Twin Fiddling... it's essentially the same tune as Harvest Home which can be found in the Fakebook.

Spy

L-R: Red Delicious, Cortland, MacIntosh, Northern Spy, our own variety, Empire

Apples, Apples, Apples!

It's nearing the end of harvest season at the orchard and business is slowing down a little. Still lots of folks stopping in to pick, or to get baked goods but not nearly the rush that was seen early this month.

Sunday morning we went and picked a couple bags of apples. We sampled the different varieties, next test will be to bake them into some tasty treats and see which varieties lend themselves that way. The varieties we got were MacIntosh, Cortland, Empire, Red Delicious, Northern Spy, and an unnamed variety from our own back yard that looks like a yellow delicious.

I read an interesting article about eating foods that are in season rather than eating from the non-seasonal-always-there-on-the-shelf items available at the grocery store. The article suggests that seasonal foods such as spring greens, summer produce, fall root vegetables and meat for the winter are healthier and more natural for our bodies. One of this season's offerings are apples of course, so there's no need to feel bad about eating them, in any shape or form!

Spy is a tune from the Reckless Reel.

Fantastic Reel

Fantastic News at Our House! I received my acceptance letter from UMF today! I just about cried with joy and excitement when I opened the envelope and read the news... so it's official... I'll be attending classes full time starting in January... not that far away.
We went out to dinner to celebrate, and had a nice meal at the Chuck Wagon in Livermore Falls. Katie came to visit, so she went along with us... we tried out a new cocktail, which we never did really find out the name, but it has Malibu, pineapple juice and cranberry juice... yummy and fruity but not overly sweet.
Fantastic Reel comes from the Portland Collection Volume Two.

Fiddle Hill Jig

Photo of Ralph Page
On Thursday afternoons I drive out to Canaan to study fiddle with Elaine Malkin. It's about an hours drive each way, and the lesson is about an hour (sometimes more) so it's a pretty good investment of time as well as money, but I look forward to it every week. Some weeks I get a lot of practice in, sometimes I barely feel like I should go present myself 'cause I'm SURE it shows when I haven't put the time in at home... but I am committed to improvement, and especially to learn the old style of New England fiddling that is so important to contradance. I'm learning so much, not just about playing the music, but about the dance too.

Contradance has many aspects that work together to create an evening of fun. The musicians work together to learn tunes that are well phrased, so the dancers can hear/feel when the next moves should be executed. Well phrased music also makes it easier for the caller to be on time. The caller chooses dances that are appropriate for the crowd (beginners, mixed level, experienced). The dancers work together to carry out the callers instructions, letting the music guide them as they dance. The caller and the musicians work together to choose tunes that help tell the story of the dance (light & bouncy, or dark and driving, or smooth and flowing for example). There's usually a sound person who is mixing the musicians and the caller... and making adjustments as the hall fills with more dancers or the temperature changes, or as different instruments are brought into the mix. And there are organizers who oversee the evening, collect the money, greet newcomers and in general keep order midst the chaos. These are all the basics.

History has it that many years ago, musicians were also the callers... each musician in a band would have a few dances they liked to call, and they'd take turns. Much different than todays dances where the musicians keep their seats and the caller has charge of the evening. I'm on a journey to learn the craft of calling while playing. I take every opportunity to play at a dance and I also call when possible. When I first started calling, I thought it would be pretty cool to be able to call a dance while I was playing, this was before I really knew it had been a regular thing. I've been practicing this a bit with actual dances (in the privacy of my own home), and regularly am able to call out tune changes or key signatures while playing music with people (in real life situations)... it's like rubbing your head while you're chewing gum. Combine this with the fact that you have to make the dance calls BEFORE the moves get made, so your timing is ahead of the action... yeah, it's complicated. But it can be done, it's been done before. So, I'm learning.

My fiddle teacher is one of those amazing people who are able to play and call at the same time, and she is mentoring me in this area. She's suggested some dances, is teaching me some tunes that go along with the dances, and I'm planning to be proficient enough to present them over the next six months. It's ambitious but also fun, and I love the challenge.

Many of those old time dances had specific tunes that went along with them... some are Chorus Jig, Haste to the Wedding, Rory O'More, Petronella, Galopede, Tempest and Hull's Victory to name a few. Another is Fiddle Hill Jig, this is one of the tune & dance combos I'm working on.

Fiddle Hill Jig comes from the Fiddler's Throne, and was written by Ralph Page. I invite you to check out the link and learn more.

Zombies of Sugar Hill

I think I understand the dismay and disappointment of the folks who come to the bakery for a particular treat they have in mind... (I've seen it on their faces when they ask for a cinnamon roll or an apple turnover)... only to be answered with "I'm sorry, but those have sold out". It's a good answer, because it's true... sometimes these things sell out really fast, they're popular because they're so delicious, and people stop in to get them early when they're fresh out of the oven... but it still isn't what they want to hear.
I worked today, and I actually made pumpkin whoopie pies. I knew when I was placing the batter on the sheets that I wanted one, and I knew it even more when they came out of the oven... and even more so when they were filled, wrapped and placed in the case. But, it was a busy morning, and when I got ready to leave I just didn't take one. Later in the afternoon, when Richard and I were out doing chores (taking stuff to the transfer station, in exchange for other really cool stuff at the Stop & Shop Free Store), I asked R "Hey, do you have any money?" Richard said, "Hm, I think I might have a dollar, go ahead and look", which I did and he was right... one dollar. I had some change. He asked "What is it you want?" which was a good question because our transfer station is way out of any shopping district... I replied "I really want a pumpkin whoopie pie, and the Apple Shed Bakery is right on our way home".
Richard is a good sport, and gave up his dollar to the community pot. We chose a Senshu apple before going into the store, and found the display cases had many fine goods for sale but NO PUMPKIN WHOOPIE PIE! Drat #P{OI#ESD and curses on all, I was thinking, but only uttered "Crap!" which drew attention from my employer and co-worker. One look at the zombie stare on my face, and we all knew that I had reached the level of understanding that would from this point forward make me much more sympathetic to my customers who were seeking that "something special" that was not available. We settled for a cinnamon bun and two Senshu apples (which were delicious but not even in the same ballpark as a pumpkin whoopie pie) which came to $1.84 (just about all the cash we had between the two of us)
So, what am I doing right now? Well, I've found a nice recipe on-line for pumpkin whoopie pies because even though I know that I can have one tomorrow if I want to drive over to the bakery, I really want one TONIGHT, hahaha...
Well, I'm back from my baking adventure! I mixed up a batch of Pumpkin Whoopie Pies from a recipe I got on the internet... actually I found several recipes, but chose this one because it had more spices (including cinnamon, ginger and ground cloves). They are darker than PWP I've seen before, but after tasting them, the verdict is Mmmmmmmmm Good! The spices add a lot to the overall flavor, and the cream, well the cream really finishes off nice.
Zombies of Sugar Hill is actually not a tune, but a contradance that we have in our vast repertoire of contradance cards.

Happy Birthday to You...

... Happy Birthday dear Toby!

Where oh where has the time gone? Sometimes it seems like just yesterday that these adults were just little and now they're all grown up! So many good times over all the years, and they continue to be good whenever we get together.

Jen, Jason and Avery stopped by with apples picked fresh from the orchard. I cooked some into a delicious apple crisp (double on the crisp for extra tasty goodness) and the rest I cooked down into applesauce (also delicious). We might go pick more apples next weekend if the weather is good... I'll make more applesauce to freeze.

We went to North Yarmouth and played with the group at the family dance, then had yummy potluck before dancing to the tunes of Sweetbriar, and to the calling of Lisa Sieverts. Great to be in the midst of the dance community, we've been busy most weekends and haven't gotten out to dance as much as we'd like. Still, we have been having fun calling and playing as much as possible.

More windows got washed here at home, nice to have a clear view of the foliage around the yard. The roof on the main part of the house is finished, that's a big job out of the way. The chimneys are clean, firewood is getting moved and stacked onto the porch, gardens are cleaned up, and we're on our way toward being ready for "hunkering down season". Til then we'll continue to work outside and to enjoy this beautiful fall weather.

If anyone out there sees Toby, wish him a big, hearty Happy Birthday. Others sharing birthdays this month are Tonya, Nancy, Ryan, Betty, and Tyler... if I forgot anyone else it's not intentional, just a little lapse in my memory and the fact that my day-timer isn't handy!

College Groves

I got a letter in the mail today, not THE letter (which would be the acceptance letter), but still a pretty encouraging letter from the Univeristy of Maine Farmington. Last month I applied for admission as a full time student, planning to start classes in January 2008. The letter I received today indicates that my application has been received and is being reviewed, and that I've submitted everything they need to make a decision. I've chosen Environmental Science as my major, but also want to concentrate on K-8 Education.

It's exciting to have a career direction, and it's very nice to have the support and encouragement of family. The next few years will have some challenges for all of us, but I'm energized by the possibilities this course of study opens up for me, and for all of us. Whether it is a university, community college, certificate program or community class for enrichment, it's good for all of us to continue learning. Expanding our knowledge and experience helps us stay interesting and interested in our daily travels.

College Groves comes from the Fiddler's Fakebook.

After the Fall

Jen's getting things ready for the new baby, due to arrive in March. Her plan is to move A into a new room with a twin bed, and continuing to use the nursery as a nursery, and to move her and J into what has been the spare room... this involves moving some things around, painting walls and refinishing floors. We cleared space in the spare room Thursday night and were ready to get to work pretty early on Friday. While Jen prepped the window trim and walls, I sanded the floor in what will be the new master bedroom. Once the floor was sanded we laid out newspaper and started painting... Jen worked on the ceiling and I primed the walls. After that dried, we started in on the khaki colored wall paint (which looks beautiful). I was rolling, and Jen was cutting in with a brush. As I was making my way across the room with a roller in one hand and the paint tray in the other, and I stepped on something. Not wanting to trip or fall, I quickly picked up my foot and stepped a bit further away and again stepped on something, but this time I didn't have any balance to reset my foot and I went down. Still, I hadn't spilled one drop of paint... until I landed on my butt and my wrist, and then the impact caused the paint in the tray to plop up and out, all over me and the newspapers. Arghhhhh. I felt awful. But, Jen was calm cool and collected and helped get things cleaned up and we continued on until it was time to pick up Avery.

Whenever I'm doing a painting project, I envision tripping or falling off a ladder or something where paint goes flying. I've seen remnants of such escapades (even in my own home) where someone had an accident with lavender paint, now dried on the tan carpet! But as many times as I've had the thought enter my mind, I've had just as many silent talks with myself to "be careful so that doesn't REALLY happen!". Where was that little voice when I needed it, haha?

After the Fall comes from the Curvy Road to Corinth.

Big George

I started a creative project this evening... two paintings of Curious George driving Kubota tractors! Not an easy task to start, but quite fun once I got them started.

Avery will be moving into a new bedroom soon, as his current room is prepared for a new brother or sister. A's current passion is Kubota tractors, and of course he still loves Curious George... so I decided I could combine the two. One painting is George driving a Kubota through a big garden with a corn field in the background and vegetables in the foreground. The other painting has George driving in a farmyard with lots of animals milling around near the barn. I'm hoping to finish them up tomorrow so they can dry before framing them. I'm planning to deliver them on Thursday when I head up there to spend overnight, so I can help with the painting of the rooms. It'll be fun to have a sleepover, it'll be the first time I've gone up and done that... I'm pretty sure we won't be having any pillow fights though!

For those who are just dying to see these paintings, I'll try taking pictures using my cell phone and then uploading them tomorrow.

Big George is a tune from the Reckless Reel.

Star Quadrille

My interests are many, and varied. Music and family top the list but I also enjoy gardening, cooking, home projects, and quilting! One of my goals when I got done work at Club-E was to make some quilts. I have a lot of fabric that I've collected over the years... I love colors and patterns, so when I go into a fabric store for something, I quite often leave with an arm load of cotton. I've managed to set up my sewing machine (a Janome Memory Craft 3000 that I got years ago) and prepared all my fabrics (washed, dried, sorted by color family), and today I did some log cabin potholders. I had a lot of fun putting colors together and creating something beautiful and useful (have you ever heard me use the term "form and function"?) Let's just say that I had a lot of fun, on a recreational non-professional level.

Now, there are some pretty amazing quilters running around at what I would call a professional level, and one of them is my mom. She does some of the nicest stitching I've ever seen, and her designs are wonderful. This weekend she had the opportunity to spend time at a retreat in Rangeley with other quilters... all gathered and focused on, you guessed it, quilting! I'm looking forward to hearing her account of her weekend.

Some of the women I work with at the Apple Shed are also quilters. It's funny how when you set your mind to thinking about something, and when you decide to do it, and you arrange your life to allow it to happen, there are cosmic forces at work helping you along. The inspiration and conversations with my mom, and the ladies at work, all work together to help me focus on doing some sewing of my own!

Star Quadrille comes from Century Reel.

Three Sisters

No photos... we are having technical difficulty with our camera... again. Richard has been doing some research to determine what we should get. The criteria? Good resolution for general use, ease of operation, pocket size/easy to carry, and potential great resolution for special projects. Any ideas out there?

Saturday was a fine work day, fair weather and mild temperatures continue. One of my sisters, Deb, and her husband are in the final stages of completing their new home~ they've been doing as much of the construction themselves as possible. So, a bunch of us set aside Saturday as a "work day" to do whatever we could to hasten their progress. It was fun to work side by side with a host of other people! We washed windows (inside and out), placed outlet and switch plates, wrapped weather barrier, sorted through piles of construction debris, raked and cleaned up the yard, cleaned kitchen cabinets, put trim and soffit vents in place, and the really big job was to get the fireplace insert framed and ready to finish. A lot got accomplished with each individual doing whatever they could. Food and stories were shared throughout the day, giving their new home a good start on the "Remember when we..." tales that will be recounted over the coming years.

Also, Happy Birthday to Kathie!

Three Sisters is a tune from the Reckless Reel. It's fun when all five of us sisters get together, and we always look forward to those times because the distance makes it an occasional event. I am fortunate that there are three of us now living within 8 minutes of one another, making it an easy task to get a little girl/sister/best friend time in whenever we can!

Through the Gates

... is not where I was able to go this afternoon! When I got home from the Apple Shed, I found a tree across our dirt road. This particular tree was rotten, and so I suppose it just fell down, maybe heavy from the recent rains and maybe a little off it's own balance from the wind. At any rate, there it was, laying neatly across the road preventing anyone from coming or going by vehicle. I moved some smaller pieces but was unable to budge the most significant part of the tree so I walked in to the house, knowing that I would have to allow a few extra minutes when I went out later. Apparently our neighbor was home and heard the crash, and she went out to try and move the tree but also wasn't able to do so. She called her husband to come home and get it out of the road, which he did... so when I went out later it was gone.

Having to walk in to the house (only 1/10 of a mile) was no hardship, but it did offer the thought of parking out there and walking in more often... it's a really nice dirt road we live on, especially this time of year because there are all these leaves skittering about!

We have talked about trimming back the brush and limbs along our little road, to clear space under the power lines. We'll wait until the leaves all fall, leaving us with limbs and branches but hopefully not too much for leafy brush to take care of.

It was really nice when I got home to be able to drive "through the gates" all the way into the house, especially when it's really dark outside.

Through the Gates comes from the Portland Collection Volume Two.

Green Fields of America

We started building a meadow last year by taking the grassy sod from the new garden spot and moving it to the other side of the house. The grass has taken hold and is lush and green. The surrounding area however is still full of slash from where the big pines had been taken down. I've been raking and cleaning, one section at a time, and we've been burning the brush when we can get a burn permit. It might seem like an impossible job, to pick up thousands of pieces of broken limbs and branches from what used to be the forest floor, but like anything else, one step at a time and soon progress is visible.

Years ago while traveling in Nepal, I saw people (women mostly) on the side of the road chipping away at huge rocks, breaking it into piles of gravel. Yeah, this is true. And in Thailand the beaches and roads would be swept and raked daily to keep them clean and beautiful. Here in America we tend to think we need big machines and to spend lots of money to clear land and work in our yards, but sometimes it's pretty nice to just pick a spot and start working at it with my own hands... almost a meditative kind of work... sunshine pressing down on my back, breeze gently blowing my hair across my cheek, sounds of summer passing away as autumn moves in. Better to me than the smell of diesel, the sound of machines, and an almost immediate change in the landscape.

Someday we'll have a nice green field out on that side of our house, and I'll be happy to know that we've put our own labor into it's creation. It's nice to have a little more time at home to be working on projects like this. My part time jobs don't pay much money, but the extra hours at home are a good reward to me and I like that I can spend my time and energy here.

Green Fields of America can be found in the Fiddler's Fakebook.

Two Sisters

I'm lucky to have four sisters, and especially lucky that we all have such fun together. Our interests are varied, our lifestyles differ, we are often busy with work and family... but we all appreciate our "sister time" when we can get it.

Music is one of the things Kathie and I share, and we have for many years now. It was Kathie that actually got me started on the guitar so many years ago and since then I've added many other musical instruments of interest, with my current focus on fiddling. Kath has been a pretty faithful attendee of our Tuesday jam session, which she affectionatly refers to as the PAMJam, haha... she has also played out with the jam group over the past year or so. One of the gigs we do is to play for the Norlands live-in program's barn dance. We've been doing it for more than a year now. We had scheduled to play there tonight, but everyone from the jam group was otherwise busy so Kathie and I decided we'd be able to do it together. Richard is in Bar Harbor calling for the College of the Atlantic contradance, or he'd have been with us too. Anyway, this was a bit of a stretch because it was just the two of us, but we did it and we had a blast! The caller was really happy with us, the dancers were having such a good time, and after it was all over, we were happy to hear the caller comment that we must really like playing together... how nice to know it shows!

We're planning to play for a couple more contradances over the next couple of months... October 6 in Norridgewock and December 15 in Fairfield... Richard will join us for those dances. There are a lot of good things about playing with Kathie, she's nearby so practice is pretty easy to schedule even if it's only 1/2 hour or so; she has a great sense of rhythm; she's been to Maine Fiddle Camp with me so she gets the whole idea of playing contra tunes FOR the dancers and that the dancers are the most important reason for playing; she's flexible and also has great ideas about putting tune medleys together... plus she's fun to hang out with and play music with in general!

She's even got me knitting again! The only thing I really like knitting is scarves, so she found me a pattern that is pretty easy and is letting me knit the yarn she spun.

Two Sisters is a nice waltz written by Steve Muise.

Inimitable

Some of the synonyms for inimitable are unique, matchless, incomparable and one and only... good descriptions for little A. I love this photograph! Now when he sees the camera, he says "cheese" and if you're lucky he starts giggling as he does it so you actually get a good shot, like this one here! We're thrilled about A's having a new sister or brother in the spring, and I just know he'll be a great "big brother"... I love being a grammah so much!

In other news, dad had a successful surgical repair of his left shoulder yesterday and is resting comfortably at home. Another inimitable soul :) as is his "best girl"... nice visit with both of them this afternoon.

Our little kittens, Jefferson & Liberty, are not so little anymore. Their coat has darkened up considerably and they have some weight and size to them these days. They had their spay surgery this week and are no worse for the wear. It was quite a job rounding them up to go though... they were running all through the house and refusing to come to us no matter what we tried to bribe them with. The vet had told Richard that they'd start becoming resistant to going into the pet carrier just about the time they were ready for their surgery, and the vet was right! It's good to know we won't be littered with a litter of kittens. Enough to have three cats in the house without the burden of trying to find homes for more.

That's about it from this corner of the woods. Enjoying the sunshine and beginning of fall colors.

Inimitable is a reel from the New England Fiddler's Repertoire. It's also a tune I'm working on with Elaine, some interesting bowing!

Red Apple Rag

Isn't this a cool device? Until this week I'd never used one, but am now highly skilled because I work at the Apple Shed at Kent's Hill Orchard! My brief hiatus from the working world has been interrupted. The nice things about working at the Apple Shed are 1) it is only a 5 minute drive 2) I work with some really nice women 3) I get a free pastry every day that I work 4) all the coffee I want 5) it's a hands-on-home-made style business 6) it's part time so I can continue to focus on fiddling, writing and quilting. I love wheeling the apples around and catching the threads of skin!The Apple Shed is located at Kents Hill Orchard in Readfield. They sell apples (of course), sandwiches, pastry, pies, cider, jams, handcrafted gift items and more. And you can pick your own apples in the orchard... Macs and Cortlands are available right now.

Red Apple Rag comes from the Fiddler's Fakebook.

Clayhole Waltz

I'm not sure if the soil was actually clay, but judging on how solid the holes were I might guess at least a little bit. What am I talking about, you ask?

David dug a couple holes into a slope and made a smoker! He says he saw a picture and decided to try it out~ great idea and great job putting it all together. We tasted a result of his project, smoked & barbecued pork... mmmmm. We brought along some potato salad and Kathie made a Caesar salad to complete the meal, fun to share food and conversation.

A couple of music practices earlier in the day rounded out our activities for some beautiful early fall weather.

Clayhole Waltz comes from the third volume of the Waltz Books.

Wizard's Walk

Saturday found this contradancing fiddler, two sisters, friend on the train to Boston to see the musical "Wicked" at the Boston Opera House. What a fabulous time we had together. The Downeaster is a fun way to travel, all our attention was focused on talking, laughing, and having Bloody Mary's for breakfast! I wonder if the great Oz ever started his day with this much festivilicious excitement :) We walked around Quincy Market, ate at Cheers, then walked down to the Opera house. What can I say, the show was more than amazing. Three hours and it was as though it had just started, that's how smooth and entertaining it was for all of us. Definitely gives pause to preconceived ideas about being wicked, or any other labels we give ourselves and others... there's always more to the story and with knowledge comes understanding. Insight into the wizard's walk, how the witches characters developed, and many other "Aha" moments that lead up to the original storyline... how DID those monkeys start flying anyway (yeah, you could know the answer to that too)... Anyway, if you have the opportunity to see the show, I highly recommend it. These tickets were a birthday gift from Deb, she outdid herself in the gift department this year, going way over the top, but THANKS nonetheless! After the show, we walked back to North Station, in time to have a couple beers at a nearby pub. Late night after a long day, but something the four of us will remember forever.

Wizard's Walk is a tune from the Portland Collection.

Lannigan's Ball

It's just about the end of the garden season, and my mom had a big basket of tomatoes to share. Along with what we got from our own garden I was able to juice and cook down over 20 pints of tomato sauce! In the past, I've frozen in bags but today I decided I'd can. I dug out my assortment of Ball, Atlas and Mason jars and my All-American canner and spent about 7 hours processing! It feels really good though to see all those jars lined up... we'll be happy to have it when we want to make spaghetti sauce or chili or anything else that requires a tomato sauce base.

As I was finishing up in the kitchen, I heard some funny noises from out in the yard. Investigation revealed a bunch of turkeys, young and old. They'd been out in the garden scavenging whatever is left, which isn't much! I've brought in the basil, potting them and putting them in the greenhouse. Tomatoes are just about finished, just a few more green ones. We got a few last cucumbers and a squash, and there are some carrots. Not a highly productive garden, but lots of fun which is the best reason for doing it at all.

Lannigan's Ball comes from the New England Fiddler's Repertoire... I'm going to go play it now!

Shingling the Roof

Richard is shingling the roof of the main part of our house... we think these are the original shingles placed when the house was built in 1982! For anyone who knows me, they will understand when I say that being on a roof is NOT MY CUP OF TEA. It's a pretty big roof, and Richard worked all day yesterday and today on it, and wasn't quite where he wanted to be before closing up shop for a couple of days. He has class tomorrow all day, and Saturday is forecast to be rainy. So, I found my tool belt and hammer, and climbed up to help out. Actually I did pretty well though I didn't do any walking around up there (my elbows are scunned up from crawling around, haha). I was happy to be able to help do this really huge job.

Shingling the Roof is a tune that I've gotten to know at my fiddle lessons. Every Thursday I go to Canaan and study with Elaine Malkin and I love it. She's helping me with technique and rhythm, sharing tunes and stories, and generally providing me with a great education in contradance fiddling.

Gray Days of Autumn

The past few days have been overcast, cool and rainy... a much needed change from the heat and sunshine, no matter how pleasant that has been! The rain is soaking into the earth, replenishing wells, revitalizing the lawns and forests. The fair weather has given ample opportunity to organize and complete outside chores... the rain and cooler temperatures allow time to work on inside tasks and even to read a bit, without feeling guilty about wasting away these precious days of autumn.

We brought Bryan to the jetport in Portland this morning, he'll return to California and the life he's carving out there for himself. We enjoyed his visit, his stories, his perspective on life, and his commentaries! And we wish him well :) The drive offered slight splashes of color... red, orange, gold... hints of what is to come in the next few weeks. The wet gray weather today will give way to some vibrant hues over the landscapes, all we need to do is look with a soft eye as we travel about, keeping attention to driving to be sure, but to be aware of the beauty of the fall foliage season.

Tonight we'll spend time with friends playing tunes and telling stories at our weekly jam session. Having Tuesday evenings to look forward to gives my week balance and focus. Another couple of weeks and the fiddlehedz & friendz will return to the Norlands to play a barn dance as part of the live-in weekend program.

Gray Days of Autumn comes from the Curvy Road to Corinth.

Boil Them Cabbage Down

We hosted a corned beef & cabbage dinner today for our many branches of family. Betty and Dick brought the corned beef, we did the vegetables, biscuits and dessert (bread pudding). Lots of other additions to the table including cookies, pickles, cake and more!
Food is always a nice way to get people together, but it's the conversations and laughter that come from these events that keep me wanting to do them. Hearing stories, comparing pet peeves and how we deal with them, getting the latest gossip, watching the children play... good for all of us to be part of.
This entire weekend is special for me, I have all three of my adult children under our roof, along with my grandson. Having a few days of living together, putting meals on, cleaning up the dishes... dropping all pretenses of what we want to be or aspire to do... remembering things from thirty years ago and laughing, or quietly contemplating... not many families have opportunity to do this. As our lives take different turns, I wonder how often this will happen in the future... and realize how precious these days are. So, we put away our chores for the most part, and appreciate each other and all that we have together, knowing that this weekend in September '07 will someday be reflected upon as one of those times we were all together.
Part of today's magic was building Avery's idea of family, including his great-grandparents Bibeau, great-grandparents Davis, uncles Toby and Bryan, aunts & uncles, cousin Hunter, SK, Dick & Betty... along with us of course. Jen and Katie helped A with the little fiddle, with Katie accompanying on the piano... a lovely serenade.
Boil Them Cabbage Down is an old-time tune that gets played a lot by beginning fiddlers, some day Avery will be playing the tune, I'm sure.

Sweet Journeys

I check my email each morning. There are sometimes e-messages from friends and family, often a post from a forum on dance calling and related issues, and ALWAYS a motivational message. These words have been a wonderful start to my day for over a year now... not that I have a great day EVERY day, but it helps. Each idea is presented to me as a woman, as an individual, but there are some that seem appropriate to use as a couple, and this is one of them, so I thought I'd share it with my readers.
The idea is to have a Happiness Box, a container that contains a few tangible momentos from happy times... things like a picture of a loved one, a picture drawn by a child, a seashell from a great day at the beach... and whenever I have a "down" day or a moment of feeling discouraged I could open the box, and have reminders of the good things in my life.
Well, I was thinking, how cool it would be for a couple to create a Happiness Box for themselves. Every couple in a committed long term relationship, regardless of how long they've been together, of the dynamics of their relationship, have a history together, and that history includes happy times. A scrapbook is one way to capture those moments with photographs, but I like the idea of collecting and saving other things too. Imagine a box that you've chosen together where you keep your treasures... a special rock from a hike, a seashell from the beach, a photo of the two of you at a family event, the stub of a concert ticket... and whenever you're feeling like you aren't getting along that well, you can go into the box and take a look at all the stuff you've done together and remember how much fun you really do have together.
I know for myself that I can get pretty caught up in the activities of living, and I forget about having bouts of childlike, playful fun with my life-partner. Finding ways to evoke smiles and laughter is important... and maybe the reminder of past joy is a good start to creating new moments of happiness... new sweet journeys together.
Sweet Journeys comes from the Waltz Book, first volume.

Way Back Home

As many know, I've made a lifestyle change recently by leaving a full-time, fast-paced, sometimes high pressure job in, what has always been to me, a high quality health care private dental care practice. I've had the opportunity over the years to work with some amazing people, to have conversations with wonderful clients, learn a lot about customer service and delivering quality care, and developing my character and ideals along the way. There are a few words in my vocabulary that define me, or at least I would like those words to reflect my living... those words are FORM AND FUNCTION, PERSONAL EXCELLENCE, RESPONSIBILITY, and JOY IN LIVING, regardless of what I'm doing, or who I am doing things with.

FORM AND FUNCTION: If it doesn't work either mechanically, technically, or as a procedure I like to either FIX it so it does work well, or move on to something that does work well. If it doesn't look good while I'm using it, or the process looks cludgy, I work to improve how things appear. If things work well, and appear to be working well, and the entire operation is smooth, I am happy.

PERSONAL EXCELLENCE: I believe there is a difference between excellence and perfection... and there is also a difference between excellence and good enough. I strive for excellence which means doing my personal best with the resources available to accomplish the intended goal. There are many ways to get from here to there, and there are many definitions of where "there" may be. That being said, once the goal is defined, I take it as a personal challenge to get the job done efficiently as possible, keeping in mind FORM & FUNCTION.

ACCOUNTABILITY/ RESPONSIBILITY: We are not any of us responsible for everything, and none of us is free from being responsible for something... and levels of resonsibilitiy change as situations evolve. We are accountable for our actions and decisions. It's harder to be totally accountable for our reactions, but we can take responsibility for being as kind and generous as possible. Sometimes we, each of us, are not as kind or generous as we would like and in those instances I think it's good to acknowledge our own shortcomings, and to also allow for them in others... as long as it doesn't become a habit! Remember to maintain your composure, FORM & FUNCTION even as it applies to relationships.

JOY IN LIVING: "If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right!" Wise words from a wise man years ago. If there is no joy in the living, there will quite likely not be FORM & FUNCTION in your activities or relationships. It will be more difficult to be responsible for being kind and generous if we allow a pattern of being grumpy or choosing to be around grumpy people. It is hard to work toward PERSONAL EXCELLENCE if you spend all your time apologizing for being grumpy, or trying to make an unhappy person be more pleasant.

These principles are, to me, essential in living a life of purpose. It has been easy to get off track by working full time outside of the home, by keeping up a sometimes hectic schedule of music and dance, in maintaining a home. Many, many years ago my life was a lot simpler... busier maybe but in many ways less complicated. I've been re-kindling an interest in getting back to those ways of being, and ways of living, that are more simple, more connected, more hands-on, and more likely to sustain me and my family in ways that buying things cannot do. I've been baking bread, building shelves in the greenhouse, clearing brush by hand, viewing the world with a softer eye, picking tomatoes, cooking soups, washing windows, taking music lessons, stretching my body out in the sunshine, walking around the property, listening to the birds, playing music, dancing outside in the breeze, picking flowers, making quilts, writing stories, and stopping to visit with people if they call or stop by. I feel like I'm on my way back home, to my roots, to the things I grew up with. This new life is still just that, new. Structuring my time and balancing time and money is a challenge. But, I feel like I'm on a good path, like being on my way back home!

Way Back Home can be found in the Curvy Road to Corinth.

End of Summer

Wow, it's been a little while since a blog update! Thanks to all who check in regularly and haven't seen anything new... and continue to check in anyway. It's late summer, and there is a mile-long-list of things to do before winter, I'm sure you all have your own list started. At any rate, we are plugging away at these chores while carving out time to enjoy the season, and I think we are achieving a nice balance. It certainly does help for me to have the time to put into maintaining this great place where we live.

Today I'm cooking down tomatoes into a "Fresh Tomato Sauce", smells pretty good :) Bryan had left his juicer here, and that made the job oh so much easier, not having to remove the flesh or seeds... the juicer extracts the juice and leaves the pulp in a separate chamber. The juice goes into the pot with some sauted onions and herbs to cook down a while. I've managed to bake some yeast bread, and make some pretty tasty meals using available produce.

Yesterday, after finishing morning chores, we took advantage of the warm sunshine and used the solar shower... free hot water! Then off to Reid State Park where we walked both beaches, a nice lobster stew dinner at Richard's mom and dad's, and then a movie at RR2. The film was "Death at a Funeral", a British comedy that was all we expected and more.

Well, off to work in the gardens a bit, and then we'll host our regular Tuesday jam session this evening. It's a fine start to the end of summer!

End of Summer is a tune from the Reckless Reel.

Shuffle About

We shuffled about a bit this afternoon and evening. After a good day of labor outdoors (clearing brush and cutting firewood) we decided to go to RR2 to see a movie... I'd gotten an e-mail of shows and I especially liked "Death at a Funeral". Not having been to a movie recently, and happy about the prospect of having a date with my husband, we headed off to the movie theater... without really looking at all the details. We arrived in plenty of time, but a week too early! Yep, the e-mail listing was for the NEXT week's shows which don't start until Thursday! We were too late to see the early show but decided on another movie we wanted to see later. So we went to Starbuck's for a special coffee and sat outside, soaking in the late-afternoon-end-of-the-summer sunshine. A little driving around to see a site Richard had worked on earlier this month filled in the rest of the time until our movie "Becoming Jane" started. This was a really nice movie that we both enjoyed a lot... has anyone else seen it? All the shuffling about gave us some much needed time alone without other schedules and activities... a very nice evening indeed. Shuffle About comes from the Portland Collection, Volume Two.

AcroBATs Reel

The recent post at http://since11.blogspot.com/ reminded us to post this photo of a furry creature. I was cleaning one morning and glanced up at the ceiling, and thought this brown spot was a little large for a pine knot. Closer examination with binoculars confirmed this.

We had to use an extension ladder to reach this bat... Richard placed a yoghurt container over him and used a spatula to encourage him to let go of the wood. The bat was released down the road.

Acrobats Reel has been collected from somewhere over the years!

Wedding Waltz

We're back from a day in Massachusetts at the Cyprian Keyes Country Club & Golf Course where we celebrated Libbie and Raupya's exchange of vows, American style. Everything was elegant and beautiful... it was fun to see Raupya's family again and share our culture with them. Having back-to-back weekend weddings, each focusing on the family's traditions seems to be a wonderful way for Libbie and Raupya to begin their married life together, a blending of the old with the new.

Wedding Waltz comes from the Waltz Book, volume two.

Indian Reel

As promised, here are some photos from last week's Hindu wedding ceremony of Raupya and Libbie. Music and dancing were a huge part of the festivities, and all were invited to participate.
Yours truly, attired in a beautiful sari.
Raupya and Libbie~ a prince and his princess!

Paddy on the Turnpike

How can you save time while driving on a long trip?

Well, let me tell you!

Sunday morning, Kathie and I left for New Jersey where we would meet other members of our family for a Hindu wedding celebration of our niece Libbie and her husband Raupya. Our travel plans were clear, and MapQuest estimated about 7 1/2 hours in travel time. We got an early start, and conversation flew between the two of us, unhindered by anyone or anything else... Well, we were on I-495 and intending to get onto I-90 Mass Turnpike but something happened (yeah, I know, it was my talking) and we missed the exit... Keeping a low stress level, we decided we'd continue on and find a way back to the highway by using the Rand McNally Road Map... That worked pretty well until we realized the small road we were on didn't directly access the highway... But it looked like we could loop around and manage it further down the road... What happened next is hilarious in retrospect (in fact, it's hard to stop laughing every time we recount the story) but at the time it was quite stressful... We got to a stop sign and we wanted to turn left, which we couldn't because it was "Right Turn Only... So we turned right, into what appeared to be a square round-a-bout (really, have you ever seen anything like this?) complete with Stop signs at every turn and everything going in a counter-clockwise direction only... At one intersection it was not clear whether there were one or two lanes, it turned out to be one lane of traffic on the right hand side of the road near the sidewalk with cars parked on the left (completely opposite of what we'd expect)... When we finally got out of the square round-a-bout we were on a very, very residential one-lane street that looked like it could go on and on so we turned around~ only to realize we didn't know where we'd started... All the buildings looked alike, all the corners looked alike... We re-entered the square round-a-bout, and decided to take what looked to be the widest most obvious way through town which was a good choice 'cause it worked (eventually)... We stopped to consult our map again, and soon we were on I-90 West, back in business... The funny thing? We arrived at our destination an hour early!

So, our advice is, when you're strapped for time, get off the highway and head for Grafton MA... Go through their square round-a-bout and then get back on the highway, you should save about an hour in travel time...

**DISCLAIMER** We cannot explain this phenomenon nor can we be responsible if your results are different...

Oh yes, the wedding was beautiful~ photos to come soon!

Paddy on the Turnpike can be found in the Fiddler's Fakebook as well as the New England Fiddler's Repertoire.

Haste to the Wedding

This was one of the dances we called tonight at the Victor Grange in Fairfield Center... It was a pretty small crowd to start, gradually got a little bigger, then tapered off as the evening progressed (youngsters having to get home)... Some folks who were brand new to contradancing, others who are more familiar with squares, and a good number of regular contradancers rounded out the dance floor... We actually did some dances while calling which is a bit of a challenge, but a heck of a lot of fun, and it helps round out the lines when the crowd is smaller... Music was by Hope Hoffman and Jim Berrier, lots of nice tunes to call to... We started out without a sound system, so it's a good thing I have a loud voice that carries (thanks to years of raising children, I'm sure)...
Tomorrow morning it'll be haste to another wedding as I venture to Mahwah NJ with my sisters to attend our nieces wedding... This will be a Hindu ceremony, and we'll be attired in saris... I am looking forward to this very special experience!
Haste to the Wedding is a tune from the New England Fiddler's Repertoire... The tune goes along with the dance, as do many of the old chestnuts from days gone by... It's fun to be able to call this dance, tonight was a perfect night for it!

Spa-dookis

Thursday found this fiddler and her sisters at the spa for an afternoon of being pampered and more importantly, sharing stories and activities together... We worked out in the gym for about an hour an a half, yeah, no kidding... I did the elliptical machine for the first time in my life (I had somehow forgotten to pack my sneakers and only had sandals, which worked out okay on this particular piece of equipment) and managed 40 minutes and about 2.4 miles I think... Not too shabby... We continued on through the gym, using the weighted machines and doing some stretches...
Next stop was the sauna... Pretty nice, we got seated and comfortable, no big deal... Then we heard this loud hissing noise, and the room starts filling up with fresh steam... more and more and more... Within a minute or so we couldn't even see each other much less the door... And still the steam poured in! It felt great, but there was an element of terror, none of us had experienced anything like that before! Once the steam stopped coming into the little room and we could indeed see across to one another we relaxed more and truly enjoyed it...
After a quick pre-pool shower, it was swim time... We swam a bit, talked a bit, bobbed around a bit... Then decided we'd use the hot tub... Nice move :) Back into the pool for some specialized synchronized swimming... Let me tell you... The "starfish" float doesn't really work... We (Deb, Kath and I) joined hands and agreed to do the face down float with legs splayed out behind us, which should have looked fabulous from above (had there been a camera crew) but what really happened is that we sunk... Oh well... We did do some star circles (all left hands into the middle and swim in formation, then reverse directions) which actually did work out...
We also tried some various swim strokes... None of us are really what you could call strong swimmers, but we do all have a lot of energy and potential... We tried this swim stroke that we've seen on television where you have overhand strokes, and you only breathe on alternating rotations of the head (for the most part your head is underwater, in an effort to gain tremendous speed)... Well, we didn't drown, but we (or I anyway) did sputter a bit as I tried to maintain a continuous supply of oxygen... Such fun!
After a nice shower we went up to the third floor where we had our pedicures scheduled... O.M.G... This was wonderful! My first pedicure, EVER, and I loved it... Massage, wax treatment, buffing of the soles, trimming of the nails, sea salt scrubs... and then a nice application of polish...
After our afternoon was finished at the spa, we went downstairs for dinner and more conversation... I have to say, this was a great SISTERS EVENT...
Spadookis comes from the Portland Collection, Volume Two.

Kind Sister(s)

We had a small jam session this evening... just Richard, myself and my sister Kathie. We had such a great time though, we did something totally different than our usual picking of tunes or playing of sets that we do for contradances. We chose some songs that we liked, and sang... playing various instruments as we wanted. We did a lot of different things, a Dan Fogelberg song, John Denver, and quite a few from the Rise Up Singing book. I appreciate my sisters being part of my life in so many ways whether it's a love of music and the outdoors, the comaradarie of sharing stories and experiences, of recalling childhood days... together we laugh and cry, encourage and support... it's unconditional, even when we don't totally agree, even when we're busy, even when no one else seems to be in our corner. It's great having sisters who are kind, generous, loving, and up for adventure!
Kind Sister is a waltz from the first Waltz Book.

Draggin' the Bow

Here's a photo I found on Jen's photo album that I hadn't seen posted, so I thought I'd share it with everyone... How cute is this? Avery has been much more interested in "his" kittens when he comes to visit... But every now and then he'll want to play his fiddle, and asks me to play along too... We play and sing Row Your Boat, ABC, and probably another tune or two before he loses interest... No pressure on him to play more often or longer, we want him to consider music a fun activity that we can do together... Still, I have this vision of him coming along to Maine Fiddle Camp in a few years if he's interested... He has a good sense of rhythm, and a natural love of music that will take him far, no matter what instrument he chooses...
Draggin' the Bow comes from the Fiddler's Fakebook.

Harvest Home

Summer's bounty! These vegetables came straight from my mom & dad's garden this afternoon... can't get much fresher than that! We have started harvesting some cucumbers, zucchini and summer squash, a few peas and basil from our garden, but our seeds went in a bit late and we've not been tending it regularly so it is not expected to produce mass amounts of food. We're really thankful to have the contributions!
This FoodSaver was a gift from Jen, Jason, Avery, Toby and Bryan this year and I absolutely LOVE it. It's so much easier, faster and tidier than canning. Vacuum packaging reduces storage space, and preserves the flavor and freshness.

This is the result of my afternoon and evening. The beans got snipped, washed, blanched, dried, pre-frozen and then packed with the FoodSaver. I think we have about 7 bags of assorted sizes (because I haven't exactly figured out how big to cut the bags) The zucchini got washed, shredded and packaged... it will be used in the winter for breads, muffins, and also to add to soup stock for added texture and nutrients. The smaller squash will be prepared tomorrow for dinner, as will the tomatoes and the cucumbers (which somehow didn't make it into the picture). It is a nice sense of accomplishment to put surplus food away for the winter months ahead... and a good way to reduce our grocery bill a little bit too.

Harvest Home is a hornpipe that can be found in the Fiddler's Fakebook.

Double File

The Greens did double duty tonight! We had a scheduled community contradance in Vienna, we've been planning for it since this past spring. We also found out there was an opportunity to call the N Yarmouth dance... what to do? Well, we decided it was possible to do both! It took a bit of teamwork to make it all happen, but thanks to a great core group of friends & musicians, it all worked out!
Richard took charge of the community dance, doing the sound and calling... and the fiddlehedz' friendz did a fabulous job of providing the music... with special guest fiddler SK Green :) The evening was a huge success.
I went to N Yarmouth with a tentative program, and found out I'd be sharing the calling mic with a fellow new caller, Maggie... We quickly reviewed our dances, came up with a line-up that looked good and jumped in. Lots of learning, mid-course-adjustments, and lots of being flexible with a smile :) We had a guest caller that worked out just fine (thanks Kenna) and Richard drove all the way down in time to call a dance. What a great evening! Music was provided by some really hot fiddlers fresh from Maine Fiddle Camp... whahooo... so much fun!
Double File comes from the Fiddler's Fakebook... thanks to all who worked double time to help out tonight :)

Big John McNeil

We're home from Maine Fiddle Camp, tired and happy! What a great experience, to be immersed and surrounded by great musicians in a peaceful setting. The weather was mostly great (Wednesday was a bit wet)... Second Breakfast prepared and served wonderful, healthy foods... Camp organizers did a fabulous job of scheduling classes and other activities, even in spite of some pretty heavy odds.

First, the lake was gone when we got there, and the Camp director only found out about it a short time before we did! That's right, True's Pond was a mud flat which meant no swimming for anyone. Not to worry, arrangements were made to have a school bus arrive to shuttle youth and adults alike to a nearby lake each afternoon.

Some of the staff weren't able to arrive in time to start on Monday, so again, arrangements were made on the fly to have various other competent instructors fill in wherever needed, and no one went without instruction appropriate for their level. The entire week was filled with stories like this where people just saw a situation, and stepped in to do whatever they could with grace and a smile :)

There are six levels of fiddle lessons, and various age groups. The class I started in was a level 5, which would have been quite a lot of work for me but totally do-able. But, on Tuesday, I found out that a (high ability) level 4 group was going to learn Big John McNeil... this is a tune I've struggled with for years now, always wanting to play it but not quite getting how to bow or finger the strings to play it right... this was my big chance.

So, I joined in and learned the tune! In addition, I learned Vladimir's Steamboat, another tune I've always wanted to be able to play. We also learned the Brunswick Waltz, and worked on Red Haired Boy which is a standard for me but again, I've never known how to bow it "just right". Having heard, or played, or even tried to play these tunes gave me a little edge on learning that proved to be a nice change of pace. Most other years I've been in classes that teach a new tune, one that no one knows... which is fun but rather than learn lots of new tunes, I've more recently been wanting to learn technique... that's what happened this year. I learned bowing patterns, fingering patterns, and some rhythm things that will make a big difference in how things sound and play.

I want to mention that each class group has a bird name... my new group was named Buffleheads. Each nest has a home teacher, one person who comes for the first morning class as well as the afternoon review session. Late morning, there is a different visiting teacher. Our home nest teacher was Steve Muise, and he was great... patient and instructional, and never wavering in what he somehow knew we were capable of. He masterminded a pretty involved arrangement for the final camper concert that involved the three tunes, doing some rhythm chucking, choreographed stage moves, and a blues style ending to our act... ambitious but we pulled it off with style :)

Another fun thing is that I went to a workshop on button accordions... and learned to play one! How much fun! I was able to play Midnight on the Water, Fere Jacques, and Haste to the Wedding before the hour was over... guess what's on my wish list now!?!

Big John McNeil can be found in the New England Fiddler's Repertoire, and now it is also in my own personal repertoire.

It Ain't the Heat, It's the Humidity

Okay, it's also the heat... but who's complaining? It's summer, it's Maine, and it's hot but it won't last long! The evenings do offer some respite from the 90 degree temperatures, and there was a lovely breeze most of the day. We are quite fortunate to have a swimming hole only a mile from our house, so it's easy to take a quick trip to cool off and swim.
The heat did affect our performance today. We were slated to present a contradance at the annual Wayne Fair at the Ladd Recreation Center. We got there in time to set up (we were drenched by the time we got the equipment set up) and we managed to gather enough folks to do a circle dance, but there wasn't anywhere for people to get out of the sun... so when they left to get some water they didn't come back. Then the thunder and lightning started, as well as some very light showers. Any one of these things on their own is an attention getter, but when they all happen within a short amount of time, we chose to call it a day and pack up our gear. Not our finest hour. The good things are that we got the sound system up in an hour and it sounded good... musicians were awesome... the dancers seemed to have a good time, and we had fun. We might try to plan things a little differently another time, but this gig has been in the works for months now, actually one of our first things we scheduled. What we've been finding out is that we prefer to be inside under cover~ it eliminates any potential damage due to rain, sun, wind, sleet, hail, or other elements.
Richard's sister and nephew were here from Virginia for the weekend and came to the dance, as did his mom and dad. We all went out to the Chickadee Restaurant in Turner for lunch, which was a nice treat. My father-in-law highly recommended the basket of fried clams... we took his advice and were not disappointed.
We stopped by my mom & dad's before coming home... they have kindly agreed to come and check on the kittens this next week, filling their food & water dishes. Mom and I talked quilts for a little bit and went out to look at the garden.
An afternoon swim after we got home and unpacked the instruments and equipment made for a more comfortable evening. This was my first official day of my new un-career. Productive? yes... Relaxing? yes... Community and family involvement? yes... Music and dance? yes... I'd say it was a good day in spite of the heat or the humidity!
It Ain't the Heat, It's the Humidity comes from the Portland Collection.

Joy of My Life

I've used this post title before, but am feeling joyous today so I thought I'd use it again! I worked my last day at Club-E today and am officially gainfully alternatively employed :) I'm not really unemployed or underemployed... by choice I am taking some time to explore the world and most importantly to study some areas of interest... in particular, the fiddle. When the time comes, I'll re-enter the work-a-day world in some fashion and be happy to do so. But, for now I am joyous with the sense of freedom and wonder that probably greet a young child at the beginning of summer vacation.
In other news, I have purchased a fiddle... a fine new fiddle from Somerset Violins. It plays sweetly and suits me (even though it still smells of varnish-type-products which I have been assured will dissipate soon).
Tomorrow (Saturday August 4th) is the Wayne Fair, being held at the Ladd Recreation Center here in town. fiddlehedez & friendz will be presenting a contradance in the afternoon starting at 1:00. It is scheduled to take place outside, and is at the end of the fair so we can run it at least until 2:00 as planned, but are free to continue it until dancers & interest run out.
Sunday we head off to Maine Fiddle Camp for a week of instruction, jamming, good food, and vacation.
Joy of My Life is a tune from our binder of collected tunes. Joy comes in many forms, and I am abundantly blessed with joy that looks like home & family, sounds like wind in the trees, and tastes like sunshine :)