My professional life is rife with challenge right now. There be snakes hiding under rocks, and much need for discretion.
A few years ago I joined the board of a non-profit, and promptly was asked to be treasurer, as no one else knew anything about money. I contributed a lot over the years, and often felt that what I have learned was actually helpful to the organization. All for naught in the end. The agency lost the funding that was its financial foundation, and the board voted unanimously to dissolve. I am truly ambivalent about this decision. We finally found a talented Executive Director and with just a little more time, she may have dragged the organization (kicking and screaming) into organizational stability and a more secure future. We all ran out of time. And now I'm the one who is digging into what bills must be paid first, and thinking about how to responsibly dispose of all that paper.
At work the budget is still uncertain, as we still do not know how much we will be cut. The leadership team met for hours and hours last week, and put together a list of recommendations for our board that go beyond band-aids. We have band-aids upon band-aids right now. We are thinking about how we can restructure for sustainability.
One consequence of our discussions: we downsized our administrative assistant team from three to two people. And the consequence of that is that Accounts Payable is back in my desk drawers, and I am once again processing invoices for payment. All well and good, I have done A/P for so many years that I can practically do it in my sleep. It takes time, though. And I took on additional responsibility for technology coordination when a big chuck of A/P was assigned to another person. My tech duties are not going away.
Meanwhile, I have a big tech plan rolling right along. A consultant looked at our computers, and found a mishmash of operating systems installed on woefully underpowered machines. By the end of the year, everyone will have computers with 2 GB of RAM, be running Windows XP Pro, and will have Office 2007 installed on their computers. I've arranged all this for much less money than buying new computers, and most of it will be paid by grants.
My big challenge is not to do more with less. It is not to work more hours to get everything done. It is not to let this job continue to grow like topsy. Rather, it is to identify the parts of the work I do that can be pruned away. I must figure out how to do this job and still go home at a decent hour, so I can get some exercise, cook supper, read, watch a movie, knit, write.
Believe it or not, I think that this is a start.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
News Flash from the Campaign
R. won the race for Town Supervisor - 328 votes out of 639 votes cast.
The current Town Supervisor staged a write-in campaign in the last week before the election. Our county just switched to a scanned paper ballot, so write-ins are very easy. He got 202 votes, and was the second place finisher.
The conclusion must be that the insurgent campaign guaranteed R. the victory.
The insurgency in the NY-23 campaign had the same result, where Democratic candidate Bill Owens won. This result is gratifying to me; I couldn't do a lot to help R. in our town, so I worked as a volunteer in the Owens campaign.
The overall conclusion: if you are going to play with the fire of mounting an insurgent campaign, you had best be prepared to be burned.
The current Town Supervisor staged a write-in campaign in the last week before the election. Our county just switched to a scanned paper ballot, so write-ins are very easy. He got 202 votes, and was the second place finisher.
The conclusion must be that the insurgent campaign guaranteed R. the victory.
The insurgency in the NY-23 campaign had the same result, where Democratic candidate Bill Owens won. This result is gratifying to me; I couldn't do a lot to help R. in our town, so I worked as a volunteer in the Owens campaign.
The overall conclusion: if you are going to play with the fire of mounting an insurgent campaign, you had best be prepared to be burned.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
RHINEBECK!
A week ago, I was lost in the altfiber paradise affectionately nicknamed Rhinebeck (the official name is the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival). It is a huge event, so big that I have to break down the experience into subtopics. I still have a bit of glow left from the experience.
Getting There
The treasurer of non-profit I work for went last year, and wanted me to go with her this year. I told her I was in. Then I learned a few months ago on the Ravelry forums that a local woman was organizing a group trip, complete with chartered bus and a block of reserved motel rooms. I told my colleague, and she agreed that this was the way to go. So I contacted the organizer, reserved 2 spots on the bus, and reserved a room for two nights.
Close to the last minute, my colleague was no longer able to go. She asked me to find someone to take her place, saying that she did not expect reimbursement for the bus. She suggested that I take my daughter. A. would have gone in a flash, but she had two midterms coming up on the heels of the weekend. During the family Canadian Thanksgiving celebration, I had a sudden flash of inspiration, and invited our son's GF to go with me. T. agreed immediately. I now knew I would be traveling with a congenial companion, and a person who I wanted to get to know even better.
A chartered bus is the way to go if you can manage it. I traveled with a lovely group of knitters, spinners, and sheep people. We knit, chatted, and watched chick flicks on the bus's video system (The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood and Mamma Mia!. Meryl Streep is my hero.)
Staying There
We stayed at a lowish cost chain motel. It was fine for our purposes. Microwave and fridge in the room, comfortable beds, a coin operated laundry, and a decent free breakfast in the morning. At a killer price, too - on Saturday I reserved two rooms for next year, and the cost will be about 25% higher.
The motel was in Kingston, NY, about 20 minutes from Rhinebeck. On Friday, T. and I took a long walk together through town, and loved it. I think that economic developers need to rename their cities "Kingston" because now I know of two cities named Kingston that are fun to visit. Safe, too - there are sidewalks everywhere, even from the motel to a shopping mall. The downtown shopping district has lots of interesting stores, including a toy store (those are getting to be hard to find).
Eating There
T. was on a tight budget, so Friday night, when we still had energy, we went to the store and bought food for dinner for both nights we would be there. We stocked up on Kashi frozen dinners (delicious!), bananas, milk, iced tea mix, and plastic sliverware. When you are on the road, it feels pretty darn luxurious NOT to go out, and to eat dinner while stretched out on your bed in your jammies, watching something on the tube.
From the Ravelry forums, I knew that Rhinebeck has certain status foods. People wait in line for an hour for chicken pot pie, and the ultimate prize is the artichoke booth, which often sells out. I work for Cooperative Extension, though, so there was only one place for me to eat: the 4-H booth. On Saturday I scored lamb chili in a bread bowl, and I waited way less than an hour. On Sunday I was running low on cash, and settled for a cheeseburger. Next year (geesh, already I'm talking about next year) I will stick with the 4-H for Saturday, and do one of the legendary foods on Sunday, when crowds and lines are smaller.
Budget!
People spend gobs and gobs of money at Rhinebeck. I saw drop spindles costing more than $100, and then there are spinning wheels, drum carders, hand blown glass knitting needles, muskox down yarn (Qiviut goes for $70-90 for 25 grams, about 200 yards, enough for a small lace scarf. Sarah Palin wore a scarf made of this stuff during her campaign.)
Knowing what I would be stepping into, I decided how much I would allow myself to spend, outside of the bus and room, and took it out of the bank in cash. When I ran out of money, I would stop buying things.
I got plenty of goodies, including gifts for others. And I came home with $10 in my purse.
The only thing I felt bad about was finding Heifer International's Keep the Fleece project on Sunday after most of my money was spent. I gave a little, and felt like an over-privileged person with my bags of pretties.
Photographs
I didn't take many. A few are coming up. Mostly I just experienced it all. Also, temps were in the 40's so my hands stayed in gloves, and camera and iPhone stayed in their respective places.
Silly Souvenirs
Buttons were the thing, and I collected these (with the exception of Pride of NY, which I brought with me). The sheep pin was my admittance badge, because I took a course.
I am scifiknitter everywhere!
People
Festival means lots of people, and there certainly were so many people, especially on Saturday. Here are three special ones:
Annie Modesitt. I took her combination knitting course. What I learned is material for a blog all on its own.
T. on the bus on the way home, working on a computer project. I was totally comfortable with her all weekend. In fact, I love her. So does just about everyone else who meets her.
Me, working on "The World's Biggest Sock", which has traveled cross country once already. There is a lot more to do before the heel is turned.
Loot!
Unfortunately I cannot show all of the loot I bought, as some of it is gifts, and I would like them to be surprises.
Books - the two large ones are signed by the authors. Confessions of a Knitting Heretic is a complete treatise on combination knitting.
Yarn: First, my bargain - some yarn straight from the producer at an incredibly reasonable price. Caveat: it has a strong odor. One washing with a gentle yarn soap has not removed the odor, so I will have to procure some Dawn, the yarn soap of choice for those washing away lanolin (which I believe is the source of the odor).
And the rest of the goodies:
from left to right:
- an indie dyed yarn from Creatively Dyed Yarn, intended to knit a studly lace scarf for trade.
- some silk yarn T. picked out. She has asked me to knit her a neckwarmer for Christmas.
- a hank of naturally dyed sock yarn from Long Ridge Farm.
- sock yarn from Sox that Rock, currently a hot brand in the world of knitting.
- a hank of cotton/merino/silk, also destined to become a neckwarmer.
And that's all for now. I came back from my sojourn into the altfiber universe feeling excited, relaxed, refreshed. I am ready to do some serious knitting, and to have fun doing it!
Getting There
The treasurer of non-profit I work for went last year, and wanted me to go with her this year. I told her I was in. Then I learned a few months ago on the Ravelry forums that a local woman was organizing a group trip, complete with chartered bus and a block of reserved motel rooms. I told my colleague, and she agreed that this was the way to go. So I contacted the organizer, reserved 2 spots on the bus, and reserved a room for two nights.
Close to the last minute, my colleague was no longer able to go. She asked me to find someone to take her place, saying that she did not expect reimbursement for the bus. She suggested that I take my daughter. A. would have gone in a flash, but she had two midterms coming up on the heels of the weekend. During the family Canadian Thanksgiving celebration, I had a sudden flash of inspiration, and invited our son's GF to go with me. T. agreed immediately. I now knew I would be traveling with a congenial companion, and a person who I wanted to get to know even better.
A chartered bus is the way to go if you can manage it. I traveled with a lovely group of knitters, spinners, and sheep people. We knit, chatted, and watched chick flicks on the bus's video system (The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood and Mamma Mia!. Meryl Streep is my hero.)
Staying There
We stayed at a lowish cost chain motel. It was fine for our purposes. Microwave and fridge in the room, comfortable beds, a coin operated laundry, and a decent free breakfast in the morning. At a killer price, too - on Saturday I reserved two rooms for next year, and the cost will be about 25% higher.
The motel was in Kingston, NY, about 20 minutes from Rhinebeck. On Friday, T. and I took a long walk together through town, and loved it. I think that economic developers need to rename their cities "Kingston" because now I know of two cities named Kingston that are fun to visit. Safe, too - there are sidewalks everywhere, even from the motel to a shopping mall. The downtown shopping district has lots of interesting stores, including a toy store (those are getting to be hard to find).
Eating There
T. was on a tight budget, so Friday night, when we still had energy, we went to the store and bought food for dinner for both nights we would be there. We stocked up on Kashi frozen dinners (delicious!), bananas, milk, iced tea mix, and plastic sliverware. When you are on the road, it feels pretty darn luxurious NOT to go out, and to eat dinner while stretched out on your bed in your jammies, watching something on the tube.
From the Ravelry forums, I knew that Rhinebeck has certain status foods. People wait in line for an hour for chicken pot pie, and the ultimate prize is the artichoke booth, which often sells out. I work for Cooperative Extension, though, so there was only one place for me to eat: the 4-H booth. On Saturday I scored lamb chili in a bread bowl, and I waited way less than an hour. On Sunday I was running low on cash, and settled for a cheeseburger. Next year (geesh, already I'm talking about next year) I will stick with the 4-H for Saturday, and do one of the legendary foods on Sunday, when crowds and lines are smaller.
Budget!
People spend gobs and gobs of money at Rhinebeck. I saw drop spindles costing more than $100, and then there are spinning wheels, drum carders, hand blown glass knitting needles, muskox down yarn (Qiviut goes for $70-90 for 25 grams, about 200 yards, enough for a small lace scarf. Sarah Palin wore a scarf made of this stuff during her campaign.)
Knowing what I would be stepping into, I decided how much I would allow myself to spend, outside of the bus and room, and took it out of the bank in cash. When I ran out of money, I would stop buying things.
I got plenty of goodies, including gifts for others. And I came home with $10 in my purse.
The only thing I felt bad about was finding Heifer International's Keep the Fleece project on Sunday after most of my money was spent. I gave a little, and felt like an over-privileged person with my bags of pretties.
Photographs
I didn't take many. A few are coming up. Mostly I just experienced it all. Also, temps were in the 40's so my hands stayed in gloves, and camera and iPhone stayed in their respective places.
Silly Souvenirs
Buttons were the thing, and I collected these (with the exception of Pride of NY, which I brought with me). The sheep pin was my admittance badge, because I took a course.
I am scifiknitter everywhere!
People
Festival means lots of people, and there certainly were so many people, especially on Saturday. Here are three special ones:
Annie Modesitt. I took her combination knitting course. What I learned is material for a blog all on its own.
T. on the bus on the way home, working on a computer project. I was totally comfortable with her all weekend. In fact, I love her. So does just about everyone else who meets her.
Me, working on "The World's Biggest Sock", which has traveled cross country once already. There is a lot more to do before the heel is turned.
Loot!
Unfortunately I cannot show all of the loot I bought, as some of it is gifts, and I would like them to be surprises.
Books - the two large ones are signed by the authors. Confessions of a Knitting Heretic is a complete treatise on combination knitting.
Yarn: First, my bargain - some yarn straight from the producer at an incredibly reasonable price. Caveat: it has a strong odor. One washing with a gentle yarn soap has not removed the odor, so I will have to procure some Dawn, the yarn soap of choice for those washing away lanolin (which I believe is the source of the odor).
And the rest of the goodies:
from left to right:
- an indie dyed yarn from Creatively Dyed Yarn, intended to knit a studly lace scarf for trade.
- some silk yarn T. picked out. She has asked me to knit her a neckwarmer for Christmas.
- a hank of naturally dyed sock yarn from Long Ridge Farm.
- sock yarn from Sox that Rock, currently a hot brand in the world of knitting.
- a hank of cotton/merino/silk, also destined to become a neckwarmer.
And that's all for now. I came back from my sojourn into the altfiber universe feeling excited, relaxed, refreshed. I am ready to do some serious knitting, and to have fun doing it!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Real life in ascendency
I have been a sorry excuse for a blogger lately. Real life has been requiring my attention.
My husband's campaign is going well. He has a game-plan, and he's sticking to it.
My daughter is working on grad school plans. She procrastinated long enough to make it difficult to take the GRE, so she is applying only to Canadian schools. I suspect that this was her gameplan all along.
The budget at work is under attack. We are in a holding pattern until our finders decide just how deeply they want to cut us.
I've been able to spend time with family during the past few weeks. Father, stepmother, mother, daughter, son, son's GF, grandkids, in time order.
I have two big projects breathing down my back at work - a migration of the email system to a new platform, and expansion of the tax prep program.
But right now I am taking some time for myself. I'm on a chartered bus heading towards Rhinebeck for the NY Sheep & Wool
Festival. And i'm writing a blog post on my iPhone.
Writing is something that I am missing. There is nothing like a wee drought to make you appreciate the rain. Fortunately I live in a part of the world where droughts tend to be brief. So may it be with my writing, as it is with the rain.
My husband's campaign is going well. He has a game-plan, and he's sticking to it.
My daughter is working on grad school plans. She procrastinated long enough to make it difficult to take the GRE, so she is applying only to Canadian schools. I suspect that this was her gameplan all along.
The budget at work is under attack. We are in a holding pattern until our finders decide just how deeply they want to cut us.
I've been able to spend time with family during the past few weeks. Father, stepmother, mother, daughter, son, son's GF, grandkids, in time order.
I have two big projects breathing down my back at work - a migration of the email system to a new platform, and expansion of the tax prep program.
But right now I am taking some time for myself. I'm on a chartered bus heading towards Rhinebeck for the NY Sheep & Wool
Festival. And i'm writing a blog post on my iPhone.
Writing is something that I am missing. There is nothing like a wee drought to make you appreciate the rain. Fortunately I live in a part of the world where droughts tend to be brief. So may it be with my writing, as it is with the rain.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Knitting Blog: For the men in my life
Two projects are featured here. One has been done for a while, but I didn't have a good picture of it on its recipient. The other project is one I finished yesterday, just in time to give it away.
The Studly Lace Scarf
This project is a combination of a pattern I liked and a hank of yarn I happened to have in my stash. The pattern was a dropped-stitch basketweave scarf in the spring/summer 2009 issue of Vogue Knitting, and was designed by Laura Bryant. The magazine shows it as a wide scarf, almost a shawl, in a delicate pink. The pattern has a cool feature: you deliberately drop certain stitches and let them run down from the top to the bottom of the scarf. A dreaded mistake is transformed into a design element.
The yarn I had was dark, shot through with yellow, reds and greens - a very different feeling. I also had only one skein. I decided to make the scarf narrower than designed, to make sure it would be as long as possible. I also knew that as much as I liked it as I was knitting it, this was not going to be for me, but for someone else. I just didn't know who.
Then one day, as I was knitting the scarf in the car, R. asked me quietly, "Will you knit me another scarf?"
The back story: twice before I had knit scarves to order for R. Both times he lost them, within weeks of receiving them. I had vowed I would never knit him another scarf.
As soon as he asked, though, I knew this scarf was for him, and christened it The Studly Lace Scarf.
Some details:
A close-up of the completed pattern, after the stitches are dropped.
Being blocked on my new blocking mats. I wet the scarf and stretched it to within an inch of its life, using metal wires and pins to pull out the fabric.
All nicely blocked.
And proudly modeled by its new owner. I'm hoping this one does not get lost! It is very fine and light, adding just a bit of extra warmth, so I hope R. simply leaves it on. It's when he takes the scarf off that it gets forgotten. Somehow my handknit scarves never seem to make it to the lost and found bin...
The Studly Socks
My other completed project is a pair of socks for my father. This project also has a back story. A couple of years ago I made him a pair of felted clog-style slippers.
And he hated them.
So this spring I reclaimed them, and told my father that I would replace them with a pair of handknit socks. I am visiting him next weekend, so I have been diligently working to get them done.
I have given the scorned clogs to my son's GF, who appreciates fuzzy warm things.
Here is a pic of the finished socks:
And a detail of the patterning:
They are called Cauchy Socks, named after a French mathematician. Very appropriate for my dad, who is a chemist. They were designed by Cookie A, and are found in her book Sock Innovations, one of the hottest knitting books to come out this year. This woman uses traditional construction techniques to create the most lushly patterned socks around. This pair is quite conservative, i.e. studly. My feet will be graced by some of her more ornate patterns in the future.
It's back to the endless shawl I've been working on. I'm also going to be swatching for another pair of socks. I'm joining Abhorsen327 in sock obsession. Socks provide so much knitting goodness and satisfaction in a small package.
The Studly Lace Scarf
This project is a combination of a pattern I liked and a hank of yarn I happened to have in my stash. The pattern was a dropped-stitch basketweave scarf in the spring/summer 2009 issue of Vogue Knitting, and was designed by Laura Bryant. The magazine shows it as a wide scarf, almost a shawl, in a delicate pink. The pattern has a cool feature: you deliberately drop certain stitches and let them run down from the top to the bottom of the scarf. A dreaded mistake is transformed into a design element.
The yarn I had was dark, shot through with yellow, reds and greens - a very different feeling. I also had only one skein. I decided to make the scarf narrower than designed, to make sure it would be as long as possible. I also knew that as much as I liked it as I was knitting it, this was not going to be for me, but for someone else. I just didn't know who.
Then one day, as I was knitting the scarf in the car, R. asked me quietly, "Will you knit me another scarf?"
The back story: twice before I had knit scarves to order for R. Both times he lost them, within weeks of receiving them. I had vowed I would never knit him another scarf.
As soon as he asked, though, I knew this scarf was for him, and christened it The Studly Lace Scarf.
Some details:
A close-up of the completed pattern, after the stitches are dropped.
Being blocked on my new blocking mats. I wet the scarf and stretched it to within an inch of its life, using metal wires and pins to pull out the fabric.
All nicely blocked.
And proudly modeled by its new owner. I'm hoping this one does not get lost! It is very fine and light, adding just a bit of extra warmth, so I hope R. simply leaves it on. It's when he takes the scarf off that it gets forgotten. Somehow my handknit scarves never seem to make it to the lost and found bin...
The Studly Socks
My other completed project is a pair of socks for my father. This project also has a back story. A couple of years ago I made him a pair of felted clog-style slippers.
And he hated them.
So this spring I reclaimed them, and told my father that I would replace them with a pair of handknit socks. I am visiting him next weekend, so I have been diligently working to get them done.
I have given the scorned clogs to my son's GF, who appreciates fuzzy warm things.
Here is a pic of the finished socks:
And a detail of the patterning:
They are called Cauchy Socks, named after a French mathematician. Very appropriate for my dad, who is a chemist. They were designed by Cookie A, and are found in her book Sock Innovations, one of the hottest knitting books to come out this year. This woman uses traditional construction techniques to create the most lushly patterned socks around. This pair is quite conservative, i.e. studly. My feet will be graced by some of her more ornate patterns in the future.
It's back to the endless shawl I've been working on. I'm also going to be swatching for another pair of socks. I'm joining Abhorsen327 in sock obsession. Socks provide so much knitting goodness and satisfaction in a small package.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Hope is hanging in there in my little town
Did you feel the earth shift at 9 PM on Tuesday night? Because the techtonic plate of the politics in the town I live in shifted when the polls closed.
Tuesday was primary night in New York, and there was only one race on the primary slate here: Republican candidate for Town Council. Three candidates were running, and the two getting the most votes would get to be on the ballot in November and would go on to almost certain victory. The candidates:
- The woman who is a farmer and a county worker who has served on the Town Council for almost 8 years. She has been a sensible member of the board.
- The newcomer, a woman who belongs to one of the two fire departments and who first ran a few years ago as a write-in. This time she did her legwork, and filed a Republican petition, got the Democratic nomination at the caucus, and filed an independent petition to boot.
- The grande dame (EDIT: from the French, meaning "great lady") of our town's politics. This candidate is 88 years old, and has been involved in the town's government and politics for decades. She is renowned for her ability to get re-elected, and to make or break other candidates by working for them, or working against them. In the past she has actively worked against my husband.
And guess who is not going to be able to run for her umpteenth term on the council? Yes, the grande dame lost.
Meanwhile, campaigning is going well for my husband. People here want to improve things. They want to clean up the river, and are talking about installing a waste treatment plant, and most of this talk is coming from downtown, where they would have to pay the rates. They want a playground for the kids. They seem to want less negativity in general. They seem to be sick of the feuds.
That feeling of hope that ran strong in the 2008 election is still running strong in this town. Stay tuned, because I think some good things are going to happen here.
EDIT:
I have received an anonymous comment that says "The Grande Dame you are referring to has given 30 years of service to the Town Board and she cares more for the Town of Russell than anyone else does. She knows the voters have spoken and excepts that; she does not need to be made fun of and put down by you."
There is nothing in my words above that puts the particular lady down. The definition of "grande dame" in Webster's New World College Dictionary is "a woman, esp. an older one, of great dignity or prestige." I chose my words in my post above carefully, and knew the definition of the phrase when I used it.
The lady certainly has great prestige in our community. I believe it likely that she has given service to our town for longer than 30 years. She has also been one of the most politically powerful people in our community, and she does not hesitate to take sides on issues. I think it likely that she will continue to be involved in the community - there is one project in particular, the revival of the Opera House, that seems to be very close to her heart.
I was as surprised as anyone in town when she lost, and have great admiration for her energy and her dedication to the town.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
The Real Deal
It's kind of nice when things work out as well as hoped.
It started with a message: "So when are you going to invite me to go sailing on Minuet?" Which made me realize that a real-life invitation was in order to my digital friend Sharkey. After some date juggling back and forth, we settled on a plan: a sailing trip to Kingston, Ontario and the Limestone City Blues Festival.
Sharkey arrived on Thursday evening, and he was - ta da! - just like I pictured him! Of course, there have been some messages, some videos and a couple of phone calls along the way to flesh out his self-portrayal in pixel form. He had less to go on, mostly words both written and verbal, but I am happy to say that I portray myself honestly, and I was much as he expected.
The mystery man in all this was R., who neither blogs nor reads blogs. I've filled him in from time to time with information about the friendships I have made in my on-line world, but they are my world and my friendships. And Sharkey knew little about R. The two of them had no problems in finding topics of mutual interest to talk about. This particular friendship has now grown to include all of us.
The trip from Clayton to Kingston was an easy sail, four hours of sailing with the wind. We got down to Kingston in good time and set up our home-away-from-home at the day docks at Confederation Basin Marina. That's Sharkey clambering on board.
The view from the stern of the boat. Those windmills are going to be part of the landscape in this part of the world for the rest of my life.
We enjoyed some music in the park on Friday afternoon. A band I love, Hard Pushin Papa, was the first one we heard. This band is a trio led by Pat Johnson, a songwriter who specializes in a 21st century mentality - he has written blues about Internet addiction. You can here some of his tunes here. We also heard Agent Blue, Sharkey's favorite band of the weekend.
There was also a foray for baked goods and cheese at Pan Chancho, and a wonderful dinner out at Aroma Restro and Winebar. Mmmm, I had Ontario wine and grilled pickerel, and was a very happy lady. R. is looking pretty happy here, too.
Lots of rain Saturday, and the afternoon concerts in the park were cancelled. We went out for lunch at an Irish pub, Tir Nan Og, in a large company of fellow boaters. We have been meeting up with a couple named Sam and Neil for years now at various marinas in the area. We sailed past them earlier this summer, circled around each other and called out from our boats, and confirmed that we would all be at the Blues Fest this year. Sam is a networker par excellance, pulling together groups of people where-ever she goes. I knew why we have always like each other so much when Sam and I met up in the park and both pulled out iPhones to exchange information.
Saturday night was the big concert under the stars. The sky cleared, and the party was on. The headliner was Shemekia Copeland. Earlier that week I had heard her tune "I'm Never Going Back To Memphis" on The World Cafe, and thought Wow, she is gonna be good. She was, though just a few clicks too loud. If these bands could just dial it back a wee bit, their sound would be much clearer and less distorted. She did the Memphis tune. Yeah. Her climax, though, was the tune "Ghetto Child". At the end, the band took it down low, and she stepped away from the mike, and wailed the chorus to the sky above. We heard every note.
We then trucked way down the road to hear the Chris Chown band. We try to catch him every time we go to the Blues Fest. As we walked into the bar, a couple of women outside told us, "the guitarist in this band is HOT!". R. and I said, yeah, we KNEW that. This young man has been playing professionally for more than a decade, and is totally at one with his guitar. He can do Jimi Hendrix tunes with style, conviction and credibility, and has some stunning parlor tricks with his guitar, like playing it behind his back. I bought a CD during the break and asked him to sign it. He said he recognized me from past audiences. Well, that just about made the whole weekend for me. Sam later said in an email, "Chris is a charmer", and that took me down a peg. It could be he says that to all the ladies who ask for his autograph who tell him they have heard him in the past.
Sunday we decided to take the long way home, via Lake Ontario and entering the St. Lawrence at its mouth. The weather was gray and windy and cool and threatening rain, and the guys in the party were in the "bring it on" mood. We beat our way through the chop and into the teeth of the wind to get out onto the Lake. I would have been just fine, except I had to go below to use the head. Motion sickness took the edge off the thrill for a while for me. I did recover as we had a fine sail on the lake, where we got to enjoy a beautiful long reach. We sailed 42 miles.
Sunday evening the mood was tired and happy. Even the two chatterboxes were quiet. Guess who they were? And we saw a rainbow on our way home.
And Monday morning, we all returned to our regular lives.
It started with a message: "So when are you going to invite me to go sailing on Minuet?" Which made me realize that a real-life invitation was in order to my digital friend Sharkey. After some date juggling back and forth, we settled on a plan: a sailing trip to Kingston, Ontario and the Limestone City Blues Festival.
Sharkey arrived on Thursday evening, and he was - ta da! - just like I pictured him! Of course, there have been some messages, some videos and a couple of phone calls along the way to flesh out his self-portrayal in pixel form. He had less to go on, mostly words both written and verbal, but I am happy to say that I portray myself honestly, and I was much as he expected.
The mystery man in all this was R., who neither blogs nor reads blogs. I've filled him in from time to time with information about the friendships I have made in my on-line world, but they are my world and my friendships. And Sharkey knew little about R. The two of them had no problems in finding topics of mutual interest to talk about. This particular friendship has now grown to include all of us.
The trip from Clayton to Kingston was an easy sail, four hours of sailing with the wind. We got down to Kingston in good time and set up our home-away-from-home at the day docks at Confederation Basin Marina. That's Sharkey clambering on board.
The view from the stern of the boat. Those windmills are going to be part of the landscape in this part of the world for the rest of my life.
We enjoyed some music in the park on Friday afternoon. A band I love, Hard Pushin Papa, was the first one we heard. This band is a trio led by Pat Johnson, a songwriter who specializes in a 21st century mentality - he has written blues about Internet addiction. You can here some of his tunes here. We also heard Agent Blue, Sharkey's favorite band of the weekend.
There was also a foray for baked goods and cheese at Pan Chancho, and a wonderful dinner out at Aroma Restro and Winebar. Mmmm, I had Ontario wine and grilled pickerel, and was a very happy lady. R. is looking pretty happy here, too.
Lots of rain Saturday, and the afternoon concerts in the park were cancelled. We went out for lunch at an Irish pub, Tir Nan Og, in a large company of fellow boaters. We have been meeting up with a couple named Sam and Neil for years now at various marinas in the area. We sailed past them earlier this summer, circled around each other and called out from our boats, and confirmed that we would all be at the Blues Fest this year. Sam is a networker par excellance, pulling together groups of people where-ever she goes. I knew why we have always like each other so much when Sam and I met up in the park and both pulled out iPhones to exchange information.
Saturday night was the big concert under the stars. The sky cleared, and the party was on. The headliner was Shemekia Copeland. Earlier that week I had heard her tune "I'm Never Going Back To Memphis" on The World Cafe, and thought Wow, she is gonna be good. She was, though just a few clicks too loud. If these bands could just dial it back a wee bit, their sound would be much clearer and less distorted. She did the Memphis tune. Yeah. Her climax, though, was the tune "Ghetto Child". At the end, the band took it down low, and she stepped away from the mike, and wailed the chorus to the sky above. We heard every note.
We then trucked way down the road to hear the Chris Chown band. We try to catch him every time we go to the Blues Fest. As we walked into the bar, a couple of women outside told us, "the guitarist in this band is HOT!". R. and I said, yeah, we KNEW that. This young man has been playing professionally for more than a decade, and is totally at one with his guitar. He can do Jimi Hendrix tunes with style, conviction and credibility, and has some stunning parlor tricks with his guitar, like playing it behind his back. I bought a CD during the break and asked him to sign it. He said he recognized me from past audiences. Well, that just about made the whole weekend for me. Sam later said in an email, "Chris is a charmer", and that took me down a peg. It could be he says that to all the ladies who ask for his autograph who tell him they have heard him in the past.
Sunday we decided to take the long way home, via Lake Ontario and entering the St. Lawrence at its mouth. The weather was gray and windy and cool and threatening rain, and the guys in the party were in the "bring it on" mood. We beat our way through the chop and into the teeth of the wind to get out onto the Lake. I would have been just fine, except I had to go below to use the head. Motion sickness took the edge off the thrill for a while for me. I did recover as we had a fine sail on the lake, where we got to enjoy a beautiful long reach. We sailed 42 miles.
Sunday evening the mood was tired and happy. Even the two chatterboxes were quiet. Guess who they were? And we saw a rainbow on our way home.
And Monday morning, we all returned to our regular lives.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
