TREVOR's Blog
February 19, 2008 - April 8, 2008

New entries are at the bottom.
Professional appearances are in bold.
All photos ©2008 Nancy F Little unless otherwise noted.

Archives

     Tuesday, February 19, 2008. 10:15 p.m. E.S.T.
    Man oh man what a long day. Got up at 6:00 a.m. (I usually get up around 10:00) and my lovely wife, Nancy, and I drove 2+ hours to the Byram Shubert Library in Greenwich CT where I had a show. Greenwich is as far south and west as you can go in Connecticut, a little under an hour north of New York City. The library there has been under construction for over a year, so the show was actually in this funny little gym around the corner from the library at The Archibald Center.  This gym is really skinny... that's what's so "funny" about it. It's about as long as a full basket ball court is wide, but only 25-30' wide: so it's long and skinny. If you look at the end wall in the photo, you can see how narrow it is by noticing where the corners are. They white line near my feet is half court. It's like the size of a two lane swimming pool!

   Nancy is my Official Photographer. Recently, she's been coming along with me to gigs to take photos for my website with her new digital camera. Lots of the color photos on the site are hers. Today she came along because I need some crowd shots.
   She also took a few short videos (because her camera can do that)! I haven't learned how to put the videos on the site yet. Jason (my son and web host) will probably have to do that for me, but he's busy with a new girlfriend these days and is about to move to Cambridge to live with her, so I'm holding off on asking him to do stuff until after he's moved. And even though it's not there yet, I'm still pretty excited about adding video to my spiffy new web site!
   Anyways, after the show, Nancy and I stopped for some lunch and then decided to try taking the "scenic" route home: driving north up Rte 7 through western CT  to the Berkshires of Western MA and taking the Mass Pike east from there instead of the usual route: taking the Merritt / Wilbur Cross Parkway across southern CT to Rte 91 north. Well, that was a mistake. Rte 7 was not only under construction most of the way, but it was so far from "scenic" that by the time we got to Rte 84, we'd had enough. So we just took 84 across CT to 91. It ended up being a nine hour trip instead of the six hours it usually is when I'm alone and just drive down, do the show, and drive right back.
   So when we got home, of course Nancy downloaded her day's work so she could look at it  before making supper. She was so beat, though, she went to bed at about 8:00. But, night owl that I am, I had to spend a few hours going through all the photos and the videos tonight. There's some GREAT crowd shots in there, and two of the videos are definitely usable. YAY NANCY!!! I ended up editing and posting three photos on the site this evening!
   The low-down is, I put in a 12½ hour day at work today, and am probably going to be doing a long day tomorrow, too,  because I have a morning show near here and an evening show up in Vermont.
    I also turned 250,000 miles on my little truck today!
   So I'm going to quit writing this and go watch a few episodes of the first season of one of my all-time favorite tv shows: My Favorite Martian starring Ray Walston & Bill Bixby. Let's hear it for Netflix: YAHOO for Netflix! 

     Wednesday, February 20, 2008
    Another very busy day (10+ hours) but that's the nature of Vacation Week: I get a whole bunch of work packed into five days!
     This morning I was at Side by Side Preschool in Chicopee MA. This was my 7th visit to Side by Side. They are one of three day care centers that regularly respond to my February Special — a discount I offer to all day cares in the area during the month of February because my income is traditionally low in the winter and a little pick-me-up in February really helps keep the moolah juice flowing.
    And this evening I was at the Grand Summit Hotel at Mount Snow in W Dover VT. This was my 45th visit to the Grand Summit Hotel. They originally booked me in 1999 in response to a mailing I sent out to ski places and resorts in an effort to raise my income during the slow winter season. They actually were in the process of starting a regular performance series... and my info pack arrived just at the right time! They now book me 5-8 times a year: most of them in the winter. I'd be hurtin' for certain without them.

      Thursday, February 21, 2007
    Today, I performed at Canal Village School, a day care center in South Hadley MA that's booked me a few times before. Once again, this is a business that responds regularly to my February Special, so I'm grateful that they keep taking advantage of my mid-winter special offer. They get a really fun show at a discounted price, and I get to pay my bills in the winter! Sounds fair to me.
    While I was there, the staff took a lot of pictures. For some reason, my camera wasn't working, so afterwards they told me they'd be glad to email some photos to me. So let me just put this out to everyone: I'm ALWAYS looking for photos. In fact, I wish I had at least one photo from every gig I've ever done. (That'll never happen.) But if you have any photos or videos from any of my shows ever, please feel free to send them to me via email, USPS, or in person. Especially right now, since I'm looking for good photographs to put on my website. 

    Thanks! 

     Saturday, February 23, 2007
    Today, I was going through my files (I'm a hopeless saver of "important stuff") digging for creative thank you notes to put on my Creative Thank You Notes page (CLICK: the red "More Fun Stuff" link on the left). It was just wonderful to re-read some of the delightful thank-yous people have sent me. It really fills my heart with awe to check back in with shows I did years ago and remember how much FUN we all had together there that day.
    It's also really good to re-acquaint myself with specific things participants liked about my shows. For instance, one day care class teacher afterwards had each child draw a picture of

what they liked the best in the show. Several kids drew pictures of Hula Hoop Basketball —↑a game where I wade into the audience with a hoola hoop in hand and throw a large beach ball (not a basketball!) into the audience. The object of the game is for the audience to hit the beach ball through the hoop. It's a total blast, everyone loves it, and I haven't played it for years! So I have to pull that one out of the cedar closet and start using it again! That's what I get for saving stuff!
    This evening, my lovely wife and I went to a comedy show — Girls, Girls, Girls! — at the Pioneer Arts Center of Easthampton. The first Thursday of the month, PACE hosts an open comedy mike night M.C.'ed by the award-winning comedienne, Jennifer Myszkowski. It's only $3 or so to get in. It's always fun. There's a nice mix of beginners, intermediates, and professionals practicing new material. There is always adult material so it's definitely not for children. And I'm a total Comedy Night groupie. I'm at every single one unless I have a show or am out of town.
    Anyways, two or three times a year, Jennifer puts together a special all-women comedy performance called Girls, Girls, Girls! I go to all of these, too. They cost $12, and are also not for children. But for that extra dough, you get 2+ hours of professional comediennes that are doing practiced and honed material that is all entirely hilarious! They totally rock! Special thanks to Jennifer Myszkowski for putting together such a wonderful event!
    The next Comedy Night is Thursday, March 6, 2008, then April 3, May 8 (sorry the first Thursday is busy that month), June 5, July 3, and August 7. The next Girls, Girls, Girls! is Saturday, May 17, 2008. Both events are held at PACE at 8:00 p.m. . Please join us... you'll laugh your booty off! I promise.  

     Monday, February 25, 2008
    After two months without, I took a day off today. Didn't do a lick of work except go to the post office. Got a check, so I went to the bank and deposited it. That's it. And I'm not going to write any more here either: it's my day off.

     Wednesday, February 27, 2008
    Today, I worked in Littleton MA for a group that I last performed for at least ten years ago: Tigers Den at the Russell St Elementary School. Tigers Den is the school's after school program. I had a whole boodle of kids on the floor in the gym. They were laughing so loud sometimes in that big echo-y gym that I had to wait for them to finish before I could go on!

     Friday, February 29, 2008
     It's Leap Day!
     Two shows today. In the morning, I went to Smart Start Preschool in Feeding Hills MA (part of Agawam) and entertained a whole bunch of small kids and a few adults in a delightful day care center. And also ran into someone who booked me quite a while ago for the Westfield River Fest. I even remembered his name — will wonders never cease! And then in the evening, I went to Rutland MA and entertained a whole bunch of elementary school-aged boys and their parents at the Cub Scout Pack #306 Blue and Gold banquet.

     Saturday, March 1, 2008
    Today my son turns 28, has a combination going-away party / birthday party, and moves in with his girlfriend! Wow! Today, I picked up tables and chairs and dropped them off on site for this awesome event we're doing at River Valley Market, the new food cooperative we're opening in Northampton within weeks. Then went to my son's party. And then I drove to the Grand Summit Hotel at Mount Snow for a show again. And once again, it basically started snowing at the Vermont state line on the way up, an stopped again in the same location on the way back down. Apparently, this seemingly imaginary geo-political line is also a weather bar.

     Sunday, March 2, 2008
    I got shut down by the cops today! I was stiltwalking out in front of River Valley Market (Your Locally Grown Food Co-op) at the bottom of our driveway. The store won't open for about a month, but as part of the RVM member drive, we held a Sneak Preview. So many people showed up that I parking lot was overflowing and at one point over 60 cars were illegally parked on N. King St (Rtes 5&10). The Northampton Police drove by just as I was helping an elderly woman get out of the driveway without causing an accident. Because of all the cars parked on the roadside, she couldn't see traffic coming from either direction. But with my vantage point, I could see clearly both ways. I kept signaling her to wait. Then for some reason, some driver thought I was signaling them to stop, so they stopped smack dab in front of our driveway! So I started waving him on. And that's when the cops drove by.
   Evidently, only a uniformed police officer can direct traffic. So even though this  lady nearly caused an accident twice with her inching forward before I intervened, the cruiser did a u-turn,
drove up to the store, and gave our general manager the what-for, and I was shut down for the rest of the event. I took my stilts off right then and there, and just went up into the store and enjoyed the event as a "regular" member. [pictured right]
    It was actually a wonderful event. We signed up 108 new member during our noon-4:00 time frame. We had a live band. We had a ton of baked goods. We had freshly made popcorn and apple cider. We Bart's Ice Cream giving away samples. WRSI was broadcasting live with radio personality and all-around funny lady Kelsey Flynn. There were co-op mugs, bumper stickers,  t-shirts, and canvas tote bags for sale. Plus a ton of member info and a great tri-fold stand up sign about the green qualities of our building. Whew.
     So I was going to be stiltwalking out front the entire four hour period, but I got to go home early. Which was nice because I would have had to leave directly from there to my next event, but this way I got a little break.
     So about 4:30 I drove north to Greenfield MA to do child care for the annual meeting of Green Fields Market, another of our area food co-ops. I've been filling my truck with stuff left over from my family day care days and hauling it up to Greenfield for GFM kids to enjoy. As usual, this was really low key. I arranged the toys and games in the designated room, then went upstairs and had a nice meal, then returned the childcare area and the kids started to arrive with their parents. As usual, I had a ton of help. Several GFM members had signed up to help with childcare, and quite a few parents actually stayed the entire time! Yay!
     Then they all helped me pack up, pack out, and pack it all back into my truck. It was great! And special thanks to Michelle for helping out again.

     Monday, March 3, 2008
    Today was our regular monthly meeting of the Hats Off Performers Guild, seven full-time professionals who have been meeting regularly for decades. We try out new material, discuss business, share our personal lives, talk about anything and everything, and then have a potluck lunch together. My lovely wife always asks about our "goofy lunch" because it is, after all, seven men bringing food for a potluck. Some of us are blessed with a wife or girlfriend who puts something together the night before, and thank goodness for that! Today we had yummy lentil soup (Thank you Nancy! You're the best), Veggie Bootie, 3 bags of chips, humus, pumpkin bread, and a gorgeous platter of fresh pineapple, pecans, and prunes! Goofy lunch indeed!
   We were all very sad to hear that our good friend and guild member, John Porcino's mother died since our last meeting. John is just a walking bear hug, so he was pretty distraught. We wish both him and her peace and love. Tim Van Egmond sang us a wonderful version of "The Poem on the Kindergarten Wall". Rob Peck re-presented the latest version of a piece he's been working on for a while: a delightful tale of 10-year-old salesmanship. A few other things happened but I don't remember them because I was huddled in the corner of the couch still wearing my winter coat and boots the entire time because I'd woken up that morning in a full sweat followed by chills, sweat, chills, sweat, chills, sweat, chills. But I'm not one to let a little thing like body temperature stop me from going about my rounds. I simply bundled up tight and didn't breathe on anyone. 

     Thursday, March 6, 2008
    The first Thursday of every month is one of my favorite events here in the Pioneer Valley: Open Comedy Mike at the Performing Arts Center of Easthampton hosted by comedienne extraordinaire Jennifer Myszkowski. It's only $3, and you always get your money's worth. It's usually a healthy mix of newbies and seasoned professionals. Some of the newbies aren't always rip-roaring hilarious, but actually... that goes for the pros, too! But hey, it's an open mike, what do you expect for three bucks? There's always enough funny comedy to make the trip worthwhile. Recommended highly.

     Friday, March 7, 2008
    Today, I drove to the small town of Maynard MA and worked for the 18th time (!!!) for the Maynard EXCEL program, which is the town's after school program headed by Lois Cohen and Michelle King. One of the nice things about this visit is that the school superintendent changed the early release schedule at the last minute, so I got called at the last minute to fill in at the last minute and therefore got a nice completely unexpected last minute increase in income this month.
     Another nice thing about this visit is that since it only covered one out of the two usual schools I do while I'm there, I had lots of time with each age group. I pretty much always do a half-day of work each visit to Maynard EXCEL, working from just after lunch time until pick-up at 5:00 or 5:30. I set up in the gym, and they bring the kids to me by age group for several hours. And then I go up to the other school and work with the older kids in one big group for an hour and a half or so.
     But today, it was just the lower school so I actually got an hour with each of the five groups! It was great. With all but the youngest group, I let them vote for two out of three: active running games, parachute games, and a funny show. With three out of four groups, I was a bit surprised at what they voted for. I ended up doing two shows, three parachute games, and (no surprise) running games with all five groups.
    It was wonderful, even though I was pretty tired at the end and still had a long drive home. I just love Maynard EXCEL program! (And they love me!)

      Sunday, March 9, 2008
     Today's gig was a little unusual... although I've done it before. St Paul's Lutheran Church of Greenfield MA's "Carnival Day!" After church, they have a meal together and fun activities like face painting and balloons animals. The children (and a few of the adults!) dress in wild carnival-type clothing and there's balloons everywhere. When they're done downstairs, they all come trouping back upstairs where I do a show for them in the chancel. Nothing like a 15' cross hanging over your head to make sure you do a good show!
    This time, after my show, for the first time, we did my add-on craft: Project Ribbon Dancer. Everybody got to make their own ribbon dancer, decorate the handle, and then take it home as a souvenir to enjoy later!
    Special thanks to the cheerful gentleman who helped me put them together for the kids the entire time.

     Monday, March 10, 2008
    Today, my lovely wife and I went to the Smith College greenhouses annual Bulb Show in Northampton MA. As you open the entrance door into the lobby, you  are completely enveloped in the sweet, sweet smells of flowers. And when you actually go into the greenhouses, the colors (as well as the smells) are just stunning. It's solid flowers in bloom!
    That's the one I like the best. ↓ That yellow and white one right there.

                  My lovely wife went to use the facilities, and when she came back, she told me there was a wood exhibit in the hallway outside the bathrooms. Now I just absolutely LOVE wood; and exotic, unusual woods are even cooler because I don't get to see them very often. So I went through the doors and headed up the ramp to the hallway where the bathrooms are, and sure enough: Three walls and the ceiling were completely covered with samples of  hundreds of different kinds of wood.  Many I had never seen before, and several I'd never even heard of... but all of them were really cool together!
           There was a guidebook that told you what each one was, botanical name, where it came from, how hard it is, what is was used for, etc.

     Friday, March 14, 2008
    And then on Friday we went to the Mount Holyoke College greenhouses annual bulb show in South Hadley MA. Not as big as Smith's. Not as spectacular as Smith's. But still absolutely awesome to be in a huge space FULL of blooming flowers at the end of a long New England winter. 

     Saturday, March 15, 2008
    Two very FUN gigs today and one tremendous waterfall.
    First I drove to Palmer MA and performed a 10:00 a.m. show for Rainbow Connection, a day care center that I've entertained the children there four times in the past... but the last time was12 years ago! Today's show was in the Pathfinder Regional High School cafetorium, a big room with huge black and white checkerboard tile floor. Several children were playing little games with the floor (!) before the show!
    Usually, tile floor is pretty slick and I don't like to stiltwalk on it just because it's so slippery, but this one seemed okay. It was plenty worn, not freshly buffed, and my sneakers could squeak on it when I scuffed my shoe on the floor... a sure sign that it's safe for stiltwalking. But when I actually had my stilts on and was ready to stand up, the floor right at the edge in front of the stage where I was was so slick I couldn't even get my footing to stand up. I guess the floor wasn't nearly so used around the edges! So I had to ask the maintenance guy (who, luckily, was there watching) if he had a rubber floor mat I could use. Schools nearly always have them inside all entrances, and they're perfect for my needs.
    But this guy was even more resourceful than that! He stepped into the kitchen behind him and 15 seconds later came out with one of those big, thick, rubber kitchen floor pads (with the quarter-sized holes in them) rolled up under his arm. It was terrific! And the show went on without a hitch.
     It's possible that I knew this next fact twelve years ago, but I doubt it. I learned that the woman who hired me is related to an old lady at the church I went to in Bridgewater MA when I was in high school in the early 70's! It's a really small world out there.
    My second show was Joseph Martinez's 5th birthday party at 3:00 in Pittsfield MA. It was held at this funky little community center building called Redfield House. They had the community room all decorated nicely, table cloths on the table, and a little carpeted corner with plush chairs around it for me to perform in. There were about 10 kids, but all the teens and adults were obviously watching the show because they laughed at all the jokes, even the one's the kids didn't get! I love it when the adults and teens enjoy the show, too. It's even more fulfilling than when just the kids I'm performing for are having a good time. It's great to know that my kids show has enough stuff for adults to be able to enjoy all the way through.
    Then, on the way home from Pittsfield, I stopped at Wahconah Falls State Park in Dalton MA (the next town east of Pittsfield). It's an absolutely stunning 40' waterfall that's only five minutes from Rte 9 including the dirt entrance road and the short walk in.
    Because it's so easy to get to, I stop and check it out nearly every time I drive by, but judging by how few people I've ever seen there, I don't think most local people even know it exists. This particular time was the most spectacular I've ever seen it for two reasons. First, the actual water volume was huge because of early snow melt. There was just a tremendous amount of water going over the falls! Usually you can see lots of rocks and stuff in the falls, but not today. Today it was solid water flow!
    And secondly, there were some of the most amazing curved ice shelves jutting out over the falls formed by continuously freezing water spray building up further and further and further out over the falls. Humongous webbed fingers of ice three feet thick, three to four yards long, and all the "fingers" together were two to three yards wide! Simply awesome! I love waterfalls!

     Monday, March 17, 2008

            Speaking of loving waterfalls, today my lovely wife and a went on a day hike to Sanderson Brook Falls in Chester MA in the Chester-Blandford State Forest, about an hour's drive from our home. The main trail up to the falls is a dirt access road, so it was a pretty easy climb, although it was entirely covered with snow and ice all the way up the trail.
                  But the small access trail down the side of the ravine to the base of the falls was so narrow and so icy and so steep and so treacherous-looking that we (wisely) decided not to chance it. So we continued up the main trail for a ways looking for a picnic spot and were delighted to discover that there was a great view of the falls from the main trail just a few minutes above the access trail. It wasn't as close as we really wanted to get, but it meant that we didn't go all that way and not get to actually see the falls.
                That first vertical drop at the top of the falls is about 12'. The water hits a scooped rock and goes shooting back up into the air about 5'. Then there's another drop, this one about 5'. There's a little horizontal flow, followed by another drop of about 7'. Then, you can't see it very well in the photo because it's behind those little branches, but the stream hits a rock, splits into two streams about 10' apart and drops down a cascade of about 20' before merging back together as it flows into a nice little pool at the base of the falls. There's also several smaller cascades downstream from there, a few of which we could see from the main trail.
                And then, only a minute's walk above the view, we found the perfect place to eat our lunch: a nice rock at optimum sitting height with room for both of us and a little bit of stuff. Plus it was in the sun, so it was even a little warm to the touch. So we had a delightful lunch with the sun in our faces, the roar of the waterfall in the background, and nobody else but us, before heading back down. YAY!
                On the way down, we made plans to return at the end of April after all the snow has melted so we can get a close up view of the falls.

     Wednesday, March  19, 2008
    My darling daughter Myrrh (25)  -------------------->   called me to tell me that she's engaged!!! Wowie Zowie! Yippee! And Yahoo! I haven't been sitting around anxiously waiting for my daughter to get married, but I have been praying for her to find someone she can be mutually happy with.
        So I am just plain extremely happy for her. She's been looking for the right guy ever since her first boyfriend in grade school. And she finally found him! Joe is a really nice man who, as she says, takes care of her really well. Joe was very creative in his proposal, too. She really liked that.
    Myrrh and Joe, I wish you all the happiness in the world and hope and pray that you will only grow closer together throughout your life together, that you will learn to work through your challenges, and grow together as a couple, happy and fulfilled in your marriage.
    I urge you to take couples classes together and learn non-violent communication skills (if you don't know them already). These two will get you through just about anything if you're willing to put in the time and effort.
    So I'm delighted that my darling daughter is getting married... and to such a nice guy, too!
    YAY, YAY, AND DOUBLE YAY FOR MYRRH & JOE!

     Friday, March 21, 2008
    Today, I performed for a family that I've entertained four times before. The matriarch of the family, Lisa Alicea, booked me for her two older boys' birthday parties. I did the older one, Joshua's 11th birthday party in 2002. He's 17 now and was the d.j. at this party, spinning some great tunes. I did his younger brother Devon's 9th, 10th, and 11th birthdays in 2002-2004, so he's 14 now. It was great to see both these cool kids again, as well as the rest of the family.
     Lisa's daughter Yelissa had her first child a year ago, so this party was for gorgous, adorable little Genesis Tomales's 1st birthday party! Lisa Alicea is now a grandmother! Alright! Terrifico! Maravilloso! It was a wonderful crowd at the Easthampton MA American Legion hall. The decorations were festive. Everybody said the food was awesome... what a great spread! And the people were friendly and fun.
    It always seems more fun when there's several generations all gathered together, and that's been the case every single time I've entertained for this fabulous family. The whole family gathers together and has a good time. Most of the time, most of them are watching my show, too, even though it's generally aimed at the children. The parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends all seem to enjoy everyone's company. It's just great to see this kind of love in a family!
   Those of you who know me personally, know that I'm a night owl. (I love the button that says: "Not a morning person doesn't even begin to cover it.") So, that being said, here's a little anomaly that pleased me: When I finally got around to going to bed, it was 3:22 a.m., and literally about four seconds later it clicked over to 3:23. So what, huh? Well, that means that on the night before my birthday, I went to bed at exactly 3:22:56... which is my birth date! FUN huh?

     Saturday, March 22, 2008
    Today, for my 52nd birthday, my lovely wife and I spent a delightful morning together. She gave me some nice presents, including three wonderful cd's.
    Then my best buddy Don and his wife Barbara came to visit for the afternoon and evening. They gave me a funny (yet appropriate) card and a gift certificate to Turn It Up! used cd store. Yahoo! I've been wanting some new cd's all winter, so Thanks to Nancy and Don & Barbara. One fun thing about this gift is that the store puts their gift certificates in jewel cases. And it says on the inside: "This Gift Certificate comes in a free cd case, because you've probably got a busted one in your house somewhere that needs replacing. This Gift Certificate can be folded, and neatly stored in a wallet, purse, or fanny-pack. This Gift Certificate likes you. A lot."
     After we'd shmoozed for a while, Don & Barbara, and my lovely wife & I packed into the car and drove five minutes to our favorite local trailhead at the Northampton Moose Lodge and walked in to Fitzgerald Lake, Northampton's biggest conservation area (that most local people just plain don't know about). The trail looked like this most of the way --> although there were a few places that were clear. That's Don and I up ahead.
    It takes about 20-30 minutes to hike in to the lake depending on the condition of the trail. Since it was covered with snow and ice, it took us a little longer than usual. This is a trail that Nancy and I have probably hiked at least a hundred times! Some times of year, we do it two or three times a week. It's an easy hike, only five minutes  from home, that has several fun features along the way (pine woods, hemlock woods, swamps, beaver baffles, glacial erratics, totally surrounded by woods all the way, and a really nice lake out in the middle of nowhere that, of course, is still iced over right now). But in warmer weather,  a few people carry their kayaks and canoes in at the other end of the lake where it's less that 10 minutes to the water.  But this is what it looks like today.   ↓

                This trail comes in from the southwest to the dam at the eastern end of the lake. The trail actually goes across the top of the levee, so it offers a terrific elevated view of that end of the lake. Fitzgerald Lake has three parts, that are connected by narrow openings. As you go from east to west, the sections of the lake get progresssively bigger.
                Besides the long trails coming in from either end, there's a whole network of trails all the way along the north side of the lake: one right along the water's edge, one along the ridge a good quarter mile to the north, and

     Sunday, March 23, 2008
    Easter Sunday. Nancy & I got up a little earlier than usual, put on our Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes and went to church services at my cousin-in-law's church in Hadley MA. It was a really nice service, and some old friends of the family also came to church and sat with us. It was really nice to see Denise, Jim, and their younger daughter Charity Delsie again. Charity is about to embark on a "grand expedition" studying abroad in South Africa! I've known her since she was a baby, and now she's all grown up about to begin her first grand adventure out in the world! FUN!
    After church, Nancy & I went directly to one of our favorite restaurants for a delightful and satisfying Easter lunch before returning home. Before I changed out of my suit, though, I got her to take pictures of me in my suit and "conservative hat" [pictured right]    for my Hat Parade. And then, since we were both willing, she took more than a dozen pictures of other hats (with "costume changes" between each one so it wouldn't actually look like they were all taken at the same photo shoot). And then she took a whole bunch of "practice shots" of me playing my upright bass [pictured left]. After I left (see below) she took a couple dozen more "practice shots" around our house.
    So, when we were done with the hats photo shoot, I got ready to go to work. I left at about 3:00 for Alstead NH (about 1-½ hour drive) to entertain at Dr. Noella Buschbaum's family Easter party. A dozen family members and friends gathered for a sumptuous meal, which they weren't quite done with when I arrived. Man-o-man did it look and smell good! But I had just eaten, so I didn't take Noella up on her kind offer to join them.
    Instead I waited in their living room where I couldn't help but notice one of the most beautifully hand-decorated baby grand piano's I've ever seen. I can't even begin to describe it, but the good doctor said it was okay to play it, so I regaled her guest with several songs from my repertoire until they we're all finished with their meal.
    And when they had all joined me in the living room, it was time for The Party Game Show, an hour of interactive, social, everybody-wins, party games for adults (but NOT "adult" adult.) This was an especially appreciative and FUN group. Every single one of them seemed to enjoy every single game. It was great. They all had a good time (and I got a nice tip, too... Thank you very much, Noella!)

 

   Jeannie Chenier has booked me every year for the South Hadley Community Pasta Supper yearly since 1994! And this year is no different. It's a wonderful event that completely fills the large cafeteria at Mosier Elementary School pretty much every year.
    There's a nice (usually) pasta meal for everyone served continuously from 5:00 - 7:00. Plus, there's things like crafts,  prizes for the children, a cake walk, and a quilt raffle, as well live entertainment. That's me.

    My lovely wife Nancy volunteered to help my best buddy Don's wife Barbara find a dress for her son's wedding. Today was the day.

    Did Trevor and Don go dress shopping at the mall with them? They absolutely did NOT! They went used bookstore hopping. Way better than shopping at the mall with two women!
    I bought several picture books and Vol. I of an old dictionary that I only had the second volume of because I couldn't resist owning a book that was labeled "Pock Mark - Zymurgy"!
 

    This morning, I got up at the crack of 9:30, got ready for work, & drove to Sinai Temple ↓ (on the southern edge of Springfield MA) and presented my On-the-Go High-Octane Special for the Alef-Bet and Gimel-Dalet groups (1st & 2nd, and 3rd & 4th graders) at the temple's annual "Club Day". A cool event. Sinai Temple has a bunch of clubs for a wide variety of purposes and ages, from pre-schoolers all the way up to the temple elders.

    ← Amar's been doing this for a long time and always makes several absolutely scrumptious dishes. This time, she made a red cabbage and mung bean sprout coleslaw, a sunflower and pumpkin seed (I think) "seed cheese" (which is really a very tasty paté), red sauerkraut, and a green drink with fresh wheatgrass juice, among other things. There was also a mixed greens salad with Amar's garlic almond dressing; fresh broccoli with my lovely wife's oil & vinegar dill dressing; several kinds of sprouts mixed together; yummy carrot-avocado-lettuce rolls (my favorite of the meal); a veggie plate with carrots, celery, spinach, and black olives; fresh-picked 2" tomatoes; a baby spinach, snap peas, cucumber, and yellow pepper plate, and probably a few more dishes I don't remember.

     Thursday, April 3, 2008

    When I got home, Nancy & I got ready to go on an afternoon local waterfall tour, because spring thaw is the best time for waterfalls, especially ones with a low flow the rest of the year.

    On a last-second whim, we took our 9-year-old housemate Rowan  → along. We're glad we did.

    First, the three of us went to           ← Gunn Brook Falls off of Falls Rd in Sunderland MA. I've been to it several times, but usually the water is just trickling over the edge of the cliffs... but this time it was ROARING! There were just tons and tons of water pouring down over the cliff face in huge stairstep

falls. Wowie zowie! 

             This morning marks a shining moment in history at my house: at 9:45 a.m., Ruthie from Pedal People pulled into our driveway with 2 trailers attached to her bike. 45 minutes later, she pulled out with a year's worth of recycling that had been piling up in our basementt. YAY! Yay for Ruthie! And Double-Yay for Pedal People!
          Then we began packing up to go for a hike in Simsbury CT.
     ← On the way, we stopped and ate lunch under the largest standing tree in the State of Connecticut. It's a simply magnificent sycamore tree that is so awesome, I stop to see it nearly every time I go by in either direction!

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