endless summer

Well this has been a curious week for your most favored friendly and vivacious home vacation team as one of us had to return to work! I suppose it was inevitable that the new school year would begin for Janet, no matter how long the days of summer. At least she had no students this first week and was able to ease into the routine of her job.


I on the other hand remain gainfully unemployed. I am on permanent hiatis. My summer remains endless. Of course it's not without trying to change the situation. I keep buying lottery tickets........

But, rather than continuing to bore you with details of my financial ruin, I'll get right back into the activities of the past weekend.

Rain cancelled a concert at the park that is across the street from Janet's place. Inclement weather has sadly ruined much of the summer's slate of activities, for such shows were cause for impromptu parties at Janet's house. People would amble back and forth from the show to her house for the plumbing and libations would be poured. Location location location.
Well, this past Friday's concert was cancelled because of rain but the lovely and charming Leslie came to the rescue and offered her own home as a gathering place for a small party. With a table laden with meatballs and homemade hummus and bruscetta (sic?) and a nice selection of beers and drinks we were graced with her kindness and hospitality. Another friend and her daughter came over eventually and we gathered around the food and chatted into the night.

Now you may ask how is a man able to endure such a lengthy time with three women talking about "women" things?

Beer.

Actually it was a lot of fun, except when the conversation lolled off into a long tangent about hot flashes and menopause.... At that point I had to stand up and scratch myself and go into the bathroom.... for a long time.
When I came back I tried to steer the chatter towards sports and was told to take out the garbage!
Hopefully you'll realize I am exaggerating. It was a very nice night and it was an honor to be accepted into this new circle of friends.

On Saturday we traveled back to New Jersey to the Howell Farm Fiddling Contest! Howell Farm is a living history museum, just on the outskirts of Lambertville. It was a great place when my children were younger to bring them for a free afternoon. According to their website, Howell Farm is an educational facility open to the public that preserves and interprets farming life and processes from the era of 1890-1910. www.howellfarm.com/ Best of all it was FREE. The kids could see and sometimes pet sheep and chickens and horses and pigs. They were often allowed to go into the hen house to fetch freshly laid eggs. They were able to participate in arts and crafts, go on hay rides, easter egg hunts, draw water from a hand pump, help dig for potatoes and watch people in period dress tap maple trees for syrup.

In the 20 years I've lived in Lambertville Howell Farm has grown up. It used to be a sleepy place, but last weekend the place was humming. There is a new "barn" that is the welcoming building and where they held their annual fiddle contest. Each participant was allowed two songs. Sometimes they were solo, sometimes they were accompanied by a banjo, guitar or bass fiddle. There were kids and adults playing and two different categories. The youth division was won by a boy who played beyond his years and the adult was won by rotund fellow that played with such flourish that the crowd cheered wildly when he finished. Most of the music was "bluegrass" and we heard more than one version of "Turkey in The Straw," but because of the two song limit we were not bored as the styles changed with every peformer.

There was home made ice cream and food for purchase and a young woman gave out tickets when we entered for door prizes like honey and Trenton Thunder baseball tickets. No purchase was necessary for the tickets, they just handed them out when we entered.

It was a good day. I'm considering going back this Labor Day weekend for their annual Plowing Match!