Summer Storm July 2007

what a Storm!
Came home today to dismantle Ian's old shed that he put together with scrap material when he was about 8 1/2 (summer of 1994) when we built an addition on our home.

As I approached the skies were darkening and a storm seemed imminent. Bruce came over to take down a canopy we had on my deck to provide cover during Mariel's 17th birthday party. It rained then too but nothing major.

Just got the canopy wrapped up when the clouds let loose with dramatic lightening and thunder. We stood by the living room window as watched the sidways gusts of wind and rain when we heard a huge crack. I thought it was lightening that stuck in the yard, but then soon after we witnessed the Willow in Daphne's yard split apart and fall in 2 main pieces across my yard.

Photos are here.

One large limb stripped the side of the ornamental Cherry and covered my newly cleared and orderly flowerbed. The other limb with two large branches spread around the blue spruce toward the back of the yard and covered the old garden area.

We were awe-struck and stared at the destruction while hail and rain continued to pour down.

During the lull before the next line of storms passed through Bruce, I, Scott, and Daphne went out to survey the damage.

Later Bruce did finally demolish Ian's old shed and we sprayed the last remaining carpenter ants who were actively feeding their larvae (ugh) -

We never could get to clearing away some of the Willow- a big project now for Bruce.

A dramatic summer day - and it reminded me of the major rain that came in July 1994 while our roof was off and a only a tarp covered the home. That day a hole in the tarp did allow for some leaks all the way through the wood living room floor. We had to get the water out as quickly as possible so the oak floor would not warp too much.

Mariel is on a Whirl

Well, just thought I'd post a bit of news about my budding young daughter:

Also check out the Amherst Bulletin

Mariel and I spent about 10 days in Canada - dancing, touring colleges, and hanging at the Montreal jazz festival.

We went to the Canada Day Lindy Exchange in Ottawa and you can see some photos here. There were 150 dancers mostly from Canada and many were friends we have grown from swing camps like Swing Out New Hampshire, Beantown and from other dance national /international dance events. We worked on our French accents and adding 'Eh' to our sentences.

Back in Montreal we stayed in my friend Susan's apartment that she bought for her daughter Ali who is going to McGill. They rent to students, but between summer subletters we were able to find some bed and couch space to crash. The location was fantastic in the McGill 'ghetto' area and near my favorite area 'The Plateau' and close to the Jazz fest. It also was close to Concordia which we checked out.

Our photos are here.

We met up with Carlos, his parents from Portugal, and his 10 year old son. We all would meet for dinner, or crepes and ice cream, some music, and entertainment at the festival, some bagels at the famous place on St. Viateur, and a visit to St. Joseph's Oratorio.

This was a highlight with an exhibit of over 200 nativity scenes, Crèches , made from materials that even ranged from dried fruit, chocolate, abalone shells, shells, various stones, wood, grass, and that encompassed many styles from numerous cultures around the world. If we could focus on creating and sharing more art (and music and dance) I think we would have peace and a richer heritage that all humans could share.

It was wonderful to play so much and take in the joy of the festival. I also got to tango at Mocha Jo's and Studio Tango in Old Montreal. We met up with my friend Phillip from Vt who is living there for the summer. It was good to dance again, including some hot salsa. Montréal est merveilleux!

I will also try to post and link to our videos soon.

The other wonderful part was enjoying a sense of being part of an extended family. Nurturing and joyful.


Now Mariel is off at a fabulous modern dance program - Summer Stages Dance - where she studied and performed last summer.

This year Mariel has a work/study scholarship and last evening I shot out to Concord to see the first performance of their summer series (and drop off misc items such as heating pads, ice packs, laundry detergent, room deoderizer, ace bandages, etc.) We both enjoyed the innovative and impressive dancing of Chris Elam and his company.

I got to hob nob with an old dance colleague Teri Weksler whom I hadn't seen in 30+ years. It was great to name drop and gossip- and feel warmer and less competitive in comparing our family experiences. There just wasn't enough time to catch up (or complain about our teens - and brag!)

Mariel will perform on Saturday July 28th as part of the young choreographers showcase.

I will be coming back from Portugal with Carlos on the 27th and will shoot out to see this of course and the final Summer Stages event.

Hope some will join us!

Love and warmth (ok- not too much) Stay cool!
Alison

Online Dating and Midlife Misc

Well,

After so many years of varied wonderful and strange experiences, and personal research on the dating scene (much of it via online sites as I work on computers daily), I have met an amazing soul that seems suitably matched.

And yes, partly we were able to make contact via an online dating site, though I had first sighted him at the gym, and we would have met via dancing and musical interests sooner or later.

I may write more about this lovely budding story, but meanwhile am enjoying it's creation.

Still I do want to say I continue to be fascinated by male/female relationships, dating challenges, and gender differences and communication, and I am working on my own story/book to build on the articles I have already published that have generated encouraging responses, such as:

Single women over 50 face challenges, Dating Boomers can be unrealistic,
and Why Women don't want 'Nice' men

(none of which are my original titles by the way...)

Meanwhile I enjoy reading other 'Expert' advice - some which may not be so expert or experienced- some very perceptive and supportive of my own ideas and insights.

You can follow Evan Katz's blog entry on the question Why Does He Put Me On His Favorites List And Never Write To Me? which include my and other readers' responses.

Ciao,
Alison