Ben made this hat in pre-school. Maybe he had a little help.

Well fans, far and wide, I'm back! I feel like I've lived at least two lives since we last talked. Since that time, I sold my house, moved in with Fred and Sharon, Ella and Ben and bought a plane ticket for India. It just happened it came together that way. I had just about given up on selling the house when this very nice couple, Mollie and Joe came along and actually bought it. I was lucky to sell it as we discovered that the basement floor was pulling away from the wall on the West side. However, since Mollie is an architect and one of the fathers is an engineer, they knew enough to be able to fix it. Of course the price was once again reduced, but when you only have another 30 years or so, you have to move on it.

I was lucky to have some wonderful friends to help with the packing (Mollie and Adrienne) and give me a push whenever I got stalled, and then Cara came and pushed me the rest of the way.

So to shorten this story, which may not be of glowing interest to everyone, I'm here in Portland, Oregon. Just now I'm in the food court of the mall where I came to find an Apple store and learn a little more about my computer.

I had to get a new phone # and phone, and since the phone takes pictures (slowly I'm catching up with the 21st century) I even have pictures to show you. And furthermore, today I learned about bluetooth, which connects my pictures to the computer.

Now I will try and download a few pictures: SOS,SOS! I can't find my pictures. More later.

An enhanced version of the tree. I can't do this tree justice!

Ella likes Rocky too.

Grandma Judy, Ben and the tarantula, and a pig at the farm where we went to pick pumpkins.

Fred and Ben watching the DVD, Wall-e. Ben has loved Wall-E for over a year.

I'm surprised to learn this tarantula (named Rocky) is quite easy going- doesn't bite unless provoked. I'm not ready to hold it yet.

Gourds at the pumpkin farm.

Some views of the kids, The pets, and life in general in Portland

I thought a view of this amazing tree in Fred and Sharon's back yard would be a good way to start to tell you about my visit to Portland, Or. It's a protected, historic tree. I don't know if you can see it very well, but parts of it are covered in moss and there's even fern growing out of it in one place. A monumental tree, here long before us and hopefully here long after we're gone.

Bicycle Dreams- here's someone's 1950 (or so) Christmas present which has been rusting in the basement of my neighbor's house.The house was deserted for the past 30 or more years, thanks to some sort of family feud. To think of the joy it must have brought and to see it now as a skeleton. The life of a bicycle. The life of a human.

Here's to new life and new bicycles.

Here's the group around Ellen's humongus dining room table.This is her Chambers stove, an old gas stove. My mother had a Chambers and was inordinately proud of it. It was just like this one. Ellen has a menorah on hers.

Ellen Bierhorst holds a "Salon" every Wednesday, from 5:45 to 8:00 PM. This happens 52 weeks a year. This is her house, and Ellen in her kitchen. Everyone is welcome. It's potluck, so you just bring a dish and come. We discuss politics (the lefty kind), health, nutrition, and anything anyone can think of. This is Ellen's house, an old mansion formerly owned by the family. I'll tell you more about that when I think of their names.

Northside Farmer's Market -every Wednesday @4:00PM
Brick Oven on a truck for pizza making at the farmers market. Good idea, right?

Vintaage clothing fashion show

More from the fashion show.

Janet and her walker. She's 97 years old and has a most interesting history. In the background, 3 beautiful ladies in 1920's fashions.

Today was coming out Sunday at the UU, for gays who want to come out. It was a very moving service. There have been a lot of suicides recently of teenage boys who were taunted for being gay. A service was read which had been written by a UU minister who waited until he was 50 to come out. He talked about living in fear of being discovered constantly. A woman who is transgender and now lives as a woman after being a man for years said she always felt like a woman. She stressed that transgender and transsexual are not the same thing. I'm not sure of the differences. The choir sang a wonderful song," Everything Possible." Here are the words.

We've cleared off the table, leftovers saved, washed the dishes and put them away. I've told you a story, tucked you in tight at the end of your knock-a-bout day. As the moon sets its sails to carry you to sleep, over the midnight sea, I will sing you a song no one sang to me, may it keep you good company.

Oh you can be anybody you want to be, you can love whom ever you will. You can travel any country where your heart leads, and know that I will love you still. You can live by yourself, you can gather friends around, you can choose one special one. And the only measure of your words and your deeds will be the love you leave behind when your done.

There are girls who grow up strong and bold, boys quiet and kind. Some race on a head, some follow behind, some go in their own way and time. Some women love women, some men love men, some raise children, some never do. You can dream all the day never reaching the end of everything possible for you. Don't be rattled by names, by taunts, by games. but seek out spirits true. If you give your friend the best part of your self, they'll give the same back to you.

Nina, Mira, Sister Alice and me in the red hat. We do this every Monday, in the median on Central Parkway, corner of Vine. Reactions are interesting. Mostly people don't even seem to be thinking about the war. It's "over there," and not their kids, so why get excited. The human race is strange, don't you think?

Joellen, one of our RE students, in a 1940 something

Andy looking 1920ish
This is the fifties. I remember those white gloves and hats well.
Only Ruth Anne would decide to dance in a corset. I think we should have a contest to guess why. Andy doesn't seem to mind.

Hello dear friends, family, rapt admirers and anyone else,

I've been out of touch for a while, because when I get back to beautiful Cincinnati I get so busy that I don't seem to find the time for blogging. However I won't give up. I've been working on selling the house, (keep your fingers crossed, someone may be interested), planning my trip to India, and doing all my UU things, so that time flys by. In addition, yesterday we got the sad news that my good friend, Pete Altekruse, died. He will be missed.

So, I will try and catch up on the comings and goings here. I hope I don't bore you to death.

Saturday night our UU church had a fund raiser which was a vintage clothes fashion show and musical performance. It was definitely above average. The singers and musicians were great. Styles from the twenties through the sixties were featured. Herewith are some of them;

I met Ope and Erin through Fred and Sharon. Ope was in the residency program at U.C. with Fred and Sharon. He stayed on in Cincinnati to get a post, post, post doctorate degree. Now he's doing research on stroke or something like that related to brains. Erin, having nothing to do when she was pregnant with Anna went to law school and got her law degree. They are 2 nice people and they seem to see me as another grandma for the kids. I like this very much. They just moved into a bigger house on Conservatory Ave. in Hyde Park.

Ope and Erin, the creaters of Wale and Anna.
Wale is the big brother, and he's getting used to Anna.
This is Anna,the newest addition

The Pickle Party, starring Cara Betty Crocker Cirillo. I had posted this with 2 pictures, but Cara didn't like one of the pictures. I tried to delete it and the whole post disappeared. Anyway, there were lots of cukes, so there were lots of pickles.

Street Scapes

Well I said I'd let you see something more cheerie (cheerful) than my last complaining blog. So the Street Scapes held in downtown Clifton is very cheerful. Lots of people get together to make chalk and other drawings on the streets, square and sidewalks. And also, they do cars, as you can see. We have lots of art students in Cincinnati at DAAP, which is the art school that is part of UC. I don't know what DAAP stands for, but every artist who's anybody goes to DAAP. (That's an overstatement.) I'm allowed to overstate. It's MY blog.

Street Scapes at Ludlow Ave. in downtown Clifton
Isn't this a fun idea?

Well, now I'm back home in Cinci. I have mixed feelings. I was amazed to see how dry everything is. We have 5 inches less rain then normal for this time of year. Lawns are brown, trees are dying. It's nice to see friends again. Went to an IJPC (Intercommunity Justice and Peace) meeting and it was wonderful to see everyone working on really important issues. Our congressman, Steve Driehaus, says his constituents aare not contacting him about the war in Afghanistan. So we are getting signatures from anyone who opposes the war and wants to spend the money saved on job creation. Of course, UU's (Unitarians) and others are signing. I think I can get about 50 signatures without too much effort. People are so numb on the issue, it seems. It's "over there," it's not their kids who are fighting, so they're not giving it much thought. Meanwhile there's no money for job creation, schools, public transportation, etc. I'm on a rant. I guess I'll stop now. Tomorrow I'll get some good pictures on a happier subject for you.

Waiting at "The Irving" gas station for the West Co. bus to Bangor. It's hard to leave the beautiful Machias River and beautiful Machias. While I was waiting, a sweet lady arrived and informed me that she is married 60 years and that her whole family is Jehovah's Witness. I was firm and refused the magazine. I told her I'm Unitarian and have all their reading material.

Today is Labor Day and I leave Machias tomorrow. Went to Cara's and helped make cucumber pickles. It was a "learning experience" for both of us. Things didn't turn out exactly as planned, but that's OK. Next year they'll be better. (Gee, I hope she's not planning to give any members of my vast audience a jar of pickles for Christmas.)

It's hard for me to leave this place. I've had so much fun this summer as you can see from the rest of the blog. It's been wonderful being with the family, gardening with Edith, dancing at Edith's classes, laughing with the sewing group, enjoying the Bees, the Blueberry Festival and the Blackfly Ball, and making some delightful friends. Now I go home to resettle and begin the rest of my life.

The bees use their art for social activism. The posters can take several years to make. A lot of research goes in to them. Animals are anatomically correct and they interview the people involved in the issues quite extensively. Several people work on each poster adding layers to each part of the design. This one's about mountain top removal as part of strip mining. They travel wherever they have an audience all over the country delivering their messages.

Part of an elaborate poster made by the bees.
Emily (Agent Emma) - one of the bees

Henna and Sol Castro at the Machiasport Lobster Fest

I feel I should say a few words about the Beehive Collective. This group took over the decaying Grange Hall, restored it and at first used it to do their work. Their work is Social Justice. Over the 10 years or so that they've been in Machias, they've worked on several different issues including "Plan Columbia" which sprayed fields in Columbia in order to kill the poppies and marijuana growing there and in the meanwhile killed everything else. Now they are working on the issue of mountain top removal by the coal industry. This method of coal mining blasts away tops of mountains to get at the veins of coal. The rubble from the blasting falls into the valley, destroying the lives of people living there. It also releases toxins and pollutes the water. All for coal, folks.

The Beehive is a group of mostly young, idealistic artists who make some very elaborate posters demonstrating the problem. They then travel to college campuses and anywhere that they are wanted to educate people about these issues. I'll try and bring them to Cincinnati.

Since their first days, they've acquired a house where they live and work, and the Grange Hall is used for Grange meetings and other functions. (Edith gives dance lessons there.)

Kheban Grier, one of the founders of the Beehive Collective.
Sewing "ladies" partying. That's Betsy, Erin (she's a Bee) and Raylene.
Some revellers and sleepy baby.

I didn't say anything about the Blueberry Festival, which transformed this quiet little town, the weekend of August 20 through the 22nd. The festival features fantastic "Down East" food, including lobsters, crab rolls, smoked salmon on a stick (delicious!) and every edible variety of blueberry concoction, as long as it is made with the tiny, sweet Maine blueberry. The town was transformed as cars and people poured in from all over. There is the Blueberry Play, (funny, corny musical starring half the town), Blueberry Race, Children's Parade, pie eating contest, cookoff, bands, local artisans selling their wares, and I can't remember what else. It's always held on the 3rd weekend in August. Put it on your calendar for next year. A wonderful addition the last few years is the Blackfly Ball. The upper and lower floors of the Grange became dance floors and an additional floor was built in the park across from the Grange Hall for more bands and dancing. Folks dress in costumes if so inclined, faces are painted, and a grand time is had by all. No drugs, no alcohol, just fun!

The Blueberry Play- Rakealot-with the women cymbal players
One of the bands. It was a rough day!
Clown and clown.

The sewing group meets weekly, at the grange or at someone's house. It's created a lot of friendships and has become a great way to meet people. And learn to sew, knit, embroider, and to share the local news.

Knitting, gossiping, sewing, learning, teaching, sharing life!
Sewing group meeting in the park on a beautiful summer day.

Adrienne at the beach at Rogues Bluff
Nature's amazing artwork; barnacles and seaweed

Nancy Herr and I went hiking on the Bold Coast. The entire hike is about 10 miles, but we did 6. We hiked to the ocean, than along the coast, then in a big rectangle through forest and bog back to where the trail began. The entire hike is hilly, slippery (where it's wet) and "challenging." About half way to the ocean I twisted my ankle. At first it was fine, but by about mile 4 or 5 it really hurt. Such is life. Wouldn't have missed it. I was really lucky in that it must have been a fairly minor sprain. When I got home, we looked on the internet for diagnosis and treatment and decided it wasn't too serious. Cara came over with the ace bandage and wrapped me up, put ice on it and really pampered me. Edith came up to give counsel and advice.

Seeing the Bold Coast makes me appreciate nature all the more. Beautiful, amazing, indescribable.

Pictures can't o justice to this place.
Nancy Herr and me.
Bold Coast, Maine, off the Cutler Road