29 June 2007

Three

We have been movie-a-holics lately. There are so many movies in the theater that we want to see, or that we meant to see, or have bought from the used rack at the local video store and have not yet seen, that we kicked it into high gear the last few weeks. Most seem to be the third installment of whatever...
We started our marathon with Shrek Three. I loved the original Shrek, and even thought the second was cute. This one I didn't get. He didn't want to live up to his responsibilities, yet he was supposed to be the role model for the kid who wasn't sure he wanted to do the job either... No, this one didn't do it for me. Great music from all of these movies though.
We then watched Mission Impossible III on video. This was a pretty good flick. I love Ving Rhames as Luther, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman is an amazing actor who played an incredibly riveting and cruel bad guy. I could have handled a little less blubbering in Tom Cruise's character, though. He is supposed to be a killing machine for crying out loud, suck it up... MI-III would have probably had a much bigger effect on a big screen, but overall good action, a little predictable, with a twisted bad guy, and a nice twist at the end.
Next was Ocean's Thirteen. I absolutely loved this movie. Art said it was a movie for women, if not a full fledged chick flick. All of those great looking confident men running around and outwitting other great looking confident men. Danny Ocean and the gang scored big with this one. It was fun through and through. I think this one is my favorite so far.
Pirates of the Caribbean At World's End was next on the roster. I have never seen the first one all the way through so I am at a bit of a loss here. The special effects are great, and it is full of action. I get lost in some of the little through lines and back story, but overall would give this one an A. Johnny Depp has a great character in Jack Sparrow, and Keith Richards was a great in his cameo.
We also watched 'Click' with Adam Sandler. Not a third per say but the third Adam Sandler movie I have watched. My favorite of his is 50 first dates with Drew Barrymore. Mr. Deeds was also pretty funny. He is a NH native so there are a lot of local tie-ins, references, and lingo. He is also just plain funny. Christopher Walkin is a great actor, but I am not sure I loved him in his character as the Angel of Death. Good comedy about not wishing your life away.
Tomorrow I am hoping we can make it to Spiderman 3. It is a movie that I prefer to see in a theater.

27 June 2007

Portsmouth



This is definately a town I could see myself living in. It has all of the charm of a quaint little seaside community, and yet it is not even an hour outside of Boston. Home of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, it used to be a big submarine port, where my F-I-L worked when he was a young man. The USS Albacore, which he helped with, is now a museum there. Pease Air Force Base has been decommissioned and is now turning into a beautiful industrial park, open space, and shopping center. Strawberry Bank is a series of gardens planted right along the waterfront within walking distance to town. It is beautiful no matter what time of year you go. My fil frequently stocks up on seeds for his own garden there :) Alas, today we did not get to see the flowers at SB. We did get to go to one of my favorites though! Pocos. Arguably the best Mexican food in the state, and definately the best calamari I have ever tasted. They have a patio built out back that is over the Piscataqua River by where the container ships come in to drop salt. We watched the tugs come back from helping a cargo ship through the channel under the bridge, and watched the many sailboats, and catamarans that were out for a great day on the water. We went to lunch with Art's folks. It was our Christmas present from them. The best part is being able to spend the day with them. I am glad that my mil came out. She was not having a good day, but hopefully enjoyed herself a bit... Art and his dad had a Prickly Pear Margarita, which was pink and fruity tasting. I tried something new- A Stoli Blutini. It has blueberry Stoli's, Vanilla Stoli's, and Blue Caraco. Tasted perfectly like a blueberry. Then the kick in the pants. :) We had a porpourri of appetizers instead of individual meals. Calamari, of course. Their espinaca con queso es muy delicioso, coconut shrimp, chicken enchiladas, and Art's folks got some Lobster Chowder. We were all stuffed. It was all good, though if I had do-overs I probably wouldn't have gotten the enchiladas. I was full before they arrived.

25 June 2007

Happy Birthday To Me.

As a present to me, I booked a flight to Colorado for the week of my birthday in October. My mom has been wondering (out loud- very loud) when I am coming home, Art is super busy at the store this time of year, and I have a lull at that time. Maybe I'll get lucky and my friend Wendi will have her annual Pumpkin Carving party during that time?? :) Another friend, Sara is due to have a baby around then. Should be a good time. I look forward to seeing everyone out there. We haven't been back in about a year now. Longest time I have spent away from there since moving to New England.

24 June 2007

A Dog's Breakfast - The Trailer

Let's get Breakfast!

A Dog's Breakfast is now available at Amazon.com. This is an awesomely funny movie by David Hewlett, who is also in Stargate Atlantis although this movie has nothing to do with Stargate... They have been showing this movie at film festivals, and winning awards I might add, for quite a while, now. I really look forward to it! I got mine- Did you get yours?

22 June 2007

Lloyd Nichols 1944-2007

This week there has been a great loss. On Sunday the Nichols family lost their patriarch- Lloyd. He died suddenly at only 63 while working in the yard. This is also a great loss to the wood pellet industry. Lloyd was the first to import a wood pellet boiler from Europe. His dedication and drive were unparalleled. He was our friend and colleague and we will miss him so. We have a spent a great deal of time with him at hearth functions, as well as going up to get a first hand experience with his system in his home. He was a pillar in his community. The Nichols family have run the general store, and hardware store in town for generations. Llloyd branched out to pellet stoves, and later the pellet boiler technology. He has left some very large shoes to be filled and we will all miss him greatly. Here is a poem from his memorial service that we attended yesterday that I reprint in his memory:
The Dash
by Linda Ellis
I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end.
He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke of the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line was worth.
For it matters not, how much we own,
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard;
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
That can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
To consider what's true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger
And show more appreciation
And love the people in our lives
Like we've never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect
And more often wear a smile,
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.
So when your eulogy is being ready
With your life's actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

FINAL SG-1 TONIGHT!


Watch the last tv episode of Stargate SG-1 tonight! Stay tuned for their first movie Continuum coming this fall! Enjoy!


Episode 19 - DominionOriginal air date: June 15, 2007
Believing Vala (Claudia Black) to have escaped imprisonment by the IOA after being deemed too large a risk, Adria (Morena Baccarin) hopes to finally ally alongside her mother. The two attempt to uncover the Clava Thessara Infinitas, storehouse of infinite ancient treasure, only to learn the address and Vala’s memories are just an elaborate trap by SG-1 to capture Adria. The tables quickly turn as the team themselves are ambushed and Adria taken captive by Ba’al (Cliff Simon). The team quickly scrambles to locate Ba’al and retake Adria in the hopes of either convincing her to leave the galaxy with her army or have her killed. Intel of a meeting of Ba’al’s forces reveals that the real Ba’al has killed off all of his clones. While on Ba’al’s ship he explains to Adria he plans to implant her with his symbiote to take control of her body and therefore of her army. SG-1 aboard the Odyssey track Ba’al’s ship and are able to retake Adria and kill Ba’al at the same time. However back aboard the Odyssey they learn they might have been too late as Ba’al’s symbiote is already in control of Adria. With no other way, SG-1 brings in the Toakra to remove Ba’al’s symbiote and implant Adria with one of their own in hopes to use Adria’s body to command the Ori out of the galaxy. Ba’al being true to form doesn’t go easily, injecting Adria’s nervous system with a slow acting toxin. Adria back in control fights to keep herself alive long enough to ascend, but with SG-1 trapped outside the operating room it’s up Vala to kill her own daughter before she can ascend to join the Ori.

Plates

We thought long and hard about what we would like our license plate to be. Should we just stick with the standard Old Man in the Mountain plate? Custom plate? Moose plate? Custom Moose plate? I thought a custom plate would be nice, especially since in NH it only adds $25 the first year, and I think $10 after to renew. I would have loved KLLYGAT (KelleyGate) but sadly that is no longer, or FNCYVW (fancy vw) which Art didn't like. Then we started thinking of putting something in German since, after all, it is a German car. But, man those German words are LONG!
Then it came to Art. DANKE. Very simple, but it works on many levels. First and foremost it is a Thank You! to my folks, who gave me the car as a present. On another level you could say it's a Thank You to German engineering. Or after you've passed someone it's kind of a tongue in cheek Thank You. So it was settled, and it was available. We received the plates two days ago (man they're fast!) and here it is.

Also, while we are on the topic of plates I just had to snap a pic of this one. We followed this poor soul all the way from Claremont to Keene yesterday coming back from the funeral. He probably thought we were stalking him because Art had to tailgate twice so I could snap a few pics (first time my pic card was full), and I egged Art on to keep up with him. He was driving a little Nissan and probably had no idea why the Porsche didn't just pass him already!

20 June 2007

Daydreaming




Afternoon doldrums have set in and my mind is wandering. I have been feeling a great deal of stress lately. What happens to all the hours in the day? Sometimes I think it would be better if we didn't have this house. It is just way too much for two people! I know that some of the workload here is because of the new addition we added last year. We still have electrical to run, two doors, trim, and painting to do upstairs (I finally sanded it last week!), set of stairs going out the back, replace ugly ones out the front, we need about 15-20 more yards of loam to fill in the side and back yard so we can plant grass, a burm to plant, a driveway to trim, a walkway... We have had so much rain I am mowing twice a week which is a two hour job each time if I don't weed whack (which, let's be honest, doesn't happen very often), not to mention trying to keep up with weeding and pruning. The raspberry patch is a mess! Good thing they are tough weedlike plants who can fend for themselves! Then inside is beyond ridiculous. I clean constantly, and have dropped my standards through the floor, yet the house is always a disaster! Today, between reconciles, and web updates, I am attempting to do about 10 loads of laundry, and clean one bathroom. Vacuuming won't happen for days, and mopping! Surely, you jest! I did get up early to make meatloaf! Art is at the store finishing new displays today because he is off to Canada tomorrow morning for a few day retreat with our pellet manufacturer up there. Men only- Thank you very much! :-(>
Anyway, lately I have been thinking of when we actually finish this house so we can move on to the next one! Art wants to build our next house. We still like our town, but sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be better to live closer to his folks on the coast. I am very unsure of building a new house as I have been through that with my own family growing up, and know that it is extremely stressful and difficult on it's own, but I do not like the colonial, salt box, gambrel style that dominates New England. Anyway- we were looking at house plans yesterday... It never hurts to look! Here is the one we like today.

17 June 2007

Thrill Ride

Finally! I was able to get down to the town to register the Porsche, and then to Milford to get my plates. Between our crazy store schedule, the limited small town dmv hours, and our recent trips it has been difficult to find time to register. We have ten days to do the inspection. But other than that- Thursday it was done. I was careful not to get too excited because I could not see a time when we would be able to drive it. It was COLD! and rainy on Wednesday and Thursday, with a promise of uncertain for Friday and beyond. Seriously cold. You should have seen all of us tough types in long sleeves, pants, and jackets hopping up and down, huddling together, and blowing on our hands to try to keep warm during the big solar presentation on Thursday. Saturday, after working in the store, we were going over to Art's folks house for Father's day and because Pam was going to come up. Even though it was still cloudy when we woke up, I really wanted to take the car. Art didn't want to bring the car to the store, and had taken the top off so he was concerned about rain. I dug my heels in and we took it. We showed up a little late so no one at the store even noticed what we drove in with, and it got warmer and brighter as the day progressed. At one, after Art finished doing some deliveries we had rescheduled for training, we set off for the seacoast. The top was down and the sun was bright. It was a great ride, although traffic was a little heavy so we couldn't really stretch her legs. I remember thinking that it would be just short of a miracle if we didn't get pulled over today. Bud and Pam took it for a ride to get Chinese take-out for dinner. Then our neice Lindsay drove to get ice cream. So far so good. On the way out of his folks development heading home we had Karyn and Ralph following in their sporty little Lincoln. Art took off at a good clip, but quickly slammed on the brakes when he saw that a cop was approaching from the other direction. Of course, the cop turned around, and on went the blues. Ralph pulled over, and Art began to pull over, but realized that he did not want us. He had tagged poor Ralph, who we can only guess was trying to catch up to us. Continuing on we thought we would call them when we got on the highway to see what had transpired. We drove pretty slow at that point, both for nerves and we were going through the little town of Newfields which is a bad place to speed no matter what you are driving. When we turned on to 101 we saw that Ralph and Karyn had caught up and waved and beeped. They must have just had a quick warning, or the cop changed his mind altogether... Phew! The rest of the ride home was wonderful. Art and a BMW played leap frog for better than half the distance to Manchester, and a newer Carrera pulled up even with us with a wave of acknowledgement before joining the game. They got off at a near exit and pulled even again to wave goodbye. We stuck our hands out of the skylight and waved goodbye to the Beamer when it exited. I saw 120 once and just gave Art's leg a little pat to let him know that "yeah, that was fun, but..." We made it home with no (further) cops and no stops!

New alternative

We have always fancied ourselves alternative energy dealers even though we have mostly sold wood pellet stoves, furnaces, and the occassional grill. Most would lump us in the stove or hearth category at the strictest, and the wood pellet or biomass at the liberal end. This week we officially picked up solar hot water systems. So (I think) we are now officially out of the stove/hearth category and into alternative energy. We picked up Enerworks solar hot water systems. We liked them because they are right North of us in Canada, they had an established product, easy maintenance, and a good local distributor. I am sure that stoves will always remain at the heart of our business, but I really like the idea of doing more with the central heat systems, advancing bulk feed options, and tying in other systems such as solar. There are many great solar/biomass systems in Europe. Right off the bat we will have a nice package with the pellet boiler w/hot water coil, using the solar as a preheat and summer hot water package. There are so many tax rebates, and credits available I think it will help save dollars as well as give us some experience in that department for future biomass credits.

15 June 2007

Speaking of Sqirrels

6/14/07 BERLIN (Reuters) - An aggressive squirrel attacked and injured three people in a German town before a 72-year-old pensioner dispatched the rampaging animal with his crutch.
The squirrel first ran into a house in the southern town of Passau, leapt from behind on a 70-year-old woman, and sank its teeth into her hand, a local police spokesman said Thursday.
With the squirrel still hanging from her hand, the woman ran onto the street in panic, where she managed to shake it off.
The animal then entered a building site and jumped on a construction worker, injuring him on the hand and arm, before he managed to fight it off with a measuring pole.
"After that, the squirrel went into the 72-year-old man's garden and massively attacked him on the arms, hand and thigh," the spokesman said. "Then he killed it with his crutch."
The spokesman said experts thought the attack may have been linked to the mating season or because the squirrel was ill.

12 June 2007

Bribery

Art has had a very good week. We had our little getaway on the Block last week. We spent Thursday night at home and on Friday Art headed North with his buddy Steve for a little boondoggle. They traveled just North of Berlin on the Maine border on Friday, and Saturday they kayaked to Lake Umagog which they had pretty much to themselves. Sunday they headed down the Androscoggin River. At this point I think he has paddled all of the Androscoggin. He came home with a big smile, a sunburn, and a hand full of flowers. This is apparantly an activity on his list that will make him think flowers. They were beautiful, and I am glad he had a great time.

I spent a lovely weekend at home. I am in the process of moving my office (again). We have a little cottage on the property that I have been using. It seemed nice to have it separate from "home". However, a couple of years ago to conserve pellets we moved my office up to an unused bedroom we coined the 'bear room' at the back of the house. I kind of liked that. I think I just like that room. I used to have my sewing room in a little room by our bedroom, but I moved that up to the bear room last fall, just because. The bear room is a special room. It was one of two rooms we didn't see the first time we walked through the house because they were tucked behind a door in the (then kitchen B) bar. It has a great door with a window that reminds us of bear paws, hence the name. It also has views of the raspberry patch, the stream, and the field out back. Another reason to move the office is Art. He was so excited to get the garage done, and moved all of his tools, and woodworking equipment out there as soon as we were finished. Well, now we have the Porsche which neither of us want to run power tools around for obvious reasons, nor do we want to have to leave the car out in the rain/sleet/snow that happens here from time to time ;)>. So the thought is that we will convert the cottage to a workshop. We still have our exercise equipment out there, but that is a problem for a different day...

08 June 2007

Someday.

Pedal around the Block




We were off on an adventure this week. We went on a bike, dine, and stay excursion on Block Island, Rhode Island, aka- BI-RI. The ferry ride was just about an hour, and it took us just over two hours to get down to the ferry port in Narragansett. So much better than wasting an entire day on an airplane. Our GPS "Vivian" found a great new path through Worcester so we didn't even have to go on 495. Tropical Storm Barry had just left the day before we headed down, but the waters were pretty calm, and it was a nice ride out although it was a little foggy still. We had a seagull follow the ferry all the way out. The boat must stir up fish in it's wake, as he seemed to snack the whole way out.

Day One



We got off the ferry at just about noon. We checked in and were back out on the beach in about ten minutes. We walked up a quite a ways just enjoying the day. You could tell that this is a place that hosts a large number of people. You could see so many tables and chairs, wide walk ways, and more bike racks than I could count. However, there were not that many people there when we were. It is still not their peak season. I also imagine that weekends are huge compared to mid-week travel. That would also be part of why we got such a good deal, too :) We likened it to being at an amusement park when it is closed. You can imagine the large crowd, the laughter of kids on holiday, the music, lights, action, the buzz of activity. But instead it was just a large empty stage. To be clear, there were some definate advantages to not having the crowds of people like not waiting to sit down for dinner, or wait in line, or have to share the road with other bikers, but it seemed odd nonetheless. It is an hour ride from Narragansett, RI, two hours from Newport, and not quite two hours from Montauk, Long Island. The island is not even ten square miles total. and the middle half is mostly an inlet/lake. It has been on both of our to do/see lists for a very long time. Very relaxing.

Day Two




Our second day was a little overcast. I told A to turn on the Tellie to check the weather while I took a shower. He told me that there would be afternoon rain showers, but the morning will be fine. So we headed off to the bike shop with a backpack full of raincoat for the afternoon. Well, by the time we got to the bike shop it was sprinkling. I could also see the gray clouds descending on us fast so I decided to avoid the rush and put on my raincoat. Apparently, I have officially become a New Englander. Growing up if it were raining, I would suggest we go inside to "wait it out". No-No, not anymore. Without a thought we hopped on our bikes and pedaled North to the far end of the Island and the North Lighthouse destination we had planned. There was very little traffic and no other bikes (go figure...) We did see a lot of feathered friends. Beautiful cardinals, Geese wandering around with their families and swimming in the water, a little duck came over to say "Hi' and give me a rest half way up a big hill. I liked this lighthouse best. Stone buildings are just so impressive. Unfortunately, it is still off-season so it wasn't open, but in season you can go to the top of the light. We had fun walking around. By the time we got back the rain had stopped and we were able to walk around the little town, and hang out on the porch of the hotel. We had a fabulous new ice cream flavor here. Boston Cream Pie Ice Cream. This could be my new favorite. Or, second to chocolate and peanut butter anyway. So good!

Day Three




The third day was the best weather day there. The sky was clear, the faintest of breeze, and right around 75 degrees. We pedaled South today, visiting the Mohegan Bluffs and climbing down the ten plus flights of stairs to the beach. A liked this lighthouse best. He thought you had a better perspective of light lenses. It was also at the edge of a bluff and had beautiful views all around. It was sure nice to sip coffee with DH on the porch of the hotel today too :)

Cupboard Under the Stairs




A and I just returned from a great mid-week getaway on Block Island, Rhode Island. We stepped off the ferry and walked across the street to the Harborside Inn. They checked us in and gave us our bike coupons, restaurant certificates for food, and the keys to our room. The hotel has been around for a while. It had some beautiful built-ins and many antique pieces in the lobby. It also had the little quirks that come with these old buildings. Slanted floors and ceilings being among the most fun. The main stairs we went up had about a foots headroom difference from one side to the other. I also felt a kinship with Harry Potter there. Our room was a little cupboard under the stairs. It tooks us a while, and a few wrong turns to even find it. The door is under the stairs to the third floor, and was a cozy little room with "Holly Hobbie" wallpaper. I remember a friend of mine growing up had wallpaper like that, and she was into Holly Hobbie so I think it was Holly Hobbie paper-Either that or it just reminded me of the fabric that Holly Hobbie's dress was made from.

04 June 2007

Sunday

Taking cue from SG Atlantis I decided to take Sunday off. Well, Tropical Storm Barry also had a hand in it. Luckily he was the worst tragedy to have befallen us Sunday. We went to get the car first thing in the am, but after that- doing things?? Not so much.
I enjoyed a cup or three of coffee. We had a Dunkie's on the way to get the car, and brought the truck driver a cup, but it merely whet my pallet. Read the Sunday paper which my Mom started when she was visiting last fall and I haven't cancelled yet... Watched as DH fiddled with and preened the car all day in the garage. Watched my Stargate's, of course! We ended up watching chick flicks; Miss Congeniality 1&2. The family was all over at A's folks house, but since we would be gone for most of this week, and A's schedule will be so busy when we will be here that it was even more enjoyable to do nothing.

As for the inspiration: Sunday. Since I was gone Friday night I recorded the SG's and watched them Sunday! This was a great episode, first off! I had been feeling recently that it had become the David Hewlett show instead of Stargate Atlantis. Don't get me wrong- I absolutely love Rodney McKay, but there are others at that outpost that I like too and I was missing them a bit. Maybe if tptb had spent more time on character development for Beckett, or even as much as they did this ep he wouldn't have had to leave... It was sad, and frustrating to watch him die, but I did not have the sadness that I had for Dr. Fraser or even Jacob/Selmac. Can't wait to see how he returns! No one dies in sci fi...

03 June 2007

Home at Last!

When I turned 30 I had only been in NH a few years. I was feeling a little home sick so as a b-day gift DH got me a plane ticket home. My folks were happy to have me, of course. Except~
The night we celebrated my b-day was pretty straight forward. The usual cake and a few little gifts. The "little" gift from my Dad was a car cleaning kit. A very elaborate one. It came in a little suitcase, and had Porsche logos on all of the little bottles. Simple me, I thought he gave me a freebie pack he got at the last servicing of his Porsche as a joke or maybe because he thought I'd really like to have a car cleaning kit??? Well, the next gift was a KEY! To a Porsche! He gave me his Porsche for my 30th B-day. No words to describe that one! He said they were going to drive it out and surprise me, but then I came to CO instead. It is a 1988 944. It was originally used as a race car in Florida so it is souped up pretty well. The car has lived in my folks garage for the last five plus years waiting for me to build my garage and somehow get it across the country. We did get to use the car a few times in Colorado, but it's just not the same. I was talking with a friend earlier this spring who had a son going to school in AZ. They had his car shipped to NH on a carrier for a pretty reasonable price. Why hadn't I thought of that? So I started calling transport companies to get a quote since we finished our garage last fall. It hopped on the carrier last week, and arrived without a scratch today :) It's like receiving the present all over again. I cannot express Thanks enough to my folks. They are pretty amazing, and very generous!

02 June 2007

First Night

Last night was a beautiful night. We went to catch up with some friends at the "Hippie Pub" in the next town. We sat out on the deck and had dinner about ten feet from a massive blooming lilac bush. It smelled like heaven! The Hippie Pub is in the artsy little community of Peterborough. The NH center for eccentric, old money, artistic types. Harlow's has always been a gathering place in town. It started as a little vegetarian cafe, but expanded a bar room upstairs with live music, and they now have a pretty expansive dinner selection to boot. When our friend Steve found out who was playing that night we decided to stick around.
The band was Ivy Levine and the Chums. (Pronounced Ivy Le-Vine not Leveen, of course :) Her name suits her well. She's probably near six feet tall, maybe 110 pounds, and her lean yet long limbs weaved, dove and climbed as she danced around. played a good variety of music. All originals. Among my favorites was a ska sounding "I can run fast- Touchdown!". They played some folksie tunes like "Star Trek Heroine in the Moonlight". My personal favorite was a country/rock song "Yippie-Ey-O" in which Ivy dawned two gloves that had little puppets dressed in ball gowns. Her first two fingers of each hand being the legs. The little puppets were wearing heels and they danced first in the air doing the can-can, then they moved to a cymbal and played a percussion bit with their "dance". Very entertaining.
I like the crowd that gathers at the pub. It isn't the bar of college years where everyone goes to drink beer as fast as they can and party hard. The bar serves primarily beer and it is good quality beer. Beer is not on my list so I stuck with soda. By the time the band started a good part of the crowd had moved on to water or soda as well. Their is always an active group of dancers here as well. They clear out several tables after dinner to make a dance area. There were many couples there. The "first date" couple was fun to watch- stuck to each other in the close slow spin dance. Another couple demonstrated their success in swing dance lessons together as they two stepped around the floor. Another couple dressed to the nines used ballroom dance techniques. Then, being Peterborough, there were of course two middle aged women (I am guessing a couple) who were wearing the beads, and flowing skirts who looked like they had learned to dance at a Dead show back in the seventies.
All in all, a great evening. A great way to spend the first night in June.