All in a Garden Green

Your campus is beautiful. The Florence Keigwin Amphitheater by the lake, with the beautiful granite terraced seating and picturesque view is delightful. The buildings are lovely and clean. Your signage, however, sucks.

I looked at a map before I left, and still missed my turn, because I was expecting somehow, that on one of the major roads that goes through the fair City of Lewiston, there would be some sort of indication that I was somewhere close to a large Institution of Higher Learning. None. Not a single, solitary "Bates College This Way" sign anywhere on Rt. 202. The one sign I did see, after heading several miles out of town, turning around, turning onto "Bates Street" and "College Avenue", neither of which led me, really, to the college, and asking three fairly unhelpful people for directions (people of Lewiston - how do you not know where the College is in your city?? even a little bit??), I stumbled upon a side road, with the single, solitary sign that said "<- Bates College". A little bit more directional assistance would be appreciated. I still have no idea how to easily get onto campus from Rt. 202, nor back to it.

End rant.


Thursday evening, after work, Giovanni and I headed out to see the Yankee Brass Band, of which my brother pet_spider is the youngest member (by about 10 years...). Apparently the penchant for dressing up in funny clothes on the weekends runs in the family. :) It was a delightful concert, though I missed the first three pieces (see rant above). Beautiful open air amphitheater, on a lake, all kinds of people sitting, enjoying the music of the 19th century. A few dozen musicians sat, playing on old old old brass instruments, all properly attired. An osprey circled overhead, searching for dinner, for several minutes, eventually coming away with a shining, wiggling fish. The audience was appreciative, the music ended just as the sun set, and I was treated to a delightful rendition of The Anvil Chorus, from Il Travatore, complete with a fellow beating the heck out of a steel I-beam.

Had a few minutes to visit post-concert, then headed out while it was still light so I could have a prayer of getting back on a familiar road before I couldn't see anything anymore... Nice ride home.

Photos from the concert are up in the usual spot. 'Twas truly a fine way to spend an evening.

Done now. Don't wanna anymore. Bleah. Roll over and go back to bed now, kay?

Ok, so maybe I'm being over-dramatic ( (who, me? never...) )

It hasn't been all bad, really. Got the fabric re-dyed, properly this time, though it's still not dark enough... perhaps mixing the teal dye with dark blue...? Not really looking forward to yet another afternoon spent kneeling by the bathtub... And probably, for my own sanity, not going to try and scramble to create garb out of said fabric for the Steampunk event on May 1. Seems like a good time to relax at home, and then visit the Tyger and Bucket Tavern in the evening. Looking forward to fencing at the Fort this Saturday, definitely.

Dinner with the neighbors on Sunday was wonderful. We are in the Right Place. Everyone was so welcoming, and friendly, and instantly neighbors. There are 4 little boys that live on the road, 2 belonging to our neighbors, 2 to the couple at the end of the road (waaaaaaay down at the end). Good kids, all. We figured out where the sheep came from (belong to M & D at the bottom of the hill), saw the pond, listened to the chirping of baby chickens all evening, caught up on all the gossip and scuttlebutt related to the former owners of our home (and oh boy... the stories... to be shared at some point, promise.). Had real baked beans (not from a can) for the first time in my life. Delicious dinner. We all played dominoes afterward, and M, who is 7, just hopped up on the chair next to me, and acted like he'd known me for years, not just barely a few hours. I felt like I was sitting around the table at Grandma S's, with all my cousins. I can't adequately describe how wonderful it was. We are in the Right Place.