is there any more pie?

Let me tell you about Wednesday.

My two Montana friends, “The Two Kathies”, as they are known far and wide, leave the mountain and the river to drive to town every couple of months and get their hair done. Because The Two Kathies can turn anything into a party, they bring wine and delicious snacks to munch on while they are being beautified.

And because they are Montanans, they have lots of errands to do when they are “in town”.

I went along with one of the Kathy’s, a day that started at 11 AM. I have known this particular Kathy since 1975, when two of her sisters babysat for Son #1. Kathy is one of nine siblings from California, and to tell you that I adored her family and adored her parents would be an understatement.

I learned a lot from her parents.

I met the other Kathi years later, because she’d been in Alaska cooking for logging crews.

Anyway, Kathy and I did the usual errands— Home Depot, groceries, Dollar Store, bank—-before joining Kathi (with an “i”, that’s how we tell them apart) at the salon. Because afternoon wine makes me sleepy, I brought a little tequila and fruit juice in a travel mug. (I would not be living this down anytime soon.)

We set up a cheese, crackers and organic vegetable stick buffet in front of the hair dryers and spent several hours telling each other wedding and class reunion horror stories. Great fun!!

At five o’clock we headed to a new beer store/pub a few blocks away. Kathy’s nephew and my music teacher play there for two hours every Wednesday. We paid no attention to the darkening sky or the sprinkling of rain drops.

Here we are paying no attention:

(left to right:  More Pie, Kathy, Kathy’s sister and Kathi)

Outside a storm raged.  I looked out those windows once and saw the wind blowing the rain sideways.  We heard sirens.  Lots of sirens.  The lights flickered, but the musicians kept playing and singing.  We hollered for “Sea of Heartbreak”.  Kathy’s nephew ignored us.

 The rain stopped.  We headed to a favorite restaurant on the city beach.  The rain started again.   There was a rainbow.

I love this photo so much I’m showing it to you again:

 Returning to our table, I saw this:

This is what happens when partying with Kathy’s sister, who has rock-star charisma and knows every younger man in town.

We learned that a tree branch had come down on a table on the restaurant’s patio, breaking the table in half.  A tree had come down on a nearby camper.

Later we would learn that a friend’s grandson had dislocated his elbow while at camp and the hospital’s emergency room had been packed with people injured in the storm.

On the ride home we saw branches everywhere.  Banjo Man called to tell me that a tree had fallen across our driveway and we had no electricity.

But we had a generator, which is something we don’t have in Rhode Island.  And this generator is a little miracle.

We (as many, many others were too) would be out of power for almost 36 hours.  And yet…we had friends over for dinner (I used the crock pot and the grill, not the ovens!) and didn’t have to use flashlights.

My brother-in-law thinks of everything.  He really does.

Today the power is back on.  The generator is resting after a job well done.  The sun is shining.  The sky is blue.   The Two Kathies have great hair.  And Kathy’s sister will have to explain the above photo to her husband.

And now you know about  Wednesday.

Here are some of the photos of the 4th of July parade!!!

This year’s theme: honoring our veterans!

Mike, our float designer.

Our mountain goat, in honor the Scotchman Wilderness.

Jon, with his grandson (right) and nephew (left). The boys are wearing his old uniforms.

Petra and Connie get ready to serenade the crowd.

A proud grandson.

Julie, who keeps the beat for all of us.

The “horn section” waits for our turn in line.

Very patient Bruce on the bass.

Linda is ready with her accordion.

Best Adult Float Trophy!!!

Story Man thinks we were great.

So gorgeous!!!!!