At 7:00 this morning, there was a thunder clap that sent Kiki airborne from under the dining room table and to her safe space behind the couch where she hunkered down for a while. I was already up, drinking coffee, and gearing up for a morning mission. The forecast promised sunshine later in the day, and the decision makers at Lowell Summer Music Series had declared on Friday that tonight’s Martin Sexton show would be outdoors. It was my self-appointed role to secure the seating spot, and I was waiting out the downpour.
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| Real estate claimed. |
At 8:00, I was standing Boarding House Park participating in the land grab, where concert ticket holders set out blankets and/or chairs to stake the real estate claim for the evening. The rain had stopped, the sky was blue, the sun was blazing and it was warm. Not many people had grabbed spots yet and there were some great options. The brightly colored concert/beach/picnic blanket was planted.
The Brush Gallery has the annual quilt show, and when I headed out to attend the reception that had begun at 2:00, I was surprised how hot it was. Then I was surprised that I was surprised because, except for a couple days this past week when it was around 70, it’s been hot, hot, hot for most of the summer.
The quilt exhibit was, as always, impressive. I would like a tour inside a quilter’s head for a peek at how some of the stitched fabric art pieces are conceived. The colors and stitching combine to create gorgeous patterns and textures.
The reception refreshment table featured the array of beautiful and tasty treats the Brush board is known for. The crowd was a nice size, and I had some great conversations including one with a stained glass artist who teaches in Worcester at the same place where I studied darkroom photography for several years. Now I have a goal of getting a glass workshop into my fall calendar.
After the gallery, the next stop was the grocery store for provisions from the produce department. The drive to and from the gallery wasn’t long enough to get the A/C cranking and the remote start feature is almost never remembered, so the cool environs of Market Basket felt most refreshing. The hot weather was pretty obvious in the store by the clouds of body odor that lingered in the air. Then I got paranoid that maybe the stench wasn’t from other customers and was my own from baking in the car on the ride over. How I torque myself up, Chapter 27.
The sun blazed all afternoon, and it was a roasting situation in the long jeans I stupidly dressed in for the gallery, which triggered the wardrobe dilemma for the evening. If it’s 85 at 5:00 when getting ready to leave for the 7:30 show, but the sun goes down by 8:00, after which, it will drop into the 70s, what is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow, (nod to Monty Python and the Holy Grail) and how many layers do I need to bring?
It’s a proven fact I’ll be cold when the sun is down, the only question is how cold. So, what should it be – long jeans or capris? A sweatshirt, denim jacket, or one of the office security sweaters taken to work because it looks odd if I’m wrapped in a blanket in July and August. And do I wear the brand-new sneakers that arrived today, or “save them” for another day because tonight I’ll be walking on grass and what if I trip and these kicks are pristine and new and ... and ...? These are the wardrobe woes I have inflicted upon myself since childhood. Spoiler alert -- cotton pants I forgot I had, long sleeve pullover shirt, sweatshirt hoodie donned at 7:50 when I felt my initial chill, the new sneakers.
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| Ryan Montbleau and Martin Sexton. |
The concert was great. Ryan Montbleau opened, and shared tidbits of his Lowell connections -- family! He used to play at The Blue Shamrock on Sunday nights. Then came Martin Sexton. It finished with a a few songs with both of them. The sky was clear, a few stars twinkled up above, the crickets or whatever vocal insect they were, accompanied the musicians.
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