Frost

The Frost is on the pumpkin. For real. We woke up this morning and there was frost, on everything. Just a light covering but FROST! Tonight there is a freeze advisory, which I am loving! There is nothing like snuggling in with the pellet stove and reading a good book. I just didn't expect it to be September 10th when that would be possible. It will probably warm up again in a few days. Probably. The town of Johnstown is celebrating its 250th anniversary this weekend, and we are looking forward to the festivities. There is a parade on Saturday, with nine divisions - NINE. It should pan out to be a beautiful day. We hope so. It's an opportunity to see the best of Johnstown, all lined up and passing before us. I do like parades. The line up was listed in the local paper, and the Shriners are coming. I haven't seen the Shriners in a parade since I was a young kid, back in the day. Who exactly are the shriners? I know that my grandfather was a Shriner, but I'm not quite sure who they are and what they do. There are alot of organizations here that are not readily identifiable by their names. The Eccentric Club. I went online to check that out, and I still am not sure what this club does. They seem to have a social base, and they certainly have a beautiful building in Gloversville, but how do you join? Nobody talks about that really. It's been around since the 1800's, which leaves me suspect to their original organization. I just don't know, and they're not talking. I think I may qualify, but I don't know where to call. They eccetrically don't have a phone listing. Too bad. I could be their poster girl. Eccentric. That covers alot don't you think? I will dig further on this one. There is also the Concordia Singing Society. Not sure about that either. It has German-American membership, but do they really just get together to sing? Entire families - like the Von Trapps? I gotta check this out too. They seem to have alot of picnics, and they have beautiful property with a pavilion and a playground. Are the kids singing too? There is a whole building and organization for singing. I like that. What are they singing? How do you join this too? Not alot of information out there about the Concordia singing Society. What is a Concordia? There are alot of things I'm checking out, and I'm finding a whole other world here that we had no idea existed. To be honest, I used to believe that the whole world revolved around the metropolitan area. I was convinced we were the best of everything, and the rest of the world wanted to be us. Now that I am not there, I am learning that this is not the case. Many people here look at the metropolitan area as somewhere they might go on occasion, but not as the hub of their world. Some people have never been there. It is four hours away, but it might as well be the other side of the world. Their world is small and it is right here, and that is fine. They are here by circumstance, but stay by choice. They are interested in New York City or Long Island as a side story, not the plot. It's a startling revelation. To me anyway. We are starting to fit into the plot here, and I like that. Little by little, we are becoming a part of the community. The blank spaces of our lives are being filled in with local people and local information. Finally, I am feeling like a resident, not a visitor. We went to the polling place yesterday, and were greeted by very friendly election workers. I did notice that the Republican sign in book was HUGE, and the democratic sign in book was slightly smaller. Actually, it was tiny. This is a republican stronghold. The Democratic representative was falling all over herself when we arrived. It's funny here, the politics are mainly local, but the party affiliation is national, and it is strong. I felt a distinct cooling when I went to sign in at the democrat table. Except from my new best friend, the democratic party sign in lady. By time we were through signing in, she was making plans to come for coffee and telling us she loved what we had done to the pasture. It's a small town, and I keep forgetting that they are watching us, even if we don't know it. It's the original you-tube, only you don't get to pick what you are putting out there. They will pick for you. And they are picking up on everything. Every day. We are on display, and now they know my party affiliation. It is remarkably soothing on some level, and a little disconcerting on another. We have friends who are in a mixed marriage - republican and democrat. If they can work it out, so should the rest of the country. Ya think? Naaah. Happy Birthday Allison! 14 years of sweet and lovely and innocent. We have been blessed again. The Swim Team is travelling to Glens Falls tonight, so the birthday celebration will wait until tomorrow. Go FO-JO! Stay warm.