We're all enjoying a great Labor Day Weekend here at Joe's Pond.  The weather couldn't be better with sunny days and cool nights.  There has been a full or nearly full moon for the last few nights that was just beautiful.  Lots of people seemed to be enjoying the moonlight - we had a report of party sounds at around 2:30 a.m. Saturday, and last night there were a few more fireworks than usual being set off.  It's all in the spirit of a last fling of summer, of course, and we all want to squeeze as much summer fun as possible into the few days that are left before it gets too frosty.

This morning started off a bit cloudy, but the sun is out now and the temperature is climbing, so it's going to be one more nice day for folks at Joe's Pond - before the clouds and showers arrive.

 Fred and I broke free of our computers for a little while yesterday afternoon and spent some time at camp with the kids and grands.  Bill finally got his "woodie" in the water, and it's running pretty nice.  He bought the Laperle Chris Craft many years ago and restored it.  It's a 1934, and I love seeing it in the water.  We all had fun with "Young America," as Uncle Cliff Belknap was fond of calling any children around, and of course we took pictures.

This is Tangeni, one year old on July 5th, who is such a good natured, happy little girl, we all adore her.  She's very much like her older sister, Jo-Ann, and is developing her own personality by leaps and bounds.  Jo-Ann watches over her like a big sister should, and with her grandmother from Namibia here and all her aunts and uncles - not to mention Grandpa and Grandma Brown, she gets lots of attention and is sopping up knowledge (including words in two languages) like her daddy's old wooden boat sopped up water.  That story below.

This is Bill and Monika in the Chris Craft.  Of course, being a wooden hull, and not having been in the water for a couple of years, it was slung up in the boathouse, bilge pump running 24/7, until the wood sopped up enough water to make it water tight.  Jamie agreed to monitor it since he lives here and Bill doesn't. Years ago it would have been a matter of cradling it so it couldn't sink and then dipping out the bilge after the seams were well swollen, but when he restored it, Bill installed a bilge pump.  However, as often happens with modern gadgets, something went awry and the pump was recycling the water back into the bilge.  Jamie had to scramble to keep the old girl from sinking.  Once the pump was functioning properly, everything was ok.  I love seeing the old inboards - I mentioned Billy Hamilton's the other day - also a great restoration, saving a precious old boat and making it beautiful again.

On Friday, I met the president of the Danville Historical Society, Patty Conley, for lunch at Butters in Cabot.  I had known her parents, Lorraine and Seldon Houghton, and we had shared information in e-mails, so meeting her in person was a real pleasure.  We hardly had time to eat for talking.  We were both happily surprised when Dick and Eleanor Spaulding came in for lunch.  Patty and her parents had spent wonderful times with Dick in his Walbridge School, where Seldon had gone to school as a young boy.  Seldon also lived in West Danville for a while, and later of course in Danville where he was with the Caledonia National Bank for many years.  Dick and Eleanor are great friends and neighbors on Cabot Plain, and I always enjoy seeing them. 

Patty knows Stan Linkovich and his wife, Kathy (Sevigny), owners of Butters Restaurant, and that made our lunch even more fun.  I've known Kathy her whole life as well as her parents, grandparents, and a few other Sevigny family members over the years, and now know Stan a little from having gone to the restaurant a few times.  We both enjoyed the food as well as the friendly atmosphere.  I had a wrap with lots of chicken and veggies, and a pile of really good hand-cut french fries.  There was more than I had time to eat, so I brought some home so Fred could enjoy it, too.  

Patty and I spent the rest of the afternoon at the Cabot Historical Society building with Bonnie Dannenberg, going through albums, and sharing information.  It was very nice meeting Patty, and we will be collaborating in the future, sharing information to benefit both historical societies.