Speaking of games- we’ve had a lovely time playing a few new games with Melanie and Allison. New to the girls, of course, but not to us.

This great game, Wide World, was a staple of our summer game playing in the late eighties. Melanie’s version of the game, Canadian, from the seventies, was well loved by us and it was sooo fun to introduce the girls to it.

They felt the simultaneous joys and hazards of rolling a six. They flew to Perth and circled Venezuela far longer than anyone really wanted to. They learned that cotton was an important product of the US and that Lenningrad was an outdated place name.

The game, originally published in 1957, has certainly lasted the test of time with our little test subjects! I alway have my eye trained to find the game at thrift shops, but now I’m feeling the urge to start stalking ebay!

How, you might be asking yourself, did we end up sitting on the porch, accusing Mrs White of killing Mr Boddy in the hall with the lead pipe?

I’m glad you asked! One of the performances at Built on Stilts earlier this week used some of the soundtrack from the Clue movie as their music. The girls read it in the program and asked what Clue was. That led to discussions about weekend parties at country houses and murder and ‘who-done-it’ and lead pipes.

Having never played the game, I sought out my old clue playing partner, Melanie, who brought over the whole kit and caboodle.

It took a game or two for them to really get the hang of it, but they definitely enjoyed the game. Who would have thought that a dance festival would have led us to murder mysteries which led us to logic puzzle type crime solving. Unschooling is the best.

Catherine, engrossed in the annual painting of the lantern for Grand Illumination.

Here a great post by local artist Susan Branch about our little festival.

From the beach on Monday.

Sun, blue skies and a new place to climb and pose. Perfect for our beach girl.

We arrived on Island today in time to catch the last three days of one of our favorite summer happenings, Built on Stilts.

This multi night, homegrown dance festival can only be described as amazing. Each night begins with a improve drum circle while the dancers warm up. It is followed by two acts, each with five to seven different dance performances.

The performers range from little kids to senior citizens. They are short, tall, thin and heavy set. Their performances are hip hop and ballroom and modern and eclectic. The music choices are as broad as the performers themselves.

For free, just feet from us, we were able to watch these amazing dancers do what they love. We talked about dance style, music styles and the concept of performance art. The girls sat transfixed through traditional-type dances and were completely unfazed by the more conceptual pieces. They made connections with what they were seeing to other performances or shows or ideas they already had a handle on.

I love that we get to see the drumming- the random, yet intentional rhythms changing subtly over time. The mixed ages of the drummers and their varying styles of dress and instruments bringing together many different people.

I love that we can see the dancers warm up- not yet in costume, joining with other dancers, showing us the preparation and ‘work’ of performance, not just the finished product. The dancers join together in a circle and share the task of leading the warm up, one new move per person as the role moves around the room.

I love the variety of personality, dress, hairstyles, music and genre that we are exposed to. I love the questions and comments that arise and I love being part of an amazingly supportive and welcoming audience.

I wish I could share more photos, but the event is very specifically no-photos allowed. We’re asked to be present in the moment, and it couldn’t be a more awesome moment to be present in.

Four pairs of bowling shoes, just waiting for four pairs of bowling feet.

[also of note: Bowled my best game ever, a score of 114! Must be the shoes!]

Only thing that comes near the great feeling of going on vacation? Making packing lists for vacation! Woohoo! I’m making sure my varmint hunting light goes in my packing list since I want to go camping and hunting as much as possible!!

This list got texted to a friend of mine earlier today. She had just as little need to see it as anyone reading this post. I’m crazy about packing lists!

We definitely do not have a shortage of photos of Esme climbing things.

A figurehead fit for the likes of the East India Marine Hall.