Garden report: the phlox have bloomed. I have six eggplant plants and each has one very nice looking vegetable. When it is cooler I will make eggplant parmesan with my own tomatoes. However, I don’t grow cheese. I planted lettuce seeds and will plant sugar snap peas this week for a fall crop.
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Cotton candy lovers rejoice. The annual Community Fair, sponsored by the Amherst Rotary Club, will be in town Fri.-Sun., Aug. 22-25. Besides cotton candy, there will be rides and games. The fair opens at 5 p.m. on Friday. The event is a fundraiser for the Rotary that provides scholarships and donations to local charities.
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Barbara Schuman of Amherst sent a postcard from Paris that was a reproduction of a vintage photo of Notre Dame Cathedral with horses and carriages. She attended a mass in Notre Dame. “There was a beautiful soprano voice with operatic responses to the priest’s chant,”she wrote.
Aren Scanlan-Emleigh of Amherst sent a postcard from Honolulu of the Painted Chruch. Father John Velghe decorated the walls and ceiling of St. Benedict’s Church, which was built 1899-1920, according to the card. The colors are amazing.
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Phyllis Jordan of Amherst sent me an email noting Valley Light Opera will begin rehearsals on Sept. 3 for their 50th anniversary performance of HMS Pinafore. Performances will be Nov. 6-9 at the Academy of Music in Northampton. While the cast is set, there are plenty of off-stage jobs. To volunteer email valleylightopera@gmail.com.
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Good news: The pool table is open for games in the Senior Center at the Bangs Center.
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Food fads and trends have come and go. Do you remember how big fondue was decades ago, followed by the many fondue sets at tag sales years later. In recent years kale was big followed by cauliflower. Now it’s Dubai chocolate. You can even get it at gas stations. However, at $17.99 a bar, I will stick with Reese’s peanut butter cups.
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