21 February 2010 Did the groundhog get it wrong?

21 February 2010 Did the groundhog get it wrong?




This is the third day in a row with temperatures reaching above 50°F. With rare exception, we have no snow on the ground on our property. The old folks who have grown up here claim this is one of the worst winters they can recall. I’m willing to believe them. But for these three days it has been possible to believe that we’re getting back into a normal winter pattern. Obviously three days does not indicate a suddenly vanished El Nino. People here are willing to hope that it does.

We handled the gate at the Jonesborough Contra Dance last night. The place was packed to the rafters. Everyone seemed eager to seize the opportunity to get out on dry roads and do something, anything, without having to worry about unsafe travel conditions. The unofficial head count last night was 175 people paying for admission to the dance. Since some of those who paid were admitted on a family payment plan, the total had to exceed the number generated by payments.

We sat at the door to the dance hall, took money, accepted a few new memberships, encouraged several membership renewals, and listened to the music. Gloria knew of one of the band members from her Glen Echo dance days and had a chance to talk with her during the set break. She also had a chance to sit and talk to several other women, which made it a successful trip for her. She misses dancing but she misses friends with similar interests and backgrounds too.

As for me, I enjoy the music and would enjoy dancing if we were able. But the overall background noise level is so overwhelming that it is difficult for me to engage in any conversation inside the building. I did notice that the group last night was somewhat more quiet during the walk-throughs than on previous nights. Such courtesy makes it easier for the dancers to hear what the figures of the dance actually are; and leads to less confusion and disruption during the dance.

There were a lot of first-time dancers there last night which bodes well for the future of contra dancing here. I did hear some complaints from regular attendees about the number of new dancers in attendance. I also noticed that many of the regular dancers who tend to talk through the walk-throughs and then show-boat during the dance, causing disruption and confusion weren’t there last night. That may have also decreased the amount of confusion during the dances. For such a packed house with so many new dancers, it went very smoothly. The band was quite enjoyable.

Tonight’s dinner is a lamb stew. I’m braising lamb shoulder in red wine with carrots, potatoes, parsnips, onions, and garlic. I’ll serve it over Israeli couscous. It’s been cooking since about 1300 today and the smell is as good as the taste.

Back to school tomorrow. I’m not overly happy with the progress of the classes in terms of how much of the material has been covered. The Holocaust class is dealing more with the run-up in Poland than with the actual murders of Jews. I’m trying very hard not to say or do something that will piss off the professor. His vantage point is far different from mine. The CSI class has only dealt with 4 chapters in the single text and has yet to meet for a full hour. The class seems to expect the instructor to give them study guides holding all the test questions they might encounter. Worse, she seems willing to do just that, encouraging them to let someone else do all their information gathering. In a class that deals with a field of work that demands near OCD from its practitioners these students seem horribly unsuited for the job they may someday fill.

It’s been a good weekend, a very good weekend!