While our traditional house party features a huge bonfire (see 2017), this year the date of our gathering followed a week of rain. So in spite of the student’s valiant efforts to get the burn pile started, it wouldn’t cooperate. But we had fun trying! Extra points to Julia and Eliza, who wouldn’t take no for an answer, continuing to feed the flame long after the others gave up. And to Mohit, whose gasoline-soaked donut bombs, while against supervisory intent, still caused much commotion and momentary conflagrations.

We feasted on self-assembled taco salads, cider and home-made donuts (JoNell and I stayed up late the night before deep-frying them, and carried into the next day several hand-burns to prove it). Then after our dalliance with the damp wood pile, gravitated to the musical instruments. We like to pull out everything in the closets and see who will try what, and to our delight, pretty much everyone plays everything at one point or another. We had on hand: the child-sized drum kit we had gifted to our grandson Ashton some ten years before, but which he didn’t really take to, and still occupies a spot in the basement, a steel-string guitar, a bass guitar, a guitanjo, a mandolin, a child-sized violin, a cello, an accordion, some hand percussion and, of course, the piano. And everyone sang. It was nice—some photos follow. Next time, we’ll be sure to get a good flame up….

And the music starts…