Didn’t catch that much of the Olympics, but what fun it was to watch all these citizens of the world compete to the limit of their hearts, minds and bodies. Something for everyone — rugby, field hockey, badminton, table tennis, beach volleyball, archery, swimming, decathlon — whew, I’m out of breath just thinking about this!

Ruth Nelson’s son Bruce and his wife Sherre have raised their family in Brazil and now live in Manaus, Brazil, the heart of the Amazon, two degrees south of the equator and well north of Rio! A stage of the Olympics soccer (really, football) competition was held in their city, and Bruce, Sherre, daughter Jana and her husband Enrique watched most of the matches. Bruce is a botanist, much in love with the flora and his adopted country; Sherre is the American consular representative for the five Amazonian states. Jana and Enrique came down from Mexico City, where they live and work. More of the Nelson clan saw much of the Olympic games in Rio — Ruth’s grandson Jesse (son of Bruce and Sherre) and wife Fernanda, both engineers, live in Copacabana, a neighborhood in Rio — and a very beautiful neighborhood from what we could see!   

This perfect summer weather continues — I believe we’ve stopped pinching ourselves, and take it all for granted. Do wander into Wiscasset this Thursday for the Art Walk (5 – 8 p.m.) and say hi to Val Lovelace. Val is pretty talented and this week you’ll see her beautiful handmade greeting cards, created in the Suminagashi style — a traditional Japanese form of marbling on paper using water and ink. She’ll be right on Main Street. Lots of other cool art and music, including jazz clarinetist Brad Terry and other talented musicians, dancers, and artists around town. Pics and more details are on the website: www.wiscassetartwalk.org.

Had a lovely afternoon this past Sunday, visiting with Westport neighbors (Pam Soule, Sandra Crehore, Susan Stires and Gail Swanton) along with Wiscasset friends (including Jean Applebee — former Westport resident and Judy Shea Flanagan — yes, of the Westport Sheas!) at the Wiscasset Female Charitable Society’s annual meeting.  Gail has been a fantastic head of this group for the past couple of years, helping to continue this 211-year old community organization.  

Finally settled into a good case of garden-envy. I walk and drive by healthy, jam-packed garden patches. My tomatoes are straggly and mildewy, yet I’ll enjoy every single small Roma and handful of cherry tomatoes that tumble into my hands.