Please join me in sending prayers, best wishes, and healing vibes to our wonderful Greenwood Town Manager, Kim Sparks, who is recovering from surgery at home. We certainly miss her at the town office, but we all want her to take this time to rest and focus on her recovery, which isn’t easy for someone as conscientious and dedicated to our town as Kim.
Tony and I hosted Eli the Wonder Pup for about a week and a half while Will was on a retreat at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Mass. I knew I wouldn’t be able to take him on any hikes, and I didn’t think I’d even be able to take him for walks, but my recovery from knee replacement is going so well that I was able to walk a mile and a half a little more than two weeks after surgery.
We took Eli down to the Mann Road, where our camp is, several times so he could run off-leash and expend some extra energy. I increased my distance by a half-mile every day or so, and by the time Will picked him up on Wednesday, I was up to walking three miles. I admit that I may have overdone it a bit, as I was a little sore that evening, but I cut back to a two-mile walk the next day and didn’t have any long-lasting ill effects.
The biggest challenge is trying to regain good range of motion, and I’m continuing to go to physical therapy twice a week and do exercises at home to achieve that goal. I’m now able to pedal an exercise bike, which is supposed to be helpful and is somewhat more appealing than the endless sets of heel slides, squats, and parade marching. I’m getting impatient to get back to hiking, though.
Even though I’m still waiting for that first run of sunny, 60-degree days, I know it must be spring from the number of events that are taking place. Here are the ones I’ve heard about:
Saturday, April 12, 9 a.m. at the West Paris Public Library: Easter Egg Hunt. Children should be accompanied by an adult. This event is primarily intended for toddlers through first graders, but children through age ten are welcome to participate. Baskets for collecting eggs are available, if needed, and each child will receive a gift, in addition to the eggs found during the hunt. Admission for this event is free.
Saturday, April 26, 9 a.m. to noon, West Parish Congregational Church, Bethel: Smile Fund Sale. Proceeds from this annual community yard sale pay for dentures for adults in the SAD44 area. Please drop off the following items anytime between April 18 and 24: Books, housewares, knickknacks, tools, gardening supplies.
Saturday, April 26, 2 p.m., First Universalist Church of West Paris: A Retrospective of a Musical Life, concert with singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist Davy Sturtevant. Davy relocated to western Maine from Pennsylvania 15 years ago and has toured and performed throughout much of the country. This concert will include some of his own favorite songs as well as fan favorites. Refreshments and a raffle drawing will be held following the concert. There is a suggested donation of $20. (Rescheduled from the original scheduled date in February.)
Wednesday, April 30: Opening day for the Swap Shop at the Greenwood/Woodstock Transfer Station. The shop will be open during regular transfer station hours. If you’d like to help, please contact Greenwood Town Manager Kim Sparks at greenwood.me.04255@gmail.com.
Saturday, May 3: Greenwood’s annual spring roadside cleanup day. Meet at the Town Office at 9 a.m. to be paired with a partner (if you wish) and receive a road assignment.
Sunday, May 4, 2 p.m., West Paris Public Library: Concert by Low Commotion, an ensemble of euphoniums (tenor tubas) and full-sized tubas directed by Jim Bennett of West Paris. Low Commotion performs several concerts each year at senior living centers, veterans homes, churches, historical societies, and libraries. This is a free event, and light refreshments will be served following the 45-minute concert.
Saturday, May 17, at 9 a.m. at the Locke’s Mills Legion Hall: Annual Greenwood Town Meeting. This is always a wonderful opportunity to socialize with neighbors and friends as well as participate in this quintessentially New England form of governance.
After a hiatus of about a month, I’m heading back out on the road next week to talk about Just Like Glass at several events. On Monday, April 14, at 4:30 p.m., I’ll be at the Dr. Shaw Memorial Library in Mount Vernon. I’ll spend the night with my sister, Leslie, who lives there, and then she’ll come with me to the Old Town Public Library for a luncheon and book talk on Tuesday, April 15, at 11 a.m. On Wednesday, April 16, at 6:30 p.m., I’ll be speaking at the Town Hall in Randolph, New Hampshire, at an event sponsored by the Randolph Public Library. If you happen to be in any of those places, please join me!
If you have news or events you’d like included here, email me at amy.w.chapman@gmail.com or call 207-890-4812.
It may not feel much like spring, but I’ve heard from several people that the ticks are out, so make sure to take precautions for both yourself and your furry friends when you’re out there enjoying mud season. If this quote is any indication, they’ve been a scourge to humanity for at least 2000 years:
“Ticks, the foulest and nastiest creatures that be…” – Pliny the Elder, Roman author and naturalist (AD 23/24-79)