Much too close a shave

On Tuesday the beloved spouse survived a five car pile-up on Aurora Avenue in which he was sandwiched between someone at a dead stop in the middle lane and an asshole who plowed into him at 50 mph.  Unbelievably he escaped with badly barked shins, a slight shiner and a bruised ribcage.  The car, which would have run for at least another decade, was totaled.  Waves of shock and relief have been ebbing and flowing all week.
Today we blew off the residual terror by marching and playing with our dear band in the Fremont Solstice Parade. We performed a sampling of rock and roll songs from yore to now, and even cut a few moves on "Smooth Criminal" and "The Safety Dance." Perfect way to put horror behind us.

Parades and markets

Yesterday evening we dodged heavy rain to perform our first marching band parade of the season, in the neighborhood where our rehearsal space is in the basement of a church.  It honored their ice cream social, and despite the chilly wet air, the neighbors came out to cheer us onward.  Once we got moving, we managed to keep warm, thanks to a few layers of fleece beneath our not so crisp white shirts.  Bandmates seem to be very enthusiastic, and I hope that attitude persists.
Today was the second nearby farmers' market, and there was everything from apples, dried beans and fresh cheese, butter and eggs to that delicious organic wine from Lopez Island called Madeleine Angevine.  It's named after the grapes used to make itm and it is scrumptious, everything the woman selling it described by way of flavor.  Fresh bagels topped off my haul.