Entertainment

In an outbuilding on our farm that we’ve called the Spyhouse – from its window, with binoculars and a lack of haze, you can get a pretty good view of the grain mill in Cottonwood – there are many things.

That squid costume was crazy,” said my husband appreciatively, meaning an artist-made balloon suit that had so threatened the mental health of our dog at the previous week’s festival. He wasn’t there, but had finally seen a picture of the suit in action on Facebook, and he agreed: absolutely, it would shake a husky’s foundation of reality.

In season one of a certain HBO show – one whose name I’m not sure I can say in a community paper – Sarah Jessica Parker’s columnist character is at a party and gets hit on by another writer. That smarmy fellow is played by the actor Justin Theroux. This will become important.

Thursday, August 14: Free live music at Java River featuring Saxophonist, singer-songwriter Mike Gill.

It’s been a bad week to be preparing a class in editing and publishing. On Thursday, my husband roared up on the lawnmower and was greeted by the sight of his wife frantically slicing her arms at him. It was a gesture I hoped meant “please, cut the noise, I’m on the phone and can’t hear the other person” and not “get out of here, love of my life!” I probably seemed deranged, though; the person I was talking to was my literary agent, who was moving to a new firm and thus delivering the news that we had to part ways.

Thursday, August 7: Free live music at Java River featuring Montevideo singer-songwriters Junia Fitzkappes & Anya Olson.

“Hello,” says a kid, startling me. She’s appeared on the back patio of the Bluenose Gopher; since I’m sitting down and she’s standing, her large eyes are roughly at the level of my own. Her gaze is very confident in the bright summer sun.