Portland, then Wells, Vt.

We were startled by this cat on our first night in Portland. He is obviously a familiar of the devil. He was the beloved pet of our B&B host who was strange and somewhat frightening.His Victorian home was a treasure chest of unusual collections, china, silver, clusters of angels, cut glass, Christmas topiaries with lights and ornaments. Once we got to our room I became convinced he was recording and filming us with hidden cameras. Jim began calling him Norman, we put a chair in front of the door. We did not take showers. Portland was great however. Enjoyed dinner with the Malmquists, walking, harbor tour, art museum, and of course some shopping.
In Vermont Matt Solon, a pretty talented painter and somewhat oddball local, has changed the picture on his gallery again. Hes had Vincent Van Gogh, Freida Kahlo, even "the decider" looking like Alferd E. Neuman. We thought Barney was one of his best. Pin-headed farmer. It was great to be in Vermont even with the 95 degree heat. We rode bikes (in different directions) went swimming in the quarry daily, played mini-golf, went to the Southern Vt. Art Center, had a picnic and saw "Midsummer Nights Dream" outdoors at Hildene, rode around listening to some Elmore Leonard and then Annie Proulx. Wishing we could move there, afraid to do it.