Updates:

My soft-foods friend says no thanks to the party, mainly because he's doing fine with the huge selection of soups and such he got from Our Lord and Savior, Trader Joe's.

My neck thing went away a few days ago. Blood pressure was fine (I checked it for free at Stop n' Shop); I think I just pulled a weird muscle somehow.

I haven't yet heard either way, but now that it has begun snowing, it is possible the Shape Note thing tonight may be cancelled.

I'm on the Northampton snow emergency email alert list, and I just got one for tonight. And the full list of recipients was attached to the email, which isn't very considerate. I only saw one name I recognized, Dan G.

Last night I went to the open mike at the old Bishop's Lounge space. (What is that place called? It feels like one of those finished basements-turned-rec room-and-bar that your friend's dad had when you were a kid.) Kevin O'R was the m.c., and sang some lovely songs, as always. I was there with new guy to see some of his friends. One of them played (Kt, who I met pre-new guy) and was very good. Onstage she needs to be more confident in her song-writing/playing ability, since she is very talented. I liked her songs.

When we first entered the place, there was a ruddy middle-aged guy sitting in the shadows with his guitar strapped on and a harmonica, on one of those neck holster things, stuck in his mouth. He wasn't playing it, just sitting patiently, waiting for his turn, very, very prepared. Then when he got up to play he didn't even use the harmonica until the third song. K was way too generous and let Harmonica Guy play five songs.