The sound of wind chimes will be heard at a bit more of a distance now than for the past year. Ben’s Bells’ last workshop at the 17 Church Hill Road studio was scheduled for this past Wednesday, July 29, with July 30 and 31 scheduled for packing up for a move to larger quarters. The new Ben’s Bells studio will reopen sometime around mid-August, at 32 Stony Hill Road in Bethel, says community relations manager Trisch Guiry. The new site will accommodate much larger groups wanting to work on the handcrafted bead and bell chimes that are distributed to places in need of a gesture of kindness. You can visit www.bensbells.org or call 203-501-9999 for more information.

This cleome “tree” (at right) with eight blossoms popped up at Mary Gaudet-Wilson’s, between the bricks and wood facing of the walkway.  “Maybe it was so happy that I didn’t pull it up,” says Mary, “it decided to reward us with multiple flower heads.”

Now that his internship at The Bee has come to an end, Sam Cox will have some time to enjoy the rest of the summer. Sam finished up his hours this past Wednesday, and is off for some R&R before he returns to Loomis Chaffee in September for his senior year,. We have enjoyed having him on the staff these past several weeks, and wish him the very best going forward.

Keilly McQuail obviously made quite an impression with her Long Wharf Theatre debut. The Newtown native starred as Daphna Feygenbaum in Bad Jews, which was produced at the New Haven theater in February and March. Late last month the actor learned she had been named the Outstanding Actress in a Play by the Connecticut Critics Circle for the 2014-15 season. The annual awards honor the best of Connecticut theater, and are presented by a statewide organization that represents reviewers, feature writers, columnists and broadcasters — a very tough crowd, indeed. Our sincere, and belated, congratulations to Keilly.

Liz Arneth, a longtime former Newtowner now living in Southbury, shared this sweet tale with me: “Every Friday for the past few years, a group of gracefully aging friends has been meeting at 9 am at the round table towards the back of Panera’s. They are fascinating women interested in opera, current events, politics — you name it, they have an opinion about it. Marianne Scanlon, one of the founders of the group, will soon be leaving to begin a new life in St Petersburg, Fla., so we were gathered to have an unbirthday party to celebrate all our birthdays in different months throughout the year. We had a beautifully decorated carrot cake with Happy Birthday To Us inscribed onto the icing. At one point in the festivities, we all began singing ‘Happy Birthday to Us’ and the rendition engendered some applause in the restaurant. As we finished singing, a man stopped by the table dressed in a baseball hat, sunglasses, and a casual outfit. He inquired about the gathering and we told him. One of the group gave him a candy to include him in the celebration and he smiled, wished us all luck, and left. After five minutes, one of the young people who works in Panera’s came over to the table and distributed eight Panera’s cards to the group. They were each worth ten dollars. We were so touched by the thoughtfulness of a complete stranger who really made our day by doing a random act of kindness. We would like to nominate him for the Good Egg Award and thank him again for the lovely surprise. It also created a great memory of Newtown for our beloved friend, Marianne.” I absolutely bestow the Good Egg upon this kind gentleman, whoever he is, wherever he may be. Best wishes, as well, to Marianne.

Mary Thomas identified the woman in the photo in the July 24 “Way We Were” column as the late Helen Amaral. Helen was not a school secretary, however, but a language teacher at Newtown High School, says Mary, and may even have served as head of the language department. Linda Ballerini, who worked with Helen in the 1980s, clarified that Helen taught French, and was head of the Foreign Language Department, and served as president of the Connecticut Organization of Language Teachers. Mary did a little sleuthing, as well, and discovered that the poster behind Helen depicts an exhibit that was at the Museum of Modern Art from May 22 to September 16, 1980. So that dates the photo to sometime around that time, most likely. Many thanks to Mary and Linda for their insight.

I see that the tickets for the Sunset Wine Tasting at Holcombe Hill go on sale August 1. The tasting is a fundraiser for the Newtown Forest Association, and takes place this year Saturday, September 12, from 4 to 8 pm, on the hilltop of the Holcombe Hill property, off of Great Hill Road. Last year’s tasting was so popular that it sold out. That means, don’t hesitate this year if you plan to go. Enjoy a sampling of wines, some great snacks, and, of course, an incredible sunset from Newtown’s highest point. Information can be found at www.newtownforestassociation.org. No tickets will be sold at the door (or gate, rather).

The Connecticut Audubon Society is hosting Swallow Tours this coming September, as well, with a boat and train ride combo to witness the aerial ballet of swallows as they settle down to roost on the Connecticut River. Info is at ctaudobon.org. It looks like I may have to don a disguise. I don’t suppose that cats are particularly welcome on this voyage.

Louise Zierzow and 12-year-old granddaughter Susannah Drap are finding lots of ways to use the seasonal wine berries (also known as thimble berries) now ripening along Connecticut roadways and back yards. Susannah, at right, recently made a delicious coffee cake with the raspberrylike fruit, Louise tells me.  “It’s so much fun, cooking with the ‘grands,’” says Louise. And tasty, too, I’ll bet.

September is not so far away, so put a reminder in your calendar for 8 am, Friday, September 11. Howard and Jeanette Lasher will host the annual 9/11 memorial service at their home, at 68 Dodgingtown Road (Route 302). The ceremony takes place near the sextet of maple trees painted to resemble the American flag. Mr Lasher is a retired Wall Street trader and longtime Newtown resident, who lost many friends in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, September 11, 2001.

If something is going to happen once in a blue moon, this is the month! A blue moon is the second full moon occurring within the same month, and July’s blue moon will light up the sky this Friday night, July 31. The month’s first full moon glowed over our hills on July 1.

Luckily for you, I gather together this column more than once in a blue moon. So be sure next week to… Read me again.