Greetings Flatlanders:
“In the jungle, the quiet jungle, the Lion sleeps tonight”………………………………Solomon Linda
“Five thousand years a
wandering people- then we
found the cabanas.”………………………………………Haikus for Jews
ZZZZZZEEEEEENNNNNNN TIME…………….Too much to do, gotta be brief, sad for you, but might be relief….Sunday again; after last Sunday cutoff, you may remember was heading out for “small roof repair” at 10:30, which lasted until nine that night. Roofer Jay said “it should be quick” and we could he his helpers instead of charging for second guy…. mark that one down as a do-not-do. Roofing- Sherpa is not the job of my dreams….11 hours of standing around awaiting orders and gathering things and getting up and down ladder- including 80 pound rolls of roofing smut and 4×8 plywood boards up the damn ladder…for Christ’s sake – I am a Medicare recipient!
Collapsed in bed at midnight- only to have carpet guy show up before 8 am and Jay back to finish shortly after. Put my Sherpa cloak back on for three hours, before finally sneaking out the back door and off into the mountains (no darn Marriotts around). Tuesday dawned with the promise of much more in home beautification, as Jenn decided to tackle the basement platform where the cats had peed, and apparently her advanced olfactory sense had determined that the smell lingered. So- off came the washer and dryer and the tearing apart of the floor commenced. She brought down Young Ian from up the hill to help. Young Ian is a really nice young guy, who smokes too much dope, is uber- thoughtful….and VERY slow moving. I stayed above ground and did dome work, occasionally peering down to the abyss to see them erecting some kind of new-age platform contraption with a base of old six inch plumbing pipe (don’t’ ask). No doubt in my mind there was trouble brewing with this one…so I gathered my belongings and headed to the closest airport…
Three days in Baltimore…hot, sticky, urban, DIVERSE (Did I mention DIVERSE yet?), good eating, good resting at the Marriott…..but came back (with great hesitation)…to the expected project run amok….You had to see this set-up…very creative new floor design…and about half done….So- determining there were no more places I could run off to, I headed down to help out as slow Young Ian was slowly coming up the steps to head home and get some much needed Ganga…which led to the great sump pump adventure of 2017…suffice it to say that it is still in progress, and that sump pumps are more complicated than they might seem, when all is said and done…also-it would generally be wise not to put the pump underneath a floor in terms of ease of access…but that would not be Zen-like to get into at the moment
So-around the diamond….THE POND is disappearing as no water is coming in and old water seems to be going somewhere…….. waiting for the Divining-Rod man to show up….it is now in the 40s most nights…..the leaves were already changing last week on the high parts of Route 7- on August 15th, mind you….the is no shortage of projects you can dream up….and it is better to hire a Sherpa than to be a Sherpa……..
And the summer is also disappearing, along with the pond water….got out on Thursday night for Music on the Green in our little village, and it was 50 degrees by 7:30 as the sun set over the mountains….and then it rained all day Friday; Good news: no leaks for the newly repaired porch roof. Bad news: not much effect on the dwindling pond (how can that be? where does the water go?). Saturday we both spent the afternoon and evening helping out at the benefit for a therapeutic riding school. I played a set with my pick-up band as the sun set over sludge filled Star Lake and watched fruitlessly for the rainbows to appear……and considered the state of the world’s sump pumps (where does THAT water come from, and can it be diverted into the pond?)…
So, now it’s another Sunday…and there is a BIG list. The Divining-Rod man was due about an hour ago…but, well…it’s Vermont time, and he is Kevin, The King of the Town Dump (five six, 260 pounds, walrus mustache, three day beard growth and prone to saying to Jenn “how is the little lady this morning”?). Probably off somewhere up the mountain divining, I imagine. And…the spontaneously appearing tree boy is allegedly coming to take down the massive dead red maple hovering over the house. Will not hold baited breath for either one of the. And then there is the basement floor still waiting for divine intervention……..And, the sump pump…and….well, you get the picture.
The Nave is arriving tonight with Lucy’s sister from another mother , little Rosie…..and the rest of the Bunty boys will be coming over the next two days in anticipation of our gig and festival later this week……I’m hoping they come ready to assume the Sherpa position…It will be an interesting week….
No airports, no Marriott…gotta got to work…..tune in next week…….or not.
Love Ya’ll,
Stu B.
