Bonjourno:
“I will walk by myself and cure myself in the sunshine and the wind”………………………………………………………………………………..Charles Reznikoff
“”A man cannot make a pair of shoes rightly unless he do it in a devout manner”……………………………………………………………Thomas Carlyle
“The last refuge of the insomniac is a sense of superiority to the sleeping world”……………………………………………………………Leonard Cohen
“I’m the president of the United States. I’m not he emperor of the United States”……………………………………………………………Barack Obama
“She was all dressed up in costume, and wearing one of those little Jew things on her head”……………………………………………My eldest niece, raised in a very Jewish home, about her daughter’s wardrobe in her role in a college production of Cabaret
The Autumn leaves…………..abounding in the occasional bright sunshine of early October in the mountains….this is the full glory of Vermont…which leads to many, many absurdly similar photo ops…I did my best to cut the volume down….but still………………………..
It has continued to be a pretty wet autumn in the mountains….and now we have the added pleasure of nights in the 30s….but the shit system is fully functioning, THE POND is full, and fall activities are persistent. We had a rare sunny day last Sunday, and ventured a dirt road meander up to Wallingford Pond, where we had not previously been…took a long walk through the colors and sweeping mountain views of the season…which led to long naps for Lucy and I and more digging and rooting in the yard for the Queen…
Speaking of whom….she has given up the two year long treasure hunt for a pickup truck….and we have agreed to purchase Ryan and Laurens’ Jeep Renegade….which is currently residing in Cleveland…and will someday, somehow, make its way back to us..
And how about the Sox….in mortal post season combat with the demon spawn Yankees….
With a mostly rainy week, we have taken to even more serial TV watching at night….after years of avoidance we are taking on the full monte of Breaking Bad…which might be the strangest character transformation in big or little screen history…Walter, what-up?
With your faithful blogger bent over with a back tweak this week (can you put my shoes on for me, please)….not a lot happened, aside from counting rain drops, trying to deter Jenn from even more house projects, writing up a storm and watching baseball….but, Thursday, dawned with the promise of dry and sunny somewhere or other…so we took off in the early rain for points unknown ….more precisely consulting the Ouija board for the most likely place within a three hour drive for the sun to peak through……………
This led us west to the shores of Lake Champlain, and the rolling farm country…a moon like landscape surrounded by mountains every which way…and…sure enough, by midafternoon, we had a glorious fall day….for some dirt road hiking and views of the great lake…with Lucy in tow, we explored some old lakeside communities (called “camps” here in the mountains- home to the “Woodchuck Mafia” )…and generally trespassed all over the place….Jen communed with the various animals in the various pastures….. while Lucy steadfastly chased small critters through the woods..…and I limped along…
All the walking and driving led us to our destination for Jenn’s second (of five) birthday dinners…to the lovely Cafe Provence in Brandon…anther place we have be around for 20 years and never dined in…Can you say Cassoulet?……nothing hits the stomach and the wallet like a fine French repast…and after a mandatory cruise to Walmart in Rutland (we had not been in over two weeks and feeling a little jittery from the cold turkey of it)…we arrived safely back at home for baseball and carry out French chocolate decadence…….
And, now…we are in the midst of Columbus Day weekend…the holy grail holiday in New England…and that means the annual Cider Daze extravaganza in our lovely hamlet of Belmont/Mt. Holly….this is where two thousand tourists descend on our tiny village green (population 400) for a weekend of music, cider, shopping for tchotchkes and ooh-aahing at the changing leaves..…I spent the afternoon there yesterday playing a set of music and walking around with Lucy (who I regret to say is not really a chick magnet…but a very good old lady magnet)…came home briefly to greet our weekend Airbnb guests and then headed back to town for the infamous Oddfellows Hall to serve the annual roast beef community supper (two seatings, 200 belligerent eaters)…..luckily , my hobbling has receded…..meanwhile, have not seen hide nor hare of the Queen for two days, as she cavorts in her role at the Empress of Mt. Holly….she is undoubtedly out there somewhere making new friends, extolling the virtues of mountain living and generally helping people to appreciate Vermont life……I expect we will have a half dozen new dinner companions by the end of today………………………………..
And, that my friends….is as much (or little) as I have to say today (did he really say anything?) …still on baby watch…none yet…next scheduled flight to the heartland is on Tuesday……smoke ‘em if you got ‘em…
Happy , happy, happy…….. falling leaves……
Stubert
