It is the evening of the day:
“My life is my practice” …………………………………………………Ram Dass
“When it snows, you have two choices: shovel or make snow angels.”………………………………………………………………………………Unknown
“The Real Winter is coming.”………………………………………………………………………Ned Stark
“Don’t eat the yellow snow” ………………………………………Frank Zappa
It is the evening of the day:
Well…. there has been good news and bad news this week on The Mount……we have now had two straight days without any significant snow (first time in two months) ……but it has not cracked 10 degrees in last three days, with wind chills of minus 30……. today is going to be like Carnival as it is snowless, sunny and going up to 20……. nibblin’ on sponge cake, watchin’ the sun bake…
Of course, reprieve is temp……as this morning received my frequent text message from the state (glad I don’t have data rates apply shit) ……” A winter storm watch has been issued for your area” ……I imagine some sadist in a mountain hideout on the Canuck border gets some form of perverted joy from issuing these almost daily……. but…. I, for one…. have had just about enough………
The Snow Queen (formerly The Queen)……is deep in preparation for the Mt. Holly Olympic Quaathalon Trials……skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, driveway shoveling……..while yours truly is working on world class cursing while he slips and slides to the car occasionally (on days he ventures to leave the solitude of closet and couch)……then spends an hour out cracking ice off the windshield, with occasional forays to try and get into the snow encased barn…………even tried getting out to jog this week on route 103…and had to go back to the house to put chains on my sneakers (I really do have shoe chains….but that is a later story)……
So…..All of this is to say….it is TIME…….Vermont winter- check……Snowbound for weeks- check……….not seeing another human being for days on end- check……no sign of grass or dirt for months- check……So next week, we head back to the Plaque infested heartland….to shelter at home, whatever exactly that means…..in some ways, it will be leaving the sanctity of the mountains with heavy heart…..the simplicity of the quietude, the countless opportunities for reflection, the natural beauty……on the other hand……..there will be Chinese delivery…….
But…. alas, the next to last snowbound week, was not without highlights……. want ‘em or not……
IT’S a Girl– Tessa and Jake have arranged for granddaughter number four…. due in August……we will now need two sets of bunk beds ….and more Pond floaties……
COVID silver lining Redux– The prodigal has been guiding me through making on- line music……which has been an unexpected treasure…..even got me to use my gifted and long buried IPhone to record, which is far superior to the laptop method….and he has produced multiple efforts…..attached to the photos section is an MP3 of our version of Roseanne Cash’s take on the ubiquitous folk standard, “500 Miles” …from Max, The Nave and I (if you are reading this on the website, you may not be able to listen…..have to use the e-mail version to open it up)…..how cool is it to make music with your 40ish boy?
Finding the Banana Belt– last Sunday we decided to break out of the ice and go for our weekly drive, lunch, hike……headed east to Bellows Falls, and then over to the Live Free or Die State (the total lack of mask wearing seems to support the mantra) ……left the manse at 10 degrees to find an almost 40 across the border…. luckily had my shorts and flip flops in the car…it’s only 30 miles’ away for Chrissakes….
Channeling Judd Hirsch– if you’ve never seen “Ordinary People”- watch it……. I did my first counseling sessions in over 35 years this week, with my first two assigned clients for my on line, virtual “Just Ask Papi” therapy institute…. trying to remember what the words “diagnosis” and “treatment plan” mean…. how weird is it to Zoom about sexual dysfunction with someone you’ve never met before?
Socializing in COVID/Mountain winter- went over to have one more farewell event with The Erstwhile Russian Spy and The World’s Most Beloved School Marm…. which amounted to huddling around a fire pit, ten feet apart, for two and a half hours, in 12-degree weather (hey, there was bit of sun, though) …. hot tea and baked goodies, a short walk to the greenhouse….and came away with the gifts of shoe chains (this a thing) and two pairs of Arctic socks…how could it be any better than this?
Food Gifting in the Mountains– the Jewish Pig Farmer called this week to try and get us over for one more frozen outdoor lunch gathering……. declined for the cold…. but he insisted I come by to get the Indian (dots) delicacies he had been obsessively preparing all week….so stopped over Saturday morning and came home with Kosher infused lentil- something soup and samosas……he was not quite done preparing when I got there, so muddled around the barnyard with the dogs for 20 minutes on the windswept frozen plain…..with the sounds of the pigs blaring out “eat me”, “eat me” in the nearby barn…who says there is no free lunch?
Lunching in the time of COVID– I’ve always been an inveterate luncher-finding places to sit for an hour or more (usually after the late beloved gym sessions) at some local joint with my sports page as company. For years, when I worked at the Court, that meant The Mill Café at Beuhlers (a now defunct Ohio grocery chain) …when I walked in my usual waitress would prepare my deluxe veggie baguette, side fruit, pitcher of ice water……..so, in my confinement, I have discovered the re-creation of this tradition, with frozen ciabatta rolls, horseradish cheddar, assorted green things and pesto…..eating and trolling the NBA boxcars on the internet…alas this is a poor substitute….but it is, what it is….and someday……
Marjorie Taylor Greene– are you kidding me?
And that is all she wrote……. gotta go do some packing…. put on six layers to go for Sunday walk….and contemplate that Chinese delivery….stay safe, be love, get vaccinated…….
Papi-san
