Bonosera, Bonosera“White dew over the potato field…. the Milky Way” ………………….Shiki
“What a caterpillar calls the end of the world, we call a butterfly” …………………………..Eckhart Tolle
“Be THE Ball” ………………………………………………………………………………………..Caddyshack Zen
The Hot Tamale Heat Wave hit The Greens this week; pumping out near 100° heat for several days. The Queen went haywire with temperature control……. opening and closing every window in the house, multiple times a day, for four or five days- ostensibly either keeping the heat out or containing the cool in. Regardless of our interior state, midweek resembled a blast furnace outside- a rare occurrence in our mountain idyll. We even resurrected the ancient window air conditioner to assist with sleep in the upper sauna. Then, lo and behold, thunderstorms hit, and within hours we were huddled in blankets against the night chill-very Mountainesque.
We started the week last Sunday in search of a Father’s Day dinner; the dining out experience now akin to searching for the lost city of Atlantis. After finding two advertised- as- open places closed and boarded, and sitting around a third totally chaotic waiting area, we bit the bullet and settled for Applebee’s………really Applebee’s (though, I am ashamed to admit that the 2 fer 25 is alluring-not quite free lunch- but alluring nonetheless).
Filled with plentiful, if unspectacular, dinner fare, we sought a short grocery run- continuing our experiment with doing our shopping at the low rent Price Chopper; after weeks of disgust with Hannaford’s skyrocketing prices and failure to stock what we want. The Chopper clearly appeals to a different clientele……. who apparently are now us. The highlight of our trips there is often the assistance we require, and receive, at the barely functioning self-checkout; delivered in adventurous style by an extremely cross-eyed young man who is clearly on the spectrum and probably with Asperger’s; our interactions often involving something approaching pantomime.
Can anyone tell me what exactly a Webinar is, anyway?
In the highlight of the week, we returned on Tuesday to the splendor of the lovely Hub at Weston dining room for the monthly community lunch gathering. We were amongst a small group in the very upscale, faux –rustic-mountain cottage dining room and clearly the youngest people there by a decade or more. Not only did we enjoy a spectacular gourmet luncheon (almost Downton- Abbey-esque) but we were sent packing with multiple take out portions for friends in need back at The Mount. Sadly, we were unable to deliver these in a timely fashion, and ate them instead. I am reassured in my belief, that there is indeed Free Lunch. (ya feelin’ me, Feel?)
Lucy and I have resumed weekly dirt road walks with the Erstwhile Russian Spy; often resulting in long and in winding remembrances of life on The Mount; most of which are clearly fabricated, but fascinating nonetheless; and who am I to take issue with fabrication? This week the walk started right outside our door in sprinkles, and up the hill to the home of the displaced Southies thru a roaring thunderstorm, returning Le Spy to our house drenched…just in time for dinner date.
After the heat, the chill and the downpours, Friday was nice enough for a day trip out to the Middlebury area. We decided to take a long-cut, heading west over to Castleton and then up Route 30, a remarkably lovely drive, through the verdant Champlain valley; miles and miles of rich green farmland surrounded by The Greens to the west and the Adirondacks to the east. Our reward was lunch from never-changing Momma Corleone, at the eccentric Costello’s Italian deli, nestled covertly in the fascinating old Marble Works section of Middlebury. In between rain drops, we settled for dinner on the ground next to the raging river, with the old Marble factories looming in the background.
Saturday, after a belabored visit to the Dumpmaster, and his new protégé, we had a fine beat-the –rain walk on a nearby dirt road before settling in for rainy afternoon nap. We are expecting severe storms this afternoon, likely to preempt our planned outing to an outdoor Weston playhouse performance up by Ascutney, which we may alternately catch in Grafton, later this week. The show is really directed at children under 12, but there is free lunch, so what the hey?
Planning to hit The Trailer for massage this week from the elusive Masseuse, and make the trek down to The Apple later in the week to see the aging Cousins, of which I might add, I am the youngest; you go boy……….
Time to go and inspect the weed growth for this week. Be brave, Be kind, Be curious. Till then……
Papi-San
