Author: stumberry

“There is nothing useless in nature, not even uselessness itself.”….Montaigne

Happy post Labor Day to all:

Almost there- I have finally been able to enter and edit all the archival blogs and reviews on the website- so look for an e-mail soon with the link info. Once the web-site is up, you will get an e-mail letting you know there is new entry (from the webmaster instead of from me) which will let you click on a link to open and view the latest entry , and have access to all the archives.. Think (hope) you will like this. Google ads can’t be far behind- once the site goes viral!

So am going to start with this one trying to return to Zen roots and make these Rambles a bit less rambling and more haiku like…..we’ll see how that goes…..

When Stu leaves…………..Jenn does projects. Went down to N’Awlins for three days week before last for a little work and Cajun cookin’. Hot, muggy and fun. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Jenn strips the wallpaper in my bathroom (I really do have my own bathroom) and paints it. This apparently required a lot of removal of various objects and a lot of caulking to put them back. Which led to Stu’s return to a beautifully painted and not quite caulked bathroom, which meant, with company coming, having to use Jen’s shower until this all got filled and dried….so Stu went on a shower strike…which led Jen to go out and buy more bedding…life is a circle.

Our good friends , Steve and Sue, came for a week’s visit, with Lucy’s good finds, Rosie and Maggie. Maggie is pretty old and spends most of her time laying around blocking various doorways, but Rosie is a quasi- identical twin for Lucy…and that leads to day long wrestling matches of one big ball of black fur flying by everywhere you go….see Lu-Roseie run….. We had a great visit with lots of music, walks, kayaking, dinners and Vermont drives. We went to Springfield to check out the Jewish fish mongers’ inaugural public set with his Beatles band – the Fabs.. a beautiful early fall day and they were pretty good for first time out. Then to Weston where we decided to show them the Priori (we are still trying to find the DaVinci code). We always leave the Priori the back way down a dirt road which comes out close to Weston. Seems like a short way. So- we parked at the Weston end and derided it would be a nice walk back up to the Priori….well, it’s one of those “longer than it seems” walks, so an hour and a half later we strolled into the mystic…the dogs thought his was really great fun.

On Sunday last, we had a day of music, spending the afternoon at Plymouth Rock and the Calvin Coolidge birthplace, for a folk and blues fest. A perfect early fall Vermont setting- good music, great views, maple Cremees. That night we went into our little hamlet of Belmont to the town library for the annual Jazz Cabaret, which featured a local couple doing Billie Holiday influenced string bass and vocals…shockingly impressive, and as a bonus, Steve sat next to the stacks, and found a Calvin Coolidge book to read while humming along….providing a synergy to the day’s events.

Steve and I got to do a kayak at Lake Nineveh and several morning walks up our own neighborly hills. One of the cool things about Vermont, is you can more or less take a walk anywhere and find a nice view to boot. Only downside is the prevalence of boundary-less New Jersey woman prowling around in their Bimmers, who tend to stop and swoon over the dogs (“oh god what are they?”) and tell you their life stories… but, ok, New Jerseyites are more or less people too…right? We also went over to Hubbardton/Mt. Zion to make the requisite hike to Moot Point- best view in Vermont you can get with only a 20 minute hike

We took our friends on the mandatory (do you see a theme here? Imprisoned by all the places we MUST take people who visit…Jenn is so driven by this, you see…) trip to see the house of horrors, which included nice stops in Montpelier to search for Bernie (no sightings) and to Barre for our semi- annual trip to the amazing Hope cemetery (if they build it, we will come). The house of horrors has taken another cruel twist, with our apartment renter, Spencer, giving us notice and moving out end of month. So, now we have to decide how to maintain the property and whether to shut it down or not. When we went to take a look to tell him what needed to be done to move out, he had locked us out and no-showed to meet us there. Looking forward to another highlight- of –a- landlord month. Will anyone out there take this place if I pay them and become their indentured servant for ten years and give them Max?

The weeks’ high-brow and low-brow highlights also included a trip to the Weston Playhouse for the last show of the season- The Glass Menagerie- do you think Tennessee Williams suffered from depression? – and a stop on way home form Groton to the legendary Whippi- Dip Snack bar in Fairlee. We love going to snack bars because: a-they have outdoor seating for Lucy, b-they are cheap, and c- early bird is not required…and wow, they are not what they seem The Whippi –Dip is really the bull goose of snack bars with fresh fish daily and homemade bar-b-que, taken in the owner’s secret garden out back…can you say “another roadside attraction”? We finished up the visit with a grand tour of the QUAINT…Weston (the Vermont county store for kitsch), Chester (the home of THE most interesting man in the world) and Grafton (can you say so quaint that Bing Crosby may have been here for White Christmas). Along the way, I took the dogs out for a constitutional at the wonderful Green in Weston, where I came to the conclusion that Rosie is a transgender dog (is this possible?- this would be accepted in Vt., you know)- she lifted her leg and peed on every tree on the Green (she has vagina, mind you!)

So , Steve and Sue left Friday morning and on Saturday, we went back in search of additional and upgraded bedding and did our usual chores. We went to Wal-Mart to get flu shots and took Lucy with us. We got our shots but they would not give Lucy one…apparently her insurance does not cover it at the Mart…see photos…can you take dog to Wal-Mart?,,,..not sure, but we did anyway…and she loved it. We also found another snack bar to try outside Rutland…I think, in some ways, you can reduce the Vermont experience to Farmer’s Markets, snack bars and bedding…….

So- in addition to everything bad about the hose of horrors (Groton) and Sawmill Parkway (Delaware) we now have learned that the state will be closing the bridge to get to our house for possibly a year- which means we will have to go up and over the mountain to get in and out….stop, your’ torturing us (Yiddish, whiney accent for this)

So that’s; it…not quite haiku I don’t think, but will do better next time.

Until then, may all your leaves turn bright red….enjoy the birth of autumn…

Estuardo

Greetings friends and family:

Scribing from 10,000 feet on way to N’awlins for a few days on secret assignment….a relatively short trip from Vermont (the place where no planes seem to fly to)- will only be about 8 hours travel time as I took a shot at a night flight with very short layover and made all the connections…must be living the life. But, actually it’s Trench Girl who has taken on the “I love my life” mantra (which is usually accompanied by asking me if I am happy…..which then leads to a discussion of 2000 years of Jewish struggle and despair….which hopefully might someday result in no longer being asked that question)…..but back to Trench Girl- who is not only the Queen of home repair, but the proprietress of our thriving Airbnb, and an aspiring organic farmer and yoga master as well as a recently employed shop girl…so I guess you might see where this is life to be easily loved…..

We have now finished our foundation project and put back the shrubbery…looks pretty damn good for do it your-selfers. Plus we have had a run of warranty work….have I mentioned how much I adore my garage door opener…my first ever (don’t remember ever seeing one in the Bronx?). With that and leak repairs by the Roto- Rooter man- we are almost caught up with the needs of our 175 year old house. For a while we have been suffering from REALLY bad water pressure (like having to catch drops as they fall out in the upstairs (read=my) bathroom- to fill a glass to brush teeth). The Roto guy said we needed a new pressure tank, or we could blow our well pump, and said tank would be a 1000 cool ones…ughh…our lives have become driven by water…So-I called our usual plumber (non-warranty) and Bill the Grumpy Plumber, said “nah, check the damn filter system”. So I did…and it was filthy, and I cleaned it out and changed the filter…and, lo, the water gushed forth like the Red Sea (you know biblical, but the red is really more a metaphor). In Vermont, we learn to really appreciate mono-syllabic, grumpy plumbers.

So- after all that- Jenn’ sister Jane came to pay us a visit- to celebrate both their September birthdays. Janes’ flight was due to Manchester (NH- a nifty 2 ½ hour drive for us) at 9:30..but as luck would have it, we enjoyed the fruits of minor Hurricane Danny…and Jane was re-routed through Chicago (never go west to get east) for a 1 a.m. arrival. We took Lucy and headed for the Diner ,and hung till they threw us out and then waited curbside (one a.m., the TSA take pity and let you sit there). Once Jane arrived and we had our hugs, we got in the car to find all our sitting with doors open for Lucy, had led to non- battery delight…and everyone gone. Luckily, the airport kindly keeps someone on site for the yokels who run it dead. We got home at 4..…a jump start to our visit.

So- the highlights of our visit with Sister Jane:
• We visited Jenn’s’ organic farm where Lucy got to frolic with the piglets and we came home with a bumper crop of organic melons
• We made the required visit to Ramunto’s- to get Jane the best slices of pizza outside of lower Manhattan
• Jane got to attend the last Belmont Music on the Green of the season- which featured the musical stylings of yours truly along with Belmont Mountain Boys (the local folk club, really)
• We took Jane to lake Nineveh for her first kayak experience ever (see Jane row)- to go with Lucy’s first real swimming experience- she swam most of the lake (see the wet dog pix)
• We had the Friday evening mountain immersion experience, with a trip to the Ludlow Farmers’ Market, the early bird specials at our beloved Sam’s Steakhouse (when you come, you too will be treated to the famous early bird!) and then Friday night music at the Okemo Resort
• Jane read and napped a lot and looked at the stars and mini harvest moon

So- after a day of doodling down to NH by the back roads we put Jane on a flight Saturday evening and came back to the homestead, where we resumed water blockage duty on Sunday. After Jane left , we had some last minute Airbnb guests on Saturday night – a very nice Chinese couple from Burlington, whose names I could not quite remember- so invented some for them…Max rolled his eyes over the phone when I told him this, and cautioned me to use my plurals (i.e.- two hot teas, not two hot tea…you may have had to be at Sunday night dinners at the Ming Flower to appreciate this nuance). BTW- Max is drifting around the Central California Coast in probable search of the perfect wave-check out the picture of him in the gallery. The family is currently in planning for December trip to Hawaii- so we are warming to full battle mode in preparation….which may have sent Max scurrying….but enough of that.

So- relatively short and sweet in advance of the Labor Day holiday and the official end of summer. Steve and Sue will be arriving this Friday for a week and then we will hit foliage season full stride, with lots of Airbnb guests and our own hunt for red October. I’ll keep you posted…soon to be on the website-you might remember…
Love and kisses to most everybody, Stu and his multiples……..

Greetings and salutations:

(Spoiler alert…..Max and I are in the process of turning these “Rambles” into a real life blog. Have been loading in the archives…all the past blog entries are in and now working on Stu’s Reviews, for those of you who receive that, so in not too distant future, will join the 20th century –not 21st mind you- and you will get to read these on line. More info to come…kind of cool though)

Mid- August…the leaves are changing, the mornings are chilly, the light is turning to autumn….and we are back ensconced in our beloved Greens after our mid summer trek back to the heartland. It’s been a very busy few weeks with visitors, end of sickness and lots of work on the homestead.

Have I told you about contractors in Vermont? It’s kind of like Jamaica, running in different time. About three weeks ago, the Barn painters showed up…two months after our scheduled time. Wow….four hours in and out…and we have a newly painted horse barn. They are from Alabama which may explain the time thing, but they did an amazing job, whirling around like dervishes to scrape, spray and fix wood. In the end, we now have bright red New England barn. Barn fixing begat water leak fixing, so that meant our local guy, who shows up unpredictably unannounced some mornings and gets to work . We now have the sun room with new flooring and under supports and the roof sealed up…which led to…… the Foundation issues. One of those “dig it out and patch it up” sort of things. Except when we dug it out on a 90 degree day last Monday (12 feet long, four feet wide, five feet deep), we found a gaping hole between the foundation and the original field stone foundation…the size you could crawl into and spend the night. So, Stu picked up and left for the week and Jenn took it on. The contractor turned out to be more of a supervisor than a worker, so Jenn got a mason out here to block it up, then (on her own, stubbornly refusing to call anyone for help) she got stone delivered, put it in, laid pipe, more stone and then sealed it up and filled it in. Stu showed back up from Richmond, VA. in time to fill it in and help grade it. And did I mention, we hit massive rock everywhere we/she dug? Jenn will be on the cover of this months’ “Woman dig Holes” issue (#666) and you can see the cover photo in our attached gallery. The local men all think this woman must be the catch of the year….I mean, what’s not to like, right?

So- now we are hopefully water tight and will not sink…..at least until the next seepage. 160 year old houses do present some conundrums….

We had our good friends Jane and Jeff here for five days, and did the total local Vermont thing. A show at Weston (The Road to Where), two straight days of kayaking at Lake Lowell (our newest most favorite) and Lake Nineveh, a hike over at the hidden -trail man in Hubbardton up to the majestic Moot Point (really) (best view in Vermont for only a half hour hike), Music on the Green in Belmont and some great dining. It was a really nice visit defined by Lucy swimming a half mile back to shore after Jen dumped her in the lake, magnificent star watching, and an ongoing debate on the wisdom of calling woman “handsome” (the lead woman in the play, a seventyish ball of energy was by my account a “handsome woman”- which sent shivers through Jane and Jenn’s cerebrum.) The defining moment of our visit occurred at the music on the green in discussing whether to make a rather long trip over to Maine to lap seawater….debating the merits of going, Jeff stated he really did not need to make that trip since “You are my ocean”…got to put that one on a scroll on the wall, no?

So as I said, I made a side trip this week down to lovely Richmond, Virginia to help save the children. Richmond in mid-August…kind of like the “smell of napalm in the morning” (check your movie trivia)…hot and steamy with a hotel full of Chinese expats. But, you’d never guess, that Richmond turns out to be a food mecca (really, no shit!) and my wandering produced some memorable Italian and Cuban meals . It did take me 12 hours to get back to the mountains on Friday starting with a cab drive to the airport from hell…had to wake up the driver sleeping in in his cab at 6 a.m., and he then he proceeded to drive the wrong way down Richmond’s busiest thoroughfare and go through three red lights at full speed…starting the trip off really well. Then, in the great tradition of trying to fly back to Vermont, I took flight number one from Virginia down to Orlando to get a flight back to the mountains. Orlando, always a lively stop, happened to be besieged by last minute, before school starts, Disney aficionados, so flew back between two people wearing Mickey ears…oh to be home again…

One interesting thing in our adopted state is the prevalence of old deserted mansions. Our favorite is the magnificent Clarendon house in tiny Clarendon Springs, a massive example of country shtick opulence that we have been watching be resurrected for the last 15 years. We drove over last Sunday for a picnic on the porch and stroll through the ruins. We love these places and wonder why were they there? That’s your assignment for this week.

Last night, we made a pilgrimage with a group of friends to see the Poets of Fish over at Fair Haven, where we not only enjoyed the great Prudential dinner (early bird) but got to share the room with a wedding…fun was had by all. Today we head up to see if the house of horrors is still standing and see if we can flag someone down who might be driving by, that we can turn the deed over to.

Good news for the week: Stu had a follow up Western Blot blood test (this is fancy stuff- goes to the Mayo Clinic) and has “converted” (no, still a lapsed Jew)-which means an indication that I “had” Lyme disease rather than “have” it….good riddance.

Well, miles to go and mountains to climb…got to get Jenn out of the ditch and head up to Groton…so until we meet again….

Love and kisses from the Lyme man and the Trench girl,

Stu/Da/Cuz/Ferlin/Uncle

Greetings from the Greens:

Well- it’s been an eventful three weeks since my last missive- filled with Ticks, hot and steamy trips to the heartland and red leaves showing up in early August. But. ..I get ahead of myself. When last penning the chronicles- I was off to the dinner party with pond-induced rash in hand. Well, it got worse and worse, and after having a fever shoot up to over 102 that Sunday night, and feeling like death warmed over- we set out to find medical care. So…..we are in the mountains and don’t know from shit about where to go, which eventually led to an hour and a quarter drive and delightful 5 hour stay in the Dartmouth ER. Long story short, I apparently had a lost battle with a tick and wound up with Lyme Disease. By all counts , it is acute rather than chronic- which hopefully means my 20 days of gut killing anti-biotics will do the trick. Follow up in progress- but mostly better.

So- after that crisis- we had the Belgians show up the next day for two nights (see the pix)- who were absolutely wonderful with two teen age boys who were working on their English –which led to requests for “we-fee” (internet access) and turning up the bass (rhymes with pass, like the fish ) on the stereo. We have continued to have a great run with our Airbnb guests- all of them being incredibly pleasant, considerate and fun- with the possible expectation of the woman from the Bronx who got out of the car complaining (hmm-must be hereditary). We had our most recent guests very impromptu last night a very nice uber-nerd couple form UMASS who may have done a bit too much acid in the day and walked around staring at trees for 36 hours.

We spent about ten days journeying back to the heartland for a whirlwind visit, which included a plethora of dog play for Lucy with all her cousins, a manic two day trip to Toledo for work (the Subaru went down- so I drove the ancient Jeep- and got stuck on the magnificent I-75 for an hour in bumper to bumper with no AC), a Jenn visit to Cleveland to Ry and Lauren’s new house warming party, several Lyme related doctor visits, and a number of social outings..…all in the context of 90 degree-90 percent humidity weather with no air conditioning and house shut up for months…delightful…..AND…. no internet, cable or cell service at the house, which led to the hunt, for entertainment, (Trainwreck movie with Tess), phone service (find a spot in yard and sit real still) and internet (driving around to find a free pirated “we-fee” in the middle of the night). As I said, delightful.

We also had a few really fun events at home: consorting with Marcus in the yard, doing the annual Pelatonia benefit gig with the Bunty boys and gathering for Steve and Sue’s birthday dinner the night before we left…which also included our dear and longtime friend, Ed Uhlman, who has made a sudden decision to re-locate to the homeland in Germany…..so turned out to also be farewell dinner for him. Tess and Jake came to both the concert and the birthday dinner- so we packed in a lot of family time in the heat and humidity…the family that stays together, sweats together. .

Worst part of being in Ohio though, was the imminent advance of the evil empire in the form of the construction of the long dreaded Sawmill parkway, which is moving forward after years of being stalled. When we next return, we may well find ourselves in the middle of a golf course development…..also delightful. Had to convince Jenn not to tie herself to a tree with a yoga mat and a shotgun.

You can check out pix of the above events (which I have conveniently labeled for the first time( which must be Lyme induced OCD)- and make sure to give a good look to ‘Marcus’ yard masterpieces: The Slice of Life and The Soul Patch…the boy is apparently bored at “the farm” without me.

So- all told it was really good to get back to the mountains. We did it on Monday the 3rd in a blitz 11 ½ hour dive straight through- which Lucy, bless her heart, slept through most the whole way. We stopped twice for meals (both McDonalds where we had not been for ten years, but try finding something else on the NY thruway).We took I-90 which saved a little time- but almost drove us to early death through boredom and eating Mickey D (the Big Mac was almost $5- the last time I was there it was under $2..and overpriced then) for that part of the journey, Jenn insisted on drinking coffee and then we would have to stop for her to pee on the side of the road. I tried to protest, since we kept seeing signs that said “It Can Wait!”- which she thought was about something to do with cell phones..…I think that they were clearly a message to her.

We got home to have the contractor we had been trying to locate for two months- show up unexpectedly and ready to work early the next morning…this is Vermont you know. So- we are underway with our water stoppage projects—- on top of that the barn painters called back after a month of being lost to say they would be here tomorrow. Hopefully, they will not collide. I will try and find somewhere to go all day so Jenn can manage these home improvement projects.

We’ve had a busy week since our return with a trip to the Weston Playhouse (Guys and Dolls), several esoteric dining trips to the middle of nowhere, and a beer soaked night at Hops in the Hills at the ski resort, and sundry guests…plus we got out for our long missed Kayak on Friday….see Lucy go….

Jenn has finished her objet d’art with her new antique table…you can see it in pictures…and is currently out trying to become a master gardener, or just to have gardens look acceptable in case Karin shows up at some point to see how her babies are doing.

We start this week a month and half of visits from many friends and family from the heartland with Jane and Jeff Grummel on their way as we speak. In case you wondered, we are giving friends and family a VERY GOOD deal for the room- despite what the Airbnb website says….so feel free to make an offer, we can be quite flexible on price- especially if you bring your own breakfast.

Wednesday August 5th- woke up to red leaves outside our bedroom window…..what is wrong with that picture. It is coming, isn’t it?

Love and Peace….Go Bernie,
Stu/ Dad/ Uncle/Cuz/Ferlin’