Category: Green Mountain Blog

Good Labor Day to all…and it’s BLOGGGGGGG time………….

“If you do not change directions, you may end up where you are heading”……………………………………………………..Lao- Tzu

“Mom please! There is no

need to put that dinner roll

in your pocketbook”………………………………………………………………..Haikus for Jews

Sunday was the last of visitation days for the week of the Bunties being here. Everyone left for the heartland on Sunday morning, except the Nave….and with a beautiful early fall afternoon, we spent a couple of hours restoring the property form the debauchery and then headed over to Nineveh for a kayak with our friend John, the local unemployed photographer. Gorgeous day out on the lake- with both Lucy and Rosie howling from the mast of their kayaks. As usual, Jenn got tired of the howling and dumped Lucy into the lake, where she proceeded to swim for the better part of two hours…..complaining almost all of the way. After a brief stay at home for naps, we did the traditional Sunday visit to East in Rutland and the glorious Chinese food, with the Retired Lutheran Iconoclast filling in for the Jewish Fish Monger.

After a week of rollicking, the last of the band, the Nave, left on Monday morning..…and we began to recover and resettle into mountain life. When Mitch got home he began to put up some of the individual song performances from our local gig on You Tube, which you can check out and avoid watching the entirety of the show (assuming that you are not a cult Bunty Station devotee who wants to punish themselves with the whole shebang)  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGI0SwROVPgOvob3p8oGBhA

We spent the day Monday trying to reestablish some kind of normal routine and then headed  out on another really fine day on Tuesday for a ramble through the countryside, watching the amazing early turning of the leaves (really),  stopping for several hikes and eating our way across the region- New York corned beef from Weird Ernie’s in Rutland, Creamees at Roxie’s Famous Fries and dinner at the Wheel- a classic family dive in remote Benson, where we had somehow wound up. Wednesday we headed down to Weston for the last show of the season at The Playhouse- a presentation of Eugene O’Neill’s’ Long Day’s Journey Into Night. O’Neill was way ahead of his time, bringing real drama to the Broadway stage in 1920-when it was only featuring musicals and light farce….and the play, as usual, was amazingly well done…but, Holy Cow, the suicide hotlines must have been ringing off the hook for the patrons of that one. We had to come home and gobble several Prozac immediately.

Thursday was a mostly overcast and rainy day….that cleared up in time for the annual Folk Club Music on the Green performance….the traditional closing of the MOG season in our beloved Belmont. Despite having about fifteen people on the tiny stage, the gig went well and a small group of frozen devotes stayed until the bitter end and asked for an encore…..I had to consume vast amounts from my flask to avoid frostbite by the 8:15 finale in the dark and cold.  Overnight, winter shades came to the Greens with our first frost of the season, while the flatlanders were still sweating in heat and humidity…

Friday night we had Airbnb guests arrive for a three night stay….faux Hells Angels from upstate New York… a pair of Chris’’ or maybe Kris’….who we have barely seen since, as they get their ya-yas out and maneuver the backroads of tourist  infested Labor-Day Vermont. We sent them off today on wild goose chase to Burlington with a list of don’t’ miss Vermont spectacles.

Labor Day weekend always brings two thigs: the Plymouth Folk and Blues Fest and the triumphant return of John and Lydia from the Boston-area Irish ghetto.

Saturday morning arrived with our only predicted bright and sunny day of the holiday weekend, so Lucy and I headed to the Dump for a massive dump of our detritus from the festivities  and a visit with Kevin the walrus-like dump master (“sorry to miss your party, but I was too drunk and stoned to make it down the hill”) and then a quick one hour push mow (Jenn insists on the front year being tidy)- from which I am still recovering….packed a picnic lunch and picked up TJFM at his house, where we made a quick stop to assist him with his perennial legion of broken down mowers and autos….and headed up to the Calvin Coolidge homestead for the annual Folk and Blues fest. More folk than blues…… but a magnificent setting and very laid back and appreciative crowd. The Vermont folk revival provides an excellent setting for a sun drenched afternoon nap, and for Lucy to howl along with the Woody Guthrie types.

After a quick trip home, we mosied up the hill (past the snarling dogs and the former home of Tanta Helen and Uncle Halidol) to our friends John and Lydia for our periodic crazed dinner and storytelling. (This also involved a quick drive by of our long dormant new neighbors, who have re-emerged in the last few weeks after having bought the place and promptly disappeared for a year. The African American couple and their four children are now being assisted by a massive group of third world types who are working on gutting the place and creating some kind of East-Bronx like summer home environment. When we passed  them last night they had erected tents, fire pits  and long picnic tables and were smoking some form of wild beast in the yard, which they may have chased and killed on the spot. This all represents quite a cultural revolution in our little haven of Mt. Holly).

Finally making it to our hosts home and after a great deal of imbibing of all sorts, a wonderful dinner, laugh till you drop stories from both of them (John usually winds up prancing around the room to illustrate some sort of adventure)….we finished the night around midnight with Lydia singing us A Capella sea shanties outside under the hidden moon, while staring out at their magnificent view of the shadowed mountains..…before we stumbled down the hill to bed.

Today the rains have finally come, and we have sent the Hells’ Angels out to find another roadside attraction, so getting ready to head down to the basement for long avoided completion of THAT project and then off to the movies in Rutland…..then we can start recovering again tomorrow….

Love Ya’ll…or at least most of you..

 

Ferlin’

 

 

 

Happy Sunday Boys and Girls:

“Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone”……………………….Alan Watts

“New at Oys “R” Us!

Hypochondriac Barbie

has a gout attack”……………………………………..Haikus for Jews

 

As Ed Sullivan would have said , it has been a Really Big Shoe this week. I’m probably too much in a chemically Zen state to write as much about it as I should- so will go for the highlights.

Last Sunday started quietly with another in a long line of classic late summer (or is it early Fall?) Vermont days. Neither we nor the quickly disappearing POND have seen any rain to speak of in weeks. Having run out of Marriotts to go to, I spent most of the day with Jenn in the basement on the ethereal basement floor project….while alternating with supervising the elusive tree cutting boys, who managed to show up at 2 that day for the 10 am scheduled time. So….. we slaved in the basement while they swung around in the trees recalling the verve and tenacity of our local heroes, Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys.

Managing to get both projects in some semblance of finish, and having got the GM Boys down out of the trees with only minimal breakage of their limbs…..we headed into town and to our beloved East for our treat of a dinner…..accompanied by the J.F.M. (c’mon you know who that stands for by now…..got to take some short cuts today…LOL…WTF….). Our ritual Sunday dinner and extended family  trip to the grocery store complete, we returned home in time for the Naven to arrive, the first of the Bunty Station boys…along with Lucy’s’ bestest twin ball of black fur, Miss Rosie.

Monday dawned hot and sunny…Eclipse Day….which led Nave and I to a hike out of the heat down to the Ice Caves where it went from 86 to 65 degrees in a matter of minutes. Buzzing around the trail trying not to look up at the surreal sunlight, with the dogs running miles of concentric circles, we came down the last of the trail to find the dogs circling a huddled group of Hasidic Jews in full traditional garb, screaming to protect them from the feral dogs…”Oy, help, help, I’m so sorry, We don’t know from dogs, Help us , Please Help us”. We managed to stop laughing long enough to corral the little beasts, which led to a whole second round of begging for forgiveness. With heavy breath, they asked us how much further to the trail end…which we surmised meant to the view a few minutes away, rather than the trek to the ice caves. We left them huddled and shaking…only to realize when we came upon them they had only gone about five minutes from the parking area, and wondered if they would be overtaken by the dangers of the woods to make the ten minute hike to the view. There is definitely a haiku there somewhere.

Tuesday began our preparations for the weekend, with the relocation of the pond pump/fountain to somewhere it would actually be covered up  by the dwindling waters. I left for town with Nave and Jenn floating around in the receding waters. Tuesday evening we took Steve down to the Rod and Gun club (really) for a Weston Playhouse production of “Buyers and Cellars”….the story of a young gay man who becomes the attendant for Barbara Streisand’s in-home basement mall…another haiku should come out of that one. We were deluged by massive thunderstorms which added a surreal quality as thy beat down on the tin roof of the theater (though the massive rain did not seem to elevate the POND, in any way shape or form).

Wednesday had Al and Donna arrive, with Mitch on the way from flying into Boston. So we packed up our expanding herd, and took off for a slice of Ramuntos in Rutland , lunch on the ground in a cemetery (where Lucy managed to find huge pile of cow poop to roll thoroughly in) and a smelly trip over to the Pittsford Trail….a leisurely walk through the woods and stream beds. Lloyd and son Micheal, arrived (let’s just say the apple did not fall far from the tree on that one) with our supply of herbal remedies in tow- the general consensus was that that the two of them were a mix of Pineapple Express and Cheech and Chong. . We had a spirited run through with the Band and then made a festive band dinner at home and planned our attack for the music extravaganzas.

Thursday was a work around the property day…with Steve and Mitch pitching in on the mowing, whacking, weeding and sculpting…before we headed off to Belmont to make our Vermont debut for Music on the Green. Drop dead gorgeous night, uber-enthusiastic crowd, great sound system provided to us….we played to well after dark, with folks refusing to go home and calling for more. We eventually finished with a frenetically crazy run of Rocky Top with spectral figures dancing wildly  in the dark. We amazingly were tipped almost $200 in our open guitar case (someone dropped us a $50!!!!!!…like what Springsteen gets, no?). The night was pure MAGIC!. We headed down the mountain into Ludlow for a post-show Band dinner at Harrys, which was the only place still open and features stars on the ceiling along with the Thursday night Thai specials….and walked out two hours later hydrated, fed and laughing ..and only around $350 lighter. What a night.

For those who have not seen it, we were filmed by the local TV station ,and here is a link if you are inclined to watch 1 ¾ hours of the Bunties rambling in the hills. http://lpctv.org/summer-concert-series-bunty-station

Friday was our off day, and the Band all gathered late morning for a drive over to the very fine Weathersfield Trail and up to Cascade Falls for the view. After three hours of hiking, we hit the local dairy/drive through for a classic Vermont experience and the requisite Maple Creamees. By this time, we were sprawled all over my house for power naps….and then hit the Ludlow Farmer’s Market before finishing the day with a trip to Okemo Resort for the Friday night music series…which featured a rather bizarre Surf music tribute band as the night temps sunk into the 40s on the mountain…check out the outfits and the Fez they wore in the myriad of attached pix.

Saturday was the first annul Vermont Tye- Dye festival at our house (and our tenth or twelfth general rendition of this). Another drop dead day…good crowd, corn hole, croquet, swimming in the rapidly draining POND, lots of tie-dyeing……and an esoteric collection of tofu oriented food stuff…..AND a lot of music. I won’t say it was necessarily the kind of tight performance like that of the Green…but it was TRIPPY…no set list and a bunch of long jams with our local friends sitting it with the Boys…probably good there was no video for this one…or we would have all been arrested when the state police saw it. A day to remember. Finished the night with our first bonafide bonfire …really good THIS was not on video…or Trump’s militia would have been here for us. When we finally settled in to the house with the guests all gone, and were cleaning up and fulfilling long dormant munchies…the Fish Maven showed back up to tell us that Lloyd had inadvertently taken his guitar and he had Lloyds. With them leaving first thing in the morning from their hostel (really) in Ludlow, the fish man was anxious that his brand new Taylor was going to wind up back in the heartland. After repeated attempts to reach Lloyd or Micheal, he and I drove down to Ludlow at midnight to find the place battened down for the night. No luck with throwing pebbles at random windows –so  we left a note on Lloyds windshield and headed back up the mountain….we made it halfway before the fish- mobile broke down in the middle of dark cloudless stretch of freezing road. Luckily, I had called Jenn before we left Ludlow (the car was sounding suspicious) to alert her to come out for us if we did  not show up in twenty minutes…as you can imagine no cell service out there under the vast star laden sky. So- forty minutes later Jenn showed up (once the munchies subsided) to rescue us while we sat in the dark car next to an RV parked in the pull off for the night – that was blasting heavy metal and rocking back and fort suspiciously. Finally got to bed around 2:30…ending quite an eventful and robust day.

So- cleanup time is approaching…and I am on call for the yard. Again, I blatantly lied about the length of this tome…but, who’s counting.

See ya soon,

The Maestro

 

 

 

 

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 15^th, 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.

Buon Giorno my friends:

“One who thinks he know, does not know; one who knows he does not know, knows”………………………………..The Upanishads

Jewish triathlon-

gin rummy, then contract bridge,

followed by a nap……………………………………………………………………………….Haikus for Jews

 

Soooooo….have you missed me? No one has called or written to say ? “Nu, where is the blog”…which makes me wonder….and feel a tad insufficient (Tad is a mountain word). It’s been three weeks since my last Tales of Vermont living because…well…really have not been in Vermont to speak of….and who wants to hear about my various and sundry travels (feel free to jump up and say “me, please, me”)…ergo although it has been awhile, this is going to be a rather short installment (promise, promises)

Soon after my last missive, we packed the car and little Lucy, and made the mid-summer drive to the heartland for ten days. Of most significance on the trip back, was my managing to not get a speeding ticket (again) in upstate New York….a veritable paradise of off duty state troopers to fund the local tax bases. We spent the night on the way home in Cleveland with the kids and our new little grand girl, Quinn, who is a little round beauty; got in quite the evening of cuddling and toothless smiles, and Lucy made sure she was clean all over. From there it was on to the ancestral home in central Ohio, which we were delighted to find in fine shape….no squirrel invasion this year, no animal feces, and a highly suspicious 75 degrees and un-humid. We did our ten day whirlwind, spending time with Tess and Jake, doing dinner with friends and getting down with the Bunty Station boys. Aside from an absolutely dead ancient- beloved Jeep, all went well. Jenn got to spend three days in Cleve-town with the grandbaby, whilst I toiled in my periodic work place of Toledo. We finished up with our never- miss birthday dinner with Steve and Sue, who must be approaching 100 by now, and hit the road a week ago to head back with twice the amount of shit we had brought with us. After an overnight in the booming metropolis of Binghamton, NY, (little Italian joint with the best Eggplant Parm in history) we arrived home….and found ………………

##$$%@#$&*!!!###$$$%%%%%%……….FU…..CK…..htr the pump/fountain in The Pond immediately showing barely a dribble……apparently we can never leave again if we intend to have the beloved Pond in function….the gist of it is that the water level had gone so low (foot and a half down) that the bucket the pump sits in was above the water line. Luckily, it had not blown the pump yet, so we schlepped out there and reconfigured the placement to be in deeper water (not as easy as it sounds), and got the contraption once again spouting (have I mentioned that Phil says that the Pond is my “Ahab”?). So back to working for now, but have no idea why the water level is so low, as OTHER PONDS in the area seem to be doing fine…why us? why us?. We are exploring options including running ten thousand feet of hose down the mountain from the springs above….it never ends……….. Aside from that , everything in the mountain home was pretty copacetic (except for Nico having protested our leaving her here by covering the house with cat pee, which Jenn spent her fist nine hours home hunting down and destroying). We were fortunate to have Old George come by and mow the estate while we were gone, which one has to worry a bit about, since we believe he is around one hundred and fifteen years old…but the grass was all cut, and though we searched, we did not find any trace of his body.

So- we got settled in on Sunday, when The Jewish Fish Monger called, wailing about how long it had been since we got down to have the Asian experience at East, so we headed down the mountain for dinner and a late night grocery shop (us and most of the Rutland addicts). Monday was catch up day and a trip to Folk Club…..and Tuesday I headed down to Manchester, NH (have I mentioned that to go south to Manchester, one has to drive north for an hour to circumnavigate the mountains?)…and caught a flight to Philly for a three night Marriott respite (leaving Jenn to do her project compulsion…which she wound up feeling ill, and not doing…what’s up with that?). Had an interesting three days working in a new site for me – Camden, NJ- which has the highest rate of juvenile crime per capita in the known universe, and tooled around old town, where I stayed in a lovely old hotel recently gathered in by the Marriott boys. Spent the last night there with old friend, Phil, cavorting in a great Greek Seafood place.

Got back again on Friday and spent Saturday recovering…and planning for our next round of projects (which led me to make a new round of Marriott reservations). Saturday night, we did our fist volunteering of the summer at the community supper. It is a uniquely Vermont experience to sit at these long table in the “Oddfellows “ Hall and serve a bunch of apparently famished local folk, screaming for more pork and mashed. I luckily had one more restrained table, who liked my serving so well, they tried to tip me (not allowed)….but settled for plying me with several glasses of wine from the select bottles they had hidden under the table….Needless to say, this improved my attention to service detail. Whilst we were cleaning up the hall after dinner, one of the organizers insisted on taking me upstairs to see the “real heart” of it all…..the Oddfellows meeting spaces…..which became a half hour exploration of the history of the Oddfellows (pretty odd, but will leave more details for a later date). Suffice it to say, it’s  apparently quite the religious organization , men-only, and bit on the secretive side…..…and they need new “younger” members which was what prompted the tour and recruitment. I quickly pulled out my Medicare card in hopes that would dissuade any further recruitment of me, but not sure, since there appeared to be a dozen hooded men outside my bedroom window this morning (either the Odds or the Klan, I’m guessing). I was, however,  pretty interested in the various cloaks, costumes, hoods and helmets hanging in the anti-room –which are apparently a part of the meeting ritual…..I may sneak back to try some of these on.

So…I said this would be brief…and I lied…..Off to hide from the roof fixing going on today, the carpets coming tomorrow and the itinerant tree cutters, who randomly show up. Off again on Tuesday to Baltimore and more Marriott (good hiding, no?). Next weekend the boys from Bunty Station begin arriving for some or all of the week…..and two gigs here in the mountains. On  the 24the- we play the local Music on the Green Series, and then Saturday the 26^th– we are having a Tie-Dye Peace and Love festival here at the estate. If you are so inclined…come on up…

Enough already……..till we meet again……happy tails…..

 

Stu-bert

 

 

 

Yo Peeps:

“I regret that it takes a life to learn how to live”…………………………………………………………….Jonathan Safran Foer

“Jewish voodoo tip-

mention an acting career,

then watch for chest pain”…………………………Haikus for Jews

Bada- dada…….Bada-dada……Bada-dada………dada – (you have to hum it yourself to get the right impact)

 

Lots doing in the mountains this week….still raining every 2^nd or 3^rd day in our new global warming era…but when not, have hit the daily 75 and sunny regime…….Can the Donald pardon himself?

Sunday drive last week over to Poultney through the rolling hills on western side of state….hit another roadside attraction in the form of Otto’s Cone Point General Store (check out the signage)  for their weekly music on the patio (in the shade of) major Route 30 (well, major for Vermont, anyway). Gorgeous day, greening up everywhere you look…and fine Maple Cremees for a buck …even Lucy had her own bowl

THE POND– has reached a new peek clarity…we can see the bottom everywhere and now thinking about a variety of contraptions to hide the pump setup (a pond’s work is never finished)..…miracle of miracles – came home one afternoon to find Jennifer floating in the pond (facing up and alive)…her first venture into the abyss in five years-which we repeated a second time later in the week

After eight weeks of almost daily rain, we finally got out with the kayaks- up to Nineveh- for a float. The greeter- tent man there had to inspect the kayaks, to see if our scum had come with it…but we passed   inspection (thanks to the sagely Trout King) and spent a few hours lazily paddling through the mountains, while Jen  made poor little Lucy swim most of the way- lots of work for those little legs (she then slept for ten straight hours)

Came home to tackle the damn apple tree that hangs over the pond, before it starts dropping a 100 apples a day into our pristine ecosystem…five sweaty hours later…and voila…..no more overhanging limbs, and two exhausted older adults

Midweek, I had my promised escape to the Marriott, spending the night up at White River Junction (this is really a place) to be close to Barnard and Silver Lake State Park for all -day Governor’s Family Council retreat the next day. The hotel is right across form the states only VA hospital…so it was me and a hundred deranged Vietnam Vets seeking out the smell of napalm in the morning…on the other hand, I had absolutely no fears of any kind of attack there, as they all seemed to be packing a little something and were out at all hours patrolling the perimeter…

On the way home, I gave a ride to a council member- who spent the two hours tearfully telling me her story of a child they lost. It was quite moving and I was glad to listen, but then we had the classic Vermont road experience of driving 20 miles down route 100A to within 100 feet of route 100 to get home…and having the road blocked off, when we could see the turn a mere hop, skip and jump away….so had to drive back and around…adding an extra hour to the trip (we don’t need no stinking road closed signs around here)…which maybe was a bit too much weeping for me…..

We have three massive fuel oil tanks in the basement-none of which has a readable gauge, so I thought we should get one filled up, so we have heat in the fall…..in Vermont, not always so easily done. Turns out the green-minded legislature had passed a new law that all tanks have to be inspected before any more oil can be delivered. So they came out and, of course, found our two ancient connected tanks, to be quite the pieces of decaying shit…so no oil until we remove, destroy or fix them. BUT, we have a third tank that looks much newer but is not hooked up to anything (have I mentioned we also have 48 circuit breakers?…power in numbers, I believe is the concept). So, now we are on the hunt to try and find out from our benefactress, Karen, what the story is with the big red tank…so maybe we can have them take us to cleaners to get that one hooked up…and then maybe we can have some oil…and then maybe we will have heat eventually……

Speaking or our projects….Jenn has now configured some kid of scaffolding system so she got the stairwell walls painted…..so the last part of that (staining and putting down the treads) can move forward. This will be just in time for the upstairs carpet to be put in, to start on the barn roof, re-finish the kitchen floor and electrify the outbuildings……I have lots of Marriott nights booked in August….and then, we are now having to talk about fuel oil tanks…AND just to add a cherry on top, Jenn has resumed her “time to buy a pickup” mantra….which led me to stop the car in the middle of Route 103 and start walking to Rutland….

Our week took a turn towards the cultural with Friday night at the Weston Playhouse to see “Lost in Yonkers”…very Jewish- angst Neil Simon, but quite well done and a fine experience, outside of my shouting match with a local blue haired biddy over whether I could park on red stones (I lost)…packed opening night at the Playhouse which is good to see, plus we are usually the youngest people there, which is GREAT to see….Then last night, we went to Stratton Ski Mountain to see the legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band straight from my beloved N’Awlins (father’s day gift from Tess and Jake, bless their hearts). Big, big tent and I got to hang outside with the jazzmen as they were getting ready to take the stage. With the six of them, they tripled the color apparent in the audience.. though typical of NOLA, they presented all kinds of mixed shades of mulatto colors…which is probably why they were allowed to enter the state (are they really black?)…consummate musicians…..

And amongst the highlights of this week , we watched as much as could take (actually Jenn slept , while I howled) of The Trailer Park Boys at the North Pole…this is priceless hi-brow entertainment-can you dig it?

So- now we are getting ready  for our first dinner party of the summer tonight…for which Jenn has a six page house cleaning list…plus there is always THE POND I may suddenly need to attend to……

We are off to the heartland for our mid-summer visit this week and gone for ten days…with any luck the squirrels have found a better hotel deal this year…So- no Blog next week and who knows for the week after. Will you miss me? How about each of you send me YOUR BLOG next Sunday instead…can you dig it?

Happy mid-summer dreams to all…and to all a good night….ho…ho….ho…………………………….

Monsieur Stuard

Happy mid-July to all:

“With your chrome heart shinin’ in the sun…..long may you run”…………………………..Neil Young

“ Sorry I’m not home

to take your call. At the tone

please state your bad news”……………………………………………………….Haikus for Jews

 

It’s been a quiet week in the mountains. The grass has been growin’, the flowers have been bloomin’, the frogs have been froggin’, the birds have been chirpin’…and not a lot much else has gone on.

The week started with our annual Mt. Holly Daze cookout at milfoil- filled Star Lake (the town spent several billion last year to reclaim it, but have been foiled by the milfoil- whatever that is). Potluck, grilled dead meat, lounging in the grass in the midday sun with our neighbors and sort -of friends. Lots of spilled food- so a real bonanza for little Lucy.

THE POND has reached a next level of clarity…..seeking it’s spot in Better Homes and Gardens…..after a mere: 2000 packets of bacteria dumped in, an entire colony of crayfish nibbling the undergrowth, 650 barrels of algae removed via kitchen strainer and the various floatation devices spouting water at all hours of the day and night. And….I came home from town on Wednesday afternoon, to the startling site of Jenn floating around in the pond in one of our gifted deluxe floating rafts….her first time entering the sludge in five years, which so startled Lucy, that she was running around the entire pond in non-stop circles to try and figure out what had befallen poor Jenn….

And…have I mentioned our home improvement projects lately?……well we now have new countertops sprawled through the house and painted walls going up the stairs and into the upper hallway, AND, significant progress on her 3 month long journey to replace the stairway carpet with some kind of tread system……and soon the new upstairs carpet is coming , to be scheduled in with the sixteen remaining summer projects on the forewoman’s list….. you’ll be glad to know I have found a Marriott up at White River Junction that apparently needs my attention this week……..

So, I made my yearly trek this week  to see the medicine woman who provides “integrated positional therapy” (this is for real and you can only imagine) in the little schoolhouse in the woods that takes nine dirt roads to get to…and now am semi-healed until I get back to Ohio to visit with the beloved Shaman – whence we make our mid-summer visit…only in Vermont…..

Midweek found us at the first show of the season at the Weston Playhouse…a stunning reproduction of the play/film “Once”…fourteen very talented musicians on the tiny stage replicating a pub in Olde Dublin (Ireland, not Ohio)…..we are constantly amazed at the quality of these productions and that it takes us 17 minutes of driving down through the mountains with nary another car in site…we have now seen “Once” twice…..and this all for the “Vermonter” price of 25 bucks a ticket for center floor seats…..so, what’s not to like?

The rest of the week was consumed with dinner preparations. On Friday, we had our friend, Linda, over for supper. She is a delightfully funny little woman who is some kind of consultant, working for a company out of Boston, that is spreading some kind of scheme to cure cancer via the use of various non-toxic poultices (or something like that, I think). She and her husband, Phillippe, have finally semi- relocated from Arkansas (really) and looking to become full time mountaineers. In the interim, she is living here, while Phillippe, who is a Parisian born chef, has found a head chef seasonal job at some fancy yacht club up in the Bermuda triangle hinterlands, south of Burlington (which, you may remember is almost like being in Vermont). Phillipe is a very desirable catch in the Vermont foodie obsessed culture as he sounds distinctly like Maurice Chevalier, which in and of itself, raises a four star establishment to an automatic five star….

And then last night we had our fist overnight personal guests; a friend of Jenn’s from her wok in Marysville and his girlfriend, a music director for Delaware city schools (who very closely sounded like and resembled Georgeanne from the Mary Tyler Moore show). Jenn outdid herself with a locally-grown, organic, grass-fed, non-toxic, anti-bulimic, free-range, did I say organic?….and tasty meal…followed up with key lime pie made with a base of avocado and crust of figs and nuts……I later snuck to the fridge for ice cream..…nice folks, nice visit, short and gone, the way we  like it (not of course, if you are the ones coming)

So- that’s it for the quiet week…..much, much more action due this week…..in the meantime- a short test, if you will. If you have made it this far in reading this weeks’ musings, then maybe you would let me know. I get very little response for the weekly nuances, so once in a while get to wondering if anybody besides Jenn, Max and the Nave are reading this..…this is your chance to be counted amongst the loyal reader base and be entered into a contest to have a free subscription for life……..…But Wait………………………

 

Insha allah……Stubert

Greetings fellow Patriots:

“Nothing can bring you peace but yourself”…..Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The wily red fox-

at temple, I spy it paws

lurking in a stole”……………………………………..Haikus for Jews

 

The bear has gone…along with all our bird feeders…replaced by a large box turtle that I almost mowed over on the tractor last weekend…40 minutes crossing the yard for 30 feet, and oblivious to my mowing and to Lucy’s frantic barking and jumping…does he know his giant brother lives in the pond?

Speaking of THE POND…knock on stripped project walls…it remains clean and flowing (waiting for bathers) and now the lily pads have started to return to the surface above where Jenn buried them on a ledge when the whole thing was totally empty last fall…..it’s like a wild life sanctuary in there…

And this week, the yard and the surrounding mountains, have begun their free fall of summer color…flowers sprouting their beauty left and right…alas to last only a short time…have I mentioned that summer in the mountains lasts about two weeks?

We had wonderful Indian guests (dots, not feathers) last weekend. I can’t remember their names but they all began with a consonant. In preparation for their arrival, I put on a sari and placed a rainbow dot in the middle of my forehead..…but Jenn made me take them off….. even though I was right and the mother of the young couple showed up with both the dress and the dot (who knows his guests?). They did not eat out for three days (mama had cooked up a storm), and our house still is filled with the aromas of week old Indian food. And..…they had lived for many years in Columbus, the young man at Ohio State (I.T.-duh) and the parents running a 7-11 at 270 and 33 (double duh)…so we had a lot in common….plus they had some serious misgivings about The Donald…..obviously, we liked them, despite the olfactory overload…

Another fourth of July in Mt. Holly…and thus another masterful edition of THE PARADE in out tiny village of Belmont. Jenn is now the Queen of the Community Association, so she spent days building the float and all morning preparing for the 11 am rave up….which, as usual, lasted about six minutes…..mostly with farm animals (free range, of course) and fire trucks. See Jenn in her Zen- in the parade pix…that’s my Queen….

One thing about the Belmont parade…more dogs than people, so Lucy had a wonderful Fourth…replete with post parade drive over to Castleton way to Roxy’s Famous (they really are) Fries for a little patriotic lunch…lots of scraps of fries spilled on the floor from the gallon containers they sell (cholesterol free)…plus she gets to share my baby Creamee cone…which makes Jenn foam at the mouth. Roxy’s is her favorite place, aside from Walmart, where she is greeted each Saturday like the mother of dragons (what is coming back next week?). The store folk all know her now, and the customers beam as she waltzes by in some sort of heaven with all the offerings at her nose level on the bottom shelves..…my take is she makes their day for about 80% of the shoppers…and 20% would like to take her out and shoot her…especially when she barks at the stuffed dogs

And by the way, how about Twin Peaks (the Return). Has there ever been a more twisted and bizarre show on the tube? What would it be like to have dinner with David Lynch?

This week was the start of the summer Music on the Green in Belmont, so we packed a picnic and headed off to see local legends Gypsy Reel on Thursday. Have I mentioned that the legendary Bunty Station boys are making the cross country trek in late August to appear here on The Green in concert? For real, the lord willing and the creek….

And finally (you probably reached that point three paragraphs and twenty minutes ago)….The Projects (please someone, hire me, so I can travel somewhere to stay in a Marriott for a week!!!)…the countertops are coming, and carpet being ordered. the steps are being stripped of their glued down carpet two at a time, and then sanded …..soon to be stained, painted and little wooly mammoth runners put on…..then there is the paint job for the stairwell and upper hallway…then the kitchen floors, the roof repairs and maybe digging out one whole wall along the basement….I say my prayers at night but salvation does not appear to be on the way any time soon…………but, then, who knows……we could get flooded and just wash away….

Love from the reluctant helper….and enjoy your longish summer,

 

Stu

Happy Freedom Day….can we have Freedom and Donald at the same time?………………………………..Zen question

“Let go, or be dragged.”……………………………………..Zen Proverb

“The curved greenish twig

is a snake! Time to go back

to our hotel room”…………………………………..Haikus for Jews

 

Short week…Rain, rain and more rain. We were filling Noah’s Ark last night after 6 torrential thunderstorms…..the porch s leaking, the barn is soaked, we have our first ever standing water….and THE POND is flowing and celebrating..…flash floods throughout the state and the mountains are dripping at every crevice…..the stream that has the bridge that gets you to our house is looking like Hoover Dam-see the pix…we may be stranded soon if this keeps up

Left town for three days to get some distance from the house projects…went to N’awlins…..worked, walked, ate, listened….hotter than hell….came back to many more deliveries from Amazon and a spate of new home improvements…looking for another Marriott escape soon

THE POND may be cleanest ever….knock, knock, knock  on wood……even starting to pull up weed- swamp grasses around the edges….water movement, crayfish, bacteria…the magic formula?

Hydroplaned down to Rutland last night for a feast at the beloved East…after the Jewish fish monger came over to help me put a new deck belt on the tractor after Jenn snapped the last one in a million pieces with her enthusiastic ZEN mowing practice….how many urban Jewish kids does it take to put on a tractor belt?

No Bear visit this week…but I think they may be taking up residence next door, where the property is returning to its primordial state since the new owners have not been here since they bought the place…you may need machetes to hack your way up to our house when you come…

That’s it…what is there to say….the mountains are wet…..and GREEN….and there is music in the air………Yahoo…..

 

Stu-Man

“The more a thing tends to be permanent, the more it tends to be lifeless”……Alan Watts

“Tea ceremony-

steam, incense, lacquered bamboo.

Try the cheese Danish.”………………………………………………..Haikus for Jews

 

Greetings fellow seekers:

See the endless Green….everywhere is GREEN…summer has arrived in the mountains and it is lush with flowers, fauna and black flies…..75 and sunny with nights in the high 40s…G_D time in Vermont

And THE POND…after three master kitchen strainer skims, two bacteria treatments, 50 crawfish, three little worthless solar fountains and…and the spouting pump…it is clear as a bell…swim-time anyone?

Overall, quite a busy week with the home beautification projects in full swing. Came back from Europe to a house of construction. Jenn has her six page list of projects and determined to get them underway…..kitchen wallpaper stripped and walls painted, side of house and barn scraped and painted by our new best man, Yanu (per the usual mountain repair men, Yanu shows up and leaves at unpredictable times, and takes regular Wi-Fi breaks since he has no service elsewhere), new kitchen countertops measured and ordered, and more painting, fixing and flooring underway. We have the daily review of the project list as well as planned projects for the next six years…all of which tells me it is time for me to head out of town very soon…need a Marriott for quiet, rest and contemplation….

Which led us on a foraging trip to Home Depot (successful) and Bed, Bath and Beyond (not so much)- where we had a 20% off coupon that Jenn was determined to use. I wandered around but could not find anything that wasn’t a lot cheaper at Walmart, even with the 20%…..and then lost Jenn…..who I found rolling around the floor in the bedding section….took a half nelson or two for me to manually drag her out of there, with bedding swatches stuck in her teeth.

After one more day of torrential rain last weekend, Sunday turned nice for Dad’s day- so we took me on a hunt for some color…ranging up to Dartmouth to a quirky art house movie and dinner with the Indian folk. Just to make sure we were not wandering too far from the Vermont truth, we took a gorgeous twilight drive down Route 5 and the Connecticut River, stopping at the Windsor Snack Bar for Maple Creamees (see Jenn excited)

Tuesday we made the afternoon an outing with trip up to Woodstock and four mile jaunt up to Mt. Tom- perfect hiking day and magnificent view of one of New England’s most “picture-perfect” villages from the top (how many steeples can one town have?). No one else on the trail- so Lucy had free run and and got in her sixteen circular miles to our four. We got back in time to take up a last minute dinner and drinks invite from our friends John and Lydia, who live at the top of the hill once in a blue moon (these are wild folk from the Boston hub of the Irish) and spent an evening of unmitigated  laughter and debauchery..…crawling back down the mountain at midnight. Luckily, they only show up periodically or we would be in trouble.

But wait….the REALLY BIG news of the week, was an addition to our mountain household. For three straight nights this week, we have entertained (not willingly) a Big –Ass Black Bear, who has tromped through the gardens, shit all over the yard and  destroyed two very large bird feeders (bending a ten foot steel pole in half….see the pictures…this is for real) and causing general havoc in the middle of the night. When he passes in the shadows, Lucy gets the scent of a lifetime and goes nuts, running around the house howling and lunging at the windows…and momentarily  later, Jenn follows suit, running to the doors and shouting “You go…You go now”) I’m  wondering how many times a bear shits in one sitting? We are now forced for the time being to take Lucy out on a leash at night- so she does not become Bear fixins.

Yesterday was another beautiful hot day, so we headed out early for town and the Dump, the post office/general store (Breakfast sandwiches) and down to the hamlet of Castleton and Lake Bomoseen for the annual town wide garage sale. There is a big beautiful boulevard running through the middle of Castleton with graceful old manse-houses on both sides and a small 100 year old college right in town (even has a diner!). There is an old rail station that still has passenger trains and some cute cafes. And, Lake Bomoseen is a beauty- surrounded by mountains with gently lolling waters in a visual panorama of splendor (did I really say that?). But still…when it comes down to it…people’s junk is people’s junk…though it didn’t stop us from buying some assorted shit we don’t need.

So…time to go…my young yard-boy, Seamus, has arrived…to assist with picking up the 17 pounds of bear turd…and are we really glad to see him? He just graduated (since last summer has grown four inches, inherited a car, a goatee and an Afro…and has a girlfriend) and has been too busy with school and such to come over until now, which has led us to less desirable yard-boy performance options. Seamus is the closest thing to THE Marcus that there is…..so work to do, projects to review, places to go, mountains to climb….and the is always more bedding to consider…..

Off to New Orleans this week for some heat, work and gumbo…but see you soon.

 

Stu-Bert

 

Buenos Diaz my Familia y Amigos (and happy Father’s Day to all the Papas):

“ Ain’t it good to be back home again”……………………………..John Denver

 

“Is one Nobel prize, too much to ask from a child, after all I’ve done”……..Haikus for Jews

Got back this Wednesday after ten day extravaganza in Spain and Portugal with Max…17.5 pounds of luggage to meet strict carry-on standards for overseas flights on Spanish airlines, 58 hours to get home form the southwest tip of Portugal, 253 pictures and serval dozen forms of Tapas….There are more pix than usual attached to this- could not decide on which to include. At the end of this week’s Blog there is also a summary trip report for those of you who have that kind of interest. If you wish to see the full photo journal –you can find it at: https://photos.shutterfly.com/story_invite/f4831f5e-9a22-48fd-96ae-8bf0d33e4779/100147634772

Jenn picked me up at the Amtrak station in Albany for the majestic ride up Route 7 back to the Greens…and it is GREEN…summer has hit in full force….and the sun even came out for a three days in a row…before it started raining again. sine I have only been home for three days in the last two weeks- I will make this a short Blog…if you don’t count the plethora of photos and the trip report…but then again, short is hardly my middle name..

Got back to find that while the cat was away… the Jenn did play…establishing five ongoing house projects (wallpaper gone, tchotchkes hidden, pieces of countertop and carpet tucked in corners, new bedding snuck in everywhere)…which will teach me to wander off across the pond…

Speaking of which, THE POND had regressed back to a former life, with slime and algae covering the surface. Now, this is not supposed to happen…no, no, no….so despite persistent jet lag (rising at 4:30 in a daze), the sunny day on Thursday found me returning to my very unwanted roots…back in the pond in kayak with the kitchen  strainer. Fortunately, unlike previous battles, this is mostly surface stuff. Nevertheless, 3 hours of floating and skimming, bad sunburn and a pulled grain muscle later….the Pond is mostly back to its faux-pristine state. which initiated my first swim of the summer in the newly strained and blessed water. But, then again-no rest for the weary…so we went to see the Trout King for fish and advice –and came back home with 25 more crayfish and three min-solar fountains to move the water. They are pretty cute, but only work in absolute deadly full on sun ray blast, and then kind of dribble water out. So we hauled out the old pump, got a new spray attachment and, Voila, the water is flowing on timer for six hours a day…which ostensibly will keep it crystal clear (who’s kidding who?).

So- now I can fully concentrate on jet lag and fining my hidden tchotchkes (and sneaking back to Walmart to return the hidden beddings that have not been placed in rotation yet).

Back in the saddle- we made it down to Sam’s in Ludlow for the beloved early bird dinner and opt the Rutland Farmer’s Market and related all day shopping activities on Saturday. Since today is Pops Day…we are making the trek to Dartmouth this afternoon for a real movie and dinner served by people of some color.

I think that is enough…after all, what more is there really to say. Enjoy the pix and the report- if you are a glutton…and catch you after the paint dries, the countertops are up and the house resembles Jenn’s vision of pure mountain delight.

 

Estuardo

 

 

Europe 2017– the Berry boys eat, walk, transport and generally go around in circles for nine days through Spain and Portugal. Left the mountains via 2 hour lift from Jenn down to Albany, the Amtrak to NYC Penn station,, subway out to far side of Queens, Air-train to JFK, five hour sit after clearing security with ten thousand other immigrants (was this styled after Ellis Island?) and 6.5 hour flight on Air Europa…all making a representative sampling of transport in the modern world. After breezing through Madrid customs (they seem much more civilized about this kind of stuff) grabbed a cab to the very loosely appointed meet-up spot- rounding a corner to find the boy leaning ever so nonchalantly on the ancient walls in the flesh. A night and day in Madrid included endless walking, art (largest ever Picasso retro at the national museum (which is free from 7-9 nightly- special travel tip), olives, bread, oil, tapas and Sangria. …the jet lag led to walking around the city endlessly before 6 a.m. – which made us pretty much the only people on street, as Madridians do not appear to be early risers after late night consumptions. So-we leave town on the high speed (600 miles in 2.5 hours) train to Cordoba (can you say Ricardo Montalban) in the south and west of Spain; full of ancient history, cobbled streets, castles, lilting music and a lot more Tapas than one should consume….plus the olives, bread and oil…now adding Iberian (Sorrento) ham into the mix. Walked around streets in ferocious Mediterranean sun to search out long extinguished Jewish Quarter (they pre-dated Nazis by four hundred or so years in taking care of this business), and long dormant one room “Sinagogin”. We found the one remaining Jew, who of course, runs a fine restaurant, offering the “late bird” special of 40% off dinner-in a walled courtyard with ancient Sephardic music (something Elton John-ish)…..more Sangria, much more walking…Max hitting low point of no sleep and no BM (tired and full of shit). So-we leave the heat, take another train and head for Seville (Sa-Bee-Yah)…….where it is even hotter. Quartered ourselves in center of city in hostel type lodging- which meant a ten by ten room (Max with his own bunk beds), shared WC and a wheeled in AC unit, which took up a third of the ten-by space. More towers, art, LOTS more Tapas- best anywhere; 5 dishes – plus Sangrias plus dessert -for two=20 Euros). Hit the required Flamenco extravaganza, art museum with maximum Goya and Dali (how many Spanish men have Dali mustaches?). Had enough heat for lifetime-so much I had no usable undies or socks-so washed them out in common area kitchen sink one morning- which led Max to ruminate about whether this was actually a universally accepted custom? This seemed like a good time to head for the bus station and three hour bus ride to Portugal (bus station a microbe of Spanish culture in all forms)- heading for Faro on the southwest coast. Spent several hours negotiating the finding of the rental car (we got of bus at airport but car was left for us the train station). Once located, it was off to find the beaches. Spent first night in surreal full-hose rental in newly built suburb…..with a washer, by golly. Had dinner in hopping oceanfront resort of Ohayo (go Bucks?)- where had the feast –of- all- shellfish feast (so fresh they jumped off plate into our drooling mouths), which with local beers, local cheese, olives and breads- set us back 30 euros (Portugal more expensive than Spain). Next morning I woke to find Max gone- off to find some guy who would rent him a surfboard for a week….and so we set off in search of The Waves. Wandered sun-drenched south Portugal coast-about as different from urban Spain as you can get. Dramatic cliffs, plunging to the sea all along the coast, with private little beaches at every turn (apparently for the Amore!) and small resort beach towns filed with Ex-pat Brits (who knew). Made our way to the southwest tip of Portugal (and Europe for that matter) at Zagress an then San Clementi- which resembled the parking lot of a Dead show vibe and then headed up the west coast to national park area of Arrafina, where we stayed in mountain retreat above the majestic sea; Max getting in some surfing and discovering waves so high that they were spraying the 100 foot high cliffs along the sea (thankfully, he stayed out of those). Everywhere we stopped at, Rock of Gibraltar like formations. Aside for the very good seafood, the dining in Portugal was not quite up to Spain-Tapas standards-not the beloved five course Tapas. On our last day together, Max decided to adapt his travel plans to take in the annual Portugal Week festivities (renowned debauchery- complete with barbequed Sardines at every corner. So- instead of the original plan to drop me off the airport to catch my flight Madrid, we head into the heart of Lisbon to last minute hotel Max booked for himself in the heart of the old city-and the preparations for the extravaganza. After a dizzying about of circles both in the car and on foot, we found the hotel and then the super-secret underground parking garage (five floors under the city- who knew?) and were able to spend some time inspecting the city. Tour done- and after multiple cheek kissing (not sure how many times is correct for ach European country)- we put me in a cab to beat the oncoming hordes- and got to the airport and flight on semi-notorious TAP Portugal Air. Five hours sitting and not a single word later- we board our very late flight to Madrid-arriving there at 1 a.m.-  enough time for me to take wired walk, go to bed in a very nice room, get up, take another stroll, find bread and oil….and head back to the airport for my cross pond flight. After 8.5 hours of sitting (blessed event- seat next to me empty) I arrived at JFK (already up for 24 hours) and had the good fortune of being picked up by my Cousin Sherry and her driver, Ari, for trip up to north Bronx to spend the night. End of day Two in cousin’s apartment in Riverdale; next morning a ride to subway, down to Penn Station, Amtrak to Albany and Jenn picking me up to do reverse ride home. The Greens were a sight to see. Total Return time= 58 hours and three days. 3 flights, 4 trains, 1 bus, 1 car tour, 60-70 miles walked, 650 olives, 15 glasses fresh Valencia OJ, 10 cups olive oil, 57 servings of bread, dozens of Sangrias……and nine days with The Prodigal……PRICELESS