Category: Green Mountain Blog

Hello all and warm greetings from the summer heat of Toledo:

Back in Ohio for two weeks for the big wedding and fit in a trip up north before heading back to the green mountains on Saturday. Thought I would take some hotel time to make my latest submission.

Weather in Vermont- this is the glory time in the mountains- mid 70s during the day-mid 40s at night. Went down to N’Awlins for three days two weeks ago and hit md 90s with 100% humidity- left there at 8 in morning at 90 plus- got back to my house at 7 at night to 41 degrees-…that is a weird experience. All of this perfect weather makes the mountains so lush all you see is green wherever you look. Have to use our electric heater at night.

Farm Marketing in Vermont- we love farm markets and go far and wide to find new ones. A quite interesting mix of tenth generation Vermonters and the counter culture with its organics everything. Spent a nice Sunday afternoon two weeks ago searching out the little market in Dorset- which is set on route 30 in a valley between two mountain ranges. Small market in a grassy clearing along the road with the coming of the short fresh veggie season and lots of flowers and herbs- which have replaced bedding on Jen’s must have list.

Kayaking- we had our second outing to little Elfin Lake- a real find; a small private community lake just outside of Wallingford that is free and open to the public (at least we think it is?). Little beach surrounded by mountains and a nice little paddle around. . Nice place for a naked dip which I could not resist- but got stuck in water when some preppie gal came riding by on her standing kayak (several times- what was she looking for?). We took Liz back there for her going away to college day out and spent most of the afternoon floating around on out little rafts. Have now mastered stuffing the kayaks in back of car rather than the odyssey of getting them on top.

Music in the basement- have now made it back to my Monday night music group. Had a nice welcome back and was already penciled in for a few lead numbers at the next performance in August. Everyone was very kind except my nemesis woman who got up and left shortly after I arrived- not sure if it is my status as permanent flatlander or the smell of the pond which I had spent much of day in prior to coming to play. Have been working on some new songs and got to do them with the Bunty boys when I got back home to Ohio for wedding visit.

Making our first walk to town—On an overcast and temperate day we decided we would walk into town. This consists of walking out the back of our house , up the class four logging raid through the woods onto the other side to the extension of Gates Road, out to the main Belmont road and then a mile or so into town. Seemed very doable…but there are a LOT of hills and LOT of black flies in the woods. We took no water. Walk there was pretty nice-kind of seeing everything from a different viewpoint than from the car. At the general store, we had lunch, got the mail and watched the eyes of amazement from the kid at the counter when we told her where we had walked from. The walk back seemed endless- almost impossibly all up hill and right after lunch. Some really nice vistas as we topped the ridge before heading down. But all in all turned out to be about 13 miles and four hours (did I say no water?) and a lot of bug bites. Jen got home and went to get a massage at the massage trailer.

First show of the season- The Weston Playhouse made its season debut and we hit opening night for the world premiere of “Vinyl and Analog”. Continued to be amazed at the quality of the theater (and price- 25 buck for residents) and especially the live music from the basement. Where do these guys come from? Great sound system and acoustics too. The play was about the devil trying to trade her favors(ala Robert Johnson)….. the soul of a fading record store owner in exchange for success for he and his ailing father. A three person virtuoso performance with really good rock and roll. Saw three cars on the drive home which was a record. Had diner in Rutland beforehand at our new favorite- Table 24. Broadway in the sticks . Next show is next week.

First dinner of the season- at our house with the neighbor clan including the visiting family from NC in town for the month long graduation event. We ate for the first time on our back porch at the massive table and with no light so it got pretty dark pretty quick. Classic American cookout food with all the trimmings and then Jen spent an hour trying to light wet wood in the back 40 to make s’mores while we all got bit up. Speaking of the neighbors and boundaries (were we?) we have had difficulty with; while we have been in Ohio- Jen called to see how Josh’s 16th birthday went (we sent him more camouflage to help him hide better) and asked to talk to Liz since it was her last night night before she leaves for the culinary institute way up in Montpelier. Josh said she was not home- which is a newsflash since these kids never go anywhere. Jen asked where she was and he told her she was up spending the night at our house-which was bit of a surprise. Guess it’s a communal house now.

THE WEDDING- suffice to say it was magnificent event. Many of you attended and it was an amazing gathering of the clans. Perfect day, beautiful ceremony, wild dancing at the reception, and the longest reception line in history (220 people). I got to walk my baby down the aisle, which created a fair amount of moisture. The crazy patchwork “centerpiece project” was a huge success and everyone seemed very happy. More coming with pictures when ready. I myself decided there were enough picture takers- so concentrated over 3 days on taking 300 pictures of the wedding goer’s shoes-which raised some eyebrows but generally was a big hit. Have sent out a shutterfly with 118 of these weird photos- so if you didn’t get it and want to- let me know. The newlyweds are now on the beach in PR, the family have gone home, the canopies have come down and the world is moving on…-and we need to get aback to the mountains.

More soon. Love, STU

Hello all and warm greetings from the VERY Green Mountains:

Actually writing from 25,000 feet over Carolinas on way to New Orleans for a few days. Love N’Awlins but not looking forward to oppressive heat after the wonderful days and cool nights of Vermont. We have settled back in to our little country home now after the month long ordeal at the house of horrors, and are starting to really get settled, catch up and get in some wandering. We have even unpacked hidden boxes and hung up some art in the few inches of available wall space left. So here are some highlights of the last week and a half- with accompanying pictures attached above (pix are in chronological order- so you can look at the matching ones as you read along for full effect):

The House of Horrors gets finished (more or less)- we wrapped up our month of work at the old house last week and only have a few small and really heinous tasks to finish- hoping someone will make an offer without noticing these places. Our young friend, Spencer, who has helped us so much goes under knife today for one more very major surgery on his almost lost arm- so we will have to finish up without him for a while. The house is on the MLS listing- but no bites yet- we may wind up paying someone to take it. Some pictures attached of rooms in best (most favorable to sell) light with curtains and rugs.

The smallest post office in the world- on the way back from our last of the trauma at the Groton hose- we meandered to relieve the stress and hit the absolute smallest post office in the world in West Topsham Vermont (and then then the classic Windsor diner)- does someone actually spend all their days working here?

Graduation days in the Green Mountains- our neighbor girl, Liz, had her high school graduation last week and since the family has no local social contacts- we became de facto participants. This resulted in three major events in four days: senior class day, awards night and the graduation ceremony. I can safely say I went to less graduation activities for my own kids. The Black River HS (Ludlow, Vt.) class of 2014 was around 40- so very small with all events in the HS gym. A very big deal- compared to larger locales and we had no idea what anyone was talking about- but did our best to be long lost relatives. Awards night had the presentation of around 50 scholarships ranging from $500- $2000- 80% oh which went to the same three kids. With not working and earning much, I tried to talk Jenn into waiting outside for them with masks on- but she was just not up for it(Godfather One- wedding scene!). So Liz is now a graduate and off to culinary school in Montpelier in a few weeks.

Post- Graduation freedom- after three days of events we had had enough- so we declined the post grad cookout and headed off across the border to New Hampshire for dinner. In Vt., this represents real escapism. We soon realized we did not have the energy and instead went to the monthly community supper at the Odd Fellows Hall (really!)- which meant we were done in about an hour. Since we really did not want to do more graduating- we felt we could not go home (have to drive past the party) so soon- so went off in search of solitude- finding it at the mystical Weston Priory. I’m convinced this place has something to do with the Da Vinci code- but they claim it to be an order of Benedictine monks that occupies this amazing chunk of prime real estate and sculpted grounds outside the hamlet of Weston. In any case- the brothers were apparently in the midst of two weeks of silence- so we neither heard nor saw anyone- and got to just wander around, in and out, and soak up the vibe. By the time we finished- we had managed to stay out long enough to gracefully return home.

Jews in Vermont- I have now seen two evidences that there are Jews in Vermont: when I fly out of the tiny Rutland airport on the magnificent six seater prop plane, there appears to be an overgrown field across the road from the airport entrance with a sign that says “Jewish Cemetery”. I imagine the location has something to do with to need to fly out bodies quickly given time constraints on Jewish burial. And then, the local Hannaford’s grocery, had this massive display a month ago with hundreds of bottles of Gold’s Beet Horseradish- which I can tell you is the cat’s meow- and they had it for 50 cents a bottle (I foolishly bought only one and then the display was gone). I figure they must have gotten a Passover shipment that was supposed to go to a store in Brooklyn and had no idea what to with this stuff- so sold it at wholesale.

Father’s Day in the mountains- and a happy one to all of you fine dads out there in blog-land- or surrogate dads, or soon to be dads. So we spent Father’s Day furniture shopping. So in Vermont-one goes over to New Hampshire to buy furniture because they are still busy living free or dying- which means no sales tax. So we went to North Walpole (really!) to Aumands’ family furniture and bought us a new sofa/love-seat combo for the “den”. The den furniture was really the only things of any sort that Karen, our benefactress, had left for us that really needed to be gotten rid of (she offered to do it for us- but we needed something to lay on, right?). So we made a good deal with Aumand and he brought us furniture the next day- all the way across the state line- and schlepped away the good will stuff. Good buy, no? We then stopped for a nice Fathers’ Day lunch at this really weird Chinese restaurant just north of Bellows Falls. Its apparently in an old stagecoach inn and sits way high on a bluff overlooking the Connecticut River- great views- good food, Chinese for lunch- what’s not to like. We then meandered the rest of the way home- taking our usual three hours to travel less than one- stopping for a Sunday stroll through downtown Saxton’s River- where we saw no human beings for the hour we were there. Nice way to spend a Sunday.

Stu gets back on The Pond- hard to believe that lessons are so difficult to learn- but this week we were trying to get the area around the pond hacked down. It has been so wet that we have had a virtual forest growing up around the rim. So- I asked the neighbor boy, Josh, to work on whacking it down- but apparently Vermonters are a bit scared of water- so he did not get too close. So- I’m looking at it and thinking about what to do- and before anyone know it- I am once again in the muck – pulling out fronds (yes- fronds…) and lilies and brown slush from the lagoon by hand. I think the pictures pretty well capture it. Upside was that it as a incredible bonding time for the frogs, toads and Stu.

First Kayak in Vermont- as you may remember, when Karen came up to help us with the house, she did the gift of schlepping up our kayaks- which have been resting up in the back of the barn after the long journey. So- after a week at home of getting our proverbial house in order- we thought it was time for some recreation. Now- our friend Jane gave us our nifty kayak roof holders- so we go out in the blazing hot sun at peak time to throw them on top. Two hours later, sweating profusely and with semi hernia- we have them on and are ready for napping. So- we only make it as far as Star Lake which is five minutes away in town of Belmont…and full of mostly the same sludge as my pond. But- we are going to kayak- so we push through the sludge onto the fronds and then onto the bed of water lilies. We did have a nice lunch sitting in the middle of the lake- but basically you can paddle around the lake in about 15 minutes. So- first time,…not so much. BUT- we then realized- as we looked at the damn kayak holders on the roof- that we could barely fit the kayaks (if really well knotted down) into the back of Jeep- which took about six minutes. We’ll do better next time

That’s about it for now. Heading back to Ohio a week from Saturday for the blessed event- so will be blogged down until after most likely. Hope to see many of you there.

Love and kisses,

Stu

Hello to all:

It’s a fine Sunday morning in Vermont; yesterday was over 80 degrees and yet the night was an autumn- like 50 or so with a magnificent Halloween looking moon. So- apparently spring, such as it is, has come to the Green mountains. Frankly, we almost missed it- as one day it was bare tress and the next day everything was green and lush and we started having to mow when we rolled out of bed in the morning. Spring goes pretty fast up here.

Our time here has been overshadowed by spending most of the last three weeks working on the house of horrors in Groton- our original and insane Vermont house purchase. What were we thinking? 23 rooms, two barns and an apartment, in the most remote part of Vermont? As most of you know – we had a really bad situation with our last renters- finally getting them out after months of no pay on rent. The house looked like post holocaust France once they left- and we have spent a collective total of over 300 hours over last three weeks- basically living there; which also means no furniture or heat, no internet or phone and sleeping on air mattresses until they run out of air and leave us on the cold floor at 2 in the morning. It has been an undertaking for the ages- but we are just about done and the house is listed on the market If you want to see it – the link is: http://www.nnerenmls.com/nne/maildoc/sd_RzyoyC20140531213556.html

We have had the great fortune to be assisted by our young renter from the apartment, Spencer, who is not working since he lost most of one arm to a logging accident last summer. He is an amazing young guy- not only with great skills and problem solving ability (plus thousands of dollars of tools) but a wry sense of wacky humor that has left us laughing through day after day of 14-15 hours of demanding physical labor. He has dubbed Jenn the lesbian queen since she has not showered in weeks and calls me Miaggi (from the karate kid) for my endless window washing (left da circle….)We would not have survived without him .The process has left us as one with Home Depot and the only Walmart in Vermont, plus regulars of the truck stop in Wells River which stays open until ten –so we can drag our asses down there to eat and access internet and phone. The French Canadian truck drivers coming down I-91 and stopping there to eat move to the other side of the room when we enter with our Holocaust -cleaning smells. . We pretty much called it a wrap after our last gonzo day this Friday and it’s in pretty amazing shape given where we started. So- now we can turn our attention to the maintenance of our other three houses (tell me-what is wrong with this picture?).

While we worked we had periodic visits from “Still Shaky Dave” our Vietnam Vet neighbor who would come down and tell us stories of roaming the jungles.; one day shots went off and he came down running (it was firecrackers) looking for Vietcong in our master bedroom suite. Jenn and I were covered with green paint and had to hide in the closet until he fully wok up (he sleeps most of the day in between patrolling the perimeter). His wife, Deb, pitched in with our cleaning and repairing efforts, in between surreptitious runs to the flea market to buy more stuff.

In between, and on the way to and from, our trips between Mt. Holly and Groton (1 ¾ hours and 89 miles)- we managed to do a few days of the semi- annual Vermont open studio tour –there are an awful lot of potters in Vermont (both types)- and we seemed to have an endless need to buy pottery (as in bedding). We also got to spend a night with our friends George and Connie at their B&B in lovely Brookfield- home of the world’s longest floating bridge until they tore it down last month there’s a great picture of Jenn and Georgie attached with the photo gallery.

We have managed to get in a couple of our classic Vermont eating stops in coming and going between the two houses. Stopped on a beautiful Sunday on the way to spend the night in Brookfield(and buy more pots- not POT!) at Tozier’s- outside Bethel- a long standing family ice cream and fried clam stand, and after our last week’s foray in home remodeling- we stopped on our way home (having not showered in days and covered in paint) at our beloved Harry’s café- which had been closed for the month of May (shoulder season- remember?) and was having their re-opening that night. They have moved from right near our house into Ludlow at the site of a former mafia type gaudy Italian restaurant-which apparently did not resonate with the locals. We got to reunite with our usual server- Katie- who is the definition of post counter culture Vermont chic (raises chickens and pigs, throws pot, does not shower much and has three young kids all named after trees).

So our return to the mountains has not left us much time for leisure as of yet- probably won’t until we return from Tess’ wedding in early July. I even got in a few work trips in last month; most recent involved going to Philadelphia for a conference which is more complicated than it sounds. Took the six seater out of Rutland airport to Boston to catch a connector. Going was a pretty ok flight- though going through eth quasi- TSA proved daunting. The airport is one room school house kind of deal- and they and seven TSA for six passengers. they screened my bag six times –which apparently was the result of “having electronics in my packed dress shoes “ (it was my travel alarm clock). On the way back- we were delayed by thunderstorms and then took off an hour late only to go through a storm at 7000 feet- with the six seater practically going upside down, and my knuckles still white five days later from holding the seat bottom. The pilot spoke no English and the co-pilot slept through the flight (even when upside down). Traveling from here is quite the adventure. I kissed the ground when we got off.

That’s about if for now- hope to have more interesting stuff in the future once we stop figuring out which house to fix next…and now we need to go mow the damn lawn again.

Be well,

Stu

Hello to all:

Since I know everyone has been waiting with baited breath for my return to these dispatches- I wanted to send a quickie to re-establish the blog. We made our way back to Vermont on Sunday the 5th- stopping overnight in Oneonta to visit with Ryan and Lauren in their cool converted barn living space. I guess we were really ready to go since pretty much never stopped between Delaware and Oneonta (we both had cups in the car for bodily functions). We had pawned off bringing up the Kayaks to our friend Karen who was gracious enough to rid us of getting them on the roof of the old girl Jeep. So- we thought packing would be a breeze this year after we had already spent a season here and brought everything known to man here- plus what we had inherited from Karen….two hours later the car top carrier was out and back on and had to be sat on by two of us to close.. Who has this much shit…

After a really hard winter in Ohio (not only the coldest in 100 years- but every heat and water source in our house broke at some point during the winter) we were ready for change. Stu arrived at the house first on Monday morning to meet the plumbers and turn water systems back on. Even in what is called “shoulder season” in Vermont (yes- we are up to seven seasons now in total) the majesty of the mountains as I left Bennington and headed north brought tears to my eyes (may have also been the onions sitting next to me in the car). The house was amazingly unchanged and unaffected; we were not sure how pre- Civil War house like being left unheated all winter. But no plaster crumbling or rats running amok. It was a balmy 20 degrees in the house but the furnace stated right up and I had it up to 50 when Drew the plumber arrived. Water was on in an hour and the house well heated by the time Jenn and the cats arrived. We had a few problems with phone service and hot water but were up and running smoothly within a few days as if we had never left. Larry and Rachel and the kids were really excited to have us back and made supper for us the first night while we were struggling with having no hot water. By the end of the week we had the house pretty much put away and the yard mowed (glory be- every lawn machine started right up after a little Country Jew maintenance)

So –lovely here in Central -Western Vermont, and with the trees blossoming and our gardens went ape shit this week thanks to our benefactress, Karen’s, years of master gardening. I have planted perennials for years but really had no idea you could expect them to come back as mine never really do. The big news in Mt. Holly/Belmont is that our beloved (though cranky) post-mistress, Jane, is retiring (forced out and unhappy about it ) and being replaced by an even more laconic and stoic Vermonter.

It’s kind of quiet around her right now. A lot of businesses take May off to go to Cancun or Burlington- since it is “shoulder season”, and everyone is recovering from the winter (had two feet of snow her the week before we came back). We have managed three walks in the woods so far and a number of Maple Cremees (you’ll have to guess)- but a lot of our time has been overwhelmed with our “other” house in Groton, Vermont- up in the northeast kingdom. We have spent the last six months trying to get the deadbeat renters out – so can try and sell the monster. Finally got them out in mid-April and discovered a house in such bad shape and odor- we had to wear Haz-Mat suits to walk in. How many fist sized holes can two Polacks make? (not a joke, really). The neighbors say that the problem was that they were from Mass.- whatever exactly that means. So- we have been working on getting people into fix some major things, had our neighbor Deb, clean for 45 hours last week and just spent an entire week there ourselves working from dawn to past dusk. Our friend, Karen, drove out from Ohio for the week to help us –which was a gift of the universe, and our young apartment renter, Spencer, turned out to be an incredibly hard worker and skilled house-man- even though he is operating with only one arm (logging accident last year). And to top it off, he kept us laughing all week. We got mountains of stuff done (pulling up cat pee stained carpets should get you into heaven, no questions asked) and young Spencer is now set loose with a six page list for the coming week – while we have the burden of going down to New Orleans (work,,,Really). We will beading back up there for another week on Memorial Day weekend once the Haz-Mat suits are dry cleaned.

Unfortunately the stress and the time (and cash) involved in trying to sell the Groton house has hampered the joy of our returning a bit, but not totally. Larry is still out there preaching at the Holiday Inn every Sunday and howling at sunset while blessing his God. Liz is getting ready to go to the culinary institute and trying to master Duck L ’Orange and Josh is still keeping his American flag lawn chair behind the barn in case a six point buck happens to show up while he is sitting there.

The woods are lovely dark and deep, but we have promises to keep and miles to go before we sleep.

A few pictures attached and more to come(did I say this was going to be short?). New laptop and can’t figure out how to reduce size of file on photos- so will send pix in several e-mails.

Stu

See attached- may not need the strainer any more……..

Happy Day to all:

Two photo options again this edition- so as not to bore EVERYONE. I’ve attached around 30 of “best of” to go along with the commentary or you can see the whole Monty via the Shutterfly link attached below,. Took a bunch this week with my new Bull Goose Looney camera- which I have no idea how to use, but takes pretty good photos anyway. Photos are of our first snow on Sunday, our ridiculous efforts at faux security and our last hurrah trip to Maine coast for an overnight.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=2CauG7RyxZMm-

We are in crazed process of trying to pack up/shut down house for winter and head back to Ohio on Thursday. We embrace the mantra that everything that could go wrong will do so. Had our entire second floor electric go out this week, which led us to finally track down the fabled electrician. In a gesture of great goodwill- he showed up a little before 7 am on Friday and went around the house like a whirlwind checking things out. We had a list of about a dozen issues but he got the main stuff done- restoring electric and getting long dormant flood lights working for security. Before he came we tried to find the breaker again- throwing all 40 plus breakers (in three distinct boxes) to see what controlled the upstairs; nothing worked but we did get almost all of them labeled and managed to shut down our internet and phone for hours.

We then went down to the bitter end with the oil company- who finally yesterday came and fished the pump out of the $1200 worth of fuel oil they had delivered to us unasked for. Three trips, lots of hassling and a house that has smelled of fuel oil for weeks….it’s fair to say that contractors in Vermont even exceed the lowly national standards for reliability and predictability.

Woke Sunday morning to a winter wonderland- which was amazing (see photos) but has lost its luster as it is now under 20 degrees and we have to do a bunch of outside work. Our punch list may well lead to punches (I believe that is how the term derived?). By Sunday, we already so burnt out from making lists, and trying to change locks, that we took off for an overnight to the coast of Maine (see many , many photos)…highly recommended. We visited Kennebunkport- but did not see George and Barbara, went to the legendary Maine diner and spent a great morning at Ogunquit. Then we had to come home and continue our assault on the house.

A few weeks ago- some people put it in our head that we needed to have home security so that someone would not take all of Karin’s lovely things she left for us. So we began a two week obsession with security options. Suffice it to say- we are un-securable; no reliable phone service to conduit a monitoring plan and police response time of about an hour- during which we think the house could probably be emptied out and reduced to studs. We then looked at non- monitored home alarm systems- but found they would not work in a closed down, freezing house. So we came up with our own brilliant security plan, consisting of lots of padlocks, boarded up windows and doors, fake security signs, fake cameras and bunch of little door and window alarms we got on the internet. I doubt we will become more secure- but we will use a lot of batteries and have a lot of red lights constantly flashing (see photos).

The leaves are all down, the cold has set in and we have to empty out the house…..must be time to leave. So- this is it for the Vermont Blog for 2013. May resume when we get back in spring- since doing an Ohio blog leaves me (and I’m sure, you) short of inspiration. Check out the photos, and have one last major thrill.

We’ll see you all down the road.

Stu

Happy Stick Season to all: Go SOX!!!!!!!!!

My newest form of organized compulsion is to provide my readers (Do I really have any?) with the two photo options- so as not to bore EVERYONE. I’ve attachéd around 25 of “best of” to go along with the commentary (you’re supposed to stop and look at the attached photos that relate as you read the captivating dialog) or you can see the whole Monty via the Shutterfly link attached below,. Too many good photos to take here in the Green Mountains.

http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=6791ea390a85f09d6cbbd47cbb382743&sid=2CauG7RyxZMmc

Stu gets a new camera: this is not quite accurate as the kids and Jenn got me a fancy new cannon digital camera with a big old lens last Christmas. But, Stu is very intimidated by new boxes- so it took me 10 months to open it up. Then it took me an hour to get the strap on and another two hours to get it charged and figure out how to turn it on. At this point, I felt compelled to take it out for a walk; so I did the seven mile loop up the logging road , around to Belmont Rd (all downhill) and the two miles back on the railroad tracks(beat the train home by five minutes, which is good,  as I could not figure out where I would jump off to when it came). So…I know nothing about digital cameras and could barely figure out where the shutter was- but took a bunch of pictures, which Max tells me look better than ever (Photoshop is my new best friend). I have an acquaintance from my folk club that is a pro photographer and I pounded on his door on the way so he could show me how to turn it on and off, but alas, he did not have the grace to be home. It is now safely put away where I can do no harm to it. I have attached few shots for your humor.

Boston: We did our long awaited trip to Boston last week to honor Jenn’s 50th. She had never been there and me only briefly. Luckily, the Sox were in Detroit whipping the Tigers, so it was not as crazy as it could have been. It’s a three hour drive (tried to take the train- but it now goes to NYC and THEN to Boston- about 13 hours worth of scenic travel). Waltzing along on a bright sunny day in the 70s- we immediately turned the wrong way on I-91 and by the time we figured out (sleeping navigator!) we had to cut all the way across Mass. on Route 2…very scenic and harmonious. Then we hit Boston traffic with no idea where we were going and managed to make it safely to Cambridge and the magnificent Hotel Marlowe. The hotel had sent me an e-mail welcoming me days before and asked If I would like to send a photo to put up in the room. Since it was Jenn’s 50th and she is getting old, I sent a pretty racy one of her in better days getting ready to go to a Halloween party in a cat woman outfit (sorry- if you want to see that one on the wall –you’ll have to e-mail me and I’ll have to leave the house for 24 hours to send it). When we got there it was not up yet, so I snuck down and asked if they had gotten it and the whole front desk team went bananas. Apparently, most people send pictures of their pets or children to make them feel at home while away… DUH…Once settled in we did the 3 plus mile walk to Hah-vid Square and communed with the Geeks. We had an extraordinary time. The hotel sent up Champagne and goodies and each night we had a wine hour (see Stu on the velvet couch after four glasses of Red). We did the extraordinary Gardiner Museum (don’t miss this place when you get to Bean-town and walked most of the Freedom Trail; this is an old place you know. Paul Revere is damn everywhere. It was almost 75 degrees both full days we were there and then we had the treat of being taken out to a great Italian dinner in the North End with my kid cousins Travis and Alex (more later). On the way home, we made the pilgrimage to Walden Pond – along with 100 hormonal high school students and then had a real treat of fantastic foliage on the country road drive home (It’s quite a bit south of us and a little remedial in getting the leaves turned). Boston will now be our go- to urban experience while we are in Vermont.

Stick Season in Vermont- So, Vermont has six (not four) seasons like everyone else. Stick Season is the time between when the leaves fall and the first ski snow comes, and it is filled with bare tress and downed sticks…ergo the name. Vermonters love winter and the they love the short summer and glorious autumn, but they just hide away during stick season. Not sure where everyone goes, but it’s kind of dead and a little depressing. Upside is that local restaurants and other attractions offer all kinds of deals to try to get people to leave their houses ( we had a four course diner that was not even an “ early bird” last night for $12.95). The leaves are gone, it gets kind of gray and the farmers’ markets close for the season in most places. We hit one of the last markets of the outdoor season at the bull- goose of all markets, in Rutland, last Saturday. Who knew there were so many root vegetables to be eaten? So, have you ever seen a stalk of brussel -sprouts? (see photo). Wow.. what a work of nature. I thought they just came ready to eat..but apparently they come on giant stalks that you pick them off, which has to be registered with the local sheriff as deadly weapon. People also use Stick Season to prepare for winter, which mean chainsaws going ten hours a day and amazing woodpiles appearing to dot the landscape. Snow is coming soon, so all this activity may cease, and people will come out and dinner will be more expensive.

Modern Urban Living- As I had mentioned, we had a wonderful time with my kid cousins, Travis and Alex, in Boston. After a marvelous dinner on the North End (think Little Italy), we went back to their lovely co-op apartment just down the street from the Boston garden (no parquet floors in the apartment). It’s a two bedroom, but one bedroom is devoted to Alex’s clothes…mostly shoes. She may approach 100 pairs of shoes… it was an overwhelming sight. And Travis’ closet has all his shirts and pants lined up in a color scheme based on the colors of the rainbow…very impressive. What we learned is that young urban folk make sure to have plenty of shoes, toilet paper, and paper towels on hand, lest they get stranded in a snow emergency…you have to see the pictures

Another Dinner Party- People in Vermont appear to love dinner parties, especially in stick season. I think they mostly like checking out other peoples’ houses. We had a reunion with our three friends from our first dinner party, in July, at our house (the thrice divorcee and the military couple) and had a lovely  time. Jenn decided she would make homemade bread and apple crisp ,and then spent ten hours doing it, using about $200 dollars worth of electricity to help the bread rise in front of our eclectic heaters . We had the heater in our bathroom going all night long, which seemed to turn the whole upstairs into a sauna. We are trying to not use our furnace, so we have many little heat sources that go on and off all day long..We actually took off the plastic and opened up our formal living room, which still looks as if Karin had left it yesterday (we’ve made it a shrine, I think). And, we lit our fireplace for the first time. Now, we continue to find gifts and treasures from Karin every day, which may go on for years…but…she had left the fireplace set with a fire and ready to go before she left which took us four months to discover. Match, flame, boom (see photo of roaring fire). Karin will be enshrined soon in the house sellers hall of fame. Dinner was great (I made my famous Bolognese with meat sauce made from our local organic farmer, and from the recipe I learned by watching Clemenza teach Michael to cook for 100 guys in Godfather One ( my best cooking, as well as most of philosophy of life comes from the film). We ended the night watching the Sox tromp the Cards in Game One.

We’re now on a countdown to head back to Ohio- three weeks as of yesterday…and traumatized by the prospect. Lots to do- both here and there, and a transition we are a bit overwhelmed by. Snow is coming soon it appears, but tonight is the local Halloween party and I will be playing music with the gang (Evil Ways, Witchy Woman, Black Magic Woman, The Monster Mash). Soon my Blog/ Rambles will come to an end for the season, but until then………
We hope this finds everyone well, just because…

Stu

Happy autumn to all: Go SOX!!!!!!!!!

Been a busy week plus in the Green Mountains. We’ve been out viewing the leaves, getting out on water in the unusual warmth, checking out starving artist studios, going to church suppers and having visitors. Took a lot of pix- so have provided two options to not bore everyone. You can check out the twenty or so highlights via the attached photos, or go to the Shutterfly link below to see the full 69 pix extravaganza (recommended). Lots of autumn shots, pix of friends visits, boating shots and the quest for the ultimate Vermont dirt road are included.

http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=470074ef354b9e39&sid=2CauG7RyxZMly

Art in Vermont and Suppers: Artists in Vermont are an interesting clan. Almost all do a variety of things from raising animals to organic gardening, to cutting firewood/carpentry and working in restaurants. Everyone has a studio (I am going to have to set one up here- though not sure yet what will be in it). No sooner had we come back from our visit to the Islands, than our friend Nancy arrived for last weekend. We had our first Chinese takeout of Vermont with Nancy and our neighbors last Friday night with a massive display of little white boxes. We spent the weekend driving around for the autumn artists’ studio tour. Since it rained most of the time, we were the only people at all the studios we went to, and got to have personal tours of the artist’ work and space…which led to a bunch of new friends and dinner invitations. We met a Yiddish speaking New Yorker who raises and slaughters turkeys (just like on 59th St, he said), a Joe Pesci look/sound alike who turns wood, and a 78 year old water and oil color landscape artist, Robert Smyotovich, who is somewhat of a legend in these parts. We came away with several soggy objects d’art, visited a 60 year old Finnish sauna (pronounced around here as sow-nah), saw baby piglets just born and had Mexican food made by lily white Vermonters. Oh- and we saw a lot of leaves. After our day of labors, we went to the Southern Baptist church in nearby Proctorsville for the Harvest church supper, where we wound up sitting with the Minister and his family. He was a wildly intellectual character , who when I asked him how he found his calling said, “ at my bar-mitzvah”. For real..a lot of interesting people wind up in Vermont…

Chasing Leaves: Chasing leaves is a full time vocation, and we take it seriously. After our trips to the Adirondacks and the Lake Champlain Islands, we headed out this past week to follow “the peak” wherever it could lead us. Spent a couple of nights with our old friends Connie and Georgie at their B&B in Brookfield – the home of the world famous floating bridge (you can look it up). After a day of heavy rain, the sun came out and the leaves sparkled as we made our way over Roxbury Mountain to the quaint villages of Warren and Waitsfield to see leaves, ruminate on the condition of the world (Connie is a world class ruminator) and visit all manner of art and Chotchkies shops. We snuck in a picture perfect picnic lunch (with wine) in the shade of the Pitcher Inn in Warren and went on a rabid hunt for brownies in Waitsfield. The road was closed at the pass- so we had to detour which is the best way to catch a great view in Vermont. From there, we headed north to the remote town of Averill one our favorite haunts- the 125 year old Quinby Country. QC is a hidden jewel in sight of the Canadian border. Run by the Quinby family for over a 100 years, originally as a hunting camp- it became a family summer vacation place in the 1940’s. When Hortense, the 100 year old last survivor of the Quinby clan, was passing, she set up a land trust for the place with a Board and shareholders of folks who had been going there all their lives. They hired a guide from Alaska to run the place and now it is thriving both as a summer family place and a hunter’s haven in the fall. We get a little cottage heated by wood stove on a lake filled with loons and hang out with two dozen bird hunters (and their dogs) at meals (they seem to be a little more effeminate than your traditional hunters and drink a lot of red wine from France). We have been there many times before and it is usually pretty cold this time of year, but this week it was in the 70s and gorgeous- so we got out hiking and on the water for both a row and paddle. Not much better than sitting in the middle of a crystal clear lake on a brilliant fall day and reading a book (you can tell we are pretty serious boaters). Nights are crisp and dinner in the lodge is simple and family style…and we had WIFI in our cabin in the middle of nowhere- though about 50 miles from any cell service. More leaves below….

Columbus Day weekend- is this an important holiday to you? Well- it’s about on a par with July 4th or Rosh Hashanah. New Englanders and New Jerseyites flee their urban/suburban ghettos for this last dose of fall color- often arriving in quaint villages in Vermont (if not too far from the freeway) with massive photo lenses, haphazard parking and rolls of bills in their hands- to take in a little of the sanctity of the fall (Though it’s a pretty loud sanctity). They are like divining rods for pumpkins, antiques and maple syrup. So we try and go to places they can’t find ( we even did this when we were tourists, since we did not see ourselves as one of “them” ). Saturday we went to the event of the year in our local Belmont green- Cider Daze, featuring a 100 year old cider press and a lot of local schmoozing. From there it was down to Proctorsville for Singleton’s general store annual soup cook- off (really, a lot of bad soups with some nice grilled cheese sandwiches in a parking lot- but a really pretty parking lot). After a recuperation back at the ranch, we went to the monthly supper at the Oddfellows Hall (really!). Roast beef and lots of Vermont humor (yep, yep, nope, nope).Sunday rose magnificently in the mountains- so Jenn got her haircut and learned all the local news at some English woman’s house on Route 103 (her mum was visiting). We then headed off on a trek to see the migrating snow geese up in Addison at the Dead Creek wildlife refuge (bad photos attached). We stopped on the way (can never get anywhere in a straight line here) at an art show in the park in Rutland, a pick your own pumpkin farm- for Hog Heaven’s food truck bar-b-q lunch in Adirondack chairs staring at the mountains, and at a maze of odd shops based on everything purple. We arrived at the windy plain of the refuge to see a horde of both Snow and Canadian geese (a 1000 a day) flying over the field. Hung out for an hour while they re-positioned themselves over and over in a very segregated manner – blacks on one side –whites on the other

I believe this is the origin of the term “wild goose chase”….

So it’s now Monday of the holiday weekend- and we are trying to catch up with chores around the house- including burning some of the beautifully fallen eaves (we like them much better on the trees). Off to Boston this week for our last trek of the fall, then settling in for a month before heading west.

We hope this finds everyone well, just because…

Stu

Happy October:

It’s been a great couple of weeks in the green mountains. The leaves are popping, days in the 70s, nights in the 40s and the Vermonters are rightly bragging about this being the best place to be in this season. The pictures show the leaves, the guests, and the adventures we are having in the north woods. So…a few thematic highlights:

Flying in Vermont: this is not an easy task, often requiring a two hour drive to Albany and then multiple flights. So- I finally made the plunge to take the commuter flight on Cape Air to Boston out of the Rutland airport five minutes from our house. So Jenn drives me in her bathrobe and curlers and drops me off an hour ahead of time. The building is the size of our living room and no one is there yet since it is apparently WAY to early too early. They have to call in the TSA who are home eating maple syrup. I check in and they say they have to weigh my bag since they have to decide where it goes on the plane due to weight restrictions..THEN they weigh me! I’m thinking at this point that a Xanex and several bourbons are in order, and THEN they pull up the plane and it is several sizes smaller than the FedEx plane and holds eight people if they are not too big. We get in and the ground guy winds up the propellers (Really!) and the co-pilot turns around to shout out the safety instructions over the drone of the propellers, and then we take off for twenty minutes of death rattle shaking. I turn Catholic and recite fifty three Hail Marys and Our Fathers..but once we get up in the air it is magnificent; flying at 7000 feet over the mountains and foliage, until we get to Boston and then they go out over the ocean and we commence to shake and rattle until we land at Logan…and this is how we fly in Vermont.

Visitors: we have become popular in the last month (or maybe it is the leaves?) and had a variety of visitors stay with us. We get to show them the Vermont highlights, which has included seven trips to the Vermont Country Store in Weston; a place we would never set foot in on our own…bit it is VERY Vermont -so we go. They all wonder if we have heat and what the peculiar sound is when Larry sings glory, glory at sunset…and they all have to be retsrained from jumping in the pond with the kitchen strainer….We took Jenn’s son Ryan and fiancé Lauren to our favorite hike on the property of the old fella who built these magnificent trails for people to enjoy. His name is Carson Davidson (Kit) and it turns out he is a pretty famous short documentary filmmaker from NYC who retired to the woods and is now 89 (you can see his photo if you pay attention). The Japanese Gardens there are not to be missed and the hike up to Moot Point is to die for, so when you come we can go see him and see if he is wearing his Speedo and hanging upside down.

Living in an Electricians’ former house: Our benefactor Karin’s husband Walter was an electrician and the house has all the wonderful touches of someone who knows electricity and knows everyone else does not. Walter was really good in his installations but they are inscrutable to the average Midwestern dunce. So we spend a lot of time trying to figure out what light switches control what lights (still searching for 5 or 6 after three months) we have a number of timed lights which come on and go off as they (or Walter) desired…but which we are humbled by…and then there are the circuit breakers. Walter installed four breaker boxes at two ends of the house, and we are certain he knew why and what they controlled. But every time a light goes off we go down to the basement, try to avoid whacking our head going through the secret tunnel that connects the two sides, and then start throwing breakers. We usually hit something that works by the 25th or 30th breaker (there are around 45)…and then we just wait for the next one to not work. Karin and her daughter Christine send us periodic e-mail pep talks from Las Vegas (where they apparently have neither timers nor basements)about the wiring and then we just figure everyone is Vermont has light trauma.

Sunsets in Vermont and elsewhere: It is safe to say we are becoming connoisseurs of the magic of sunsets. We find them everywhere we go and have watched the beauties in the last month in the Adirondacks and Green mountains, over the Pacific and the San Bernardino mountains in CA, at our little house up on the hill and this week on Lake Champlain. I have taken 1900 sunset photos in the last month, but only share a select few so my son Max does not take my camera away from me. Like men hanging naked upside down, some people think they all look alike- but we think each one is a Michelangelo painting.. While chasing various sunsets, I like to take a plunge in a nearby body of water, even if no bathing suit is handy. In the last week, I have jumped into the pond, Lake Bomoseen and Lake Champlain…needless to say there is lot of shriveling that go with this in the autumn in Vt.…but It’s quite invigorating and creates fond memories once defrosted.

Music in Vermont- today we went to a little store down the road called “Junque”..which is applicable. We ran into an old Vermont woman who plays fiddle all over the place and she has invited me to come and pick with her and her friends. While I am working up the nerve to do that (what if they turn to me and nod??? What would they mean?), I have been playing on Monday nights at our local folk club and this week we had our annual performance in the town library basement. The club members have embraced my arrival with open arms- except for one woman (who may have issues)who once a night says she hates me. There were around 15 of us and twenty of them (fans with lighters) and we went through a good set of songs that each person had brought to the table. I drank a bunch of bourbon from a honey bottle (the squeeze kind) and had a really good time. One woman sang “That’ll be the Day” in honor of Linda Ronstadt (they both have Parkinson’s) and a little man from across the border (NY that is) sang Rick Danko’s “The Shape I’m In” which made me wet my pants . Music is quirky in Vermont- but very lovable.

Chasing Leaves: Just because we have moved to Vermont, we have not given up our fascination with finding peak fall color- so we drive around and take walks every day in search of the perfect red maple. We were up at the Lake Champlain islands for two nights this week- but it is still fairly green up three though the orchards and wineries were popping. Last week we saw magnificence at the Brandon Pass and in the Adirondacks on our trip there for a few days. Our drive into the town on Belmont is particularly scenic, though every five minutes that I stop to take a photo, Jenn reminds me that my version of rose colored glasses may make it seem a little better than it is (talk about bubble bursting). I’ve included a few leaf shots in the attached montage- though Max will take my camera again if I start really posting these . Next week we are heading up to see our friends in quaint Brookfield and then to a remote fishing camp on the Canuck border ( we may even fish…)It’s a good way to while away an afternoon and my Subaru has mysteriously increased its mileage from around 24 mpg to over 30 mpg as we drive up and down mountains….go figure. In other fall happenings- we decided that our little front door autumn display really lacked some corn stalks- so you can see the pix of Jenn stealing them from a remote cornfield and the resulting splendor at our front door.

Has anyone been watching the new series “Orange is the New Black” on Netflix or “Masters of Sex” on ShowTime…..Hmmm…..

Miss you all,

Stu

Good Monday to all:

Fall has sprung in the Green mountains; it is a blustery high 40s this morning. The leaves are turning all kinds of hues and we are trying to figure out how to keep the house warm without using the furnace (huddled around the electric heater as we speak). Been on a bit of a photo ramp-up last two weeks- so as a change of pace, I am attaching below a small slide show of our doings (small compared to the usual vacation shot behemoths). So…in “blogging” about last couple of weeks- let’s go through the photos…..

Go to link to see slide show (only 62 fabulous photos- I’m becoming a minimalist, no?) http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=51a175f6e734a4716276141d224b0f78&sid=2CauG7RyxZMjq

Jenn celebrated her 50th birthday last weekend- and I flew up her sister Jane and good friends Jane and Karen as a surprise. Jenn almost collapsed at the surprise. We had a great weekend together and then sister Jane stayed an additional three days. We did an eight hour driving tour of north- central Vermont (was supposed to be 3-4 hours) that led us to the Sunday farmer’s market in Stowe, up scenic Route 100, over Smuggler’s Notch, to the wonderfully secret Bryant gallery/museum in Jeffersonville and finally to an exploration of the Italian dead at the extraordinary Hope Cemetery in Barre. We had a magnificent birthday dinner at the Castle Inn in nearby Proctorsville and talked for 48 hours about going over to see Lake Bomoseen (Bomoseen or bust) but never quite made it. The neighbors came up for desert on Saturday night and Elizabeth had made Jenn a whopping German chocolate Cake (nine sticks of butter, 10 pounds of sugar). She had also found out that I hailed from Jewish stock- so made a Challah (see photo) that was pretty dam Jewish- although she and her mom called at a “hal- oh”

On the update side- the pictures will show the tree outside out bedroom window is turning shades of colors each day, the pond is de-sliming itself, we have built a fire pit and had our roof leak fixed by the newest Daryl and Daryl…and we now have peace flags strung up by our barn…a great hit with the four wheelers that go by to head up the logging road. We have also discovered two new outside lights that we have no idea how to turn on and off- but are waiting for Karen to illuminate us and them.

Stu spent a few torrid days in Chicago this week and got back to three straight days of almost 80 degree weather- so we got out and picnicked, hiked and went to the beach at Lake Bomoseen- where Stu went in the icy waters (think Titanic). See photos of him catching dinner the old fashioned manly way. We went over to Hubbardston, where there is this eccentric hiking spot on private property; 500 pristine acres owned by and 89 year old gent originally from Ohio, that he maintains for public use. There is wonderful Japanese rock garden and then a series of trails that lead you to magnificent vistas in about a half hour. We went to Moot Point and ate lunch overlooking the Mad River valley. The last time we were there was 7-8 years ago and we knocked on his door for directions (he now has a caretaker and great signage) and he opened it up hanging upside down on a gravity pole in his Speedo (he was a much younger 82 then)…so it was a bit of a risk going aback, but we are adventurous. After the hike we went to the beach and then to the Lake House Grill where sat nursing two dollar beers at the end of their pier and watched the sunset…stopping in Rutland on the way home to buy mums, crab cakes and investigate more bedding.

Saturday night we went to the community supper at the Belmont Odd Fellows Hall (lots of odd fellows) and pigged out, and then on Sunday we drove up to Montpelier for the 251 Club annual luncheon. We were honored as “plus” members with 10-15 other pairs who had completed the quest of going to all 251 towns and villages in Vermont. As usual, we were the youngest people there by 10 years (maybe 20 for Jenn). We did a detour drive on way there- crossing over the Brandon Gap for the colors-which were pretty cool. While at the luncheon- we had our 10th and 12th desert of the weekend. We then rushed home to have our first dinner party with Tante Helen and Haldor and their neighbors John and Lydia . For the occasion , we opened up our living room for the first time (we treat it like a hidden sanctuary covered in plastic), and then ate in the formal dining room. Stu served soup from the 1890’s sideboard..a first for kid from the Bronx. Helen made her Austrian strudel and linzer tart cookies- so we had our 13th- 17th deserts of the weekend. You can see pictures of all of this splendor in the slide show.

Stu is off to Indianapolis this week (via the shuttle plane to Boston from our local airport for the first time) and then he is off from work travel for about a month- while we seriously pursue chasing the leaves. We have decided that just because we live in Vermont- that is no reason not to do our annual fall journeys- so we are doing 2-3 day trips for next four weeks to Adirondacks, down to visit George and Connie in sunny Brookfield, then up to the Islands (yes- we have islands) and finishing up in the remote part of Vermont along the Canadian border. We have discussed fishing- but will need to figure out how to bait the hook and get any possible caught fish off of it. We are searching for lessons and/or someone to go with us and do these tasks.

I hope you are all well and enjoying the autumn wherever you are…Garrison Keillor says we all think more clearly in the cold weather (and should move the government to Maine) so happy thinking.

Stu