Category: Green Mountain Blog

Plop. Plop, Fizz, Fizz……. Oh What a Relief it is:

“Don’t look for miracles. You are The Miracle” ………………………Henry Miller

“This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge. And unity is the way forward” ………………………………………………………………. Joe Biden

“Please don’t bury me, in this cold, cold ground……I’d rather that they cut me and pass me all around” …………………………………John Prine

Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz……. Oh What a Relief it is:

“Don’t look for miracles. You are The Miracle” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Henry Miller

“This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge. And unity is the way forward” ………………………………………………………………. Joe Biden

“Please don’t bury me, in this cold, cold ground……I’d rather that they cut me and pass me all around” …………………………………John Prine

Well….the mighty winter sun came out this morning….which makes ten degrees seem a bit more tolerable……Frankly, I surrender……May be way too old to fully experience my first Vermont winter…..not sure we have any global warming here (see I can have a mind melding with The Donald)….ten straight days of below 20 degrees….and astounding 2-4 inches of snow each day……a pile across the property of two feet regularly……..no grass or dirt in sight…..THIS is life in  the Snowbelt of Vermont….Heard a guy this week talking about ice fishing on the radio…and he said you had to be careful since in some places the ice may not be frozen, due to it being a mild winter ……..IS HE SHITTING ME?????????……certainly not living in the mountains, the motley fool…plus, we were not expecting to spend the COVID winter when we came back this summer….so we have an assortment of layer gaps…..done ok, but then again….I’m feeling kinship with Eskimos……Now mind you, I am not complaining….well, then again……..Astonishing…….

NEWSFLASH……it snowed again last night………for the 47^th straight day………We are blessed……

BIGGER NEWSFLASH……Nana and Papi expecting fourth granddaughter (gender only predicted/assumed) …. ….in August……Tess and Jake now catching up with Ry and Lauren on producing progeny……How cool is all that?

So what did we learn about our peeps this week?…………Uncle Joe has a sharp pen…………………Kamala has a staggering array of pants suits………Ol’ Mitch does not like being demoted…………Bernie seems to love mittens…… The Donald does not seem to know the NEW president’s name……Ivanka and Jared are fiercely protective of their toilet……you can apparently bring a concealed weapon to Congress, if you are elected………. Andrew decided it was a good idea to move upstate before declaring to run for Mayor……and The Queen has developed a new passion…laundry machines……………….

Had a zoom this week with all of my recently unearthed New York cousins……how cool is it to be once again the youngest……good find….

Despite the cold, ice and snow….got out on Friday for the drive/lunch/walk weekly…….picked up lunch at the now carry-out only Java Babas…first time this year, after years of thrice weekly visits….and drove through the dirt road mounds of fresh snow to the picture perfect hamlet of Grafton…..at which we discovered a wonderland of dozens of miles of well-groomed cross country/snowshoes trails…..up and through the foothills of The Greens…with very few brave souls about…..this was the astounding find of the year……absolutely Magnifico…

Getting to be time……making plans to return to the heartland in the next 23- weeks……surrendering……back to new house, vaccine availability, Door Dash, Grub Hub, next day Amazon delivery, Chinese, Grocery, Mart five minutes away, streets without snow…and eventually…. kids and grandkids……not without trauma to leave the mountain cocoon, but feeling like it’s time. Trying to pull off a coup, and get first dose of the love potion here before leaving……and manage to access the second dose back in Ohio……safe to say the vaccinators are not set up for this scenario…. but am willing to bribe……

And then……ruminating on The Year of Plague…………has it been all bad (good argument for the affirmative) ……but I’ve been ruminating on THE Gifts of forced exile….and arrived at the following:

Discovering the extraordinary array of streaming……who is not juggling five shows at a time for binging?

Rediscovering the magic of books……………just finished my 140th of the last 12 months…. I’ve got 12 libraries on call to find my muses.

Babies………seems like a lot of them coming……why might this be?

Take out…. who knew you could get so much to eat without ever coming in contact with another human being…. has some attraction….

Relationships……how may straight days have you spent in the company of your significant other…. without calling the police…

Refection……what an opportunity this has been to consider who you really want to be and try it out…. time is on my side, yes it is

Health…. never around anyone…. never get sick…my longtime doctor thinks have I’ve passed it’s been so long since I’ve seen him

S-L-O-W-I-N-G   D-O-W-N………. have you gotten off the train?

Spending…. what is there to spend money on….no movies, eating out, concerts, gym memberships…. just a little carry out, a few edibles, a lot of Amazon….

And…waking up each morning…to one more gifted day on the Plagued Planet……. we shall overcome….

And that, my friends, is one more Sunday Sermon…………………………smile on your brother….

Love from afar, Papi

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Salutations:

“Nothing is often a good thing to do….and always a clever thing to say” ……………………………………………………………………………………Will Durant

“Where are we always going?…….Always home” …………………………………………………………………………………Novalis

“What do I do when my love is away?……..(Does it worry you to be alone?)
  How do I feel by the end of the day?……(Are you sad because you’re on your own?)” ……………………………………………………………John and Paul

Salutations:

“Nothing is often a good thing to do….and always a clever thing to say” ………………………………………………………………………………………………. Will Durant

“Where are we always going?…….Always home” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Novalis

“What do I do when my love is away?……..(Does it worry you to be alone?)
  How do I feel by the end of the day?……(Are you sad because you’re on your own?)” ……………………………………………………………………………. John and Paul

White is the color of my true love’s eyes…. when I rise……when I rise……. Have we had enough yet……every day seems like another 3-6 inches overnight………. seems absurd to bother to even shovel our front walkway……give me more…. give me more……it’s a freakin’ winter wonderland …. shouldn’t we all be in The Keys about now, watching a sunset, sipping margaritas?

Well, it’s Sunday, which is usually the drive and walk day…. but it’s like a frozen tundra out there……so maybe another binge on the ol’ Netflix???!!!

After the chaos of last week lookin’ like some assassination attempt of the Austrio- Hungarian days……we got out of dodge for three days…. up to the less than tropical islands of Lake Champlain…said lake being frozen solid despite its massive size – and playing home to hundreds of lunatic ice fisherman…..stayed at our usual autumnal haunt….a quaint cottage with sunset deck over the lake, sunken living room (really) and a cozy gas fireplace…..hit all the state parks in  nowhere land for trudging snow hikes…and found our Happy Chicken…..a little organic farm in Isle LaMotte….way off the path of civilization….for Mrs. Chicken’s  house made behemoth of a smoked chicken pot pie and her maple ribs….so did not have to leave the confines of home away from home for vittles…..safe to say we barely saw another human for three days……good place to hide out in the winter of COVID…

We took the recuperating Beast (of course) who had a run in this past week with a herding dog, when TQ decided she needed a communion and a walk with the Sovereign of Caravan Gardens- her erstwhile organic employer…..Lucy came back bleeding prodigiously, missing a chunk of ear and head-wrapped like “when Johnny comes marching home”…I offered to go gather the offending mutt and drop her in a hole in The Pond ice, ….but TQ declined the offer….so Lucy now has 1 ¾ ears…

Aren’t we all hoping (even the republicans secretly?) that this week is the dawn of a new day……The new bosses may not be a panacea, but can it possibly get worse…. just a smidgeon of humanity and dignity will seem like a chicken soup for our wounded souls, no????…. I have personally sent a note to The Donald offering him the services of my personal family tailor…. Shlomo and Sons of the Lower East Side….to make him a custom fit orange jumpsuit for his next assignment……and, did anyone notice the article this week, that Ivanka and Jarred did not allow their secret service detachment to use the bathrooms in their house….my sense of irony is going to go cold turkey without these Numchucks around…

After months of no personal contacts, we got out for a lunch this week with the Jewish Pig Farmer and the Empress of Death at their Pine Hollow Farm..…..with a balmy 32 degree day…..the JPF set us up with a  fire pit and covered barn way to sit outside (maskless, mind you) and have his ribs and meatballs…..we spent two hours standing in a circle outside, hopping from one foot to the other, until we finally finished up with TQ’s ambitious flourless, sugarless, carb free chocolate cake (why bother?)….and came home to unthaw….but…human contact?…..Priceless….

The next to latest snowstorm on Friday night left us with 6-8 inches of snow so heavy  it came down off the trees in potentially crushing 50 pound lumps…so just getting to the car was like running the gauntlet….but TQ…undeterred…went to Belmont to spend the last of her 25 hours cleaning the manse of some crazed metaphysical doctor from New York who specializes in oxygen injections to cure cancer….no shit…..but they had not been there for two weeks-so seemed safe enough…and apparently TQ wanted some mad money to spend as she wishes (bedding on the way?)….the roads were so bad she could not get near the house, so I had to drop off and pickup…from which she trundled across their moat to attacks their dust mites….all the while we had no power for four hours…..so I went over to see The Dumpmaster, where they had power (“tell the little lady, she can come to my house to warm up,” he says, distraught that he got the wrong partner this week)…….stopped at the Belmont Mall to pick up a free fryer and sombrero…..just in case……and then The Beast, little Grace and even the spectral Saffron (formerly Malo and Mahalo) sat huddled around the raging fireplace…waiting for a sign from G_D….or at least from the Green Mountain Power….with no landline or cell service, power outages become particularly exciting here….but then again…..It is winter in Vermont……..

And that, my friend, should be more than enough……stay safe…. don’t go near a state capitol without body armor…. dream about injections……spread the love….

From Me to You, Papi

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Greetings- Shocked to get this in your box on Saturday night….me too…. but TQ, the Beast and I are escaping Dodge, up to The un-tropical Islands (such as they are) for couple of nights……. just need to escape from the drama of this week…ergo the early transmission………………………………………

“Wisdom is better than wit” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………  Jane Austin

“We’re in a kind of repeat McCarthy era. Only this time, to borrow from that old-school communist Karl Marx, history is repeating itself not as tragedy but as farce.” ……………………Jonas Goldberg (conservative writer)

“This is how election results are disputed in a banana a republic…not in our democratic republic” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………George W. Bush

Well, its really hard to talk about this week…and just go on with my usual Blog sermon…I mean, let’s face it……there was nothing usual about this week

In a few words (really)…..it was kind of like most Plague weeks here in Vermont…..Cold…Snow….More Cold….More Snow….a few bits of sunshine…a lot of ice…..keeping up with The Queens’ projects….getting out for rides, walks and a few take out lunches…..let’s face it….we are all really tired of this…..but now is not the time to let our guard down…like when the war ends, but you haven’t gotten home yet…that is not the time to get yourself shot….I am thinking about chaining my unmasked self to the frond door of the Rutland Regional Medical center until they give me both doses of the vaccine…..after which I plan to go out to eat, see a movie, get sloppy drunk in a bar, and hang out with random strangers up close….THIS is The Dream?

Now…this week in our country…that is another story…We followed a historic night in Georgia, in which a deep southern state elected a Black Man and young Jewish boy to the United States Senate……are you kidding me…… and then…. with images that will take many of us a lifetime to get rid of……it was like watching a real old fashioned lynching up close and persona. Even in the context of having spent the last four years riding a coaster of shock and embarrassment, but this……even though it seems hard not to have imagined that this was a predictable end result to this craziness…still, this is just another level altogether……

I’m not sure what has become of our national integrity that could possibly allow us to get to this point….…and I’m ashamed to admit that I have friends and family who have continued to support this small minded, heartless, deceitful, criminal idiot of a dictator….as well as his minions…. but I still never thought it could go this far…. who are these lunatics? Does anybody actually know any of them? Did they miss breast feeding…or bedtime stories…. or trips to the park………how can we breed so much hatred and ignorance……inspired by the most cowardly public figure of my lifetime…far surpassing Tricky Dick in very way……

Can we continue to think of this as a fair election issue….as a political conundrum…. liberal vs conservative…. Republican vs. Democrat…. I think and hope not

A reckless and despotic coward, and those who have, and continue to, enable him, have led us down a dangerous, primrose path. The new administration and the new congress, controlled by a different party, may not be a panacea……but they deserve a chance to help us return to the democratic ideals that have defined our nation, and all of us………………

I’m not saying this was a third world style Coup, though, in essence, it may have been…………

I’m not saying that getting rid of this very bad man, and his enablers, will make everything come up roses……

I’m not saying that those who disagree with me are all bad people…….

All I am saying….is give peace a chance……

Papi

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A New Day’s Risin’ on the Blues, mes amis:

“Year’s end, all corners of this floating world……swept” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Basho

“You can’t stop the waves…. but you can learn to surf” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Jon Kabat- Zinn

“If the FOO shits……wear it” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………From the Country Jews’ Tall Tales

As this new year starts, we all have a lot of questions…………. here are mine:

These next four (with totally unbiased answers) could be culled from Stu’s Reviews- which shame on you if you don’t read thoroughly:

What was the best film of 2020?……Tie: Uncut Gems and 1917?

What was the best TV series you watched in 2020?………… The Wire

What was the best book you read in 2020?………………………When the Crawdads Sing?

What as the best album you heard in 2020?………………………….” Letter to You”- Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band

All my troubles seem so far away…Can “Yesterday” possibly be the Beatles all time best song (Sirius radio says yes in their annual top Beatles 100)?

Does anyone else wake up thinking about the phone number 281-8211…. which was the constant source for time and temp in the 70s?

Did anyone else get a care package of bagels form New Jersey from McConnell, Pelosi and Schumer?

What is the population increase going to be as result of stay-at –home, no contact, no nothing 2020?

Are we tired of going for walks yet?

Have you done more baking this past year than in the last 20 years combined?

How many pizzas have you eaten in 2020?

Has there been a general resurgence in midnight snacking? Did we gain weight?

Once you get the vaccine, can you do anything you want? Kiss strangers? Go to a “sex club”? Share a popsicle with someone on the street?

California sunset?………….How long to drive from Vermont to San Diego…. actually 2960 miles……thinking about it.

Can people go to any state they choose to get a vaccine…. goin’ back to the country…. baby don’t you want to go………

Does anyone have sense of power and control anymore?………… Good or bad thing?

That may be about ten questions too many….so on we go……what to do on a Covid Sunday……when another week of the virtual (no pun intended) same is about to start……Well, we get out every Sunday for an outing…..which means drive, walk, lunch, repeat……lately that has meant heading south to Stratton Mountain….Stu writes the Sunday Sermon…..we typically divert to see The Dumpmaster…then head down Route 155…past the Weston Priory, where strange doings are happening….down through Weston and the line of out –of- state crazies descending on the Vermont County Store…..on to Londonderry, past Mike and Tammy’s general store, with 850 flavors of soft serve,  with a typical stop at Grandma Miller’s bakery for more pastry than we should eat in a month…..past the world’s best remote shopping center in South Londonderry….on to the rolling hills approaching the ski area….Vermont 100 to 11…to 30…and back to 100….where The Honeypie sits……lunch in the car of the exotic sausages from Morocco and Thailand, hand cut fries and pickles….and on to find the dirt road walk…last week we found a wonderful dirt road with light dusting of snow….but as we strolled along with the mountains as backdrop on all sides …hit an underlay of black ice…and down went Papi…. in complete angel stance…out for a standing eight count as head hits ice…. then…. no one around as he falls and can’t get up…. but catches up with The Queen and The Beast….and finished the walk at snail’s pace…. poor. poor, sore boy…

And speaking of TV…. Papi a bit of a High-Brow snob……preferring heady dramas that transport our Covid selves to another place and another time…. but…. when I’m not looking…. TQ tends to watch things like “Lucifer” ……which I can identify from anywhere, since the devil sounds just like Vincent Price….

The bi-weekly dinner at Sal’s…which is our closest take out place, at a mere 12 minutes down the snowy mountain…. was quite good this week ……pasta fazzoul, eggplant parm, Baba Louie’s bread, chicken scaloppini……but just as you head down through White Rocks National Forrest into enchanting Wallingford…. you hit the 25 mph speed trap…usually unmanned…. but it’s a holiday…and TQ was singing really loud with her radio……so …Sal’s supper…. Priceless…. or $145 in reality….

Been a big week for drives…and on NY Eve Day we trekked for northern romp……up the Connecticut River Valley…Sirius radio fading in and out…can Sgt. Pepper really not be in the top 100 Fab Four songs?…..drove up past Norwich…where we found a magnificent Gold Coast series of dirt roads for the rich and famous……which led to a long hike –looking at Vermont style MacMansions….and being accosted by an ancient codger on an ancient tractor for parking on the side of the  road….TQ worked to apologize to him……while I drifted away, index finger in the air…..wound up at White River Junction where we found open Bar-B-que (Fatty’s) and bulked up for the cold…..found a place to sit and eat at Queeche Lake , where we watched the extraordinary art of  ice fishing……honing their craft………one guy was on laying the ice for half hour tying to roll himself up…and…..that…..was pretty much our new year’s celebration….. how old do you have to be to not care that it is New Year’s eve?

And…then …yesterday…. got the muse again…and went out to follow the sun……crossing two mountain ranges until we found it over by Hubbardton…and had midafternoon, very cold, but sun soaked walk on a fabulous dirt road…and a quick stop at Ramuntos for the requisite 2 slice cheese special……has anyone rediscovered Coke during The Plague?…

Is the “All-State man” really G_D? …………….and, TQ just got back from testing the latest 3-5 inches roads, feeding someone’s’ pig, flirting with The Dumpmaster, waving to her friends from an appropriate distance and taking out the slough bucket…so time to go…is it a new year yet?

Hope this is a much better year for us all…stay safe…cast an illegal vote in Georgia so Stacey Abrams will stop e-mailing me…….be vigilant a while longer……and be……Forever Young…….

Papi

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Feliz Navidad mis Amigos:

“A great silence space holds all of nature in its embrace. It also holds you” ………………………………………………………………………………………Eckhart Tolle

“The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live.” …………………………………………………………………………George Carlin

“Louie, I think this is the beginning of beautiful friendship” …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Rick Blaine

You know you are living through a COVID winter in Vermont when:

The fuel delivery man comes and is reluctant to fill the pipe on the little back deck, because of five-foot icicle spears hanging from above waiting to pierce his skull…………………………………….

THE POND looks like an ice rink…. but then again…who knows…. should we walk out?

After a week of sub-arctic temps, it hits 55 and It rains all day Christmas day…four feet of snow comes down from the roofs….and the grass shows up after two weeks…. all is back to as before …. except the streams look like the rushing Colorado River……and you still have to dig out two more feet of rock hard snow from in front of the barn doors-to finally get out the new car that has been stuck inside there for ten days……………………

Your snowbound partner takes a shower and puts on eye shadow for the first time in four days- for a Zoom……and your pheromones start screaming….

You spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day with just the two of you (for the 310^th straight day) ….and watch the clock for the next holiday Zoom to start…

You jump up from the couch when the FedEx truck comes up the lane…only to have him (still in shorts, mind you) at the wrong house…

You spend a week with only snow tunnels to get out of your house………

You make day trip to find Texas Bar-B-Que in Vermont…and find it………… in the back of a gas station……

You get dressed to go out and deliver Christmas cookies…and get stuck in four semi-plowed driveways……apparently everyone else has snow tires and does not really care….

You wear the same smelly socks, sweatpants, hoodie and stocking cap around the house for four days……and that feels normal…………….

You start wearing the Queens headbands around your hair disarray…and see Keith Richards in the mirror…….

You drive an hour and a half to get lunch, just for something to do….and Mama Corleone says “no lunch today” ……feh…. pui….

On a frigid night…. you lean over and murmur to your sweetie….” I thought it was you, but it was just the rug” ……….

You order curbside groceries and they send you an e-mail with a massive list of items that are either out of stock or to be substituted…which you know is bullshit…so you have to go in anyway, and shop for all those items (readily available to any set of simian eyes on the shelf) …and then have three follow-up conversations with the store manager about their training program for the teeny-bopper shoppers………………

You run out of books to read….which must be like what it is to kick cold turkey….and when you go to the library to pick up some finally arrived reinforcement orders….you can’t get to the front door over the four feet of snow, and apparently it is unclear whose responsibility it is to  move the piles….….so you have to resort to reading your benefactress’ library collection…which is mostly smut…but pretty good anyway….

Your music playing partners are an ancient IPhone and a laptop…but you make music anyway…with your posse and The Prodigal……………………Priceless….

The cable company calls you three days in advance to tell you that your service will go out with the next storm……proactively deflating….

And….on Christmas Eve day the ancient fridge stops working….and you wonder….how are we going to get a masked appliance guru to come to our snowbound house now……or for the foreseeable future…and The Queen goes ballistic thinking about 40 pounds of spoiled, local, organic meats… …and trudges through the four feet of snow to the barn to gather all our known coolers to avert the catastrophe…..and then …it mystically comes back on…..Ho, Ho, Ho…..

You drive around…unsuccessfully……looking for a half-dry place to jog…and put on six layers to go out to The Barn to work out…

And then….you take a drive up Route 100…walk through the silent snow beauty of the Green Mountain National Forrest…and cross the Brandon Pass at 3000 feet …and can see 100 miles of snowbound landscape……all the way to The Adirondacks…..and it’s almost all worth it….

Merry Christmas to all…and to all a good night………Papi

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Snowed in on Sunday:

“You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………Pema Chodron

“I’m dreaming of a White Christmas” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Bing Crosby

 “That’s gonna be awful clean down there” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Andy Sipowitz, NYPD Blue

Four feet of SNOW in 12 hours……that could be the week in review…. but we get ahead of ourselves…. Brrrrrrr…

After a stretch of not reaching 20 degrees for four days, with lows overnight below zero, last Sunday was a tropical 40, so trekked south for ride and a walk for the Beast (guess which one?)…..Weston, Londonderry, Stratton Mountain…quirky Vermont sausages for lunch-  au- car from Honeypie……………long dirt road walk as the farmers along the mountain lane out hanging lites….gift of extended daylight until a robust quartet to five……but harbinger of big things to come in the air…..gonna need a bigger boat…..

Then…. our newest bestie, Christine of the Vegas (eldest daughter of our benefactress, Karen) sends along a response to last week’s Blog with best wishes/dire warnings for handling the Vermont Winter on the mountain……along with pix of THE blizzards of 78 and what they did to The Inn (pix attached) …. impressive, fear worthy……and………………. another harbinger……

Harbinger becomes reality……four feet of snow in 12 hours overnight on Wednesday….what happened to Global Warming?….never seen anything like it…..shades of The Shining…..could not get out front door….could not see the barn….thought Jenn’s car was stolen, till we found it under a fifteen foot drift of snow…..had smugly put my new car in the barn in anticipation (of maybe 12 inches)…..which we may see again in a week or two once the eight feet of snow in front of the barn doors recedes….WOW……The Curse of Christine -Storm of the Century….

Fortunately, we were on good terms with food, water and edibles…and the power stayed on…and the internet worked…and we streamed…. A LOT-…and made on line music……so…could be worse??????….and then Master Bowbie, and the town plow came through on Friday morning, clearing the lane (not the barn) ….and then……… we hit minus 18 on Friday night…are you shitting me…do people do every year?……what are we, Eskimos?

Saturday we were able to dig out the lost car, get down the lane and go to town…..such as it is….after The Dump, the post office, the unreachable library,  and our package delivery drop-off/pickup at the abode of The Masseuse in the Trailer (she has a mailbox)…..we took Lucy for short dirt road snow walk….frozen feet after 20 minutes (us, not her)…..and then…… having felt isolated enough for one week….I braved a night drive down the mountain to Ludlow to DJ’s to pick up dinner…..ARE WE NUTS????????….with daily records for cases, hospitalizations and deaths, Ludlow was crawling with people, every open restaurant filled, traffic jam in the center of town…..99% out of state lunatics….had to wait 15 minutes for my called in order to be ready…so, refusing to be amongst the lunatics,  stood outside in the freeze, face mushed up against the window waiting for the signal….like a waif from a Dickens Christmas……we live in a world of crazy people …..but I must say the Roast Duck with Cherry Bing Sauce….may have made it worth it……

Speaking of crazy, how about the GOP Congressman from Colorado who has announced he will not take the vaccine…because HE IS AN AMERICAN……straitjacket anyone?

And what else is there to say (you’d be surprised) ……. SNOW, SNOW, MORE SNOW……………The Pond will be up to the Manse after it rains this week…. where will it all go?………….Saw the new cat twice this week…. TQ is alternately calling her Malo, Mahalo, Saffron and Jai-Lai….no wonder she has no idea where the hell she is………Workouts in The Barn…. have become a challenge even after digging out the side door to get in…. but who’s complaining….

And, does Santa still use the USPS (we need another stamp raise to stay afloat) to deliver?………….Vermont Santa made that mistake (only place we could get to for shipping) …and our gifts are floating around the Bermuda Triangle at this point (February?) ……along with my title application to get the new car registered in Ohio…. but who’s complaining?……..

Tess, bless her heart, organized a Christmas cookie bakeoff with Nanna for the grand-girls …so at least one tradition survived in the time of COVID…and The Queen helped organize a massive food relief effort for those who have not, which resulted in the collection of four hundred or so pounds of mac-n’-cheese, etc…Vermont is community focused….

And the local new hip radio station in Rutland (that has a signal you can get within about three miles) continues to astound and amaze…. last night on way to crazed Ludlow played a set which included, Bruce’s Spirit in the Night (all right), Four Tops I’ll be There, Van the Man and the Chieftains and Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys……have now arrived at another retro planet………

And…that…must…… be it….

Have a wonderful Christmas…hope Chanukah went well……if you’re something else……. well, good luck with that. Be safe……next year: Jerusalem…….

Joy to your worlds, Papi

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My Brothers and Sisters:

“I pack no provisions for my long journey- entering emptiness under the midnight moon” ………………………………………………………………………. Chinese Sage

“Winter solitude—in world of one color, the sound of wind” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Basho

“Heaven help the poor man as he struggles every day
Heaven help the red man if he turns his back away
Heaven help the man who kicks the man who has to crawl
Heaven help us all.” …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Charlie Pride (RIP)

My Brothers and Sisters:

“I pack no provisions for my long journey- entering emptiness under the midnight moon” ………………………………………………………………………. Chinese Sage

“Winter solitude—in world of one color, the sound of wind” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Basho

“Heaven help the poor man as he struggles every day
Heaven help the red man if he turns his back away
Heaven help the man who kicks the man who has to crawl
Heaven help us all.” …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Charlie Pride (RIP)

Makin’ a list…. checkin’ it twice…. Mama!…….. THE BLOG is here!………….THE BLOG is here! …

The snow is whirlin’……the winds are howlin’……. The POND is fillin’……The day are gettin’ longer, the nights are gettin’ colder…and I wanna go back home…lay my head down on your shoulder……winter on The Mount…. pretty solitary…but keepin’ busy…The Elves are beginning to abound as we brace for the most unusual holiday season……crank up the Zoomin’, please….

The Queen’s lil’ dug-up Christmas tree now has lights and tchotchkes, in the set- free –of the hot tub living room…. thanks to the barn supply left by our dear benefactress, Karen, who is basking in the Vegas sunshine while we dig out the sidewalk…. Had a half foot of snow on the ground unit it rained it away yesterday …. but drove done to Rutland on Tuesday, where it seemed like springtime and nary a flake…. Mt. Holly IS apparently the snow capitol of Vermont…

Got CAR????…yes , we do…having sold the malignant Subaru, we picked up the new Cherokee from Santa Bob on Tuesday…which required a weekly-mandatory stop for lunch…having discovered the secret Italian Super Deli….Paisanos (how original)…which is in the far back of a beer carryout-  on a far back street-  in the middle of nothing….Actually had a grinder named after the local concrete baron, which is better than it sounds…..the place has salamis and prosciutto hanging from the ceiling…almost like being on Bleecker Street…car has now been fitted into the Barn, where it has yet to emerge…who goes anywhere these days?

The Hot Tub is now percolating on the frozen back porch, where it seems to be surviving though it takes about a day to fully heat for use…no leaks yet…lots more space in the living room……

The new cat, who I call Malo, but TQ is calling Mahalo (apparently Malo is Espanola for “bad”, which TQ is not happy with)….has now been spotted three times in in about ten days….she is apparently not all that happy cohabiting with Grace, Lucy or Jenn…though she seems to like Papi….she has come out only long enough to scratch the shit out of TQ’s hand, spread used litter all over the now spacious living room,…and shit behind the TV….but hey…I do all those things too…..assuming it’s The Plaque…..

And how about the Miracle of Zoom?……had a zoom this week with my very old friend, Steve Berman, in Portland (OR), who I have not seen in 20 years….tracked him down and sent him some  music we had been working on…since he was my first adult band mate (not counting the seminal Stu the Shrew and the Wild Men from howling adolescence days) and writing partner back in the Golden 70s….we played in band called “Pipedream”…still is, No

The Nave has assumed the Chanukah cultural mantle…and is sending the family a classic video for each night of the holiday…which is a little like sending rosaries to Muslims…. can you say “Chanukah Harry”?

And…how about…Bebe’s first Santa video-https://www.facebook.com/591919899/posts/10158284658394900/

Took a snow day on Friday…which provided the opportunity for not one….but two Covid -safe carry-out meals in one day….it may be my only contact with other human beings….so hit Ramuntos for the two- slice special for lunch…and then the lil’ Indian palace in the back of the exotic (for Vermont)  grocery for some Saag and Vindaloo take home for dinner….In between , we headed up to scenic Chittenden Dam for a snow walk….and wonderful views of the setting winter sun…love walking up snow covered mountains with shoes with worn out soles…can you say …….on your ass….

Law Enforcement in Vermont……had to get a VIN inspection to send to Ohio for getting the new Jeep titled…and it requires it be confirmed by police types…which are nowhere to be found in our parts…so tracked down Paul the Rotund Town Constable (This…is a REAL Thing) …who came over this morning to VIN me…a bit Sipowitz-like… he may have been packing, but I tried hard not to ask….

And…. the wood is split…after cutting down trees for eight years…. our drunken -forester up the road, Dennis…… showed up this week with his splitter in tow…just back from deer hunting in Coshocton Ohio (no deer, no masks there) and allowed us to split up a cord or two…which we dutifully neatly stacked and tarped…and then made a beeline for the hot tub…. enough fireplace wood now for the next  eight years…..

And…. I’m out of gas…. too much darn activity for one week……mid-40s today so getting out for a drive and dirt road walk…sugar plums dancing….

Be well….be safe….do what you can…oh…oh…. oh…. oh…. stayin’ alive, stayin alive……

Papi

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Good day to all:

“Snow falling on snow, and this evening, the full moon of December” ……………………………………………………………………………………. Basho

“We live in our own description of reality” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Gregory Bateson

“Does the wind grow cold, when you’re laying your soul out on the line” ……………………………………………………………………………………Graham Nash

Covid, Covid, Fo-Fovid…. Fee-Fi-Fo Fovid……C-O-V-I-D……………In the deep dark woods of the Green Mountains, the world of the Plaque abounds endlessly……snowed in, hunkered down, hoping each day, the FedEx man might come around, to provide a glimpse of life…….is it done yet?……. Vermont continues to be quite the socially responsible place, and, in relative safety…. even with a concerning rise in cases in the last month (Deep Elem Thanksgiving Gathering Blues) …. still statewide infection rate hovering just above 1%, making it, along with Hawaii, best place in North America to suffer this out…. Ohio… at an astounding 15% infection rate (the ancient curse of Trump?) ….and Idaho and North Dakota at a mind- bending plus 50% rate (but freedom prevails there!)

And, then there is the Numchuck……orange jumpsuit on the horizon?……please lock me away, and don’t allow the days, here inside, where I hide, with my loneliness….do we feel sorry for him yet?……wondering how many sociopaths he can pardon and how may nimrods he can appoint to federal positions before he is hauled off to the yard?

Quote of the week: “I will be the hero! These morons — when this is over, I will be the hero.”- The Rudy

The Ten most interesting happenings of a V-E-R-Y slow week in the mountains:

• The Hot tub moved……. after a tub-in-the living-room landslide of both kudos (this is great Covid- crazy-shit)…and loving concerns (are you out of your mind…leaks? Mold? Mildew? insurance companies?) ……we bit the proverbial bullet, and had a warm enough day….to drain the monstrosity……and move it to the porch…to see if it can survive in an unheated area……insulated underside, motor, pipes …and so far seems to work……nice out there with the windows all around and the hoarfrost of deep winter surrounding us…. takes forever to heat up in the cold- but so far so good…and if it springs a leak…who need a porch anyway?

• Are we going to have A Coup……have The Base Minions finally cracked and going to take to the streets of Ann Arbor, Albany and DC loaded to bear….and maskless?

• The Queen has been restless and determined….and finally snuck out while Papi was snoozin’ and picked up a new cat…. a one-year-old Tabby, who has been under the couch in the now liberated-from-hot-tub living room, for the last three days……TQ is nothin, if nor relentless when she gets a Royal notion……new addition likely dubbed Malo, after the lost band of Carlos Santana’s younger brother, Jorge…. I actually still have the one album…perhaps a much- needed Hispanic voter in Vermont….

• THE POND….is now about to over flow…who knew this happened after we typically left Dodge?

• The Rastafarian neighbors have returned after a month’s absence…. waiting to see if they will pick up the strewn garbage all over their property and our drive access, that they left in 50 gallon open drums last visit…and that either a hungry bear or a pissed of human knocked over…

• The mountains are lovely for driving this time of year…. bare trees, decaying Autumn leaves, snow colored fields of hay bales…. made it down to quaint Dorset this week…a town that ONLY has white hoses……hit the H.N. Williams General Store for lunch…oldest in Vermont… on the old stage coach line along Route 30 as it meanders in a deep valley surrounded by mountain ranges on each side…nary a vehicle or human in sight…

• Vermont State Parks …are The Bomb…once the tourists go away and Stick Season chases everyone indoors……did a long hike around Emerald Lake State Park right before the most recent snow hit…passed it right along our drive here on Route 7, for years, without ever venturing in…. but it is absolutely beautiful, with trails around the lake and up through the hills…. our own private winter wonderland…and hog heaven for a cooped up Lucy…

• Sold the old Subaru days before the pick-up/trade-in deadline…. pickin’ up new vehicle on Tuesday from Santa the Salesman…hoping for no snowstorm as we ain’t goin’ inside……

And, how may interesting happenings is that…. only eight, I see (and that was stretching it. No?) …. well, that’s about the sum of it….it may be quite some time before ten actual interesting things happen in one week…can you say VACCINE?

Be Calm, stay safe, think good thoughts, Use your quarantine elbow……. Hare Krishna……

Ferlin’

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Gut Shabbos:

“If you think you’re enlightened, go spend a week with your family” …………………………………………………………………………………………………Baba Ram Dass

“Whatever inspiration there is, it’s born from a continuous “I don’t know” ………………………………………………………………………………………Wislawa Symborska

“We only run for the money, got no strings attached…. we shut ‘em up and then we shut ‘em down”………………………………………………Bruce Springsteen

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Bonjourno:

There is poetry as soon as realize that we possess nothing” ……………………………………………………………………John Cage

“Having prepared their buds against a sure winter the wise trees stand sleeping in the cold” ……………………………………William Carlos Williams

“Men will always follow the little captain into battle” …………………………………………………………………Andy Sipowitz, NYPD Blue

Bonjourno:

“There is poetry as soon as realize that we possess nothing” ………………………………………………………………………………………………John Cage

“Having prepared their buds against a sure winter the wise trees stand sleeping in the cold” ………………………………………………William Carlos Williams

“Men will always follow the little captain into battle” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………Andy Sipowitz, NYPD Blue

I never knew a man could tell so many lies
He had a different story for every set of eyes
How can he remember who he’s talking to?
Because I know it ain’t me and I hope it isn’t you…………………………………………..Neil Young, Ambulance Blues, On the Beach, 1974

“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” …………………………. Leonard Cohen

Been lookin’ for the light this week, as the mountain stick season proceeds in cold, dark fury. The dining the yard table is stored away, the machines are shut down, the sun has slipped away and the cold wind blows through the hills bringing a daily dose of COVID- cum -Trump Coup Attempt daily and through the night. Trying to ban the news channels from the manse…but it is challenging, my friends…………………

Settling in for protracted Vermont winter away from friends and family….and sideteppin’ the blues…. adapting to the world of Only in Vermont, which is the themata for the week…

Sunday walks over hill and dale are a nomadic experience, with nary a soul in sight during stick-but no tick- season….last week involved a trek down barren but beautiful Route 100 through Londonderry to the hamlet of Peru (really) and Hapgood Pond National Forrest…to hike the stark loveliness of bare trees and fallen leaves….which then required a trip to the local Burger joint by the mountain (Stratton) for homemade sausages…in Vermont that equated to some kind of Moroccan Lamb diddie with some kind of Kimchee shit on it…Lucy was thrilled with both the walk and the new age sausage…

Showering is random these days (see the portrait photo of moi in pix) …and the same winter socks go for days…this week’s version started off with a small toe hole that had grown to eclipse most of my lower foot after three days……which led to a lengthy economic discussion with The Queen, that basically ended with the mantra “You can afford socks” ….

Who knew…that after we usually evacuate in early November………… The Pond……… mysteriously rises to it mid-summer majesty……but…it does…

I-S-O-L-A-T-E-D…………………………………I saw four people this entire week……The hearty FedEx man twice (in shorts in 25-degree weather) …………………. The car salesman at the Jeep dealership who is known as Santa Claus (we’ll see about that) …. the catatonic woman who mans the front desk at the empty-but- wear –a – mask to work out-  Okemo gym facility….and of course The Queen for 24/7……24/7……24/7………. though, in fairness, I also saw around 1500 people on Zoom this week…

Car shit in the mountains #1- Selling-  put my brazenly defiant Subaru on various social media sale sites…and have had the probably typical experience of dealing with a number of nut jobs…one guy celled and texted me ten times in two hours  to beg me not to sell the car to anyone else as they were 100% sure that this was the car of their drams, and that they would be here shortly cash in hand….after no show for 24 hours he asked if I could just wait another two weeks for them to settle a now contested insurance claim….yesterday a woman was on her way from northern Vermont to buy the puppy, so TQ persuaded me to finally clean out the car from the detritus of my car-as traveling- house configuration- so went out and did the total detail while TQ wandered around collecting hay bales…….when she eventually returned there was a message that the buyeress has bought another car…but the car is pretty clean now….

Car shit in the mountains #2- Buying- we have been to see the aforementioned Santa Claus regularly now, and driven a variety of Jeep types up the same mountain road…he has now held one car for us with a faux deposit for two weeks, which we thought we might buy…. but wanted to sell the clunker first….so now he is holding two cars for us… for two weeks…… until we decide whether we can sell the car or take the measly trade-in offer…but in the meantime, the deal has gotten better and now includes a fifty-year bumper to bumper warranty…. we will either pick up a car in next few weeks …or add a few more cars to our “holds” …………. which actually say “sold” on the windshield to deter other salesmen…maybe he is Santa….

Package Remote Delivery…if I get one more email from the various deliverer that says “delivery exception”…I may go postal (pun intended)….we have tried labeling our address Mt. Holly, Belmont and East Wallingford  ..and from one time to the next the same delivery drivers cant’ find us….Po box, house address, neighbor’s mailbox….nada…..often wandering around for two weeks or so before arriving (with the exception of Brother Feel’s bagel care package which arrived in one day from Jersey)….how much can we pay to get a package delivered on time…just tell me….

And, finally, The Hot Tub….which was three days late in delivery after two “delivery exceptions” from the beach clad Fed Ex man…..when we sold our Bunty house, we lost the use of our ancient, beloved hot tub…a massive 1999 beauty that we had been slave to maintaining….so decided if we are going to partially winter in isolation in Vermont….a soak would be beneficial…..had a carpenter/electrician come over and he suggested  a tub on the barely supported/no foundation deck seemed unwise, so we decided to get the inflatable variety…and for now, just stick it outside the porch door and plug it in…simple nes’t pas?…till it arrived with glaring and heretofore unmentioned warning not to house or use below 39 degrees  (in Vermont winter, mind you)….which really set us afloat…but being the stubborn sorts…. Have now set it up in the middle of our living room…quite the fung schway…..but after heating up for 30 hours to 104…we sat in hot bubbles last night surrounded by beautiful wood flooring, which is going to be The Queen’s obsessive challenge to keep from ruining via spillage……but hey…its’ hot, wet and quiet…mission faux accomplished…..

After not knowing anyone with the virus for nine months, we now have a dozen friends, family, acquaintances sick…. we seem to be going in the wrong direction……Duh….even the purile state of Vermont is under a rigorous form of lock down…but, hell…let’s just have a motorcycle rally with 400, 000 unmasked hells angels come on over……

And that, my friends, is all I got….be well, be safe, have a good thanksgiving with what you got……find the crack to let the light in….go Georgia…..

The Country Papi

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