Nearly at the 16 week mark!

Hurrah!

Have reached a learning milestone! That is: when crossing the road, I no longer feel like a "cat watching a match on Centre Court" at Wimbledon.

You'd think it to be simple to reverse your internal "Look left, right and left again" instruction - but I find it feels remarkably counter-intuitive. So I end up performing a strange sort of "head dance" looking right, left, right...then left, right left and right...then left right, left...until I feel - and probably look like - I have a severe case of road-crossing OCD! And/or said cat at a tennis match!


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Mine host in a Maple (syrup making) House

Had a very fun day out with R (a Dismas colleague) when we attended the Lamoille County Fair. The Fair started 50 years ago as a tractor rodeo "to promote tractor safety and provide an opportunity for farmers, their family, and hired help to enjoy a day away from the farm and to express their abilities in a competitive setting". And - believe me - that competitive tradition is still going strong today.

Lamoille county lies about 40 miles north-east of Burlington; the Fair grounds are surrounded by a stunning backdrop of the Green Mountain Range and although the day was breathtakingly hot, the drive was fabulous for the views. 

  

What can I say - the fair was good ol' fashioned Americana at its best.     I watched activities that I don't think I will ever be lucky enough to see anywhere else, from "truck-pulling", to "horse-pulling" and Bingo.  All of which excitement was rounded off by the hotly contested "Ladies skillet throwing".

The latter was absolutely fascinating - how can an activity so utterly useless be so seriously undertaken? And yes, it was very seriously taken! There are several heats according to age, starting from the "Under tens" and finishing with the "Young at heart". The ladies stand behind a white line which marks the spot of a 65 foot long box (painted on the ground), swing the skillet as hard and fast as they can and (hopefully, as the audience sits very close) let go with a very straight aim. Most adult females seem to throw somewhere between 40 and 50 feet.

 

Then came the "There's always one!" moment. During a break for heat changes, a young man in his 20s, clearly scornful of the feeble, "female throwing" asked the judge if he could "have a go". He duly threw - and managed to hit the 33 feet mark. Methinks he was a little surprised at quite how hard it is to throw a 10lb cast-iron pan. There's nothing like a bit of schadenfreude on a sunny Saturday! Incredibly, the winner came from the "Young at heart" team and she threw that pan so powerfully that it landed outside the box at 72 feet...I'm guessing her husband watches his Ps and Qs!

Surprisingly for an agricultural fair, there were very few animals to "ooh and aah" over, but plenty of little stalls to rummage through and calories to indulge.                                                    

The day was perfectly rounded off by a couple of great Country bands, who performed to an enthusiastic crowd as the sun set behind the stage.

Tempted as I was, I managed to resist the "fried dough"! 

 

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Week 13 and a bit

M, R and L

Last weekend the delightful M & R (of the "plant sale fame") very kindly invited me to a "kiddie" birthday party hosted by R's daughter, L.  The party was at a private house and it was the perfect way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon, in a lovely shady back garden.

As a special bonus I met a new little feline friend!

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Today marks six months since MouseMum died and comes at the end of an emotional week in which four residents moved out.  So today I am expecially thoughtful of, and thankful for, all my precious and loved friends and family, old and new, near and far.

　

Those who are familiar with the celebration of Robbie Burns birthday will recognise "A toast to absent friends" as the last of the formal toasts and speeches.  It is a tribute to those who have enriched our life but are no longer here. Not a sad occasion but a celebration best drunk from a full cup.

A toast to absent friends

"To absent friends
to those we have met
to those we have yet to meet
to those who have left us for a while
and to those who have left us forever
let us lift our glasses
and drink a toast



And finally...
Happy Birthday Tracy!



that they may abide in our hearts

Forever

A toast to absent friends"

4th July - not

4th July came and went. Sadly I picked up a 72-hour bug and missed the "house picnic outing" to a local state park.  But I did manage to spy the magnificent fireworks over Lake Champlain, thanks to some "neck-stretching around the trees in front of the house" manoeuvres.

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For new residents in the house, there's naturally an "adjustment period" - not without its challenges.  New people, new environment, new routines and an addiction to battle - which can be especially tough on the younger ones.

As you can imagine, it's difficult to watch and somewhat draining to support someone through their addiction. I see them in turns pacing the house, agitated, hiding in their rooms, talking non-stop, playing mute, appealling to anyone who might give them a "fix", when they don't have any cash to support their habit.

Finally, the longed-for day comes where they get their first pay-check and they can at last satisfy the cravings. You've never seen such elation as they unwrap the newly acquired treasure...minutes later they're slumped on the sofa, seemingly comatose, completely non-verbal, fingers twitching faster than those of an hyperactive tarantula.

Yes indeed, we are very much in the grip of a 21st century addiction; man nor boy it seems, can live without a phone permanently in use; texting, talking, surfing the web, playing games. You name it - phone interaction is the ubiquitous backdrop to all activity in the house! (I know this addiction will be instantly recognised by all of you who are the lucky parents of teenagers :)

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The old...



...and the new!

Great excitement at the house this week - a new cooker! I've banged on about this before - but I do find it completely remarkable that in the land of plenty, more choice than you can shake a stick at, there is so little variety in the "white goods". See how similar these two (randomly selected for purchase, in different years) cookers are, exact same dimensions, same colour, same knobs. Same! It's like a "spot the difference" game! 

"Take your time luv -  
it only weighs half a ton!"

Ditto for washers, dryers and fridges. So different from the UK where the market embraces a multitude of sizes, shapes, colours and designs. Weird huh? Chalk it up to yet another of the world's great mysteries - and never let it be said that this BLOG doesn't raise the game on giving consideration to matters of global importance!



NB - how clever is the hoist that delivery men use here, I have never seen it before.  It's like a massive "baby" sling, allowing the carriers to take the weight of the machine over their whole body, via the shoulders.  Simple yet brilliant!  Much different than the bulging forearms, grunting delivery style in the UK!

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A member of staff married last weekend, so at the house we held a little "wedding shower" for her, which miraculously we managed to keep a complete and utter surprise.  Cue pressies, cakes and sparklers! Live music was provided by "The Divine Ms M" -------->> who performed her finest take on Lady Gaga.  She was certainly more entertaining than the real thing - if a little short on lyrics! Obviously I had to roll out the old lemon cupcakes with secret stash of lemon curd inside. Surprisingly for a household of men - they all "oohed" and "aahed" very satisfactorily at the various "girlie" gifts and great fun was had by all!            

(The bride-to-be coordinated beautifully with the "lemon" theme)