converted Goat Barn

watch

2012-01-21T18:47:00.002-05:00

when my grandfather died last year, i asked for a watch of his.

i ended up with two: one a self winding with a busted band, and the other needing a battery.

i wore the one with the busted band and held it together with a clear plastic rubber band, which made it look like the crystal was busted.

today chris got a wild hair to replace the battery in his watch and get a new band, which has needed to be done for over 5 years. i accompanied, taking my grandfather's watch - the one with the busted band. something, of course, i had been meaning to do for a while but, well, that's why i'm married to chris - because he actually helps me accomplish life's small errands.

the watch store in town is run by a lovely man, not originally from here, that also sells beautiful kilm rugs and random trinkets. we have bought a rug from him that makes me happy every time i walk across it.

he is good and quick with watch repairs.

he mended the band, and complimented the watch, with great seriousness. 'that is a very nice watch' with the underlying meaning being 'take care of it.'

i wore it for an hour so it would wind itself up. it is now on my nightstand. i'll start wearing it again, sans rubber band.

catsup? ketchup?

2012-01-17T20:23:00.002-05:00

chris' mom bought nice ketchup while we were in kentucky for the holidays. it is incredible!

i sometimes try to make dinners around the possibility of using it (burgers again? why, yes!).

now the real question is: why don't i just MAKE catsup? hmmm?

chris made mustard a while back: it was really freakin' good. i'm assuming that if fancy ketchup tastes as good as it does, then made-from-scratch would be even better.

now who's got an extra scoop of motivation i can borrow so i will start making my own condiments on a regular basis?

salad days

2012-01-17T20:00:00.002-05:00

i've been a (mostly) vegetarian for a really long time. i was a vegetarian back when you had a really hard time finding meat-free dishes in most restaurants. salads, usually the house salad which consisted of ice berg lettuce, a few old slices of not-quite-red tomatoes, and some wilty cucumber, were the only option.

i really, really hated salads by the time i got to college. like a lot.

then things started to change: restaurants had more vegetarian options, and they learned to make really good salads. and i learned to make really good salads.

but sometimes i still forget that salads can be tasty.

why do i forget about salads? what is wrong with me?

salads are yummy.

things you think are boring but they are not

2011-11-11T12:06:00.003-05:00

the weather. mostly just the weather.

we brush it off as an inane conversation filler. but really, i think it is more like a religious devotion. and much like religion, it is an effort to decode life, the unpredictability and vagaries, the surprises and complications.

i think that is why we marvel and refuse to accept.
"can you believe it is so warm? for november?"
"it's not going to rain for the next four days. no way. i refuse to believe it."
"it can;t be winter - summer just got here!"

i know there are people in the camp that loves all weather, and is excited about all of it. i might argue that this is just a form of blind worship of an unpredictable god. might as well sit back and enjoy the ride, 'cause there is nothing else you can do.

and of course, there are those that don;t want to hear about the weather, because there is nothing you can do about it. just leave it be. talking about the inevitable and uncontrollable is boring. atheism? agnostic?

me, i am firmly in the talk-about-it-extensively and examine-it-all-the-time person. i should go to seminary school for weather nerds.

(by the way - isn't the weather crazy right now?)

whoops

2011-10-25T17:33:00.002-04:00

last monday morning was interesting.

well. maybe not interesting. maybe gross. there - you have been warned. those of the weak of stomach, read no further!!

we had a little cigar box mounted to the wall of our bathroom. the door open up. in the box we keep little bottles of bathroom things, like deodorant. at the time of this incident, there was a tiny nail which, were the box not mounted to the wall, would help keep the lid closed. this has been the set up for nearly six years and two moves. i keep trying to remember to remove the tiny useless nail.

i, being of sound mind and general clumsiness, somehow let the door swing closed on my hand while reaching for deodorant. ouch! i quickly examined said hand, and it seemed unscathed. whew! somehow i missed that nail! need to remove it...

so i proceeded to my bedroom to get dressed, reached up for something and OH MY GOOD BLOOOOODDDDDD!

then i woke up on the floor. with a very bad headache and a very bloody hand.
turns out i did not escape the nail. it was just a tiny, tiny puncture wound, but i think it hit a vein. i'm fine, really, and i have a lovely bruise a week later.

5 whole years!

2011-10-25T17:30:00.002-04:00

chris and i JUST celebrated the ol' 5 year anniversary. (our kissaversary is actually around easter, and it will be 9 years i think this spring, lest you think we were like just getting to know eachother or something!)

we celebrated! we put on clean clothes, went out to eat at a restaurant, came home, and watched back to back to back episodes of 'battlestar galactica' and went to bed 10 (so late!).

man, we know how to party.

it might be a bad sign when...

2011-10-19T14:53:00.004-04:00

you are venting to your therapist (is it venting? or is it therapy...?) about your job, and she suggests you need to write a book.
because it is that harrowing/unusual/typical/funny?

i'm just sayin'. that seems like a bad sign.

dinner

2011-10-13T13:47:00.002-04:00

Chris emailed me earlier today:
"Any foods I need to put in the dinner tonight?"

First, it is awesome he is cooking dinner. He's gotten really good at it - his baking really is stellar, too. (And considering I can;t bake it is a good thing someone in the house can make tasty flaky cinnamon rolls....mmmmm....gluten free cinnamon rolls....)

Anyway. I responded in poem form. I thought you may enjoy (I'm sure Chris did: his response was "K.")

"Hm.
Dig around in the fridge.
Open all containers. Open all bins. Open all drawers.
Explore contents.
Identify suspect things.
Put suspect things in the trash.

Line up not-quite suspect, but possibly questionable items.
Use these items."

Moved.

2011-09-03T20:41:00.002-04:00

So, we no longer reside in the converted goat barn. But, changing the names of blogs and redirecting stuff is a pain in the ass. And now that I have wrangled myself some extra hours in the day (part of the moving goal) I've been meaning to start writing on this thing more, partly to keep the family up to date on all our recent and increasingly frequent adventures (also part of the moving goal).

Today I just want to say: there really are only two things I miss about the goat barn.

1) The immense ease with which we could clean it. Hello double the space! You require much more maintenance. And our vacuum broke, and I believe the shop-vac we are are using as a substitute is causing us deafness.

2) Our Land Vixen (er...landlady...). We just miss her.

wowza.

2011-05-29T17:46:00.001-04:00

last night, we went to a cook-out, which kinda turned into a party. like an actual shindig.

it was real good fun - the kinda fun we thought was easy to stumble across fours years ago, but here in VT seems harder to happen upon. but there it was, and it was good.

thanks, memorial day!

decision making

2011-05-22T11:46:00.003-04:00

we've been traveling so much lately. this is the first weekend in a really long time where we've been home both days. it's a relief.

traveling is wonderful and exciting and also exhausting.

and now we are thinking about making changes. i'd tell you what they were if we knew what they were. in fact, if anyone wants to volunteer to decide for us - that would be great.

we

2009-12-11T17:44:00.003-05:00

I have a pal who just got married.

And he just 'we'-d.

By this I mean that he is now referring to himself and his new lovely spouse as 'we.' Before it was just '[her name] and me' or 'I' or, well, you get the idea.

I think it is adorable: it is one of those things that you start doing without realizing it. But it is this insignificant thing that seems to signify...something. That everything has finally clicked into place, somehow? To test the waters? But, then again, I make too big a deal of words and phrases and such, so this could easily just be me.

I think Chris and I - we! - started doing it when we finally stopped doing the break-up-and-get-back-together dance. I noticed it one day, that he had said the 'we', and the next thing I knew I was spending time with his family on a regular basis. For me, the 'we' usually precedes the 'I love you.' Just my way of trying out stuff, I guess, seeing if it feels comfortable to be associated with this person, but before I start giving that ol' heart away.

Anyway. 'We' are pretty thrilled about 'us' so that's good. And my new pal seems all flush with happiness, which is awesome.

winter

2009-12-05T16:12:00.003-05:00

it is here. finally.

Winter.

and admittedly i have been dreading the coming of vermont's main season. everything here revolves around winter. we have winter, and not winter, and mud season. and mud season is really just an off shoot of winter, since it is the product of the still partly frozen ground starting to thaw, and not being able to absorb the run off from all the snow.

but i digress.

it is snowing, and now just a little. there are tiny flakes piling up on the ground making snow banks. there are normal everyday items whose edges are blurred, color is covered, and that are becoming only identifiable as fluffy rounded soft things. and it is beautiful in it's softness and strangeness.

but i haven't had to start moving it yet. i don't like it much when i have to move it.

Empty Bowls

2009-10-13T18:26:00.004-04:00

My favorite charity event was this past weekend: Empty Bowls. How can you not love a charity event where your donation gets you a beautiful, handmade bowl and yummy, handmade (?) soup.

These are the two we picked out: These are also the two my Dad would be proud of. Although even they are a little 'fancy' the one with it's shiny black glaze on the bottom, the other with the fancy little swirl on the inside. I love bowls. I get so very

excited when I see all the bowls, can barely contain myself! I just simply marvel at all the quirky little creations.

And of course my obsession leads to excess donations to charity, in the form of additional purchases of bowls. These my Dad will consider a little to precious, to which I say: Hey! At least I know they made little transfers for those precious little drawings which somehow redeems the fact that I Love Them. I LoveLoveLove them and will eat all of my meals out of them.

Oh, and the soup was good, too.

I forgot about the bugs

2009-09-29T10:04:00.002-04:00

Living in the middle of no where means there are less people.

But, that does not mean there are less living entities. Rather, it means there are more bugs. I have been home less than 24 hours and have found: two ticks on the cat, an caterpillar in the bouquet of flowers that I left on the table, a centipede in the sink, and mosquitos in the house.

I can handle most bugs pretty easily, but the ticks and the mosquitos piss me off - and gross me out - because it has actually been far too cold for both to even exist, but there they are. Stupid wankers.

Chicago

2009-09-29T09:32:00.002-04:00

I went to Chicago. Or rather, I went back.

For the first time in a long time.

I've been back to visit, but not really, not in the way where you have a lot of free time to spend in the city...which is not truly the way it was when I lived there, but still. This trip was a lot of free time, almost like living there, if living there meant you were independently wealthy and never had to work. Which would be awesome…

It can be an amazing city. I was staying in my old neighborhood, and was better at getting around than when I have stayed elsewhere within the city limits. As if my Chicago compass has lincoln park as it's center. And buses! I never used buses much in college, mostly because the majority of my trips involved direct routes on the L lines. And they were a hassle. Now they seem speedier, more reliable, and more importantly tell you the streets as you approach so you can actually get off on the right spot. They are also equipped with GPS and if you can find wireless while you are waiting for the bus, it will tell you exactly when the next one is coming – but IF you can find wireless. Most people have wisely secured their wireless, which for us would-be thieves is a big pain in the ass.

Chris did make a friend on one of the buses: a gentleman that would have fallen into the ‘drunken bum’ category, except he was not drunk, didn’t smell at all, had a bus pass that he used successfully, and actually seemed to be fairly knowledgeable, specifically about old cars and air cooled engines. He spied Chris’ t-shirt w/ the Volksrodder logo, and cam e over to chat. But in that uncomfortable way where you’re not quite sure if the person has all their marbles – and he did seem to have lost some along the way, but the ones he kept were interesting. And then the crazy started peaking out, with cars he invented but hadn’t built that would have revolutionized the world. Or maybe it was true, who knows. He seemed cared for somehow – someone was keeping him clean and fed – but we were curious what his story was…

I got to see old college pals, some I haven’t seen in a really long time. It was great to see that everyone was going so well – I feel so proud of all of them. Strangely (?), the majority of my college pals were guys, and they have meet some really amazing women, who also tolerated some nostalgia ridden ‘remember whens’ – which makes them very tolerant people, as well as interesting and lovely.

And I got to see an old gal-pal and her very cool little girl. She and her husband have been married since soon after college, and are so happy together. It made me feel better about the fact that Chris and are still ridiculously happy (almost three years of marriage!) especially amid all the recent splits that we’ve heard about. They make me nervous, like I should be looking over my shoulder at some mysterious thing creeping up.

And I got to see one of my dearest college pals get married to a beautiful and brilliant woman. I felt truly lucky to be able to be there, and celebrate the two of them.

Ah, Chicago. Why don’t I live there? There are so many good things about it. I sometimes forget, though, until I am there how - as one person put it – isolating and expensive it can be (sometimes those are the same thing). I do want to move back one day, but it is unlikely that it will actually happen. I like the amenities of living rural-ly – like big dogs, quiet, actual darkness at night, big gardens, and landscapes and vistas made from trees and mountains instead of buildings.

But good god it was nice to visit.

Back in VT

2009-07-26T19:53:00.003-04:00

The garden has gotten a little overgrown this week, but still looks good. The cabbage worms are still winning the battle, and therefore the brusselsprouts look like crap. No worries. The beans are in, and the basil is huge: beans and pesto will be eaten and put up tomorrow. Can't make the stupid underliney stuff stop, so this looks a little odd...

It isn't hot here. Which is one of the things I like about the north. I think a comparison list - north v. south - is coming soon. It was lovely being home, even under sad circumstances.

NOLA

2009-07-07T21:04:00.006-04:00

I got sent to New Orleans on a business trip. It rained/stormed in the afternoon, and then cleared up. It was beautiful: I only really saw the warehouse district and the french quarter. So, to answer all the questions, no real apparent damage from the hurricanes in those areas. I mean, there were some building with windows still boarded up, and strips of closed shops, but nothing more that is typical in any big city.

I'm not used to big southern cities: big cities are usually places where I walk with purpose, don't make eye contact, put up walls. But, this is the south. It doesn't matter where you are or what time it is: you smile, you make eye contact, and you say 'hello.' Ah, the south.

Being in the south was nice: the heat, the light, all the things that are summer. New England summer is like a weak-ass version of summer. In some ways, it is lovely - I hate the heat, really, and it is nice not to drip sweat all day every day. But you miss the heat. The light, the way the late day sun slants. And northerners have a fear of showing skin, born of the constant coolness, i think? There was an abundance of skin. It looked like it was summer. People looked summery.

Exactly.

2009-06-12T19:43:00.003-04:00

Local strawberries, picked up at a Walker's on the way home. Still warm, 'cause they were picked that day. Ah, spring. You sure do taste good.

Cows!

2009-06-10T18:58:00.003-04:00

Cow butts! I love the Strolling of the Heifers parade. What's not to love? We quadruple out population. There are cows on Main Street. Free dairy products (cheese, ice cream).

Oh, and a petting zoo. The picture is blurry, but you get the idea: teeny spotted baby pigs. It is a miracle I didn't bring one home with me.

Poppy

2009-06-05T20:29:00.002-04:00

We went to Kentucky for Memorial Day, which was lovely. So many things were flowering that was just starting to bud in Vermont. It was like a preview of the spring that hadn't gotten to us northerners. I was also a little sad, because I thought that we would miss the explosion of spring in our garden. Luckily, we got back to find the very very beginning.

I do love poppies: they are such fascinating and fragile flowers. The color is fantastic. They are architecturally interesting. If only they lasted longer. I wouldn't mind having poppies all summer long. Our are doing better this year, though. After the first year when I ripped a number of them out of the ground thinking they were weeds...

Oh, Flying Squirrel

2009-04-12T17:00:00.004-04:00

Last year, near the fall, I was sitting on our couch. Behind the couch is a window, which looks into the woods and our 'back yard', which really is just an area we put a fence around so the dogs could have a place to run around and do their doggy business. Behind my head, I hear a noise, so I tilt my head back and OH MY GOD THERE IS A BAT ON THE SCREEN CHRISSSSSS!

Our landlady and Chris decided I was crazy. It was certainly not a bat. That was not 'bat' behavior. So I said "What about a flying squirrel?" I mean, it was fuzzy, and had wing-like flaps. If it is not a bat, then it Has to be a flying squirrel. This suggestion was apparently funnier than the idea of it being a bat. SO I dropped it. Well! Guess who came to visit:

That's him alright. Sittin' atop our shower. God, was he cute. And he was in fact a Northern Flying Squirrel. I wanted to keep him forever and ever, even though he was a total party animal, and when we locked him in the bathroom over night - with the window open, hoping he would find his way out, he trashed the place.

Of course, he did not leave. In fact he camped out in a toiletry bag that I had not yet unpacked from our trip to Boston the weekend before. I didn't realize it until the next morning, when the cat is Very interested in the toiletry bag. The next thing I know there is squealing and thrashing and there is a squirrel up on top of the shower curtain again.

Later that day we came home to find the poor guy curled up and deceased: the cat's morning terrorizing had done him in. Over 24 hours we had become so attached to our little buddy that we buried him. Poor guy.

Food Bag

2009-03-22T19:42:00.003-04:00

Dear Food Bag
I love you. Even though you are empty (which is the only reason I am not chewing on you), and they put you in the back room. I will lie next to you until they take you away. Then I will be sad.
Signed
Sebastian "Steve" Dog

unproductive weekend

2009-03-01T16:34:00.002-05:00

At least he's cute. However, please note the copious amounts of animal fur on the floor. Actually, why do I even need to mention it? Look at it! Ew. Okay. I was successfully being lazy all weekend, eating yummy food, playing on internets, reading bits of things. But now I need to vacuum. Of course, the dog is not going to be happy, but really, does he he want to be lying in his own filth? The answer is yes - but I do not want to be walking in his filth. It could be worse. He hasn't started shedding out for summer yet.

Summer, is that you...?

2009-02-25T19:01:00.003-05:00

I can feel it: the sun is actually warm! Okay, there is still over a foot of snow...It is not just light any more, the sun is actually creating Heat. It is glorious.

Remind me of this when I am complaining about the heat in August.

oooooooooo mommy

2009-02-20T18:44:00.002-05:00

I have recently developed a theory that southern food is lacking in umami. Ya know, the OTHER taste? Salty, sweet, bitter, sour, aaaaannnnnd UMAMI!

Umami - for those who aren't obsessed with reading food blogs and listening to NPR - is mushroomy. Meaty. GOOD. MSG is Umami.

Anyway, as Christopher has been trying new things, I think that the ones he never 'liked' have all been umami-ish. This is just a theory....

Bad Sign

2009-02-20T18:19:00.006-05:00

I've been noticing references to 'spring' - on people's blogs, emails, conversations. Even the news, or at least more southern climate's news, is also mentioning it.

Spring. Granted, things ARE melting. The temperature IS above freezing for at least part of every day.

But:
Brattleboro is having a Winter Carnival.
Yes folks, that's right. WINTER carnival.
Winter. It is still winter. And we will continue to see ice heaves on our roof and sickles from out gutter.

The Frigid North

2009-02-10T17:39:00.007-05:00

This is how winter makes me feel....

I am posting in honor of the fact that it has been above freezing for three days...in a Row! And. AND! Tomorrow it will be firmly in the 40 degree range. Remarkable. It has been in the low twenties and teens all the time for months now. I was almost accustomed to it being so cold.

(That is a lie: I complain bitterly. Chris then always, with out fail, quips, "Hey - you Wanted to move North!")

Anyway: here is what it has looked like:
Okay. So it is kinda pretty. But, damn it has been cold! Spring is almost here, right? Oh wait, not for several....months....

ISTJ

2008-10-28T18:29:00.002-04:00

So, introversion - do I get to blame that for my inability to post things in a timely, or regular manner?

Anyway: Meyers Briggs. This stuff rocks. Well, that and psychology, but any way: the two combined make me feel a little less 'crazy' and more, I don't know, 'diagnosed'?

SO, what does ISTJ mean?
i=introvert. Duh, like i didn't know this already. Crowds, parties, and just generally talking to people makes me nervous. I like being alone, and get all happy and energized and whatever when left to my own devices. Not to say I don't like people, I do, and really enjoy some interaction - I just really need a nap afterwards, and if pushed too far (read:party) I tend to cry afterwards.

s=sensing. I think the part that resonates most with me for this one is that I can be notorious for taking things apart to see how they work, before considering whether I can put them back together. I like tangible, concrete info, and not so keen on hunches.

t=thinking. Yup, pretty much. Rational decisions based on facts. (But, combined with the tendency to 'leap before you look' part of sensing, causes me to do things like move to Vermont before I have a job, but doing research on unemployment rates and cost of living - go figure)

j=judging. This means I come across as logical, as opposed to empathetic, because my decisions are based on the facts at hand as opposed to emotions. Also, a desire and appreciation to have things settled, taken care of, complete.

Or, in other words, http://www.personalitypage.com/ISTJ.html

Anyway, some of it is malarkey, but all in all it is a handy thing to throw out when you and someone you work with are not seeing eye to eye, to kind of lightened the moment and refocus, like "Oh, stop being such a J!" Ya have a good laugh, and get the job done - which I appreciate.

GeezumCrow

2008-09-16T20:20:00.002-04:00

Okay, I have been known to get a tab bit peevish when Chris isn't doing his fair share of the chores. And, he's also gotten a little cranky when I am not doing mine. It is a give and take, and since we both work, we have to both pitch in.

But next time he doesn't pitch in, I am going to remind him of this:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26742851/from/ET/?gt1=43001

Please note the use of a two foot sword. 'Cause the dishes weren't done. It makes me look like and angel of mercy sent from the heavens to anoint his feat in dishwater.

Totally Punk Rock

2008-09-16T19:08:00.003-04:00

These little guys are back! These are seriously the coolest woolly worms ever, with their punk rock hairstyles. They wriggle along like they are groovin to some majorly heavy tunes. I glimpsed their bright green pals once, too. And, of course, was camera-less.

I always try to think 'take the camera' but when get home from work, the dogs are barking, and it is walkin' time, the camera is the last thing I'm thinking off. It is usually more like "Did I remember to send that email before I left work?" or "What am I going to make for dinner?" or "Lalalalalalalalalalalalala.........What did you say, Chris?"

Perfect Sunday, in flames.

2008-08-15T12:46:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday - and let's note the date - August 10, 2008, was perfect. One of those New England summer days that convinced me that there was a utopia, and it was in Vermont. 72 degrees, sunny, breezy, bright blue sky with a handful of obscenely fluffy white clouds that were all far to perfectly shaped. Really, they had no right to be that attractive. Oh, but I forgot, in utopia the clouds can be as pretty as they want.

Any way, we got up early, did laundry, and hung it all out to dry. Partly because it was a fantastically sunny day, partly because there were no available dryers at the laundry mat. Part of the side effect of living in a small town is a small laundry mat. However, rarely are there that many people there. But, also, it only takes about three people doing laundry to occupy all the machines, so I suppose it is all relative. No matter! That is why we live where we do, so we can come home and string up a couple of extra lines, and hang the wash out to dry. I would like to note that all of our 'vintage' / thrift store clothing was dry very quickly, but any thing we have bought in the last ten years at a 'real' store took forever. We have evolved (apparel wise) into the land of necessary dryers. I am still waiting for my jeans to dry.

After all that hard labor *whew!* we made lovely lunches from our vegetable garden; summer tomatoes, squash (what is a meal without squash?!?!) , and added some tasty cheeses, and Bread. In a gluten free house, Bread always gets a capitalization. Bread is special. Bread is a treat. Bread is something you savor and get very, very excited about.

And, since sunny weather is hard to come by lately, we took the oppourtunity to mow the lawn, tag team style. It takes one person about 3 hours to mow the lawn. BUT - out lovely land vixen owns two push mowers, so me can break them both out and get it done lickety-split. Which was good, because then the clouds started rolling in...

Not to fear! We got the mowing done in record time, and managed to break a sweat - all those hills are a great workout. Now time for a little break; we grabbed cold beers, and sat on the porch and watched the storm clouds. They were across the valley, and you could see the edges of the storm, the lightning ricocheting off the clouds, and sometimes sending angry fingers to trees below. We debated gathering the laundry, but the storm glided on around us.

After some garage stuff (Chris) and some house stuff (me) it was getting to be about evening and dinner time, so I set to cooking. More squash, polenta, collards, and some toasted sunflower seeds to start....but that is about as far as I got.

Moments after I put the sunflower seeds in the oven (it felt like moment, maybe it was longer) I smell something funny and OH MY GOD THERE ARE FLAMES IN THE OVEN! I (amazingly) think that "I need to turn off the gas" and even more remarkably actually did so.

And then I open the oven.

BAD idea, as flames leap OUT of the oven. Slam door shut, and, god only knows why, open the oven AGAIN. I think I thought I would find something other than black smoke and flames, but no.

Then, most embarrassingly of all, I run for my husband. I can think of nothing else to do other than GET CHRIS. SO into the yard, screaming my head off. Chris recalls me screaming something along the lines of "ChrisFireHelpNow!" He had no trouble hearing that.

And at this point it starts raining. With all the clothes still on the line.

Into the house bursts Chris, and grabs the (why didn't I think of it?) fire extinguisher.
PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFffffffffffffffffffffffffffffTTttttttttttttttttttttttt.
Fire is out. Black smoke is everywhere, and the inside of our oven is caked in soot and fire extinguisher stuff. And there is a fine layer of fire extinguisher dust over out entire house.

Then we both tear into the yard, throwing laundry into baskets as quickly as possible, and back into the house.

Then I start to cry, because I realize not only have I ruined dinner, but now we have to clean all this up. And start cooking again, because we can't go out to eat, because Chris can't eat anything. But, we do it. We clean up, and make some salads, and I vow never to use to oven again without proper supervision.

But; I did not destroy the oven. After some spraying of oven cleaner, it is as good as new - literally. That stuff is a little scary, actually. I'm not sure what it did to make it so easy to clean that oven, but man oh man, that oven is Spotless.

And I did not cause the house to explode. It only occurred to me a few days later that 1) we have a gas stove. 2) Our gas stove was full - really, full - of fire. 3) Our oven did not explode.
I'm sure that somewhere there is a design element that the clever stove manufacturers included, and I did have the presence of mind to turn off the gas, but still....

More Marital Bliss

2008-08-07T12:09:00.000-04:00

me: Hey, I posted on my blog, about how you can't hear me.
Chris: I can hear you just fine, I just choose to ignore you.
me: WHAT?!?!
Chris: .....

From what I observe, this is 'selective hearing,' a condition that all men develop upon the placement of a wedding ring on their finger. This is similar to, but in a different form from, 'selective memory,' which women develop with the acquisition of the same jewelery:

Chris: Wifey, did you go to Target?
me: I think so....
Chris: What'd you get? Do you have the receipt?
me: Um, I don't remember....
Chris: I thought you said you were only going to pick up some laundry detergent.
me: Really? Did I? I don't remember that.
Chris: Is that a new dress?
me: ....

Home

2008-08-07T10:18:00.000-04:00

I am having huge painful urges to go home. It happened about this time last year, too. It is as if I can only handle approx. 6 months of time away from Kentucky before I need to visit again. And maybe - just maybe - I am a little jealous that Chris's sister now lives soooo close, and we get to see her when ever we want. And that we got to spend time with his friends and family when they came up this year. Flying is prohibitively expensive, and after last August's experience, I swore not to fly until the airlines got their act together. And driving, well, not really an option either, although I am itching for a road trip. Maybe I'll just head down to Boston to see Johnna in a week...

Two Years

2008-08-06T15:02:00.000-04:00

This past weekend a couple friend of ours came to visit. At one point, Chris and I were having one of our typical conversations:

me: Christopher - honey?
Chris: Hmmm?
me: Remember that thing?
Chris: .....
me: Ya know, that was all....and we were.....remember?
Chris: .......
me: Seriously! Don't you remember!
Chris: .......
me: Chris! Are you listening to me?
Chris: What?

To which my friends started laughing and said we have now been married for 30 years.

Squash.

2008-08-06T14:43:00.000-04:00

I have a lot of squash. Really, it is coming out of our ears, because after you eat it every day for weeks and weeks and you start to turn a little yellow, and it starts ooozing out of your ears. Chris has been having a hard time hearing me lately,

me: Honey - where is the squash?

Chris: The what?

me: The squash?

Chris: ........

me: Chris - did you hear me?

Chris: ......

me: Chris? Hey - where is the SQUASH? CHRIS!

Chris: .....

me: CHRIS! WHERE THE @#$% ARE YOU?!?!?

Chris: Sorry, wifey - did you say something?

And it is because his ears are clogged with squash.

Just like it.

2008-07-24T16:49:00.000-04:00

(photo courtesy of www(dot)unpluggedliving(dot)com)

Okay. Back on the blog writing bike. Yup, here it goes.

It's raining. A lot. Constantly. I think I am officially vitamin D deficient now. It is unnatural and makes me want to sleep all the time. I like weather...okay, except when it is hot and it rains too much. Actually I guess I like the lack of weather.

I've been thinking, lately, about the fact that all of my friends are not here. And how that is. Just thinking. And I rarely get lonely, does that make me weird? Social stuff just makes me anxious more than anythign else. Writing emails makes me nervous. Phone calls make me nearly panic sticken, and I have to lie down afterward, so you can imagine what actually having to spend time with people does. SO perhaps it is for the better? Still, I am lucky to know some amazing people. So maybe I should get off my ass and make a call...

Wah.

2008-07-23T17:22:00.000-04:00

What happens to all those moments when you are bored as a kid?

Why don't I have time to be bored?

Why do I not even have time to put the laundry away?

And why oh why please tell me why people do not listen and make up what they want to hear?

I am sooooo not the only one obsessed with my pests...i mean pets

2008-06-30T17:42:00.001-04:00

Check this out:

http://urara1117.blogspot.com/

Cute lil' buggers. Sebastian would accidentally step on one, and then cry, because he really likes playing with dogs that are 1/2000 of his size. He likes to roll over onto his back and let them hang on his jowls. Bella would probably look at them like they were the super hyper wind up toy dogs that they are and then wander off and ignore them. But man, they sure are cute.

To Anyone who knows more than me - so - Everyone:

2008-06-25T13:57:00.000-04:00

How do you change the sizes of pictures? Is there a program that can help with that? Any suggestions? Hmmmmmmm????

Lunatic

2008-06-25T13:51:00.001-04:00

Awwwwwwwwwwwwww!
That is my little Lunatic aka Luna aka Scratch Fury Destroyer of Worlds.
She is finally feeling better, and back to her bitchy self.

The vet we went to see will not be getting a return visit. After several more days of frothing, and general illness, I called her again. The vet refused to acknowledge that anything was wrong, and kept insisting that my cat must repeatedly be licking toads, or some such. When I described Luna as being affectionate, the vet said "That's sounds normal" and when I tried to explain that for this cat, it certainly was not normal, she said I should welcome the new development, regardless of the fact that she was frothing at the mouth and not eating or drinking. So, now I have a standoffish crank-monster, who runs around like a crazy thing, and eats and drinks plenty. And has received many lectures about the evils of ingesting amphibians.

Upon Request

2008-06-24T09:31:00.001-04:00

Upon request, here are pictures of the house. There is Christopher and Bella, and the tiny maple tree that Christopher is growing.

And this is the rock wall / drainage ditch that I spend an entire Sunday rebuilding. I am trying to decide if I should keep weeding it, or let it get all over grown....

That bottom rock wall, constructed by Joshua, and home to my 'experimental' plants. Surprisingly, the teeny succulents are doing well, and some of the other creepers are not. At All. But - miraculously - the lavender is going like gangbusters.

'Cause one view isn't enough.

So. That's the garden. We has poppies and irises for about a week. And there are some new purple flowers after all the rain. Maybe more pictures are needed. Hmm...I also didn't add any of the vegetable garden, which was beautiful. Until the deer. They even ate the artichokes. It is terribly depressing.

Self Indulgence of the Literary Kind

2008-06-11T11:30:00.000-04:00

I love books. I love reading. I love books so much that I love reading reviews of books. But, I have this problem...I rarely really remember what I read. Sucks, no? And I read way too much way too early, and didn't really get it. Kudos to the parents for having skads of lovely things to read. No kudos to me for trying to read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" when I was 10. Sure, I read all the words, and understood maybe the 'ands' and 'thens' - but that's it.

Now, here is the big dilemma. Do I go back and re-read all the things I have read and did not retain? Or focus on the millions of excellent things I have not?

This list makes me feel stupid and hopeful ; all the books I have read are bolded. Doesn't mean I retained a damn thing, but I have looked at every word between the covers. But, there are a few I remember. Mostly modern books...I feel like I should reread some classics? Geez.

(photo courtesy of elearningstuff.wordpress.com)
"106 books of pretension" at
What Would Jane Austen Do?

1. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
2. Anna Karenina
3. Crime and Punishment
4. Catch-22
5. One Hundred Years of Solitude
6. Wuthering Heights
7. The Silmarillion
8. Life of Pi
9. The Name of the Rose
10. Don Quixote
11. Moby Dick
12. Ulysses
13. Madame Bovary
14. The Odyssey
15. Pride and Prejudice
16. Jane Eyre
17. The Tale of Two Cities
18. The Brothers Karamazov
19. Guns, Germs, and Steel: the fates of human societies
20. War and Peace
21. Vanity Fair
22. The Time Traveler’s Wife (okay - this i remember, and love)
23. The Iliad
24. Emma
25. The Blind Assassin
26. The Kite Runner
27. Mrs. Dalloway
28. Great Expectations (and i remember this one, but hated it)
29. American Gods
30. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (this one was great)
31. Atlas Shrugged (okay, I love Ayn Rand)
32. Reading Lolita in Tehran : a memoir in books
33. Memoirs of a Geisha
34. Middlesex
35. Quicksilver
36. Wicked : the life and times of the wicked witch of the West
37. The Canterbury Tales (in high school, for class - does that count?)
38. The Historian : a novel
39. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
40. Love in the Time of Cholera (yeah, not real impressed with Mr Marquez...)
41. Brave New World
42. The Fountainhead
43. Foucault’s Pendulum
44. Middlemarch
45. Frankenstein
46. The Count of Monte Cristo
47. Dracula
48. A Clockwork Orange (i have an excuse; tried to watch and then read after having wisdom teeth extracted - heavily medicated, barely remember anything)
49. Anansi Boys
50. The Once and Future King
51. The Grapes of Wrath
52. The Poisonwood Bible : a novel (this was excellent)
53. 1984 (love this one)
54. Angels & Demons
55. The Inferno (again in high school)
56. The Satanic Verses
57. Sense and Sensibility
58. The Picture of Dorian Gray
59. Mansfield Park
60. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
61. To the Lighthouse
62. Tess of the D’Urbervilles
63. Oliver Twist
64. Gulliver’s Travels
65. Les Misérables
66. The Corrections
67. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
68. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
69. Dune
70. The Prince
71. The Sound and the Fury
72. Angela’s Ashes : a memoir (college)
73. The God of Small Things (beautiful, beautiful, beautiful)
74. A People’s History of the United States : 1492-present
75. Cryptonomicon
76. Neverwhere
77. A Confederacy of Dunces
78. A Short History of Nearly Everything
79. Dubliners
80. The Unbearable Lightness of Being (read it, liked it, still felt like I didn't get it) 81. Beloved
82. Slaughterhouse-Five
83. The Scarlet Letter
84. Eats, Shoots & Leaves
85. The Mists of Avalon
86. Oryx and Crake : a novel
87. Collapse : how societies choose to fail or succeed
88. Cloud Atlas
89. The Confusion
90. Lolita (read it for a women's studies class - totally different take - loved it)
91. Persuasion
92. Northanger Abbey
93. The Catcher in the Rye
94. On the Road (hate kerouac - Chris loves him, so maybe I'm missing something...)
95. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
96. Freakonomics : a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
97. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance : an inquiry into values (yup - there it is)
98. The Aeneid
99. Watership Down (i don't know which i love more about this book - the bunnies or the bunny-language dictionary in the back)
100. Gravity’s Rainbow
101. The Hobbit
102. In Cold Blood : a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences
103. White Teeth (genius)
104. Treasure Island
105. David Copperfield
106. The Three Musketeers

Cows!

2008-06-10T17:07:00.001-04:00

(photo courtesy of Katie)

Welcome to Post 1 on The Parade to End All Parades: Brattleboro's own, Strolling of the Heifers.
That there cow is named Sassafras - and she is being strolled by Katie, my lovely co-worker.

This parade was excellent; cows! Trucks! Kids dressed up like organic broccoli - god I wish I had a picture of That one! The only real downside was that it was 90+ degrees. That's right, it was hot, in Vermont, in June. It is rather early for heat of that magnitude, and it has continued - with 100 degree days ever since. Insane. I think the locals are going to start melting any minute now.

Oh - and did I mention there were over 60,000 people in town? Brattleboro is usually only about 11, 000 inhabitants. It was udder (ha!) chaos. I got to see a cop slap - and I mean SLAP, hard, hard enough that hundreds of people went silent for a second - a car (with out of state plates) as it did some stupid driving in a crowd of people.

But! Wait! there will be more! I haven't even started on the night BEFORE the parade!

I get presents, too?

2008-06-09T12:24:00.000-04:00

SO.
Apparently along with this whole bloggin' deal-thingy, is presents.
Like commeents and links to cool stuff. The web is a big place, and you need help to find all the good stuff.

Like this:

http://www.neticons.net/music_life/

From my cousin Zachary. Enjoy!

Tired but prolific.

2008-06-09T10:54:00.001-04:00

I have a camera full of photos.
Tales of a busy weekend.
And the desire to take a nap.

Things I Should DO, Not Just Think About

2008-06-05T09:21:00.000-04:00

Kids are neat. They are so guile-less and pretty much just focused on having a good time. It is always good reminder that - oh yeah! - life is supposed to be fun. It's easy to get really bogged down in the trappings of adulthood; work, cooking, laundry, scrubbing the toilet, walking the dog, weeding the garden, and then work again. But all of this - at one point in time - was fun. Okay, maybe not scrubbing the toilet...but I did get a perverse sense of satisfaction out of doing a very good job of cleaning my first apartment.

In fact - all of the things I do were once 'fun';

Laundry was a blast in college, and the one time that was free from classes, or work, or crazy stress. Two hours of peace and quiet.

(photo courtesy of www(dot)persalts(dot)com/)

Work was once exciting - and when I think about it, I love my job, even when it is crazy and ulcer-inducing busy, I love what I do.

(photo courtesy of biojobblog.com)

Cooking was once an adventure, not an obligation. And when I stop worrying about and enjoy the process, it is relaxing and satisfying.

(photo courtesy of http://www.glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/ - check it out - she is my hero!)

And the garden. It can be so much damn work, but I do get lost in it. And being able to stand back at the end of the day and be able to see and touch what I did all day - something missing in the esoteric world of computers and papers at my job - there is a sense of accomplishment.

So. Life is supposed to be fun. Get your nails painted blue once in a while, like my lovely nephew.

(photo courtesy of Kay)

Bad Blogger!

2008-06-03T12:50:00.000-04:00

Geez. This bloggin thing is harder than I though it would be. I keep saying "Oh! That would be great to post!" But do I do it? No. Instead I wander down to the garden and putter, or take a nap, or play with the dogs, or try to find a new gluten free way to make banana bread, or mindlessly stare at the horizon.

Or. OR! Spend way too much time slapping at these incarnations of pure evil.

Absolutely, pure, unadulterated evil. Spawns of satan. Scum of the earth. I HATE Mosquitoes. I am covered in bites, way earlier than usual this year. If I am standing in a group of people, no one else gets bitten, because they are visually swarming all over me. They leave scars. I have resorted to covering myself with some deet-based bug repellent if I want to leave the house after 4pm in the afternoon, which I am sure will cause cancer in my old age, but I don't care! Okay, I do care, but I really like being outside....

Luna Wins.

2008-05-12T17:11:00.001-04:00

This is the item that is less important than my cat.

This is the item that cost as much as a vet visit, but that I love.

But not as much as I love my cat.

So, in round one of Luna v. Over Priced Article of Clothing, Luna is the victor.

But - damn, that is one fine dress.

Tomorrow's post: pictures of my cat being cute - and maybe foamy!

(picture courtesy of Anthropologie.com)

Stupid Cat - Don't Lick the Toad

2008-05-12T14:51:00.000-04:00

(photo from my stash - if it is yours, please let me know)

Isn't he cute? I love the toads in our yard, and routinely terrify the little buggers by insisting upon picking them up. The cat, Luna, also likes them, and likes to make them jump around by pouncing right next to them. Little did I know that if a cat LICKS a toad, it will froth at the mouth - kinda' like they've got rabies. That's right - rabies. So this morning, as I am leaving for work, the cat is sitting on the kitchen table, and Chris says

"Does it look like the cat is foaming at the mouth?"

Yup - sure enough - frothy like a mad-kitten. So - off to the vet - in a panic - we go. I was especially panic stricken because (bad cat owner!) her rabies shot was two weeks late. Well, the vets were rather amused. Especially since rabies shots allow for a teeny bit of overlap, to cover idiot pet owners like me. So now she is all shot-up-to-dated, and still a little frothy.

Two morals of this story: always keep your pets meds up to date, so you can just shrug and say "I wonder what amphibian the cat licked this time?" and "Bad kitty! Don't lick the toad!"

(photo courtesy of the Simpsons)

Casulties in Adulthood

2008-04-30T09:26:00.000-04:00

I overheard some people talking the other day about how hard it must be to live pay check to pay check, wondering when the next car repair was going to put them in dire straits. These are friends of mine, and I honestly wanted to shake them. Granted, I am not quite in that shape, but close enough that if Chris or I lost our jobs, or we had a major emergency, all would not be well. There are some tense discussions when something monetarily significant comes along, and there are definitely decisions based purely on the financials.

Money is so strangely taboo, even though I think it is something we all worry about, no matter how much or little you have. Managing it is tricky, making decisions about it is tricky. Maybe if we all got together and said how we did it we could learn something... Any way, I often feel I can be blissfully child like until money comes along. I can love my job, like my house, until benefits premiums go up and we need a new toilet. Then - wham - I am an adult. And I have to make decisions.

I think that is the hardest part, the decision making; what goes on the card, what gets parcelled out, what we do with out, what takes priority. I just get so overwhelmed with that process of reordering. Chris is better at it. What for me becomes an emotional reaction, mostly fear and worry, for him is a logical puzzle that must be solved, and if he can just get all the little bits to fit...and he always does. He has fun with it, and comes to me with a "Look what I did!" smile, and everything is okay. I guess that's why we are happily married. Damn, I think that's adult, too.

Have your turned your trashheap?

2008-04-24T10:06:00.000-04:00

In our last house, my dear, dear husband turned our compost head into a huge stick pile. Probably for the best, since after we got our mutts, it would have been more of a snack counter. In our new house, out in the country with no trash pick up, we compost almost every bit of compostable scrap. However, I have still had to teach him the finer arts of composting. Like, no, old moldy cheese is probably not a great addition. Or the bits and pieces in the drain catch....
(update: we realized that we have a composting toilet - so the drain catch bits are gettin' flushed - it's a pretty genius system, for those of you who live on 10 or more acres of land....)

(picture courtesy of ApartmentTherapy.com)

To his credit, he is the one that turned the compost pile last year. But - this pic is for you, pookie.
And, although we have quite the hearty stick-free compost pile, it is still the neighborhood doggie snack shack. Benji, a great big red dog with a white tipped tail, likes to make the neighborhood rounds when he goes on walks, gettin' all the good stuff early in the morning. And our dogs have two distinct tactics: Bella lithely wiggles her pointy noose in between the bars, while Sebastian likes to just rip off the bars in his way....I need to put up a pick of our compost box...

Signs a'Springin'

2008-04-23T16:33:00.000-04:00

I haven't had a chance to take any pictures of all the work I did in the garden this weekend. The moment I do, I will have pictures. Pretty much, I moved mountains. Or pieces of ones. Boulders. Well, rocks. but enough to constitute a mountain. And it should drain better. Luna (the kitty) likes her little rocky perch - great for teeny tiny game hunting (or so Susan, our landvixen, says).

However - one of my favorite places is open - Walker Farm's stand. I get to drive past it every single day on Route 5 during my commute. It is fabulous. All winter, as I watched it being buried under snow storm after snow storm, until you couldn't even see the sign again, I kept wondering if it would even be there come spring time. But - it is - in all its flowering glory. They sell everything you could possibly ever want to plant. And the whole place is just gorgeous. And last year we got these heirloom tomatoes that were hands down some of the most amazing tomatoes I have eaten. Ever.

Ah, spring. It is very nice to have you back.

Welcome to our Goat-Less Abode

2008-04-18T17:19:00.001-04:00

Well, there it is, in all the glory that living in a goat barn can be. This picture is from last May - it isn't nearly that green here yet. I mean, there is still snow in the shady places. And we have a railing now....and the storage bins are...stored. We were still moving in when we took this picture. I love that it looks so very "Hi we are in the middle of the woods and we are still not exactly sure what we were thinking, but isn't the light nice on our new teeny house?"

Living in Vermont is an experience. It has to be one of the most egalitarian states in the union. It is not uncommon to have poverty snuggled right up against ridiculous wealth. And they both have to negotiate crater-sized ruts in the dirt roads and then replace their struts when they hit one too many...in fact we are currently working on establishing the New England area as the strut-replacement capital of the nation, single-handedly padding the pockets of mechanics and strut-makers everywhere. That's one, right there. See that gizmo? They are unbelievably important when driving on washboarded roads. Who knew that I would learn about struts upon moving to here.