Special Holiday Edition …
Posted by Rick - 12/12/06 at 07:12:16 pm
Despite what this weblog seems to indicate, we really have been doing stuff worth writing about. So much, we couldn’t be arsed to actually record anything here. Well, as a service to our reader, I will be doing an end-of-the year “brain dump” to satisfy our reader’s curious mind. … Actually, there is no reader. No one has clamored, cried, whined or even so much as whimpered about our lack of posts. Nonetheless, in the spirit of the holidays we press on with our own Internet version of the holiday newsletter…
After our lovely visit with Nancy and Greg and recovering from the great fun that is the Tunbridge World’s Fair, we settled back into our routines. Always something to do with winter around the corner. The “job jar” in our house is like a bottomless cup of coffee.
Mickey started allergy shots in September. It took some getting used to, but I became more comfortable with sticking sharp objects into my beloved doggie. Ends up it isn’t as big a deal as I feared, and now that the shots are administered on a weekly basis, the task is much less troubling. At least the nightmares of his taking revenge have stopped. Seriously, he is a good dog and doesn’t even notice the needle in the scruff of his neck. The vet did a great job of showing me the ropes. Sarah knows how to administer the shot, but that is just in case she can’t find me.
Sarah joined me for the last gathering at the Justin Morrill Homestead to help clean up the beds for winter. Margie had a small lunch and homemade brownies for us, and we found some time to chat. It was also the last time I saw Muddy, who died a week or so later. I’ll miss that sweet dog.
Inspired by the work we did at JMH—and to fight off the urge to nap—we returned home and decided we may as well act locally. We cut back the perennials, added mulch, and harvested the herbs and the last of the Thai peppers—stringing the latter up to dry. A few weeks later I was invited to join the Board of Directors at the Justin Morrill Homestead, which is a great honor and should be a lot of fun. There is a dinner in January when I will officially join.
October was designated “Anniversary Month,” and we celebrated by going to see moe. play in Burlington at Higher Grounds. This was our first visit to the venue and we enjoyed it. Higher Grounds reminds me of DC’s 9:30 Club, but without a balcony and a much larger footprint. Oh, and no smoke! We met up with a couple of friends from South Royalton and took our usual spot near the soundboard. The sound was loud and clear. The soundboard engineer even gave us the official setlist to take home as an anniversary memento. The only draw back to the evening being how far HG is from our little place on the mountain. Even without traffic, the drive is a little over an hour, and we didn’t get home until well past 2 a.m. Thankfully, Sarah’s office was closed the next day, so we at least got to recover.
On the actual day of our anniversary (10/12) we treated ourselves to dinner out. After much debate we decided to keep things simple and went to Sean & Nora’s in Barre. Our first time there, and we will probably return. Casual yet intimate atmosphere without being anything close to pretentious. We got a nice table out of the main room, and enjoyed dinner, wine and dessert. There was an older couple next to us, who revealed to us on their way out that they were celebrating their 63rd anniversary. We were advised by the lady with the cute maple leaf brooch to keep smiling and holding hands. Sage advice.
A few days later we were honored to play host to Josh and Lori, who dropped in for a short visit. It was a nice quiet weekend taking in the fall colors, hiking, watching the Mets, eating, drinking beer and watching NFL. We were able to take a few short rural drives as well as hang out at McGillicuddy’s in Montpelier to watch some football.
The end of the month brought the CSA season to a close as well. It was a tough year for Vermont farmers, mostly due to the very wet spring we had. Our shares were smaller than both we and Jinny probably would have liked, but we still had plenty of fresh vegetables and enjoyed the variety of produce she was able to put in our weekly basket. She worked hard, and we ate well. We are grateful for the fresh local veggies grown around the corner from our home.
The thing we enjoyed most was the surprise of what we would find in our basket any given week. We started thinking of our share as if it were the secret ingredient on Iron Chef. We’d pick up our basket on Tuesday evening and plan a weeks worth of dinners based on what was in the basket, before heading off to the co-op or Shaw’s. One week we had to be creative with fennel, the next time it could be squash or corn. It certainly made grocery shopping more interesting.
Speaking of food, Thanksgiving was fun. Yuriko Kinje came up from DC and we hosted a couple of French students from the law school where Sarah works. The French students had some friends in town from Paris for a ski trip, so we invited them too. Sarah really out did herself when it came to the dinner. She made spicy roast butternut squash, green beans with garlic and tomatoes, horseradish and garlic mashed potatoes, bread stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce with port wine and orange, and homemade pumpkin pie. Oh, and she did an amazing job with the organic, free-range turkey we got from Misty Knolls. She brined it, stuffed it with parsley, apples, onions and carrots and roasted it. Everything was delicious! Even with 8 people at Thanksgiving dinner we had plenty of leftovers. We invited Jessamyn over for a Second Thanksgiving on Saturday, and enjoyed a nice campfire after dinner.
That about catches everyone up. Since Thanksgiving we have spent a good amount of time getting ready for the holidays and Sarah’s dad, JT’s, visit from Mexico. Putting up the tree, decorating it and the house, and sending out many cards. Now it is up to Mother Nature. THINK SNOW!
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Well, I sure have missed your posts - glad to see you all are well and happily tucked in there in Vermont - Merry Christmas. Thanks for the lovely ornament pics - and aloha from Maui!!
Comment by Stephany — December 12, 2006 #
See, readers even! For the record we had just decided to start a rotation of road trips to all come visit instead of nagging for updates; it seemed more efficient…
Comment by Yuriko — December 12, 2006 #
Phew, you’re alive!
Comment by Nick Smith — December 15, 2006 #
We love your blog and check it almost daily. We just opted not to whine
Thanks for all of the news.
Comment by Nancy Hart — December 15, 2006 #
Some folks just remember to check back periodically and see what’s shakin. Glad to see that all is well with you and yours. Merry New Year!
Comment by Jawrat — December 25, 2006 #
Merry Christmas!
-Walter
Sugar Mtn Farm
in Vermont
Comment by Walter Jeffries — December 26, 2006 #