It's The Birthday Fairy-Again!!!

Yesterday was my birthday, and I had a super great day. That's important when you reach these upper ages because we should make them count. And be memorable. And be fun. So, despite another winter storm coming our way, this one being named "Q," we packed the dogs in the car at 9am and headed 2 hours east toward the New Hampshire border for the Vermont town of Quechee. This is the nearly halfway point between my sister and I, and also where a great restaurant is, at the Simon Pearce glass workshop. We love getting together there, and have some great memories of lunches shared along the river.

We had snow most of the way, but it was in the 30's, and nothing was accumulating on the roads at all. They were just wet, more like it had been raining, and we watched the temperatures so we knew it wasn't freezing to cause any black ice. My sister and her husband, however, had a whole different story. They woke up to about 6 inches of snow, and this is what their drive looked like:

This is the interstate 89N heading toward Vermont, nothing plowed, one lane passable, and they went about 40 miles an hour until they were nearly to Quechee. Needless to say, they got to the restaurant about 40 minutes late. But we had a fabulous brunch, a great time chatting, and a fun couple of hours eating. Then we all got into our cars, and went a bit further north to the town of Norwich where the King Arthur Flour Bakery Store is. This is where I was getting my birthday present, and new bread maker:

Right now I have my first loaf of bread baking in it and it is beginning to smell really yummy. I love bread machines. I love bread too, and I love making fresh bread, but I don't always have the time it takes to do it. So this works great, especially when a loaf of nice bread (not stuff all sliced up for sandwiches) costs nearly $4.00, and I can get 5 pounds of King Arthur flour for $2.99. And my old bread maker just died right before Christmas, so I knew this is what I wanted for my birthday, plus lunch at Simon Pearce, and the shopping trip to King Arthur. Perfect day. Then you add in evening calls from each of my daughters, face time with the granddaughters, squeals from my grandson, and a call from my sister in Arizona, and it couldn't be much better. Oh, and a few cards arrived in the mail today:

So, it really was a wonderful way to celebrate. Here is the first loaf of bread fresh out of the baker:

Looks and smelly yummy.

Before I finish this up and head to bed, since I am a wee bit older these days, I have two more photos to share. Last week I worked the entire shift in the store on Tuesday and Wednesday because one of the girls was in California. It isn't that bad because it's only an hour longer than my normal shift since we do close at 6pm at this time of the year. But before I left on Wednesday, I took two pictures of Church Street still lit with all the lights. We go back on daylights savings time in two weeks, so even if I do need to stay late anytime soon, it probably won't be dark anymore when I leave. And it is just so beautiful all lit up:

It really does look magical. Thanks for sharing my birthday with me.

A Blizzard Named Nemo

Our Private Road Between Neighbors

Last Friday a blizzard roared into New England. Two storms colliding off the mid-Atlantic coast, then storming northward and out to sea. We were lucky, only in the 8-12" range. Other places in Massachusettes, Connecticut and Maine were in the 24"+ band, and that is what they got. I heard one place got 41 inches of the deep white stuff. We were closer to about 10 inches, which isn't really a huge deal around here. The interstate stayed pretty clear, sideroads a bit slick and slushy, but still passable, and things were pretty much back to normal by Saturday. I made it into work each day, but I did leave a little early for home on Friday and we closed the store up about 2 hours after I left. This storm would not have really had me concerned except for one thing; my husband left early Thursday morning to spend 3 days down in Burlington teaching one of his residency courses. He would not be home until late Saturday evening. I was left to get up early to walk the dogs before I left for work, and again when I got home, feed the pellet stove so the fire didn't go out, and figure out how to move a possible foot of snow from our 1/4 mile long driveway and private road. He is the one who takes the plow up and down, and finishes it off with the new snowblower. Hmmm I can drive thru about 6 inches with the car, but I can't shovel out our driveway and road and be to work on time. I was talking to my daughter down in Maryland Thursday night, and she told her husband he needed to come up and clear the snow out for me (he helped do this when we got 18"at Christmas) but his immediate response-"call Steve!" Steve is our neighbor, who lives that quarter mile down our driveway, then about a quarter mile up his. And that's what I did as soon as we hung up. His wife answered, and upon learning I was home alone with a nor-easter headed our way, said "smart boy" when I told her that my son-in-law said to call them. Of course Steve would be sure to keep me cleared out, what time did I need to leave for work, what time would I be back, was there anything else I needed? Our neighbors are the best. It's not a neighborhood, its a community of very special people who care about and for each other. Its a wonderful, comforting feeling. I know there are neighborhoods like this all over, but we like to think ours is very unique, and it is. Friday morning Steve was over at 7:50 plowing the driveway. As I was leaving work about 3 I sent him a text asking what it was like up here, and he said he had plowed again about 2, so I should have no problem getting in. During the night we had maybe 3 more inches of snow, and when I took the dogs our early Saturday morning I figured I wouldn't have any trouble driving thru it to get out, not wanting to bother Steve again to say I needed to go to work. But sure enough, he came rolling down the driveway about 7:50 again. And later after I got home, he sent me a text asking if all was okay, and he would come over if any goblins appeared before my husband got home. Cute. There are 4 neighbor families that are close, we have dinners together, celebrate holidays, share chores, watch each others' houses, and tell fantastic stories. Back in Maryland we had neighbors we would talk to and help out, but we weren't especially close. We did turn to one neighbor when our dog Cody collapsed one afternoon, and he helped us get him to the vet. And we had a group of neighbors where we lived in England that we were friends with, but each in their own way, not all together like we are here. We are lucky to be a part of this fantastic group of people. 

Our (plowed) Driveway

A Winter Festival

Church Street Winter Festival

This past weekend was the Winter Festival on Church Street in Burlington. I didn't actually stay late to see what the street looked like completely lit up, but I copied this photo from a newsletter we get from Market Street. It was really pretty and a lot was going on: the Polar Plunge into the lake on Saturday, a dance on the street, an outdoor market, and ice sculptures:

These were the two outside the restaurant next door to my store. If you look closely you can see the green building to the right of the sculptures. That is Danforth Pewter where I work. We are always in a great location for the activities on the street. It was a busy, busy day for us in the store, and we had a lot of fun. 

Here is a picture I took right before I left on Saturday:

It's just not dark enough to get the full feeling for what it looked like, but that also means that as I leave now at 5pm, it is still fairly light outside. Today the sky was even a wee bit light as I got off the interstate. That means the days are really getting longer. Anyway, it was pretty down on Church Street. Lights everywhere, and big, colorful balls of lights in the trees. It was chilly cold, only about 10 degrees when they started jumping in the lake. It is done to benefit Special Olympics. And one more picture from work before I forget. This is what I found taped to our door when I came back to work after our trip down to Maryland:

Isn't that cute? And, I hear that there are only a very few stores that were honored with this "Love Bomb!" It was a fun way to start that day, and I have left the sign up. I'll probably take it down after Valentine's Day.

Yesterday was the Superbowl, and the Baltimore Ravens won. It was fun to watch because we still feel the connection to the city. Here are what the grandchildren looked like;

All ready for the big game. But since it didn't end until nearly 11pm, I can't imagine any of these smiling faces were awake for the last play! It was a fun weekend. Now, the new week has begun, one day is complete, and it looks like it will be a week to continue getting caught up in the store. Tonight the low is -5, so that will mean a very quiet start to Tuesday.  No one seems to like to wander around outside when its soooo cold! Off to bed now, the morning will be here before I know it.