So much going on...

I said I would take a picture of Mighty Maple after it snowed:

Mighty Maple December 3, 2012

 

 

Ummm, yup, that would be two weeks ago today! And, nope, that snow did not last. It did however make for a pretty terrible commute that morning. I rallied along for about 25 of my 35 mile drive at near normal pace of 60-63 miles per hour. No problem, no sliding or skidding, no cars in ditches or near collisions. Until I hit the last 10 miles outside of Burlington, at which point I slowed to a painful 8-10 miles per hour. And, yes, at that rate, it did indeed take me AN HOUR to finish getting to work that morning! It was an hour and 45 minute drive, for what appeared to me to be no more than people on the road who shouldn't have been there. It was crazy. No accidents or anything that I could see, and as I exited the interstate, everything from my exit on seemed to resume normal speed. And, seriously, it wasn't more than 2 inches of snow. Which was gone in about 36 hours. The dogs loved it, and ate as much as possible before it melted. We haven't had much more snow at all until yesterday. There was light snow for most of the day while I worked, and it looked so nice out on Church Street, but by the time I headed home at 6:30, it was already turning to rain. And I had rain for most of my drive in today (with no problems, and in a normal 50 minute time frame.) But there still is a covering of white in most places for now, with forecasts of snow several times in the next week, but no talk of much accumulation. I am hoping the snow is mild on Friday and Saturday when my daughters are driving up from Maryland and Texas. And then again on Christmas Day so my sister and her husband make it in from New Hampshire. But we would still love to have a nice blanket of snow on the ground for the holidays. Hopefully.

 

And before I sign off tonight, here is a beautiful photo of the newest member of our wonderful family:

 

 

Born on December 6th, 2012

 

Isn't she just so precious? I absolutely love this picture of her, and can't wait to see her next month!

 

And here she is with her sisters:



 

Aren't they the cutest little girls?

 





Funny thing-I had dinner last week with a cousin from Minnesota I probably hadn't seen since my grandpa died 38 years ago! I have lots and lots of first cousins on my dad's side, and only have a few distant memories of him. But he was in Vermont for business, and we had dinner in Burlington on Wednesday night, then he came over to the house Thursday night to eat, and we really had an enjoyable time. It was nice to re-connect and hear about that part of the family who we don't keep in touch with very much. Made me think of some special memories and times spent growing up in the mid-west.

 

And now, the count down to Christmas Day. And yes, I am pretty much ready. A few more things to pick up, some cleaning and bed-making to do tomorrow, groceries to buy on Thursday, 3 more days working and then it'll be here. Work has been going great. A week ago Saturday I stopped at the store on my way in and bought lunch meat, cheese, rolls, chips, pickles and pasta and potato salad for a Deli Lunch for us since there would be 3 working that day. The girls were thrilled, we had a good time with the customers, everything went well, and just as I was leaving, one of them looked at me and said, "That was fun today!" This from someone who swore she didn't want to be here for another holiday season because of how insane it got. And this past Saturday the company paid for lunch for us, so we ordered pizza and things went well again. Next week we plan to do a pot-luck with the three of us and hopefully the 4th girl will stop in. It has just been going soooo well. It will be a little sad when its all over, but then it will be nearly time for Santa to arrive! And here's my little grandson all bundled up and ready for his journey north:

I Can't Wait to Hold Him Again!









Happy Thanksgiving!

So, today is Thanksgiving...

Here is a photo of what I had for lunch, and what I'll have again for dinner in a short while:

 

 

 

It may not look like it, but its Meatball Soup. Hey, at least the meatballs are turkey! Let me tell you the story:

 

For the past few years we have been invited over to our neighbors home for Thanksgiving. We have had some great memories of being over there. Lots of people, tons of food, laughing and drinking, and singing and telling stories. We always had a super time being included in such a welcoming way. Two years ago, my sister and her husband were able to come up here from New Hampshire for Thanksgiving, and they too were invited to join the neighbor celebration, and once again we all truly enjoyed ourselves. And they were planning on making the trip to be here again this year, but there was some confusion about what was going on with Thanksgiving dinner at the neighbors. That was cleared up last week, when we learned that they would not be hosting dinner this year. His dad is pretty sick, and probably won't make it too much longer, so she was not cooking dinner at all, they would be making the rounds at other family's homes to be together during this rather difficult time for them. No problem, we can make adjustments. I debated about cooking, but it takes all day to make a good meal, 20 minutes to eat, another hour to clean up, and then its over. And it would just be the 4 of us, and I just wasn't sure that's how I wanted to spend my day off, plus I will be working tomorrow and Saturday, as usual. So we decided to head over to Jay Peak, and partake of what sounded like a marvelous buffet of food. And we extended the invitation to my sister and her husband, and also to another neighbor, who are Canadian, and had their Thanksgiving back in October, and they accepted also. So the six of us were looking forward to a great time feasting and laughing and being together. Fast forward to this past Monday, when my wonderful husband (of 35 years) wakes up with a pretty awful sore throat. No big deal, sore throats don't always mean a cold is on its way. He managed thru that day okay. Now its Tuesday, he has the chills, body aches, exhaustion, stuffy nose and congestion. Whoops, guess its more like the Killer Cold virus hit him. He's downing medicine as fast as he can, drowning himself in liquids, sleeping and resting, but by yesterday morning its obvious, he will not recover in time to enjoy the mighty meal, let alone consume much of anything solid at all.  And we certainly don't want anyone else to get what he has. So we cancel all of our plans; the dinner reservations, the visit from my sister, and the get-together with the neighbor. And while I have been feeling rather sorry for myself for not really having a bit of anything close to a Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful that I am not feeling crappy like my husband has been for 3 days. I did make some pumpkin bread and Christmas cookies this morning, listened to the Macy's Day Parade on TV, took the dogs out for their walks, and chatted on the phone with my daughter and sister, but basically it has just been like a normal day off from work. This will be known as the Thanksgiving that wasn't. And tomorrow I'll head out to work a little bit earlier than normal and see if I can get the store opened abut an hour earlier than normal, and sit back and experience Black Friday on Church Street. I hope it goes well! The weather should be good for being down there. Today was beautifully sunny and in the mid 50's. Crazy! It was so nice out, and tomorrow should be the same. But I see some snowflakes in the forecast for Saturday and a few days next week, so maybe it is good that I got my snow tires put on Monday. I am ready for just a little bit of the white stuff-just not too much yet! It will come eventually, I know it. I hope everyone has made a Thanksgiving memory today. Here is a photo of my little grandson on his very first Thanksgiving today.

 

He is so cute, and getting so big. Maybe one of these years we can be together for Thanksgiving! 



Post Halloween

Yesterday was Halloween, and here are what my grandchildren looked like:

 

 

 

Aren't they just the cutest ever? Last year we were there with them for Halloween, and had fun going Trick-or-treating. This year I had to just enjoy the photos of them. It will have to do. I think back to when my daughters were little and we would take them out on Halloween. I remember making their costumes lots of years. Living on base, often times out of the country, made it difficult to find things for them to be. Sometimes we took them to the base to get their candy if we were living off-base. One year the weather in England was terrible, and we didn't want to drive to the base, so we went into the village, and they each got to fill a bag of candy from a store there. The following two years we all took part in turning a very old priory building on the base into a haunted house, then watching as groups of people came thru it. I think they had a good time doing that. Now, they have the fun task of making holidays special for their children. I know they're doing a great job.

 

Hurricane Sandy came thru the east coast this week. We were spared up here, barely any rain, some wind. But New York City, and the coast of New Jersey and Maryland were destroyed. Plus the western side of the Appalachian mountains were buried under up to 3 feet of snow. It was crazy, billions of dollars in damage, 80 some deaths, and still today, 3 days after the storm, over 4 million people still without power. It will be a long road to recovery. I hope we have a normal winter up here!

The Last Lingering Leaves

On my way to work this morning I snapped what will probably be my last photo of our maple tree:

Mighty Maple October 21, 2012

 

 

As you can see, he is pretty much bare now. Just a few leaves remain on the very bottom branches. They will probably be gone in the next few days, and there will not be any difference in the photos until the first snowfall coats the branches in white. If I remember, I will take a picture that day and post it. It is always a beautiful site when that happens for the first time. It is even pretty when it happens for the fifteenth time, especially if it is a big, wet snow that clings to each and every branch. I cannot believe that next week will see the first days of November creep their way onto the calendar.

 

Before we venture into a new month, I received this wonderful picture of my adorable grandson yesterday:

 



Oh my gosh, he is smiling! Isn't he just the cutest? I miss him, he looks like he is growing up way too fast. Okay, okay, he is just a few days over 6 weeks old, but still... I had such a great time with him and his mommy and daddy for those 10 days. At that point I had been with him for nearly a quarter of his life, and I saw lots of changes in that short time. What fun. It's hard sometimes being so far away, but I know they will do well. I can hardly wait to see him again at Christmas.

It is Nearly Finished

 

I started these postings about our Mighty Maple Tree at the end of August, with the first photo on the 25th. Here it is, nearly 2 months later, and when I drove past the tree this morning there were only leaves on the bottom third of the tree. The top is completely bare. I would have taken a picture, but it was raining, and it just doesn't show well in dreary weather. However, here is what it looked like 2 days ago, on the 17th:

 

Mighty Maple on October 17, 2012

 

It still looked magnificent, and yes, those are the cows enjoying the trees' branches. They often hang out under the tree, but that's also where their water tub is. I know I probably missed peak foliage this year because of my trip to Maryland, but here is what this tree looked like in its prime on October 12 of last year:

What is truly amazing is to compare Mighty Maple this year (see previous blog) to almost the exact same date last year. What a difference! Now the sun and the blue sky really does affect the brilliance of the picture, but still, there is a remarkable variance in the extent of progression. If I can remember to do it, I will be curious to see what this tree looks like in the years to come right around the same time each year. I'll try to capture it within a few days of October 10th, when its nice and sunny.
After I snapped the photo on Wednesday of the maple tree, I stopped and took this one looking towards our neighbor's barn with the trees reflecting in our pond.

 

 

It really was a breathtaking drive to work that day with the blue, blue sky and the sun shining on all the trees along the hills. Soon the trees will be completely bare, and the scenery dull and brown until those white flakes start drifting down to coat the world in its blanket of cold.

The Weeks Go By

I'm late.
I know I'm late posting my Maple Tree photos, so here are some catch-ups:



Mighty Maple October 11, 2012



Mighty Maple October 10, 2012








Mighty Maple October 10, 2012

You probably notice that there is a gap in the dates of the pictures. I started out taking them each Saturday morning on my way to work. It went well. Then the weather changed and I had a cloudy day, when the changing colors of the tree just doesn't seem as vibrant. And then, on September 29th, I flew down to Maryland with my daughter and granddaughters to meet my new grandson. I was gone for 10 days, and for some reason the leaves just kept changing colors and falling from the tree! When I came back, the tree looked like the pictures above. However, this is what it looked like just before I left:







Mighty Maple September 28, 2012





Mighty Maple September 22, 2012

   


Amazing what a week and a half will do at this time of year. There are still many trees that are yellow and orange and beautiful looking. But on my way home tonight I can see that the hills are nearly void of color now, and most look that rusty shade right before the leaves really come down. Soon most of the trees will be completely bare, waiting for that first dusting (or dumping!) of snow. Some areas towards the mountains did have snow flurries last Friday, and there was visible white up on the mountain tops. Even Swanton had snow for about 45 minutes, although I was at work and saw no signs of it in Burlington or when I came home. No worry, the season has not even begun, and I know there will be plenty of opportunity to see the world covered in that pristine blanket.

 

 

Of course I can't end this post without inserting my favorite photos of those wonderful grandchildren of mine. First the girls:

And then the newest little guy:

 

 

It was so much fun having a short visit with the girls up here, then traveling down there to spend the 10 days with my other daughter and her son. I love the special time right after a new little one joins this world. Everything is centered around every possible thing he could need or do, and each day brings another journey. Holding that sleeping boy in my arms for hours at a time is such a warm, wonderful feeling. It was hard to leave. It was hard to say goodbye. It was hard to put all those miles between us, and not feel that tug of guilt at being so far away. But I know they will all be okay. I know those little children are in the very best hands possible. And I know that I will love and miss them each day.

Cooler Days, Chilly Nights

I forgot to take my Mighty Maple photo yesterday. It was drizzly and blah anyway, so it would not have looked as impressive as this one that I took this morning:

Mighty Maple  Sunday 16 September 2012 



Sometimes I think the sky just can't get any bluer. Of course, that rain yesterday was bringing in a cold front. We went from the 80's on Friday, to only the mid 60's for the daytime high on Saturday. This morning it was 43 when we got up, and even with the bright sun, we only got back into the mid 60's again. What a glorious day it has been. I worked all day, and with the door propped open, and the noises from the street filtering in, it made for an early fall feel to the afternoon. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the cooler, brisk feel to the day. And shoppers were out in full force, which made the day go by quickly. I was in alone, which I often enjoy more than working with someone. Don't get me wrong, its not that I don't like the staff, its just that I think we tend to focus more on the customers when the store rests in our solo hands. Or maybe that's just me. But it was a good day, people in good moods, talkative, easy-going. Spent some time chatting with the man, Mr. Bailey, who is running for Justice of the Peace here in Burlington. He was really nice. I only have 2 more days to go of my 6 day stretch, so I am looking forward to my Wednesday off.

It's now Friday, and I realized that I never got back to posting this entry! The week is nearly over, and it will be time tomorrow to snap another photo of Mister Maple. The weather has been everything from cold rain and wind, the coolest clear night of 39, and today was warm and sunny and mid 70's. But we have rain in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow, so the next picture may have to wait. I looked at it this afternoon on the way back from walking the dog to get the mail, and there are so many spots now changing colors. It will still take another couple of weeks before it peaks. I hope we have great colors this year. I better post this now before another week goes by and its still here!