Construction update

Lots of progress in the last couple of weeks (as you can see when you compare this view). The cork flooring is down, the cabinets are installed, the shower pan is in. Many of the windows are trimmed out, and a lot of the electrical work is done.

We’ve chosen our track lighting, and the template for the countertop was measured out. Lots of stuff left to do, but we can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Consumed by art

We missed Gallery Walk this past Friday, as I was still recovering from a couple weeks of work travel. But we did manage to get to The Works yesterday morning, just in time to see “Bertha” the art installation being dismantled.

Bertha was a special brand of art that comes from the happy collision of a free spirit, an arc welder, and a supportive community that values each one of us for who we are. As Voltaire, or at least one of his biographers, would have said, “I certainly don’t want that in my parlor, but I’ll defend the NEA’s budget to the death.”

New Age Beverages

On the one hand, Brattleboro is full of hippies and free spirits. On the other hand, it’s a small town in rural New England, where lots of people are still struggling to find their way now that most of the agricultural and manufacturing jobs are gone.

That same dichotomy exists in the grocery stores. The Co-op is a great place to shop, and it’s full of the kinds of unusual, organic and local foods you’d expect to find. The place is chock-full of shaggy-bearded volunteers, earnestly arranging the kombucha and seitan and tempeh. But, it’s also pretty expensive, and so for regular groceries we go to a regular store. There, we are relieved to see that the “wild” and “crazy” brands like Snapple and Arizona and Red Bull are cordoned off under the vaguely threatening heading of New Age Beverages.

The Primer Directive

With Pandora set to Pink Martini, and a chilled bottle waiting, we boogied through getting a coat of primer on the kitchen. And on ourselves.

Painting ceilings is tough… Life at the keyboard doesn’t prepare all the right muscles.

He floats through the air…

This weekend is the annual Harris Hill Ski Jump competition. I accidentally found the ramp a few months ago on a run, but today we got to see it in use… probably the only time all year it gets any use at all.

And it seemed implausible that they would go at all, given that it was damn near 50 degrees out yesterday and today. All that snow is man-made, 100%, and they had to cancel the practice jumps to save what little snow there was. Still, the show must go on, and it did.

We walked over after lunch and caught the final round of jumps, picking up a discounted ticket of uncertain provenance from a couple of kids on the way in.

The jumpers are amazing… they fly anywhere from about 60 meters to almost 100 meters, and then they land softly. The landing area is way crazy steep, which I guess it has to be to absorb all that energy. The skis are ginormous, but I learned that FIS rules limit their length to 146% of body height. For me that would be about 265 cm… slightly longer than the 203s that were popular back in the day.

Great beer from McNeill’s, and a nice crowd of people… just another ridiculously interesting event, right in our own neighborhood.

The Bench of Forgotten Items

Of course you remember the skates and the gloves. Last night, we found a more serious-minded treasure… looks like it might be a pretty good read.

My breakfast with Archer

A couple of months ago, I won the chance to have breakfast with author Archer Mayor. Today, I got to collect my prize.

Lee and I joined archer at the Chelsea Royal diner in West Brattleboro, where we had never been and he knew more or less everybody. It was a fantastic conversation… we talked about our nomadic upbringings, why Vermont is the best place ever, rowing, his writing process, being a cop, molding your own personal and professional place in the world, and a hundred other things.

I presented him with a not-too-dog-eared copy of John Carter of Mars, which wasn’t exactly the kind of signed first edition I won from the auction but which I think he still appreciated. Who knows?? maybe we’ll even see ourselves in one of his future books somehow. Detective Joe Gunther has traveled to some pretty exotic places, like Chicago, IL, and St. Johnsbury, VT… could Mars really be all that far away??

Moonrise over Wantastiquet

A beautiful clear day. The pic doesn’t quite get the golden sunlight on the mountainside or how big the moon looks.

Colonial Motel Pool

Here’s a shot of the pool building this morning. It’s really just an oversized greenhouse, but it stays toasty warm inside. I had a nice swim this morning, doing a set of hard intervals.

I loved my Total Immersion training a couple summers ago, but I still have a lot to learn. When I’m working really hard, I’m almost as fast as the good swimmers at their “I could do this all day” pace. Still, at least now I have a pace like that, just slower.

And so it begins

In Connecticut, where we lived out in the woods, we fought an ongoing battle to try and keep squirrels out of the bird feeder. Until today, the reticent and affable Vermont squirrels had ignored the feeder. We had misguided hopes that the feeder’s exposed placement on the deck would deter them.

The entente cordiale has been shattered and it’s ‘Game On.’