Sugarbushes, Rain and Police

I was up in VT this weekend for the annual touring of sugar bushes. Mmmm, my favorite, real maple syrup. The timing worked out well too, as Dawn and her boyfriend Bill were up for the day for their first ever sugar bush experience. We used to work together and she had just finished her last day of work last week – an end of an era. It was a beautiful sunny day and dad and Dawn and Bill and I piled into the Volvo and trekked around southern VT to visit three very different and distinct sugar bushes. There was the Corse Family Farm who have been making maple syrup since 1868 and provides a wonderful concoction of maple syrup milk shakes as part of the tour. I had been there before and picked up a half gallon of the Fancy. Strange as I’m usually a medium or dark kind of girl. But I still have a half gallon of dark and it’s good to have a variety of grades on hand depending on what you need it for. Then there was Dwight Miller and Son who are eight generations of sugar bushing and where there was a reporter taking our pictures. But it looks like we didn’t make the cut for the article, which can be read here. We wrapped the day up with a visit (and another purchase) at the Stone Family sugar bush. And of course, since we were close to the General Store in Newfane we had to stop for a round of homemade fudge. Needless to say, all the fresh air and maple syrup had me in bed by 9 pm!
I had been running a bit late for rendezvousing with everyone Saturday so sped up to VT. I was thinking several things on my ride up:

“Man, I really love driving Route 2 on a crisp, beautiful, sunny day – such a gorgeous ride, especially since I’ve gotten to know every twist and turn – where and when to pass folks.” And the river was wicked high – I thought it would spill over onto the road very soon.



“Man, I hate Priuses sometimes. Why would someone drive 40 mph in a 55 mph zone – crazy drivers.”



“Man, this is a sweet car, I can pass anyone anytime. Eat my dust Prius!” (not the case in my old Saturn on hills).



“Man, this car is as smooth as butter. I need to check my speed more often. I don’t notice how it creeps up at times.”



“Dude, it’s a good thing I know where the police hang out for speed traps.”



And that, my friend, is where I got a little too cocky. It’s a drive I’ve done often enough to be too comfortable. And I was put in check Sunday on my way home. Which is ironic as I have a sneaking suspicion that my average speed is lower on my way home. I had just started my journey and had just gotten onto Route 2 when I noticed the police car. The police car pointing my direction. The police car that just clocked me at 70 mph. The police car that just put its lights on and is coming after me. Should I make a run for it? I know the twist and turns of the road, I have a powerful smooth car. I could shake the cop. Ok, that’s not really what I was thinking. Instead, I was thinking:



“Man, it was a good thing I spent my afternoon at the RMV getting my license renewed and my registration straightened out this week.”



“Man, I’m glad I took a moment this afternoon to clean my license plate and put the new registration sticker on. And that I got my taxes done.” Because who knows what they’re checking back in the cop car after they take your license and registration info.



For some reason, this time I knew I was going to get a ticket. Usually I’m really nice and they just give me a warning (not that I’m saying I’ve been pulled over tons or anything). This time, I was nice but my heart wasn’t in it and I was resigned to get the ticket. I think I realized that driving an older worn car might have helped and now driving a fancier more expensive car didn’t help my cause. Plus it was the end of the day and I had just eaten dinner and was tired. So I hand over my expired license and my temporary license and my expired registration card and my expired extension for registration (it only lasted for 30 days which was like 60 days ago. I had forgotten to grab the new registration paperwork to put in the car the day before – it was sitting right next to the car keys, but I grabbed the keys and ignored the paperwork – opps). And I waited. The police officer came back and told me that the ticket would be $150 and would go on my insurance for 6 years and with a car like mine it would be an extra $300 a year and then gave me a written warning. No ticket! How sweet was that? I was reading it over and I like to think that it was because his first name is the same as the name of the street I live on. We had a special connection of sorts. And on my way back, I was thinking:



“Man, this is a really slow drive.”



But I’m several hundred dollars richer (or not poorer) and I’ve finally turned on the cruise control or as I like to call it, the “speed checker”. So that’s me. That’s me writing this right now in wet jeans from being in the rain 6 hours ago. It’s been raining non-stop since yesterday and the flooding delays are coming back for my commute. I hope I get home at a decent time tonight. I have a committee meeting at one of the schools we’re working on. Gotta represent!



Ok, didn’t get a chance to post this last night and it turned out the meeting at the school isn’t until next week and last night was for the police department which worked out quite well as I was able to ask the Captain about how the written warning works. I was wondering how long it was in the system. Turns out budget cuts have reduced the administration staff so these things don’t get recorded in the system anymore. His word of advice – don’t keep it in the glove compartment, but otherwise I’ve got a clean slate. Sweet!

Thankful Friday - Symphony

It’s been one of those mornings. The good kind where you are thankful for where you are. I enjoyed being able to sleep in a little and then run out the door to my therapists appointment a block away. Had a great session and then enjoyed the pleasant bus ride into work. Sitting on the bus leisurely reading the promotional issue of the local newspaper that was left on my doorstep while a light snow fell. I enjoyed that the cover article was about people I know and work with – newly appointed superintendent and one of the school principals I work with was quoted. I even knew the journalist who wrote the article. And the appointment was made at a Tuesday evening meeting which meant that was the meeting she had just rushed from to make our meeting (the superintendent has been acting as interim super while the search was being finalized). So it was like I was almost there.



And this after a pleasant evening. Noah and I decided to meet up at Kingston Grill before heading to the Symphony and it just so happened that pretty much the entire staff from my old job were there for drinks. I’ve had mixed feelings about leaving that job. I knew it was the right thing to do and it would have been silly to pass up the opportunity of my current job. But the people at the old place were what kept me there for so long. It was a great environment to work in – we were like family. Actually, I was thinking last night, that job was like my grad school experience. Folks have told me that some of their dearest and longest lasting friends they met in grad school. That hasn’t been the case for me with my grad school experiences, but is the case for this old job. Some of my dearest friends for life were made with my coworkers there. And I was sad to leave them and I missed that comfortable part of the job environment – the comradery. I still visit often especially since our offices are only a block away. But walking in and seeing them all there I was thankful I had moved on. They had just had another round of layoffs that day and three more people were let go. And the people chosen made no sense. I was thankful I was no longer in that frustrated situation and the insecurity of knowing whether the company would make it or not. It was nice to be able to visit and then leave it all behind as Noah and I sat in the dining room and enjoyed our dinner and caught up on the things. I could easily let this go. I wasn’t weighed down about that worry anymore.




Last night I was good about enjoying the evening with Noah and not focusing on the end of an era as he heads off to grad school in a few months. I even was proud of myself and was able to swallow some more pills. I was a little nervous as the excedrins were a bit bigger than the last batch. But no problem. And the conductor was a hoot and a half to watch. As I mentioned before, Levine was out and this guy was younger. We were sitting off to the side so could see his facial expressions. He was very expressive – almost to distraction. But I’m so glad we finally went. I’m not big on live music – I could take it or leave it. But last night, there were moments where my arms would tingle or I noticed I stopped breathing. Perhaps it was the tight dress, but I think it was more the fullness and richness of the sound and the beautiful gilded setting of the symphony hall. Noah and I are thinking of going one more time before he leaves. Me all dressed up and he in his bow tie and Mao jacket. I was home and in bed by 11:30 – my wait for the buses wasn’t too long!




So, I’m not where I thought I’d be in life and I have been coming to terms with that recently. But I’m also appreciative of where I am and what I have and that is important to remember.

Richmond

I’m off to the Symphony tonight. I even threw a dress into my bag today so am ready to enjoy a marvelous performance. There was a last minute change and the conductor, James Levine is being replaced by this guy who I think is younger than me! They’ve pulled out the Debussy piece which I’m disappointed about as that’s why I chose tonight’s performance. But I’ve never listened to Sibelius, so something new.



I just got back from a busy long weekend in Richmond. My little 3 month nephew is so cute. No pictures as my camera is just not really coming through these days – ugh. He’s such a cutie and just staring to smile and coo and babble. And with all my practice with babies recently we had a quick connection and I became a pretty good caregiver. I even got to babysit some.
On Tuesday we had to make it to Norfolk on the coast for an early morning appointment. I decided to set my alarm for 5:30 as I didn’t want to wake up at 5 am. I get up and the house is quiet and dark. I go down and get breakfast and it’s still quiet. So finally I go in and wake my step-sister and brother in law up. They had turned off the alarm! The danger of setting it too early in the morning.



We make it to the appointment with time to spare. I get to watch my little nephew as his parents go in for the interview. And no more than 5 minutes after they leave, I’m holding the little guy on my lap – playing and feeding, and he lets one rip. I was pretty sure it was a poop although he apparently has a pretty mean (i.e. loud) fart too. I was giving him a little bit more time in case he wasn’t done, when I start to realize I feel moisture. I pick him up, and yup there’s a small stain on my jeans. But is it milk? Nope. So I find a bathroom which luckily had a nice large counter – you start noticing these amenities with a wee one. I open him up and the force has shot the poo down both legs! But he loves getting his diaper changed (even tried to wee on me the previous day – fun game, but I won that round). As I’m cleaning I’m thinking, man the diaper should have been more tightly secured and this wouldn’t have been as bad. I was about to curse whoever it was who diapered him last, when I stopped short, realizing it was me. Doh. So get him cleaned up, outfit changed and back out to the waiting room to check and make sure no one walked away with the car seat carrier. There was security but you never know what people will walk away with.



Ended up swinging by the outlet stores on the way back. We went to a ton of stores and I was exhausted about half way through. But did soldier on and stop by the ESPRIT store minutes before we were scheduled to leave for the airport. And found a pair of jeans! Kindof. I was rushed and even if I wasn’t I still seem to do this. I try on pants and they fit in the dressing room but then I wear them at home and they’re either too big (most of the time) or too small. It’s like shoes – they say not to try on shoes at certain times of the day because your feet swell after walking around a bunch. Well, apparently so does my butt or something. Hopefully a wash will set things right. I run out of the store into the waiting car to make it to the airport with moments to spare due to construction traffic. And of course, they wait to tell us after they board us on time and pull away from the gate, that Boston weather has us scheduled to sit and wait for an hour. I was ready to watch some tv and take a nap. Except I had a talker next to me. Once I accepted it I enjoyed the conversation. He was this older fellow who worked in the building industry. So we shared stories and experiences. Moved onto cars near the end and he approved of my latest purchase – good, reliable car. Ended up swapping business cards after getting off. Good contact. And as he said, what was the likelihood that we got seated next to each other – sharing the same profession. He said the conversation helped make the delay and flight fly by (he travels a bunch for work – day flights).



Oh, and can I just wrap this all up and spend a little time complaining? I’ve finally logged my miles from the latest flights over the past year and a half. Keep in mind I’ve flown to the Middle East via Europe three times, one trip in Europe, and a few trips in the US. I should have enough miles to pay for my flight to Paris this summer, right? Nope, not even close. One of the long trips I flew a different airline. I have 53,000 miles. That doesn’t even get me a one way ticket to Europe (55,000 miles). This is why I stopped participating in the frequent flyer programs. So frustrating. All those miles, I would think I would get something more out of them. Oh well, it’s not like I played for the long flights.

Friday Observations (posted on Wednesday)

I wrote these down on Friday while waiting for my flight to Richmond to visit some family there.



1. Today I know spring has arrived as I spotted my least favorite summer accessory – flip flops. Actually I love flip flops. Flip flops with jeans, flip flops with shorts. Flip flops on the beach and flip flops on lazy weekend days. But I really get annoyed when I see them on my commute. You glance at someone and they have this great outfit on – finance wear with the hair and make-up done, formal jacket and shirt and skirt or slacks and then your eye reaches the bottom and there are some cheap old flip flops. Ugh.


2. Mental note, taking the subway to the airport works wonderful, as long as it’s not during rush hour. I got to the platform and it was a sea of heads and suitcases. And we waited and waited and the sea grew and finally the subway/bus comes and only half the people could fit on. So I wait and wait and the sea grows and grows and I realized it would probably take a few rounds before I made it on (no cuing just a big mass of folks). So I gave up and took a taxi. It was a quick 10 minute drive for a mere $20 (versus the $2 subway ride). Oh well, got there early enough I could enjoy some Legal Seafood dinner.


3. Apparently the DMV no longer sends renewal notices for your driver’s licenses. How did I find this out, do you ask? I found out when I was in line at security at the airport, 20 minutes before I was supposed to board the plane and the guy checking my ticket asks me for another form of picture ID. Luckily I happened to pack my passport out of habit and that doesn’t expire until 2015 thankfully.


4. And finally, to round up the day (on Friday), I was sitting peacefully at Gate 32, knitting a new sweater and watching the planes take off and land while dusk fell. And then I was sitting attentively, making pretty good progress on my new sweater and watching the planes take off and land in the dark and realizing the seats were filling up. And then I was sitting, a little worried, knitting on my sweater, no longer watching the planes and wondering why the Tampa plane hadn’t left my gate yet since my plane was supposed to take off in about five minutes and wasn’t even there yet. And also, why hadn’t they announced anything about the delay of MY flight? And finally, I find out there is a difference between the numbers 32 and 36, especially since my flight was at Gate 36 and was already boarded. And run on board with a minute to spare. So strange considering how many gates I’ve sat at over the last year (30 plus). But it had been a hectic day wrapping up things before leaving and a Friday after a long week. That’s what it was. I’m not losing it. Really, I’m not!

Happy St. Paddy's/Evacuation Day

Man, how does that happen? It's almost the end of the day and still so much to get done.
Unfortunately I still have work to do. And I have no great meal planned for dinner. And my outfit is uncomfortable - I think I've outgrown this shirt.
But at least it's sunny and nice out and will be for a couple more hours. Remember it used to be dark just a month ago at this time. And at least I work at a company with a prominent Irish sector so that translates into finishing the day while drinking a bottle of beer. And at least I'm not in the middle of a siege on Boston like those poor folks back in 1776. You can read more about Evacuation day here or go get the book, 1776. Many folks think it's just an excuse to be able to celebrate St. Paddy's day and not work.

Old Ladies and Knitting

Today I decided to take more time in the morning getting ready and doing chores in the beautiful morning sunlight that pours into my apartment these days. That and the fact that it was midnight by the time I hit the sack since my committee meeting went long and it took me awhile to wind down. The point being it put me on the bus into work later than normal. An older lady was sitting next to me and when I pulled out my knitting, the Norah Gaughan side-ways sweater, she became interested and asked what I was making which turned into a pleasant conversation to accompany my trip. It made me think back on how knitting on public transportation can open up the socializing. When mom and I were flying to India a few years ago to visit my brother, I had made the brilliant decision to take two red eyes so that our layover in London gave us a whole day to visit the Tate. I think it was on the train back to the airport, where both mom and I were beyond exhausted and we weren’t even half way through the trip yet, I was sitting across from an older British woman. I was knitting away on a tank and I could tell she was excited to see someone knitting in public. And maybe even that I was younger. You could tell she wanted to start a conversation but it wasn’t proper or something – she was very British and reserved. I blame it on the lack of sleep, because if I was more well rested I would have started the conversation but I was just too tired! The knitting was the only thing that was keeping me from passing out from pure exhaustion.


And then a few years before that I was on a train into Berlin with some friends for a weekend trip. This was the summer I thought I could go without knitting and on the second day had to go out and buy yarn – lesson learned. I got a good deal on the yarn but the needles were ridiculously expensive. Why would I spent 15 euros on two thick sticks! So I came up with this amazing way to knit with my pointer finger on my left hand and a pencil. It was quite ingenious and resulted in a beautiful scarf. Well the older lady on the train to Berlin was a knitter and quite intrigued. She watched me for awhile, figuring out how I was doing it and then started a conversation. Unfortunately it was in German and my grasp of the language was very minimal so that fizzled to a close quickly.I’ve been sorting through my yarn stock this week. For several reasons. One, I lose track of things in my head so go through drawers and cupboards periodically to tidy them up and also reacquaint myself with the items. It keeps things organized up in the noggin. Second, I’ve been updating my inventory list of yarn for sweaters. A few purchases from last year seemed to have snuck in unrecorded. And thirdly, I just love color and texture and organizing color and texture. There’s such a calming nature to it – caressing and admiring and imagining what I could turn this fiber into. I’ve decided to pull out all the random balls of yarn that aren’t enough for a sweater and pool them together and see if I can turn them into something – hats, socks, scarves, baby sweaters, you get the drift.
And then I realized (ok re-realized because I like to forget this as much as possible) that a lot of my “sweater” stashes for yarn do not have enough balls of yarn to make a sweater. How do I know this? Because I’m going through some of these balls of yarn that had once been knit up into a sweater but then was ripped back and wound into balls because I was sadly too short and the yarn is discontinued and there is no more yarn out there in the same color. It’s very sad. I realized, I need to start making some fair isle sweaters since I’m not a big fan of vests. I found some cute kid patterns and it looks like I’ll get to try my hand at making my own pattern. The best patterns I’ve found are based on the infamous Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Seamless Yoke Sweater. But most of the ones I love I don’t really have the right yarn or enough of the accent colors. I’ve got to use the pallet of yarn I currently have and create something. These are a few of the styles I like. I’m thinking something inspired by William Morris. But think that would take much thinner yarn to pull off effectively. We shall see.

Alarm Clock

It’s sunny out! Yesterday I spent over 4 hours commuting. I was really happy that I had spent time this weekend to get a knitting project moving again so I had one with me. I’m part way through a sweater know – Norah Gaughan’s Side-Way Ribs Cardigan. After spending forever on the bus getting into work I figured I might try leaving a bit later to miss the rush hour mass. I hop onto the subway train and it goes well at first. And then it starts getting slower and slower. To a point where we are just stopped. Except it’s not like I’m on a bus and they can just let us out and walk. And you don’t know if you’re broken down although after about 15 minutes, and no movement you start moving towards that conclusion. They finally come over the loud speaker to explain the situation and what’s next. Except the wiring is poor so you can barely hear it and, of course, just then, there’s a kid at the end of the car that decides to start speaking loudly to her parents. All I heard is that we were a disabled train. I’ve been behind disabled trains but never in one. A half hour later, they end up getting another train to push us into the next stop. But not too bad as I had my knitting and ended up having a pleasant conversation with the person next to me – they’re trying to enter the wonderful field of Sustainability in the building industry so got to pass on my wizened advice, or what passes for it. (Added later: I just did my good deed for the day - provided intros to someone who might help this person find a job - yay me - feels good).


I then proceed to wait and wait and wait for my bus. Luckily I could wait inside out of the rain. At first I didn’t think it would be long as the bus I take comes every 7 minutes. I see a bus coming and got excited except it was the 84. Wait, another one, nope it’s the 55N. Wait some more and there’s two in the distance. For sure one must be mine. I even walk out into the rain to start cuing up. But nope it’s a 62 and another 84. Back inside to wait. And wait and wait. And then I see this darkened vehicle that looks like it might be a bus. But is it out of service? Must be as there are no lights on inside nor is there the display on the outside saying the destination. But it stops and people start boarding so I run out and it’s a packed bus. The lights were on inside, but there were so many people jammed in that light couldn’t escape out the windows. I squeeze little ol’ me in through the back door. Almost felt like we need some of those Japanese Pushers.
So that was my commute – a new record for me. I still had 20 minutes to run to the grocery store before it closed at 9 pm. This morning I left a little early, just in case, since I had a morning meeting. Good thing as the roads are still closed down and it was slow going. Head down and knit knit knit for me. The flooding is crazy. You can check out the videos of some of the spots here.





And lastly, I think I need a new alarm clock. I have a nice four hour window for getting into work. Sometimes I’m early, sometimes I’m later and usually I don’t have too many morning meetings to dictate the time. So I’ve been a proud non-alarm clock user for the last four plus years (and maybe even longer). I do use one about a half dozen times a year. As a just in case precaution and 99% of the time I still wake up before it goes off. Somehow, if you think about what time you need to get up the next morning, that’s the time you get up. Since I had the morning meeting and the questionable commute, I figured I should play it safe. Set the alarm at 7 pm which was my drop dead leave the house by time.





And it goes off and I wake up and I think, “it’s a little too dark for it to be 7 pm”. The sun is starting to rise and granted, we’re in that period where the sunrise time is changing exponentially and not linearly – ie, it’s changing quickly, but it still seemed off. My alarm clock went off at 6:37 am. I double check – yup set at 7 pm. I check Alarm 2 that I never used – yup still defaulted at 12:00. I don’t know, it’s weird. It happened once before which made me start thinking it’s time to replace the clock and then I promptly forgot. But this is the second time and, yes, it’s erring on the conservative side – earlier rather than later. But still not good. I don’t ask for much in my alarm clocks, but reliability is a key item. Gotta love technology but you also gotta wonder what’s going on in there too. So, if you have come across a cute radio alarm clock that can live in a bathroom, let me know!




Oh, and I decided to wear the new jeans today before I hemmed them as they almost make it. If they’re completely pulled up, I don’t walk on them with heels on – too much. I think I might still trip and fall today, so need to just run them to the tailor down the road. They’re supposed to do an amazing job. Not 5 bucks but I don’t mind paying a little bit more for convenience (close by) and a really good job. They’re jeans after all – that you wear almost every day, if you can. I’m thinking of trying to find a second pair and getting one hemmed for heels and one for flats. I love not having my love handles spill over the tops of my jeans. And I’m skinny, so that tells you something about the old jeans being a tad bit too small.