February Snow & Critters

I can remember the winters when snow would pile up against the windows, covering the bottom 2/3rds. That hasn't happened lately, but we did get a decent snow fall the other day. This is the view from the front door. There are still Christmas balls on the little dogwood tree...It's not worth climbing through snow to retrieve them just because Christmas is passed. Wreaths and other decorations get put up for Christmas, but in Vermont they tend to stay up throughout the winter until warm breezes blow.

The solar panels will shed this snow by mid-day.

The mailbox has snow inside of it as well. Luckily the newspaper arrives in a plastic bag. It'll be readable.

Our snow plow fellow came twice yesterday and again this morning to keep the driveway cleared. Then he returned with a bucket loader to lift some of the snow out of the way. He's planning for the next storm


When William had his stained glass studio, I got to see a glass called Jack Frost. This storm plastered some of the windows and reminded me of that glass, only what you see below is the real Jack Frost.

As for the critters...you've seen Jennie with long hair. Here she is with Jake sporting her shaved look. She is still just as big as he is. Losing all her matted hair must feel better, but now with her winter coat gone, I make sure she isn't left outside for very long.

Below is a puggle. Frankie is what some refer to as a "designer" dog. Some fools purposely mix pugs with beagles. It tends to produce head-strong dogs who howl...not a pleasant sound early in the morning!

This dish is for our large dog, not for the pugs or puggle, but Frankie knows how to flip it around to make a racket. He seems to be demanding a meal more to his liking. Poor fellow...he hates the cold weather with a passion...and here he is, stuck in the town known as the snow capital of Vermont.

Winter Projects

The kitchen cabinets hadn't been painted since William built and installed them back in 1991. They didn't look terrible, but after 22 years of use they deserved a few repairs and a new coat of paint. It's amazing how much can be tucked away, some of it even forgotten, inside kitchen cabinets. The first job was to empty the cabinets and drawers...and the only place to put all of that stuff was in the living room.

There was more by the front window, but I won't bore you with the details. Let's say you have seen about half of what came out of the kitchen!

At one point it seemed like I had a path to my chair and a path from my chair to the TV. Forget space to water the orchids. Besides, the buckets I soak them in were filled with spice jars and other things.

The new color is a close match to the original color, but a tougher paint. There is one of the old light fixtures that once upon a time hung in a one room schoolhouse here in Belmont. William picked up a number of these lights when they were auctioned off years before I met him. He had tucked them away for safekeeping and I designed them into the house. Notice the pull cord. Cords don't need to be cleaned the way wall switches do. Sometimes, progress isn't an improvement over the way it "used to be."

And that's a bowl from the Blanot poterie in the dish drain. Jake managed to sneak into this picture. The blue dish pan is drying because I had just used it to soak the orchids. The white container on the counter collects compost, the white trash bucket on the floor is for recyclables, and the small clear basket on my step stool is for actual trash.

This is the other side of the galley kitchen. Now there are even more pictures of Blanot on the refrigerator. I'm using the dish towels I picked up in Antebes, France.

That is a marble counter top that I picked up from the reject yard outside the Proctor, Vermont marble company. It's great for rolling out pie crust.

Homemade grape jelly and a squash from last year's garden. It amazes me how long squash and potatoes last. I'm still eating my own fresh produce! And some of it will be around through Spring.

William had leftover rondelles from his work with stained glass and that's how I ended up with port holes, or peek-a-boo bubbles in the cabinet doors.

I purposely went looking for curtain material that would make me chuckle in the middle of a wintery day.

When we built the house, I laid the quarry tile dining room floor. The tiles came from another house and still had plywood stuck to the backs which William ground off with big sanding belts. None of the tiles were exactly the same thickness after that operation. I laid them using 2 long levels and a few pebbles from the driveway to keep the thinner tiles from sinking too far into the cement. I don't think it's an approved method of construction, but it worked.

One job leads to another...

When we painted the attic, I bought deck paint for the plywood floor from Sherwin Williams. Apparently it had too much pigment in the paint so that it never wanted to cure completely. It was always a little tacky, but rugs didn't seem to stick to it the way furniture did.

In the second floor entrance-way to the attic bedroom I placed a pad under the rug. The pad bonded to the paint!

Sanding and repainting still looked awful.

We still had some laminated flooring leftover from the loft so we bought a bit more of it and our solution is shown in the next picture...

Griff uses this space as his storage. Just as I got rid of a lot of things I really didn't need in the kitchen, he sorted through his belongings when it was time to put them back. A lot went elsewhere.

There's a lot of truth in that old adage of "less is more."

For the attic floor we just put a coat of poly-acrylic over the paint. After nearly 3 years we finally have a non-sticky surface!

There were a number of smaller projects as well. An electric outlet was added at what had been the dark end of the attic bedroom...

The futon opens into a double bed when needed. 

Several years ago Griffin noticed a large trash bag in the middle of the road and decided to be a good Samaritan. He stopped his car to pick up the trash. The bag felt very light, too light to be loaded with trash, so he looked inside and found the bear that now lounges on the futon.

He has since been joined by other bears in the attic... By the way, this is our guest bedroom. It is waiting to welcome you to Vermont...

And the loft window trim needed painting. This is Griffin's sitting room. All of the furniture is second-hand, saved while on its way to the dump.

What is on the table has since been put away. This was where Griff had to keep everything he normally stored in the attic entrance-way.

The loft is often the warmest area in the house because the wood stove is right below.

Cardinal in the Cold

This picture is for Anne. I know where her cardinal sits. I've been there, and whenever I look at this cardinal, I am reminded of 2 1/2 phenomenal months living amongst wonderful friends in Blanot, France.

It was bitter cold out today. Before I went out for the morning walk with Jake I announced that we weren't taking a long one. He may not have understood my words, but he understood the thermometer. We headed out the driveway and started down the hill. About halfway down he stopped to poop, and then instantly turned around, running back towards the house with me scrambling to keep up.

A hot cup of coffee was a delight after that excursion. Meanwhile, all the buds of the orchid plant have bloomed with the warmth of the wood stove keeping the frigid outside air at bay.

A Few February Surprises

This happens quite often, but not neces- sarily while I am sitting in my nook, looking out the window, with my camera beside me.

The small owl on the windowsill was carved by an old friend many years ago when I still lived on Long Island.

The yellow candle is, according to legend, an invitation to visitors. It obviously worked on this day.

The strange creature behind the candle is a rabbit with a mouse tail painted on stained glass and in a lead frame. I suspect it was part of some larger project, but I really have no idea why William created it...just one of those things he left behind.

I returned home one day to find this bouquet sitting in my living room. Griff was home and said the flowers were for me. I laughed because I was sure he hadn't bought them!

Usually it's furniture that Griff brings home from his job at the condos on Okemo Mountain, but this time he rescued flowers that were being thrown out.

Eventually some of the flowers wilted, and so the bouquet has gotten smaller, but 10 days later I'm still enjoying a touch of spring!

And my new dulcimer arrived!

On my old dulcimer I put little red hearts with the fret number on each heart. Jeremy kept telling me that I could play without my cheating hearts, but I didn't believe him. I figured that at some point I would brave his disapproval and label the frets of the new dulcimer, but the fret distances fit the spread of my fingers and I've discovered that I really don't need more numbered hearts. Amazing.

Some orchids are easy to grow, like the purple one in the background. They thrive on neglect. When I do get around to watering them, I leave them in a bucket of water for several hours so the bark gets a really good soaking. Then I ignore them again.

Margery took me to her orchid club's annual auction. I didn't bid on anything expensive, but I did come home with three orchids of the not-so-easy-to-grow variety. One promptly died. Another has no roots, just a spray of leaves and a rather dead looking flower that doesn't want to drop off. Last month I noticed that it was growing some new leaves. The third supposedly likes to be pot bound, so it's top heavy, always wanting to fall over. I solve that problem by propping it up between the other orchids. It didn't die so I couldn't throw it away.

I watered the orchids just the other day and discovered that my tipsy orchid had buds! When the first bud opened, I took this picture. I never expected flowers from this orchid, so here's the proof that it has bloomed!

And Jake is still with us. I understand that young pugs don't usually stay in foster care this long, but Jake has definitely settled in. Here he keeps Jennie company in front of the wood stove.

Jennie's back is badly matted so she gets a bath and a shave on Monday. After she loses most of her hair, I wonder if she'll still look larger than the dog...

Jake

 Griffin had been given a pug named Poppy when he was in high school. Poppy was a delightful little dog. I knew Griff still has a fondness for pugs.

I figured that William wouldn't feel threatened by a small pug and would most likely enjoy the company.

I decided to make the world a little better and have fun doing it, so I volunteered with the Green Mountain Pug Rescue to be a foster mom.

A week later Jake arrived.

He was a bundle of frayed nerves.

Poor guy was dying to be loved, but he would cringe any time a hand went near him and he'd bolt at any fast movement or unexpected noise.

Well, he's been here for 2 weeks and he's a different dog! Here I'm doing the "supine stretch" that helps to keep me walking without pain.

Jake follows me from room to room.

I soon learned that he would be content to stay on the floor instead of in my lap if he had one of my old sweaters to curl up with.

Here he is under my desk while I'm checking my emails. As I write this post, he is in the same place, sound asleep.

Jake is still cautious when meeting new people, but now it only takes him a few minutes to make friends.

He loves to run...and he's surprisingly FAST. He and William hang out peacefully and will occasionally play together. Jake has also tried to groom Jennie, our cat, and she hasn't objected at all.

He's 3 1/2 years old, needed all of his shots, needed to be neutered, to have his nose fixed, and to have his teeth cleaned. The rescue group took care of the vet bill and his stitches get removed this coming Saturday.

Jake gets to sleep on my lap when I watch television. He has decided that life is good.

A January Christmas

Gregg, Sarah, and Ursula didn't arrive to celebrate Christmas in Vermont until the weekend after New Year's.


At first Ursula was busy handing out packages to her parents and to Grandma, but that just helped her locate the size package she was most interested in.


At Thanksgiving Ursula had requested an American Girl Doll to keep the one she had gotten several Christmases ago "company." Certainly wouldn't be kind to have a lonely doll!

Ursula has always loved stuffed animal toys. A super soft rabbit puppet was a surprise for this Christmas. Even Gregg couldn't resist playing with it.


Meanwhile, we tried to keep all the wrapping paper and boxes under control, but with this family that never works completely.


The kitchen is due to be repainted in a couple of weeks, almost the same colors. You'll get a chance to compare this picture with fresh paint pictures in another post.


When my boys were little, I made wind chimes out of slices of colored glass bottles that were allowed to flatten somewhat in a kiln. You can see them below...

I think that's one of the fitted oilcloth tablecloths I had asked for.

As far as "things" are concerned, I really have everything I need. I sure don't want more nick-knacks to dust. But some useful items are kind enough to wear out so small changes can add a little spice to the ordinary. The fitted tablecloths are nice enough to do that.

Sarah was super...she filled my requests.

My Grandmother would have been horrified, my mother would have been picking it all up, but I've come a long way and didn't worry about how the place looked. Besides, the "stuff" will all leave the next day.

 The best reason to come to Vermont in the winter is to play in piles of white snow! Ursula wanted to use the sled she had had as a baby. Our plastic toboggans worked better in unpacked snow.

It's rather amazing what gets made for dolls. You can't put water in the old-fashioned washing machine, but the agitator moves and the wringers really wring. It was my great-aunt Mary who made the afghan throw that's on the back of the couch.

The cardinal ornament is really too heavy for Christmas tree branches so it hangs on the sconce.

Ursula enjoyed my swivel chair. She could turn away from the rest of us and get lost in her books. It delights me to know that she likes to read.


Sarah always has a knitting or crocheting project to keep her busy.


Gregg and Ursula had brought with them some toy men with parachutes, figuring they could drop them from the loft. The parachutes didn't slow down the fall so that experiment was a bust, but they had fun trying. I tried to catch the toys in flight without success...they fell too fast.

When William and I built the house, a friend of ours took some of our bricks, added colors, and baked them in her kiln. They later became part of our chimney.

William found the loft railing on a church burn pile. They were glad to have him haul it away! 

The first cabinet just inside the kitchen has two stained glass doors that William created.

The tall propane heater on the back wall is covered with words on magnets. Years ago I gave up keeping track of what people create with those words. Every once in awhile I notice a different pattern, take a peek, and usually have a chuckle.

That's a rug beater hanging next to the propane heater. I've actually made use of it several times. The strange black machine is for indoor exercising.
Below, company has gone home and it's almost time to put Christmas away until next December. I have one last chore. Ursula likes to get out my craft boxes and see what she can create. I realized I'd been saving the walnut shells for about 35 years, expecting that one day I would glue any matching halves together to make more "strawberries" for the Christmas tree. I decided 35 years was long enough...it was now or never...

I found 12 matching pairs. They'll be a project for Ursula's next visit. The rest went into the wood stove.

The best gift of all arrived after the village and tree had disappeared...it's the thank you note from Ursula... awesome!

Village Details

The village for Christmas 2012 made it into 2013. You've seen the overview on my previous blog. I'll begin this one with close-up pictures, the pictures I took while waiting to celebrate Christmas with my petite fils.

 When Ursula came to visit, she rearranged the village people and animals. All of the cats ended up at the stable. (They must have walked over the bridge.)

I couldn't resist this stream with the beaver building his dam just as they do in my real pond...

Many years ago I decorated the evergreen tree for a Christmas dollhouse, but when the dollhouse was lost, the tree became a part of the village...and of course the bazaar is held at the church...

That's an awfully fancy chicken coop behind the house, but feeding a small flock of chickens is becoming more and more common so the lady feeding her chickens was added for this Christmas.

No one ever gets hit with that snowball! Someday I may find a pile of snowballs to put in the red wagon...

 A mother and children are peeking into the toy shop window while a touch of romance is in a bouquet...

 That's a horse-drawn sleigh in the background...behind the sledding kids...

And there's the choir on the organ...complete with walnut shell mouse. Fortunately, we have had several ermine decide that our yard is a great place to live. Their white fur with the black tip at the end of their tails is beautiful and they are so lithe they are fascinating to watch. We think they have been eating our mice because this is the first year we haven't had to kill mice in the house walls. (I have no objection to walnut shell mice.)