Vermont Symphony Orchestra at the Trapp Family Lodge

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the final summer performance of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe. The concert was the summer kickoff of the Stowe Performing Arts Music in the Meadow summer concert series. Music in the Meadow showcases  acclaimed musical acts in a pastoral setting on the slopes of Stowe's green mountains.

Each year concert goers gather in the concert meadow with picnic baskets, low back chair, and blankets where they settle into their own sites, many of which have been continuously occupied by the same families for several years, and enjoy an evening of musical entertainment. Cars arrive several hours early as parking can sometimes limited and the spaces closer to the stage fill up fast. Blankets are spread out and picnic of lavish spreads including wine, finger sandwiches, cheese plates, and fresh fruits and vegetables are laid out atop portable picnic tables from Crate and Barrel. High school students meander through the throng of people selling raffle tickets and water bottles to the waiting patrons. By the time the sun sets and the concert begins the crowd is tightly packed and eager with anticipation for the evening's music.

                       

This year the VSO was conducted by a Briton Andrew Massey who has been with the orchestra since 2007. Massey MC'd the evening in between songs to keep the audience involved and to create a light whimsical atmosphere which reflected the musical selections. The program included a mixture of classical, popular, and Broadway musical numbers and as always the evening ended with Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture seamlessly followed by a Sousa march. This was also the first year that I can remember where the fireworks representing the canons in the piece actually went off without a hitch. As the orchestra played it's final notes fireworks filled the sky from the valley below the stage. The display rivaled 4th of July presentation from the week before and left concert goers satisfied and eager for the coming musical attractions.

Maple Cheesecake and Moonrise Kingdom

It's been a rough week for me with everything going on at work and with myself at home which is why I've been absent from my keyboard for so long. Between overtime, bad weather, and community tragedy all I've wanted is to crawl out of bed, go to work, and come home and crawl back in again until the sun comes up the following day. I will write more about those things as the work week coming up unfolds, but all last week I've had to push myself a little extra to keep plugging along and as the week progressed little pockets of brightness popped up until the I finally got two days to myself to reset and recharge for a full weekend of work.

Being back under my parent's roof is not as bad as I would have believed it to be four years ago. In high school I was kept under a tight, watchful eye that lurked in the shadows of my father's office, but now I come and go as I please (mostly to work and to Burlington for errands). I still inform one of my parents where I go as a courtesy so that they know whether to expect me later or not, but there is no more forced family fun and my free time is now my own to do with as I please.

Having two days off in a work week is a rare treat for me that by the second day I hardly knew what to do with myself and had to be creative with the day so that I wasn't sitting around doing nothing for most of it. I allowed myself the luxury of sleeping in until 9am and then got up feeling like half my day had already been wasted. Since Lance had finally finished the flourless chocolate cake I baked him for Father's Day I decided it was time for something new. I settled on a maple cheesecake recipe that I found on the internet and spent the afternoon mixing ingredients for my first cheesecake.

Usually I am very successful on my first attempts at new recipes, but this one was a disaster. The crust and cake batter all looked and tasted fine until it actually time to bake in the oven. As the dessert cooked it browned unevenly and wouldn't set properly. Lance came in at the very end with a suggestion about cover the springform pan with a sheet tray while in the oven and another baker friend, Sam recommended a water bath for next time. After abut 35 minutes I pulled the cake out and placed it in the fridge to chill and set up while I went to see Moonrise Kingdom.

By the time I returned home and broke through a window to get inside my house the cake a set up to about the proper consistency so I decorated the top with fresh berries to hide the surface cracks from where it had risen and fallen back in place and glazed the berries in a healthy maple reduction for extra sweetness and flavor.

It surprising turned out okay. 

While the cake was setting up in the refrigerator I set out of see Moonrise Kingdom at the Bijou in Morrisville. I've been waiting a month for the film to finally reach Vermont and now that the day had come I took off for the first showing I could get to. There was about ten others in the small theatre, about ten more people than I would have expected for a Wes Anderson film in Morrisville, VT, but it was nice to have an intimate audience in the dark, intimate theatre where I could binge on restricted food items in privacy while Edward Norton and Bruce Willis searched for wayward children all across an island off the coast of northern New England. I won't say too much about the film because I'm still waiting for my friend in Philadelphia to go see it, but I will mention that while the cinematography is quintessential Anderson, the plot is a more juvenile than his past films, but still has the core values and integrity of all of his film.

No, what kind of bird are you?

Trapps to Taylor Lodge and back.

Being in Vermont I'm never at a loss for where to hike, but with years of climbing the same trails I've had to get creative with where I want to go. On Tuesday Justin and I decided to tackle Taylor Lodge. The hike is a fairly moderate one that takes you up from Lake Mansfield to Taylor Lodge, a shelter along the Long Trail. However to make things interesting and because we planned to go directly after work we decided to start at the Trapp Family Lodge and hike down the back side of the property into Nebraska Valley and then start the trail head at the side of the lake. Our new starting point added an additional five miles round trip to our trek.

View from the ski trails. 

A sign along Old County Road warning motor vehicles. 

The beginning of our journey was fairly easy following the cross-country ski trails across the property and down into the valley. Once off the property we followed the overgrown Old County Road onto the Catamount Trail. I was shocked at how steep some parts of the trail were considering that the Catamount Trail is a ski trail that follows the length of Vermont. Eventually we hit the bottom of the Valley and followed the only road back to the Trout Club and to the trail head.

We finally made it to the Trout Club. 

J. at the trail head. 

A gross snake on the road. 

The actual trail to Taylor Lodge is a moderate one that winds through the woods and the cuts up the side of the Green Mountains. Besides ourselves only a handful of others were out on the trail that day. At the shelter we chatted with two nice, older women who were enjoying their lunch. The two of us did not stay very long because of our time constraints and the heat.

A mountaintop valley and pond. 

A small beaver lodge in the valley. 

The backside of Taylor Lodge. 

Heading down the side of the mountain was more difficult for me than I anticipated. I had finished four miles of excursion and was becoming tired and had drug my hand through a nettle vine. I kept on trudging down the mountain and along the road until it was time to head back up the other peak to Trapp's. The last few miles were uphill and left me so exhausted that by the time we were back on the ski trails I didn't notice the deer I was about to run into until I was ten feet away and it jumped in front of me.

Two deer off the side of the trail. 

Despite me being completely out of shape still for long distance hiking, it was an enjoyable afternoon of tackling new trail routes and being outdoor. The 8-mile hike also made me one step closer to my distance goals for August.

Leah & David are getting married.

Friday evening I attended the surprise engagement party of my childhood friend Leah her fiance David. The fete was romantic in an outdoor setting at Little River State Park. White balloons and pictures of the couple throughout their six years together hung from the branches of hemlock trees. At the entrance of the campsite stood a few white candle lanterns to mark the party entrance. Friends and family of the couple gathered early to decorate and prepare food, unfortunately Leah and David arrived ahead of schedule, but were able to assist in the setup of their own celebration.

The evening was a wonderful success with excellent food and drink and a beautiful cake designed and created by Leah's younger sister and maid of honor, Kate. If Leah's engagement party was a lovely as it was, it only set the bar higher for the rest of her year of celebrations.

A homemade banner hung with care spelled out "Happy Engagement"

The balloons and pictures hung from the trees created a very romantic atmosphere that reflected the couple's love of the outdoors. 

The cake created by Kate had a model of Leah's engagement ring encircled the picnicking couple. 

Leah's engagement ring. 

Best Wishes and Congratulations Leah and David!

First hike of the season: The Pinnacle

Today I finally decided to get up and do something exercise worthy after work. Monday a work friend and I were supposed to take a hike after work, but it ended up being a rainy afternoon so I settled for a nap and catching up on True Blood. I also checked out the pilot episode of Bunheads, a lot of potential and very Gilmore Girls-esque. Anyways it ended up raining most afternoons this week so when J texted and asked if I wanted to go hiking I jumped at it. We intended to jut do the mild 3-mile hike up to Slayton Cabin since I had to work, but because I picked up a lunch shift I didn't get out until almost 3pm and realized that I didn't have any extra clothing or shoes for the expedition. Instead of driving across town to change and then drive all the way back to work I took J home with me and we made our way to Pinnacle Meadows. My intention was to just walk up to the Meadows and maybe the Vista if I could, but once we passed those check points and I realized that the stabbing pain in my lungs really wasn't going to kill me I decided that we could make it all the way to the summit.

View from the top. 

Being the first hike of the season I kept a good pace, only stopping a few times to rest and have a sip of water. J, the experienced and slightly more fit hiker, was patient with me the entire time. It didn't help that after eight hours of working on my feet left my calf muscles feeling tired and strained, but if there's anything I learned from the boys on Sherwood this semester it's to work through the pain. Which is exactly what I did and once I got going I didn't noticed my legs. Of course I was deeply distracted by how winded and out of shape I am.

J and me all red faced and awkward. 

The summit was beautiful of course even on a hazy day. An older couple was lounging on the rocks behind us and quietly eavesdropped on our conversation about the other peaks we could see in the surround Lamoille and Washington counties. I shared my summer goal of hiking from the Pinnacle along to the Worcester Range to Elmore Mountain in a day and the female counterpart of the couple kept interrupting to ask me to point out Elmore Mountain to her. It was cute in a get glasses soon Ma'am kind of way. Sitting on the summit also gave me a chance to cool down and finish my water bottle. Hiking the mile and a half from the Meadows left me winded and red faced in a bad way. Still it was a fun time and nice for me to finally meet some new people now that I'm back at home.

Mount Mansfield in the hazy distance. 

Back in town.

The other day I ventured down to Montpelier, America's Smallest State Capital, to visit the closest AT&T store to purchase an iPhone. Yes, finally the last person of my generation has gotten a smartphone. Anyways while driving down to the mini-metropolitan area I realized how spoiled I've been living in the city. It is only sixteen miles to Montpelier along country roads and six miles of interstate, but the country roads can seem like an awful lot when you're only going out to replace a phone. Back in the city there was an AT&T store only a mile from my apartment, I could walk if I truly wanted to to speak with a service representative about an wireless problem. Now having to travel makes me long for the time when everything was in walking distance to my apartment and a Wawa.

Being in Montpelier I noticed that some things do change in Vermont. Back in high school I spent a lot of time in the area for various reasons and then most of the buildings were dedicated to state use or Vermont College. There was the movie theatre of course along with NECI and a few odds and ends shops and restaurants, but nothing unique or trendy. Montpelier back then was a stagnant town along the river. The other day I noticed the hipsters roaming the streets with their cutoffs and ironic tattoos and realized that the city is moving forwards. Slowly, very slowly and in a direction that would make traditional Vermonters cringe Montpelier is moving in a relevant direction catering to the youth culture of Vermont.

Now that I've realized how much I hate driving more than a five mile radius (which doesn't even get me  out of Stowe) I'm not sure when I'll be back, maybe when Moonrise Kingdom comes to the Savoy Theatre. When I do venture down I will be sure to check out the various updated shops and eateries like the Skinny Pancake and check out the local musical scene. 

Drink (More) Vermont Beer

This week I started my second job, pouring wine and beers and selling sandwiches in the afternoon after my breakfast shift. It's a great job even if it makes for a long day (6am-4pm) of standing on my feet because it's still on property and I don't have to wear a dirndl. What's even better is that when I'm able to again I will be able to stuff my face with the delicate, sugary pastries behind the counter so that I will be more familiar with them and able to better sell them to guests.

What's even better than eventually being able to eat sugary things is that I have discovered the Vermont Brewery Challenge. As a part of the Vermont Brewer's Association the deli/bakery hands out little stamp cards with the logos off all the Vermont breweries and when a person visits the brewery their card gets stamped. After a certain number of visits to breweries around the state the person is eligible for different swag items from the Vermont Brewer's Association and once the whole card is filled up a collector's set of Vermont Brewery gear is awarded to the drinker! With the Vermont Brewers Festival fast approaching I would love to get taps flowing with this challenge.

The challenge reminds me of the McShea's Beer Challenge where patrons must drink a list of 50 beers to get their own mug proudly displayed behind the bar only this is on a greater scheme with considerable gas mileage involved. It also sounds like the perfect thing to take the Hebrew Friend on if he ever gets a chance to make it north. I think with considerable dedication we could complete the challenge in a week.

All images via Google Images

Almost a library card.

It's been a busy week of job hunting and interviewing and landing the job, but I am pleased to finally have summer income as a breakfast server where the hills are alive with the sound music. No joke that's exactly where I'll be working, 6am to noon complete with the Austrian girl's costume. My first day of training was today and it is a very basic server job, but very early. I was surprised at how easy it was for me to get up this morning. Of course it helped that I had napped seven hours yesterday and that the sun comes up around 5am, but still for me to be up so early is impressive. I have a few more days of training before I'm officially on the floor making money, but with town as quiet as it is I am making more money training than I would be serving.

This week I also stopped in at the Stowe Free Library and attempted to get a new library card for the summer. Unfortunately I wasn't able to prove my Stowe address just yet and also wasn't willing to pay ten dollars so I ended up checking out the books under my mother's name until my next piece of mail comes when I can get my own card. I've been fiercely reading the Song of Fire and Ice books (Game of Thrones) by George R.R. Martin, but after finishing the third one I am a bit tired out by the series. Instead of checking out the fourth book I picked out a Vonnegut and a Fitzgerald to keep me entertained in my free time until I'm motivated to crack open the fourth Martin book. Unfortunately it means that I will be falling behind in the book challenge that I have going with the Hebrew Friend, but no matter my heart wasn't in it as much as his. 

So this is life... after graduation.

It's been an adjustment ending college and moving back home. I went from moving 100 mph to about 5 mph in the blink of an eye. The shock of having a tightly scheduled life almost everyday and then no longer having courses and being temporarily unemployed is taking a bigger toll on me than I realized. I knew that it would be tough setting into this new stage in my life, but not this tough. My cousin made a point to tell to take this time to focus on myself and do things for me while I look for a job and get focused. My uncle told me to use the time to enjoy myself, but put my studies to good use (whatever that means). I want to do all of these things and really dive back into life in Vermont. For the first couple of days I did just that. I unpacked and organized all of my belongings back into my parents' house then journeyed to Connecticut. 

Connecticut was a phenomenal time with Slolly and her family. I got to have one last hurrah to celebrate graduation and meet some great new people. I even got invited to a polo party next weekend in Greenwich where I was assured I would be able to find a nice starter husband. Ever since getting back to Vermont though, I've hit a block where all I want to do is lounge about watching old episodes of Frasier in bed with the curtains closed eating gourmet coffee ice cream in bed. Not exactly the plan I had for myself. Today I pushed myself to get up and going. After waking up at 6am and watching several hours of missed television on Hulu (it's been an adjustment getting used to cable again) I went outside. The weather was beautiful, somewhere in the high 70s and very sunny. With no real direction I started gessoing old canvases and digging in the garden. 

Between finishing up thank you notes and sending out job inquiry e-mails I am slowly figuring out how to have my first real summer since high school. I have some big personal projects in the works and with Moonrise Kingdom coming out next week I will eventually get myself on some track with my life even if it means only going about 45 mph while I'm relearning country living. 

Our party cake was dropped on the ground outside so we had to eat all the deliciousness before the birds and insects got to it. 

It's the colors you have, no need to be sad. It really ain't that bad.

Honestly is there anything more cooler than Mill Murray not giving a fuck while steals a bike with a pair of bolt cutters? I really don't think so. Mill Murray just oozes je ne sais quois and a suaveness that only Mr. Murray seems capable of pulling off. I mean really how many of us can just hijack a bicycle and just walk away with the bike of our shoulder, not even caring if we were to get caught with it. It really is just such a baller picture. I almost wish that I could feel cool enough to do something like that or just not give a fuck to walk away with a bike. Unfortunately I have a stress issue when it comes to police authority and recently found two gray hairs on my head.

At 22 it feels a little early to be growing gray hair, but with a father who began shedding his hair line at 24 and a mother who has been dyeing to hide her own hair issues at an even younger age it's not exactly a surprise. Add in all of the compounded stress of the last four years and logically I should be nearly white on top by now. Graduation should be a time of joy a celebration, I remember watching my cousin finish her course load a few years ago and walk across the stage at her own December graduation. She was excited and energetic and proud of the work she had put in over the years. I don't feel any of that. I don't even want to go pick up my cap and gown from the bookstore. Fortunately I'm not alone. My friend Andi has yet to pick up her own cap and gown and my dear friend Slolly just wants to go home now and not look back. We have no desire to sit under the big white tent next to City Ave and listen for our names to be called out. I just want to go home and go to sleep for the next few weeks.

I had a language teacher in high school who stressed the importance of being more than just a drone who was defined by what they did for work. I remember sitting in a hotel common area in Greece with her and a few other people talking about life and getting better acquainted. I had one of the local stray dogs in my lap (completely unaware of the risks of ticks at the time) and I remember listening to my teacher tell us that too many people are defined by the jobs they do and not by the things they enjoy to do. I remember having a hard time separating the differences between the two ideas. Last week marked the third anniversary of my language teacher's passing and with graduation looming only weeks away I am starting to understand more of what she meant and how I've change since having her as a teacher. In college I put myself in situations I never would have imagined for myself and met all sorts of different people. When I left high school, I left with a bad taste in my mouth and with very few people I felt connected to. When I leave Philadelphia next month I will be leaving behind a whole slew of people from different backgrounds that I never would have had the pleasure of knowing if I hadn't come to college, including my best friend.

I'm moving home when I graduate with no job perspectives and no real life goal other than to just adjust to a new lifestyle and acclimate back into small town life. This time though I'm not leaving with a bad taste in my mouth or on bad terms with people as I had back in 2008. I'm ready to leave the city and return home because I'm not the same person I was when I left.

Just listen.

It's been a great week for Hebrew Friend support and Hawktastic wins! Tonight we defeated Drexel and I will be honest that I had a hard time staying focused. It was a close game with Drexel tight on the Hawks' tail until the very end. My favorite little man Carl Jones had a late start, but it was C. J. who really owned the game with some amazing defense tonight. In celebration I've decided to dedicate this post to music. Win a game, get some music.

Adele - Rumour Has It

Adele, I love you and Lord knows Yonni loves you too. Obsessed with her sophomore album, 21, It's hard to believe that someone as young as she has experienced so many emotions and can sing so poignantly about them. Rumour Has It is the latest track that I have become obsessed with. 

Foster the People - Don't Stop

Everyone knows about Foster the People's Pumped Up Kicks and if you've seen the latest Nissan car commercials then you've heard Don't Stop as well. Everything about this song, the energy, the rhythm, and the lyrics are incredible. 

Fun - We Are Young

Fun's We Are Young featuring Janelle Monae has been blowing up the airwaves in Philadelphia and whenever it comes on the radio I roll down my windows and belt it out even at 8:30am, stares from strangers be damned! I can not wait to see this band live and I am eagerly awaiting their arrival in Philadelphia. 

Peter, Bjorn, and John - Second Chance

Everyone loves Peter, Bjorn, and John and everyone loves 2 Broke Girls. What do these two awesome thing shave in common? Second Chance. The band's song has become the theme song of CBS's new show and I think I heard it on the radio for a beer commercial. I love it, even more than I love Young Folks and I love that song a lot. 

Jimkata - When the Day Comes

If you haven't heard of Jimkata you haven't been listening close enough. It's okay though, I wasn't listening that well either until an acquaintance of mine introduced me to them a few months ago. I later found out that my friend Ryan went to high school with them and I have since been hooked. I listen to them in the car, on my ipod, and when I'm writing (they're playing right now). I get to see them in December at Kung Fu Necktie in Philadelphia and I've heard twitterings that they'll be in Vermont sometime in February (definitely worth the eight hour drive). I told Lance about them and now I need to give him some of their music to pass onto Charlie so that he'll book them at the Matterhorn in Stowe, VT. What's better than beer, sushi, and Jimkata?

P.S. you can download two of their albums at www.jimkata.com

Truck Bear and Andy are still alive.

I Lovermont and all that jazz, but the one thing that I really can't stand is that everyone seems to want to outdo each other in how long they can go without turning on the heat in their homes. I know the price of heating fuel is nothing to scoff at, but if you don't have a fireplace or a wood stove in your home to help supplement the freezing damp air that can settle into the old floorboards and stone foundations and make it feel like you're living in a damp, cold cloud then maybe you should turn the heat up soon than later. Right now I have on three shirts, a wool sweater, and wool socks that I pilfered from my mom's sock drawer and I'm still nippy. I spent the morning walking around with my fuzzy over my shoulder, making me look like half a yeti and no friend of PETA and am was seconds away from stick my hands in boiling water just to feel something. I wish I had purchased the wool and fleece mittens from Caplan's (Morrisville's answer to a Cabela's but with all of the hunting equipment already sold out for the season). In fact when I head back up to Morrisville to pick up my car I think I will stop and pick up a pair. Now do I want full mittens or the ones that flip over and become fingerling gloves?

It was a nice morning in Lamoille County despite the fact that poor Twilla has to have to body work done to pass inspection. I dropped her off and walked into the village to get my skates sharpened and purchase tape and some new laces. I went with the butter yellow ones that were popular in high school. The store was almost completely unchanged form my childhood. The summer items were still in stock so most of the hockey and ski equipment were still in back. The same guy who sharpened my figure skate was still running the shop and the only other customer was a James Franco look-a-like trying on ski boots. In the back half of the shop is the work area where a tired fluffy dog was laying in a pile of saw dust taking a nap. After I made my purchase I wandered next door to Caplan's and perused their winter apparel. I would liked to have gotten a few flannel shirts, but they were all in larger lady sizes. I'll have to hit up the Carhartt website for those. When I grew tired of browsing I went outside and sat on the curb and replaced the laces in my skates until Lance arrived to take me back to my car, which I had to leave overnight anyways.

Even after my trip to Morrisville the house was still freezing and somewhat damp so I wandered across the field to my godparent's house where I knew they had a wood stove. Total jackpot with that idea. I ended up spending several hours catching up with everyone over there over a nice Long Trail and a cup of tea. I only ended up leaving because my mother called over and said that it was time for dinner with Cathy otherwise I would have enjoyed the pesto macaroni and cheese and acorn squash filled with butter and maple syrup that was roasting in the oven.

Future house, maybe.

Just because I slept with you doesn't mean I'll ski with you.

So true with so many things. 

I'm in Vermont for fall break so you know that only means one thing: broing out with my dad. And of course sushi and mai tais at the Matterhorn where I got the lovely shirt above the last time I was there. It was an atypical day for me, waking up after 9:00am, going to lunch with my mom and some friends and then taking a long nap before heading out around 7:00pm with Lance. It'd been months since I could really sleep in and I only got up then because he was catering and I wanted to eat some of the scraps for breakfast. I'm not used to having so much food in one place, last night I was hunting around for a snack and got so overwhelmed by the choices that I just went for Saltines and grape jelly while I caught up on episodes of Always Sunny and The League. 

The last child that lived here moved out two years ago.

The Matterhorn was crowded, a good sign and the last of the leaf peepers bring income into town. It's a cool little bar at the foot of The Mountain with a sushi bar along the river and an enclosed smoking deck where the ski patrol forces newbies to do shots of Jager until they drop while everyone sings the cheer that's supposed to accompany the drinking. Tonight we sat at a quiet table on the sushi side and I watched the tail end of the Auburn game. I had two Jesse mai tais, two rolls of sushi and beer battered scallops. The mai tais were successful in dulling the senses and we spent a majority of the night in a half stupor once we got home. Someone messed up on a pizza order and I got to take it home for breakfast tomorrow. Sometimes it pays to be a Purnell and other times a Molino. This was one of those times, thank you free pizza. On our way out I was pleasantly pleased to see that the yellow lab and horse were still hanging outside the bar. The dog was very sweet and had a crowd of it's own and the horse was extremely gentle although not impressed with getting it's picture taken by so many people. The owner of course was inside looking like a total douche with his ten gallon hat and spurs. You're in Vermont asshole not Texas and leaving your animals out in the cold while you drink beer does not make you cool. 

A horsie!

Being in Vermont could not have come a better time. It's almost 11pm and I'm in bed watch Ugly Americans and writing this post, something I haven't done on a Saturday night ages. Usually I would be working and then heading out to the bar to spend a percentage of my nightly earnings on beer and blue collar fun. As much as I enjoy doing those things it's nice to get out of the city and away from school and all of the other crap I have going on in my life. Sometimes it just gets a little overwhelming not knowing what it going on that I need to just take a step back and head up into the woods. So that's where I am now: in the woods. I have to write a paper and get my backgrounds blog updated, but I also need to sleep in, eat ridiculous amounts of sugary cereal, go hiking, canoeing, and eat chili tomorrow afternoon. This weekend couldn't have come at a better time. 

I'm just going to come out and say it, you were kind of a prostitute.

I'm finally sleepy tonight at a fairly early hour (early for me) too. As soon as I finish this post I am turning and sleeping in in the morning. Tomorrow was supposed to be the start of classes, but with the storm damage classes have been delayed until Tuesday, yay! So in the meantime I am going to write about the things that make me happy. Just a little something to think about in spite of all of the ickiness outside. So here are five things that make me happy, in no particular order:

1. Seneca apple chips. I love these things, especially the granny smith kind. They're better than the puffed apples that the Amish women make because they are crispier and tart. I love them better than potato chip or corn chips or pretty much any other kind of chip. I always get real excited when I see them in the supermarket and end up buying more than one bag.

2. Greeting cards. I love greeting cards so much. I try to find any occasion to give them out to my friends. I just think that there's still something so poetic about cards, especially the ones that I hand make. One of my friends has her birthday on Valentine's Day and every year I give her a mess of birthday and Valentine's cards as a part of her gift. Greeting cards, well really cards in general, are a great way to brighten up a person's day.

3. My bed. My bed is awesome! It's a full (a little small) with a cast iron bed frame that has been painted antique white. Right now I have cream flannel sheets and six pillows and two comforters. It's great when the air is cold because I will snuggle down underneath the blankets and pillows where it's all soft and fluffy and fall asleep for hours. So much wonderful sleep.

4. Snow days. We don't see as many snow days in Philadelphia as I did up in Vermont, but the ones down here are pretty epic. Last winter we had a couple of good ones where the city was completely crippled by the weather, but everything was all white and sparkly. It was so pretty outside and the best part is that school was canceled. Unfortunately it's hard to find someone to go for walks or make a mess in the snow with me.

5. Matt & Kim. Matt & Kim is the most epic music duo ever. One of my most favorite concerts at the First Unitarian was a Matt & Kim show. My ipod has a smart list dedicated to them and whenever I'm feeling a bit blue or lethargic I put on some Matt & Kim and dance around. They have helped get me up and down between Philadelphia and Vermont when I'm driving late at night. I share them with everyone I meet and everyone loves them too.

They let me go early! I won 'Most Cooperative Inmate' four months running

Right now I am on the road. I'm probably in New York, but at the rate that I get up in the mornings there's still a strong chance that I'm only in Vermont still. Plus if I stopped to visit my mother in Berlin then yeah, I'm still in Vermont. It's been a good trip so far, here's hoping I make it home without a ticket or a flat tire.

I got my new license yesterday. Since I won't be home in September when my license expires and I needed to update my pictured, I ventured into the DMV. The DMV in Vermont may be small, but it is still the same as anywhere else: a big joke. I had to wait in line to get a ticket to wait in another line. I did meet a nice guy while I was waiting for my turn. He lives in a small town and works in the woods. If I had been home for the summer I would have considered asking for his number, but I'm also trying to move away from that type of guy no matter how nice and charming there are. I'm not going to settle for just good looks and a good body. I want more and I will wait impatiently until I meet that person. But anyways I now have a grownup license! Woot!

I look the same, but now I'm horizontal! Haha.

Yesterday at the book store I found the greatest thing ever. I'm sure most of you are familiar with the children's book Pat the Bunny. It's a cute peach colored book about a bunny and textures that the child can feel while they read the book. At the book store I saw a parody of it called, Pat the Zombie. As a lover of all things zombie, instantly I was thrilled and sent a picture of the book to my friend who is writing a zombie survival guide. (Yonni my 22nd birthday is in almost a month and I would love a first draft :) JK take your time and don't rush your art). If anyone finds any other cool zombie things please send them to me.

It needs brains! Zombie bunny brains!

By the time you've finished this I have hopefully made it to I-87 and am cruising my way on down to the Thruway. What an evil evil road the Thruway is. Almost as bad as the expressway in rush hour. Goodbye empty Vermont highway, hello six lane traffic. It's been fun but Philadelphia needs me.

True fact: This is what a Vermont interstate highway looks like and there are only two of them. 

P.S. Please think good thoughts for my Hebrew Friend. He hasn't been feeling very well lately.

Hey that last guy was at least a six.

I haven't written in a few days because A: I'm on vacation, B: I didn't want to and C: I'm on vacation. The problem with not writing though is that I have all of these awesome things happening to/around me that I end up having too much to say and so my posts become super long (and a little boring) and I forget half the stuff that I wanted to write about in the first place. So I've decided to write now instead of waiting until I get home tomorrow night. I'm in Vermont right now for those of you aren't Cynthia! or Yon or missed the fact that I typed vacation twice in a sentence (see above). I have so much energy from all of the thoughts zooming through my head right now I keep getting distracted by the episodes of M*A*S*H that I'm watching right now and all of the cool stuff that I keep finding on the internet (because there is so much cool stuff out there besides the porn), it's hard to focus and put this all down.

Alright I'll just start. Today I bought more books. I had the car in Burlington while my mom was at an appointment and since it was raining I did the obvious thing, go to Barnes and Noble. I have purchased so many books this summer I could open up my own bookstore, hey there is a space available in Wynnewood so you never know. Actually I do know, I don't like to share my books with most people, a trait I've inherited from Lance. So I went in and it seriously is the book Mecca of Vermont. There has never been a better Barnes and Noble than the one in South Burlington. It is the best corporate bookstore around. Two stories of book bliss. While I was there I purchased the second Flappers book, I have an unabashed addiction to YA literature, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, my Hebrew Friend has been telling everyone to read this book and since Lance doesn't lend his books to anyone I had to buy my own, and a copy of One Day. I've been seeing this book everywhere and when I went to see The Help with my mom the trailer for One Day played and the movie looks amazing so I'm hoping that the book is as well.

I also went to the Good Will today too. I've become obsessed with finding thrifty things to decorate my apartment with. I started at the car show flea market this weekend looking for empty frames to paint and hang on my wall. I saw the idea of hanging empty frames at art pieces in an article on Hello Giggles and now I have to do it to my own walls. I painted three that I found at the car show white and then I found three more at the Good Will for .99 cents each. I was excited and I think I'm going to paint these one a couple of different colors and hang them on the purple wall in my living room. I'm only in the apartment for nine more months but I think that's still plenty of time to make the apartment cool and pretty. I've also become obsessed with spray painting things. I have a couple of lamps that need to be painted when I get back to the city and them I'm going over to IKEA to get cheap lampshades and a small area rug if I can find one.

I'm also taking home the extra power drill in the garage. I have to hang up the frames and and some shelves to hold up all of the new books that I've bought recently. I picked up a few Faulkner's at the library book sale this weekend for the price of: on the house (that was for you Kyle). Since my book shelves are completely filled I have to put them somewhere else. I love old books so the ones that don't fit in the cases and shelves I am going to use as part of the decor I have going on: mumbly jumbly.

The best thing about this weekend was the visit to the Matterhorn. The greatest little ski bar at the base of Mountain Mansfield. It was first opened by my Latin teacher Ms. Knapp back in the 80s and has since changed hands many times, but it is now a super cool bar where you can get the greatest sushi. I always get the soft shell crab roll, it has the legs and claws sticking out of the ends of the roll. I also went with the spicy tuna martini this time too. It's segments of raw tuna and seaweed tossed in a spicy Thai sauce, topped with caviar and served in a martini glass. So yummy! And of course to accompany this I also had one of Jesse mai tais. 

A delicious drink that smells like coconut rum. 

My sushi. There is next to no real lighting and my phone doesn't have a flash :(

Check back tomorrow. I'll be in transit but there will be a post sometime tomorrow afternoon. 

Next time you're in Upper Darby you better let me know. I'm about to get laid off and I live with my mom.

The heartland of Uzbekistan is the Fergana Valley. Located across most of the country, this valley is extremely fertile and protected by mountains at the north and at the south. Two rivers run through the valley supplying life to area. Once part of the Northern Silk Road, it sustains the country's silk industry. It is a beautiful part of a often overlooked country in western Asia. I want to go to Uzbekistan and see the Fergana Valley. I want to stay in a yurt and hike through the mountains and travel along the rivers.

Fergana Valley

I just got back recently from a trip to Ocean City, NJ with my Hebrew Friend to see some friends who are staying at the shore for the week. It was the perfect day for the shore. Completely flawless skies and just the right amount of waves to go swimming and body surfing. We left the city early and were able to have a full rich day in Jersey. The shore was not too crowded, kind of like going to the Park on a weekend when the state park is too full to get into. We were all able to swim (those of us that actually like water), read, rest, and play Frisbee. Hebrew Friend taught me to play football though I still need some help with my catching and aim. He and I are going to have to go throw a ball around when I get back from Vermont (I'm not terribly excited about driving home alone tomorrow evening). Mini golf and pizza concluded our day and I did get a chance to see Chem Anna in action at the coffee shop. On the way home I nearly fell asleep, but then had a extremely enlightening experience with a friend. 

Yes I was with this person and yes he wore socks and shoes on the beach.

This time last year Chem Anna began her senior freak out. She would unexpectedly cry and fret about the idea of leaving school and getting into grad school. She had a hard time letting go of her safety net and preparing for the scariness of the real world. I though she and my other senior friends were crazy for crying about leaving school. They were only nine months away from no more homework. I thought that they should be celebrating and not mourning. Now that it's my turn, I feel even less prepared and successful than Chem Anna and some of my other friends who recently graduated. I just cry and cry at unexpected moments about school and the paths I've taken and how my life is going to turn out at the end of the next nine months. I'm scared about graduating especially since I will only have been working at my chosen major for three semesters. I don't have enough material for a portfolio to send to graduate schools and I haven't started studying for the GREs. I'm also terrified about leaving because I don't know where I'm going and I know I can't go home. I also don't want to leave my best friend. For the first time I have someone that I am unconditionally close to and I'm not quite prepared to put any distance between us. When I was in Vermont last time Lance said some very sage words to me: "Most choices aren't wrong, they're just not right." The decisions that I've made may not have been the best or the wisest for me but they've led me to finding a passion or two and to Yonni and to new skills. I'm just waiting for when I can start making the right choices the first time around.