meanwhile back in raglan shire

mudpie is ready for xmas in her cozy houseboat.  there are nice cottages available, but this is perfect for me!  almost perfect -- if only my shire had a road or a canal right to raglan shire!  

waiting for xmas can get boring, so the tinies have constructed a race track!  mudpie is hooked on racing and has made the scoreboard for 2 days in a row -- (but now everybody's getting better so no longer on it)

 and one other thing -- mudpie's gone into the placebo business in first life.  lots of studies show them to be effective, and in a recent study they worked as well as drugs even when the patient was told they were just placebos!  
i'll try to get a picture of this great new product before they are all snapped up.

An autumn of visitors!

it's true -- Vermont is the new North Carolina.
here it is december and no snow covering the ground.
how will santa even find us?
here's how it looks:


















a little time off now after such a busy fall.
first came college friends to brookfield,
then halloween kittens

we blew up our 'scream' and had it around for halloween
and again for thanksgiving, when there was a wedding
at our house!


















28 years and they are finally legal
at least in the Republic of Vermont.
the scream was not part of the wedding,
altho we considered including it.















saturday morning a flock of turkeys went through our yard

but crossed the road just as i found my camera.
why did they cross the road?

What i learned in Brookfield in October

Modern cars have slightly tinted windows unsuited for viewing autumn leaves.
Looking at photos of me with my southern friends:
    Practice smiling bigger
    Practice sitting more ladylike
People from away are not as inspired by healthy food produced in a healthy manner.
People from away have funny ideas about cold and snow.
A GPS can be useful on a foggy night, but is not as much fun as getting lost and asking strangers for directions. 
RTFM means "read the friendly manual" -- oh really?   

STRIPES

don't you love it when the log on the fire
matches the cat on the rug?

Rude Veggies

in one of those british tv shows, as kind of a casual aside from the plot, there was a box for collection of rude vegetables.  apparently there was to be a contest judged by  -- of course --the parish priest.  

i had no idea what a rude vegetable might be until the contents of the box were shown!

what a fun idea!  carrot growers especially have had many a hoot over their crop.  i mentioned it to my neighbor, and she brought this one by yesterday. 

could my town have a contest like this?  not likely!  this is america - we are above that sort of thing.

*giggle snort*

Les Miserable by Theatre on the Hill

(click any picture to enlarge)

 minding her own business in her pumpkin-head psycho nurse hallowe'en costume, mudpie got a message from Skyblue Earthboy that Theatre on the Hill was doing Les Miserable (which they've been working on for a loooong time!) right now!

(scene 1)

 she tp'd right over and sure enough the seats worked for tinies too!  hooray for tiny power!  my snapshots are not very clear, but you'll get the idea.

(the flames were wild and crackling!)

 the singing was beautiful, and the sets stunning. the acting was a bit robotic in places, but perhaps that's as good as it gets.

ordinarily i don't go for seeing something in SL that would actually be better in RL, but i'd never seen Les Miserable, and i did enjoy the music.

(the river flowed toward us!)

 michael heard i was the only tiny attending and came to be my wingman, as he put it!  as you can see we are both mesmerized, even tho he was watching on his CELL PHONE!

actually i have no idea what the plot was about, but still it was lots of fun with lots of good energy in the troupe. made me miss Lucy's days on the SL stage!

out beyond wifi

(View from the house -- photos by Josephine, not me)

the floating bridge (photo by josephine)

a friend from college borrowed a house in Brookfield -- a totally out-of-the-way town.  the house is on a narrow dirt road off a wider dirt road off a back road.  thank goodness another friend lent me her GPS or i'd never have found the place in the dark in total autumn fog!

 we had a great time, 6 friends from all over the country who see each other once a year or so.


Brookfield is known for its floating bridge - currently closed for repairs - and surprisingly there's a wonderful restaurant there, too, Ariel's.

vermont's leaf show was not up to par this year, but vermont is always beautiful (except maybe in November)

garden buddha & squirrel

the little kid who came 
a few years ago to our door
pushing a lawn mower he barely topped,
and asked if we wanted to hire him to mow our lawn, 
is now a big tall kid!  
strong enough to pick up the picnic table 
to move it out of the way of his new riding lawn mower
and mow several lawns in town and out, 
and the library as well!  
he's a good businessman, and now 
that he's old enough to be driving (legally) (yes, we've recognized you) 
he mentioned that he's twice failed to pass the test to get his license.  
but since then, 
he did pass it. 
i'm not asking and he's not saying, 
but i did notice someone left a 25 cent piece on our garden buddha.

CLICK TO ENLARGE AND LOOK AT TOP OF LARGE ROCK FOR A SURPRISE!  HEH HEH

early one saturday morning

me:       what's all that noise in there!?
hank:    dis box had spider innit mebbe
me:       who's going to pick up all those styrofoam pellets and put them back in that box!
hank:    i haz to wash dis foot now

summer's end

labor day was summer blue and pink
shy autumn played around the edges
tuesday never dawned
cold rain down your back


and rain and rain and rain and rain
and i opened my eyes to dreams of yellow pencils
and the smell of paper wrappers on crayons
chalk dust squeak


oh to be in second grade
and the cold rain falling
my new desk shines smooth under warm lights
and my teacher is so beautiful!

castle cats

lucy's second life cat went missing.
i finally rezzed another one
fluffy turned up lost in the castle!
now there are two, fluffy and fussby.

they play together -- and when lucy's not online
they really like getting lost in the castle.
lucy put some chairs down to block the door
it works!

getting away for the day

Labor Day monday
a beautiful day!
sunny, breezy, not too hot, not too cool

in the morning,
cars headed north with kayaks on the roof
and cars headed south with kayaks on the roof

cars with bicycles on the roof drove north
and cars with bicycles on the roof drove south

later bicyclists bicycled by going north
and more going south

in the evening it all reversed.

WSOS meet Old Whitey

yellow jackets took up residence in our garage. we couldn't see quite where - they were zooming in and out behind a big bunch of garden rakes, shovels, hoes that leaned in a corner. after we searched the internet (google "winged spawn of satan")  i devised a plan involving fishing line and a bungee cord to pull the tools over from inside the house. i gathered materials and made my plans.   meanwhile john went out one night and just stealthily moved all the tools.

three nest holes were in the dirt and bark rubble of the garage floor. during the day the WSOS poured in and out and threatened anyone who came near. winter is coming and we have 6 cords of wood dumped in the driveway to stack in the garage.   something must be done.

after more research, and suggestions from chemist friend Liz, John purchased some stuff to spray. i had my doubts.   but one coolish night (last night) he suited up in heavy shirt, hat, pants tucked into socks, heavy gloves and headed out on his mission.

in just one minute he was back in the house laughing. our resident skunk, Old Whitey, had found the holes and was digging up the nest!  yum!  go Whitey!  we'll see later today how that worked out.

while we were laughing over this, hank and barney were tearing up the kitchen. what? what? a moth? a LIVE MOUSE!  their first!  being just over a year old, and shelter kittens, their moms never taught them catching and killing.   they were doing pretty well at chasing. John managed to chase it out the back door.  knowing mice, it'll be back.

ring out bells of vermont

yesterday at 7 pm all the bells in all the towns & villages rang through the mountains and valleys for the anniversary of last year's amazing floods of Irene, and all that has come to pass since then. 

napping 4 dummies

cats indulge in napping as a hobby.

they find new and interesting places, and then take a nap there.

you might say "what a lovely spot for a picnic"

or "we should definitely kayak here"

cats say "what a perfect spot for a nap"

 if they could, they would keep life-lists of places they've napped.

they'd want to nap on every covered bridge in the country

or every lighthouse

or every state park

they'd have slides to show you

an online photo album of their last 100 naps.

humans check right out when they nap

cats nap their way into the sounds and smells and breezes

and especially sunbeams

it came from curio obscura

been so busy i never get to second life.  today there was a sale at curio obscura and mudpie made a trip in-world.  mudpie's pet mouse, and lucy's pet cat are always very happy to see them!  i feel guilty leaving them alone so much.  they rush over eager for a pat or some company.

see mouse? click to enlarge!

mudpie bought a tentacle.  hope it doesn't catch mousie!  stay away!

OH NO IT's GOT ME HELP MOUSIE RESCUE ME!!!

i'm all stretched out!

veggie heaven

a food day today.
our neighbor's been generously sharing the garden produce, and our fridge hardly closes.
last year it was zooks.  ..i'm just eating the last of my frozen zuchinni bread!
this year it is cukes, cabbage, rainbow chard, tomatoes, and a pepper or squash here and there.
so delicious! but!
today is the day.
last week i started the vinegar made from blackberries and water. 

we're eating the amazing tomatoes fast as we can.
today i washed and briefly steamed 3 pots of chard, and bagged and froze it for winter soups.
the long colorful stems, i debated, then (shhh) threw away. as Ma said in Jeff Danziger's Out In The Sticks "want not, freeze not."
i used the rest of the cabbage to make a big lot of cole slaw to eat for a few days.
the remaining cukes became 2 jars of refrigerator pickles (not worth dragging out the canning equipment)
now i just have the not-quite-ripe pears on my pear tree, and all the quince if i want to make jelly.
who needs a CSA when you have NGV -- neighbor growing (too many) veggies.

nature's screechers

all these years earwigs have insisted on sharing our house. 

some years a few, some years a plague. 

to better relate to them, i've read all i could find from earwig scientists and exterminator's websites. 

earwigs came from england. (on the mayflower?)

nothing eats them, except guinea hens. (can that be true?) 

they sometimes emit a foul odor. (when? and why?) 

they are good mommies, guarding their bazillion eggs and then guarding the babbies that hatch out. (redeeming qualities ~ so sweet) 

they eat decaying vegetation. 

they don't get in people's ears. (never. ok maybe once somewhere one did by accident) 

they try to hide if you are trying to kill them, (but they are not very bright)

all these years i thought i was an expert. 

then this week i read in the NYT science section that male earwigs have 2 working penises. (or penes to be correct) 

that's all it says about that subject. (believe it or not) (no why, no how, no pictures)

Flowers of the Flood

 today on a walk up the road i noticed some kinds of plants -- weeds -- wildflowers --  i've never seen before in my years walking this road.  and in my back yard, too!  since last year's flood, some of my usual weeds are not as much in evidence, although not gone....that mustard stuff, and the poison ivy...  and i have some new weeds.

 i had to look up a ferny-leafed greenyellow flowerspiked plant. it's ragweed!  i didn't even know what this famous plant looked like. 

and here's another new one i had to look up.

some kind of smartweed - i think several kinds are in my yard

jewelweed has come up behind the garage -- i think i'll keep it if it will stay! jewelweed is so pretty, and. supposedly good to rub on a poison ivy rash, too.

 i don't have a picture of japanese knotweed, because i pull up any plants as soon as i spot them...don't mess around with that stuff. 

according to the internet, you can eat it in the spring.

naaaaa don't think so.

Thursday meditation

the meditation center is open several times a week.   the same method of meditation is taught and practiced in the same room on the same cushions and yet each of the days is different.
thursday meditation is mid-day on a weekday, when traffic and construction work and the store downstairs are active.  when the weather is good the windows and doors are open and the busy world outside flows in and out of the room with the breezes as we sit and hold our seat.  none of that peace and quiet, non- distraction coddling for us -- we practice holding our seat and staying with our mind through it all, as all of us sneeze, open water bottles, take off sweater, scratch.

someone is timekeeper on thursdays, but no gatekeeper.  perhaps that's why it is thursday that throws me the otherworldly challenges!  one week it was dragons fighting outside the center. the noise was deafening. we sat through the metallic screeching and tearing, the alarming beeping, the building-shaking crashing.  it went on for the entire hour. (our center is next to a train yard.)  i knew it was a test and i brought the dragons and their fearful battle into my consciousness instead of letting them pull my mind out to them.  i was not afraid or angry.

another time, as i left the room, i was attacked by a demon!  she flew at me with beak and talons emitting dreadful cries!  i tried to remember how to deal with this...i did remain outwardly calm, mostly friendly, but i admit i tried to get away and make her stop.  not bad for a first encounter, but in retrospect i should not have tried to get away, but maybe worked my way along to the tea area as she followed screeching, and made tea for both of us?  i remember one story of a sage who allowed the demon to eat him up, but i'm not sure how to do that.

i don't have these encounters with the other world evenings, or on sunday mornings when there is a gatekeeper and often even a kasung, and there are protector chants at the beginning and end.  but i am curious to face these thursday challenges.