Kitty Vibes are the Best!

I have officially determined the best Christmas present you can get or give this year is a new kitten or a mature cat. The Mitch and I got one last weekend from the Rutland County Humane Society who did an exceptional job with their PR and letting folks know they were over inundated with cats and kittens. As a supporter of all things PR (um, probably because I run a Vermont public relations firm), I hopped on this bandwagon and The Mitch and I vibed down to Pittsford, Vermont to pick up Bonham, the newest addition to the MitchaRachia farmhouse family.

Bonham (named after late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham - and The Mitch's favorite musical idol) is a 12 week year old tiger striped kitten (now thirteen). We got a kitten because we already have Fee (age 8) and Tela (age 7) and a mature cat would tear the farmhouse to shreds with these big beasts in a non-vibalicious way. So a kitten was the only way to go. I have been against getting another cat for years as I do not want to add on any more crazy cat lady qualities, but The Mitch insisted he have a cat he can raise instead of just his two lumpfish stepcats. When The Mitch puts his foot down about something, even me on an overload of Bossios for breakfast cannot argue.

So, down we went to Pittsford, home of the Vermont Maple Museum. While vibing our way down, we stopped at Hannaford's in Middlebury to get some more cat supplies and cat food to donate where in my exuberance to further escalate my crazy cat lady status, left my wallet in the bathroom, only to arrive at the Rutland County Humane Society without it and to great dramatic effect called Hannaford's, learned to my most delighted and belief-in-the-good-of-people spirits that my wallet was indeed turned in, even with the $50 cash inside. Woohoo! Anyway, Bonham sang out to us the minute we walked in the door and it took less than ten minutes to cuddle him up and bring him home, along with a very well put together packet of cat information - sure to further my escalation of a cat know-it-all - watch out Green Mountain Animal Hospital - my fantastic vets who have so awesomely taken care of the fee extensive Fee (even though he was named after a Phish song).

So, here we are a week later...Bonham and Fee have become close to friends and Tela - well that brat of a princess is having some issues, including a new sound she has created that is part growl, part groan, part meow, and part purr. She even does it in her sleep (she too is named after a Phish song). Here are some pics to share...











PS - Please, if you do not have a cat, and would like one, rescue one from the Rutland County Humane Society - they are so nice there, the drive is very Vermont Vibes worthy, and those mature cats will give you fantastic vibes!!!!

The Vibe Got Around

Last weekend she sure did. The Mitch and I packed it up in the Pontiac Vibe fresh with her new snow tires and sped off with Vergennes as our first destination. We spent an evening in our now neighbor town of Vergennes where we started out with a casual dinner at 3 Squares Cafe downtown. This place is fantastic. Chef owner Matt Birong has created a casual relaxed atmosphere where you order from a counter, but are provided with a cheerful and colorful waiting environment that certainly encourages a dining in option but without the feeling of weirdness that can come at other establishments when you choose to carry out. But that is just an added bonus, it is the food that makes 3 Squares Cafe a delectable Vermont treat. The Mitch and I both opted for one of the specials - a pulled pork quesadilla which was absolutely delicious. Be sure to check them out next time you're vibing through Vergennes or on the web at www.3squarescafe.com. 3 Squares serves alcohol so you can bet some vibes we enjoyed a local brew and got some baked goods to go which were perfect for an after dinner snack at our next destination.
































And that would be the Vergennes Opera House for an enchanting solo piano performance by Cody Michaels called "Winter Suite." The seasonally magical music lifted my heart and spirit and I believe I have found Vermont Vibing theme music. Please visit www.codymichaels.com and consider checking out this enlightening Vermont musician or buying a CD for your Vermont Vibes adventure - I did! Following the concert, we headed to Antidote - Vergennes classy bar - for fancy drinks and cheer with my good pals Jeff and Carrie - Jeff was the bass player in the band I used to sing with and now rocks out the 80's cover band Hot Neon Magic.

The next day after a leisurely morning enjoying the farmhouse, The Mitch and I poked our way up to Smuggler's Notch for the Brewfest with our groovy Magic Hat friends Jen and Russ and their clan. I love the concept of the Brewfest - good Vermont beers (and Woodchuck Draft Cider), bad 80's music, wicked cheesy people, and lots of fun Magic Hat peeps! We had a blast and after swilling our ticketed amount of brews (heehee), we bounced off to the Morse Mountain Grille & Pub for some terrifically terrible Karaoke (I can say that because even I sang an awful song). But what was fantastically fabulous was that the sneaky blow-up band, The Shwilly Spunions, made a surprise guest appearance and then continued the show at the Magic Hat condo - completely blowin' it up! I must give it up to Smuggs for offering their two weekends a year (another Brewfest is held at the beginning of April) of adult mayhem as they are most certainly Vermont's family resort - and that is a slogan that is certainly true!





Rock On and Peace Out Vibers!

PS - Pontiac - you should definitely feature the Vermont Vibes Blog in your Pontiac Performance Magazine - we've got a whole contingency of folks up here living and loving the Vermont Vibes concept which was purely created from my bouncing around Vermont in my Pontiac Vibe - unsolicited public relations should not be ignored - especially in this marketplace! And as a Vermont PR professional by day, I can even hook up your press visit! Word.

Dancing, Shopping, & Dancing

The weekend before Thanksgiving was vibalicious! It started on Friday night when The Mitch and I urged our closest neighbor friends from Hinesburg to go contra dancing at the Hinesburg Town Hall. I have been wanting to go contra dancing for a few years now and every time I think my plans will allow, there is some reason I can't go. But two Fridays ago, there was nothing in our way so we headed off to the Hinesburg Town Hall dressed in our best contra dance outfits (complete with a pair of Healthy Hippie legwarmers). We were all excited for some community cheer and to meet some folks in our community and were immediately amused by the mix of ages - definitely an equal distribution of all generations which was super cool. Now as I have never been contra dancing before, I was not sure what to expect. We were soon swept into the dance with minimal instruction which made it pretty difficult to keep up. This would have been fine with us except there were definitely a few folks there who wanted no part of beginners in their dance circle and let's just say their vibes were far less than friendly. Some folks were nice, but all in all I didn't feel too welcome and I know The Mitch was giving me dagger eyes across the dance floor. We were thanked at the end for coming, but were advised to switch partners with other dancers which would help with our lack of contra skills. Perhaps someone should have mentioned that to us before and perhaps a friendlier atmosphere would be less intimidating. I guess there are some contra dances where the beginners go at the beginning to learn and then other folks come. Maybe that should be the case at all contra dances? If not the listing in the local paper could say "For Experienced Contra Dancers." Anyway, I still had fun and it's always good for your ego to be out of your comfort zone! Here are some pics to share:





After contra dancing we went to our friend's house in Hinesburg for well deserved beers and a sleepover consisting of playing Rock Band on the big screen. The next morning Patty and I headed off the the Hinesburg Holiday Bazaar. I bought a ton of Christmas decorations as well as a few presents and had some fun conversations with the friendly church volunteers (they were not at the contra dance). Check it out:




By mid-day we parted ways with our pals and The Mitch and I headed to the Charlotte Artisan Fair which has quite a different flair from the bazaar. A bazaar is typically held at a church by the church and has a collection of used items being sold at exceptionally awesome prices. The concept of a holiday bazaar I believe even precedes the tag sale, but don't quote me on that. An artisan fair however is usually much more upscale and expensive - as it should be since the products are hand made by the artisans selling them. Artisan fairs are typically out of the budget of a developing Vermont business owner and a special educator.

After some more holiday shopping The Mitch and I had just enough time to get into honky tonk costume and head to The Old Lantern for the the Old Lantern LIVE series with Girl Howdy and the Starline Rhythm Boys. But before we got to more dancing we were treated to a delicious venison pie dinner made by owner, Chef Roland - YUM!!! While The Mitch and I are very dedicated fans of honky tonk, we've only seen the Starline Rhythm Boys a handful of times and never in such a large space on Vermont's best dance floor. It was wild! And once again we were out of our element. Definitely in the younger portion of the crowd, we watched folks show up with dancing shoes and wow were they good! Everyone was dancing as couples and The Mitch and I had to spend a good time watching and getting up the nerve to try our own moves. We have officially decided we need to take ballroom dancing classes so we can learn the basics. We may be good dancers in our hippie scene, but our moves sure need some polishing. Plus, we spend so much time pretending to be rock stars, I think we have forgotten how to shake our hips. We did manage to pull out a few air guitar moves and ended up having our own private rock concert to Star 92.9 when we got home (this was before the holiday tunes started). Vibing sure is fun!!!