Backyard Exploration

The Charlotte farmhouse is located on 500 acres of farmland. Some of it is fields, but most is underbrush and new growth forest home to bobcats, deer, and moose. Mitch and I decided to spread our Vermont Vibes in our own backyard this past weekend with a small group of friends who we've been chatting about our backyard with for months. And backyard exploring we did! We started off with a hearty breakfast of farm fresh eggs and Vibe-o-Tots and made our way to the barn for backyard exploration energy stretches.

From there we headed into the higher fields of tall grasses and gorgeous views and then down into moose country. It was here we learned and should have retained that the old logging roads of Charlotte do not mean continuous trails - we were already starting to get lost when we knew where we were going!



But, we made it into moose territory and found a relatively flat and shorter grass area where we enjoyed hammocks, wildlife reading, tree viewing, and of course fanning.





It was then that we decided to try to find the Lewis Creek swimming hole with only a compass and no point of beginning or end reference. So silly. We traversed to a neighbor's field being chased by a thunderstorm - we were all literally electrified. After the excitement of the storm and the beauty of the field we lost all points of reference and got lost in my backyard!





We used the compass and sun direction to go back the way we came which in actuality took us on a very round about way, but we eventually found our way back to the very opposite end of the "yard" - all the way on the Hinesburg border. We traipsed through more fields, ridiculously drenched to the core and laughing the whole while, exclaiming it was a good thing we did our stretches.


Love and Light to the newly initiated Vermont Vibers - Jess, Kash, and Rachael - well done!

Gardening Vibes!!!

Finally I get to write about the beautiful gardens Mitch and I created!!! Oh, yes, and Caitlin too who is our new fabulous neighbor as well! Tri-Vibes!!! We rotatilled, dug out rocks and weeds, scratched and hoed, mixed in compost, and planted lots of yummy veggies!!! Lettuce, kale, green beans (ick - those are for Mitch), carrots, tons of herbs, peas, brussell sprouts (ick - those are for Caitlin), spinach, chard, broccoli, onions, zucchini, and a very vast variety of cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes.

As this is more of a Plog (picture blog) - enjoy our gardening vibes!!!!

North Star Lodge/Inn/Resort - Vermont's Worst Customer Service

I write about positive Vermont Vibes. But, if you cross me, I mean really cross me, I will share the experience to help Vermont Vibers stay away from those same negative vibes.

The North Star Lodge or Inn or Resort (seems to have a few names) triple crossed me. Badly. At the Essex Craft & Fine Art Show last month I entered a weekend getaway contest. I got a call a few weeks ago saying I "won." Of course in order to redeem my weekend getaway, dinner for two, and $1000 online shopping spree, I had to be over 25, be living with a significant other, and make a certain income. I also had to agree to drive to Killington, Vermont to have a tour of the North Star Lodge/Resort/Inn. I understood at the time it was a timeshare marketing gimic, but thought the hotel stay would come in handy for my travels, could use the $1000 for the numerous things I still need for my house, and best of all, I could use the trip to write a Killington area Vermont Vibes blog post.

Mitch and I embarked on our adventure to Killington just yesterday, June 1st. Without a clear understanding of just how long it would take, we gave ourselves about two hours and headed down Route 7, over 125, south on 100, where we drove through Pittsfield and realized we were going to be a little late. Luckily, my cell phone was working and I called the North Star Lodge to let them know where we were and that we were motoring our way to the lodge for the tour as fast as we could. They said we would be fine.

Now I am one who is always rushing around because I always seem to have three too many things to do. That is a part of why I love Vibing, it lets me slow down and see the world - of Vermont. I also understand that there are not excuses for being late yet there are always excuses as well.

When Mitch and I arrived at the North Star Lodge, the receptionist treated us with disrespect, the short-man-syndrome time share man with the tomato in his hand treated us like dirt, and the woman who I spoke with on the phone got one look at our youthful, jeans-and-t-shirt appearance and said we were late and that was not acceptable. I said, "But we just spoke with you and drove all the way from Charlotte and gas if $4 a gallon." She responded by saying she was aware of how much gas cost and actually had the bitter-old-lady nerve to compare the North Star Lodge to an airport in that if I was late for the flight, the plane would not wait. In retrospect I had to think, was she seriously comparing the white trash "retro style" North Star Lodge to an airline? I mean look at this place - I am not good enough for a room that looks like this?
A place that can't even cut it in the uberly stylized Killington "big mountain" ski area by operating as a hotel but has to resort to timeshare operatives run by Endless Vacation Rentals (RCI) through a marketing scam company - Summit Vacation - located in the Berkshires, owned by a partner who already had a timeshare fraud lawsuit brought against him between 2000 and 2002 while timeshare scamming at the Cedarbrook Club also in Killington? (It also looks like Cedarbrook is part of North Star which is part of RCI which is using Summit Vacations as the untraceable marketing scam company.) And wasn't it Killington that wanted to secede from Vermont a few years ago and become part of New Hampshire? What is going on down there?

Anyway, after storming out of the North Star Lodge and crying for a bit in the car - not in their parking lot of course - Mitch and I slowly headed home and watched the $30 or so in gas just waste away. Not one to usually cry over spilled milk, I tried to bounce back thinking of all of the positive vibrations I have felt and impacted upon others of my years of Vermont Vibing. It really roughed up my psyche being treated that way and I tried to think of what I had done to deserve to be treated with such rudeness and lack of civility and I realized - nothing. Many others had endured such scams and violations and it was my job to use my talents to bring this issue to light, so hence forth I share.

With this knowledge under my belt (and not to mention I thought I was lookin' pretty hot that day - probably enough so to make Ms. Panties-in-a-Bunch think I would make all the scabby and leering time share men think impure thoughts and piss of the time share wives who were paying with their daddy's trust funds) Mitch and I shared some of our own hugs and kisses and took a breather in Hancock.

We stopped at the Hancock Hotel Vermont Home Bakery where I healingly browsed for local Vermont products and chatted with the gal behind the counter about hummingbirds. Waaaayyyyy more my style establishment - local, Vermont, authentic, real... Then we headed back the way we came only this time thoroughly enjoyed the scenic Route 125 - I highly recommend this route if you happen to be in the area. I remember going to the Hancock Soup Dinner a few years back, but never having driven on 125. We stopped at the glorious Texas Falls and breathed deep for a while enjoying the sounds, smells, and sites of the waterfalls. Then we walked the entire nature path in silence, each deep in our own thoughts, thinking about the dreadful event at the North Star Lodge, our own stresses about moving and the immense time and energy it takes to get settled, and stressing about the state of the world and the inability to overcome the detrimental cost of living battle each of us is up against. Maybe the timeshare sales were dependent on the North Star Lodge staff feeding their families for the next month and maybe not. I find that hard to believe especially when the marketing phone calls said this program was for tour attendees to spread the word about the North Star Lodge. Lies are never the way to go and I am certainly doing my part in spreading the word.

Mitch and I departed from our jaunt in the woods and stopped again in East Middlebury for dinner at Rosie's where the customer service was fantastic, the food yummy, and the atmosphere filled with real, living Vermonters, like us, working hard to make life work without treating others like subordinates. Good for them.

Love and Light...

Still Vibing...

Gas prices suck, moving is stressful, I miss my friends, wah, wah, wah. I LOVE CHARLOTTE!!! And, last weekend Mitch and I were able to sneak away and go on a Vibing adventure. And it only took half a tank of gas to vibe from Charlotte, out to the Waterbury Flea Market, on to some tag sales along Route 2 all the way out to Plainfield and Marshfield and then up to Hardwick and Greensboro! Yeah Vibe!!! Oh, and back to Charlotte.

Tag sales in Vermont are great - especially when you get farther away from Chittenden County, that's where good folks are trying to clear out cellar space, not buy stuff cheap and then jack up the prices for the jack asses who buy it. Case and point - folks who buy stuff cheap at the Waterbury Flea Market (which is cheap) and then go sell it to that indoor flea market along Route 2 in Richmond. That place is bunk! The stuff is waaaayyyyyy overpriced and I heard them talking about hoe they jack the prices when we were in there! People should watch what they say when the Vibers are out and about. Then we tried to buy a cool old music poster with a rip in it with no frame cover and they were trying to charge Mitch $25 because he bought it for $30 ten years ago. Lame.

But besides that, the Waterbury Flea Market rocks. Just remember to bring CASH!!! We bought more plant supplies and plants than anything else and had some great luck at Plainfield Hardware and Nursery - what a fantastic spot and the veggie packs were beautiful and a great price. In fact, I had never spent much time in Plainfield, so I thought I'd share some pics of this fun little town on the verge of the paradise known as the Northeast Kingdom.




By this point we had spent way to much time buying plants and stopping at tag sales. One last stop was the best of all - this heady organic farm nursery off Route 16 up towards Greensboro Bend. These folks were even Healthy Hippie worthy and in her honor, I bought kale to plant. We cruised up to Greensboro where some of my fam was opening up our summer cottages so we chilled for a bit and then packed up the roof of the Vibe with an authentic Chinese screen my cousin has passed on to me after my grandmother passed it on to her. This is because our living room motif if Chinese Farmhouse.

Then back to the Charlotte Farmhouse for the remainder of the weekend building a garden - but that is for another blog...

Surreal Surroundings in Charlotte, Vermont

We live in the middle of high density moose territory. Yesterday Mitch and I walked through it all - someone even has a tent hidden in the brush for animal watching. Not sure who's it it, but I am going to sit in it and watch. After the rain...and after we finish this insane move. The clover patches weave in and out of soft marshes, grassy fields, large tree pockets, underbrush, and forests. It is amazing. I also saw a fisher cat one night and a bobcat ate one of my neighbors chickens. Fishers are scary and chickens are cute, but there is something raw out here in the farmland. Something primal and alive and real. I cannot express how much I love it and how this move is circling the completeness of my life. I am home in my wood nymph paradise. We have wetlands and marshlands right on our fields and roufous-sided towee's are making a nest outside of my office window. I must run off and finish the insanity of making this place my wood nymph paradise, but wanted to share some new pictures before I headed into town and out of the country (sigh).

Woodworking

I have always enjoyed working with wood and the farmhouse move has sealed the deal! Woodworking is now an official added activity to my growing list of hobbies and interests. I have taken almost every piece of old wood furniture Mitch and I own and have brought it to the basement before it even gets to enjoy being in the farmhouse. I have painted a few things, fixed a few things, sanded everything, stained and re-stained some things, and mostly have varnished everything with my new favorite thing in the world - polyurethane.

Here are my Vermont Vibes Woodworking Tips:

1.) Reuse!!!! Buy the old furniture and fix it up! Get some little nails, a staple gun, and a screwdriver and tighten knobs, and sturdy up legs, backings, and other hardware depending on how it is made. I am a big fan of little nails. You may need a saw and some old wood scraps to add support pieces especially to dressers and bookshelves.

2.) Recycle!!! DO NOT go to hardware stores and buy wood unless absolutely necessary (this is more for if you need specific 2 X 4's to secure to wall studs to hang the cabinet stuff). Find jobsite recycling locations and check out places like Recycle North's Building Materials Center. I get everything there - from kitchen cabinets to light fixtures to floorboards.

3.) Rework!!! Determine of the piece of furniture you want to refinish needs paint, stain, or varnish. This is how I do it:
~ If the item is already painted, then I find a cool way to repaint it. I like working with brown paint and sponges to make an antique look of my own. I also like painting in color and then accenting by adding stenciling.
~ If the item is already stained a dark color and is pretty nasty or if the item is unfinished with no stain, varnish, or smoothness to it, I like to stain it with a stain/polyurethane in one. I usually opt for dark colors to hide old flaws and to give it a rich look.
~ If the item is a lighter colored wood and has some dings in it and just looks tired, varnish is the way to go. This is just using a polyurethane (I use oil based, satin) to shine it up and give it new life and a happy wood furniture gleam. This is my favorite!
~ Never paint on wood that isn't already painted - shame on you!

4.) The Process!!! It is a process, so plan ahead! Once you fix up the furniture, clean it with wood cleaner - I often use regular furniture polish. Then you must sand. Get a variety of sandpaper. I use lighter grades that aren't too coarse, although your first sanding should be the coarsest. Sand away as you see fit. I find sanding to be an art with the goal being to make the surface smooth for the staining. Make sure you have brushes that can be used for staining. I keep staining brushes and paint brushes separate. And have oil based paint thinner for when the project is done. If you don't clean brushes right away they are ruined.

5.) Finishing or Continuing??? Unless I am doing a quick fix-it job on adding varnish to an already almost done piece of furniture, I always so a second coat and sometimes a third. The key is to sand lightly between coats so you don't get the bubble look.

I am working on getting some pictures of my actual work, but the moving process is taking over in all life departments right now! But, my furniture is sure looking HOT!!!

Spring Break!

Ok, I have to take a break from moving, talking about moving, and trying to get all the great pictures The Mitch is taking on the camera and figuring which computer is where, is hooked up to what, and where the correct wires are to be able to share with my readers! I think moving home and Vermont public relations firm, Rachel Carter PR, is reason enough to break from blogging, but now that I have a readership and have started creating the Vermont Vibes buzz, I simply cannot stop!

First, thanks to all letting me make the transition from Vibing around Vermont to Vibing around the farm and community of Charlotte. (I don't think Charlotters know what they're in for letting me move to the country.) But with the stupidly horrible prices of gas and everything else, even my fuel efficient Vibe cannot afford to Vibe around Vermont right now. While this is bad news for small Vermont towns who benefit from Vibing escapades, this is excellent news for hardware stores and Vermonters looking to sell stuff.

While the farmhouse pictures lately have been gorgeous, the work plentiful, and my fabulous Vermont hippie farmer outfits sensational (last weekend I went to Ace Hardware dressed as a pirate farmer and got skilled in cementing and brick work), these stories must wait for the photos! So, here are some of the latest tips from the Vermont Viber!

1.) Stay home this summer and work on your house - save money from traveling to find ways to make your home more cost effective in the winter, create a garden to grow your own veggies and corn of course so you can fuel your electric razor while causing food prices to soar because the corn is now too expensive for the farmers. Jeesh.

2.) Stalk Craigs List like a tweeny bopper stalks pimply boys at the mall (EW! - whatever, you know you all did it). I have so far found and bought dry wall, a wooden microwave cart, an office chair, a bamboo cabinet and continue to scour for a futon mattress, a dresser, and an entertainment center.

3.) Wear funny costumes to Ace Hardware and ask lots of questions.

4.) Make sweater sleeves into leg warmers like the Healthy Hippie!

5.) Create a music room or area in your house, collect old instruments, and have friends over for local food, drink, and merriment.

6.) Fix up your older wood furniture. Sanding and staining is one of my best secret house skills! Tips to come soon!

7.) Join your local Front Porch Forum, say hi to your neighbors, and get neighborly! Make some sun tea (tea bags in a growler bottle sitting in the sun all day, add some maple sugar, brown sugar, or raw sugar to sweeten) and invite folks to hang out - you'll be surprised at the positive vibes you spread!! (I plan to do this in the coming weeks, once the wasps nests are gone.)

For everyone's spring enjoyment, here are some of my favorites from over the past few years - love and light!