Now Norma Knits

Vermont Is a State of Mind

I'm in Massachusetts for work again, and on my drive through Vermont on I-89 yesterday, I could hardly tell that something awful had happened just a few days ago, and was continuing to happen, just out of my sight off the highway. Except, that is, for the Vermont Edition program I was listening to all the way down, that kept on reminding me. 

As I got close to the border of VT/NH, I stopped at the "last rest area on I-89 in VT," as its signage said, only to find that it was closed, probably due to the flood damage. Its parking area was filled with heavy equipment and a few National Guardsmen were walking around. So I took the next exit off the highway and stopped at a gas station that was right off the exit to use their facilities, then buy a drink.

The guy in front of me in the checkout line was a young guy probably my daughter's age, who asked for a pack of Marlboros, and then proceeded to ask the woman behind the counter how to get to Rochester. Rochester is one of the communities on the official list of 13 Vermont towns that are cut off from the rest of the world due to the storm.

And take a look at that picture.

The woman behind the counter, in typical Vermont fashion, began listing off all the roads he COULDN'T take because they were washed out or closed or the bridge had floated away. The real answer, of course, was, "Ya can't get theyah from heyah," and this time it was not meant in that wry New England way, but straight-up for realz.

The young guy said, "Because I heard they are completely isolated, and I have a four-wheel-drive Jeep filled with food and water...."

Of course the sentiment is beautiful, and it nearly brought me to tears. A young guy wanted to help. I did not say anything, only took it in silently, but I had just heard many stories on the radio of, for example, the woman who said she had hiked three miles in and three miles out of a particularly far-flung and easily forgotten town, and she wanted to remind the powers that be not to forget them. And I heard over and over on the radio program that people should probably try their best not to get in the way of the hardworking utility crews and rescue personnel and relief agencies by attempting their own relief and rescue efforts, however well-meaning. This was spiced up with the cautionary message that some people are doing things and being in places that are dangerous, moving barriers and driving where the ground is unsafe, and standing in places that could give way, and they really oughtn't to do that.

I joked with my lovely Sandy later, as sweet and goodhearted as this young man is, the next thing we'll probably hear is that he is the subject of a many-thousand-dollar rescue effort himself. But still...

Sigh.

It's hard.  

But being a Vermonter is the most amazingly wonderful thing. Take a look at this blog that was set up:

#VTResponse

Going down through the Helping Hands and the Temporary Shelter tabs got me all choked up.  

Watch, people:  Vermonters will show you the way.

 

Terrier Tuesday -- Goodbye Irene Edition

Dear Readers,

I was reading over Alpha's blog yesterday, and I just want to say, I think she underplayed things just a little bit much about that whole hurricane ordeal.

FOR ONE THING, I had to go outside and do my business in the POURING RAIN THAT NEVER STOPPED FOR ONE TEENY-LITTLE MINUTE, and every time I did go out, a huge WIND would come up, and I think Alpha has mentioned before, I don't DO wind. EVEN in a Thundershirt (though I kinda love my Thundershirt).  

So I peed on the carpet, twice, and that did not make Alpha very happy. 

FOR ANOTHER THING, my minion was left outside in the rain, and it got SOAKING WET.

FOR ANOTHER THING, being cooped up in the house for two solid days means that a Yorkie needs some exercise!

And when a minion is soaking wet, it weighs like 24.9 pounds, which is a BIT HEAVY for me to carry.

And then I get all tired out and have to sit and rest a spell.

It's a good thing I have a backup toy that's lighter.

Or two.

Coz I gotta RUN, Man!

A'ight, I'm outta here!

Love,

 

Mr. Jefferies

 

Vermont Was Hit Hard, But I Am Fine

If you are watching the news, I'm sure you've all seen many of the photos and videos of the raging waters, downed bridges, flooded historic towns, cars and 1,000-gallon propane tanks floating down the rivers. 

We're all shaking our heads up here. Who would have thought we'd have taken much of the brunt of this storm? 

Once again, the location of our house and the genius choice to construct French drains under our basement when we built, has served us well. We came out of the whole thing with no more than an almost imperceptible light-flickering. A little soggy, yes, but nothing more than that.

The rest of my state, not so much. Jim Cantore rather sums up the feelings here:

 

 

 

New England Pragmatism at its Best

Because I Feel the Need to Further Expediently Insult Ignorant People*

Mr. Jefferies and I are sitting here in the beautiful calm before the storm...

I've restarted a red scarf. The double moss stitch did not look like much in this yarn, which isn't expensive or fancy, but it is soft, and I love the color. I much prefer my old standby pattern for this: The twin rib.

See my polka-dotted phone case peeking out of the felted basket? I love it. I wanted something I could see easily when it was lying around -- The plain black one was always blending in with the background everywhere. This one I see! And it's fun! And makes me feel like all Breakfast at Tiffany's! I got it here.

Mr. Jefferies is modeling his new flak jacket. It is called a "Thunder Shirt," and I picked it up at my pet store recently. It seemed a bit on the pricey side, at $35, but if this prevents him from having freakout attacks while riding in the car, it'll be well worth it.

This thing is modeled loosely on the Temple Grandin hug machine, and holy crap -- remember how I have mentioned many times that Mr. Jefferies prefers to be dressed in his sweaters? Well, now I get why. Duh. This thing can be adjusted to a nice firm tightness that I can't quite get out of his sweaters, but maybe I will think about that when I make him sweaters in the future. 

In the meantime, I have learned that he loves wearing it almost 100% of the time, it puts him in complete relaxation mode, and particularly since he is very wigged out by the wind, and there is a hurricane on the way, the timing of this purchase could not have been better. He is not bothered by thunderstorms, per se, but strong wind makes him a bit crackers.

So anyway, for those of you with dogs that go nuts about thunder or other such things, Mr. Jefferies and I highly endorse this product. (We bought and paid for it ourselves, and have received nothing for our endorsement.) I have not tried it on him in the car yet, but given the way it mellows him out, I am highly optimistic. Thinking he was a tee-tiny Yorkie, I bought an XXS, but ended up having to exchange it for an XS. He's a BIG BOY now! Heh.

Anyway, back to the beauty of the day.... Imagine in the days before Storm Tracker and such, we would just be sitting here enjoying all this late-summer beauty, completely oblivious to the violent weather that might be coming along in a day or so...

The bowl of my much-beloved birdbath was left out in the freezing weather last year and broke into a dozen pieces. Here I am using the base, topped with a piece of the slate tile salvaged from our sunroom demolition, some stones, and an upturned aluminum lid that I found in the basement, as my new birdbath. I think I like this one even better than the original, and I will be bringing this whole shebang INSIDE before the hurricane hits.

This is a piece of garden art I bought at a craft show recently, made from thrift-sale dishes with a votive cup in the center. Cool, huh?

Anywayyyyyy, in the spirit of offending people who share the beliefs of the Tea Party (and I hope I do, because I'm just like that, and I'm stunned that anyone still doesn't know that about me, but I digress), the wrath of That Vengeful Theocratic God of theirs is bearing down upon us in the form of Hurricane Irene, and I don't know if you or I will have the internet today and are even able to read this, but I'll link to this amusing and very astute post by my friend Jim at Stonekettle Station.  

I missed this the other week when Jim first posted it, and only caught up with it yesterday. It's still just as good, although I noticed on some other comment to some other blog somewhere (maybe Jim's blog) that a supporter of Rick Perry said that -- guess what -- his praying for rain WORKED. Take THAT, you unbelievers! (I do not know if this is true. Did it rain for four days in Texas after that prayer meeting, as that person said? It's a mystery. I can only believe him, because he is a commenter on a blog and he says he will vote for Rick Perry, though he has never voted before, because Obama has ruined this country -- ruined, I tell you! Therefore, that commenter must have all his marbles intact, right?) 

AND the freaks are at it again, and still more. 

But anyway, Jim's post:

A Letter to God.

------

*WTF?:  See comment on my blog the day before yesterday for [somewhat of an] explanation to this bizarre assertion. 

Ah, yes. Another blog post, another day it is expedient to insult the wackos. My work here is done.

But wait: I have absolutely no freakin' idea what that means. And further: I don't give a flying rat's crap. I am so over the idea of trying to court readers. I'm 52 now, my blog is 7-plus. Love it or leave it. It's up to you. There will be zero energy expended (expediently or otherwise, nyuk-nyuk) at sucking up to the weirdos or the thin-skinned or the overly literal. ZERO.

(Although Amanda and Claudia assert that I do my best work when I'm pissed off. So go ahead. Piss me off. Make our day.)

LATE ADDITION:  (found on Facebook)

What A Wonderful World It .... Wait.

One Word, So Important

‎"An apostrophe is the difference between a business that knows its shit and a business that knows it's shit."  (Shared from my friend Amanda.)

And this, shared from Carrie and Marianne who saw it before I did, a genius post:

One Word Turns the Tea Party Around.

 

And The Great Flabbergasting. (I love Rachel Maddow.)

In The Mood For A Random Wednesday

1. Colbert PAC is so awesome.

2. The earthquake.

• Out of respect for the victims of yesterday's horrific earthquake, I am shaking up my morning routine. I am having a cup of mint tea in place of my second cup of coffee.

•  Earthquake does less damage to Washington than Eric Cantor.
•  Devastating photo.
•  Even more devastating photos.
•  It has been hypothesized that that was not an earthquake, but it was the founding fathers turning over in their graves. 
• I was informed by my professional certification association that they are closed today for "earthquake damage assessment." I hope they are able to pick up all the overturned water bottles and post-it notes in just one day. And more importantly, I hope they did not lose my thumb drive from the test I took last weekend.

4. Idiot-proof CAPTCHA! Yes! I want it! 

So there/they're/their you have it: Wednesday.

 

 

Terrier Tuesday -- Safe From The Storm Edition

Hi Everyone,

While Alpha-O-Mine is sitting over there laughing her ass off at this ridiculous article (because she's SURE everyone who gets lost in the woods who DOESN'T have a compass [or a GPS or iPhone or smartphone] is suuuuure to have a magnetized paper clip and a styrofoam cup, not to mention water, tape, and a pen) she says I should get to my blogging, so here I am.

I guess Alpha told you we have a new screened-in porch. It's not all-the-way finished yet, but we all looooooooove it, especially when it's raining. Here I am, outside in the middle of a downpour, and notice how dry I am!

This weekend my Abigail was home, along with her Jeremy. We all sat out on the new porch and watched the thunderstorm with Alpha, and whenever Alpha could get away from the rest of us (she can be anti-social, as you already know), she would put her yoga mat down out there and do her stretches, or read.

It's so AWESOME! It's like being outside, but inside, all at once. And Alpha doesn't need to get all bent out of shape that I might be running off, because I'm held inside by the screens.

Stupid squirrel doesn't know enough to get in out of the rain, though. Perhaps we need to get him a magnetized paper clip and a styrofoam cup....

 

Love,

 

Mr. Jefferies

 

 

Chemical Party

I couldn't stand looking at that Tea Party corndog orgy any longer, so here is something much more fun, interesting, and entertaining, especially for my chemistry professor friends.