like a box of cracker jack

This post hasn't much content, but there are presents!

I seem to have hurt my neck a bit yesterday, so I can't quite focus on posting but since the last days of our wonderful Vermont vacation are falling further behind us, I thought I would do a little something!

I have made up a flickr slide show called (click for) Midge in Vermont! for everyone to enjoy. So feel free to check it out.

It is a complement to the St Jay slideshow I put up... At StJ Slideshow, for those that don't follow the other blog...

Well, now we're back

Oh yes, I've fallen behind!

It will all have to wait, until I have the energy to deal with the pictures and think about the last couple of days. Hopefully later on today.

But we made it home... Elinor flew just fine, again. I started feeling a bit ill during the flight home, which has never happened to me before, but we got into Portland about 45 minutes early, so I made it!

Waterbury bound

Elinor had herself a busy day on Thursday! We went down to Saint Johnsbury to visit Caplan's to try and find something fun to buy, then off we went to the Maple Valley Cafe in Plainfield for lunch, then off to Montpelier to look at books, visit the yarn store and to look for a little something for Georgia. That town certainly seemed busy after St Johnsbury, reaffirming to us that St Johnsbury if the place for us. We then went down to Waterbury Center to meet Georgia and her folks, Tricia and Alex. We had a lot of fun and it was nice for me to see Elinor have a playmate who was more her size and temperament, since the usual playmates that I see her with are all quite a bit older then her. The girls had fun sharing Georgia's toys and we had fun hanging out with the folks, who served brownies, nachos and blueberry beer! Of course, I can't post any pictures yet, but Tricia put up some nice ones at Unringing the Bell!

We liked Waterbury a lot and one of Caitlin's childhood friends happens to live right down the road from them, so after that we went to visit her and see her house and have some dinner...

Then it was back home, which in the dark rain seemed to take forever. And ever... But it was nice to be out and about all day, to go some new places and to meet some nice people!

Motel 6 Hours away...

So Midge enjoyed her first trip to Maine! The trip there was rather lame... Due to not knowing exactly where we were going or our way around Maine and the crazy congestion around North Conway... Well, it took us 6 hours from East St Johnsbury to our Motel. Which ended up being Motel 6, due to price reasons only. Though it actually ended up being pretty well placed for a convenient drive into downtown.

Aside from all of the trips in the car, Elinor did very good, and had some really cute moments... Like when we decided that to continue wandering around Old Portland we need to bundle her up so we picked up an LL Bean fleece and a blanket from the LL Bean outlet. Man, seeing her all bundled up in her little borrowed stroller? She was C-ute!

We went all around and looked at lots of baby clothes, went to a cool toy store, two yarn shops, the big LL Bean, Gritty McDuff's... She had lots of fun and got lots of ohhs and ahhs. We were really taken with Portland. And it entered into our realm of future possibilities... I liked it a lot and kind of wished that I'd already lived there (I have had loose ideas one moving there for a couple of decades) and Caitlin really liked it.

We pondered a bit which would be the best place to raise Midge (and whomever may follow) and it was hard to say. But personally, I feel the need to live the small town lifestyle. Where you actually know the people you encounter (for better or worse).

Spoon baby...

All is well out here, especially with the baby! Elinor has been getting so much wonderful and constant attention from her Grandma Mickey! And everyone else. She has been spending a lot of time going around. We did a bit more of the different towns foliage fest's this weekend. In Danville (which, as always, had the best fest), we ran into the nice lady that we sat with in McIndoe Falls. We also bought Midge a nice little handmade doll. After that we took a drive up a road that Cait hadn't been up before and found another little village that we could easily call home. Little, cute, off the beaten road, it was North Danville! Very nice, it was like finding a little magic kingdom. Not quite as perfect as Green River down by Brattleboro, but easily a nice place to pass some decades.

But around home, Elinor has really got into baby food whole hog. She eats about 5 ounces of Earth's Best a day! We have about six different things we are feeding her and her tastes seem to change everyday, but it is quite fun and she isn't particularly messy. She does though get a bit fascinated with her spoon, wanting to use it for teething rather than eating... Winter Squash will soon be here next introduced food, which I think she'll like.

Anyway, we are about to head out to Maine for two days, so that will be nice.

seemingly mistaken

Well, we all had a wonderful morning! Sadly, I guess I actually didn't bring the cable for my camera, so no pictures will be coming anytime soon!

As Foliage Festival events are going on all around the Kingdom this week, we went down to our favorite town, Barnet, because theirs was today. And no, none of the pictures I took were of leaves!

We started off by going to Barnet Center, where we checked out the church and a little craftsfaire, then down to McIndoe Falls where we had lunch in the back of the church (they were having a "soup and sandwich" fundraiser). We inquired when we went in if there were any non-meat items. They had egg salad sandwiches and apple crisp and said that we could get a vegetarian corn chowder. After they offered us a corn chowder with bacon, which we turned down, someone came over and said that they had a vegetarian corn chowder but it would take a little while to heat up. We went for that. We also got the feeling that they actually made it, instead of heating it up. But it was all good. We met some nice friendly folks (we were, at first, by far (and I mean far) and away the youngest folks in the room). Some of the gents had even put on there finest Sunday suits! Anyway, we had a great time.

We then went to West Barnet were we went shopping at the church store (pillowcase, t-shirt and some fabric pieces, all for $1) and then went to the West Barnet church for their "European Tea and Coffee benefit". It was also fun! There were many tables of treats and lots of nice folks and some people the wife hadn't seen it 20 years! And a nice lady sitting next to us was quite excited about Midge playing at wearing my Red Sox cap that she snapped her picture... And then some of us and she said that she would mail them to us! Everyone is just so nice and friendly, in a genuine fashion. Luckily/Sadly we had just come from the lunch at McIndoe Falls, so we weren't able to eat as many sweets as we would have liked to. But we did go up into the church (I really love churches) and it was quite a beautiful sight... Nice wood all around, stained glass windows...

Of course, Elinor got very grumpy with all the "into the car and out of the car", but she got so much attention from the Grands and the aunt and uncle when she got home that I think it well made up for it.

postcards all around

Another glorious cold Vermont morning! Too cold for the coffee on the porch, but all is well. We are going to go to Barnett Center and West Barnett to take in some foliage festivities, which will be fun, and maybe even a book sale!

Elinor was having a hard time focusing on sleeping last night so I had to get her out of the bed and put her on, ahem, the floor. That little bundle has laid there silently and without moving for over 5 hours now! This hasn't happened in weeks and weeks. Sometimes she just can't sleep with her mother around...

Of course, Caitlin pointed out that it may have something to do with the Hyland's Teething Tablets we gave her, which have a notice on the side that they may put wakeful babies to sleep. It is the first time we've tried them and hopefully we don't end up making too much of a habit out of it, but it certainly is nice and she really did need the sleep.

I brought the camera and the cable along with us, in the hopes of getting some good shots of Midge in the leaves, but the folks main computer is in the shop and this old Dell laptop I'm using, maybe I'll be able to get some in here...

Success!

Yes, no matter how much Jetblue tried to make us worry, we have successfully arrived in Vermont! It is our first family vacation and I already do not want to go back! We've already gone to Ben and Jerry's (on our way home from the airport), where I got a maple walnut sundae, Caitlin got a cone of frozen yogurt and Elinor just got her standard breast milk. Personally, I think I made out the best!

Anyway, yesterday was frantic with us trying to get our respective works tied up, run errands and get packed, and then today has been one of those arriving days. We didn't make it to St. Johnsbury until 3:30, napped (as Caitlin had been up was about 30 hours without sleep) and then folks here go to bed around 9pm, so it seems a funny day. But it feels great to be here. Sitting in our room upstairs, I was rocking Midge to sleep in an old rocking chair in front of a window looking out on the quiet blackness of a rural Vermont night... Thinking about the good people and this beautiful old farmhouse and, yes, the beautiful old cast iron bed here that Mom and Ron got for us and and repainted (and there is even a little iron bed for you know who), and I felt ready to while away the rest of my days in that very room! Not just the twelve more days we have here.

The trip, while it was a bit wracking due to tiredness and the tardiness of the plane, went fine. Elinor and I slept on the first leg, and Caitlin remained quite calm. Midge started to lose it a bit as we descended to Burlington, but we think it might be due to the cold that she seems to have.

Anyway, now that we are here, we shall fill our days with great things. I am looking forward to spending mornings on the porch with coffee and my family looking out at the hills! That and seeing the VT folks, family and friends, who we love to see and also going to meet Tricia and Alex and sweet little Georgia!

After that? Well, it depends, so much awaits us to do! Foliage Festivals, Maine, our old haunt Barnett, more ice cream, daydreaming at houses, stop by Green Mountain Books, maybe a movie at Catamount Arts and hopefully a trip or two to wander about Montpelier! Those are all good things. Well, those and, strange as it may sound, I like to come to Vermont for the restaurants! Hi-boy, Lyndonville Diner, the ice cream place (if it is still there), that roadside place we stopped last time that had good vegetarian options... We need to check all of these out!