Surprise!

Surprise!
Originally uploaded by TerryB_VT.

Just a quick Alice pic....more on Flickr.



TB

Twenty seven inches and life goes on....

Twenty seven inches of snow, give or take. We were pretty well snowed in Wednesday and Thursday, and our plow gut didn't appear to be on his way. I actually don't know where the hell he would push it all, so I busted out the trusty BCS walk behind and started at it. After some issues with snow plugging the air cleaner and a run to the neighbor's for gas, I spent about three hours blowing us a path. I'm damned impressed with that machine.

I also shoveled the deck off, now that's a workout. No elliptical for me yesterday. Good thing I've done a little Pilates and learned about back protection. Suck in your gut and lift with your abs. That was a serious workout. No pics from the homestead, haven't gotten a chance to get up on the roof.

So I came into work today to find my path into the farm blocked by a pile of snow. Apparently the UVM trucks got stuck plowing down here, so we're snowed in for a spell until they can get their bucketloaders in. I took some shots from the roof of the building which, incidentally, needs shoveling. More exercise for me I guess.

TB

Batten down the hatches!!

That's a shot of the orchard now, before the storm. Snow is about 12" there.

So after a relatively low-snow winter they're calling for a whopper to hit tomorrow. Local forecaster Roger Hill says that this one will be one of the top ten of our lifetimes, some three feet or so. He says it's reminiscent of the storm of March 1993.
I remember that storm because I was sitting in the pool in Houston, TX talking to my folks on the phone while it hit. That was one cold, snowy winter, but I was out of the northeast by early January. Not a bad way to spend the winter, and I'd say it was a relatively productive time spent retreating from life for a spell. Anyway, that storm was all over the national news, and I'm hoping that we get it good this time, even though it will make my life a little hectic considering that I haven't pruned a single tree in the orchard yet.
Oh well. We'll hunker down with Alice during this Valentine's day blizzard. I expect it will be a good day to stoke a fire and pop a bottle of wine. Who knows when we'll be heard from next.....

TB

Rebecca M rocks!

It's been six months now since we switched Alice's daycare, and we couldn't be happier. Previously she was in a center where the infants were all in a separate building. The staff was unhappy, grumpy, and I guess incompetent is a good word. There were always a whole tassle of screaming kids, and the workers just weren't helpful. They constantly called Julie to complain ("it's nine o'clock and Alice hasn't had a poop yet", "it's eight thirty and she hasn't taken her nap yet," "Alice is cranky, come get her..." Of course she's cranky, you guys suck!). So when an opening came at a home daycare in September we went for it, initially against my wishes, thinking that a center was better because there would be backup staff available instead of just one mom. I also liked that the old place was just down the street from Julie's work so she could stop by during lunch (A harrowing, not calming experience). Boy was I wrong.

Rebecca's is a home daycare. She has two kids of her own, a great dog, and I know her husband from high school, her sister-in-law better, who was in my class (won't go any further there, Loretta). From our first visit it was obvious that this place was different. She has maybe six kids at any given time, ranging from Alice the youngest (nine months when she started) to maybe six or so, plus her six and eight year-olds after school. The place was well-organized and calm. Kids were playing with each other. They were really interested in Alice and played with her immediately upon meeting her. She liked it and went to Rebecca and the kids readily. They have a cool dog named Wallaby.

Julie might check in once a day, and Rebecca always has positive things to say. Julie doesn't visit at lunch, because Alice is totally content there. We feel very comfortable. She gets sick less, with fewer kids/germs and likely better sanitation (did I mention that Rebecca's house is immaculate?). The kids watch out for one another, with the older ones often playing with Alice.

Rebecca's daughter Abigail has taken a real liking to Julie and Alice. She says she wants a car like Julie's when she grows up. She plays dress up with Alice. The other day Julie went to pick her up and Alice was dressed in Abigail's old witch costume from Halloween. She loved it.

THANK YOU REBECCA for making this daycare thing SO much easier. We owe you a big one.

TB

Todd-let?

I don't know what to call Alice nowadays. I can't really say she's a baby anymore, but maybe not quite a toddler. She's just now taking off with her walking, and jabbers a lot with some well-defined words. She especially likes saying "cracker" and "milk" (mehk). So I think I'm going to call her a 'todd-let', like piglet, you know? I think things are going to really start getting fun around our house soon.....


TB

Magic shirt

Magic shirt
Originally uploaded by TerryB_VT.

Just trying out a flickr blog post.

Cider givin' you the shits?

I've had another #1 page rank in google from someone looking up why cider/apple juice gives them the shits.  It's nice to be recognized folks, but I don't have the answer.  My site pops up because 'cider' and 'apple juice' are all over the place, and on the general cidermaking page there is a mention of "Uncle Eddie's 'give-you-the-shits' cider".  Now I drink a lot of cider and a bit of apple juice (aka sweet cider), and I don't get said gastrointestinal problems.  Maybe it's because I'm used to it, maybe I just make good cider.

I could venture a guess as to why you're seeing the gravy train after drinking cider/juice, particularly the sweet, unfermented variety. There's a lot of readily fermentable sugars in juice, so maybe juice combined with your gut flora is creating an in-body fermentation and your butt is acting as an airlock/blowoff tube.  Maybe it's the large shot of soluble fiber which is going through your intestines like a pipe roto-rooter.  These are my two guesses.  I'd google it, but it will only refer me back to myself, the google cider shit expert.  Again, I don't have that problem.

If you stumble across this page in a search engine looking to resolve a personal problem, I wish you the best, but can't offer much advice except to keep drinking cider so that your body gets used to it.  With that said, everything is best in moderation, as you may just be overpowering your bowels with too much good stuff.  Good luck on your further search, keep a clear path to the loo, and don't knock cider in general.  It's good stuff and good for you.


TB