A Collecrtion of Stuff

Readers may wonder why there hasn't been a post in the last 30 days.  Well I haven't posted because it is now getting into crunch time.  My job has many things to do before I can walk out the door and never return and the house is in a state of mess.  My husband and I are still trying to go through everything and reduce stuff!  You know that stuff you think you might need again and keep in a box somewhere in the house. 

When Amy and her sister and brother were all in college I had them go through their childhood toys and select the toys they wanted to keep until they had children.  They kept a variety of toys and we have been lugging those toys around for the last 15 years.  I recently pulled out the 7 boxes of childhood toys and books.  I wanted to see if I should move them to Heir Head Manor or put them in the trash.  When I opened the boxes, I knew they should go in the trash.  The toys they had they loved and played with a lot were broken and the white plastic had yellowed.  The books smelled musty and as I looked at the toys and books I thought about our grandchildren.  Would they want to play with the Barbie stuff or Strawberry Shortcake?

Amy called during one of my breaks from the basement cleaning.  I told her I was throwing out the toys and books.  She couldn't believe I would put them in the trash.  I explained that the toys were old and yellowed or broken but her childhood memories were filled with fun times playing with the toys.  I told her that her nieces and nephew would not want to play with the toys today.  Amy wanted to know if any of the toys would be good enough to take on the PBS "Antique Road Show".  I had to inform her that while they had saved some of the toys in boxes they were not old enough to be antiques so no we couldn't be on the show.  Amy reluctantly let go of the toys and books everything but her doll that she slept with each might.  I will bring the doll to Heir Head Manor but the doll was loved and now is in bad shape.  I know Amy will be surprised to see her doll because her memory doesn't match the reality.

It took me many weeks to go through the stuff and most of the stuff went into the trash so in the future I will try to not accumulate the stuff in the first place.  Heir Head Manor will not have room for a collection of stuff to accumulate so I hope I can always throw the stuff in the trash rather than waiting for 3 years and then during a cleaning frenzy throw it in the trash.  No wonder our landfills are full.  We all have too much stuff!

The Great Outdoors

Living in the Northeast is like living in the great outdoors.  There are many opportunities to hike, fish, water ski, snow ski, swim and many other outdoorsy sports.  I like to be outside, enjoying nature like everyone.  I grew up snow and water skiing with my family.  What drew my husband and I to the Northeast was the ability to still participate in these sporting events.  Living in the Midwest there is not as much opportunity and what is consider a mountain for snow skiing can only really be a very tiny hill but snow ski on this tiny hill they do. 

 Amy and her Sunshine recently went on an all day hike where they hiked to a lake with small cabins.  Amy was telling me about the hike and the cute cabins.  "It is a first come, first serve type of cabin", she said.  I was a little perplexed by this so I began to ask a few question.  "Do the cabins have someone who cleans them?"  "Clean them, oh no!"Amy stated.  I began to think: cabins in the woods, people can stay at the cabins for free and they are not cleaned.   Hm mm I asked more questions "Is there running water?"  Then it came "Mother, these are not luxury condos.  There is no running water or cleaning lady way out in the woods.  There is an outhouse for bathroom facilities and a lake for bathing but wouldn't it be great for all of us to go on the hike and stay in the cabins?"

Hm mm, no it wouldn't be great for me I told her.  We took you camping when you were little.  We slept in an uncomfortable tent, used crummy bathrooms but had lots of fun camping with our children.  I would love to go on the hike for the day but I do not want to stay in the cabins that are never cleaned, have an outhouse and no running water.  I like a few amenities and I have no desire to do without those amenities anymore.  I guess that is what age does to a person---makes you want to have running water.  Now it's not that I am fussy but I am not even sure my 8 year old granddaughter would want to stay in the cabins. 

Amy and her Sunshine are planning on taking her nieces, one is eight and one is eleven, on the hike and staying in the cabin.  I am sure the girls will love the hike but I can almost hear the nightly conversation.  "The mosquitoes are bothering me.  I can't use the bathroom because it stinks.  We can't watch T.V."  Maybe I'll be wrong and the girls will love the hike and the overnight stay in the cabins without running water and a cleaning lady.  As for myself, I will be at home enjoying the lake from my backyard and going into my house with running water and a cleaning lady--myself.  That is my idea of a great summer evening in the great outdoors.

Hot time in the Old Barn Tonight

In previous posts I have discussed the quaint weekend activities that take place here on the islands, Christmas tree bonfires, golf tournaments on ice skates, and barn dances.   When I first read about the barn dances in the newspaper it conjured up images of western wear including plaid shirts, wrangler jeans, and of course cowboy boots.  All worn by amiable folks boot scooting the night away in a bright red barn hung with twinkling lights and hay bales for seating.

My mother was so enamored at the thought of a charming night line dancing in a down home environment she pestered my Sunshine and I endlessly about attending one of the barn dances.  "Come on Aim, just go it will be fun and then you can blog about."  I heard time after time, that is until on a recent visit we drove her past the barn where the dances are held and then her reaction turned to "ewww".

That's right this is not some quaint plaid shirt wearing barn dance straight out of the set of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers this is a rough and tumble camouflage wearing ride up on your ATV shoo the animals out of the barn so we can get to drinkin kind of dance.  This is a crush beer cans on your head grab the little woman who is covered in tattoos and sporting a mullet  (I am not lying about this there are tons of mullets here.  "I see mullets they don't know their mullets") kind of dance.

As we cruised through the country side my mom pointed out cute barn after cute barn that would have been an ideal setting for a barn dance complete with checked table clothes and homemade pies, but that is not the reality of barn dancin round here.  So if you want a night of some rough and tumble entertainment grab your siscors shear yourself a mullet and ride off on your ATV to the biggest baddest barn dancin jamboree you've seen this side of the Mason Dixon.

Ball Drops

As I have stated over and over our cake pop business seems like a winner but I am beginning to have my doubts.  Amy has stated in her previous blogs that the beautiful cake pops atop a stick will suddenly slide down the stick for no apparent reason.  How true!!  I was making another birthday bouquet of cake pops for my granddaughter when I looked over at the three pops that I had made and this was the picture of loveliness that I saw.  Ugh!  What happened and why didn't they stay on top of the stick? 

Cake pops are a fun confectionery treat that gives the baker a difficult time.  You must shape and melt the candy so that all will stay on top the the tiny little stick when all the while gravity is fighting to bring it down.  It is a wonder that any cake pops stay up at all but indeed many cake pops do.  However, the frustration of making 20 cake pops for a bouquet and throwing away at least 6 of them to the ball drop is a nightmare.  As the reader can see once they fall the next step is the trash since there is no amount of work that will fix the fallen, misshapen dropped ball.  The stick is also gooey and sticky so the whole thing must do directly to the trash.

It is a wonder that you can actually make enough good pops to go into the box for mailing.  I am not sure what we would do with an order of 20 birthday bouquets to ship.  That would be a total of 400 cake pops to make and I can only picture Amy and I totally frustrated by the sound that comes when a pop drops to the bottom of the stick.  At least 50 pops out of the 400 would fall and have to be thrown out.  Amy and I would never get to leave the kitchen.  It would be an endless day of making the round little misshapen balls atop a stick and then the ball drops like a rock.  And the adventure would not be complete without packaging for shipping!  Oh, the packaging!!  The packaging requires careful handling so that the pops are perfect upon arrival.  Oh, I think our little business is in jeopardy of failing before it has started.

People are Strange................

Since I have started my job at the local school I have come to learn many unique colloquialisms that describe the various people who inhabit this area.  In most places people are just that people they may have different features or beliefs, but they are united through the bonds of their community,that is not the case here.  The following is a list I have compiled of the various terms I have heard to describe the groups of people living here, and yes there are many, many groups.

Donut people.  Don't let the name fool you there is nothing fried, rolly polly, or glazed about these people the donut people are people like my parents.  Outsiders who with all their high fluting ways have come in to buy up all the nice spots on the water while the locals have to inhabit the inside of the donut which as we all know is just an empty hole.  My question is what if the donut is jelly filled does the analogy still work?

Next there are Summer people.  Now summer people can also be donut people in which case they would be called summer donut people.  The summer people flock to the islands in well yeah you guessed it the summer but leave the harsh winters to the locals.  Summer people go in for all the fancy cafes and restaurants that the locals avoid.  "I mean who ever heard of paying four dollars for a cup of coffee and just what is Starbucks?" Darn those summer people.

And don't forget the Down Islanders.  The down islanders are people who were all born and bred here but live on the islands that are down from us and everybody knows that in this town we don't associate with the down island crowd.  Those down islanders with their big city ways and fancy school that has two hundred students to our fifty students.  I don't know how the donut summer down island people can even look themselves in the mirror?  At first meeting do you have to introduce yourself that way.  "Hi my name is Bob I am a down island summer donut person." Fun!

So you might ask who are we.  Well not me of course I am the offspring of summer up island donut flatlanders.  I might as well banish myself from town right now.  The people who I currently reside around are the up islanders people who have lived on this land for generations and know everything about everyone and their grandma literally.  They are a clan who fish from the lake winter and summer, love their camouflage, could single handedly bring back the mullet for men and women, (judging by many hair cuts), and take pride in their roots. 

They are not bad people just people well versed in their ways.  So for all you flatlanders (this is the term for anyone not from Vermont, yes people from Colorado, Montana, Idaho etc. with huge glorious mountains that includes you.  You haven't seen anything till you've seen these bumps we call mountains.)  You can come and visit, you can even stay awhile, but don't be surprised if you are introduced to a seventh generation member of the Vermont royalty who let's you know in so many terms that you are just a summer donut up island down island flatlander and offers to give you a mullet.

Tofurky Anyone?

My husband and I have decided it is much healthier to eat from the plant family only.  That is easier said than done especially when you have eaten meat and dairy for the last 50 plus years.  However, we have begun this journey and I have created several meals that we both enjoy.  I was feeling as though I needed more knowledge about the Vegan subject so I went to the bookstore to find a new Vegan cookbook.  I purchased a cookbook that not only had recipes but also had good information about this lifestyle.  I learned that I am not a Vegan since I love to have my pumpkin pie made with eggs and topped with real whip cream.  I have seen Amy make her pumpkin pie without using eggs and I must say I didn’t eat any.  There are just some foods that must have the good old butter, eggs and cream.  Oh and every now and then I do love to have a good steak!  Could Thanksgiving day be a good dinner with tofurky?  I have my doubts.  Tofurky at Thanksgiving brings back the memory of the episode on "Everybody Loves Raymond" where Marie makes a jelled tofurky and nobody likes the taste.  Now, tofurky is not that bad but I do think on that holiday turkey is in order.

I couldn’t decide how I was going to be a Vegan with my desires to have dairy and meat every once in a while.  As I was reading my new cookbook the author was listing the different types of vegetarians, and Vegan was one type but wait there was another type that was not so extreme---Flexitarian!!!  That is me—I am a Flexitarian!  I eat mostly vegetables but once in a while I will eat meat and dairy.  My husband was the one who found this section of the cookbook and pointed out that we were Flexitarians.  He loves to eat a giant bowl of ice cream for dinner almost every week night.  That is why he was searching for an alternative to being a Vegan.  He refuses to part with the ice cream made from milk and he will not even taste ice cream made from coconut milk. 

We can now continue our new diet with the knowledge that we are eating healthier without the extreme of never eating meat again.  We are Flexitarians who will once in a while eat meat and dairy.  Thanksgiving and Christmas would not be Thanksgiving or Christmas without meat and dairy!  Now we can continue with the holiday traditions that have been established and on those regular week days we will be Vegans.  What a wonderful way to be healthy, yet now we can still have those favorite foods that we only eat once in a while!  Tofu scrambler anyone?

When I retire?

I have been very busy with work.  Many people at work think I am not doing much since I am a "short timer".  Being a "short timer" actually causes more work and then there are the after school events.  On the weekends I have been trying to clean out closets and clothes to pare things down.  I still have the basement and garage to clean out so I am not finished yet.  In my haste to work and clean out stuff at home, I have been putting many items off until I actually do retire.  I am beginning to feel overwhelmed by the long list that awaits me when I do retire.  I will need to:

·         Look for a new job--jobs may be difficult to find but surely someone would want to hire a very old educator!

·         Do something with all the pictures of the family that are piled in a box--make wallpaper out of them.

·         Write a book--life behind the doors of the school could be entertaining.

·         Plant a garden---will need to grow our organic food.

·         Remodel the kitchen--want to go to the auction to find cabinets at a reduced price or maybe Amy and I should make the cabinets since we are making everything else.

·         Paint the screened in porch--must get the house in the Midwest ready for sale, oh joy.

·         Go to my son’s house to be his accountant--no I am not an accountant but how hard can it be?

·         Decide what I am doing with my investments--again I am not an investment banker but really there only so much that can be done with a small amount.

·         Research the family history--that should be interesting since our family is from so many states, road trip Amy?

·         Work with Amy on our new business--cake pops here we come, maybe??

And the list goes on.  It is easy to put off projects until retirement but how is it retirement when the list of projects is so long?  I have seen those commercial on television that show a retired person doing only what they want to do.  Wow that is an accomplishment!  I won’t be able to do what I want to do for at least three years or until all the projects are complete.  I will let the reader know when I get to the point that life is project free, if I ever get to that point.