Beautiful Charlotte Senior Center

Another great lunch at the Charlotte Sr. Ctr.
Today's menu: Curry chicken salad, tossed salad with blueberries, fresh fruit cup, maple syrup bread. Yumm.

With my new friend, Shirley. We met and ate with her daughter and nephew and 3 other male seniors. Good conversation.


Following lunch, a group of us watched a video on the Charlotte one-room schoolhouse I had picked up at the Charlotte Library. Very interesting and informative to hear about the schoolhouse by several of the students who are now octogenarians.

I received the news that Shirley died at the ripe old age of 100 on March 7, 2019.
 She had a full life and was loved by many. 

Lounge of Charlotte Senior Center.

The Ice House

Reunion Time. We met my childhood friend and Mariner matey, Shirley Tugend Tedford (Tuge) and her guy Don for dinner at the Ice House right at the dock on Lake Champlain. Sitting on the first deck with a view of the boats was a perfect spot to catch up on the last year.

Pete and Don hit it right off both General Dynamic employees at one time. So Tuge and I could talk all things au courant like the logistics for our upcoming slumber party with Hollly Frohnapple Chorba and Carol Keem Jones over in N.Y. Tuge has to work around boat races and Pete and I have a Lobster Fest Saturday night.

The food was grand: appetizer, Prince Edward Island Mussels, Pete and Shirl, scallops, Don, salmon and me crab cake. It was the conversation however that really made the night. Don offered to take us out on his sailboat some evening so now look forward to seeing them again as couples.

Kirsten is playing the clarinet

Oh My. Pie.

Pete made the pie with the blueberries we picked and it was super. We shared some with Elizabeth and Dave who gave it a thumbs up. Elizabeth, thanks for loaning us your rolling pin.

I Scream, You Scream

The Main Scoop - Vergennes, Vt

We all Scream for Ice Cream. Remember ice cream cones in the summer when you were a kid? Well this is the place that will remind you of those fancy free days. It's a walk up window and they have a board that offers at least 30 flavors. Hard to choose? Yes. Once I decided I was asked what size---they have single, double and triple---"well, let me see what the single is like and then I'll decide," I said. Well the single was HUGE so that's what I went with. So for $2.10 the next half hour put me into ice cream Heaven. It was a warm day so I had to lick fast and lick often, but three napkins later I was so satisfied. Yeah, summer in Vermont.{med 2.65, large 3.10}

Charlotte Sr. Center

Had a delicious lunch at the Charlotte Sr. Center today. The director, Mary, who had given me a tour of the gorgeous facility the day before introduced us to Patti and asked her to make us feel comfortable, and that she did.

We sat with Patti and two other lovely ladies, Kit from Burlington and Shirley from South Burlington. It turned out Kit and Patti were related and hadn't seen one another for 40 years. News and phone numbers were exchanged. The food was devine. We had great conversation and it was fun to be part of the reunion.

The orzo salad was so good I've included a recipe.

Blueberry Fields Forever

Started out the morning by picking blueberries at a nearby farm. $2.00 lb. Easy picken', James Taylor music in the background. Looking forward to Pete making a pie with his, large and plumb,

and mine are great for eating out of hand (sweet) and mixed with plain yogurt for my breakfast blast off.

Finally had the nerve to try my camera since it got wet. First picture was hopeful..at least there was some sort of image albeit with a large water puddle on it. By the time we returned home after exploring and stopping at road side stands it was much improved.

We were able to pick up fresh-off-the-farm eggs, zuchini, and from the Hinesburg Farmers' Market a large tomato said to be grown in soil. The highlight of the FM was yummy round brownie-like treats with a mini Reese's cup in the middle. The young baker has only been decorating cakes for about a year but she sure has talent. A full cake with delicate tendrils was only $14. Didn't get a snap of it, but here are her cupcakes. Cute, eh?

Storytelling

Saw this in the 7 Days newspaper Elizabeth gave me. It's filled with all sorts of events.

Found my way to the
Williston Library in time to join a small group of ladies who participate in this twice a month activity year round. Our leader is dynamic story-teller Rechille a retired speech-language pathologist. After introducing ourselves we were given a sheet with ideas from which to create an oral story about our history. We spent about 1/2 hour making notes and then each took a turn in telling her story. They were all interesting and varied.

Found when I returned home I had left my new sunglasses there but it's easy enough to go back and pick them up. A phone call assured me they'd put my name on them and hold them for me. What a friendly place!

I shall return for two more sessions in August.


Oh, Shirley told me about the wonderful Wed. lunch at the Charlotte Senior Center so we'll be sure to make a reservation for that.

Our temporary home

We've found our way to Mt. Philo VT. and after seeing our landlord off we are getting acquainted with our cat and dog. The apartment has everything we need except food...well actually our landlord left us with a weeks supply...that was so nice.

We overlook Lake Champlain and the grounds have lovely flowers in various gardens. Their is a badmitten court (action) and a hamock (rest). I prefer the latter of course. Two Adirondack chairs on our large porch and a table with benches means we have all we need to kick back and relax.

Our downstairs neighbor, Elizabeth and her boyfriend, Dave, our upstairs neighbor surprised us this morning with homemade apple bread made from her grandmother's recipe. Wow. Talk about homey. Great!

Vergennes, Vt

Vergennes was very much a part of the War of 1812 due to the navigability of Otter Creek providing access to Lake Champlain. Commodore Thomas MacDonough commanded the building of a naval fleet to defend the Lake against the British invasion. Vergennes has the reputation as being the oldest town in Vermont and the smallest town in the U.S. (1.6 sq miles).

French Heritage Days. The event celebrates the area's French-Canadian heritage. We attended today starting with a walking tour that seemed to be to nowhere, though the first stop was interesting, the Bixby Library. There was a display of antiques with a nautical theme and an early canoe.

On the green there was a variety of displays including music, dance, demonstrations of lace making, bowl carving, the history of the Champlain area food vendors and folks dressed in period costume.

We found a slightly hidden restaurant/bar that was under ground level off a side street. Pete noticed a sidewalk chalkboard on the corner that boasted mussels and we were on our way. I had the special which was delicious Price Edward Island mussels cooked in a yummy wine broth and a generous portion of homemade bread WITH a pint of beer for $9 and Pete had a chicken wrap with marinated chicken chunks, crisp romaine, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and minted yogurt. They had only been open 6 weeks so I wasn't able to get a business card, but was offered a menu instead. Staff was very attentive and they have a big drink list with a hip atmosphere that looks like at would be fun for an evening out.

Vermont Public Radio

Today I was one of several volunteers manning the phones for the pledge drive at VPR. After a brief training we donned our headsets and waited for the calls to come in. The system accesses a data base of past donors which most of the callers are and is easy to use. What you are to say to the caller comes up on a screen and as you proceed through the screens it's all self-explanatory. At the end of the call we were to ask what the donors favorite shows were or their favorite thing to do in Vermont in the summer is. One who said she loved all the shows couldn't think of their names. When I suggested The Story she said yes and thought it was neat that we both liked the same show. All she could think of for Prairie Home Companion was "that old guy!"

Essex House provided a delicious salmon, rice and salad dinner for us so it was a WIN/WIN situation. All the employees were very nice and I had the privilege of meeting the president, Robin Turnau who lives in Charlotte too.

Had a nice seat mate, Brian, who has invited us to call him on a nice weather day to go out on his sailboat. Life is good!

Middlebury, VT

There are concerts, festivals, farmers' markets, talks, etc. all over Vermont. Today we saw Ray Vega and his group play some terrific jazz on the Green In Middlebury. It was a rainy evening but under the large tent who knew? We and the rest of the audience loved the show. No cds were brought along though much to many of our disappointments:)

Charlotte, Vt

July 17, 2009
We enjoyed a nice lunch at the Rochester Cafe and Country Store in Chesterton. Pete enjoyed his north country wrap which had a deliciously crunchy chicken mixed with tangy cheddar and jack cheese, fresh veggies, and tasty honey dijon dressing, while Chris enjoyed the Mount Cushman grill sandwich which had real turkey, crispy bacon, Vermont cheddar, veggies, and a delightful homemade pesto mayonnaise contained in healthy whole grain bread.

our apartment

Arrived at our vacation residence. Mt. Philo Inn, established 1896 which was a country Inn until 1966.

Grantham, New Hampshire

July 15, 2009

Started our month long New England vacation today with long time friend Betty Jones and Carl Andrysiak in their lovely Eastman home. As last year, they took us boating on the tranquil large lake near their home. This is the last picture I took on my digital camera before Carl noticed 1/2 hour later that I was trolling my camera case alongside my kayak. Betty and I had a great time visiting (she was in her kayak) and catching up. Pete and Carl went Indian style in their canoe.

Because I'm Your MOTHER

Roses from My Garden