keep vermont weird

Sitting in our favorite coffee shop

- where else? -

and I get a chuckle out of this guitar case.

Vermont is weird?

Hmmmmm

unique, quirky, quaint, uncommon...

All the adjectives that describe what makes Vermont special.

Weird? okay - sure, it's all just semantics.

Besides - it's always good to have a cause - I wonder where I can sign up.

Anyway - it's Friday - time for another random five

1) I found two different couples crossing the U.S.A. on bicycle. One of the couples is now on day #41. They've ridden 2,218 miles so far - Yorktowne, Virginia to Canon City, Colorado.
Yep - I'm impressed.

2) I love thunderstorms at night - they lull me off to sleep. This week we had a good thunderstorm and I slept like a baby - although - that saying never really made sense to me. As I remember it, babies wake up and cry periodically. I definitely didn't do that.

3) We don't get many good thunderstorms in New England like we did in the Midwest. But then, we don't get many tornadoes, either.

4) This weekend I'm planning to try mountain biking. Are you thinking what I am?
Yeah, I know, I really didn't learn anything from that recent pogo stick experience...

5) It's unanimous - blueberry baked oatmeal is yummy.
Recipe from epicurious here

That's all for me this week - have a wonderful weekend!

.

52 photos - stained glass shapes

Open studio weekend was fabulous - in spite of the cold rainy weather.

Oh my goodness, so many talented artists and artisans.

Pressed flowers, water colors, whimsical oil paintings of roosters, jewelry, stone bird baths...

And then my favorite - the stained glass window I purchased at

Hot Glass Works in Jamaica, Vermont.

I've been drooling ummm, pining over their many different windows for several months.

I'm feeling very lucky that Bella chose shapes for the prompt this week.

While the overall patchwork of stained glass is made up of squares and rectangles,

The individual pieces have so many beautiful colors and shapes.

swirls and speckles and star bursts, petals ...

Hanging in an open space between my living room and kitchen,
I smile every time I catch a glimpse.

All items at Hot Glass Works are hand made by a very talented husband and wife team -

they've been creating these works of art for more than 30 years.

Have a wonderful day.

52 photos project

open studio - wilmington, vermont

We decided to extend our holiday weekend - I'm feeling a bit behind

And yet, kind of relaxed...

Maple syrup, cheese, farm fresh eggs, blueberry pie, not to mention fresh veggies...

Yep - I enjoyed the first farmers market of the season in spite of the rain.

No photos - hopefully the sun will be shining next time.

Sunday, we took a drive to Wilmington, Vermont to visit some of the open studios.

This little town was devastated a couple of years ago by Hurricane Irene.

I'm so happy to see this beautiful little village beginning to rebound.

A little more on Open Studio later this week.

Happy Tuesday!

Tuesday Muse, Tuesday Around the World, Our World Tuesday

random five and flowers in my garden

"Away

Is a place that's easy to find

And a feeling that's impossible to forget"

GoRving.com

1) It would seem that as we were naming our getaway "Away", Go RVing was planning its new "Discover Away" ad campaign - and it pretty much captures the essence of Away.
Hmmm - yeah......
This makes me feel just a teensy bit annoyed.

2) I found a couple irises struggling behind some overgrown shrubs and transplanted them near my driveway.

 I'm really glad I did.

3) My back is killing me and I don't know why.
Well... okay...
it might possibly have something to do with the pogo stick that Nearby-apartment-daughter
found in our garage.

4) Farmer's markets start this weekend.
Yep - I'm excited.

5) I'm planning to try a new recipe this weekend - blueberry baked oatmeal.
Does that sound as strange to you as it does to me?
I'll let you know.

I'm joining:

Nancy for Random 5 Friday

Jill for Weekend Garden Party

Have a safe and happy holiday weekend!

52 Photos - raindrops keep falling...

Riding home from our weekend at Away
fresh air - raindrops - Sunday afternoon

feeling the lull and wanting to nap

but then - as I watched the raindrops fall on the windshield

it came to me -

playing with my camera was a lot more fun.
And it even took me a couple tries to realize I needed to manually focus on the water drops.

Have a great day!

rural artists- winhall, vermont

Saturday was one of those perfect Spring days in Vermont-
the kind that brings everyone outdoors.
Loading the kayaks on top of the car, I spied this artist absorbed in his painting.

Yeah - stealth photographer, I am not.
I'd really like to take a peek at his painting, though - wouldn't you?

This coming weekend is Open Studio Weekend across the state of Vermont.
Artists and artisans are opening their studios to the public
- like one big statewide open house.
So many great places to visit - I'm needing a strategy.

What is going on in your little corner of the world?

Tuesday Muse, Tuesday Around the World, Our World Tuesday, Rurality Blog hop

barn charm, a prize find - jamaica, vermont

Saturday afternoon -

a lazy lunch at our favorite coffee shop -

a planned trip to the pond for some kayaking...

Chatting about this and that,
Greg asks our friend about some photos posted on facebook,

and this is where he directed us...

Greg was scouting for new mountain bike rides

I was scouting for barns (what else?)

We both agree
- although for different reasons

This place is a prize find!

And what would a Vermont farm be without a weathered wood barn?

Happy Monday!

Barn Charm,

it all started with business cards

I hope you all are well

Taking a bloggy break has left me feeling a little bit disconnected

- and a little bit energized.

So anyway - my break - it all started with business cards

- or rather, the lack of business cards.

Do you have cards for your blog? Do you use them often?

It seems as though more and more I'm running into situations where they would sure be handy.

Somehow it just seems easier than long-winded explanations of what I'm doing.

Anyway - this led to the need to do some blog updates

which led to the need to finish my photoshop class

which led to -

Sheesh - wouldn't it be great if there were more hours in a day?

Anyway - I don't know about you, but May is becoming one of my favorite months

here are my 5 reasons why

1) Flowers - Spring comes slowly to New England

but we suddenly went from mud to flowers - Yeah!

2) More daylight - no more driving to and from work in the dark. Soon, I'll be able to switch out some of those dreaded gym visits with an early morning bike ride.

(smile)

3) Evenings on the deck

4) Anticipation of Summer - sometimes anticipation is as good as the real thing...

5) Following cross-country cyclists - it's the time of year where cyclists on cross-country journeys get started. I'm usually able to find 2 or 3 on twitter that I can live vicariously through for the next 3 months. If you know of anyone making a coast-to-coast trip on their bicycle and blogging about it, I'd love to follow along.

That's it for me.

Have a wonderful day!

random five for a random week

TGIF and a happy Friday to all of you!

1) It's commencement week here at the university where I work - and what a festive atmosphere on campus! All those happy, hopeful faces beneath the caps - and happy, proud parents. This morning I saw one young graduate sporting her red cowgirl boots beneath her gown. :-)

2) I switched my blogger profile to Google+ and am feeling ambivalent about the change. Any pros or cons that you know of?

3) I'm two months into my new morning gym routine and doing well with it. One of my co-workers enthusiastically asks "Don't you just love it"

Hmmmmmm - nope

I enjoy exercise and all -

but will never love packing my clean work clothes in a gym bag, rushing out the door before  6 am, and showering for work in a locker room.

Nope, never going to love that.

4) I'm thinking that if you're going to display a "Baby on Board" sign in your car window, you should also put away your cell phone, and maybe, just maybe, not text and drive.

Just sayin'

5) Next week I am going to go without breads, pasta, cookies, sweets -

for the whole week - yikes -

so, this morning when I stopped for my coffee, I figured a donut was in order.

I'm planning to take a short break from blogging. This is my crazy time at work, I also want to get caught up with my Picture Pro-cess class (which, by the way, is fabulous), and take care of a couple other small projects. Besides - no cupcakes next week - I may be grumpy.

Take care - and have a wonderful weekend!