Hanging around is fun at the gallery Art is featured from abstract to flowery Portraits, still lifes and paintings of barns Sculptures and landscapes if you give a darn On days and nights when no one comes in Antics and follies commence and begin From the barns the cows and roosters emerge Painted waves crash…
Last year I bought a packet of seeds on amazon for Fresno chili peppers. Bobby Flay is always using them and a lot of his recipes that we try to make have Fresnos in them. But they are rare, at least in southern Vermont, so I thought I’d try to grow them myself indoors with…
My camp cabin in Vermont sits very close to the road (I am prone to say “slap on the road”). Our road is very popular with hikers and walkers, and most days when I am washing dishes, I can look out of my sink window and see people walking past. They usually glance in and…
It’s taken me forever to write this post. I’ve been busy with renovating this house and building another one and lots of other projects. I got through all of the radiation treatments, thought I was tempted to skip the last one in the name of rebellion. They gave me a certificate for finishing the course…
On to the boring routine of having Pancho zapped every day for the next four weeks. An hour drive for a five minute event. Not that I want it to last longer! On my first day, they gave me an appropriately prison-orange colored tote bag that has the name of the facility, which has the…
So, Pete I went to the next appointment at a different facility. This doctor was also male, but completely appropriate and professional. Surprise- he didn’t think an exam was necessary for the consultation. I feel at ease with him and the staff there. He reviewed my info and we discussed pros and cons. I decided…
…at which I was met and greeted by something I didn’t expect or want. I’m going to try to sum up without any minute details. Pete and I met with the radiology oncologist for a consultation about radiation therapy, which I have been on the fence about receiving. P was in the room with me,…
This round of boob butchery was a little easier since I knew what to expect. The time was later in the day, so I didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn, too. So, same routine, put on gown, do the Papillon name and serial number bit over and over. I did have…
So we waited a few days for the results. The only remarkable thing about these four days is that I had the most debilitating case of constipation you could possibly conceive of. Sorry, TMI, but what do you expect from someone who posted surgery pictures on their blog? You, my fine and very few readers,…
Really, after all the boob-hook madness, the surgery was kind of an anticlimax. They wheeled me in, there’s a crowd, probably five techs bustling cheerily around and the surgeon wasn’t even in there yet. A crowd to play to, and with the assistance of the “happy” drug just shot into my IV? I’m game! The…
As much as I would have liked to encamp on that river in Egypt indefinitely, the day of the surgery loomed near. At the consultation, I was given two antiseptic wipe packets in a white gift bag. I was to take a shower the night before and the morning of the surgery, and wipe my…
Now, what to do with the news of the results? I had been squatting near that river in Egypt for a week thinking David Niven would be telling me it was nothing. Not that it was the most terrible news ever. It was pretty good news, for certain, it wasn’t quiiiite cancer, and would be…
Read more Witch’s Tit- Telling and Consultation (Reprobation)
Because we don’t have a primary care doctor yet in Vermont (we are on a waiting list), my only doctor so far is my gynecologist. I have been listing her as primary care. So there was some confusion as to who was going to tell me the results of my test. The Breast Health Navigator…
Our cell signal really blows here on the Rupert/Dorset line in Vermont. Usually I can text from the house, but not send or receive calls. We got a landline, but it’s new and most people don’t have the number yet. My phone surprisingly rang the night before the biopsy and it was the Breast Health…
My mom had breast cancer, then died of complications from bladder and liver cancer. My sister Tracey had breast cancer, I think stage 4 (we didn’t talk about stages) and went through hell with chemotherapy and radiation and a lumpectomy and beat it. Even though T and I both have had genetic testing that says…
Just like a good flight of bourbon, our trips are over way too quickly. We had to go home. Thanks to the greasy pile of leftover appetizers that absorbed all the toxins in the booze we consumed, we were hangover free. We bid Bardstown bye-bye. We always tend to drain the last drop of time…
After our somewhat harrowing experience at Gates of Hell, we headed to Bardstown, selected by our lovely planner because the town is both haunty and boozy. Like us! Since we had a light lunch of protein bars, we decided to get an appetizer at Mammy’s Kitchen once we hit Bardstown. We chose a sampler, which…
Read more Day 4- BBR&BW Strangeways 2018- Bardstown Bourbon Birthday
From Bell Witch country, we were headed to Bourbon country-Bardstown, KY to spend our last night of our journey (and my birthday) experiencing a different kind of spirit(s) altogether. On our way, we were to make a stop at what turned out to be the scariest place on our agenda. While planning our trip, Grace…
Read more Day 4- BBR&BW Strangeways 2018-Gates of Hell Cemetery
When Grace asked for suggestions on where to go for our spooky tour that would be accessible by car from Cincinnati, my response was an eager “Bell Witch Cave!”. This was a big one for me, I’ve been obsessed with the Bell Witch since I was in my twenties and first heard of ‘her”. How…
Our new ghost hunting pals Ginny, Bill, (sixtyish) and their son Jeremy (late thirtiesish) went behind the reception counter and fetched the key to the church. We walked across the darkened street to a squat, windowless church of the peeling paint and leaning a little variety. When we entered, it was obvious that the building…
Read more Day 2- BBR&BW Strangeways 2018- Thomas House B&B Part 2
The Thomas House B&B is located in the curiously named Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee. We drove in through Kentucky back roads, and never saw the seam in the road that hurled us from the Bluegrass State to the Volunteer State, and a different time zone as well. Thomas House, much like Shirley Jackson’s Hill House…
September 14, 2018, our first destination was Perryville Battlefield State Park, site of a major Civil War battle, the Battle of Perryville (duh). The outcome was considered a Union tactical victory, with the costs being over 7000 casualties, 1355 killed and the rest wounded, captured or missing. There is so much misery and blood soaked…
This years haunty adventure led us through the hills of Kentucky to the Red Boiling Springs of Tennessee, and beyond. As usual, my lovely twinsy cousin Grace put together a rockin’ itinerary, perfectly balanced with haunted sites, boozy bars, and antique shopping. As my shirt says- “LET’S GET SPOOKY”!
Read more Bourbon, Back Roads, Bell Witch-Strangeways Here We Come 2018 Trip
There are lots of great local restaurants in Vermont. The locals in most all of the small towns fight the good fight to keep the chains out. We’ve tried a lot of these restaurants, and the food is excellent, with lots of diversity from Thai food to Tex-Mex to diner grub, almost any kind of…
I’m not sure that anyone even reads this blog, but just in case, here’s a lightning update on what’s going on in my life so my future posts make some sense: We got an Olde English Bulldogge puppy back in July of 2017. Her name is Idgie, and she’s now 14 months old. Except for…
Stuffed animals were by far my favorite playthings as a child. At one point, I probably had over 50 of them. They all had distinct personalities and socio-economic standings. Here are descriptions of three that my sister Tracey and I played with most often- Buffy is a stuffed toy dog that I received for probably…
When I was a kid I used to pick up all manner of bits of trash and rocks and little twigs and things that I found interesting and stuff them in my pockets. You never knew what might come in handy, a bottle cap became a Barbie plate, broken safety glass was diamonds, a feather…
In vain I have struggled. It will not do. We started this page so I could do all four of my blogs from one site. Welp, gang, it’s impossible, at least for me. I haven’t been blogging much because I’ve made such a mess of this site. Trying to organize it is hampering my creativity.…
I don’t remember exactly when or why my obsession with Jerry Lee Lewis began. Our home was almost music-less when I was growing up, due to my dad’s intolerance for rock n’ roll. He came of age in the fifties, and listened to a lot of music back then. When he went into the Air…
I have been asked many times in my life where my predominant dark side comes from. Here are some possible reasons from my formative years: Some of my earliest and fondest memories are of my dad telling stories to Tracey and me when we were little. We would vault on to his lap, and after…
Peeping Gator 