Are You Ready for the Country?

This time, we started off to Vermont at quarter after 9, stopping at a Shell station down the road so Lauren could get gas. While she was busy, I went into the station's convenience store and got a chai latte and a cream donut at their Dunkin' Donuts counter. Lauren got an energy drink. We made another convenience store stop at a Stewart's Shops in New York State about an hour later. Lauren got a breakfast sandwich for her and apple cider donuts for her parents. I just used the bathroom.

Vermont is a gorgeous state. I love our drives up there! Like I told Lauren, it's like driving through a fairy land. Even upstate New York is all rambling old farmhouses, cows grazing in impossibly green fields, rushing rivers, and old timber ski resorts. It was a wonderful day for a drive, too. It remains sunny and blue, but it's also windy and much colder, in the lower 60's. Lauren played an eclectic mix of music, everything from Randy Travis and Waylon Jennings to The Monkees, No Doubt, and the Gin Blossoms. 

Lauren pulled into the Vermont Country Store's gravel parking lot around quarter of 12. This charming old red farmhouse is jam-packed with shelves and shelves of vintage toys, penny candy, Vermont cheese and maple syrup, retro-style Halloween and fall decorations, recreations of shampoos and conditioners from the 60's and 70's, old-fashioned tonics, fancy pastel milled soaps, fireworks, flannel shirts, and lacy pajamas. 

Trouble is, practical and hard-to-find these items may be, they also tend to be expensive above the norm. Good thing I almost literally stumbled onto the stairs leading to the second floor sales room. I made my best find of the day among the racks of last year's clothes and discontinued toys. I dug a beautiful maroon, purple, and brown plaid flannel nightgown out of the the pajama rack. It was listed as $36; it came up as $24. Got my favorite maple leaf sandwich cookies on sale for a smaller box, too. Fruit slices in a plastic container weren't on sale, but I couldn't resist. I probably won't have those again until next summer. Found a tiny bottle of "Northern Comfort" maple syrup as well.

After we put our purchases away, we had lunch at Mildred's Grill in the Victorian house next-door. It's been through a couple of names and owners in the past few years (it was Leyla's last year), but it seems to be back in the Orton family now. Lauren had a grilled cheese with "pub fries," thick, dry fries. I had an individual chicken pot pie. Oh yum! The pie came in a little square crock, and it was so delicious! The crust was perfectly flaky. The sauce was savory, probably made with fresh Vermont cream, and it had big chicken chunks and sliced vegetables. Lauren said her sandwich was really good too, and she even let me have some of her fries.

We walked around for another half-hour in the Vermont Country Store after that, but when neither of us found anything else we wanted, we headed across the street. The Vermont Country Store isn't the only shop in Weston. There's a Christmas ornament shop directly across from the Vermont Country Store. While not nearly as big as Winterwood in Rio Grande, it's equally packed with every kind of Christmas ornament, figure, house, light, and garland in existence. Lauren bought ornaments for her parents and for Rico. I know my tree is pretty full, but I could't resist a cute Strawberry Shortcake ornament that was heavy enough to survive the ride home.

The Weston Village Store is pretty similar to the Vermont Country Store, only with a greater emphasis on Vermont-labeled and locally made products. I looked around, but didn't find anything here. Lauren bought a Vermont pullover.

We started back through Southern Vermont around 4:30. Stopped at two Goodwills on the way home, starting with one in Bennington in Vermont. This was the larger of the two, situated in a shopping center next to a TrustCo bank. Lauren got blouses. I found two CDs;

True Value Happy Holidays Vol. 38 (For my Happy Holidays collection.)

Music from the New York Stage - 1896 - 1920: Vol. III 1913-1917 (A collection of rare recordings taken from old records and wax cylinders of the original cast members of popular shows of the time. Almost none of these shows are revived today at all, let alone in their original forms, making this a real find.)

The other Goodwill we checked out was in North Adams, near where Lauren used to live when I first met her. This time, she got some t-shirts and pants. Alas, though they had a far larger collection of media in a smaller store, I didn't see anything I wanted.

It was almost 7 by this point. Lauren's original idea for dinner was Bob's Country Kitchen in Lanesborough, but they recently reduced their hours and were just closing when we pulled up in their driveway. We ended up at Geno's Pizza in Pittsfield instead. Lauren said she'd passed this tiny hole-in-the-wall pizzeria many times but had never tried it. We picked up a small mushroom pizza and ended up eating it in Lauren's room. Oooh, not bad. Lots of cheese, nice soft crust. I hit the shower while she finished up dinner.

Tomorrow, we're going in the opposite direction to the Holyoke Mall near Springfield for our second of three mall days. 

Goin' Up the Country

This time, we started off going north after Lauren got gas at a Shell station down the street, heading through upstate New York and into Vermont. This is one of my favorite trips when I visit Lauren. Vermont is really beautiful. We passed by cows and horse grazing on smooth green fields and corn and pumpkins ripening in the morning sun, over streams gurgling and rushing around stones, and past dilapidated farm houses, weathered silos, and grand hotels made to look like Tyrolean homes. 

Lauren wanted to stop somewhere and use the bathroom. We tried a truck stop, but they had a sign on the door of the main building stating that the bathroom was out of order. She drove into Bennington and stopped at a Walgreens, but they had no bathroom. We finally ended up at a Dunkin' Donuts down the street. Not only was their bathroom fine, but we picked up donuts and drinks. I had green iced tea (which definitely had burnt notes) and a butternut (glazed rolled in nuts) donut. She had an iced coffee and bought a dozen donuts for her parents later.

We finally pulled into the Vermont Country Store at Weston around 11 AM. The Vermont Country Store is a rambling old farmhouse that sells "the practical and the unique." Their wares may be practical and unique, but the vintage holiday decorations, fancy milled soaps, huge bottles of long-discontinued shampoo and conditioners, recreations of older toys and books, kitchen gadgets, local cheeses and baked goods, and handmade linens tend to be pricey. 

There's an upstairs clearance area that sells items on deep discount. I did better here, digging a long-sleeved maroon blouse with a pretty fall leaf print out of the women's racks. Originally priced at $69, the tag said $34; it rang up as $19.99. I also grabbed a bag of coconut macaroons, a cute little stuffed female scarecrow to go with all of my male ones at home, and a small leaf-shaped bottle of maple syrup. Lauren bought a blouse for her, a plaid shirt for her dad, a shirt for her mom, polo shirts for her guy friend Rico, and candy for her and her folks.

Someone finally opened up the old Bryant House Restaurant next-door, behind Mildred's Dairy Bar. It's now known as Leyla's, and apparently it just debuted this past June. The formerly whitewashed building was now stripped down to bare, polished wood floor and ceiling beams and was decorated with what I suspect was local artwork and textiles. They're owned by a Manchester cafe that specializes in food cooked on a wood-fired stove, including pizza. The wild mushroom pizza, real mushrooms and caramelized onions on local mozzarella with a thin, yet soft crust, was amazing. I'd never had such wonderful mushroom pizza. Lauren had a Diet Coke, but I went with a sparkling water that was almost as good.

It was almost 2 PM when we bounced down the country highways to Manchester. This is a slightly larger town that's mainly known for its outlet mall...but it does have one truly unique business in that mall. Pastime Pinball is an interactive museum that showcases pinball machines from Humpty Dumpty, the first machine to use flippers in 1947, to consoles themed around Labyrinth and Elton John from last year that boast fancy LED graphics and elaborate levels and bumpers.  

I spent an hour playing those games, and Lauren was there for even longer. I did best on a nifty version of Ghostbusters from 2003 that included a cool Slimer that "floated" around when you hit him. I swear I remember seeing some of the 80's and early 90's games like High Speed, Space Shuttle, Pin Bot, Diner, The Machine: Bride of Pinbot, The Addams Family, and Fish Tails at the Cape May arcades when I was a kid. Theater of Magic, The Simpsons Pinball Party, Indiana Jones, Spider Man, and Lord of the Rings were among the games at the Wildwood arcades in the late 90's-early 2000's. I played most of the consoles, including the gorgeous LED retelling of the 1939 Wizard of Oz that was down the last time we visited here in 2022. I even gave the awkward sit-down console Night Moves a try.

The third level features other vintage games besides pinball, along with the snack stand. I decided to save my appetite for later and focused on the games. I never was very good at Pole Position, and today was no exception. I couldn't figure out the shoot-the-neon-aliens gun game, either. Tried Pac Man on a table console. I did better at Skee Party from 1950. It plays like the skee ball of today, but instead of rolling balls, the player sends a heavy metal puck into the holes. I got pretty good at it, but I was afraid that big metal puck would fly off the wooden ramp and hit someone in the head!

Lauren was still working her way through the consoles at 4 PM. I left her at this point to walk two blocks and around two circles to the Northshire Bookstore. I can never pass up a local bookstore. This one is housed in what had once been an inn. The children's books are upstairs. The downstairs is given over to everything else, including records, stationary, journals and notebooks, accessories, and adult fiction and nonfiction. I considered a book on the Monkees and a huge paperback pirate novel, but eventually just bought the first Brooklyn Wainright mystery Homicide In Hardback and a book to write down my internet passwords. I've been using the same notebook for over a decade to write passwords. Not only is it falling apart, but half the passwords listed are ones I don't even use anymore. 

At least it had turned into a gorgeous day for hiking between stores. It was foggy when we drove over the mountains this morning. By the time we got to the Vermont Country Store, the clouds had cleared, the sun was out, and it was now far warmer than I anticipated, probably in the mid-70's. It felt great on my back as I dodged heavy traffic and made my way back to the Outlets. 

I met Lauren outside of Pastime Pinball around quarter after 5. We strolled another block past the Northshire Bookstore to have dinner at Christo's Pizza and Pasta. I suspect Lauren mainly wanted the pasta. Her bowl of linguine with oil and garlic was enormous, and she ate the whole thing. My turkey panini with bacon, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and cheese took longer to arrive, but it was delicious when it did come. 

That heavy traffic was getting even worse by 6 PM. We figured it was time to head home. And this time, we did go straight back to Pittsfield, with no unscheduled stops. I even got to see a stunning rosy sunset over the mountains on the Vermont Highway.

After we showed Mr. and Mrs. Miller our finds and Mr. Miller tried on his new shirt, I finished the night watching The Love Boat on Paramount Plus. It's not all fun and fabulous dresses on a high-style cruise to Acapulco for a fashion festival. The clumsy assistant (Richard Gilliand) of an old-fashioned designer (Dick Shawn) tries to keep "The Model Marriage" to his daughter (Debra Clinger) a secret. He finally gets his own chance to shine when the designer's dresses end up shrunk in the washer. The married owners of a modeling agency (Anne Baxter and McLean Stevenson) argue over whether "This Year's Model" (Camilla Sparv) is too old to be in the big on-ship fashion show, while Captain Steubing (Gavin McLeod) falls for her. 

A handsome industrial thief is a "Vogue Rogue" who is supposed to be stealing a fashion queen's (Elke Sommer) new designs, but falls for her instead. The head of a major perfume company (Robert Vaughn) searches for the right woman to advertise his new scent "Original Sin." Julie is feeling a bit dowdy among all those glamorous beauties, but she discovers her inner model when a friend who is getting married claims it's "Too Clothes for Comfort" and wants Julie to take her spot in the show.  

In a Big Country

We started out at 9 AM again, this time heading north into upstate New York and Vermont. It's beautiful country up there. The leaves are just beginning to turn colors, though most are still green. Pumpkins and corn line roadside stands. Rivers rushed and gurgled under ancient stone bridges. Cows grazed in velvet fields, near stores selling tractors and farm equipment and beautiful old hotels built to look like Tyrolean homes. There was patchy fog when we left, but by the time we arrived at the Vermont Country Store, the sun was out, the breeze was blowing, and it was a perfect early fall day, neither too hot nor too cold.

The Vermont Country Store in Weston prides itself on being a purveyor of practical and unique items. Practical and unique they may be, but their fancy blouses and pajamas, recreations of vintage toys, kitchen gadgets, hand-made soaps, huge bottles of hard-to-find shampoo and lotion, and retro holiday decorations tend to be expensive. I did find something among the clearance items in the rooms upstairs. Dug a pretty pale-blue cotton floral Ella Simone nightgown with long sleeves, satin ribbon trim, and buttons down the front off the clothes racks. Picked up another bottle of leaf-shaped maple syrup like I bought the last time we were here two years ago.

Headed back down the highway to Manchester for lunch. We ran into two problems at this point. First of all. Pastime Pinball just cut their hours two weeks ago. They're now only open on weekends. Second, the Manchester House of Pizza was closed for the entire month of September while their owners were on vacation. (They were closed at this time last year, too.) 

We ended up eating at The Works Cafe, a tiny restaurant down the street from Pastime Pinball. Their specialty is sandwiches and breakfast items made from the freshest and healthiest ingredients. I had a spicy Sunrise Burrito with eggs, bacon, quinoa, avocado, sweet potato, pico de gallo, and cheddar cheese. Yum! Spicy enough to clear my sinuses, but still good and filling. Lauren said her turkey avocado sandwich was really good, too. She had thick, crispy sour cream & onion chips; I had salt and vinegar. We both got sparkling waters.

As we headed down Riverside Heights, I saw a sign on a large blue building that said "The Vermont Flannel Company." As you can guess, this is a local store specializing in hand-made flannel clothes and accessories, along with stuffed animals and clothes for them. They even had rolls of plaid flannel fabric. Almost everything was way too expensive for my budget, including the toys. I did find two plaid flannel scrunchies that were only $5 each. They were a lot like the flannel scrunchies I bought at the Big E's Vermont State House years ago. Those scrunchies are getting kind of stretched out by now. I was glad to have replacements. Lauren bought a pair of purple plaid flannel lounging pants.

Our next stop was the Northshire Bookstore just a block down the street. They sell small selections of every kind of book on the planet. They only had a small cozy mystery selection. I ended up with Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant by Darci Hannah for Halloween next month. Found the second original Maryellen book, Taking Off, used for a mere $2. 

We spent the next hour or so browsing. Our next find after Northshire was a nifty antique and country store, not unlike a cross between the Barrington Antique Center and the Vermont Country Store. Cool as they were, we found nothing there. Long Ago and Far Away mainly sold crafts made by native artisans as far away as Alaska. Everything there was beautiful, but too expensive or hard to carry home. We strolled through a small war memorial park before ending up at TJ Maxx. I didn't get anything there. Lauren found a nice black floral blouse. 

Headed back down to Massachusetts for dinner. One of my favorite places to eat in Lauren's area is Bob's Country Kitchen in Lanesborough. They're a tiny little rustic cafe that sells basic diner fare. They're very popular with locals. We got there just ahead of two big groups that took up more than half the dining area. I had "Bob's BIG Melt," turkey and bacon on grilled rye with "tangy sauce" (mustard-based, I suspect). Lauren had her favorite ham platter with applesauce and mashed potatoes.

Lauren wanted to bring her parents two slices of apple pie from there, but they were out. We ended up at a near-by Stop & Shop to grab an apple crumble pie. I also finally found the Mountain Dew Voo Dew Zero Halloween flavor. I can never find the Zero sugar version at home! (It was...ok. Mountain Dew claims it's supposed to taste like candy corn. I didn't taste candy corn. I tasted a weird, sweet fruity flavor.)

When we got in, we had our apple crumble pie ala mode with cherry ice cream while playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. This time, we just played each other and the computer. We ran through the Leaf Cup and the Banana Cup. No trouble here! Lauren's Richard Dawson Mii came in first every time. My best showing was second on Donut Plains 3 and Royal Raceway.

I finished the night on the Roku Channel with an old favorite of my stepfather's. He loved Spenser For Hire in the mid-80's. I read a few of the books in the early 90's, too. I figured the episode "Autumn Thieves" was especially appropriate, both in honor of fall starting tomorrow and it being set in the Berkshires. After a relic is stolen from a museum while he's pursuing the thief, Spenser finds himself keeping a Berkshires inn owner and the thief, his son, from being hurt by a ring of art collection thieves. 

In a Big Country

Awoke to a dark morning around 7. I hoped to sleep longer, but I guess I'm still too nervous about the trip. Read in bed and wrote in my journal, then watched another episode of Match Game '73 on my phone. Gene's wearing another wild suit, this time in a gray check with a pink shirt and magenta bow tie. Pat Harrington asks him where he's selling the used cars; Brett cracks that he looks like half of a vaudeville team. Pat's mouth also comes up again when he jokes to Richard about something being "more than Diana (Dors, his ex-wife) ever did." Far from being upset, Richard looked rather rueful and agreed. 

Finally ate my Honey Nut Cheerios around quarter after 9; Lauren came up shortly after. She hit the garage to slide two coolers in the back of her van for food purchases before we finally headed out.

I love our drives into Vermont. It's so lovely to get out and enjoy the country. The scenery is magnificent.; rolling hills, mountains carpeted in green and gold, weathered old rust-red bards, and dried corn stalks. The trees further up in the mountains were even losing most of their leaves. It's the only place right now that feels like fall. And even up here, it was unusually warm for the time of year, probably in the 70's. We listened to a podcast discussing episodes of Perfect Strangers during the entire trip.

The Vermont Country Store is actually a series of old clapboard storefronts in Weston. They were pretty busy, with a nearly-full parking lot, though Lauren said she'd seen it worse. She did find a space to park further back on the gravel lot before we headed over to the main building.

Whether it was due to the current virus problem or just the needs of their customers, the Vermont Country Store's done some remodeling since my last visit there in 2019. All registers are now up front, crowding the women's clothing section, rather than scattered around the store. The penny candy is in bags and can no longer be handled by customers; the fudge and chocolates are on two sides of the store. They still have the same 70's era shampoos and conditioners, vintage toys, books, and cleaning supplies, Vermont-made linens and blankets, bottles of maple syrup, cheese, baked goods, and hard-to-find tools and cooking utensils as ever.

I made my first finds upstairs, where smaller racks and shelves of clearance items are sold. Picked up a mint-green t-shirt for $15, a bit pricey but not compared to what clothing usually costs at the Vermont Country Store. They also had my favorite fruit slices this time. I went with the mini versions in a plastic container; they were cheaper and came with more. 

Sometime in the past two years, their sit-down restaurant next door The Bryant House was heavily remodeled into indoor seating for their outdoor burger booth, Mildred's Grill. I had a tasty turkey sandwich with fresh Vermont cheddar and cranberry mayo. Lauren went with a ham and cheese melt and a cup of soup. She had a maple lemonade. I went with a plain old lemonade that was very tart and not sweet at all. We ate at a booth in a little building next to Mildred's that had once been where more sale items were held. 

There are other stores in Weston besides the Country Store. The Christmas shop across the street features every holiday ornament known to man, along with a small section for Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations. The Weston Country Store is a more touristy version of their neighbor across the street. They sell toys, novelty gags, Vermont-branded clothing, food, and small maple syrup bottles, mostly at lower prices than across the street. We still didn't see anything we wanted at either place and ultimately headed back.

Lauren wanted to buy her parents fudge and chocolate for herself. I picked up a few more smaller items. They had this nifty, colorful scrub mini-towel I thought could replace the scrubbing pads I usually use on my pots and pans. Found cream intended for sore and cracked feet; took the smaller bottle. (The big one cost $15!) Discovered the Cookie Buttons I normally like were full of salt; bought some maple cream sandwich cookies made with real maple syrup instead.

We took the longer way home, going through New York and into Lauren's hometown North Adams. Jack's Hot Dogs is a tiny sliver of a hash house nestled in a row of fading old office buildings, but they have tasty burgers and hot dogs sold for the cheapest prices anywhere. Lauren bought hot dogs for her and her parents, fries to share, and a burger with peppers and onions for me. I got M&Ms from a quarter vending machine and watched two boys skateboard outside while listening to music on a Bluetooth boom box. 

I had my burger right away when we got in. I didn't have that extra soup with lunch. Lauren waited an hour or so. In between, we played Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Lauren came in first on the two-player Shell Cup with Moo Moo Farms and Toad's Turnpike, among other twisting courses. We did far less well when playing online against other gamers from across the globe. Lauren's best showing was sixth; my best was 8th. 

After we got fed up with the online games, we switched to a video game version of Othello. We each won one game. I got the first one; Lauren really beat me in the second.

Finished the night online after a shower with Charlie's Angels. "Haunted Angels" was their season 3 Halloween show. When Charlie and Bosley are concerned about a friend of Bosley's being defrauded by a psychic institute who claims they can let her see her deceased nephew, Charlie gets the women on the case. Sabrina enters the clinic as a psychic, Kris as the secretary to the head man, and Kelly as a private detective looking into the death of one of their possible psychic cases. 

Are You Ready for the Country?

This time, we headed out at 10 AM across New York State and into the wilds of Vermont. It's worth the trip just for the ride. We passed bright red farms with fields laden with pumpkins and rolls of hay and horses running in waving green pastures. Babbling brooks flowed under bridges. The trees are just starting to turn brilliant shades of gold, red, and sienna around their very tops, but are still a mostly deep-emerald carpet rolling up the majestic mountainside.

Our first stop of the day was a small 70's-era shopping plaza outside of Bennington. A co-worker of Lauren's had given her a tip about a rare non-mall JC Penney left in the wild. It brought back a lot of memories. There was a similar small one-room JC Penney in Rio Grande (and they were actually even smaller) when I was living in Wildwood. I got a lot of my clothes and all of my socks there. The Rio Grande one has closed, but I'm very glad this one was still fully intact. Lauren didn't fit into the shorts she wanted, but I found a red t-shirt that was a mere $2.55 on the clearance rack.

There was even a Hallmark further down in the shopping center. The mall in Rio Grande has a Hallmark that, unlike the JC Penney, is still there to this day. I didn't see anything I absolutely couldn't live without, but Lauren found a talking Clark Grizwauld ornament for her family's tree.

We had lunch at a small diner a few minutes down the road from the shopping center. Jenson's was a little rustic family restaurant not unlike Athena's in Lee, and it was also suggested by Lauren's co-worker. I had a small but delicious and cheesy Swiss and Mushroom Burger. Lauren's Grilled Cheesesteak Ribeye sandwich was massive, dripping with sauteed onions, peppers, and mushrooms. We shared a small plate of fries.

After a long drive past charming chalet-style hotels and lovely little farming villages, we arrived in tiny Weston, home of the Vermont Country Store. Two rambling old farmhouses hold everything in the world you can imagine. Tin toys, 70's-era shampoos and cleaners that can't be found elsewhere, finely woven Vermont knitwear and linens, fancy nightgowns, flannels, maple syrup, books and cookbooks written in Vermont, bath soaps and lotions, cookware, candies and cheeses and baked goods of all kinds. There's so much to see there! And a lot of it was in different places than usual, and the rooms seemed a bit more open. They must have just remodeled.

The trouble is...as wonderful as all that fancy stuff is, it's also expensive. Lauren directed me upstairs to the second floor, where they keep the clearance and half-off items. Even those were far from cheap. I finally decided I liked a cute little canvas bag in a nifty magenta-and-blue print that was only $9.99. Also grabbed my favorite little Cookie Buttons in Pumpkin Pie flavor. Lauren bought a lavender sweater for her mom and chocolates for her and her parents.

The Vermont Country Store isn't the only place to shop in Weston. There's two nice little shops across the street that carry merchandise that's almost as interesting. The Village Christmas Shop is the only Christmas store I've ever seen that's come close to the diverse variety of ornaments at the Winterwood stores in Cape May County. They have everything, from stuffed gingerbread men to ballerinas to favorite characters. There's even a small Halloween and Thanksgiving section. The Weston Country Store is a slightly more touristy version of the Vermont Country Store, selling small toys, stuffed animals, metal signs with risque sayings, and Vermont t-shirts and sweatshirts. We ultimately had no luck in either place.

Briefly returned across the street so I could get some candy. Trouble was, I couldn't find my favorite fruit slices among the penny candies anywhere! They'd always had them before. The only fruit slices I saw were in a large container I wasn't carrying home. I finally decided that the Cookie Buttons were enough sugar and we moved on.

Our original plan for dinner was to eat at the combination KFC/Taco Bell in Bennington, just off the highway. First of all, it's a good thing neither of us wanted Taco Bell. For some reason, the Taco Bell side was closed. Second, we couldn't get the sandwiches we and Lauren's parents wanted because they were out of chicken fillets! We finally decided that we weren't up for a huge bucket of chicken. Lauren texted her parents to tell them we were going elsewhere for dinner.

We ended up at Bob's Country Kitchen back in Massachusetts, about 20 minutes or so from the Millers' house. I haven't eaten there with Lauren in ten years. It's another lovely little rustic diner, this one serving breakfast all day. Lauren and I both ordered pancakes. I had chocolate chip; she went with berry. Despite getting three huge pancakes on one plate, I did finish mine. Lauren had a larger sandwich earlier and wasn't able to finish hers. She ordered fried fish sandwiches for her parents.

Finished the night downstairs online after a shower and showing the Millers our purchases (and giving them their candy.) We're going to spend my last day here at the Lee Outlets, a large outlet mall not far from Athena's and the Mass Pike.

Country Roads

We were out by 10 again, this time going north through Massachusetts and New York into Vermont. It was worth the two-hour trip just for the ride. Lauren drove through charming old farm towns, over babbling brooks and raging rivers, and past endless fields of waving corn and jolly orange pumpkins. Vermont lives up to it's nickname "The Green Mountain State." It was foggy when we left; the mists rose majestically over the carpets of pine and cedar on the hills. The fog eventually lifted, reduced to fluffy white clouds bundled around the mountaintops like fluffy scarves and revealing a gorgeous, breezy blue-and-gold late summer day.

It was a bit after noon when Lauren parked in the very back of The Vermont Country Store in Weston. We come here every year. The rustic shop is filled with unusual and hard-to-find bric-a-brac, from hand-made soaps, candies, and baked goods, to locally-made flannels and knits, to cookbooks by Vermont authors, to old-fashioned toys and games, to brands from the early and mid-20th century that other stores no longer carry. Thankfully, they weren't that busy when we arrived. I had no problems walking around, sampling their caramel corn puffs, Cookie Buttons, and Vermont Common Crackers and jam.

I didn't get much. Even many of the sale items in the rooms upstairs were beyond my budget, and others, like the knitted items, were things I could make myself or buy cheaper in my area. I couldn't resist those Cookie Buttons, though. I went with the seasonal Pumpkin Pie this year. I also bought my annual bag of Boston Fruit Slices. These half-moon-shaped, sugar-coated gel candies with the hard outer rind are some of my favorite candies. I usually get them in Atlantic City, but I haven't been able to get there in a while. I also picked up a thin cookbook filled with honey-based recipes from the Vermont Beekeepers Association that was far less costly than most of the books in the store.

The Bryant House is the Vermont Country Store's eat-in restaurant. Lauren had a reservation for 1:30. It wasn't really necessary. They were a little busy with the tail-end of the lunch crowd, but nothing horrible. We even got a prime table next to a wide hexagonal window that gave us an excellent view of Weston's main street. We both had egg creams, seltzer with milk and chocolate syrup. Lauren had flatbread with pulled beef and vegetables. I had an enormous bowl of chili topped with fresh Vermont cheddar and ground beef. Yow! That chili was delicious and savory, but it was also spicy-hot! Between the heat and the huge bowl, I couldn't finish it.

We couldn't resist their gingerbread with whipped cream for dessert. Ooh, that was good. Perfectly moist and just sweet enough. The waitress was really sweet. Our orders were a little late; evidently, she'd gotten Lauren's mixed up and had to fix it. She paid for our desserts to make up for it. We thanked her by giving her the biggest tip we could.

Strolled across the street after lunch. There's two other interesting stores that are worth visiting in Weston. The Christmas shop reminds me a lot of the Winterwood Christmas stores in Cape May County. They have every possible Christmassy thing and ornament, from favorite characters to figures and houses to sports teams to animals and traditional Christmas symbols like Santa and angels. There's even small sections for Halloween and Thanksgiving merchandise. I didn't get anything here, but Lauren found a paint-by-numbers nativity-themed advent calendar.

The Weston Village Store is next-door. While they sell a lot of the same things as the Vermont Country Store - maple syrup and candies, cheese, fudge, old-time toys, clothes - they're slightly more touristy and a bit more irreverent. Their walls are laden with signs with either retro logos or goofy sayings, and there's a lot of practical jokes and magic tricks among the toys and ribald joke books in the kids' area. All the clothes have "Vermont" on them, despite being only slightly cheaper than the non-labeled clothing across the street. Lauren got nothing here, but I bought a tiny glass bottle of maple syrup, which was slightly cheaper there than the similar sized bottle across the street.

Walked around for about a half-hour more at the Vermont Country Store. Lauren got a few more things, but I didn't see anything else I needed. We finally pulled out around quarter of 5, heading back across the endless highways and through the small farming villages and past horses grazing and the weathered farm houses and silos.

We arrived at almost 7. The Millers had gone to another appointment in North Adams, picking up dinner from one of their favorite holes-in-the-wall there, Jack's Hot Dogs. Lauren had two hot dogs; I had two tasty cheeseburgers with relish and ketchup. We shared popcorn chicken and cheese fries while watching the Yankees play the Red Sox and Phillies play the Mets. We got to show off our finds, too. Lauren gave her parents long-sleeved print shirts and her father a comfy sweater. She made the best find of the day for herself - a beautiful purple quilted vest with thick black fur lining that she found on the racks in the upstairs sales room.

Didn't have as much luck playing Mario Kart 8 tonight. Lauren wanted to play the online games, but for some reason, her Nintendo Switch just would not hook up online. When we did get on, we didn't do well. Lauren did the best, coming in 7th on the Wild Woods level. My best was 8th on the first go-around on Sweet Sweet Canyon.

(Incidentally, the Yankees killed the Red Sox tonight 10-1. The Phils did far better, flattening the wayward Mets 4-0.)

We're going to stay in the area on my last full day here, exploring the Lee Outlets. We haven't been there together since we spent three days there when I visited in October 2015. I'm looking forward to it; plus, it's a shorter and less complicated trip for our final day together.

In a Big Country

We were once again out the door by 10, this time through New York and up into the wilds of Vermont. Every year, we drive through the countryside to visit The Vermont Country Store in the village of Weston. They sell thick Vermont flannels, penny candy, old-fashioned cleaning and beauty products, beautiful, lacy sleepwear, real maple syrup, classic toys, and their own chocolates, cheeses, and baked goods made in the area.

The drive is half the fun. Vermont is absolutely gorgeous. Its moniker "The Green Mountain State" is well-earned. We passed misty mountains cloaked in vast pine forests, ancient silos and weathered barns, cows grazing in pastures, and endless fields of waving corn. There were clouds early on, but by the time we rolled into Weston, the sun was out and it was a lovely day, dry and warm.

We picked the right day to go shopping. Unlike our previous visits, the dusty gravel parking lot wasn't full. Lauren had no trouble finding a spot for her van under a shady tree not far from the back of the store.

The store itself wasn't terribly busy, either. We had plenty of room to walk around and admire their vast selection. There wasn't even a line for the bathroom. The majority of the crowds were concentrated in the front of the store, where the food is sold. Not a surprise, when they had samples of their most tempting treats out for one and all to enjoy. I ended up with my favorite Boston fruit slices - flat half moon-shaped fruit gel candies covered in sugar. I'm also a big fan of their tasty little Cookie Buttons. Picked up peanut butter this year.

Unfortunately, as much as I love exploring the store, even their sale items can be too expensive for my budget. Their clothes in particular are outrageous (though most of them are well-made for what you get). Not to mention, I only have so much room in my smaller suitcase. Along with the food, I picked up two tiny jars of orange and blueberry fruit spread and a really nifty vintage Crayola tin that included an 8-pack of crayons.

Met Lauren at the main register an hour and a half later. She bought a pile of clothes for her parents and had gone to put them in her car. After she finished, she went next-door to The Bryant House Restaurant to see what the wait would be like. The last time we ate there in October 2015, we waited 20 minutes in a line that was out the door. This time, there was no line. We stood for maybe two minutes while they seated a family who came in ahead of us.

The Bryant House is a historic home made over as the Vermont Country Store's eat-in restaurant. They're expensive but worth it, with sandwiches, soups, and pot pies made from the freshest local ingredients. We both had the cheddar bacon soup with half a sandwich. Lauren's half was grilled cheese with chicken and tomato. Mine was thick, delicious chicken salad with lots of chunky nuts and fruits. The cheddar bacon soup was yummy, too, made from rich local cheese and pork. She had an iced tea with her meal. I had an egg cream - chocolate syrup, seltzer, and fresh milk. I love egg creams, but they don't often turn up in South Jersey. She had a slice of Triple Berry Pie for dessert. I went with a crunchy, just-sweet-enough apple crisp.

After lunch, we strolled across the street to check out a few other stores in town. Their Christmas shop is the only one I've ever seen come close to the Winterwood Christmas stores in Cape May County. They're jammed-full of every kind of ornament you can imagine, for every taste, from colorful kids' characters to sports to animals. Lauren picked up a flocked polar bear with a holly-print ribbon and faux holly around its neck. I saw nothing I could afford or carry home.

The Weston General Store is their next-door neighbor. It's a slightly more touristy version of The Vermont Country Store, with a lot of Vermont-themed sweaters and souvenirs along with the fudge, toys, and flannels. Once again, I didn't pick up anything, but Lauren bought a bag of polished rocks, a Yankees-themed Scrabble card game, and Yankees pens.

We returned to the Vermont Country Store and wandered around for another hour. Lauren wanted to check out their upstairs sales. I tried a few samples, but otherwise didn't buy anything else. Lauren came downstairs with a pretty patterned tank top for her mom and a pair of checked pajama pants for her.

Headed home around 4 PM. This year, Lauren did remember to tell her parents that cell phone coverage in Weston is spotty at best. They did get at least one text through that requested chicken sandwiches for dinner. We were going to stop at a small combination KFC/Taco Bell on the turn-off into Berrington to pick up something to eat anyway. I just bought tacos and a large Baja Blast. Lauren grabbed Chicken Sliders for her parents, chicken quesadillas for her, and a small chocolate bundt cake for all of us to share.

We arrived around 6:30. Mr. and Mrs. Miller were getting ready for tonight's games when we came in. Lauren gave her dad a green, red, and yellow plaid flannel shirt and two nightshirts, one short-sleeved, one long, two Clark bars, and orange creamsickle fudge. Mrs. Miller got the tank top, a sheer magenta blouse, and the larger orange jelly slices. We enjoyed our dinner while discussing the games.

(Incidentally, the local teams mostly did much better tonight. The Phillies topped the Marlins at 5-4, while the Orioles blew the Rangers out of the sky 12-1. The Arizona Diamondbacks also wailed the Cincinatti Reds in a blow-out, 11-2. The Yankees snuck past the Twins 6-3. At press time, the Blue Jays and the Red Sox are 4-4 way into the 12th inning.)

We're currently chatting online, listening to an 80's rock station on Pandora. Tomorrow, we're going to explore the Pittsfield area, including seeing a community production of The Music Man.

Goin' Up the Country

Today was yard sale day, or tag sales, as they're called in New England. Lauren and I were up around 9 and out by 10 to take in a couple near-by. Most of them just had knick-knacks, although one had a really nice collection of soft blankets and linens. Lauren bought a comfy blue plaid blanket and some hangers. (She says her parents are in perpetual need of them.) Otherwise, neither of us came up with anything. The one large estate sale mostly had dishes that were too fancy and fruit-painted for my taste, frilly pink linens, and a lot of books on Israel.

Finally headed into Vermont around 11 (after Lauren stopped for gas). Vermont is gorgeous country. It's moniker "The Green Mountain State" is well-earned. We rolled by endless forest-covered mountains, meadows carpeted with wildflowers in every color of the rainbow, historic ski lodges, ancient faded brown barns selling tractors or furniture, and whole families of horses frolicking in brilliant green fields. The view from the highway was amazing. You could literally see the mists rolling off the mountain tops. It was a glorious day for a ride, too, sunny, warmer than yesterday (but not out of line for August) and still dry.

Had lunch at Bennington Station. This restaurant is situated in a gorgeous restored stone train depot. It was noon when we arrived, but surprisingly for Saturday, they weren't that busy. There were a few other people in the glass-enclosed back room where we ate, a group of older women and a family of four women (including one middle-school-aged girl). Their sandwiches were huge and incredible. My burger patty was as thick as the stone in the walls around us. Lauren's Vermont Turkey Sandwich was stuffed to the top of the whole wheat bread crusts with turkey slices, apples, and local cheddar cheese. Other than it was really salty, my burger was amazing. I'm glad I passed up the condiments when the waitress suggested them. The lettuce, red onion, and tomato was more than enough!

Weston is a small village nestled snugly in the mountains in the heart of Vermont. It's known mostly for the popular Vermont Country Store. This venerable old building is filled with everything from Vermont plaid flannels to hard-to-find shampoos from the 70s to giant Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls to penny candy. They were elbow-to-elbow busy, almost as much as they were when we visited last year.

Lauren bought shirts for her dad and candy for herself and her parents. I don't have much money left. Even the sale items upstairs were either outside of my budget or too big to carry home. They sell their own brand of fancy milled soaps. I've seen sandalwood, lavender, citrus, rose, and oatmeal and honey scents in other stores...but I've never seen apple cider vinegar-scented soap! I also found a set of neon colored pencils

I love the Vermont Country Store's Cookie Buttons! They have samples of each flavor of cookie scattered throughout the food area. I tried a couple, but I fell in love with this year's new fall flavor, Apple Crisp. Wow! It's so spicy and sweet. (And, oddly, it comes in a bag, rather than a box like most of the other flavors.) I had to get it.

After we left the Store, we bought sodas at Mildred's Dairy Bar (named for the Orton family's long-time matriarch, who passed on in 2010), then went across the street to the Weston Country Store. Kind of the same thing, but with more Vermont-themed merchandise and slightly better prices. I didn't get anything here...and Lauren just wanted to go home.

Lauren had been having problems with her cell phone ever since we crossed the border between Massachusetts and Vermont. She was trying to text her parents and tell them we were at the Store, but it either wouldn't go through, or was taking forever. She'd grown increasingly frustrated the further we went into the mountains. Tired of the cell phone problems, she insisted we skip anything else and just go home.

We did stop at a small KFC/Taco Bell in Bennington to pick up dinner. She grabbed the large Doublelicious sandwich. I was still kind of full from that burger and just went with the Chicken Littles sandwich. We bought bought biscuits. I grabbed a Mountain Dew Baja Blast as well.

The van finally made it into the garage around 6. Lauren showed her parents her finds. I started to do a little packing and rounded up my two new CD's to sync them onto my iPod to listen to on the way home. We ate our sandwiches around 7, then went online.

Right now, we're chatting, listening to 80's pop music on an internet radio station, and sipping tea and eating soft bakery chocolate chip cookies. Tomorrow, I'm heading home at noon after Lauren's folks go to an early appointment.

Into the Green Mountain State

Got an early start today, heading out to the Berkshire Mall, about a half-hour or so from Lauren's house, around 9:30. It proved to be too early. The mall wasn't open yet. We hit her local farm market first. This farm market is on Wednesday mornings and Saturday afternoons. Lauren didn't need anything; I bought three pears for later in the week.

We did some quick runs into the mall and Target next. I needed new hair clips. The ones I already had were way too small. I wanted headbands as well, but they were expensive. They'll have to wait. Also took out more money for the week. Neither Target nor Jay Street Video Games had the title Lauren was looking for, Mario Party 10. We ended up riding down to a GameStop about five or so minutes away at the Allendale Shopping Center, then heading back to the Best Buy at the mall to pick up three Amiibos - figures that you use to play some Wii U games. Lauren grabbed Mario and Princess Peach. She also found Luigi on a good sale.

We hit the road after that, making our way across Massachusetts to southern Vermont. The view from the highways and back roads were breathtaking. The leaves are at the height of their fall beauty, bursting in amazing shades of rust, orange, golden yellow, and sienna brown. We passed by sprawling ski resorts with huge, rustic wooden hotels, tiny summer cottages, well-restored mill towns, and farms with cows grazing in bright green meadows.

Heavy dark clouds gathered even as we were heading north. They looked like fat gray cotton balls rubbing reddish and deep green streaks on the majestic mountains surrounding us. We were hit by a few showers, including one that came down at a pretty good clip for about ten minutes.

The rain was long gone and the sun was slowly emerging by the time we finally arrived at Weston, home of the Vermont Country Store. This rustic general store is filled with everything from stuffed Peanuts toys to heavy Vermont flannels to maple syrup and penny candy. They were also busy as heck. Not only was a bus filled with elderly travelers in the parking lot, but Lauren and I saw license plates from as far away as Colorado, Wisconsin, and Nova Scotia.

We wanted to eat at the Bryant House, the restaurant next-door to the Vermont Country Store, but they were even busier. Their waiting room was crowded with people who hadn't eaten yet. Lauren gave them her name, and we walked around in the store for a bit instead. I bought a tiny bottle of maple syrup, a bag of vintage chenille candy canes (I remember Mom had them on her tree when we were little until they fell apart), and a box of my favorite Cookie Buttons, tasty crunchy mini-wafers. (I decided to try their new Pumpkin Pie flavor.)

Made it over to the Bryant House around quarter of 2...then waited another 10 minutes or so. We finally got in around 2. The Bryant House is known for their Vermont and New England specialties, made with the finest local ingredients. They're also expensive, which is why we both opted for a simple meal of a cup of soup, a half of a sandwich, and potato chips. We ended up getting the Grilled Cheese - Vermont is famous for its cheeses. Lauren had the Creamy Turkey-Vegetable Soup; I had the New England Clam Chowder. Yum. It was thick and rich, filled with big pieces of clam, potato, and celery. The potato chips were warm and not too greasy - I wonder if they were hand-made.

Lauren spotted a Christmas ornament shop across the street when we were going to the Bryant House. We strolled over there next. It was awesome. It looked so small from the outside, but it was three rooms filled with ornaments of every size, shape, type, and theme you can imagine. Sports, dance, favorite characters, hunting, animals, pets. candy and baked goods, soda, princesses...you name it, and they probably had it. I saw at least four different lines of Christmas porcelain houses and accessories (including a Disney set and the ones Mom collected when I was a kid) and a small but intriguing section devoted to Halloween. They were the best Christmas shop I'd seen outside of the Winterwood branches in Cape May and Rio Grande. Even so, most of the ornaments were too big for me to carry home. We walked out with nothing.

We did better back at the Vermont Country Store. Lauren saw a pillow that would be perfect to replace the sagging one she'd used for years, and we both wanted to hit the candy jars. I had a hard time deciding among the many varieties of sweets until I saw the individually wrapped fruit slices. That's one of my favorite candies. I bought a half a pound. Also treated myself to some butterscotch peanut butter cups for the way home. Lauren bought raspberry cordials for herself, orange cream drops for her dad, dark chocolate cherry cordials for her mom, and the pillow.

By the time we were driving through Barrington, the sun was out, the clouds were vanishing, and the sky was a lovely shade of blue. We made a brief stop at a Goodwill next to a bank in a small shopping center in downtown Barrington. It was twice the size of the tiny one we visited in Lee yesterday. Alas, the records I would have loved to buy were too big to carry home.

Went straight home after that. After we showed off our purchases and gave Mr. and Mrs. Miller their candy, we went downstairs and had spicy black bean and vegetable soup and turkey deli meat for dinner while watching more of Lauren's wrestling.

Switched to Mario Party 10 after we ate. The latest version of the popular board game franchise switches things up by using "Amiibos" - figures of various classic Nintendo characters - to save game data, roll "dice," and pick up tokens on the boards. You place your figure on the indicated place on the Wii U game pad and gently pull it up again to activate and play. Lauren used Mario; I was Princess Peach. I won the first board, Mushroom Park. She won the Mario-themed shorter "Amiibo board."

Right now, we're chatting and listening to an online radio station that specializes in 20's jazz and big band music while a fire crackles softly in the small cherry wood fireplace in the corner of Lauren's room. Tomorrow, we're going to explore two more near-by small towns, Stockbridge and Great Barrington, including a general store that sounds interesting.

Tom and Jerry and Toyland Tales

Started a sunny, cold morning with the Vol 1 set of Tom & Jerry Tales that I picked up from a yard sale a few months ago. The violent cat and mouse duo kick off their most recent show with a slightly surreal Christmas episode that has Jerry climbing into his own Christmas Eve dream to rescue himself from Tom. The second segment has Spike abusing Tom and Jerry while having fun with his new sled. The third story moved the pair to the North Pole, where Jerry has to defend his salmon from a hungry Tom.

If you're a fan of these two, you have to look for these. I'd heard all over that they were really good, and everyone was right. The animation style is similar to the originals from the 40s and early 50s, the writing is good, and there's enough violence to keep grown ups who enjoy cartoons happy without scaring kids.

Spent most of the day behind a computer. I checked the Disability website. As of this morning, they hadn't gotten my papers yet. I sent them yesterday, so they should get them today or tomorrow. I looked up some shopping ideas for my nephews and my sister Jessa. I took a couple of things to the mail box, including a birthday card for my brother Keefe in the Navy in South Carolina. (His 20th birthday is Sunday.) During lunch, I picked up two things from the mail box, the second American Girl catalog and the Vermont Country Store's big Christmas catalog.

Once again worked on the inventory and writing in the afternoon. Finished out the Holiday Books Inventory. As with my inventories for holiday music and movies, the Holiday Books Inventory covers all holiday books from all genres - fiction, nonfiction, kids, adults, craft books, novels, picture books. They're mostly picture books I snared from libraries or craft/history/cooking books. I tend to shy away from buying books I'm not going to use year-round. Not to mention, I don't have a lot of room for them.

Put on the Disney Babes In Toyland as I worked on the scarf for my friend after my writing was done. This 1961 operetta fantasy was Walt's first foray into live-action musicals. It's about as simple as fantasy gets. Tom Piper (Tommy Sands) is set to wed Mary Quite Contrary (Annette Funicello), but nasty Barnaby (Ray Bolger) wants her money. He hires two bumbling and not-very-tough ruffians to get rid of Tom. When that plot fails, he steals Mary's sheep to force her into marriage. Her siblings, determined to keep her out of Barnaby's reach, go after the sheep, and Mary and Tom go after them. They all find themselves in Toyland, where the Toymaker (Ed Wynn) and his nerdy assistant (Tommy Kirk) are trying to make the Christmas deadline. The group offers to help, but Barnaby and his men aren't far behind...

While many people prefer the Laurel and Hardy version, I've always thought this one has its charms, too. The production design is eye-popping and colorful, the costumes are delightful, and some of the numbers are really fun, including the imaginative "I Can't Do the Sum" for Funicello and Bolger's "Castle In Spain" dance solo.

Oh, and I made my next Foot & Ankle Center appointment this evening. The orthopedics for my heel spur have finally arrived! They just have to fit them to my foot. I'll be going in on Monday at 4PM.

Around the Town and Home Again

Started this morning with the American Top 40's ongoing Christmas Countdown special and Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. The latter has become a favorite of mine in recent years. In this tale from 1978, Big Bird is worried when Oscar reminds him of how skinny most chimneys in New York are and how big Santa Claus is. How will Santa get down the chimneys to deliver those presents? While Big Bird ponders that question, Ernie and Bert want to give each other a special gift. They sell the things that mean the most of them to kindly store owner Mr. Hooper, but Hooper has a surprise that will make both happy. And Cookie Monster wants to tell Santa how much he wants cookies...if he can stop eating the writing utensils!

I don't know how much kids today would enjoy this. It was made well before the debut of recent Sesame Street Muppets like Elmo, Zoe, or Abby Caddaba. For adults who remember the show in the late 70s and early 80s, it's a sweet, charming special with some wonderful music, including "True Blue Miracle" and Oscar's "I Hate Christmas."

I had some errands to run in the area today. My first stop was PNC Bank to deposit my paycheck. While I was there, I saw some customers help an older woman who had fallen down in the parking lot. It looked like she'd scraped her hands and face - her face had red lines on her forehead and nose. The cops and parametics eventually arrived, but she claimed she was fine.

After I left, I next headed for the Oaklyn Library for this week's volunteering session there. Once again, it was just a quick one. I wanted to have lunch and get some other things done at the apartment.

A few days ago, I used the Vermont Country Store card Lauren sent me for an early Christmas present to order something I've been wanting for a while - a pair of two-tiered wooden shoe racks. The plastic shoe rack I bought a few years ago was pulling my shoes out of shape, and I was tired of using the tippy shelves in my closet. I removed the shelf that wasn't stable and left the heavier one that was. Instead of pushing the four shelves together, I put one set of shelves on top of the heavier one. That way, I now had five shelves instead of four. I love it! Other than the racks are unfinished and I'll probably need to watch out for splinters, they take up less room in my closet than the old shelves and look much better. Plus, I don't have to worry about them falling over now, and very real wood smells quite nice.

I made scrambled eggs with broccoli, onion, mushroom, and Cheddar cheese for lunch while running Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader. This time, Lucy and Edmund Penvensie are joined by their bratty cousin Eustace as they reunite with the now-King Caspian and Reepcheep the Mouse on the titular vessel. Caspian is searching the ends of Narnia for the seven lords of Telmar who were once his father's advisors. Lucy, Edmund, and a very reluctant and unhappy Eustace join him. Instead of fighting witches or warlords, though, this time they find themselves on a quest to battle their own inner demons...and outer ones when a spell turns Eustace into a creature he didn't even know existed.

Not bad. Not as good as the first one, but a hearty improvement over the rather dull Prince Caspian. I like the emphasis on battling fears instead of traditional bad guys - it's something different in a fantasy story. Not that there aren't plenty of those, too, from trolls that hop around on one foot to a rather nasty slave market. It's a shame I don't think the reception of this one was good enough to warrant a continuation into the next book of the series, The Silver Chair. That was my favorite of the original series along with the first novel.

I worked on the budget for an hour before work. Most of what I spent last month was food or early Christmas present shopping. December is always thrown out of whack by the holidays - the "other" section will be huge.

Thankfully after the beginning of the week, work was steady to very dead for most of the night. It was so quiet, and we had so much help for once (including new cashiers who were being trained), I managed to shelve an entire cart of candy in an hour and a half. I've never done that before. I think most people are now at the malls or getting ready for parties or baking. It'll pick up more when we get closer to Christmas and Hanukkah.

Slush World

It was flurrying when I woke up this morning, but the wind was gone and it wasn't nearly as bad as yesterday. The sidewalks were still a little messy when I ran to the bank to deposit my paycheck. I did quite a bit of slipping and sliding. I hit a lot of slushy puddles, especially on the White Horse Pike. My boots were soaked when I got home.

Since I had some time after I came back from bank, I swept the remaining slush off the area of my porch leading to the steps and salted them. (Michael must have salted the steps the other night before or during the storm.) I updated my finances. I had a small lunch of yogurt, applesauce, and a granola bar before grabbing an apple for a snack, changing into my uniform, and heading for work.

The snow had ended shortly after I got back to the apartment. It was merely cloudy when I rode my bike to work. I still had to walk my bike on the mush-covered sidewalk on the Black Horse Pike, but even then, it was disappearing fairly rapidly.

Work was almost exactly the same as yesterday - on and off busy. We had plenty of help for once, and there were no major problems besides some faintly annoying beginning-of-the-month people. I didn't have a relief, but it was quiet enough by 5 that I was able to shut down.

Good thing, too, because I had a LOT of grocery shopping this week. I desperately needed to restock just about every fruit and vegetable in my larder, and I'm almost out of olive oil, cereal, and granola bars, too. I ran out of milk this morning. I was overloaded on the bike going home, but I did make it back. Helps that the sidewalk was mostly clear by quarter of 6.

There was a box on my landlady's porch when I arrived home. I saw it there when I left for work, but I hadn't had the time to grab it then. I ordered a small, 1.5 quart Crock Pot from the Vermont Country Store, via a gift card Lauren gave me for Christmas. I thought a Crock Pot would be nice for days like today, when I work in the late morning and afternoon and have time for dinner afterwards...but no desire to cook it. I'm testing the pot now with an "Old Fashioned Rice Pudding" made with brown rice and fat-free evaporated milk. We'll see how it works out.

Green Mountains Majesty

We headed for Vermont about 10 minutes after I finished this morning's entry. We loved our trip to the Mary Meyer Big Black Bear Shop and the Vermont Country Store last year so much, we decided to repeat it. It was a perfect day for a drive into the country, too, 85, dry, and sunny. Vermont was beautiful, with its babbling brooks, rolling emerald hills, and endless miles of fields, farms, and Inns.

Our first stop was the Big Black Bear Shop in Townsend, Vermont. The store is an outlet and museum for Lauren's favorite stuffed animal company, Mary Meyer. In addition to selling Mary Meyer stuffed animals, they also have toys and children's books.

We found something interesting the moment we walked in the door. One of the first shelves held a display of "Quarter Bears" that were on sale. They represented each state and the quarter released for that state between 1999 and 2009. Lauren bought the Massachusetts bear; I, of course, bought the New Jersey bear. I don't have the room (in my apartment or my luggage) to buy large stuffed animals, but Lauren picked up a big red lobster, a cute teddy bear made from recycled bottles, and a soft, floppy giraffe in addition to the MassBear.

Our next stop was a little diner about a mile or so back from the shop. The Townsend Dam Diner is about as typical of a small-town diner as you can get. Mismatched thrift shop tables and a big Formica counter-top dominated the room. A dry-erase board with colorful writing announced the specials of the day. The small kitchen was perfectly visible from the dining area, allowing everyone to see the waitresses hard at work pouring salad dressing and chocolate syrup from huge jugs.

Lauren had the chicken fajita. I had the salmon burger. Both were excellent. The salmon burger was real salmon, not a patty like I figured it would be, and it was on a huge bun with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and onion. My fries were home-made with their skins still on. Lauren's fajita was filled with real chicken, cheese, and vegetables, and for once, she ate the whole thing.

We hit the road again after lunch and made our way up the mountain to the Vermont Country Store. Alas, once again, we didn't have as much time there as we hoped we would. The store was not only incredibly busy, it was closing an hour and a half early for a funeral across the street honoring the adjacent Bryant House Restaurant's late manager.

Despite the crowd, Lauren and I found what we wanted in record time anyway. Lauren bought a bottle of orange soap her dad really liked and some magnetic rocks to use in her room. I bought a small bottle of real Vermont Maple Syrup, a box of tasty Vermont "Buttons" small cookies (maple flavor), and a bear-shaped glass jar that's supposed to be used for cinnamon. I love that bear jar. I've almost bought it online a hundred times. I also bought a bottle of water. I'd forgotten to bring some from home and was feeling a bit dry.

Since we left the store earlier than we thought we would, we made a few short stops on the way home. Lauren stopped by another country-style store called The Apple Barn Country Store. This one was attached to a pick-your-own farm and specialized in toys, gift items, real farm-fresh fruit, and things made from said fruit, like jams and jellies, fudge, pancake mix, and syrups. Lauren bought fudge for her dad. I just bought a small maple sugar candy. I have a fondness for flavored sugar.

We drove into Berrington next, stopping at a small Stewart's Shops. Stewart's in New Jersey is a novelty brand of very sweet soda in glass bottles. In New England, its the equivalent of the Tri-State area's WaWa. The Stewart's was actually pretty cool. WaWa needs to start putting tables in. Their stores are big enough.

By this point, it was after 6. Most of the small, local stores we wanted to explore would be shutting down, so we just drove down the mountains and back to Pittsfield. Our last stop was Lauren's favorite sub shop right next door to the bank where she works, Angelina's Subs. It's a local chain specializing in what New Englanders call "grinders" and what we in Southern New Jersey refer to as the hoagie. Lauren had her favorite Taco Wrap. I opted for a simple turkey sandwich.

We're back at Lauren's house now, chatting, blogging, and watching Good Eats episodes. Tomorrow, we hit Jiminy Peak, a small family amusement park in the Greylock Mountains.

Into the Green Mountain State

We made our trip into Vermont today. There couldn't have been a more lovely day to do it, either. sunny and in the upper 60s-lower 70s. We started out in the late morning and arrived at the Manchester Outlets around 11:30. Turns out the outlets weren't really either of our speeds. Lauren got a full set of lotions and shampoo from Crabtree & Evelyn and I bought a travel-sized shampoo (the one I brought with me is almost empty). Most of the other stores were factory stores for major upscale clothing brands like Brooks Brothers that were way beyond our price ranges, even at outlet prices. We didn't get anything else there.

Our next stop was far more interesting. On our way to the outlets, we passed a bookstore. We decided to give it a go, and I'm very glad we did! The Northshire Book Store turned out to be a massive, 2-story independent book-and-media shop not unlike Barnes & Noble. It was a really gorgeous store, housed in a former inn. Lauren bought a Gene Autry CD for her dad. I got the original cast of the 1971 Broadway musical Follies. We had lunch in the book store's restaurant, appropriately named the Spiral Press Cafe. She had a ham pannini called the Anthem. Mine was called the Johnny Appleseed and had turkey, apples, cheddar cheese, and cranberry mayo (which was actually quite good). Our sandwiches came with chips and gigantic pickle quarters! Lauren doesn't like pickles and traded hers to me for my chips, since I'm not a big chips fan. I like pickles, but those babies were so big, I ate the first and one bite of the second and couldn't finish!

Here's the Northshire's website:

Northshire Book Store

While browsing around in the Outlets, we found a rack of pamphlets for other local attractions in the lobby area. In addition to fliers for the Northshire Book Store and Vermont Country Store, we found one for another intriguing store in the area. We both love stuffed animals, and The Big Black Bear Shop, a store for Lauren's favorite stuffed animal company Mary Meyer, was right up both our alleys. As it turned out, it was on our way to the Vermont Country Store, so we made it our next stop.

The Big Black Bear Shop is a toy store that, yes, mostly sells Mary Meyer stuffed toys. It also sells other playthings and a few kids' books. There's even a small museum devoted to the Mary Meyer company and making stuffed animals. The bright, colorful store was filled with so many wonderful animals, it was hard to choose! I finally found an adorable tan puppy, Buster, on sale for $3.00. Buster was the name of the Pound Puppy I had as a child, and I miss him. Lauren picked up a sea-green octopus named Ollie, a floppy cheetah named Speedy, and a fluffy white Christmas bear in a red and yellow striped stocking cap and scarf.

Here's the Big Black Bear Shop's site:

The Big Black Bear Shop

After a few wrong turns, we finally made it to the Vermont Country store an hour before closing. We took pictures of each other in front of the store, then browsed. The huge, rambling old farmhouse is filled from top to bottom with unusual, often old-fashioned items, ranging from flannel shirts to milled soap to local Vermont maple syrup, old-time candy brands that can only be found in catalogs, fancy cake and pancake mixes, tin toys, and some Vermont merchandise like sweaters and pewter keychains. We only had so much money and so much time by then. I just bought a tin container of real Vermont maple syrup. I switched to using real maple syrup on pancakes instead of cheap "pancake syrup"; it tastes so much better.

Lauren made better finds. She bought a box of little tablets that add flavored fizz to regular water (she's a big soda fan), orange marmalade for her mother, and wart remover for a small one on her foot. She discovered her best find, of all places, in the bathroom. She told me she smelled something citrusy in the women's bathroom and wondered what it was. It turned out to be the orange soap used at the sinks. She looked around the store and finally found a bottle for her dad, who apparently loves oranges.

Here's the Vermont Country Store's (apparently well-known, as my mother and friend Linda Young both order from them) site and online catalog:

Vermont Country Store

We stopped at a Friendly's in Barrington, Vermont for a small dinner. We shared their Munchies Mania plate (Lauren wanted the mozzarella sticks; I had the quesadilas), and we both had ice cream. Lauren had her favorite, Black Raspberry with Peanut Butter topping (which she says isn't as bad as it sounds); I had the Hunka Chunka PB Fudge.

It was worth the trip just for the gorgeous scenery. Now I know why they call Vermont "The Green Mountain State"; it's a well-earned moniker. The emerald mountains seemed to touch the fat, white clouds and dwarfed the almost-turning-colors trees and lovely old rustic farmhouses, hotels, inns, and restaurants. We passed over rushing rivers as clear as glass and passed by massive mountainsides of pure marble. We saw cows and horses (including one cute golden foal) grazing by big barns and fields filled with soy beans, hay, and corn. We passed by orchards laden with apples and farm markets overflowing with pumpkins and squash. I haven't seen such lovely farms since I left Cape May County (and there aren't too many like these left there).