Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Weekend in VT

Spent this past weekend in VT. I love it up there. :)

I was SUPPOSED to work this weekend, but, I never get a 3 day holiday weekend because that's the way the cookie crumbles. I work Saturday and Sunday, and big deal I get Labor Day Monday off. I would have been off on Monday anyway. SO if I want a 3 day weekend, I have to take vacation time. I think it stinks, half the staff doesn't have to do that, I know it's every other weekend, but it should work out better than that that we should rotate the holiday weekends better. I missed Memorial Day weekend, I took vacation for Labor Day, and I have to work the whole weekend after Thanksgiving. Big Deal, I'm off Thursday. I would have been off anyway. If you have to work Friday through Sunday it's a pain in the neck being off Thanksgiving.

ANYWAY, so it worked out that my Thursday off before the weekend was switched to Friday for the month of September. So I had a 4 day weekend, PLUS I also took a vac day on Tuesday. 5 days away from work. YAY!

We drove up to VT Friday afternoon, left Monday afternoon.

Highlights include, in no particular order:
-The peacefulness VT gives me.
-Singing the Welcome to VT song. dobedobedobe
-The weather which was PERFECT!
-Finding a new hair product that I like so I can leave my hair down without blowdrying it and it's pretty manageable, and not crunchy. I've been looking for something like that for AGES!!!
-Shul both Friday evening and Saturday morning.
-Family relaxing/visiting/conversing time.
-The Southern VT Arts Center. I guess it's kind of like a cross between a museum and a gallery. I was very happy. There was a cool exhibit on the 1960's and Woodstock. And there were some really nice watercolors elsewhere in the museum. I wish I could paint like that... There were some of architecture, with details that were amazing, and so hard to do in watercolors. And there was another room with river water, and waterfalls and flowers in watercolor. These were amazing. They were light yet full of color, and so flowing... I tend to be heavy handed with my painting, I need to learn to be looser and freer and lighter. These were beautiful. There were also some nice pastel paintings, one in particular of sunflowers that was great. (I LOVE sunflowers)
-Our hike Sunday to a river with a waterfall. A not so bad hike, 2.3 miles in and out, and the falls are really pretty. Rob climbed the falls and got sopping wet while I sat on a rock and painted. Waterfalls are REALLY hard btw. But, it wasn't so bad for my first attempt.
-My trailname: Care Bare :)
-The egg and cheese sandwich and coffee I had for breakfast on Monday morning. Maybe it's the atmosphere, or the milk/cheese, but it's the best little breakfast you want to eat.
-Playing with the Dogs. (James, Elliot, Brandy and Jack) I now have white fur all over me thanks to James and Elliot.
-The painting time I had, all outside in natural light. WHOO HOO!
-The bookstore. I love spending time in bookstores. I spent time browsing and reading and then I got some really awesome watercolor technique books. One on flowers and one on landscapes. :)
-The Potatoes with Crack (aka Roasted Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary) I made with supper Sunday night.
-Cornfields!
-VT itself. YAY for VT.

Lowlights include, in no particular order:
-Wind-ey roads that make me carsick.
-The gas prices we paid to make it up there.
-My sunglass clip chipping my glasses and causing the chip to fly into my eye, and then trying to (and succeeding) in flushing it out, and the irritation that ensued for the rest of the day. My eye is fine btw, it doesn't hurt at all, I'm ok.
-The drive home. For multiple reasons. One, carsick, two, fidgety, three long way home, four leaving VT.


And that was my weekend. I'm very much looking forward to going back in a few weeks. We're spending most of October for the High Holidays (aka HiHo's according to Rabbi Bob) and that makes me a Happy Carie! :)

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