One of my favorite movies is "7 Up" - can't think of the name of the filmmaker. It's a really fascinating documentary involving interviews, every seven years, of a group of people who gave the first interviews when they were seven years old. It occurred to me watching the most recent version a couple of years back that this must be sort of like how God sees us - a lifetime compressed. It started as an exploration of class in England and its effects. It's still about that but I think it's more about the trajectory of life - perfect somehow, though full of pain and struggle. Adam and Even banished from the Garden but not forsaken. Each person followed (and a few of the stiffer ones have dropped out) struck me as lovely somehow - so worthy of compassion. They're all well up into their 40s now, I think, and have learned the lessons of life. If you haven't seen it, get it.
Why am I talking about this? Because I have been absent from this Blog for year. Just too busy with my crazy job as a divorce lawyer in Burlington. I have never had a more difficult job - but in all the trauma, time has flown. Time does fly on us. So here I am back again. Physically, more of a ruin, having neglected friends and family too much. (I have a pile of unsent birthday cards and some dear relatives that I haven't seen or spoke to or corresponded with in more than a year.) Another deep lesson learned by blogging, or failing to blog.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Sunday, May 22, 2005
The Latest
It's way past my bed time but I checked back here and though still comment-free I'll assume one or two friendly readers are on tenterhooks wondering what has happened to Woolfoot here at the Last House during the last six weeks.
Well, we're all still here. The House is generally occupied by the Woolfoot Husband and Woolfoot Kid 1 (girl, 7) and Kid 2(Boy, 4). I had hoped to bring Kids to the luxe condo for the end of the school year but none of the preschools in which I had any interest had a spot. I didn't like to split up Kid 1 and Kid 2, so they will finish their school year here at the friendly Catholic School in Newport. I have been driving back and forth to Burlington most days but spending a couple nights a week as a bachelorette at the condo. The first few nights like that were sort of glorious (take out and a DVD!). It would be an impoverished existence, however, if it were a long-term thing. I guess that's for another post.
Speaking of preschools and schools, the Woolfoot kinder have long experience at their Catholic school here in the Northeast Kingdom. It runs from pre-school to grade 8. The building is a cold-war relic (it still has the Fallout Shelter sign on the outside wall) but the people are nice. I am not a Catholic but my husband is, by heritage anyway, and I respect the Institution although I can't quite assimilate some of its unique beliefs. Anyway, the kids are, after 4 years there, wholly known quantities. I raced up to the school from Burlington last week to the [interminable] spring concert and managed to see Kid 1 sing her three songs with grades 1-3 and then spent the rest of the evening chasing Kid 2 around the halls. Amazing how many people know Kid 2. He is a charasmatic sort of individual and not without his charms. One thing I am little sad about is that he will miss his year with my favorite preschool teacher. She is just finishing her college degree, I think, and has a grown family. I am always reminded of one of the stalwarts Country Music stars when I look at her, like Loretta Lynn. She is so energetic and uncomplaining. Kid 1 prospered in her class.
I think a little exposure to Normal America and the middle class environment of Burlington will be a good thing for them, although I am not without my misgivings. I doubt that they will be known as they are known now anyway. I'll keep you posted.
Well, we're all still here. The House is generally occupied by the Woolfoot Husband and Woolfoot Kid 1 (girl, 7) and Kid 2(Boy, 4). I had hoped to bring Kids to the luxe condo for the end of the school year but none of the preschools in which I had any interest had a spot. I didn't like to split up Kid 1 and Kid 2, so they will finish their school year here at the friendly Catholic School in Newport. I have been driving back and forth to Burlington most days but spending a couple nights a week as a bachelorette at the condo. The first few nights like that were sort of glorious (take out and a DVD!). It would be an impoverished existence, however, if it were a long-term thing. I guess that's for another post.
Speaking of preschools and schools, the Woolfoot kinder have long experience at their Catholic school here in the Northeast Kingdom. It runs from pre-school to grade 8. The building is a cold-war relic (it still has the Fallout Shelter sign on the outside wall) but the people are nice. I am not a Catholic but my husband is, by heritage anyway, and I respect the Institution although I can't quite assimilate some of its unique beliefs. Anyway, the kids are, after 4 years there, wholly known quantities. I raced up to the school from Burlington last week to the [interminable] spring concert and managed to see Kid 1 sing her three songs with grades 1-3 and then spent the rest of the evening chasing Kid 2 around the halls. Amazing how many people know Kid 2. He is a charasmatic sort of individual and not without his charms. One thing I am little sad about is that he will miss his year with my favorite preschool teacher. She is just finishing her college degree, I think, and has a grown family. I am always reminded of one of the stalwarts Country Music stars when I look at her, like Loretta Lynn. She is so energetic and uncomplaining. Kid 1 prospered in her class.
I think a little exposure to Normal America and the middle class environment of Burlington will be a good thing for them, although I am not without my misgivings. I doubt that they will be known as they are known now anyway. I'll keep you posted.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
One-Trick Pony?
Jeez. I just re-read a bunch of my postings and I am a regular Johnny One Note!(Vermont blah blah blah). Sorry if I have been boring you (are "you" out there? I seem not to have attracted a single comment so I don't know if anyone other than a couple of friends have even looked at this spot).
In case any "you" are wondering the Burlington condo deal seems to have been sealed. I took the kids to the little North Troy Library after school yesterday. On the way out of the building (combo fire house, library, police department and clerk's office) our village clerk, Nancy Allen, stopped me to say my new landlord had called her to check us out. Very clever. As anyone who lives in small town Vermont knows, village clerks know everything about every body. My landlord is a native Vermonter. Why bother with references when village clerks are available? Well, Nancy is a neighbor and if we had a fan club she might be its president (it would be a small club, naturally). So she told him, of course, we were the best people in town (her exact words). If he won't rent to us after that I don't know what would persuade him. Only in Vermont! OOPS. There I go again. OK. I am going to shut up and get dressed now.
In case any "you" are wondering the Burlington condo deal seems to have been sealed. I took the kids to the little North Troy Library after school yesterday. On the way out of the building (combo fire house, library, police department and clerk's office) our village clerk, Nancy Allen, stopped me to say my new landlord had called her to check us out. Very clever. As anyone who lives in small town Vermont knows, village clerks know everything about every body. My landlord is a native Vermonter. Why bother with references when village clerks are available? Well, Nancy is a neighbor and if we had a fan club she might be its president (it would be a small club, naturally). So she told him, of course, we were the best people in town (her exact words). If he won't rent to us after that I don't know what would persuade him. Only in Vermont! OOPS. There I go again. OK. I am going to shut up and get dressed now.
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Mud Season And Another Change
In these last few melty days, great hunks of ice have been slipping off the red steel roof of the Last House, threatening to take the gutters down with them. It wouldn't be much of a loss as the gutters have been clogged for about 12 years, since about 20 minutes after we had them installed at considerable expense when we first bought the place. There is a a stand of Locust trees behind the house, growing well north of their range, that provide a nice tracery of branches behind the house all winter and some beautiful-smelling blossoms for about three days in June, but shedding gutter-clogging leaves each fall.
The trees and their ways are one of the thousands of little details about life in the Last House I have been contemplating in recent weeks. I, Woolfoot, have taken a job in the closest American city of any size, Burlington, Vermont, and the long term future of the Last House is in question. That immortal question rings, "Should I stay or should I go now?"
Well, nothing will happen right away. We have rented a condo in Burlington that will house the little family or some part of it during the weeks for the next year or so, then we will probably have to make up our minds about whether we will be regular Americans (Burlington) or irregular ones (North Troy). Both have their charms. Burlington has employment opportunities.
The condo I have bargained to rent has a view over Lake Champlain to the Adirondacks and as you walk to the little parking area Burlington twinkles up the hillside which it climbs from the lake. A bike path connects the Condo to my office downtown. A good public school, where my Harvard-graduate friends have their kids, lies on the path between the two places. Much will be demanded of Woolfoot to pay the bills, but much more is available by way of opportunity.
After viewing the condo yesterday, I stopped on my way out of town for a Grande Vanilla Latte at the Starbucks near the Connector. College types served it up with a piece of lemon cake. Of course, our local North Troy reinvigorated gas station has coffee too, (see my earlier post on the topic of the gas station) but the contrast between the First and Last Border Stop and Starbucks of Burlington tells the whole story and highlights my dilemma.
The trees and their ways are one of the thousands of little details about life in the Last House I have been contemplating in recent weeks. I, Woolfoot, have taken a job in the closest American city of any size, Burlington, Vermont, and the long term future of the Last House is in question. That immortal question rings, "Should I stay or should I go now?"
Well, nothing will happen right away. We have rented a condo in Burlington that will house the little family or some part of it during the weeks for the next year or so, then we will probably have to make up our minds about whether we will be regular Americans (Burlington) or irregular ones (North Troy). Both have their charms. Burlington has employment opportunities.
The condo I have bargained to rent has a view over Lake Champlain to the Adirondacks and as you walk to the little parking area Burlington twinkles up the hillside which it climbs from the lake. A bike path connects the Condo to my office downtown. A good public school, where my Harvard-graduate friends have their kids, lies on the path between the two places. Much will be demanded of Woolfoot to pay the bills, but much more is available by way of opportunity.
After viewing the condo yesterday, I stopped on my way out of town for a Grande Vanilla Latte at the Starbucks near the Connector. College types served it up with a piece of lemon cake. Of course, our local North Troy reinvigorated gas station has coffee too, (see my earlier post on the topic of the gas station) but the contrast between the First and Last Border Stop and Starbucks of Burlington tells the whole story and highlights my dilemma.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Back In My Nordic Home
It took eleven hours from the door of my brother's new house in one of Dallas's fanciest neighborhoods to get back to the door of our house in one of the least fancy towns in Vermont. The many pieces of the journey went smoothly and I am grateful for that. The snow is back, all through the northeast, so I am glad I got my travelling done on Sunday. I flew in and out of Montreal, which is about an hour and half from here. Things up there are looking great. Dallas was interesting but Montreal is "my" city, where I spent most of my 20s. We have bonded. Having imprinted on Montreal I don't know that I can ever form a deep feeling for any other. I have a general antipathy to the suburbs, but I'll admit I was beguiled by my brother's neighborhood. It helps that it is close to the core of Dallas.
Interesting to journey through America. Looking out of the window of the plane on my way into Dallas last Tuesday night, and seeing the miles and miles of lights, I was impressed by the power of capital to get things done. A hundred years ago there was nothing down there. Now there is a civilzation unique in world history: one which a humble, poorly compensated state employee (I am a deputy State's attorney here) can gaze down upon from 30,000 feet from the comfort of a jet plane and it's all just la vie quotidien. Amazing.
Also amazing, and somehow depressing, is the fact that my search for some small gifts for my kids took me to the Barnes & Nobel in my brother's neighborhood and to Costco. Both places I can shop at in Burlington or any other place I am likely to go. Part and parcel of the power of our economy is this general sameness in the crap we can buy. Regional differences definitely survive, however, if not in consumables in the general approach to life. I was impressed by the thin, made-up blonde woman who was talking on the cell phone at the ladies room at Home Depo Expo in North Dallas (not a type we see much up here). She was winding up her conversation on the phone and yelled to her little girl in the stall, impatiently, "Are y'all done in there?" Love it.
Interesting to journey through America. Looking out of the window of the plane on my way into Dallas last Tuesday night, and seeing the miles and miles of lights, I was impressed by the power of capital to get things done. A hundred years ago there was nothing down there. Now there is a civilzation unique in world history: one which a humble, poorly compensated state employee (I am a deputy State's attorney here) can gaze down upon from 30,000 feet from the comfort of a jet plane and it's all just la vie quotidien. Amazing.
Also amazing, and somehow depressing, is the fact that my search for some small gifts for my kids took me to the Barnes & Nobel in my brother's neighborhood and to Costco. Both places I can shop at in Burlington or any other place I am likely to go. Part and parcel of the power of our economy is this general sameness in the crap we can buy. Regional differences definitely survive, however, if not in consumables in the general approach to life. I was impressed by the thin, made-up blonde woman who was talking on the cell phone at the ladies room at Home Depo Expo in North Dallas (not a type we see much up here). She was winding up her conversation on the phone and yelled to her little girl in the stall, impatiently, "Are y'all done in there?" Love it.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Woolfoot Does Dallas
If you're hoping for something racy, move on. The highlight of my day so far down here in the Big D was a breakfast at a faux-french place called La Madeleine here in North Dallas - or maybe the Grande Vanilla Latte at Starbucks. Even in Texas I do things small scale...
I am down visiting my baby brother who just bought a nice house in a nice neighborhood down here. I am supposed to be packing his kitchen in preparation for the move from his bachelor condo to the house tomorrow AM. It is always good to change scenery for a few days. I haven't been down here in years and it's an interesting contrast to the world of the Last House. Remember the Eagles: "Everything, all the time"? That's how this strikes me. I, of course, think it suffers in comparison to my Green Mountain home. My brother, when he visits us, feels the opposite way. I guess things work out.
The $$$$ flying around down here are amazing. My brother's new house is a nice '50s ranch, well kept and tastefully renovated. It cost him more than $600,000. He tells me the value is alomst completely in the lot and that the house, nice as it is and perfectly adequate for a couple or small family, is basically an impediment. All over his neighborhood houses of this vintage are "scrape-offs". Seems a shame to me and unChristian, really. I must say, however, that the new houses are generally very attractive. Still, what would our ancestors make of this?
Back to packing the kitchen.
I am down visiting my baby brother who just bought a nice house in a nice neighborhood down here. I am supposed to be packing his kitchen in preparation for the move from his bachelor condo to the house tomorrow AM. It is always good to change scenery for a few days. I haven't been down here in years and it's an interesting contrast to the world of the Last House. Remember the Eagles: "Everything, all the time"? That's how this strikes me. I, of course, think it suffers in comparison to my Green Mountain home. My brother, when he visits us, feels the opposite way. I guess things work out.
The $$$$ flying around down here are amazing. My brother's new house is a nice '50s ranch, well kept and tastefully renovated. It cost him more than $600,000. He tells me the value is alomst completely in the lot and that the house, nice as it is and perfectly adequate for a couple or small family, is basically an impediment. All over his neighborhood houses of this vintage are "scrape-offs". Seems a shame to me and unChristian, really. I must say, however, that the new houses are generally very attractive. Still, what would our ancestors make of this?
Back to packing the kitchen.
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
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