Community

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”

  – Mother Theresa


“Heroes didn’t leap tall buildings or stop bullets with an outstretched hand: they didn’t wear boots and capes. They bled and they bruised, and their superpowers were as simple as listening, or loving. Heroes were ordinary people who knew that even if their own lives were impossibly knotted, they could untangle someone else.  And maybe that one act could lead someone to rescue you right back.”
-Jodi Picoult




“The single greatest lesson the garden teaches is that our relationship
to the planet need not be zero-sum, and that as long as the sun still
shines and people still can plan and plant, think and do, we can, if we
bother to try, find ways to provide for ourselves without diminishing
the world.”
– Michael Pollan



       
*  Blogger is being wonky today with typeface, I apologize for the annoyance. 


 


  My husband and I are just a small part of an incredible group of volunteer citizens who are collectively restoring Parmelee Farm  so that this once dilapidated town owned farm can be a recreational and educational gathering place for generations to come. So many people have shown their generosity with their time and skills, and I can’t describe accurately how wonderful it feels to see all the accomplishments of these good hearted and visionary people, and to contemplate all the possibilities for the future.  No one here is a Rockefeller.  It’s blood, sweat and even some tears that are getting this job done, and a whole lot of heart. 


   Community.. we all need it. If you are able in any way to get out into your own community and give of yourself in any way that feels comfortable to you and your lifestyle, I recommend it highly. You give of yourself a little, and you are paid back in spades, I promise.   In these troubling times, when it is so easy to feel powerless and overwhelmed by all the bad news we are bombarded with daily, the truth is we can indeed be the antidote, each one of us, in little ways, taking small steps.


 

Updates on Parmelee:  Due to a STEAP grant, 

the farmhouse has been restored and is the new home of the Historical Society.

 





What was once a Turkey shed is now being refurbished as a pavilion
for future events for the community – weddings, farmers market, dances, etc.

Many local contractors,generous civic groups and citizens have stepped up to get the job done.

The Little Free Library is a big hit…
..and it all started with the vision of a certain resident, who created the Community Gardens..
still in bloom on this late September afternoon.

 

Many of you, my blog friends, have been giving to your community already in the many different ways that this is accomplished. Some of you have raised foster children and made them your own, some have taken in stray animals that needed your care, some of you have donated your time or money to your own communities – the library, a hospital, the Goodwill Store – …  I could go on and on.  


 

My hat is off to you, my friends. Together we all make a difference, never forget it, and keep on truck’n. 


 

It’s a new day, all.  Make it a good one ~


 

 

 

When common sense goes out the window

   …first, let’s kill all the lawyers.   Just kidding, some of them do an excellent job.  Others take on cases that are clearly absurd for the sole purpose of acquiring money and fame…and horridly, they win.  And then there are the plaintiffs who bring on the absurd case in the first place.  Remember the woman who sued McDonalds for coffee that was too hot and burned her mouth when she drank it?  She won a lot of money.

  There is a case once again before the Supreme Court right now stirring in Connecticut. It’s caught the attention of many because of its absurdity and the possible affect it will have on the horse industry at large.

 Blog friend Cindi sent me this article, which tells me news of this ridiculous ruling is  reaching all over the country.  I’m glad.    Read newest information HERE .




HARTFORD – The Connecticut Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in
a case that may result in horses being declared “vicious” animals. The justices are hearing the appeal of
a ruling in which the owner of a Milford horse farm was found
responsible for one of his animals biting a child back in 2006.
The appeals court ruled that signs and
fencing did not sufficiently protect the child, especially since horses
are inherently and naturally vicious.


The owners of horse farms and equestrian businesses
say that if the new labeling sticks, insurers will no longer cover their
businesses and they’ll be forced to close down. 

   In a nutshell, a father was visiting a horse farm and held his 1.5 year old son up along a fence to give a horse some grass. There were signs posted along this fence… Please don’t feed the horses.  Using his own poor judgement, the father did anyway… and the horse reached over the fence and nipped the kid on the cheek.   The first case threw the family’s claim out because hey, the signs were posted, it was a stupid move on the fathers part. There was no record of malice on the part of the farm owner or his animals.   On Appeal, the court ruled all horses inherently vicious, overturning the ruling.  If this newruling sticks …. it will change the face of the horse industry forever, at least in this state.

   I am thoroughly disgusted every time I hear a case like this, where the plaintiff is seeking damages for their own poor judgement, seeking financial gain by punishing those who are so undeserving of the punishment. The farm owner took the proper precautions.  There are no precautions for stupidity.

    I’ve worked with and owned horses for 30 years now.  Never have I seen a vicious horse. Some have been abused and are not as trusting of humans and caution should be used around them.  Can you blame them?  And.. anything with teeth has the potential to bite. Humans are far more vicious than any animal.

   What a shame it would be for one idiot who decided to hold his infant child up to a large horses mouth to be able to demolish an entire horse industry.  I sure hope the Supreme Court demonstrates common sense this time around.

 Vicious?  My A**. 
Common Sense.. now there’s a concept. 
 Being awarded for not having any?
 Please, Connecticut… Say it ain’t so.  
Just sayin.

Clearing

     


Clearing by Martha Postlewaite

Do not try to save 
the whole world or do anything grandiose. 
Instead, create a clearing 
in the dense forest of your life 
and wait there patiently, 
until the song 
that is your life 
falls into your own cupped hands 
and you recognize and greet it. 
Only then 
will you know 
how to give yourself 
to this world so 
worthy of rescue.

Here and there

  Did you get a look at that Harvest moon in recent days?… my camera does not do it justice in these pics. The soft lavender of the evening skies over This Old House cast a serene hue…

My sister and I got together to kayak on Friday….
Why haven’t we done this more often?!
 
 She handled Torch,  Mikes big touring kayak, very well. 
 
 On Saturday we arrived at the Guilford Fair to fawn over my little blue ribbon,
only to dive immediately into the totally sinful fair food. 
Ferris wheels are so photogenic, aren’t they? 
Yesterday the guy and I took a quick ride over to Devils Hopyard..
 Below is beautiful stone archway underneath the road that runs through
the park, right next to the falls.
There are two, built before the WW’s. 
Nowadays, the labor would be too expensive to do so. 
It’s a shame, some of what we’ve lost in architecture as the world has become
something different. 
Many lovers initials carved or written on this bench….
 
One of my favorite breakfasts on Sunday morning…
I should make these more often.  My version is Gluten free – they don’t
leave you feeling bloated and too full… it’s a beautiful thing. 
 
A shot of the Ferris wheel last night, still aglow one hour
 after the Fair had closed down for another year. 
I had to pick up my photo entry and the feel of the fairgrounds was so very different than when you are being pushed along the midway with the crowds. The booths and rides were still lit up, the attendants relieved and ready to pack up and go home. The ponies were untacked and loose in their pony ride corral and the food vendors dined together with jovial expressions and laughter you don’t see while their services are in high demand by the people.  
 Did I tell you about my sexy new crock pot?  I’m too lazy to look back over the posts…
Sweet and sour stew recipe HERE

I had no idea….

Blog readers have been pinning stuff to Pinterest from This Old House 2 for a while now … I consider it an honor.  Thanks, Connie, for showing me the link below…

http://www.pinterest.com/source/thisoldhousetoo.blogspot.com/
Todays Words of Wisdom

It’s the little things

   My son went to the Guilford Fair last night with a few of his friends.  I asked him to check the arts tent to see if my photograph had been hung and if it had gotten any placement.   He called home around 10pm to tell me it had won first place. Not only that, many others had submitted four or five photographs each, but my single shot got the blue.

   This is really just a little thing, but I struggle to accurately express the magnitude of how it lit up my world last night, this acknowledgement, this nod to my simple picture, this little blue ribbon.

   What makes it extra special for me is that it’s a photo I took of Eddie and Phils clam rakes in Joshua Cove.  This photo is not typical of what is entered in these competitions… you see a lot of beautiful landscapes, flower arrangements, moon shots, wildlife photography, etc. In comparison this picture is kinda simple… but  drew me in right away when I saw the shot out there on the water,  the industrial strength of their rakes, a basic tool that does a lot of work, and the beauty in  the delicate grooves and the blue, gray and purple hues of the clam shells themselves.  Reminds me of the simple beauty in the story of Eddie and Phil.

  One of my favorite quotes…

“It’s not what you’re looking at that matters.. .it’s what you see”

I hope they still read my blog, because I’d like them to know their kindness that day brought home a blue ribbon from the 154th Guilford Fair and made this woman’s day.

About that Pinterest thingy…..

To all you blogging girlfriends out there who kept saying…
“you mean you aren’t on Pinterest yet?”
Well now I am, and Holy Crow ..
it’s a jungle out there. 
I am in love.
But seriously… I did not need another reason to sit at this computer
when I oughta be doing other things..
so I’m not thanking you. 
Did I say I am smitten?  Bitten? 
The photography is stunning…. 
 

The recipes divine…. 

 oh, the beauty….

  The home inspiration endless…
I am absolutely going to make this star garland for my kitchen window…

 
 Can you hear the jingle bells?….. feel the crisp air
and feel the crunch of snow underfoot? 

Awesomeness.

Small Town

    My message today is for the people of my town who might read this blog. However, the ideas can be applied all over the country.  Do I like politics?  Hell no.  Many don’t bother with it at all for a myriad of reasons.  It’s important, though, people.  Part of the reason we are in such a political mess in the good ole US  is apathy.  Not enough people are paying attention, not enough people are taking the time to really know candidates and make an informed decision, not enough people are showing up to vote.  Especially in small towns like ours.   I’m posting this everywhere I can today, because we have a truly ugly situation here in town and if nothing is done about it, it’s not going away. 
 

OK locals – this one’s for you -Our town has managed for all these years to be a
community of residents who work in relative harmony regardless of party
affiliation without the kind of animosity a certain new group have
created and appear to thrive on. Personal attacks, misleading
information and false accusations are their hallmark and if we don’t
stop our apathetic approach to not paying attention and not turning out
to vote, we will pay the price.

There is no Utopia, but as
long as there is simple decency and a willingness to work together,
there can always be solutions that are satisfactory to the majority. I
ask all registered Republicans to please get to know your candidates and
their qualifications, show up on October 1st and VOTE in this second Republican primary which is totally unnecessary and at a cost to  we the people, the taxpayers. We are a small
town, every single one of your votes MATTER!!!…  

 

I hate when that happens

  So, yesterday my acid reflux issue kicked it up a notch and I had a lot of chest pain as a result. This is nothing new and I’ve even been to the emergency room in the past thinking I was having a heart attack only to find out I had acid issues. To compound my discomfort, my seasonal allergies where giving me a headache and usually Benadryl gets rid of them, so I popped one.  Enter the palpitations and racing heart, which has not happened before.  *sigh*   I’m one of those super sensitives who reacts to some medications with too much fanfare, physically, more often than not.  Benadryl has always been one of those that gave me relief and no bad side effects until now. 

 Then I took my blood pressure, because… hey,  I haven’t done that in a long time and maybe I should check it.  A few years ago I had become a moderate hypertensive person, and was put on a med to regulate it.  Well the first med swelled my lips, had to stop it.  The second med gave me Renaud’s-like symptoms and I felt tired all the time, but it got my BP to normal numbers.  I lost 20 lbs and exercised a lot and got off the darn pill and for a while, it all held together.  Then I gained 15 back and the exercise was sporadic. 

  So.. that blood pressure check yesterday.  169/104.   Yeah…not good.  I called my GP to make an appointment for SOON so I could talk about getting back on a med because you gotta do what you gotta do.  But.. she didn’t like the combination of symptoms I was having yesterday and said I should go straight to the ER.  

*sigh*  

   I’ve been down that road before and I kinda knew and of course hoped it was not going to be serious, but off  we went, the Mr. driving.  Long story and two hours later,  heart is fine, blood work normal although potassium a little low, acid reflux -what it is –  and blood pressure too high with need of medicating.  I’m back on a new med, Norvasc, and Lord please don’t let there be side effects, because apparently at my age I can’t be jerking around with this any more.  I don’t like to think I have to be on medication, but juggling with your vascular health is not a great idea, so this is one of those things I’m going to have to accept and work with.  I’ve already begun  losing those 15 lbs and have upped the exercise routine, but this time that might not be enough to get off the meds.   Apparently, as you get older, it gets harder to bring those numbers down without meds. 

    So that’s my struggle with blood pressure issues, a deal that’s hard to accept for me because I have lived a healthy, active lifestyle for the most part and have never smoked or been much of a drinker.   As the doctor said, It is what it is.

    The husband, sitting next to me in that little ER room said…”oh, blog moment!” and raised his phone to take a picture as I sat on that gurney half dressed with wires,  an IV and BP cuff attached.  Never ever poke fun at an agitated woman who has direct access to large pointy needles and is not afraid to use them.