EXTRA, EXTRA! Sagittarians and Saris!

December not only brought us a lot snow here in the North East Kingdom, but it also brought us two fabulous events that we were fortunate to attend. Our great new friend Chris (Yogi Mukti) invited us to his annual Sagittarius party in Montpelier, and we were happy to accept because “we like to party” and, hey, I (Jon) am part Sag myself! The email invite stated that it would be a tropical themed party and to dress for warm temps which sounded entertainingly ironic for this time of year in VT. So, after picking up Brooke from work, we ventured to the outskirts of Montpelier. When we arrived, as promised, there were subtropical temperatures in Mukti’s home along with people decked out in bathing suits and tropical wears.

Thanks and SNOW!

Though we missed being with family for Thanksgiving, we were lucky enough this year to share delicious meals with some new friends. Our afternoon began with a visit to “community supper” in our neighboring town of Hardwick. We have volunteered at community suppers two times now, and we try to make it out for the meal whenever possible. Local farms and businesses donate much of the food, and many of the smiling faces helping to cook and clean up are people from a wonderful community called Heartbeet Farm. The meal was fantastic. We were thankful for the abundance of many tasty meatless dishes and happy to feel at home in such a positive environment filled with love and goodwill.

FEVER, FEVER, FUN!

The temperatures are cooling, and we have tried to imagine what it will be like when these great outdoors become less friendly and less like an addition to our cabin. See, we have no bathroom or plumbing (our running water has frozen) and we are used to going “#1” amongst the trees and “#2” up the path in the outhouse or at the house. So far, we have still been able to find comfort in the chilled air, but we are anticipating the changes.

The Grease Beast and other Beasts…

So, yea, we’ve had some “car trouble.” Nothing we couldn’t handle, though. Well, let me (Amy) start from my first day of work in early October, when the truck wouldn’t start. I awoke early to prepare for my 45 minute commute to a babysitting position I had accepted, and found snow covering the ground everywhere. It was a beautiful sight, but when the truck didn’t start and we discovered there would be too little energy from the solar panel system to support us plugging in the giant diesel, I knew I had to act fast. I quickly called a neighbor, who told me our other neighbors hadn’t left for work yet and were heading our way. Since they had no phone, I proceeded to put on a jacket and I ran. I ran up our driveway, I ran underneath the maple canopy along the road, and then down the long path to their cabin.

Back to the Kingdom

As I sit here typing this, we are in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont in our little cabin. With our newest computer battery, we have the ability to bring some modern life into the woods. Though we are enjoying the “simple life” very much, we really love to be able to cozy up in front of the fire and watch a film! Jon also has worked some magic, and ran a long cord down here so that we can also have phone access! Keeping our fingers crossed that the line stays unharmed through the winter, we are hoping to enjoy some chats with loved ones living elsewhere.

Return to Philly!

It’s not just a place where the Liberty Bell resides, where Rocky ran up a whole lot of stairs, or where you can get soft pretzels fresh from the oven at 1 in the morning. It is also a place where gray concrete meets colorful community gardens and car fumes meet parades of many themes. Philadelphia is a place where we come home to see some of the most beautiful familiar faces and places in our world!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Full Circle

See you in Philly this week! It will be exactly 6 months since we left. Give us some “brotherly love.”

Cha Cha Cha Changes!

Just like the leaves and the seasons here in the Northeast Kingdom are transforming, the farm itself is undergoing a few changes of its own. Our new friends are preparing to leave on a cross-country expedition of their own. Just like us, they have decided to travel powered by grease, and their moving craft is a great big yellow, now also blue and purple, school bus. The bus has just been recently converted and is still undergoing some renovations to make it a comfortable home for all 4 of them (plus a dog). We are excited for them to have many great adventures as we did on our trip.

It’s a Happening

The great thing about where we are living is that, as rural as it seems, there are many fun and interesting events and activities to keep us entertained. Forget TV when you can take a trip over to Glover to catch a Bread and Puppet performance. Glover, VT also hosts an annual type of carnival that includes a handful of hand-built and human powered amusement rides. We decided to check out the carnival this year, so we headed out with a few farm visitors to Glover for the evening. We arrived when the carnival had turned into a wild festival.