Birthday Weekend in Vermont

Having enjoyed Vermont so much this fall, we decided to visit again, this time in winter and, after the events of the last few weeks--deaths and politics--it was good for us to get away for a holiday weekend (I'm sorry we missed you this time, Sew and Sow.)  And it was marvelous!  Here are a few snapshots outlining the fun.




Our first stop in Vermont was the Vermont Country Store.  It's a rest stop, snack place, and souvenir shop.  We started our holiday shopping, picking up things for each other and friends and family.  We did not buy the hat that Bud models here!

A lovely tree with cookie ornaments

Next up:  King Arthur Flour.  Last time, we arrived very late in the day, when the bakery was almost completely empty of its goodies.  So we made an effort to arrive midday.  Oh, so good.  We had lunch--tasty grilled cheese, delicious homemade kaiser rolls, chocolate croissants, cardamom roll, and my favorite almond cloud cookies.  I liked the quote on the wall near the cafe, "All sorrows are less with bread" (Cervantes.)  And of course we did some shopping.  Sis was so excited to pick up boxes of cinnamon puff muffin mix, her new favorite.  And I got some unique mixes--Portuguese sweet rolls, Scottish oat bread, orange cranberry brioche. It was a tasty way to begin the weekend.

Another stop we made on the way was the Vermont Toy and Train Museum in Quechee.  There we wandered amid the displays of toys from our childhoods--Cher doll, Luke and Leia dolls, Donnie and Marie dolls, Holly Hobby dolls, various lunchboxes including Holly Hobby, Happy Meal toys, bubble bath dispenses, boxed Halloween costumes with plastic masks, Fisher Price Little People.  And there was a great model train through the Vermont countryside in summer, fall, and winter.


In the same complex, there were various shops, including an antiques store, with old photos ("instant ancestors"), tools, tea sets, food tins.  Fun to wander with the kids.

And then we arrived in Woodstock, considered one of the most picturesque towns in the country.  With holiday decorations, snow, early American houses, a preserved downtown including old dry goods store and pharmacy and unique shops, covered bridge, nearby river, and the surrounding mountains, it really is a great little place.  And we were staying at the Woodstock Inn, a venerable hotel sitting back from the town green.  (Lambeth, the kids said it was second only to the Lainston as their favorite place to stay!)

In our room were two treats--chocolate-covered strawberries and a notice that we would be riding in the town's Wassail parade, on the hotel's own wagon, both arranged by Mama and the concierge for my birthday!!!!  Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.  It made for the perfect weekend.

But before the parade Saturday afternoon, we spent Saturday morning wandering the town, listening to the high school band play carols, and visiting the Dana House and the historical society with its displays on Christmas past.  (This was after breakfast, when we discovered our waitress grew up in the town we live in and her cousin owns the deli near our pediatrician's office.  Small world.)  Sis and Bud even ran down to the river behind the house, enjoying the snow (which we haven't really had in Connecticut.)

The parade!!  Mama had given me a heads-up about it, actually, first to see if I were interested and second so that I could pick a festive outfit.  As the theme was Victorian, I wore one of my long historic house skirts and my lovely blue wool cloak from Gommie, under which were layers of sweaters, leggings, extra skirts, and warm socks--because the morning temperature had been 3F!!  We all got a ride to the staging area where Sis was in her element around all of the horses.  Across from us was the donkey brigade which we just read about in the morning's paper (the group helps youth and adults with developmental disabilities who take care of the miniature donkeys.)  The little donkeys wear stuffed animals on their backs and pull small carts, led by their handlers.

And then we got on our wagon, wearing matching plaid fleece scarves supplied by the hotel.  The festooned wagon was led by two humongous Belgian draft horses.  We rode along with another family and an older couple, singing "Rudolph," "Jingle Bells," and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas!" and waving to the crowds (over 2,000 cheering people!)  It really was wonderful to see all the holiday cheer.  And I liked seeing the old town from the wagon, which put me back in the 19th century.  Though, it was pretty cold.

After the parade, we warmed up by the fire at the hotel with hot chocolate (and Bailey's!)  At 4pm, we went to look at the town tree, Yule bonfire, and luminaries as the sun set.  Dinner was the Wassail Feast at the hotel, with a variety of dishes such as prime rib, sliced salmon, Yorkshire Pudding, pumpkin bread pudding, buche de noel, and trifle.  Mama and I made Yard of Flannel--hot apple cider and rum-whipped cream--and sat by the fire.

That evening we sat in the room, warming up from the day.  I worked on my crocheted birthday blanket, in Lion Brand Thick and Quick Celestial Stripes.  The kids made Rainbow Loom bands and played with their light-up wheelie bopper toys from the Vermont Country Store.  (It was a no-screen weekend.)

Sunday, though it was cold again, we went to Billings Farm--with its draft horses, decorated farmhouse, and craft activities.  The kids dipped their own candles and then Bud made a pomander with cloves and a clementine.  Sis was enamored with the white Percheron draft horses and some more Belgians.  And I liked the snow, the barns, and the warm kitchen with apple pie and roasted pumpkins.

  

On our way home, we ate at delicious Worthy Kitchen (poutine!  fried chicken!  pickled pineapple!)  and then moseyed our way home.  We did stop at the lake we'd visited with my folks in October--it was completely frozen and snow-covered.  I did a 20-yard hike into the woods and watched Sis poked the ice with her toes.   

We got home after dark, with snow falling gently on our town, the last little treat of the weekend.

My favorite photo, from town (actually taken from the car as we drove by.)

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

There was one uncomfortable thing that happened repeatedly in Vermont:  there were a lot of questions about our family, race- and/or gender-based.  From the woman at King Arthur Flour who thanked me for having a big heart and adopting Sis, to a white woman who said hi to Mama in Mandarin and was surprised she didn't speak Chinese, to the six or seven people (and I'm not exaggerating here) who mistook Mama for a boy/my son, Sis for a boy, and Bud for a girl.  Never have so many assumptions been spoken to us aloud by so many in such a short time.  It was rather disconcerting.  We've had less trouble in rural Texas, for goodness sake.  Come on, Vermont, what's with that?  (And no, it wasn't just the tourists from elsewhere.)
SaveSave

Yo-Yo, Mom!

There is a new obsession here:  yo-yos.  The kiddos had seen the NED show--"Never give up.  Encourage others.  Do your best."--months ago, and, though they got yo-yos then, didn't show much interest.  Bud, who is very persistent with new-found pursuits (like string games, magic tricks), picked it up again a few days ago and hasn't put it down since.  And amidst our stack of books, he found one with tricks.  So he's doing all manner of yo-yo maneuvers.  And making up his own.  My favorite of these is the Race Car, where he throws the yo-yo away from him and it travels across the floor.  He's even tried to teach me; I've managed some of the basic up and down, but he is very encouraging.  He and Sis even yo-yo battle, since Mama told them yo-yos were originally weapons (which is debated on Snopes.)  At the very least, they can easily make yo-yos into weapons themselves!  It's a good thing it's summer soon, because I've noticed on these rainy days that yo-yos are just not a good inside toy.

Childhood Memories

Lemon twist.
Sit 'N Spin.
Moppet's Secret Dollhouse.
Fisher Price Little People Castle, A-frame House, Town.
CandyLand, with the original board game.
Speak & Spell.
Simon Says game.
Waterful Ring Toss.
Great Greetings and Fashion Plates.

I've come across several toys and games from my childhood through Pinterest and the pinned blogs and websites (here, here, here, here, and here). It's been such a fun ride!

Red Rover.
Thumbs-Up, 7Up!
Folded notes.
Metal dome playground equipment.
Silly String.
Fortune Tellers.
Super Plastic Bubbles.
Weeble Wobbles.
Rub-a-Dub Dolly.

It's been such a wonderful trip down memory lane, but I couldn't find one thing:  a blue and pink plastic ice cream sundae toy that contained a miniature dollhouse.  I also had a miniature brown ice cream sandwich, also with a dollhouse inside.  But I couldn't remember the name and couldn't find them online.  I kept looking, finding many other things.

Tinkerbell makeup.
Jellies shoes.
Twisty bead necklaces.
Woven barrettes.
Banana clips.
Prairie shirts.
Yarn hair ribbons.

And so I told Mama, who had heard me talk of these toys before.  And so she started looking.

Plastic Halloween costumes with masks that came in paper boxes.
"Popcorn" Rudolph decorations.
Plastic-net Christmas stockings.
Woodsy the Owl.
Smokey the Bear.

 I didn't have much hope.  I should have, though, because years ago she found one of my favorite childhood book series, the Meg Mysteries, and even bought me a few; this in the days before Amazon and such. She's just more creative and thorough with her Boolean logic, I guess.  But I was still surprised this morning when she reached over and showed me this:

She found them!!!!  Mattel Liddle Kiddle, also marketed in the 1970s as Sweet Treats.  I had forgotten the rainbow-colored hair of the dolls.  We don't need to buy them, even though mine are long gone.  It was just nice to see them again and remember all the fun I had with these toys and all the others.

Nano, Nano*

The kids are obsessed with Hex Nano Bugs. The little inch-long battery-powered rectangles with colored rubber legs wiggle and walk, but don't giggle and talk. The kids have a track, with a spiral ramp, and the bugs scoot around. They have such fun playing with it. In fact, they've named the various bugs after "Glee" characters and play music for them to dance, pausing for the "talking times" they themselves never get to watch. Intriguingly, there is every character except Rachel! Not sure why, especially since she's the lead singer. Anyway, I'm becoming very adept at changing batteries because they play withe them so much.

*Get it? "Mork and Mindy!"

Oasis in the Desert

You would've thought they'd died and gone to heaven: we were at the toy store!

Our regular store ran out of backyard pools and so we ventured to the toy megastore, where we almost never go. For good reason. Everyone gets a bad case of what the Bearnstain Bears call the "gimmies."

They know very well that their birthday is fast upon us and that they get presents. And even though we tried to concentrate just on the backyard pool, we do all get swept up in the fun of a toy store.

What surprised me most was how obsessed Sis is by Toy Story. Sure, they're singing a song from the first film tonight at graduation. Sure, she saw that movie on Sunday while she was recovering from throwing up. And quickly, it has become a thing. She saw the Toy Story movie display and just had to have the Buzz Lightyear toy. I'm not sure either kiddo has ever quite been this obsessed with popular culture while it was currently popular. Okay, "Handy Mandy" or "Dora" or "Imagination Movers," but I guess this is the first non-preschool thing, the first thing geared to the general child population. And this stuff is everywhere because the third movie is coming out.

Bud, on the other hand, who wouldn't even watch the movie with Sis, is much more interested in knights. He found the Schleich display and wanted it all: knights on foot, knights on horses, elves, tents, castles. On the same theme, he found Lego knights and a Playmobil sword and shield. Sis likes Playmobil, too, (you've created a monster, Aunt Banana!) and asked me more than once if I would remember which ones she liked. And which telescope she liked (the pink one!) And then she saw the Critter Cottage display, basically a dollhouse and dollhouse sets for cute little animals, like bunnies.

And Mama was right there with them both. Literally. Because she was using her new phone to scan the UPC codes to make a virtual birthday list!!! Next thing, I'll be getting Powerpoint Christmas lists! But it was easier than trying to remember all of the things.

I let them buy one thing each--Bud got a knight on horseback, Sis chose a back of Critter bunnies (which enclosed booklet she spent all of lunch drooling over)--in honor of . . . well, choose your favorite--Gommie's birthday (I remember, years ago, Aunt J taking me to the store to get things for Bammie's--last?--birthday and I got to choose a party favor for myself, in this case, pretend make-up with a little plastic purse), preschool graduation, general bribery, just because . . . .

It actually was a fun trip. And we did get the pool. But I think we only need to go once every six months or so . . . maybe again just in time for Christmas. We'll be like camels, only needing to refuel at the oasis after a long time.

Lost and Found

Sis and Bud have a Playbmobil cabin complete with little Swiss Family Robinson with animal rescue gear. There are dozens of little pieces, tools in a box, eggs in a nest, even a bandage for the fawn's leg. And they are all teensy-eensy, itsy-bitsy. I never had Playmobil as a child (never knew anything but Fisher Price "Little People" existed--they were more elaborate and interesting then). Mama didn't have any either, but she coveted it and was very excited when the kids got their set for Christmas from Aunt Banana and Uncle Soccer.

The set makes me tense. There are all these little animals--birds, squirrels, mice, and hedgehogs. Two adorable hedgehogs, the mommy and the baby. And they would both fit inside a thimble . I love those litte hedgehogs, love how Sis calls them the mommy and baby hedgehogs and plays with them. And am totally, absolutely stressed out that she's going to lose them. Because she plays with them all the time, they end up all over the place--in a sock (she was trying to duplicate Jan Brett's The Hat but with a sock that all the animals crawled into. Clever.), in the cabinets of her dollhouse kitchen furniture, riding in the Diego rescue vehicle--and they are going to get separated and lost. I find myself constantly checking to see if we know where those hedgehogs are, to ask her where she put them. Do I care where the squirrels are? No. Do I check up on any of her dozens of bigger plastic animals? No. Something about those darned hedgehogs. I just know we'll both be upset when they get lost. And I do think it's just a matter of time. If she didn't love them so much, I'd just stash them away somewhere safe, for later. But really, isn't playing with them the point? Even if I drives me to distraction, like today when the mommy hedgehog was missing for more than an hour. I think I cared more than she did, and then realized perhaps I shouldn't get her worked up about it.

Besides, if they get lost, surely we can find them on eBay?! Maybe I should go buy a backup set just in case, even if I have to get the whole darned cabin. This is nuts.

Zoo Animal Toob

First, it was big puffy plastic Fisher Price animals, A-Z and others. Then it was soft little stuffed animals that we bought at various science museums in thematic packs like woodland and jungle. Now, we have a veritable menagerie of little plastic (phthalate-free) animals, again from thematic packages (called "toobs") like sealife and arctic, that we use for everything. We even gave out some for birthday party favors. We build them block houses, take them on model train rides, let them party in our Rescue Center, hide them so we can go exploring and "discover" them, and Sis even puts a few treasured ones in a spare sock to sleep with. Sis is partial right now to the whales and dolphin set, turtle and frog set, panda bear set, and a few woodland critters; she likes to classify them into groups (sometimes sophisticated habitat groupings, sometimes just by color). She particularly likes if there is a mommy and baby (there are "baby toobs" but oddly, some of the babies don't have mommies in the other toob, i.e. we have a baby manatee and otter but no big ones); otherwise, she'll say the baby or mommy is lost and the remaining one is sad. I've taken to buying bigger animals from Schleich just to make families! Bud is all bugs all the time, looking at them through his magnifying jar. The farm set is sadly and routinely ignored. I like the odd little animals: the panda with the bamboo, the otter with the rock, the skunk, the raccoon.

Actually, the animals take me back to my childhood. I had a shoebox filled with plastic animals, mainly the grocery store variety, with 20 farm animals and a fence, definitely not phthalate free. One set of farmyard animals, I know, came from my grandmother's neighbor Mrs. Swanson, whose house I would visit when we went to my grandma's. I don't know where I acquired the rest, probably the traditional shopping trip bribe. My favorite ones were my sea animals--strange and exotic aquatic life that I could set up to make an ocean on my carpet. On other occasions, I would carry them outside or over to my nextdoor neighbor's house and we'd play together. I wonder where the box is now, probably tossed long ago or lost in the fire at my parents' house. But happily, some 30+ years later, I can revisit my childhood games and make an ocean on my carpet, a jungle on my coffee table, and a forest on my couch.

Easter Solstice

People who visit my house often marvel at the amount of toys. On the porch and in the living room, there are blocks, bricks, Lincoln Logs, puzzles, a play kitchen with dishes and food, baby doll stuff, FP Little People things, dress up clothes, a work bench, and tons of musical instruments and books.

But there are not toys in the kids' room. That's right. There are two toddler beds, a dresser, and a bookcase with books, plus the stuffies in their cribs. But no toys. Why? Well, because we spend most of our day downstairs since it used to be too much to haul them up and down. Because toys in the bedroom might interrupt bedtime--as distractions, as agitators, as weapons, as something to crawl up on.

And tonight I had a real glimpse of what life without the downstairs full of toys would be like. And it would be fine, good even. Tonight the kids played Winter Solstice after bath, decorating their beds with loveys and pajamas and blankets, talking about snow angels, even chiming in for the song (you need to have seen Little Bear to understand, probably):

"The night is long
the snow is deep
Mommy loves the winter
Mama loves the winter . . . "

"And I do too."
"And I do too."

They helped each other decorate, crawling in and out of both beds, DD taking particular care to help DS. And they laughed, so happy that it was Winter Solstice.

And DS then said it would soon be Easter Solstice.

Even though the play was tv-inspired (it's my favorite episode), they adapted it to the materials at hand. And played together. Happily. Making it up as they went along.

It's not that I'm against toys, obviously, but I liked the way they played without them. And I'll certainly keep that in mind the next time we're buying toys (come summer birthdays). Open-ended, sturdy, long-lasting toys (perhaps with fewer pieces and parts). Though, that's a lot of what we have.

But it still might be time to clean up and out the downstairs some . . .

My Needy Children

It's that time of year again. Boxes in church for food and clothing donations. Catalogues from charities touting gifts to support their causes. Craft fair and cookie cafe fundraisers. Toy drives. It is the time of year when we are most encouraged to help others.

But of course, the most desperate people of all are my own children as we walk them past the toy aisle at Target. "Mommy, I need more stuff," DD pleads. Soon, boxes of Diego snow rescue vehicles and Dora's twin siblings are coming off the shelves in twos and threes. No, no, I say, no more toys until Christmas.

They're two and they don't really remember that you get gifts at Christmas. DD eyes me suspiciously.

"That's right, we're not buying anything new until Christmas. But you can make a list for Santa of things you would like."

"But I NEED this," she cries. "I need Dora babies. I need Diego helicopter."

"No, sweetie, you don't need them. You want them."

Soon, DS starts in, "Tell Santa I NEED Diego. Tell Santa I NEED Diego."

They are chanting in unison, a ghastly consumerist carol, "I NEED it! I NEED it!"

It makes me want to give all their toys to tots and never go to Target again.