Weltner Week

Linda was a columnist for the Boston Globe and Jack is only semi-retired as a psychiatrist. He just finished writing a book titled "Golf Sucks...and then you die." Golf is his addiction.

Linda and Jack live in a gorgeous home in Marblehead, Massachusetts, right near the water, but for one week and several weekends each summer they escape to this dwelling in Vermont.

There is no phone and no electricity. There is a toilet seat that gets moved around in the woods wherever they decide to dig the next hole.

Running water is a stream. They have created a deep-ish hole in the stream by moving rocks and sand. This is referred to as the bathtub. (On rare occasions, when the weather has been especially cold or wet, they take a hot shower at my house.)

This is the kitchen and Jack has become a master at cooking over an open fire. He does have a passion for burning wet wood, somehow sees it as a challenge, and often manages to fill the area with smoke. It's great for bug control though breathing is somewhat difficult.

I often show up for breakfast...served at 9 AM and followed by at least 3 games of Rummykub.

We eat and play at the picnic table nearby. If rain is in the forecast, Jack hangs a huge tarp from tree branches.
It covers the entire cooking area and the picnic table. Only the hammocks are outside its protection.

I happened to mention that French people in France had never heard of French toast! Jack hadn't made French toast recently so it went on the menu. He bought thickly sliced bread, soaked it in the egg mixture, fried it in his iron skillet, and served it with maple syrup. It was a yummy breakfast...maple syrup is actually the most important ingredient.

Below is one in the skillet and two ready to eat!

During the week we went to the movies to see "Ted." It was so bad that we walked out before it was half over...and none of us had ever walked out on a movie before!

It was Bob's birthday during the week so Jack cooked a tasty chicken stew. Then we went to a Meet the Moose program at the Belmont library. Afterwards we came back to my house for birthday cake and more Rummykub.

Now that you have seen where Bob's birthday meal was made, here's a contrasting picture of my kitchen showing where his cake was made. At least 2 people who will read this may notice that they are in 1 or 2 of the pictures on the side of my refrigerator...the pictures aren't from this last trip, but from 6 years ago. On the marble counter below the pictures is the herbal salt from France, the yellow dish towels are from Antibes, and that's a Blanot bowl sitting on the dish drain. The roundels in the cabinet doors are leftovers from my late husband's stained glass studio...he built the cabinets to my design. 

Black Pond Dog Paddle Races

On Saturday, July 14th, while those in France were celebrating their independence (I think I have that date right), I was making deviled eggs and then heading to Bob's sister's camp on Black Pond for the Dog Paddle races they hold each year. Family and friends crowd onto a small sloping yard to spend a day eating and playing in the water.

The blue paddle boat got a lot of use. Paddle boat paddles are built in and move by foot work.

I had brought a bathing suit. Bob didn't even pretend that he might get near the water...he was wearing work pants and landlubber shoes.

As people arrived, so did food. We found a large inner tube to sit on while enjoying a nice picnic lunch. Eventually we moved into chairs to watch the kids in the water. I managed to get a little water on Bob, which was as close as he came to getting wet.

 Later in the afternoon people were paired up to race. Little tykes didn't have to go far. Those who were able, were to swim to the float or around the float and back. The rule was to use the dog paddle, no arms out of the water.

Most people followed the rule. Some just had to win no matter what...not that it was going to make any difference since T shirts were the prize just for participating.... I happily came in third out of three and enjoy wearing my T shirt.

Bob's son, Ray, in the yellow shirt, was the organizer, starter, and finish line as well. He did a great job with all the kids, most of whom did do the dog paddle.

I'm negotiating with Bob for next year. He has always just watched, but he's considering the idea of  the two of us racing while in car inner tubes. I could improve my score and come in second!

One family brought a pair of kayaks. Actually, sitting in a large truck-size inner tube, and there were a good number of inner tubes available, I think would be a neat way to explore the pond...just have to get Bob into his swim trunks.

I headed home at 6 PM, but Bob returned before dark for the fireworks.

Cottage

With the vegetable garden somewhat under control, I put everything else on hold and headed across the border into the Adirondack Park of New York State.

In USA thinking, the cottage is OLD...built around 1904. (I expect anyone in France is laughing at this concept of  "old." )

The dogs and I arrived late Wednesday afternoon...in time for a nap.

The cottage does have a nice looking fireplace in the living room. Since a big oak just fell and clipped a corner of the porch, we will have plenty of wood to burn in the near future.

I like to work on projects at the round table with birch legs that sits in the far corner. It's a great place to do scrap-booking...and no gardens to make me feel guilty about not being outside pulling weeds.

This side of the porch didn't get damaged. The rocking chairs are comfortable for reading. When your eyes need a rest, you look up from the pages to view a small portion of Lake George.

Lake George is a spring fed lake, 32 miles long and 2 miles across at its widest.

I skipped swimming in favor of a morning nap followed by an afternoon nap...

The working area of the kitchen is relatively compact...no dishwasher, though there is an ancient microwave by the refrigerator.

The table on the other side of the room gets used for eating occasionally, but tends to be where groceries get dropped or where games are played in the evening when the living room is crowded...

and the cottage can get crowded!

Two bedrooms have a double bed and a set of bunk beds. Another bedroom has 2 double beds, while the fourth bedroom has one. There's a cot and futon in the living room and another cot on the porch. A big tent in the backyard holds a double bed with room for a cot. That makes potential sleeping quarters for 21 people. At times we have set up a tent for 2 on the porch and we've had friends drop by with more tents. I don't think we've ever made it to 30 people, but we have certainly come close.

This is the corner of the porch where we usually gather for meals...Someone propped four of the less damaged screens along the left side and put cables in place of the broken railing in front as reminders to not take a tumble. On Thursday my sister Nancy, and Harriet Ann from another cottage, asked if I'd like to go out to dinner with them. I was willing...and I did go with them, but eating at 6 PM felt really strange.

Friday morning I was heading home again...it's an hour and 45 minute trip. Friday evening I ushered at the Weston Theatre. I thought it was going to be for Fiddler on the Roof, but the play was Ella...all about Ella Fitzgerald and the gal singing her songs was super. It was a great evening.

Saturday morning I lead the Bone Builders group from 9 to 10 AM...we do exercises with weights. It's a set routine, not at all creative like the exercise group in Blanot, which met at the civilized hour of 10:30 AM. I miss being able to have a leisurely coffee and cereal before racing off to exercise.

This is the room at the community center where we meet. When we finish, we can step across the road to the weekly local farmers market.

The building in the background is the community center and town library.

There is always music at the market. On Thursday evenings people bring lawn chairs to this village green for an hour concert.

When the days are hot, I do wear shorts, but they aren't short shorts. My shorts reach just below my knees, yet they are shorter than the capris that I and others wore in France.

Reaching Home

Driving home from the airport I couldn't help wishing that all the lights had turned off at midnight the way they do in Blanot. What a simple way to help town and state budgets while saving resources...

Even our small roads are relatively straight...I miss the curves that made driving so much fun.

The house was still standing...things seemed to be in their normal places...even the mail...

When I finally recovered from whatever it was that I had eaten on the airplane, Margery dropped by before taking off on a fishing trip to Quebec. She needed to show me where things had been planted. That wasn't easy to do with the crop of weeds which had taken over the vegetable gardens.

The raised beds were actually in better shape than the new garden below where the weeds were crowding out the squash and potatoes.

I knew the job was more than I was up to handling, so I called Vera and Maryann, the best weed removal team available.

The next day I managed to get 5 bales of straw into my Honda Fit. Most of that straw made it to the field garden, but the bales shed plenty so straw now decorates the interior of my car.

I still need to get compost between the 4 rows of potato plants.

It was great to feel up to wandering around the gardens and see what was in bloom. The deep blue delphinium are not as thick as in the past, but the honeysuckle on the arbor is blooming more than usual.

Standing near the veggie gardens and looking back at the house (below) shows we are definitely into day lily season.

 
The solar panels are in their summer position, looking up at the sky.

As winter approaches, with the sun lower in the sky and snow in the forecast, the panels get moved into a more upright position.


The red climbing rose (below) against the upper level white shed has never bloomed this much in past summers. It's a nice welcome home.

Meanwhile the bee balm, or monarda, is providing its usual cheery splash of color.

There's no lavender...I'll have to add that in one of the gardens as a reminder of the magical time I spent in France.

Mornings I still have my coffee in a small Blanot bowl, but I haven't been able to find an organic Muesli that would be comparable to what I enjoyed as my Blanot breakfast.

 
I also miss having a stash of milk. It was really convenient to not have to refrigerate milk until the bottle was opened. If I bought a gallon here, it would be sour long before I used it all. That can even happen with a quart, but at other times I seem to fly through the quart and have to wait until I get to the store before I have more.

My "veranda" is a screened-in porch with a non-fruiting kiwi vine providing shade from the summer sun.

The dining room floor (first picture) is quarry tile, similar to many of the floors in Blanot. It's the easiest floor to take care of! The blue indoor-outdoor carpeting on the porch shows every speck of dirt and things like leaves cling to it. I'm learning to accept the well-used look.

Gardens and stone walls...same words for Blanot and here, but oh so different.