The Vermontiest of Vermonters

SO MUCH HAPPENED THIS WEEKEND... though I can pretty much sum it up in one word: Vermonty. It was the ultimate Vermonty experience. I did enough Vermonty activities to choke a horse (side note: we were in close proximity to horses this weekend and did not choke any of them, just fyi, it's an expression, just don't even worry about it). Also just wrote 'Vermonty' too many times and it's not even a good-sounding word. It's after midnight and it's been a day filled with Vermonty things, so gimme a break.

ANYWAY. My parents, brother, and I (and J-Lou, too, for a day!) escaped to a little spot in Elmore, Vermont. No cell service, way in the back road boonies. We rowed around the pond in leaky row boats, bushwacked around the woods (we have the scrapes and bruises to show for it), jumped off slimy pond rocks, ATV'd around sometimes-questionable trails, lay around in hammocks, went for runs on the old logging roads, watched hayers clear the fields, played cards on the deck, night-hiked Elmore Mountain, etc etc. Like I said-- VERMONT. SO MUCH OF IT. I'm overwhelmingly grateful to have my last weekend in Vermont be spent outside and with the people I love most dearly.

If this were my every day view, I would go running a lot more...

J-Lou's stargazing tent. Absolutely perfect.

This swirly thing is called a 'tedder.' WHO KNEW.
I've been calling it a swirly thing my whole life. And probably won't stop, at this point.

Top of Elmore! Dark and scary, but neither of us broke an ankle.

Hammin'

I took a break from the Vermont-fest happening in Elmore to go participate in the Cambridge Festival of the Arts in Jeffersonville on Saturday. My mom (THANKS, MOM) came with me for 1) company, 2) help setting up the tent because, let's be honest, I suck, 3) moral support-- to remind me to talk my art UP, not down. A little modesty is good, but too much is... too much. The self-doubt involved in displaying your own artwork and standing by while people either walk right past or stop to take a look is crippling. These art shows are a pain in the butt and can be such a hit to the self confidence, but I always come out of it glad to have experienced it. That being said, I did pretty darn well. :) I'm satisfied with the number of prints I sold, and even more satisfied with the number of people who smiled when they saw my work. Cheerful artwork is mucho, mondo, SO important to me.

So, that was that. Back at home and ready for three more days of New England lovin'. It's so scary to be able to count on one hand the number of days until I pack my life into a tiny Honda Civic. It's also scary to think that I haven't really started packing my life yet. HMMMMMMMM, BETTA GET ON THAT MAYBZ