It's been a month!

Sorry gang! I can't believe i haven't written in a month! It's been a whirlwind... Here are the highlights:

-Had a great visit with 2 friends Mary and Gayle who came 2 days after Dad left. They spent weekdays exploring the upper valley (who could imagine you could spend a whole day in Quechee?) and then we went to Maine for the weekend (rainy - but yummy lobster!). Was great fun having friends here, grilling and eating on the deck, showing them my favorite restaurants and places.

-Then my friend Amy came! We spent a day in Quechee and Woodstock, then drove up to Montreal. Had a great time walking around Montreal Vieux (Old town Montreal), doing the bus tour, the "Let there be light show" at Notre Dame Basilica, and shopping the underground shopping mall (20 miles of underground shopping!). We spent her last night in Burlington on Lake Champlain.

So now I am catching up at work, doing laundry, and tending the mundane tasks of life that fall by the wayside when I get busy...

So what have I learned or experienced this last month?

1. I need AAA. I got my Buick LaCrosse stuck in a grassy field after a hard rain last night. $120 for a tow truck to pull it out. I was at the Connecticut Valley Fair recruiting foster parents at our agency's booth from 6-10pm. First, Downpour. Me - in a dress. Two mud-splattered young men tried in vain to push me out. The only plus - I had on appropriate footwear! I now have "vermont shoes" AKA velcro strappy flat ECCO sandals that Amy helped me pick out in Montreal at the sidewalk sale when my feet were killing me from walking around in high heels on cobblestone roads. I refer to them as my "ugly" shoes or "vermont" shoes. So much for a clean car. The car was so muddy - the car wash guy wouldn't let me in. I had to go to self-spray place.

2. Quechee IS a destination for the rich and famous. While daddy was here, First Lady Laura Bush, 3 friends, and 16 secret service men descended on Quechee to lunch at Simon Pearce (a local glass blower's restaurant on the Ottauquechee River). Not while passing through, not while in VT to visit some other high end destination - JUST to come to Quechee. (Amy and I had dinner there while she was here and it really is lovely!) Our second famous visitor last month was Tyra Banks! After Laura Bush came through, Tyra came to Quechee and had dinner at Simon Pearce! Tyra is the host of America's Next Top Model and has her own daytime talk show. So how diverse is that!?!?!

3. Criter Update: Saw a fox. Driving in to work along the river one morning,a small, long, lean brown fox jumped in front of the car and ran across the road. Then, of course, I read an article in the local paper about a young girl who got bit by a rabid fox. They go after small children. I need to stand taller and wear more heels. sigh...

So til next time -

Love,
Marilee