I’ve been thinking almost all week, “I’ll be so glad when Friday gets here.” While I am certainly not looking forward to going to work today, it should not be a bad day. All of the major things I’ve been dealing with at work are now past me, and I can just look forward to the weekend. Just like I don’t have anything on my agenda today, I also don’t have anything planned for this weekend.
It’s going to be a hot weekend. While yesterday’s high was a mere 67 degrees, this weekend, we are looking at near 90 degree temperatures. We are also forecasted to have high humidity this weekend. In other words, it’s going to be miserable, at least as far as the weather is concerned. I plan to do my best just to relax and do as little as possible.
I had such a fun weekend. My friends and I went up to Church Street in Burlington Friday night, just as we planned. The only hiccup was that traffic was terrible on I-89, so it took twice as long to get up there, and that did not leave us with much time to check out the sales during Church Street’s annual sidewalk sale. We basically went to two stores. First, we went to Kiss the Cook, which, just as it sounds, is a kitchen store. All three of us enjoy cooking. Well, I enjoy cooking; they enjoy baking. They got a few things, but I didn’t buy anything there. Then we went to Ten Thousand Villages. There, I bought something. They had the cutest coffee mug with a black cat crawling up the sides. They also had some black cat bookends, but I did not buy them. The coffee mug, though, I coudl not resist.
After that, it was time for our dinner reservation. I have eaten at Sweetwaters many times, and it’s always busy. Friday night was no exception. However, it felt like because they know they are closing, they aren’t putting in as much of an effort. The food wasn’t as good as it was in the past. Our waiter was very nice, and I doubt it was his fault that service was extremely slow, which always seems to have more to do with being understaffed and whatever goes on in the kitchen.
Saturday, we went to CiderFest, which was a little bit of a letdown. Right away, we knew there wasn’t going to be much to it. The description had said they would have BBQ and cider slushies. It must have been a typo because they had a BBQ, and in the North, BBQ can mean hamburgers and hot dogs, which is what they had. We decided to go to Prohibition Pig, which is a very good BBQ place nearby, but the restaurant part was closed, and only the Brewery was open. The brewery menu is not BBQ but tacos. It’s really an odd thing. My brisket tacos were good, but there were only two really small tacos, just enough to get you hungry. My friend’s jerk chicken tacos were not as good. After eating, we went back to the CiderFest and got some apple cider donuts and a cider slush, but we did not stick around for the bluegrass music.
Yesterday morning, Isabella had me up as usual, and I got up and fed her and had breakfast myself. Then, I went for a hike. It was the same place that has the little waterfall, but it was a really nice hike. I enjoyed being out all alone and in nature in the early morning. It was about 49 degrees and the crisp temperature was exhilarating. After I got back, I took a shower and then went to the grocery store to get a few things. The rest of the day was spent relaxing. It was a good weekend.
Whenever anyone visits me in Vermont there are two place everyone wants to see: Church Street Marketplace and the Ben and Jerry’s Factory. Church Street Marketplace has been the center of Burlington, Vermont, with its colorful cafes, thriving art scene, and good vibes. A couple of weeks ago, Sweetwaters American Bistro, a staple of Church Street for over 40 years, announced that it would close. Labor Day will be their last day. I’ve always liked Sweetwaters, and I often took visitors to eat there. Since they will only be open a few more weeks, two of my friends and I decided we wanted to have one last dinner there, so we are going tonight. It just so happens that Church Street Marketplace’s annual sidewalk sale is also this weekend. It should be fun to walk around looking at the shops and then having a nice relaxing dinner.
Tomorrow, we are going to get together again to go to Cider Fest In Waterbury. It’s taking place at Cold Hollow Cider Mill which makes delicious hard cider and they are famous for their cider donuts. Cider Fest will be celebrating 48 years of Cold Hollow Cider Mill. They bill it as one of the last restful weekends at the Cider Mill before the new crop of apples start coming in. The festivities will include BBQ, hard cider slushies, ten varieties of hard cider, and a large selection of Vermont beers. I am most excited to try the BBQ and the hard cider slushies. My hope is that Prohibition Pig, the best BBQ restaurant in Vermont, which happens to be in Waterbury, will be making the BBQ.
It should be a fun weekend. Sunday will be for doing laundry and getting some rest.
I have Spectrum cable at my current apartment. For the most part I get good service with Spectrum, though it is more expensive than my previous cable, and I no longer have HBO. When I first got Spectrum, I realized there were several channels that I wanted that I did not get, such as TCM (I love old movies), so I went with the expanded package to get TCM and some other channels I didn’t have. One of those channels was Heroes & Icons, which I didn’t realize I had until last night. H&I shows Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise every night. Though I won’t stay up until midnight to see all five shows, I would like to have the option. When I tuned to the channel, it says I need to upgrade, even though I already upgraded to this channel, also there isn’t a 🔑 icon after the channel title, which means I’m supposed to have the channel available. I can access the channel through the Specteum app on my iPhone, iPad, MacBook, and Roku, but I cannot access it through the cable box.
Because it would not let me tune into the channel, I decided to contact Specteum. I was first told to reset the cable,box, which I did, and it did not fix the problem. My next option was to use the chat feature on their website. It was not working correctly because they were supposed to try resetting the box remotely, but it never reset. So, they then said I needed to talk to a representative instead of their automated system. It said there was a 25-30 minute wait, so I waited. And I waited. And I waited. Finally, I got “near the front of the line” before they said it was taking longer than usual and to continue to wait. I spent most of my evening waiting on a Spectrum representative, but eventually it was my bedtime, so I had to disconnect. I never was able to speak to anyone. I’ll have to try again when I get home from work tomorrow.
I hate waiting on customer service representatives. Usually, once I get someone on the phone or through the chat in the “Contact Us” section, the representative is usually very nice and helpful. The problem is getting someone to talk to. Oh well, I know like most people in the service industry of any kind, they are overworked, overwhelmed, and trying to do the best that they can.
The weekend is almost upon us. I have no plans for the weekend because it’s supposed to rain here every day through Wednesday. Rain in Vermont is not quite like the torrential downpours in Alabama, so I’m not too worried, but it does mean that I am not likely to get out and do anything.
Lately, I’ve been going through and watching all of the original Star Trek episodes. I’ve seen most of them here and there, but I always preferred the Star Trek series that were on in my lifetime. I’ve seen all of The Next Generation numerous times, and I’ve seen Deep Space Nine more times than I can count. The only Star Trek series that I have never seen all of them are The Original Series, The Animated Series, and Voyager. I haven’t seen all episodes of Voyager because when it was on UPN, I didn’t always have UPN on my cable system.
I will probably spend the weekend watching old episodes of the original Star Trek. I really don’t have much else to do. I may vacuum, do some cooking, and wash a few loads of laundry, but I don’t have much else to do this weekend. I may watch Galaxy Quest, since it’s now available on Paramount+. I found that out when I was searching for one of the newer Star Trek movies with Chris Pine as Kirk to watch and did a search for “Star Trek” and Galaxy Quest was listed under the Star Trek movies. If The Orville was on Paramount+, they’d probably list it under Star Trek too.
P.S. I had no idea what picture to use, but I like this one. It doesn’t represent Friday or the weekend or even Star Trek, but I used it anyway. I hope y’all like it.
I need a vacation. It’s not going to happen anytime soon because it’s too expensive to travel right now. A weekend in Montreal would be nice, but I’m not keen on crossing the border right now. It still seems too complicated. Besides, like a lot of people, I certainly don’t have the money to spare at the moment, but a boy can dream. Who knows, a miracle may occur and I will win the Mega Millions jackpot, which is at $830 million right now. They drew the numbers last night, and either someone won it or the money will once again roll over and be even larger at the next drawing. I don’t know because I did not stay up to watch the numbers. I bought a ticket, because let’s face it, you can’t win if you don’t even have a ticket.
I am not a gambler. The most I’ve ever won at the lottery was $5 in the Florida Lottery many years ago. It had to have been more than twenty years ago, because I’m pretty sure I was still in undergrad. The only other gambling I’ve ever done is slot machines. I once won several hundred dollars on the slot machines at the Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi, and I think I won about twenty dollars on the electronic bingo (a complicated type of slot machines) at the Wind Creek Casino in Atmore, Alabama. However, I am not a lucky person.
The only luck I’ve ever had is that I’ve had and have some wonderful friends. I certainly didn’t luck out in the family department, and I’ve never been lucky in love. I would say I was lucky to get my job in Vermont and then for them to turn it into a better position when the first job ended, but I worked hard for those jobs and was the most qualified candidate by far. I guess you can say I made my own luck there. There are some lucky people in this world, but I’m usually not one of them.
I will travel some if I win the lottery, but for now, I’ll stay in Vermont. Maybe I’ll go for a hike this weekend. The weather is supposed to be nice with low humidity and temperatures in the 70s on Saturday. We’ll see.
PS I did not win the jackpot, no one did. It’s now at $1.02 billion. I did however win a whopping $6.
I try to write something every day. On Sundays, it’s my devotional. On Mondays, it’s whatever comes to mind, if anything. Tuesdays are almost always a poem that I want to share. Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays are again, whatever comes to mind, if anything. On Saturdays, I usually take a break from writing and post my “Moment of Zen,” which is occasionally accompanied by a short explanation, though most are self-explanatory. Each night, I post a Pic of the Day, which is always whatever picture strikes my fancy for that day. I have kept to this schedule for most of the twelve years I’ve posted to this blog. There are days, though, when I just don’t know what to write. Today is one of those days. It’s days like today that I just ramble about different stuff.
I’m just glad that the week is half over. It’s been a hot week, and that’s not likely to change. Vermont has been lucky so far this summer. Most of our days have been in the 60s or 70s F (or about 15-25 C). It’s been pleasant, but like what seems like the rest of the world, our temperature is up this week. We are expecting near 90 degree high temperatures for the five days. I’m ready for it to be back in the mid-70s.
Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of the ‘Respect for Marriage Act,’ a major step toward protecting the rights of married couples who could face future threats from discriminatory forces eager to overturn U.S. Supreme Court precedent on the freedom to marry for same-sex couples and interracial couples. Only 47 of the 211 Republican Representatives votes with the Democrats to pass the legislation. It now goes to the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain, as it requires at least 10 Republican votes to defeat a filibuster. So far the same-sex marriage protections have only one GOP backer: Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. The puts GOP senators in a bind, caught between their minority culturally conservative base, which opposes same-sex marriage, and a large majority of the country that wants it to remain legal.
I want to thank everyone for their kind and encouraging words in the comments on yesterday’s blogiversary post. It’s the appreciation y’all show and the friends that I have made that keep me writing this blog.
I don’t have much more to say today because yesterday was a weird weather day, and variable weather always makes my headaches worse. So, today’s post will be short and sweet because I went to bed early last night.
Here in Vermont, we had near perfect weather over the weekend. Saturday’s high temperature was only 73 degrees. Sunday morning, I woke up to 44 degrees with a high of 79. There’s barely been a cloud in the sky all weekend. After days of debilitating migraines, I was feeling good most of the weekend, so I decided to get outdoors for a bit.
Saturday, I drove over to Waterbury Arts Festival in Waterbury. The town has always had two great things goin for it: Prohibition Pig, the best BBQ in Vermont, and the Ben and Jerry’s Factory. They also hold an annual arts festival with food venders and over a hundred artists. I thought it would be a fun activity, and it was. When I got there, it was around lunchtime, and the food vendors were very busy. I decided to walk around and check out the artists. I don’t think there were a hundred artists there, but they had some cool stuff. It was all just too expensive for me. There were two highlights though. The first was the music. They had a band playing called The DEW, three high school boys playing bass, drums, and guitar. They played some great rock and roll covers, which seemed mostly from the 90s before they were even born, but they really sounded great. The second was a booth called Chubby Chicks. They had gourmet jams, preserves, and pickles. I got a jar of the “Berry Peachy” Jam which is strawberries and peaches. It was delicious. I also bought a jar of “Pidge’s Pickles,” their bread and butter pickles. While the jam was tasty, the pickles were phenomenal. Hands down, they were the best bread and butter pickles I’ve ever had. I ate half the jar over the weekend. I had to stop myself before I ate them all.
When I woke up Sunday, the day was so beautiful that I decided I wanted to see one of the local waterfalls. With so many mountain streams, Vermont has numerous waterfalls across the state. However, when I tried to find one that was less than an hour away, I couldn’t. So, I decided to google “trails near me.” Three trails popped up and one was just three miles away and had a review that stated, “Great little find not too far out of the way. Easy walking trails and beautiful sites, the falls is worth the 30 minute trek.” I thought, “Perfect, just what I was looking for.” I loaded the information on my phone and headed over there and set out on my hike to the falls. The falls were a bit disappointing:
On the left is the picture of the waterfall that was on Google; on the right is what is there now. It was a nice hike though and I made the loop, walking to the waterfall, up on the ridge above the falls, and back down to the original trail. The whole time, I only saw two people and that was just as I was almost back to my car. It was about a 2.5 mile trek, and it took me more than 30 minutes, but I made it and enjoyed the hike. When I went to bed last night, I was tired and a little sore. I had walked nearly two miles Saturday at the arts festival and another 2.5 miles on the trail. That may not seem like a lot to some of you, but I’m not used to that much walking in a weekend. I’m glad I was able to get out this weekend. The coming week and next weekend has thunderstorms in the forecast. Maybe if there’s enough rain, the little waterfall will look more like the picture from Google.
If you’ve lived in the South, then chances are that at some point, you’ve eaten at a Waffle House. More than likely, especially if you were in college, it was after 2 am and you were not sober. It’s sort of a tradition. Waffle Houses are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I don’t think they ever close u less there is a natural disaster that blows it away, but those little brick buildings are pretty sturdy. Of course the guy above is not in a Waffle House, but I saw a tweet from a guy in Alabama, Matt Mitchell, whose a pretty funny guy that said:
Matt is always funny, and he’s pretty spot on most of the time. He works with It’s a Southern Thing doing some do their comedy videos. I think most Waffle Houses have seen it all, and they just keep on keeping on. It’s sage advice. 😂
Joe
The Closet Professor 