Vermont the Top Maple Syrup Producer of 2009

Well…yeah.  It’s not even close!

From the Burlington Free Press website:

U.S. sugarhouses this year produced 2.3 million gallons of syrup.

The top states:

Vermont: 920,000 gallons
Maine: 395,000 gallons
New York: 362,000 gallons
Wisconsin: 200,000 gallons
Michigan: 115,000 gallons
Source: US Department of Agriculture

As ‘VTmountainMan’ commented “this is considered news?”.  He has a good point though, it would be interesting to see Quebec’s numbers.  Although Vermont OBVIOUSLY has a superior product  (not that I’m at all biased…..)

 

Dog’s Best Friend

Can you tell what’s going on here?

Our Pomeranian puppy, Carly, has given us a bit of….stress….since she came to live with us in October.

First, a week after we got here, we learned that small breed puppies are susceptible to hypoglycemia.  Several hundres dollars later and a night at the doggie hospital and we will NOT be forgetting that any time soon.

A week after later, while we were still on pins and needles about making sure she was eating enough & feeding her Karo syrup just in case, Carly completely stopped eating.  She didn’t just eat less or suddenly get a little picky.  She STOPPED eating.  Luckily, the vet had already turned me on to Nutri-Cal to keep her blood sugar up, but it was still an insanely stressful and mentally exhausting week.  Carly went from 1lb 3 oz to 8oz.  Yes, seriously.  She was sleeping all the time and getting smaller and smaller under her fluff of fur.  The vet diagnosed an upper respiratory infection and gave us meds.  Three days later nothing had improved.  Jason & I had just had that “we’re not spending more money, we’ll just have to get Amelia a new puppy” conversation when Carly magically started eating again.  We were sitting on the couch and Carly suddenly crawled up and sniffed at Jason’s face.  Then she licked it.  We put her down and she immediately ran over to her bowl and started eating.  Just like that.  After hundreds of dollars in antibiotics and decongestant eyedrops, a drop of Vick’s Vaporub on the nose (suggested on the down-low by the receptionist at the vet) did the trick. 

So, everything was great, Carly was eating and running around and heathy, until Friday night.  We were all goofing around when Amelia came in holding a lifeless Carly whimpering “I’m sorry…I dropped her”.  Apparently she’d fallen on her head.  I’m not sure what exactly happened.  Concussion?  Dazed a little?  Something with the spinal cord?  Her eyes were rolled back, her tongue was out and she didn’t seem to be breathing or have a heartbeat.  All I know is that Jason told me to take the kids out of the room and he did, I kid you not, puppy CPR.   Because Carly is apparently indestructible, she came out of this too.  An hour later she was literally as good as new.

So, we’ve learned a couple things from this.  Little dogs are a pain in the ass.  And Jason is Carly’s guardian angel.  Although she’s officially Amelia’s puppy, and she’s playful and affectionate with everyone, she obviously has a soft spot for Jason.  And he has a soft spot for her.  It’s right on the back of his knee……

 

Fun Fact About Danny Elfman

Did you know that Danny Elfman provided the singing voice for Jack Skellington in Tim Burton’s ‘The Nightmare before Christmas’?  He’s made such a name for himself as a Composer- Edward Scissorhands, The Simpsons, Spider-Man, Batman (I could go on)- it’s easy to forget that he was a Singer/Songwriter and Rock Star first.  He’s got a beautiful voice.  In fact, that’s what led me to this discovery, I flipped past Nightmare the other day and thought ‘Wow, whoever does Jack’s voice is really good…I wonder who it is.”  Incidentally, Chris Sarandon provides Jack’s speaking voice and Catherine O’Hara does Sally’s voice.   

I also just learned (while checking my facts on his official website) that Danny Elfman is self-taught and has had no formal musical training.  It’s amazing how distinctive you can be when you don’t have formal training holding you back.

Also, if you’ve never heard ‘Serenada Schizophrana’, Elfman’s first orchestral composition written specifically for the concert hall, go to his website and listen to the samples.  It’s definitely ”Elfman-esque”, but he seems to stretch his arms a little too.  It’s actually really cool to concentrate on the music, rather than just have it complement a film.  I guess this is nothing new, the piece was originally performed in 2005 and the CD was released in 2006, but I just discovered it and I think it’s worth checking out.

So, there you go.  You’ve learned a little more about Danny Elfman….

 

Yeah…What They Said….

This picture has been making the rounds, but it’s BRILLIANT.  I want to live in the next house over and hang my Christmas lights to read:

Awesome
<===

 

Place Filler

So, I generally try to post in the middle of the night while it’s slow at work.  Unfortunately, there’s a lot going on tonight and I don’t foresee a free chunk of time presenting itself.  So, in the interest of posting every day, I’ll leave you with this fun gem:

Be careful. Journalism is more addictive than crack cocaine. Your life can get out of balance.  -Dan Rather

 

Rock Star Diapers

 

Fuzzi Bunz are so ROCK.

I’m going to frame this picture and show it to every girl Z ever brings home.

 

Well…On to December…..

A month ago, I decided to take on the challenge of NaBloPoMo.  All I had to do was post every day in November.  Yeah, there’s no other way to say it……

On to December…….

 

Bummed About St. Nick

Last year I took the kids to the Atlanta Botanical Garden to see Father Christmas.  It was the nicest set-up…outside in the garden, Father Christmas in a long green robe (red is for shopping malls!) and a wreath on his head.  And best, you could take as many photos as you wanted- your kids with Santa, your kids alone, Santa alone, other kids-  FOR FREE.  No being rushed through a cattle line at the mall, only to be overcharged for one sub-par picture.  It was perfect.

So, when I noticed that the Botanical Garden has posted their “Holiday Events” schedule, I was excited.  I couldn’t wait to find a time that Jason &B I were both off work so we could ALL go.   I scanned the scedules and it listed a train exhibit, holiday tea, even a ‘reindog parade’….but no Father Christmas.  Not even a mention of Santa Claus or St Nick.  How could this be???

I asked around, but nobody knew anything about it.  I finally emailed the general Garden information account to ask.  Two days later, I received this:

Hello
 
We will not be having Father Christmas this year.
 
Thank you for your interest.

Bummer.

So, now we’re in the market for a new non-cheesy, non-mall, ideally no-cost Santa.  If anybody has any suggestions for around Atlanta, please let me know.  If I find anything, I’ll post it here. 

Until then, Peace Out Father Christmas.  We’ll miss you.

*By the way, I noticed the other day that somebody came across my blog by searching “Father Christmas Atlanta Botanical Gardens”. That’s actually a big reason reason for this post.  I can only assume that they were trying to find the same information that I was.  If  they happen to come across this post, I hope it helps.

 

Songs About Me

Sometimes, while I’m driving around completely sleep-deprived during the day, I’ll hear a song that’s taken on a whole new meaning now that I’m working third shift.  They’re songs that I’ve heard a million times before, but in my slightly punchy state, they’re hilareously poignant.  Here are a few that I’ve heard lately……

 

“I wake up every evening
With a big smile on my face
And it never feels out of place.
And you’re still probably working
At a 9 to 5 pace
I wonder how bad that tastes”  -‘Gives You Hell’ by The All-America Rejects

 

“There’s not enough hours in a day
To do all the things she’s just got to do
When the daylight fades and the night invades
She’s only just begun”  -”Gillian” by The Waifs

 

and the one I heard today that prompted this post…

“She only drinks coffee at midnight
When the moment is not right
Her timing is quite, unusual”    -‘Meet Virginia’ by Train

 

And She Was….

“The world was moving

she was right there with it

and she was…”

- Talking Heads

 

I have many photographs that capture a distinctive moment in time…the day, the feelings, what was going on around me.  But this is that only photo I have that has a specific theme song.  From the moment I saw this picture, all I could think of was a Talking Heads song.

I was eight months pregnant and Amelia & I were doing a Mother-Daughter/Maternity photo shoot at a park in Hiram, GA.  Near the end of the shoot Pam (who left CNN to create Paris Mountain Photography) suggested that Amelia hop on the Merry-go-Round.  Amelia held on and I (with my giant belly) pushed the merry-go-round around as fast as I could run while Pam sat in the center snapping pictures.  We all laughed at the silliness of the scene (and laughed even harder at the looks we were getting from onlookers).  At the same time, I was was thinking “Wow, this is going to be a great picture.”

I love that she’s there, practically glowing, as the world spins behind her.  If I wanted to get really deep, I’d get into how this is a commentary on the modern world- how society rushes around and it’s only children who are innocent enough to slow down and enjoy life.  Or maybe I’d talk about how it’s a representation of my daughter’s life at that time-  the world was spinning around her, chaos was about to come with the arrival of her baby brother, yet she continued to just hold on and smile. 

But in the end, it’s just a great picture that reminds me of a great song.

 

*While writing this I learned that David Byrne wrote this song about a girl he knew in high school who would take LSD and lie in a field beside a Yoo Hoo factory.  Maybe not the most appropriate song to represent  a 3 year old….but catchy nonetheless.