We rushed off Saturday to the very funky and atmospheric Latchis Hotel In Brattleboro, Vt. We just need to get away for one night and clear our heads, we are becoming masters of the one-day and weekend vacation. Brattleboro is always great fun and good food, it just fits us.
We planned to have dinner at our favorite restaurant there, the Shin-La, we are great fans of Mrs. Kim, who has owned the Korean restaurant for more than 30 years, and her delicious soups and scallion pancakes and rice dishes. Mrs. Kim is usually holed up in the kitchen, and only occasionally ventures out, but we were planning to have dinner at Shin-La and then spend a lazy Sunday morning reading, sleeping, talking and revisiting our favorite brunch place before heading home.
Once or twice, she came out to talk to us and tell her story. We liked her very much.
Out trip started in a neat, we passed the first Hemp products store either of us has ever seen and went inside to check it out. Hemp is not the same thing as marijuana, although classified as a drug in some places. Congress is mulling legislation to remove barriers farmers around the country face when they want to plant hem.
But hemp and hemp products are sold legally in many states.
It has long been used to curb anxiety in dogs, and lately, in people. I got a vial, a small one that dispenses drops. Might help me sleep a bit easier, I am prone to nasty dreams the details of which I usually forget. I’ll let you know.
When we checked into the hotel and walked to Shin-Las, we were surprised to find a note about Mrs. Kim. She slipped on the ice and broke her writes on January 10, and the store has been closed ever since
The sign suggests she will be returning shortly, some of the neighbors were not so sure. In Brattleboro, there are no strangers, almost everyone is welcomed as a friend and the word is she might not be able to come back.
I hope she can.
We found a new restaurant up the road a bit. We like it. I got lightly fried calamari, a basil caesar salad and chicken tacos. Maria got chicken tacos and she also got food poisoning. We got up Sunday and headed home I did the driving.
I’ll spare the details, but she was up all night, and has been asleep and wobbly all day.
The weekend reaffirmed my respect for change and also for life. Change is a constant in our lives, not an interruption.
I believe our ability to function in this world depend great deal on our ability to change. I have finally internalized and accepted that idea. We got what we wanted – a one-day getaway, a good meal, a change of scenery. It has been intense on the farm.
Perhaps it wasn’t as long or restful as we hoped, but we don’t get to play God, we just have a good time as best we can for as long as we can. When one of us is sick or away, the other gets a lesson in just how difficult it is for a single person to run a farm and all of the chore. The dogs, barn cats, chicken, sheep and donkeys all have to eat, and they almost all eat different things. Firewood has to be hauled in stoves stoked and replenished, dishes washed and dried, belongings unpacked.
As Maria does when I am sick, I ran myself ragged all afternoon. She she was already ragged. I went out and got her some Ginger tea and will offer her some toast.
It is really good to be home, although it is snowing. Maria should be better in the morning.
Tomorrow, I’ll I bring a realistic baby doll to one of the Mansion residents, and two “activity aprons” to stimulate the residents who might be bored. We’ll see what happens. By weeks’ end, we might need another small vacation.