Now Norma Knits

The New King Arthur Flour Store/Cafe/Baking School -- Yeah, WOW, Man!

I'm long overdue for a Pee Place Post; am I right?  

So how fortunate for you! An early release from my work in Central Vermont today gave me all the excuse I needed to go and visit the new (still under construction, really) King Arthur Flour store.

I took some photos of the gorgeous place, of course starting in the most important room:  The pee place!

And, my friends, it is stunning!

Anyone who knows me well knows that this was the first and last place I went on my visit there. 

Next, I went to the cafe to get a sticky bun and cafe au lait, which I enjoyed at one of their lovely tables. You can see I wasn't kidding when I said it's still under construction. That yellow tape is not to indicate that it's a crime scene, but a construction site. 

Highly decadent, and worth every calorie, even if I gained a pound.

And then I went to the store. Baker's mecca! Even though I really held myself back on account of the fact that I just can't and don't bake that much anymore, I still managed to fill these two bags and spent enough to qualify for a free bag of self-rising flour.

I took the bags' photo there because I wanted to show you the beautiful stone wall along the outdoor table space.

The post-and-beam buildings are stately and strong, and reminiscent of Vermont maple sugar houses.

Lots of fabulous (local, I'm presuming) stone and wood throughout.

And look here: 

Copper downspouts.

Definitely worth a visit, even if you aren't a baker.

 

#captionTHIS

Hey, cool! The article I wrote for the captioning advocacy group I belong to, CCAC, came out today.  (By the way, you might want to join the CCAC.) 

After I CARTed four hours of medical school this morning, I harvested broccoli and asparagus and scallions and spinach from the garden, and then I cleaned out the garage [somewhat] and cleaned out the refrigerator and brought two carloads of trash and recycling to the transfer station and made a delicious dinner with the aforementioned fresh veggies [and wine] and whole wheat pasta and salmon.

Oh, and I gazed lovingly upon the new hardwood floors that were installed yesterday in the final two rooms in the house.....

Ahhhhh. The beauty of red oak.

And then tonight this crossed my Facebook page, and I just had to share it:

 

Is anyone still wondering why I haven't been blogging as often, and wondering what I'm doing with all my time?

Terrier Tuesday: Juris Doctor Edition

Dear Readers,

Well, St. John's University does not allow Yorkshire Terriers to attend law school graduations. Or at least that is the excuse Alpha gave me for not having the opportunity to witness this firsthand:

The way I understand it, that is an image of my Abigail getting a hood put on her by her law school dean or somebody, whatever that means. It's an image on a fancy-schmancy big screen in a fancy-schmancy auditorium that, Alpha wants you to notice, is NOT being captioned, but don't get her started about that, she says. 

However, since there is not one word of this that seems anything other than Greek or Latin to me, suffice it to say I guess it was a big deal, and everyone is all pretty proud and excited about it. Me, I'm kind of proud and excited of my Abigail any old time, and so I don't really get the difference, but that's just the way we Yorkies are, so I'm sure you understand.  

Some of Abigail's friends and roommates, and other people I know, also got the same thing! So we have all these cute pictures to look at.

It looks like they all had a really good time without me, but I had a good time, too, with Dan and Jessica and Chloe and Gunner and the big cats and ... well, we're all pretty tuckered out from this excitement. I'm just gonna go have a nap now, okay?

Res ipsa loquitur, baby.

 

Mr. Jefferies

 

 

The Answer is Captioning, Captioning, and More Captioning

The question was: What have you been doing with all your time?

My buddy Foster took some great photos of some of the events surrounding the UVM 2012 commencement, and I know that some of you will love to see them, so here they are.  

We captioned six major ceremonies this year, over three days: College of Arts and Sciences Honors Ceremony; Graduate College Commencement and Hooding Ceremony; Honors College Commencement Ceremony; Main Commencement Ceremony; College of Arts and Sciences Commencement; College of Medicine Commencement. We captioned them live on large screens -- the indoor ceremonies on 6-foot screens, and the outdoor ones on the jumbotrons -- and all the ceremonies were streamed live on the internet, with captions. This was a record for ceremonies captioned surrounding UVM graduation. 

I did them all. 

It was a lot. I wasn't sure I'd be able to manage it all, what with all the hours and hours and pages and pages of prep that needed to be done. We had a couple of logistical problems getting from one location to another in the time we had, but with outstanding teamwork and support from all the people at UVM Conference and Event Services, the University ACCESS Department, and the regular team of IT, AV, and television professionals I work with, not only did we do it -- we had the best and most successful weekend of events we've ever had. 

We didn't get photos from all the events, but here are some we did get, complete with a few shots of actual captions as they appeared live on the screens. 

This is Eric, me, and Foster, set up for our third and final day of events. This is the biggy -- the Main Ceremony. We're set up in a nice tent to protect us from the sun and heat, on the university green.  

We are the core captioning team. Eric is the videographer, Foster is the broadcast engineer who I nominated for knighthood after the weekend was over. The three of us work incredibly well together, and always have since January of 2007. 

This is me and Eric again, and in the background is another important team member, standing on the left of the two people there -- Roger. Roger's the guy who delivers the AV equipment and screens to the right places at the right times, and sets it all up and makes sure all is copacetic <---- his favorite word.

Things are just getting started in this photo. Note my smile and relaxed look.

And we're off!

Now things are in full swing. Note the look of concentration on my face. Do not try to break my concentration, for I am a captioning ninja!

Oh, cripes. You've got to be kidding me. Surprise speakers at the end: Tom Kenny and Bill Fagerbakke, the actors who voice SpongeBob SquarePants and his sidekick Patrick Star. Their boss, Cyma Zarghami, was the main speaker. I am sure I made complete hash of their rap presentation. Complete hash. And wouldn't you JUST KNOW: I heard later that THIS was the exact thing that the local news decided to put up in their coverage of the event, including a flash-by of my captions. Ugh.

So anyway.

The first ceremony is completed, and now we are sweaty, thirsty, hungry, and exhausted, and it's only 11-something a.m.  We've been going straight out since 7. Under direction of Sharon from the ACCESS Department, who takes very good care of me, a lunch was kindly delivered to me. After a short break, the platform party for the second ceremony is beginning to file in. 

And we're off again!

 

There isn't much to say about the second ceremony, except it was hot and long. And look at my sagging shoulders. 

But wait, we're not done yet! 

We still have to pack up our equipment and move across the park to Ira Allen Chapel, because now it is time to caption the College of Medicine graduation ceremony. 

You'd never know this person had already captioned for eight solid hours, would you? Look at this smile. (Foster had provided me with a cold Gatorade.)

Also: Girl loves her work.

The Dean of the Medical School

The President of the University

Take a closer look at this photo. When this was taken, the featured speaker was speaking at 270 words per minute (as per the speed meter in my software), for at least a solid 20 minutes. I do not know how I pulled this out of my brain and my fingers, but I did. (Must have been the Gatorade.)

Take a look at that sound engineer to the left of me. He is watching intently. We had only just met on the Friday evening before this (this was late Sunday afternoon). When I finished this speech, Foster made like he was getting a fire extinguisher to put out the fire on my hands and keyboard, and that guy next to me gave me a high-five and said, "That. Was. Beautiful."

Girl gets jazzed about her work.  

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If you would like to provide, or ask for, captions for your event, or would like more information about me and what I do, please visit my captioning and CART website. 

 

Terrier Tuesday, the Gardener Edition

Dear Readers,

Well, that's just typical. Alpha told you about how well the garden is coming yesterday, but she didn't even mention how much I have helped.

Pffft.

 

For example, I keep Alpha occupied by bringing her toys.

I stay out of her way. (Most of the time.)

And I bury rawhide bones, which I'm sure helps things to grow.

You're welcome, Alpha.

Love,

 

Mr. Jefferies

Garden Update

Wow, look at this! Two posts in two days! (Don't get used to it.) 

Even though life is somewhat nutsy-cuckoo (happily so), I found some time this weekend to get the veggie garden organized, visit several garden centers and farm shops, and plunk a few plants in the ground, to round out the things I planted back in the beginning of April.

My quest to "cut back" because we can't eat all the produce somehow still left me with no place to plant any beans. I do not know how that happened. But anyway... I guess when I harvest the garlic, I'll get a later-season planting of beans in the real estate the garlic is taking up. It'll have to do. 

A few photos of the garden goodness:

Lettuces that we've been eating for quite a while now, various greens, herbs (mint, chamomile, borage), baby beets that you probably can't see, and baby Swiss chard too. 

Kale (Winterbor), broccoli rabe, mint.

Shallots and red onions.

 

The broccoli is thriving.

A new thing for me: a sweet potato. Should be fun to see how it does.  

A broader view. You can see arugula, marigolds, rosemary, eggplants, peppers, radishes....

Garlic's coming along fine...

The ill-fitting popup mesh net on the right is trying to protect zucchini plants from squash borers. 

A nice row of gourmet red and fingerling potatoes that I put in in early April...

But there is some garden sadness, too. My asparagus has been quite fruitful, but I am fighting a bloody battle with asparagus beetles.

These are the nasty, nasty buggers that I can't seem to keep ahead of this year. They don't respond to insecticidal soap, so I'm trying to keep them hand-picked and squished as much as possible. But with my schedule as it has been, the "as much as possible" has not been all that successful. Makes me want to cry. After all those years of trying to get the asparagus to be plentiful, I've finally succeeded, but much of it is being ruined by the beetles. 

Sigh. Garden, you are a cruel, cruel mistress.

 

 

Saturday Sky, A Day Late

Whew! My Whirlwind Life of late included another wedding. This time I remembered my camera. "My Other Daughter" Ally got hooked yesterday, and we were privileged to attend. 

The Wedding Tent

Occupy Ally's Wedding 

(Guests could opt to stay in their tents or campers on this beautiful property.)

The Turner Farmhouse is on the island of my birth, but until Ally found it on the internet, I never knew it existed. Gorgeous and well priced. 

The deck, the dock...

The view of the farmhouse from the lake side.

The groom (on the right).

Bosco, the ring-bearer. Or at least he was intended to be the ring-bearer. Then they thought about it and decided that if Bosco saw, say, a squirrel, the rings would be history. So he was just an honored guest. Good plan. He thoroughly enjoyed himself and had plenty of room to run on the property. His Auntie Asya walked him in. Excellent!

The lovely bride and her parents

This kiss -- no further explanation needed

Cool bar.

Beautiful place settings

"Find the fish with your name on it"

Mine was the only one with grass in it. I know that was a special message from Ally or Asya -- I'm not sure which. (Thanks, girls. I noticed.)

Sunset shot

And now, my feet are sore from the dancing, and I have to find the energy to plant the garden. AND the roses are in bloom -- in May! ("Hello, climate change!" says my friend Sue. Indeed.) So you know what that means... It's time to make the rose petal jam.

Terrier Tuesday

 

HEY. How did that get there?!

Dear Blog: This is just to say that we are still here, still alive and well, still happy, still so busy that we can't find the time to even say hello. 

We're sorry.

We miss you, too.

We'll be back soon.

Love,

Mr. Jefferies

 

I Didn't Expect So Much Drama From a Simple Stash Sale

Oh yea, I surely do attract the crazies.

There has been considerable back-and-forth in eBay this morning between me and a person from Santorum Country who believes that I have misstated the condition of the Koigu in my stash sale. (You can read the comments at the bottom of my listings for the orange and the rose Koigu here and here.)  She believes I should be listing it as "used" condition and not new, because it's been touched and ... oh, who knows what she is talking about, but she is morally offended. Which, of course if she knew me, she would know that does not hold any sway with me whatsoever, me being completely devoid of morals and all. Morels, as well, but we are not discussing mushrooms right now, are we? 

Her evidence in support of her accusations is that you can clearly see from the photos of my yarn that it lacks the original factory twist. Yeah, well, OK. Please to note that my yarn doesn't have the original factory twist.

She has gotten to the point now of accusing that I've probably snipped a few yards off the skein to do some intarsia. Intarsia? The woman clearly has never met me and clearly has no idea what sort of knitter I am, or more accurately am NOT. She seems to be a few yards short of a skein herself, as someone very smart so aptly put it. 

I put the kibosh on it (for now) by telling her I'm done responding to her and I consider her comments to be harassment. She told me "YOU'VE BEEN TWICE WARNED" (all caps hers)

She's been quiet since I told her to bugger off, but for all I know, she's reported me to eBay for being a dishonest lister. I refused to change the condition to "used," the yarn having not ever been knit, washed, used, or even wound up into balls, and the labels still intact. That doesn't sway her at all. 

Wait till she gets to the dog saliva on the ball of Rowan Calmer that I also listed as "new." Sorry, there was no place to check for "new, but for the label having been chewed on by my errant Yorkshire Terrier."  

BUYER BEWARE!

P.S. I think I need to make a new category in the blog entitled, "Interactions With _________" You fill in the blank.

Yarn and Book Stash Sale -- You Know You Want It

Hey. I'm raising some money to buy a new steno machine as a backup to the lovely new machine I bought last year. I love the new machine -- I believe it has made an amazing difference in the health of my hands and forearms -- and also in my writing accuracy -- so much that I'm going to buy another one. It's the Stenograph Wave, and it's fabulous. It is really supposed to be the "student's" machine. It has no internal memory, so it would not be suitable for a court reporter, but it is perfect for someone like me who does exclusively CART and captioning.

I've gotten so busy (knock wood) that I can't afford to ever be without a machine if anything were to go wrong, or, say, if I ran over it or something. NOT that I have ever done anything that stupid. *cough*

And let's face it: I have way too much yarn. More than three lifetimes' worth. Well, since I haven't knit a stitch in months, it's more than an infinity's worth at this rate. Time to hoe out and bring it down to a reasonable level. Well, as reasonable as I can make it.

It turns out that eBay has gone the way of gmail and Facebook, and made everything twice as hard. Where is the progress with these geeks, I ask you! Why do they always take something that's good and fiddle with it until it's downright unpleasant? Or I don't know -- maybe I've just gotten older and more crotchety. I'm exhausted after listing just a few things. 

But! Go take a look at my listings, starting here:

I'll continue dribbling out listings until I either drop from exhaustion or I have enough money to buy a new car -- I mean a new steno machine -- or both. So you know the drill -- pass it on to all your friends -- pass it on to your significant others who might want to buy you a nice Mother's Day gift -- bid high, bid often, and all that jazz. Have fun buying my stuff!