Irene, you witch

For almost two days, we've been sitting in front of our TV, watching the progress of Irene up the East Coast of the US. This storm frightens me, not because of her winds, but because of the rain.

We are in Northern Vermont, not too far from the Canadian Border. Most of the land around us is farmland, mainly corn for silage in the winter. There's some sweet corn up here, some soybean, some alfalfa, but mainly corn. This is the primary way that the dairy farmers, which Vermont is known for, can feed their cows during the long Vermont winter. Without those fields of corn, the farmers have to purchase.

This year's crop was already damaged before it was even planted. This spring, prior to the "planting time" we got rain...lots and lots of rain. So much so that any low-lying cornfield couldn't be planted until it stopped. Some of the farmers know their crop is probably doomed. It won't be ready for the fall harvest. Up here, we have a finite planting season. We have a long winter that can begin at the end of October, and can end in May.

Now, these farmers are looking at anywhere between 6 and 10 inches of rain coming at us. That will flood their fields, and probably further damage an "iffy" crop.

Then add the damage of rain-soaked ground. We live in a house surrounded by a one acre yard (most of the yard is circular, closer to house at the sides than at the front and back). The more the rain falls, the softer the ground gets, then the trees begin to uproot. We had one do this in our yard in the spring. Luckily it didn't fall, it just began leaning, and was losing the fight. It fell sideways about 10 feet the afternoon before the tree guys showed up to take it down.

Now, I'm afraid that the same thing will happen today, because this rain today will be equal to what would have fallen in a week this spring. It is now 12:30 in the afternoon, and we've gotten about 2-1/2 inches of rain and it doesn't look like its going to slow down any time soon. We've done everything we can, but it is impossible to predict what Mother Nature is about to throw at Northern Vermont. If the back end of this storm drops the expected 7" of rain on us, added onto what is falling now, it will be devastating here. I hate feeling helpless in the face of weather.

Some days....

Some days you just have to wonder what goes through the mind of a cat. This is Shelby, deciding out of the blue that she should drink my morning coffee. A moment after this picture was taken, she lifted her head up, spitting because she didn't like the taste.

A look at me...

When I was about 10 or 11, I was drooling over the clothing coming out of London. Here I was stuck in VERY rural Pennsylvania, with few TV stations that we could get with our antenna, some radio stations, and.....a SEARS catalog, lol. And so I went to school wearing what I'd made copying the Sears catalog styles. I remember they did a wonderful winter catalog in 1966 or 1967, and featured clothing based on all the top London designers (remember Mary Quant?)and the pictures were (supposedly) taken in London. There were beautiful turtlenecks, hip hugging bell bottoms, leather, frilly shirts, lace, and boots...lots and lots of boots. And every time my mother and I would go to a fabric store, I would beg her for fabric I thought could replicate those styles. Including the men's tie, with a white shirt...worn with knickers no less. And yes, the other kids at school called me strange...and weird. But I loved the clothing. So nothing could deter me from making more of it.

Then I hit my twenties. Western Pennsylvania was never a booming area to begin with but by the time I got out of college, the jobs were few and far between. So I picked up and moved to New Jersey...and pretty much stopped sewing. Working in the Metro NY/NJ area gave me lots of opportunity to buy new styles from stores..and I got lazy.

I've tried everything I ever wanted to try in my life and I'm not lazy any more, and am really enjoying putting stylish clothing together for myself. And of course, let us not forget that my phone usually rings when someone has either screwed something up while sewing OR they can't quite get the fabrics right for something they want to make with a "WOW" factor. I will take on outside jobs, and right now, they're mainly design jobs.

Right now, I've got some more animal print, and some really great moleskin in a milk chocolate color, and am trying to decide what to do with it. While moleskin is usually something I would grab for suits...there isn't a suit in my future right now, so something a little more casual is in the works.

Oh, and before I forget, I'm starting back to school for IT. Will be headed there next month, in fact. :-)