american pie

resisted buying homemade pies, candies, and preserves yesterday when i took a drive to a nearby "general store". i did, however, pick up some locally-made granola and let me tell you, it was divine with my fruit and cottage cheese this morning. my drive yesterday got me reflecting on all my experiences i've had in various american places. i can't claim any real appreciation of what northern vermont is like - i've barely breached the self-imposed parameter around the squirrel parade that is this cottage. but this area has a similar feel to parts of wisconsin or maine or oregon. nothing on earth feels like new york. and places that start with "las" or "los" have lots in common: los angeles, las vegas, los miami.

some things are totally reliable no matter where you are in this magnificent country. oh, you quirky americans with your fractions on highway distance signage, your confusing but deeply entertaining elections [claude and i will be asking "what's happened to bernie?" in that condescending lilt for, like, ever], your crazy ballot initiatives, your insistence on using 're' instead of 'er' at the end of words like 'centre', your penchant for abrasive verbal delivery, your patriotism as decor.

temperature is dropping. our trek to montpelier to see this was postponed today on account of greyness and damp. more reading and writing it was for me. no, i did not press big awkward letters onto lined paper with a chubby pencil. i did, however, manage to make some progress on a couple of position statements for miss vicky and whip up a progress report for mcss for a client so that's pretty neat. i even got to deek back into claude's studio to lay down a few more vocal tracks - i shall never tire of putting on those honking headphones and singing into a screened mic. now to pull out my "to be paid" file and take care of some outstanding bills. aw yeeah, we're whooping it down here at the cottage. and that chicken smells mighty fine in the oven.