FROM JOE'S POND -

Best wishes, Fred and Jane.

George Parizo writes:

Her name is Kiva named after the Southwest Indian underground ceremonial rooms called
Kivas. We are going to visit my brother and wife in Florida this winter, they have two cats; it may be a good idea to see if she likes cats before we go ? (They also have a male black Poodle, and he is a good boy, too.)

From

George & Pat Parizo -

It's a pretty nice day today - cloudy and with a little snow in the air, but warmer and again, NO WIND! There was just a little snow on my snow board this morning, but that will change over the next few days. We're due a steady string of snow storms over the weekend.

George and Pat Parizo sent pictures this morning. First, a New Year's Greeting card (Nice work, folks!)

Then this message and pictures of the newest member of their family!

For the dog lovers -

Last spring we were given a five year old black Poodle by a relative who could no longer keep her. She was a Southwest dog, this is her first season in the snow and she loves to dig in it. Now if we could only teach her to dig out the walk way ?

She loves to play, ride in the boats, cars, motorcycle,and other dogs, being able to run outside without the leash (she has never seen a cat yet that we know of?). It's been a long adjustment time for her and us as she came with a lot of baggage, but that's behind her now. Life on Joes Pond is good! George & Pat

I've asked George what her name is - will add that later. She is certainly a real cutie, and looks like she landed in the right place. Fortunate little lady, I'd say.

We'll hope the first cat she bumps into is friendly. I think we should introduce her to Woody - he loves dogs (but hates cats). It looks as if they'd be about the same size, too.

Thanks, George, for the great photos.

It was such a nice afternoon, we went to Littleton to do some errands. It was still cold when we left home, but when we got to Littleton, it seemed much warmer. The day did warm us some, but I don't think we got into the 20's as was forecast. By the time we got home, around 4 p.m., the sky was clouding in and it looked as if it might snow any time. I haven't looked out tonight to see if it's started yet, but I think by morning we should have some fresh snow here in the mountains.

As you can see in the pictures, there is a lot of bare ice showing on the pond. We don't know how smooth it is, but anyone could probably find a few spots for skating if they wanted to. It's rare to have good skating on Joe's Pond, but it does happen. slides

We awoke to a beautifully bright, sunny day this morning. The forecast is for temperatures in the 20's, which will be a far cry from last night's readings of about -8 degrees with the wind making it feel like -25 degrees. The wind was still howling when I turned in around 11 o'clock, but there's not even a breeze this morning. It's still only 5 above, though. This picture is looking towards West Danville from our living room window. You can just barely see the White Mountains in the distance.

Woody can't seem to believe it's always so cold when he goes outside. He hasn't really accepted winter yet, and asks to go out several times in the mornings, but never stays more than five minutes or so before he's knocking to come in again. He will eventually crash on top of the kitchen cupboards until late afternoon when he begins the in and out routine again. He watches the chickadees intently from his perch on the window sill in the living room, and sometimes spots a squirrel and that sets him in motion regardless of the weather. After he's been out, he comes dashing into the living room, and if I'm in my chair, hops up on my lap to warm his feet. If I'm not there, he settles in front of the wood stove.

This is a picture of the path where I go each morning to read my weather gauges. I'm very fortunate that Fred keeps it shoveled for me. We aren't sure how long we can keep it open, or even how long before the snow will creep up to cover my measuring tube, but I'm sure I'll need to reposition things soon. With another storm brewing, the tube that is only about 24 inches off the ground, will be covered. The snow board is about 36 inches high, so may be okay. I measured only 12 inches of snow at the stake this morning, though. Whatever snow we got yesterday was traveling horizontally and not much of it stayed on the ground.

I had an e-mail from Bill this morning. They were heading out on a tour of the Lion Park and Soweto today. They have been rescheduled to a January 5th appointment at the embassy, and that should complete the paper work for Jo-Ann to come to this country. They may not be able to change their flight to leave Africa earlier than they'd planned, but they will make good use of their time there, I'm sure.

We have a serious consideration here in Cabot that all of us should be aware of. Some of you are tax payers but don't have a vote in Cabot because you do not claim it as your residence; however, how this situation plays out at town meeting in March will be reflected in your future tax bill(s). I am posting the three-page mailing received in our mail boxes about a week ago. Whether you have a vote or not, if you own property in Cabot this is important to you and you should feel free to weigh in on the issues. I'm sure the School Board is working hard to find a solution that voters can accept, and any input you have will be considered.

I have only board member Roman Kokodyniak's e-mail address, and will gladly forward to him any suggestions you may have, or you can mail them to: Cabot School Board, PO Box 98, Cabot VT 05647.

Click on the image of each page to read.

*****

I also want to bring your attention to the comments page, if you haven't looked at it for a while. We had a request for a camp rental this morning, so if you are interested in getting a little relief from high taxes (whether you live on the Danville side or the Cabot side of the lake, you're taxes are going to increase this year), you may want to consider renting your cottage for a few weeks next summer.

*****

Our weather has turned really nasty overnight. The temperature dropped and is now in the zero range, expected to drop more during today. The wind is howling and we got about four inches of new snow, most of it blowing in the general direction of West Danville.

We have both been outside this morning - I briefly, to take my precipitation measurements, and Fred for a prolonged period to clear the driveways of drifts. He will have to be out there again later in the day, but right now it's hardly worth getting bundled up for because the wind is going to drift the snow right back across the roads. When things quiet down later today, he'll go out again. I won't have to go outside again until tomorrow to read the gauges again . . .

By the time I got the TV turned a couple minutes after 10 a.m., the bridge was down. Here's a link to the noon news on WCAX, though. Be sure your speakers are on. www.wcax.com

We're starting off the week with a snow storm. The snow pack here at our house is now only about 9.2 in. The rain melted a good bit of it and there are bare spots showing in the wet areas around our house. Some of those spots never freeze deeply because there are ledges with water running over them just below the surface. We have one ledge just outside the door leading into our basement and that area is always a trouble spot when we get rain or in the spring when the snow begins to melt. I think when my father built this house he had to change plans and relocate to adjust for all the ledges they ran into when digging for the foundation.

Early this morning Woody was enjoying the view from the window with sun struggling over the horizon, but by 9 o'clock there were snowflakes in the air, the sun was gone and now it's snowing steadily. We're expecting something like 3-5 inches. That will cover up the ice and make driving a little more hazardous than usual, but I'm sure folks like the Sherwoods, who are heading this way to ski, will welcome the new snow on a good solid base. The Sherwoods have a reputation for bringing warm weather with them that ruins the skiing each year, but perhaps they'll break the jinx will be broken this time.

This is what the view out our window is now. It isn't awfully cold - 28 degrees, but later today the wind is supposed to pick up and we'll have blustery weather for a while. The roads are quite good because the town has sanded regularly, but underneath it's icy, so best to keep speed down. When we walked along W. Shore Rd. this weekend we saw a couple of spots where vehicles had gone into the ditch. Some of the ditches are very deep on this road in order to handle the run off of water in the spring, so if you slide into one it's usually tow-truck time.

I've heard from lots of Joe's Pond folks this year and I want to thank all of you for the nice e-mails wishing us well and commenting on the blog and/or web site. We enjoy hearing from you and always appreciate knowing you're checking in with us from time to time.

Now we are going to turn on WCAX to watch the demolition of the Champlain bridge. That should be quite a sight. It's a shame the bridge has to come down, but since it's unsafe, I guess it's the only solution. This morning a shop keeper at the end of the bridge said she expected a huge crowd there to watch. It was already snowing there, so it'll be quite an event.

We've had a quiet, rainy day here. The rain has been steady until around 4 o'clock, and then things began to brighten up a bit. The temperature is beginning to drop and it looks as if things will freeze tonight. The pond had water on the ice, so when it freezes, there may be some skating, although there was quite a bit of snow on top of the ice, I think, and that doesn't make good ice for skating.

We had a brief e-mail message from Bill and family today. They are in Johannesburg, South Africa, hoping to get an appointment at the embassy so they can finish Jo-Ann's paperwork. This was the first time Jo-Ann had been in an airplane, and Bill said she loved it. He's thinking that's a plus since they have a long trip ahead of them to get home. We're planning to call them tomorrow to see if they have been able to get the embassy appointment. They have one for late in January, but don't want to stay in Africa that long, so will try tomorrow to get an earlier appointment and then they'll be able to leave.

I think I may have mentioned before that the Vermont State Treasurer's Office has a web site where people can search to see if they are on the list of people who have unclaimed financial property being held by the state. After losing contact with a customer for a certain period of time, financial institutions turn over property such as bank accounts, uncashed paychecks, money orders, or insurance policies, contents of safe deposit boxes, or stocks, bonds and dividends, to the State in order to protect the funds until the rightful owners are found. To be listed, the value must be at least $75. To see if your name is on the list, go to www.missingmoney.vermont.gov

There is no cost to file, and no time limit. Even if you no longer live in Vermont but you may have had a bank account or some other financial connection here in the past, it may be worth your time to check the site at least once a year. Who knows, you may be reunited with some "found money."

That's my tip for the day. Fred and I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend, and I'm sure you're looking forward to 2010 with hope and trust that it will be a year that sees great progress towards peace and prosperity for our nation and for people everywhere.

This photo was just sent to me. We haven't been able to identify the guy - and we don't know why he's chopping his way into the pond. Most likely he just wanted to take a bath.

I want to thank my "reporters" who capture photos like this for me. It helps viewers who haven't grown up here or lived here for many years understand what Vermont is all about.

Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas morning began in a fog. Fred was out early with the camera and I've put together a short slide show for you. Early Christmas Morning

A few minutes ago I took more pictures. The sun was shining on the trees and it was absolutely beautiful. Minutes later the sun disappeared and it now looks as if we have lost our pretty day. It is not awfully cold, though, so we really don't mind. We aren't going any place today, having celebrated with our family last night.

While everyone was here, we called Namibia and talked with Bill, Monika and Jo-Ann. It was about 11 p.m. there and they were just winding down from celebrating Bill and Monika's wedding. Monika's mother insisted they have a reenactment of their wedding - in traditional wedding costumes. Bill didn't say what they were dressed in, but he said there were at least 75 people there and at that hour they were still drinking beer and partying. Monika told me she wore a special dress, but we didn't get further particulars. One of Monika's sisters used Bill's video camera to record the ceremony, so we'll see it when they get home.

We all had a chance to wish them Merry Christmas, and Bill told us they would be leaving Oshakati, Namibia, for Johannesburg in South Africa on Saturday. We think they'll be there until they leave to come home. They're hoping to get the final paperwork for Jo-Ann done within a few days, but Monika said this is their summer there and lots of people are on vacation from their work so they have not been able to connect with the people in the embassy at Johannesburg who were assisting them with the documents. She said she thought by being there they would have a good chance of getting things done all the same. We're hoping they will be successful and come home a bit early.

Here are pictures taken at about noon today. Christmas Day at Joe's Pond

A Christmas greeting from George & Pat Parizo on Sandy Beach Road.

Well, here we are, Christmas Eve already. It seems only a few days ago I was thinking there was plenty of time to get everything done. I did pretty well, but there is always that last-minute flurry of things that need to be done.

We are expecting our family here this afternoon. We are gathering a little earlier than normal so we can call Bill, Monika and Jo-Ann in Namibia to wish them Merry Christmas. I noticed last night the temperatures there are still in the 100 degree range. Bill says even with low humidity and a nice breeze, it's still HOT. They'll get cooled off when they arrive back in Vermont . . .

We actually have temperatures in the 20's today and it's a relief to have it not so bitterly cold. We haven't had much snow in the past few days, maybe a couple inches, but there's more coming perhaps this weekend. Or maybe it'll be rain. No matter, it sure looks Christmasy here, so what more could we ask!

I don't have much time to write today (the kitchen is calling me), but will be around tomorrow, perhaps with photos.

Another cold day. We went to St. Johnsbury to get haircuts today (we both go to Kathy Fenoff at Colonial Village on Railroad Street), then we picked up some supplies for our Christmas Eve dinner with the family. The grocery stores were very busy and even the mall at St. Johnsbury Center had more cars than usual. Last-minute shopping, I guess. This was one of those days when we had several stops to make and it seemed we met someone we knew in every isle of almost every store. It was great fun, but time got away from us and we were visiting our friends at the convalescent center just as their noontime meal was being served, so that cut our visit with them a little short.

We took this picture as we were coming into Danville this morning. It was only about 8 above then and didn't warm up much all day. I don't believe it got much more than 15 or 16 above. It's 5 above now. Nearly everyone agreed the cold was unusually penetrating today. Of course, in West Danville and Danville we expected it to be colder with the wind whipping down the lake and across the hilltops, but in St. Johnsbury there was less wind but it seemed damp and just a few minutes going from store to car was bone chilling. The seat warmers in the car got a good workout!

While we were gone, we got a short e-mail from Bill and Monika. It was about 3 p.m. there when he wrote it, but he said they now have all their luggage! He also said it was very hot. I'd thought the temperatures had moderated due to the thunderstorms that showed up when I Googled to get the weather forecast last night, but moderating means going from 105 degrees to 90 degrees, which, for someone from Vermont is still darned hot. Today no rain shows up in the forecast, and there were no days forecast to be over 100 degrees in Oshakati.

We're getting more e-mailed Christmas messages this year, and that's very nice. Several people we know have said they're sending e-messages to as many people as they can on their mailing list to not only save money but also to save on waste materials. Christmas always brings a lot more paper waste to our landfills, and it seems too bad to buy and send a card that will probably only be glanced at before it's discarded. I like to display the cards I receive - most are very pretty and I enjoy thinking up new ways present and enjoy them during the holidays. Sometimes I keep special ones, usually for the message inside or because one is particularly striking, but most are tossed. I used to send them to some organization that recycled them, but after a while I got notice they had more than they could use. A group I worked with a few years ago used them to make new cards to give to seniors who either weren't able to shop for cards or who couldn't afford to buy them. That worked out pretty well but there wasn't much money to buy supplies and envelopes to go with them and postage got pretty high, so the project was dropped.

The trend seems to be growing to send e-messages, and while Emily Post might have declared it as being in bad taste, to many of us it makes perfect sense. I will continue to send cards to people without computers, but most on my list will get very sincere wishes from me the modern way, by e-mail.

I know I put this on the blog last Christmas, but I thought you might like to see it again - so click here . . . Merry Christmas (and be sure you have your speakers turned on!) . . .

We're still petty cold here at Joe's Pond, but it hasn't been below zero today. We've been in the low teens with some sunshine and no new snow. We aren't expecting the big storm that has hit southern New England, although we may get a few inches in the next couple of days. We still have about a foot of snow on the ground here at our house.

We talked with Bill and Monika today. They are now in Oshakati, where Monika's mother lives. Bill said it is well over 100 degrees every day, but very dry. This is their summer and for at least two months there will be no rain at all. Bill said he has tried to stay out of the sun and has used sun block but still got sunburned. Monika also got a burn. There is a pool at the hotel where they are staying and Bill and step-daughter, Jo-Ann were heading for a swim when we called a little before noon today - about 7 o'clock Namibia time. The good news is that they've had word their luggage is at the airport in Windhoek and will be sent by courier to them in Oshakati tomorrow - a trip of about 8 1/2 hours. It will be good that they will be reunited with their things.

This just came from George Parizo:
Pat was using her computer last night when all of a sudden a pop up came up with a notice that her AVG protection was corrupt and the pop up was an ad to buy some off brand protection plan for $79.99. She could not close the pop up and could not do a thing. The AVG said there was a worm! Pat shut the computer off, tried it again this morning - same problem. Two hours latter I turned her computer on and it worked as if nothing happened. The lock up lasted 12 hrs. Pat did a scan and indeed there were three programs with problems that the security system cleaned up and everything seams to be OK now.

If the same thing happens to you, give the computer a long rest and try it again before heading to the repair shop. (We were ready to drive to Springfield to a computer expert there to get it looked at ASAP,) It seams like the scam was timed to turn it's self off. My computer was not effected.

George Parizo

Thanks, George, this may help others who find themselves in the same predicament as Pat. If you have computer problems, there are several very good technicians in our area, too. There is Yankee Electronic Solutions (Tom Warren) in St. Johnsbury; The Hard Drive Doctor (Jesse Larocque) -
www.harddrivedoctor.us/ and in Barre there's BK's Computing, 802-479-5009. There's also Tim Considine in Cabot - you'll find his business card on our web site in "Local Services" under "Other" on home page.

This cold weather makes for a really bored cat at our house. Woody begs to go out, so we let him into the garage but stays only a matter of minutes before he's knocking to come back in. (He bats a sap spout attached to the door by a long string. That raps the door so we know to let him back in.) We close off his swinging kitty door downstairs in the basement when it's really cold weather. We would be afraid he'd go outside and something would happen he couldn't get back in his door and that would be disastrous. Letting him in and out works for a while, but then he needs to run, climb, jump - anything to get some exercise. We put a board from the top of one set of cupboards to another in the kitchen and he sometimes sleeps on top of the cupboards, but he also likes to use the board to sharpen his claws, and sometimes lies there waiting for one of us to pass underneath so he can make a pass at us with his paw. When he isn't sleeping in front of the fire, he hunts for new places to nap. He liked an empty drawer in Fred's office for a while; and often stretches out on my desk, or sometimes he curls up on or under our bed or hides in a closet, and most recently he snoozes in the bathtub when he's done playing in the water. We'll find him sitting patiently by the faucet waiting until one of us comes into the bathroom and turns on the faucet for him. It's going to be a long winter . . .

Sad news from Joe's Pond.

Many of you knew Robert "Bobby" Reagan from his many years owning Point Comfort. Bob died on Tuesday, Dec. 15, at age 80. He had grown up in West Danville, served in the army during the Korean conflict, and operated Point Comfort first with his mother, Margaret Woodring, and later his wife, Ernestine, who survives him. Our condolences to Ernestine and to their children. Obituary: Robert Reagan

Leona Davidson, familiar to many area people has died. She was 88. Leona and her husband, Albert "Cub" Davidson, owned the now closed Walden Store and filling station on Rt. 15 at one time; Leona also worked at Point Comfort, and was cook for Walden school until 1990. Leona was a nice lady. She went to school in Cabot and was a great resource for historical connections. She was also artistic and did lovely paintings, loved crafting, and wrote poetry. For the full obituary: Leona M. Davidson

Lovely day, bright sunshine, and it's actually warmed up to five above zero. We had a call from Bill and Diane Rossi this morning to tell us they were watching someone skating on the ice at the lower end of the pond - about where the Richard Dente cottage is. It seems to us they might be rushing things a bit, but with temperatures well below zero the last few nights (and most of the daytime, too), the ice is probably pretty thick. We haven't seen any fishermen out behind the island yet, or sometimes we've seen them off Smith's Point early in the season, but haven't noticed anything there yet, either. Perhaps it's been too cold and windy for them. They'll be appearing soon.

Did you know Hastings Store has a different take-out lunch menu every day? Yesterday it was chipped beef on potato; today it's chili - Jenny said "because it's chilly outside today." It's nice to have a home-cooked lunch special every day - along with the baked goods they always have on hand, and I'm sure lots of folks appreciate being able to stop there to pick up something hot and delicious. Local folks can plan to pick up their mail and a hot lunch at the same time.

No further word on our on-going baggage problem. We have been told (again) the bags are being delivered, but so far we haven't had any confirmation.

What does one do on a really, really cold day in Vermont? Take a road trip to a mall.

That's what Bill Rossi and Fred did this morning. Bill needed to go to Optical Expressions, and Fred needed to go to White Market to check out the bakery counter. He came home with a nice raspberry pie for his stash. Bill's on a diet, so he was good and passed up the Ring-Dings and Devil Dogs although he did offer to split a box of Devil Dogs with Fred. I'm surprised that didn't work . . .

Here are some pictures taken along the way. It was very cold when they left, about 5 below zero, I think, and it hadn't warmed up at all when they got back and stopped at the post office in West Danville. They went to the Green Mountain Mall in St. Johnsbury Center for Optical Expressions, and Fred meandered among the usual kiosks that sprout there this time of year. After they went to White's, they stopped at Boxcar and Caboose bookstore. That's a nice place, and they have coffee, sodas and snacks available. They also have that wizard of a book printing machine, but Fred and Bill forgot to ask about it while they were there.

Back in West Danville, it was cold and windy, as expected. There was some mail for Joe's Pond Association - a request for Ice-Out tickets and some checks of tickets purchased. They were home just before lunch time and it was still below zero. So much for warming up much during the daylight hours today. Tonight is going to be even colder than last night, I think. Here are the pictures: Slides

I made vegetable soup for lunch, cooking it on the wood stove. I don't know what it is about cooking on a wood stove that seems to make things taste so much better than when they're cooked on the electric stove, but that seems to be the case. It was steaming hot and really hit the spot for both of us. Tonight will be a "close all the curtains" night, and we'll be snug as can be. The thermometer outside my office window hasn't moved off the -10 degrees mark all day, and it's still 4 below on the other side of the house. I don't think we got above zero today. Winter is here with a vengence.

Bitterly cold this morning. The temperature is still around zero - actually reading -4 degrees on the front of the house where there's some weak sun, and 10 below outside my office at the back side of the house. There's also a gusty wind. I checked it as 1 m.p.h. while I was outside reading the snow gauge, but I'm watching gusts off the roof that seem to be much stronger. I still haven't ventured down to the mail boxes to take a wind reading there, although I suspect it's cold enough now so even the ice isn't slippery. I'm not going to test it, though. It's cozy here by the fire and being outside just for a few minutes earlier was plenty for me. We got an inch of new snow bringing the total depth on the ground to 13 in.

I won't bore you with a lot more of the nightmare inducing Delta Airline fiasco, but the latest is that the bags never left JFK. Yep. Still there. We were apparently fed a lot of garbage by people who either didn't know what they were doing or who didn't want to deal with the problem. Now we're told they'll be on a flight to Johannesburg this morning. Yeah, sure. A friend of Diane Rossi's had a very similar experience with Delta and her bags were actually returned home - never reached the destination. We are foolishly still hoping, but the prospect of them ever reaching Namibia gets dimmer by the hour.

Bill and Monika are happily on their way north to Oshakati. It sounds as if a host of Monika's relatives will be congregating at her mother's for the holidays and to greet Monika, Jo-Ann and Bill. Monika said it would be a big party with not only relatives showing up but friends and neighbors and their friends and people she doesn't even know, but everyone will be happy to celebrate with them. For days.

It'll be a very Merry Christmas, I'm sure.

Well, it's been another one of those frustrating days. Around 11:30 this morning I got a call from Bill in Namibia saying they'd been trying without success to find their luggage that didn't arrive at the hotel yesterday as promised, but it was one of those situations where you can't reach anyone who knows anything or is at all helpful; even Monika, knowing the language, couldn't get through to anyone in Johannesburg, so they asked us to try from this end.

I got through to a nice lady, Vickie, at Delta. After a long search she was finally able to tell me the bags were probably being held up in customs. She said since there was no passenger with them they might have been set aside as low priority. She was not able to reach Johannesburg airport customs by phone, but she promised to send an e-mail asking that they expedite the two bags as priority items. She said there was a plane leaving early Thurs. a.m. for Windhoek and she'd ask that they be put on it. She said I should check back in two hours to see if there was any change.

I reported to Bill and Monika and they told me they had decided to leave the hotel and move on to Monika's mother's whether the bags got there or not. The hotel agreed to hold the luggage if/when it came and a family friend of Monika's would pick the bags up and take them north to Bill and Monika. It's a seven hour trip, so they'll leave by 9 o'clock or so in the morning. Bill said waiting a week was his limit.

When I called Delta this afternoon, there had been no change. Fred called Delta again tonight and the representative said the bags had left JFK, not Atlanta, as we had been told two days ago, but she was certain they are in Johannesburg, but she couldn't make international calls, so would send an e-mail. Geeze, what frustrations. This woman suggested we start a "lost luggage" claim. I'd have to say it doesn't look good for them ever getting those two bags.

And so it goes. No more headway at all, really. We're glad Bill, Monika and Jo-Ann are leaving Windhoek, though. This way they will be with Monika's family and get some of the things done they went there to do. Who needs luggage when it's Christmas and you're with family?

I talked a little with Jo-Ann today. She's very shy and I'm not very experienced at talking with little girls, so our conversation was short and kind of stiff. I guess I'm going to be "Grandma Jane"(!) Imagine that!

Very cold tonight - about 5 above now, and expected to be 5 below zero by morning. There's a brisk wind that makes it much colder; and tomorrow night is forecast to be even colder. I had an e-mail from our neighbors, John and Liz Randall, that they'll be here for the holidays and all their kids will be able to be here, too. No snow on Long Island, so they're looking forward to a White Christmas in Vermont. They're old hands at Vermont living, so they'll come prepared for the cold and the snow.

A very cold morning - 8 degrees at about 6 a.m. There's a wind out there, but I decided not to try to go down our icy driveway to take a measurement where the wind usually whips along W. Shore Rd. by our mailboxes. We've always thought that would be a perfect place for a windmill. I took my anemometer with me when I went out to get precipitation measurements (.5 in. new snow, 11.5 in. at the stake), but got a reading of only about 2.7 mph. I could see the treetops swaying in the woods in back of our house, but our back yard is fairly sheltered from the wind at ground level.

Fred was taking pictures as I did my CoCoRaHS routine. I didn't know until I got back inside. I was trying to get a reading on my anemometer in these shots. It's still pretty cold at 12 degrees, so I didn't linger out there long. It was one of those mornings when you go out and your nostrils stick together and the air feels like sandpaper when you breathe. I'm glad I have plenty to do inside today. I'll keep Woody, our cat, company while Fred is off to recycle our stuff in Hardwick.

We think Bill and Monika will have their delayed luggage sometime tomorrow. It is about 4:30 p.m. in Namibia now, but we talked to them earlier today. They were doing laundry at a mall in the city of Windhoek. Bill said they had a hard time finding a place to do laundry. Perhaps because the country is so arid there aren't laundromats like we have here. Apparently no facilities at their hotel. They'd bought new clothing to tide them over until the luggage shows up, but with temperatures in the 90's and 100's, people must perspire some even though the humidity ranges in the single numbers. I will have more news and perhaps some photos once Bill has his luggage and all their gadgets to work with.

As you can tell, there's isn't much going on here today. It's one of those days you can look out your window and tell immediately that it's cold. There's a frosty haze to the north over Walden. Here we're just beginning to see a little snow in the air.
The sun was out a little while ago, but there are clouds scudding out of the northwest and it isn't likely we'll see much sunshine today.

We have a couple inches more snow this morning. Right now the temperature is 36 degrees and it's quite foggy outside. It's forecast to become much colder later today and for the next several days we'll be in a deep freeze. Our weather certainly has been a roller coaster lately.

Bill and Monika haven't been reunited with their luggage yet, as far as we know, but with any luck, both bags got onto a plane last night and should be arriving in Namibia sometime tonight, their time. They are seven hours ahead, so at noon here, it's already 7 p.m. there. In about two hours, we hope to hear from Bill that they have their luggage and can continue on their trip. They have many miles to travel to get to where Monika's mother lives, in Oshakati, in the northern section of the country.

Namibia is the most arid country in Africa, according to information I got on line. While Windhoek, where Bill and Monika are now, right now has a temperature of 93 degrees with a humidity of 11%, in Oshakati it is 101 with 7% humidity. Highs in Oshakati will be in the 100-105 degree range this week, and lows in the 70's. That's HOT. Fortunately, Bill generally enjoys hot weather. I sure hope they have a breeze. We'll wait and see what he has to say about it. I'm hoping to have some pictures soon, too.

This was in our newsletter from Fairpoint Communications today. We know there are all sorts of these warnings out there, so add this to your memory bank. Be very careful not to open any e-mail that is even a little suspicious.

Warning! - Phony IRS E-mail Lands In Many Inboxes

According to IRS.gov, a phony e-mail claiming to come from the IRS has recently been circulating in large numbers. The subject line is typically "Notice of Underreported Income," and the e-mail may contain an attachment or link to a bogus webpage directing taxpayers to their "tax statement." In either case, when the recipient opens the attachment or clicks on the link, they download malware including the hard-to-detect Zeus Trojan.

This malicious code can take over the hard drive, giving someone remote access to the computer, or it could look for passwords and other information and send them to the scammer to gain access to bank accounts. Researchers estimate that the Zeus criminals are emptying more than a million dollars per day out of victims' bank accounts with the software, and it's the most prominent spam-delivered virus in the world right now.

Please remember that the IRS does not send unsolicited e-mails to taxpayers about their tax accounts. If you receive an unsolicited e-mail claiming to come from the IRS, do not open any attachments or click on any links. Those who believe they may already be victims of identity theft should find out what to do by going to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's website, OnGuardOnLine.gov.

A quick update on things here at Joe's Pond. Our weather is remaining quiet, although we expect colder temperatures coming in perhaps tonight. Bill and Diane Rossi report the pond seems to be frozen over completely. Of course, they, like us, cannot see all the coves, but with very cold temperatures night before last, it is likely it closed in whatever open water there was. A warm stretch could undo that, but it's probable we've seen the last of open water until along about April when the ice will start to break up. That's not to say the flag will go down and the Ice-Out Contest will be over - the cove where the flag is often is the last to go.

As for our struggles with Delta Airlines - it's on-going. Today has been more frustration. We are not sure the bags were put on a plane to Atlanta this afternoon. Nothing shows up that they are on their way; on the other hand, nobody can or will tell us that they are still sitting at JFK. We have thought of trying to get them sent by a regular freight carrier like perhaps DSL or whoever goes that direction, but right now we don't know (again) where the heck they are, for sure. It's a good thing Fred is dealing with this for I'm sure I'd have lost my cool with those people long ago. Four days is a long time for someone's baggage to be "delayed" when planes are continually leaving, I'd think. Since Delta has a flight to Africa, I guess that's the only option we have.

Pam Hebert was saying they generally fly with as little baggage as possible - only what they can carry on with them. Bill and Monika will be in Africa for a month and they were also taking Christmas gifts, I believe, so having those bags is pretty important to them. They are both experienced travelers, so I expect they knew what they were doing, this is just "one of those things" one has to endure sometimes. I would have expected more cooperation from Delta Airline, however. They really don't seem to have their cargo service running very smoothly, and while their personnel seem to try, only a few really seem to be interested in working out a problem, and we've talked to literally dozens in the past three days. So we'll keep on keeping on. It's time to check to see if the bags got on a plane tonight - and if not, where they are now.

The weather here has moderated, at least for the moment. We didn't get the freezing rain that was forecast. Our temperature stayed at 30 degrees or below, and although we got about 2.5 in. of new snow it is at least not blowing around like it was. Our day is bright, but no actual sunshine except in brief bursts, and the temperature is up to 34 degrees. It's actually very pleasant outside - perhaps later in the afternoon we will get out the snowshoes for our first trek into the woods.

We spent all day yesterday trying to get Bill and Monika reunited with their luggage. They arrived in Namibia last Thursday, and their luggage remained at JFK. We thought we had it solved yesterday, but when we called to see if the bags were on their way around 2 p.m., we sort of got a runaround, and finally were told the bags didn't make it onto the plane. Apparently they had a full load and baggage is not a priority. Delta has only one flight a day, non-stop from Atlanta . . . Fred has talked with Delta this morning and looks like the same thing could happen today. We are contacting the travel agent who booked Bill and Monika's flight, hoping he may have some clout to get the bags on today's flight at 1:55 p.m. The airline sure has a cavalier attitude; one might think if baggage has been sitting on the loading dock for four days, going nowhere, it would at least move up the waiting line to be loaded among the first, not left behind again and again.

We will keep working at it, but feel very frustrated after not being able to get any results after two days. I guess this happens frequently when flying long distances - or even short ones. One thing I think I've discovered is that you have more recourse on the airline if the darned bag is completely lost than you do if its whereabouts is known but it's being delayed. In the meantime, we're still working the phone and computer, trying to find someone or something that will assure those bags are on today's plane. More later. If they actually go, you'll hear a great big "YA-HOO!!!" from the Brown's on Joe's Pond.

Brrrrrr! It was only about 8 degrees early this morning. There is still open water at the pond, though. We can't figure that out except it probably has to do with so much wind keeping the water moving. It's warming up and in the mid 20's now. This was our lower lawn early this morning - the trees are sparkling with frost, and no, I didn't go outside to take the picture. I took it from our living room window.

We've had a busy morning trying to help son Bill and his wife, Monika, who are in Africa, locate their lost luggage. We found that it was at the airport in New York and Delta was going to send it to "Waterfall, VT," until we were able to reach someone who, we hope, physically located it at JFK and pointed it in the direction of Windhoek, Namibia. In the meantime, we had a phone call from Bill a few minutes ago and they are ok except the batteries in their phone is very low and the recharging equipment is in their luggage - of course!

Then a few minutes ago, middle son, Bob, came with Casey. They're going to do a little walking. Casey looks forward to weekends at Joe's Pond. She has a pretty new coat which she modeled for us.

There are some announcements below that came in this morning.



Pictured on the right below:

Cabot area Community Chorus members, from left, Caleb Pitkin, Russ Brown and Eric Mueller-Harder, concentrate on the harmony while rehearsing their rendition of “We Three Kings.” The chorus will present a diverse and fun selection of Christmas songs Friday Dec. 18 at 7 pm in the Cabot United Church. The performance will be followed with an audience sing-along to traditional Christmas carols.

For added cheer to the holidays, come to the Cabot area Commuity Chorus annual Christmas Concert.

The entertainment inludes the group and individuals singing old favorites and newer Chrismas music and the audience is then invited to sing along. Refreshments will follow and there is no admission. Share the fun with your neighbors who include:

Sandra Atkins, Russ Brown, Melvin Churchill, Mary Lou Delacy, Marvie Domey, Connie Hare, Connie Hourrihan, Isaac James, Amanda Legare, Lynne Maxwell, Erik Mueller-Harder, Caleb Pitkin, Lynn McKinney, Suzy North, Lynn Rockwell, Janet Westervelt, Janet Whitlock.

Here is a short slide show of going through Glenwood Canyon, Colorado, sent by Fred's brother, Tom. It doesn't look like much snow there, but actually they have a lot in the mountains. The pass is 16 miles long and was very difficult to build, as you can imagine.
Glenwood Canyon slides

This is what we look like this morning. I checked for ice fishermen, but they haven't shown up yet. We'll see someone out there any day now, I'm sure. It's sunny and
bright this morning. Chilly, true, but the thermometer is moving up from a low of around 12 degrees when Fred looked at around 6 a.m. to 18 and still rising. There is still a wind, but not as gusty and troublesome as it's been for the past three days. Speaking of wind, should you want to figure the wind chill, there's a handy chart you might like to copy. Windchill Chart

I keep a copy at my desk. I have a hand-held wind gauge that I'll try out one of these days to see if I come up with anything remotely similar to what the weather stations are reporting. Its stuff like this that keep this retired senior amused. It's in my genes.

When I was growing up on the farm, weather was a hugely important factor in our daily lives. Our livelihood depended on it. Work was scheduled according to it, but in spite of all efforts, it could, in a matter of minutes, ruin a crop, take down a forest or destroy everything a farmer had worked a lifetime for; or it could simply kill. People, livestock, crops . . . Neighbors would rush to save what they could, but often the stricken family just packed up whatever was left and moved away.

At one time, there were dozens of small farms dotting the countryside here in Vermont. Now there are few farms left, and those that are are generally large. While there used to be mainly dairy farms, now you'll find small farms with sheep, goats, llamas, emus, horses, etc., where the owners have other jobs and don't depend only on the farm's income. It makes for an interesting mix in our communities.

I'm waiting for Will Walters to call this morning. He's doing a story on the reading book that was recently donated to the Cabot Historical Society. I've been doing some research on it, so promised to share some of my findings with him. It's the 1888 Harper's Fourth Reader in Two Parts, and was used by Thelma Whalen when she went to school in Lower Cabot in about 1922. The book is in remarkably good condition and has stories, poems, word lists, instructions for the teachers, and what struck me was the amount of information it contains. Students got not only literature by the great authors, but learned history, geography, civics, ethics, mythology - there's a huge amount of information is contained in those 420 pages. I'm going to read it before I turn it over to the Historical Society in the spring.

The temperature has stayed pretty much in the teens all day and the wind is still howling. I'm estimating the wind at about 30 m.p.h., and right now the temperature is 15 degrees, so the wind chill is about a -5. We were out this evening with Bill and Diane Rossi to go to a concert at Fuller Hall in St. Johnsbury. It was cold and blustery in St. J, too.

The concert was nice - both St. Johnsbury Academy Jazz Band and Lyndon Institute Jazz Band played, and then the Swing North Big Band took over the stage. We all thoroughly enjoyed the music - lots of holiday favorites done up in grand big band style. I think Bill and Diane are planning on going to Burke Mountain to ski tomorrow, but if it isn't warmer than it's been today, I'd have to say they will need warmup stops between every run. I'll stay by the fire, I think.

We had 6.5 in. of new snow when I measured this morning, and 17 in. at the stake. It has been snowing and blowing all day, but late this afternoon when Fred took the snow blower out again, there seemed to be only a couple inches of very light, dry snow. Mostly it's blowing around, I guess. I think the wind has perhaps picked up tonight. This is our house, wrapped in winter white.

Fred went to get gas and do errands in the village this morning and took some pictures along the way. There was a large flock of Canada Geese hunkered down out in front of Rossi's. There was still open water at that time, but they were wisely settled in the snow on the ice where they wouldn't run the risk of getting frozen into the ice. Sadly, we've seen ducks meet their demise that way, but these guys seemed content to wait out the storm or at least wait for the right wind direction to assist them on their way. You'll see them at the end of the slide show. Slides

Good Morning! We have blizzardy conditions again today. The temperature is about 18 degrees and there is a fairly strong wind in gusts, making driving hazardous. Fred is out there clearing driveways for Jamie, Henretta and us. He came in a little while ago to change his gloves for mittens. At first we couldn't find them, but the wait while we looked gave his hands a chance to warm up. It's still snowing, so I have no idea what the total will be when I go out around 9 o'clock. Right now it looks as if we got another 6 inches of snow.

I got this e-mail from Diane Rossi a few minutes ago:
I guess we'll have to hustle our buns a little this morning and do some snowblowing before we leave....looks like another 6"! I'm amazed that there is still an open place on the pond.

I imagine the open spot will be closed up soon. However, that doesn't necessarily mean the pond will be frozen over until spring. Sometimes it takes two or three tries before it's solidly frozen for the duration. Depends on how the weather fluctuates.

We had some nice pictures from Fred's brother, Tom, yesterday, but I can't seem to save them in order to post a slide show or even show you individual photos. Tom took them going through Glenwood Canyon in Colorado where he and Ellie will be this winter. Tom is a ski instructor at Beaver Creek ski area. In the meantime, here are a couple from here to show you what you're missing if you aren't here in Vermont!!

Country Christmas Concert

On Saturday, December 12^th, Nashville Recording Artist Sherri Lamberton will bring her “Sherri’s Jubilee” to Cabot’s new performing arts center for a community and youth Christmas concert. This will be a fun opportunity for families to join together and share the Christmas spirit!

This community concert begins at 7 pm. There is no admission charge and refreshments will be available. This free community concert will benefit Faith in Action’s “Food Share Program”, which in the past three months has distributed over 50,000 pounds of food to seniors and families in need.

Donations to support this ongoing effort will be welcomed.

For further information please phone Faith in Action Northern Communities Partnership at 563-2278 or 626-1212.

There will be a special appearance by Santa with small 'warm up gifts' for the children!

Here we are in a nice sunny day again and it's about 32 degrees. The weather didn't clear until around 9:30. When I went to take snow measurements, etc., there was still some snow in the air. Fortunately, there was a long e-mail this morning from the director of the CoCoRaHS program in Colorado explaining how to measure the snow when it's coming down mostly horizontal and drifting. My joking about getting an average dept was surprisingly just the way they do it. So we have about 10.5 in. on the ground this morning.

We are tracking Bill and Monika's flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. They got in the air about on schedule at JFK and will land some 14 hrs. later in Johannesburg, and from there will have a two hour flight to Windhoek, Namibia. We were concerned about the weather and but apparently there was no delay. It was 42 degrees at JFK when they left this morning, and 75 degrees in Johannesburg. They've gotta be happy going to that. Coming back in January may not be so pleasant . . .

Fred is doing the snow blowing routine again today. Started off badly with a pin sheared, but that's not difficult to fix, so he'll be back in business in no time. I have some new (old) material coming for the historical society sometime today, so will be busy with that, perhaps.

Tim, our mail carrier, called from the Cabot Post Office this morning to check on us. Apparently he had come by yesterday while we were still working on repairing the mailboxes, so couldn't deliver the mail and needed to know if he would be able to deliver to us and our two neighbors who share the post. That explains why we didn't get our mail yesterday, and makes me glad he didn't wimp out on account of the roads. It didn't seem likely, but we thought we had the mailboxes out again in plenty of time - a little before noon, but Tim must have been earlier than usual, having allowed extra time because of the storm. We're good now, though, and the boxes are stronger than before, we think. I'm thinking it's time to decorate them for Christmas. Perhaps a good job for today . . .

**ATTENTION**
TOWN OF CABOT
COME JOIN US!!

WHAT: FRIENDS OF CABOT LIBRARY

1ST ANNUAL MEETING

WHEN: SATURDAY, DEC. 12 @ 9:00 AM

WHERE: CABOT LIBRARY

WHY: 1) MEET MEMBERS

2) LEARN WHAT WE DO

3) FIND OUT WHAT’S

COMING UP FOR 2010!

4) SUBMIT IDEAS OR JOIN US!

5) COFFEE & BAKED GOODS