We've enjoyed another really pretty day - kind of chilly, but we're told the temperatures so far for November have been above normal.  November is supposedly the month with the least sunshine here in Vermont, and I'm not sure how that's holding up.  Seems to me we've lucked out with quite a lot of sunny days so far.

I had a nice chat with Liz Randall down in Miller Place, Long Island.  Liz said because they are on the north shore and about a mile from the ocean, they did not get any flooding.  However, their electricity was off for over a week and there have been lots of trees down. Liz and John are very self reliant and Fred and I remarked that although we were concerned about how they did through the storm, we knew they'd be ok.  Turns out they were well prepared - Liz had plenty of extra food on hand and they have a Vermont Castings wood stove (of course!) that kept them cozy warm.  Not only that, John rigged up a generator from an old gas motor.  He says, "It doesn't look like the new ones at Home Depot, but it works."  He said it's a Wisconsin air cooled motor with a belt drive.  Liz said they ran it for a few hours each day for the freezer so the food wouldn't spoil while they waited for the power company to get things repaired.  She said there were huge very old trees down in their area and it was taking a long time to get things cleaned up, even without the flooding.

I have some announcements that have come to me today:
Caleb Pitkin, chair of the Cabot Select Board had the lead as the smooth talking Harold Hill in "The Music Man" now playing in Montpelier.  There will be performances at 7:30 p.m. tonight and Saturday, and Sunday at 2 p.m. at Union Elementary School in Montpelier. Tickets are $12 or $8 for students and seniors, and can be reserved at 229-9355 or available at the door.  The show has been running for a while, at least it was on last weekend, and reports are that it's very good and a great show for the whole family.

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Work Update

Danville Route 2 Project

Project:  Danville FEGC 028-3(32)

WEEK OF 11/19/12

 Project Update:  The construction portion of the project is now shut down for the winter.  Crews will return in the spring.  Utility crews will continue to work to relocate the lines underground.

 

Contact Francine Perkins, Public Relations Officer, FRP Enterprises, LLC with any questions or concerns with regard to this project at 802-479-6994 or for a more up to date schedule visit www.roadworkupdates.com.

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There's an article in today's Caledonian Record that says the Danville project will take another two years, with heavy construction continued next spring.  It wasn't clear whether the project is behind schedule or not.  The article stated it was to be a four year project with two years of heavy construction and the last two years landscaping and finish work.  Since the project began in 2011, it seems likely it may have to be extended if there's still more construction work to be done.  There was also no mention of whether there would be a cost overrun.  I guess it would be logical to expect more time would mean more money.

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As often happens, I get announcements such as the one that follows late.  Sometimes it's just too late to put them on the blog, but this one, even though the event is tomorrow, I decided to use:

Winter Clothing Drive at the Jaquith Public Library

Saturday, November 17 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Free, good quality clothing is available in the Old Schoolhouse Common gym. If you have good quality clothes to donate, please drop them off at the library during the week before the event. Co-sponsored by the Onion River Food Shelf. 

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In case some of you hadn't heard the outcome of the non-binding vote taken in Cabot regarding whether to have an ATV ordinance, the vote was NO.  That means the roads in town would not be opened up for ATVs to connect to existing trails, of which there are non in town. It is our understanding that the select board said they would abide by the outcome of that exploratory vote. 

In Barnet, there was a special town meeting Wednesday regarding whether to ban ATVs on all town roads.  There was a large turnout of voters and voters defeated the article, so ATVs are allowed on Barnet roads.  There has been discussion in many towns recently on this issue.

If you ordered your turkey from Dunstable Farms in Cabot this year, you may be interested that they have been in the turkey raising business since 1950.  Presently there are three generations of Bothfelds at the farm, Walter Sr., his son Walter, or "Skip," as we know him, and Skip's son, Raymon.  Raymon's son, Chandler, is only 2, but no doubt he will be the next generation of the family to be involved.  They still may have turkeys available, so give them a call - 563-2386, and like Raymon and his wife Amber say, it will be the best turkey you've ever tasted.

Perhaps you aren't into cooking your own turkey, and if that's the case, perhaps you'd like to go to Butters Restaurant in Cabot.  You'll need reservations, and you should do that soon as they are filling up.  They are having a buffet from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., $16.95 for adults, $9.95 for children under 10.  Any time we've been there the food has been excellent.  Their number is 563-2422, and they are right on Main Street in Cabot, across from the big gray Willey building.

As for us, we're having the family and some friends here.  Ours is always a pretty traditional Thanksgiving meal - turkey, mashed potato, squash and cranberry sauce and pies.  I will begin cooking and baking on Monday.  I like to do as much ahead as possible, then I have more time to enjoy everyone on the big day.  We all have lots to be thankful for, and we look forward to celebrating that we're healthy and safe and have wonderful family and friends with us.