Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

On our second day in Vermont, my brother went to work, so we spent the early part of the day with my brother's wife and my nephew.

It's amazing how much easier it is to write when you're not on a shaky train. Of course, it's not much easier to read my handwriting, as my penmanship has never been great, and I'm out of practice (Typing is so much faster!).

Having gone to bed earlier than usual the night before (about 10 p.m., when I would normally still be working), I naturally got up at about 7. My brother had long ago left for work, but his wife and my nephew were awake.

I chatted with her, got a shower, and grabbed some coffee. She filled me in on the rules of the house. No necklaces or dangling earrings, since my nephew was in the habit of grabbing them. Sharp knives must be placed in the sink as soon as you're done with them. Handles of pots and pans must be turned in.

The bathroom door must remain closed. All of these precautions are necessary because my nephew is now a toddler, surprisingly fast and endlessly curious, investigating everything within reach.

He's well aware that he has a sister on the way, and when he's asked, "Where's the baby?" he runs to my brother's wife and pats her belly.

Soon, The Gryphon got up, and we had breakfast of cereal and bananas. Then we spent the morning playing with my nephew, who also enjoys being read to. He'll toddle over to you with a book and, as you're reading it, try to turn the pages for you.

My nephew is also fond of shoes, and he tried mine on, a pair of sporty, fun sneakers I'd just bought. But when I tried to get a picture of him wearing them, he became fascinated by my camera and kept running up to me to see how it worked.

This is the best I could do.

After his morning snack of about five Bunny Grahams and most of a plum, we all piled in the sedan to hit some yard sales, which my brother's wife had found in a weekly circular. She was on a quest for toddler and baby clothes, as my nephew is tall for his age and growing rapidly. They're expecting a daughter for their second child, which means that while some of my nephew's more unisex clothing will be appropriate, she'll also need some clothes meant for girls.

Most of the yard sales, she simply slowed down and drove right by. They weren't worth the trouble of getting out. Then we struck pay dirt, a multifamily yard sale with lots of baby items visible from the road.

While she looked through the baby togs, The Gryphon and I checked out the rack of adult clothes. While there were women's clothes in my size, they were at least 20 years out of date, as were the men's clothes. The Gryphon pulled out a garish plaid jacket.

"Should I?" he said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Only if I can get these," I said and held out a pair of red vinyl parachute pants, size 8.

The yard sale was truly stuck in a time warp: a box of cassettes, an electronic typewriter, even 10-year-old Tom Clancy novels. They've definitely held onto most of it far too long, as I can't see anyone today anxious to buy a cassette tape. It would be like selling 8-tracks had been at a yard sale, circa 1996.

My brother's wife had better luck. The toddler clothes were practically new. Not really a surprise, given how fast kids grow. She found a couple fleece shirts, a button down shirt, snowpants and a winter jacket, all the size she estimated he'll need by winter.

I had better luck getting a photo of my nephew, since he was belted down in his car seat.

We stopped at a little grocery store for milk and bread, then drove home for lunch. The adults had sandwiches, while my nephew had about a handful or two of macs & cheese, a slice of tomato and as much milk as he'd drink from his sippy cup before playing with his spoon instead.

My nephew eats a wide variety of foods, a small amount at a time. He's especially fond of healthy snacks like fruit and fresh vegetables, along with Nilla wafers or graham crackers. He'll also eat meat, in moderation, such as a cut up hot dog. Since he gets fed several times throughout the day, including almost a whole container of fruit yogurt right before he goes to bed, he gets a very healthy, fulfilling diet.

After lunch was my nephew's nap time. My brother's wife told me the best way to put him to sleep was to play a Baby Einstein video for him, "Baby Noah". We joked that we should write to the company to show our appreciation: "Thanks for making such a boring video. It puts my son to sleep for his nap every time."

Sure enough, the lulling montage of music and animals, and the low-key voice intoning their names had him snoring before you could say, "Hippo."

Then, since my brother's wife was also taking a nap, I went in the library/guest room and followed suit. The Gryphon, meanwhile, checked his e-mail and then called in to work to troubleshoot a problem, taking his cell phone onto the porch.

Later, my brother's wife showed me a flash slide show of some photos she'd taken at her cousin's wedding, and I gave her some ideas on how to make it more attractive to potential customers.

In the afternoon, we drove into Montpelier at the suggestion of my brother's wife. She knew a great coffee shop she wanted to take us to, and we could do a little shopping, too. The coffee shop was much like many small coffee shops, with a quirky decor ranging from paintings by local artists to flower bags attached to the ceiling near the small stage, apparently for sound proofing.

Upstairs, there's a socialist book store, with handwritten signs directing patrons upstairs. We drank our coffee and munched on some homemade cookies while my nephew protested about being forced to stay in his stroller. A lot of people were using laptops nearby, and my brother's wife feared he'd run up to them and try to pull on them.

We found an amusing bit of graffiti on a nearby bridge. Someone had painted "I eat flesh," while someone else had painted over it so it said, "I eat fresh fruit."

The first bit of graffiti is in red and the second in white, which is a little hard to read, but trust me, that's what it said.

We checked out a few little stores, including a placed called Global Gifts, where I bought some green glass dangling earrings (to be worn once I get home). We women checked out a clothing store while The Gryphon looked at a used book store. The clothing was overpriced, as much of the clothing in Montpelier is, it being the state capital. So while we browsed for a little while, we left without making any purchase.

I found some interesting poetry books in the used book store when we met The Gryphon there, so I picked them up, wanting to make sure I'd have plenty to read on the train ride home.

The book store owner was sort of quirky. She'd only started the business the year before and had a lot of trouble finding the price for one of my books. She eventually made it up. When I talked to her knowledgeably about what I'd picked up, she asked me, "Are you a writer?" I've been getting that a lot from people lately, which is cool. I handed her one of my business cards.

At home, my brother returned from work. The dog, Pulsar, waited anxiously at the window until he arrived. He immediately took a shower, and then we all sat down to a dinner of soft tacos.

We watched a little kid friendly TV, including the news, until it was time for my brother to give my nephew his evening yogurt and then for my brother's wife to give him a bath. Then she took him upstairs and put him to bed.

In celebration of our visit, my brother had invested in some top of the line vodka, something called Vermont Gold. It packed a much more powerful punch than we expected, and we sat at the dining room table and had some with diet Sierra Mist. My brother's wife joined our conversation, though didn't, of course, join in the drinking.

She was tired, though, so she went to bed early, while the rest of us sat up and talked about what my brother's learning from the courses he's taking to be a home inspector. Listening to him talk about it, I was struck by how passionate he gets about the subject. He's always been a naturally inquisitive, analytical person with a strong interest in how things work. I used to think that he would go into science, but while he got good grades in math, it bored him. I'm happy to see that he's discovered something that makes use of his skills.

The Gryphon, meanwhile, had turned into a basket case. OK, I admit. I took this photo earlier in the day, while he was playing with my nephew, who put this basket on his head like a hat.

More from our trip to Vermont:

August 30, 2006 - Along the Tracks

September 1, 2006 - Food and Family

September 5, 2006 - Soggy Shopping

September 6, 2006 - Rock of Ages

September 7, 2006 - Bye!

Copyright 2006 by Alyce Wilson

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