Tag: Green Mountains

Checking off the list(s)

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Well, we have hit our 3 month mark of living in Vermont, so I find this to be a good time to evaluate my feelings about the move.

To be honest, it feels like we’ve been here a lot longer than 3 months. Perhaps that’s because we’ve witnessed the change of seasons, in kind of a drastic way. We drove into Vermont during a snowstorm on February 18, and today on May 26 the high will be 73 with sun. And in between then and now, we’ve seen lots of rain. I didn’t know how much rain this area sees before moving here. I’m not complaining, I do like gloomy weather as long as I get to have a sunny day to break it up, but I just wasn’t aware that it is one of the cloudiest places in the country. It ranks just below Washington state. Please don’t let that deter you from visiting, it’s still absolutely beautiful. I am so happy to see green and flowers on the trees and fresh green grass, so I can thank all this rain for that! This time of year, you can see why Vermont is the Green Mountain state.

Also, the warped time perception may have something to do with the multitude of tasks I have checked off my “to do” list. I mean that literally. I love and absolutely require lists to keep myself organized and moving forward. I’m kind of forgetful, so the moment I think of something I need or want to do, I open Google Keep and add it to the corresponding list. That includes administrative tasks that have been necessary for the move and settling in, but I also have a Vermont “bucket” list full of places I want to see and things I want to do. I’m also using Google Maps to mark certain places as “want to go.” And I just downloaded Google Tasks to give it a spin. Yes, I am a bit of a Google fan-girl.

Just a snippet of my completed to-do list

I’m happy to say that my “need to do” list has shrunk considerably. We have officially sold our house in Jacksonville, we got our Vermont ID’s & license plates, we’ve settled into our apartment and scoped out our local amenities. I still haven’t found my regular hair place. I visited a nearby stylist, and during my appointment w/ the owner of the salon I made the mistake of telling him that I didn’t know what I wanted done w/ my hair so I trusted his expertise to give me a good cut w/ no instruction. I thought – he’s the owner, I’m sure he knows what he’s doing, so what could go wrong? I walked out of the salon with considerable length taken off, which doesn’t bother me in the slightest, and LOTS of product in my very zhuzhed up hair, which is definitely not my style.

Not so sure about this cut

No big deal, I would wash it all out. But when I stepped out of the shower the next morning, I saw that the cut was uneven and I had just the slightest impression of a lady mullet. Ok, it wasn’t that bad, but I wasn’t particularly happy w/ it. So I’m still on the lookout for my hair person.

I’ve settled into my regular routines now and Andriy and I find plenty of time to continue to explore our surroundings. So this place feels more like home every day. I’m feeling very comfortable. And every day I find something that makes me so happy I live here now.

I’ll share more soon about the fun things we’ve been doing. Next weekend we have plans to go camping at a state park near Waterbury and we just booked a place in Maine to celebrate our summer anniversary on June 15. I LOVE having these awesome things to look forward to. That’s what summer is all about!

Observations in the Green Mountain State.

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I really love people watching. I don’t mind being by myself and it gives me the opportunity to watch, or at least listen to, the things happening around me and take mental note. It’s not really something I always do consciously. I think I just inherently find it interesting to observe the quirks, idiosyncrasies and mannerisms that make people so unique. I feel like I get this trait from both my parents. My mom is naturally a very observant person and my dad has an affinity for odd and unusual things and people.

So, as it would be, I’ve taken to noting the unique aspects that I’m starting to attribute to the new state I now inhabit and the people who live here. Please note, I have only been here a few weeks, and I currently live in the “big city” of Burlington and at a very large and busy hospital, so some of these observations may be misguided due to my current surroundings and short time here. But it will be interesting to compare later on to see if I feel that my first impressions still ring true.

  1. Vermonters don’t complain about the snow and cold – or not as much as what I’m used to. I’m guessing it’s because winter lasts a while here, so there’s no use in complaining about it. Plus, many people here have found ways to enjoy the cold and snow. I often hear my coworkers talk about how they went skiing, snowboarding or snowmobiling on the weekend. I read an article recently about a group of people that enjoy “wild ice skating” on Lake Champlain (which recently completely froze over for the first time since 2015!)
  2. People are polite, but not overly so – In the Midwest, it feels to me that people go out of their way to be overly polite. It’s nice, but can be overbearing at times. Plus I feel I then am expected to be overly polite as well. Lots of Thank yous, Excuse mes, and often unnecessary apologies. And that I need to walk around with a smile on my face at all times (a habit that I think I’ve broken myself of pretty well.) So far, it seems to me that while people aren’t necessarily rude, they also won’t go out of their way to hold the door for you or get out of your way or provide the “extra” niceties that I’m accustomed to. I’m ok with this so far. I will not stop holding the door for people and saying ma’am and sir (I was gently teased about this the other day at work) and pardoning myself when necessary, because it’s deeply ingrained in me, but I’m not offended by others not doing the same.
  3. Yes, there is a Vermont accent – The Vermont accent is subtle, but I’m growing an ear for it. There are some similarities to other East Coast speech patterns, but it’s not as obvious as Maine or Massachusetts. Not as much “r” dropping. It sounds a bit like you took an East Coast person, and plopped them down between a farm and some hills, just south of Canada. Wait, that’s exactly what it is! Sadly, I haven’t met anyone that sounds like this guy yet.
  4. There is a fifth season here called Mud – Many people have told me this already, and I understand why it is so. In the winter, there is (hopefully) lots of snow and ice. And once spring comes, it all melts. After a couple of 50 degree days, I think it’s safe to say we are currently in the Mud season.