Katywhumpus: Stay out of Vermont George, if you know what's good for you

For anyone who doesn't know, I'm from Vermont. I was actually born in Ohio, but spent most of my formative years in Vermont and consider it home. There have been quite a few times in the past when I've been proud of my home state. Today I am proud again. Not because of yesterday's primary (but I WAS pleased...), but because of the resolutions passed in the towns of Brattleboro and Marlboro.

Brattleboro is a cool place. I like it more every time I visit. It's just a short drive from where I live in Western Mass. There are a lot of funky artsy people there doing funky artsy stuff. There's good food and a great old movie theater. They have the annual 'Strolling of the Heifers' parade (It's a parade of cows. It's awesome.). Also it's legal to be naked on the streets of Brattleboro - just as long as you're not George Bush. Residents of Brattleboro and Marlboro, VT passed nonbinding resolution s yesterday authorizing police to arrest President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for "crimes against our Constitution."

Vermont rocks.

Vermont is also nearing record snowfalls this winter. I was up visiting my parents a few weekends ago and the snow on the sides of the path to their front door was higher than my head. It's like walking through a tunnel. I exclaimed that it was just like when I was little and my mother pointed out that I'm much taller now. Oh yeah. Lots of snow. And they've had a lot more since I was there.

We had a storm here on Saturday and I refused to deal. I'm sooooooo ready for winter to be done. I didn't go outside all day. Traci and The Ragamuffin came through the 'secret passageway' (our basements are connected through the bulkhead) to my house. The Secret Passageway has become a great treat that we only use when the weather is bad. We watched some Sponge Bob, drank some juice boxes, ate pickles and danced to Elvis. I made scones.

These are Cheddar Pepper Scones adapted from a free recipe from Cabot. I didn't have fresh chives and I used dried thyme. I also didn't brush egg on the tops - just sprinkled on some extra cheddar. They were tasty. And now I have lots of ideas for other kinds of scones. I like my scones savory and find that most bakeshops make them way too sweet. There may be lots of experimenting in the coming weeks.

I also finished the Baby Soft Jacket for Haley's first birthday. This is not a color I would normally choose, but Haley (and her mom) need as much cheerfulness as they can get I think. Haley started chemo a couple of months ago and I hear it is making her quite sick. Her birthday party is Saturday, but I'll be in Texas this weekend, so this is going in the mail today.