by

penultimate 2007

I figure I have another day before I make a big list of stuff from 2007. Books and beds mostly. It’s been a banner year for beds and only so-so for books. I always worry when I haven’t been reading much that maybe I’m Done Reading Books and from now on all I’ll be doing is scanning stuff from the Internet and leafing through magazines. So far this has not been the case, though reading was down last year even though air travel was up. I think this may be because movie downloading was also up and as you know my Watch More TV/Movies resolution in 2007 went pretty well.

In fact, it went so well that I’ve been chosen to be a Nielsen Family for February 2008. This, even though I 1) am not a family and 2) told them on the phone that I never watch any TV. Apparently as long as you have a TV, you can be a Nielsen Family. Anyone who has pet shows that they would like me to promote in February, please let me know. In exchange I will give you copies of all the great movies I have been watching, though many of them are DVD screeners or subtitled in German.

I got back from a week down in Massachusetts today. I spent time with my sister, mom, stepmom, and dad in roughly that order and had a good though exhausting time. That’s four people, but seven cats and a dog! Since we’re not real xmas celebrators and everyone in the family is, to put it politely, quirky, figuring out how to honor non-existent family traditions and forge new ones is always a little challenging. I had a great time eating candy with my Mom and sister, cleaning my Dad’s basement with him, having dinner with my stepmom and taking photos of my sister’s loom and her using it. I rode a lot of buses and subways and got a lot of rides to various places.

As always when I get home I’m amazed at how quiet and dark the place is. Sound great? Well the house next door — a sort of copy of this one that the parents who lived in this house built for their children next door, less fancy, similar footprint — is for sale. 210K gets you an 1894 Victorian with three bedrooms and a mother-in-law apt in the back. If you’ve been contemplating a back to the country move, think of Bethel!

What do you think?

Comment

  1. I recommend Pushing Daisies. It’s a little weird (which I love), and a lot cutesy (which I usually don’t), but they seem to make it work somehow. It got picked up for a full season (for whatever that’s worth during a strike), but I still think more people should watch it.

    Apparently I also recommend parentheses.

  2. I can’t tell you how much I am tempted to buy that house. It’s been my dream to move to Vermont since a long time ago. I visit every so often, and I get nostalgic.

    Unfortunately, looking at the VLA job postings, it’d be difficult to find a job that I’m qualified for that would pay a decent wage. So– I’ll keep on dreaming….

  3. I, too, wish I were in a position to pick up and move. But I own, and the market here is a little weird right now. My little house might sell in a week, or it could sit on the market for a year.

    Anyway, it looks like a terrific house, and a great price. As does the house next door. That’s your house on the right, Jessamyn? Somehow I pictured your house being out in the middle of nowhere, but it looks like it’s right in town.

  4. The Wire.

    I am contemplating a back-to-the-country move. What can I get in Bethel for, say, ten percent of that price?

  5. Joe, maybe a trailer park? (Do they have trailer parks in Vermont?)