The Kidnap Note

 Our neighbor welcomes us back... Wait a minute, is that blood?!

 The bedroom ceiling wasn't even (cuz we tore a wall down), so we are sheetrocking it. This is the "before"...

 Our Vermont home theater. Featuring a 19 inch full color screen, dvd player and stereo sound!

 Snowing again.

 Putting sheetrock over the old tile ceiling.

 Snowing again.

 A ransom note from the neighbors? We still haven't figured out who's been kidnapped but "keep Vermont green bring money" makes their terms clear. What kind of threat is "The heat is on"? Sounds kind of nice.

 The bathroom floor, almost finished...

The bedroom ceiling, almost finished...

 View from the backyard.

Smokin', Drinkin' and Talkin'

 -10. Fahrenheit. What to do? The only thing you can do when it's ten below! Smoke, drink and talk!

 The Winter Watchman. When the temperature gets too low, it turns a light on in the house...  So the neighbors know your pipes are bursting.

 This is what spackle looks like.

 Footprints in the snow...

 Paintin' the windows.

 This is a Cooper's Hawk...  aka "chicken hawk".  They eats chickens.

Ooops. This picture is a typo.

Trust and Believe

 Yup, it's not just people killing the planet with their SUVs! Damn dirty dog. Outside of the Home Depot in Rutland, Vermont.

 Our mighty brook has disappeared!

 Marble Street near the house... These "mountains" look like boobies.

 The West Rutland Marsh.  It's badass.

 Shelly, looking like she knows what she's doing.

Matt, looking like he knows what he's doing.

No Fishing, Swimming or Rafting

 The "brook" in the backyard.  No fishing, swimming, or rafting.

 The big pine tree on top of the hill in the backyard.  There's a prize for climbing all the way to the top and ringing the bell that's up there!

 Killington. People ski there.

 Cemetery on Pleasant Street...  Has some really old (dead) people in it.

 Ed's magic "snow blowing" machine.  No one knows how it works; it just does!

 Shelly told me these were Vermont Chocolate Berries (almost as famous as maple syrup), that were magically delicious.  Well, they're very chewy, a bit stringy and have a taste not unlike poop.  Why not come up and try one?  We have plenty for all!

 The West Rutland Liberry.

 So sad... Mr. Pumpkin has gone to a better place.

Run for your life!

Timber!  The neighbors cut this tree down across the street just to improve our view!  Thanks guys! Watch it in the HD on the Youtubes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFwfdl_OvfE

The Story of H.O. Edson

Our neighbor in Vermont with a deer.  Don't worry kids, the deer was just "sleeping" (umm... forever).

 Ed and my pa on the neighborhood tour.

 I found this board tearing apart the wall in the "old" bathroom.  Someone left their name on it, "H.O. Edson, Rutland".  Shelly looked him up with the help of the internets.

 H.O. Edson, aka Henry Edson.  Shelly found this old advertisement from the city directory for Rutland, Vermont (dated 1895!).  He was apparently a lumber dealer and semi-bigwig in the area.  Sqeeto!

 Snow - Yay!

Freshly painted.  "Parchment" is the color (I call it "white").

Sheet rock is up!  Time to "flow the mud".

Before and After Mints

 Before...  Remember woodpaneling from old Starsky and Hutch episodes?  
Me neither.

After

 Before...

 After (we painted the windows black)

 Listening to bad 80's rock on the radio...  Did you think "Carry on my wayward son" was a good song?  Listen to it now.  It's one step above Styx.  Don't follow the link if you have children in the room...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cShYbLkhBc

Before...

 After a "snow squall" (I don't know what it is either).

 You can't imagine what a "snow squall" is like until you've experienced it (and lived!)
For a real thrill, watch it in HD on the YouTubes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G3qbsW0Hns

Before and After Action

The view from in front of "Sweet Caroline's" (restaurant), overlooking the Price Chopper.

Marley taking a break from sniffing people and things.

Freshly painted radiator covers on the porch.

USA, USA, USA!

I don't know what Stacey was talking about, but Shelly looks very interested...

This is the closest thing I could find to a before...

After... (we painted!)

Under the carpet downstairs... This means we save money (don't have to buy wood to have wood floors!). Hooray for us. Thanks Stacey and Craig for working through your entire weekend! Also, big ups to Ed for sucking up our leaves with his miraculous "leaf sucking machine".

Postcards from the Great White North

Yup, they have clouds in Vermont.

A motorcycle from... the future! Now with 3 wheels!

Slowly getting there... the upstairs bathroom.

Once you've rolled up enough carpets, it's hard not to get attached to them. This is Fred. No, there are no corpses inside him, silly!

Downtown Rutland during the Halloween Parade. The spots are magic Halloween fairies.