The Lampshade Lady Blog

come hell or high water... shop is saved! Irene 8/28/11

 
 

Hurricane Irene came through Vermont on Sunday. I headed down to my shop at 8 am Sunday for water (ironically our water pump at home died on Friday) and grabbed my laptop. Our town had a huge celebration for it's 250 anniversary on Saturday. The hurricane was due through Vermont mid morning so I scurried home to hunker down for the storm. Little did we know that we would really get 7-8 inches of rain. CRAZY water. The last time Pawlet flooded was the storm of 1976; a year before I came to Vermont.  Water going by the turn on RT 30 at Machs. The Flower Brook over ran it's banks just north of the store. These photos are all from community members posting on FB. Carson and I tried to head to town yesterday after a call from my neighbors Holly and Merideth. "Judy, you better come down, your shop is just about to be flooded". We hoped in Carson's truck and ventured down to town to save my inventory and shop. But, roads were flooded every which way we tried and headed home. Can't get there from here.... I've never seen so much rain!   



road closed by fire house. 

The slate saved the village houses diverting the water around the turn at Machs.

water inside Machs. L

Living in a small town brings out the kindness in neighbors. Judy my neighbor across the street kept me up to date with photos up on FB. Here I sat all day at home and could not make it into town. Tummy churned at each photo, thinking my years of collecting fabrics, inventory and hundreds of shades in my shop might be ruined. I was connected to town, only 2 miles down the hill from my house from all the wonderful, albeit scary Face Book videos and uploaded photos. Friends called to give updates.... I hardly remember eating lunch. In the morning I had been trying to think of a funny post before the storm hit. I had woken up at 3:45 am Sat. pm and posted in the am something to the effect, Hey, the guys on the weather channel are pretty cute in the middle of the night, ha, ha.  And of course my girl friends all jumped in with a thumbs up and needed to add some humor to a day starting with unknown forseen problems.  Who the heck watches the weather channel at that hour...??? 

A view from Matt's next to Post Office. This is the closest his boats been to water in a while! Can only imagine fishing this out of The Mill Pond. Yikes.

water coming under bridge on rt 30. amazing power of water. 

water at the mill pond.

Today is Monday the day after the storm. I heard at 5 pm last night that my shop was dry! what a wait, but fantastic news. I couldn't imagine that it was dry. I am thrilled and surprised with the good news; I was expecting the worst. I do have a basement full of mud and maybe a failed furnace, but to be honest it could be so much worse. Vermont has been hit really hard by the extreme water of overflowing rivers and mud slides, many roads are closed and whole towns closed off by disaster; watching the news on channel 3 tonight seemed so unreal. Vermont is usually untouched by these crazy weather disasters; it's always somewhere else...thoughts go out to those in Waitsfield, Richmond, Brattleboro, Ludlow, Mendon, Rutland, Wilmington, etc.

Many thanks to Linda, Judy C., Mark, Libby, Sue L. and Rusty for posting photos. 

Bounty of the Summer

Summer harvest time is here. This is the first time in a bunch of summers that I have been able to fuss with my little veggie garden at home. My goal is to have just enough veggies to eat and not have to freeze stuff....I love my raised beds. My garden is pretty small compared to many here in the country, but just right in my mind. It is doable; in the spring I can look at one bed at a time rather than a huge garden that needs to be tilled. I can cram tons of stuff into my raised beds. The edging is all sort of falling apart; I keep looking in the garden magazines for a super duper edging that will last. But usually end up being to cheap to buy it...... sound familiar. I don't like railroad ties or pressure sensitive wood, but do like some of the metal edging. Does anyone have a good raised bed edging. Please share!!!
oh dear, my garden doesn't look so good in this photo... ya know, things get ratty in August. I should of snapped one in July when it was all perky and green. We just had 2 days of heavy rain and pretty sure the veggies are all very, very happy. I've had fun watching a big pumpkin grow. I'm between lettuce plantings.... it does take forever to get big enough to pick. More cilantro is coming up. Basil is still going crazy with nice soft leaves. Fall peas are up a tad, zillions of patty pans and yellow squash. Tomatoes, cherries, brandywine, sungold, yellow pear. yipee. My plum tree is almost ready to pick, red pears, too. Got to get the pears before the critters....the squirrel has a hole right by the tree; smarty pants. Raspberry bushes are greening up and almost blossoming for the 2nd round of berries. I have filled up one hole shelf in my freezer with raspberries. Best year ever for summer berries.

The end of the summer becomes a busy time. Seems like summer tourism has been quiet, but the next 2 weeks will be bust out busy. Pawlet's 250 Anniversary is coming up the weekend of Aug 26-28. And the famous Art on The Green is Sept. 3rd. Not to be missed.

Time to get back to lampshade making and a big Happy Birthday to Mom! My computer is on it's last leggs... making very funny noises, oh please get me through today; my new shiny Mac is coming tomorrow. A lampshade makers hands are always covered in glue.... and my computer track pad is definately hindered by mess hands... oh Judy. Amazing how much I rely on this lovely silver machine. This funny, quirky little blog is my best avenue to the outside world.To think an upscale lampshade business can survive in downtown Pawlet, ie boonies with a country store, a post office, a restaurant, 2 realestate offices, a gallery and next to a closed Bistro...(hopefully opening soon, I'm ever positive it will be better than the last time!!!)  Everyday I get more calls from who knows where of someone needing a lampshade they can't find anywhere!

bye for now,

judy

 

Come Out to Nantucket Island for My Workshop

2 Shades in 2 Days on Nantucket Island

Keep your summer going and head out to Nantucket Island for my 2 day workshop. It's not too late to reserve a spot with the Nantucket Historical Association's 1800 House Craft Workshops. Thursday and Friday, Sept. 8 and 9, 2011.

We will be doing 2 shades. First day a hard back fabric shade with fabric. And day 2 we will do a vintage Nantucket Postcard Shade. (or Boston) I did a fun workshop last summer with the 1800 House. We had a big group of 10 students, but their workroom was perfect for a large group. Last year we did it all in one day; this year we are splitting the long day up with 2 morning sessions.

Contact the 1800 House to save a spot for my workshop. Ask for Betsy or Mary.  http://www.nha.org/1800house   or call 508-228-7785.

On my way to Nantucket I'm going to do a stop over to shop a little at The Brimfield Flea Market. My treat for working so hard this summer!  And maybe a little beach time, too. 

Just Annoucing: One Day Workshop Oct. 21

New Workshop just annouced. Oct 21, 2011, Friday 11am-5pm

My 2 day OCT. intensive workshop is officially full and due to "heavy arm twisting", (just kidding) I have just added this new workshop.Cost $150. all materials included except fabric. We will be doing a shade about the size of the one in the picture. Mid size is a good place to start. If you've taken the class before you can go onto a bigger shade. Email me @ [email protected] or give a call to the shop, 802-325-6308 if you want to come.

I've been getting so many delightful emails from some of you that have bought my Lampshade Lady book. It is such an honor to hear your comments. If you wish to add an Amazon review; I appreciate any nice reviews. And thanks to those of you that have!!!

thanks,

judy lake