Peggy Smith

Food is in the news everyday. If it is not an article on low fat or diets, it is how and what is bad for us. Obesity is a major problem in the United States especially in children. Yet so many parents opt out on nutritional meals for their children.

Kids eat nothing but starch, sugar and salt. Chicken nuggets, what do you really think is in that, real chicken? Hot dogs, macaroni and cheese from a box with fake cheese and lots of sugar. It is frightening to think that kids never sit down to a family dinner, never actually eat a meal that has been prepared from natural products and grow up never how to eat nutritionally. There has never been a better time to learn how food impacts our environment, our community and our culture.

If you are in Stowe mid-February you should check in on this free lecture:

The social and political issues of eating local with Abbie Nelson of NOFA-VT and VT FEED
How do the choices we make with food impact our community, our environment, our culture, and our politics? Come hear Abbie Nelson of the Northeast Organic Farming Association speak to the many ways food is about so much more than what we put in our mouths.

February 12, 2008
Time: 7pm
Location: Stowe Free Library
Admission: Free
More Info: 802-253-6145

It was Saturday afternoon and I had to go to a showing. Since the house had a great rec room with pool table, ping pong and foosball, I decided to invite my six year old grandson, Eli, along. He was staying with me for the week-end and needed to have some diversion.

Eli was under strict instructions to stay in the rec room while I was showing the house. We arrived to the house ready and he explored every inch of it, including the “really cool” ladder that went to the cupola. He turned on all the necessary lights and wanted to light the gas fireplace, which is where I drew the line.

The potential buyers arrived at the house, I barely got the door open when Eli announced,”This is a really cool house and you should buy it.” Attempts to get him back down in the rec room were futile. He guided us through the house, pointed out all of the features that he thought they should know about. And the amazing thing was, they were exactly the same features I would have pointed out to them.

I was a bit apologetic, but I was assured that it was the most interesting and fun house tour they had been on and that I should split the commission with him when I sold it.

Just in case you’d like to see the house. Click here is a link for the visual tour of Blueberry Hill.

Any offers will have to be reviewed by Eli.

The Stowe Winter Carnival is about to take place in Stowe, Vermont. This is an event that is full of entertainment and fun for the whole family. Back in the late 70’s, Stowe decided that it needed to beef up the tourist trade in January. Usually January can be a slow month for Stowe because we either have 20 below zero weather or a warm spell. To attract people to Stowe, the Stowe Area Association created Stowe Winter Carnival. From races at the mountain to snow golf to village night filled with cartoon characters, to ice sculpture contests, and casino night, Stowe was a whirlwind of activity.

That first year, volunteers sewed costumes for “Village Night.” There was Dorothy and Toto, Spiderman, the seven dwarfs and Snow White, many many more characters including the stars of the show “Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog!’ I had already volunteered to deal Black Jack for casino night and had hosted several “practice nights” at my house, but I was totally unprepared for the “Miss Piggy” call;”Would my ex-husband and I be, Miss Piggy and Kermit? ” I was not sure if this was because they thought I had the build of Miss Piggy and Bill (my ex) looked like a frog or they just thought we would be game for a night of fun. We decided the later was the reason and so we said, yes.

Little did I know what I was getting in for. First of all my children, Maggie and McKee, were very little at the time, but still wanted to join in on the fun. A phone call to the grandparents got them on board to take them to village night. The big night came, it was 20 below. We all gathered at the town hall to dress; this was the first time I saw my outfit. There it was laid out on a chair - a purple silk evening dress, purple gloves, strappy high heels and of course the mask. Now you tell me how in 20 below weather one can be comfortable in that outfit? I managed to get it on over my long underwear, but there was no question-I looked stuffed. The head and the glamourous attached blonde hair came next. Now here was something that I knew would keep me warm, as it was full of stuffing making my head three times a normal size head. With a quick slip over my head and it was on. Suddenly the world turned black! The eyes did not match my eyes, and even if they had, the eyes were so small you could barely see a thing, even in a brightly lit room.

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As I watched the snow fall yesterday it brought me back to the afternoon I spent on New Years day with my daughter and husband. We rolled out of bed and found the snow had picked up again from the day before. Seeing this we decided to forgo the couch and head to Trapp’s Family Lodge for a ski.They have miles of the best cross country trails and the best views in Vermont.

It had been so beautiful the day before, even my tired 30 year old Maggie, was convinced to come along. She moved back from California last year and I still love the idea of having her in Burlington; easily accessible for something as simple as a xc ski and latte.

It is days like yesterday and over the New Year that I am reminded why I moved to Vermont all those years ago and why she decided to move back East. With the snow clinging to the trees ,deep in the woods at Trapp’s ,it is hard to miss the beauty of this place.

We skied for a few hours and grabbed a bite at the Stowe Coffee House. A cup of soup, panini and latte satisfied our hunger. We drove up Taber Hill, content, happy and ready to do some couch time. So, yesterday as I watched the snow drift down to cover our nearly bare lawn, I smiled and remembered, life is pretty good in Stowe, Vermont.