log blog

July 19th, 2007 | Uncategorized

wood

I got a cord of wood delivered tonight, and had the presence of mind to film it as it was being dumped out of the truck. Always an exciting moment. Wow. I just noticed something weird. I was looking back over some old posts, and found all these new comments on my “time and space” post that I hadn’t seen before. Or thought I hadn’t. On June 30th, someone named Van used the phrase “raw emotional wormhole.” I don’t remember reading that, but I used the word “wormhole” in my July 11th post. Huh! I must have seen it, don’t you think? And unconsciously internalized it? Weird.

30 Responses to “log blog”

  1. Jaibe says:

    Maybe NPR or mentioned wormholes & you both were listening?

    But I definitely don’t remember as well as I used to, and I am in my forties too.

  2. Nele says:

    I think much more “wow” would be a film showing you chop up all this wood. πŸ™‚

    Ne “I love living in the big city” le

  3. lurknolonger says:

    I love that chuckle in the beginning of the video!

    It’s exciting to watch this neatly piled wood suddenly descend into chaos (the tipping point, haha?), especially with the orderly pile as a constant in the background… Ok, enough critique. Do they stay and help you stack it back up? If it’s anything like having gravel delivered, you’re on your own and quite busy for the next few hours. Enjoy the outdoors and exercise!

  4. Al, et al. says:

    Re: Nele’s comment– do you think we could see that video? Maybe wearing the same, er, costume you wore in that recent self-portrait? A girl can dream, right?

  5. So UN-pc says:

    I’m beginning to think you are re-creating *my* childhood. Is there is a gigantic John Deere tire swing (and/or a golf cart) anywhere on your property? πŸ˜‰

  6. Ginjoint says:

    Damn! Al beat me to that joke!

    On the home front, Alison, this week I’m channeling your childhood. I, too, was raised by compulsive rehabbers. I’m at our family homestead (a Queen Anne instead of Gothic Revival, but same amount of frou-frou.) Yesterday I got blitzed on the fumes from Brasso, Weiman’s Marble Polish, Old English Furniture Polish (for dark AND light woods), Murphy’s Soap, and ExtendAFinish Chandelier Cleaner. I’ve cleaned newel posts, transoms, spindles, Eastlake dressers, baseboards, and the wood on the sides of stair runners. Brass beds are now glowing. I’m doing all this while being kept company by five cats and old portraits of old people staring down at me. Now I’ve gotta go launder some lace sheets. And, Christ, the doilies – washed those yesterday and have to put them back in their respective rooms. If I get it wrong, I’m afraid they’ll come to life and chastise me. (Attack of the Killer Doilies? God, I’m anthropomorphsizing doilies. The fumes are stronger than I thought.)

    Unlike you, though, I wasn’t raised in this environment – my parents purchased this joint 20 years ago, when I was already in college. Thank God.

  7. van says:

    lol, I’d say great minds think alike, but *falls to my knees and fans arms up and down* I’m not worthy.

    That’s a LOT of wood– I hope they shed-stacked it for you.

  8. thistle says:

    As a Vermonter, I’ve got to say that it looks to me like that wood’s chopped already, so I wouldn’t all hold your breath for the Alison/woodchopping video, unless she has an extra-small stove or needs to chop up some kindling. (My dad used to get our wood still in log form. It was intense, although my only role was stacking after he had it chopped.)

  9. Dr. Empirical says:

    As a native New Englander, I can tell you that paying someone to stack the wood costs more than the wood itself. In all likelihood, Alison is stacking it herself right this moment.

  10. klm says:

    In MY childhood, stacking the wood was the kids’ job. Endlessly. I firmly believe that this is why my parents had children in the first place. Love the video. Isn’t it cool the way one log falls off and then a bunch more follow like they’re rushing to see what’s so cool and then there’s a pause and then most of the rest jump off in a big clump? Gravity (and -um- surface friction?) is neat.

  11. Ann S. in Madison says:

    For the love of Maisie, do wear gloves.

  12. So UN-pc says:

    In MY childhood, it was also the kids’ job. But we got an allowance. And fancy gloves. And…uh…Alison is sans kid, so….perhaps some strapping young dykes should wander over and do it for her? I have tomorrow off…

  13. So UN-pc says:

    And as a point of order, the hyperlink for “fleetingly hip” (in the post above) goes to “time and space” πŸ™‚

  14. So UN-pc says:

    And I wasn’t kidding. I’ll stack your wood. πŸ™‚

  15. Ellen O. says:

    I love the sound on this video, the metallic whine of the truck giving way to the earthy, nearly-musically clips and clunks of the falling wood.

  16. Bunny Watson says:

    On a completely unrelated note: since the recent server problems, the RSS feed for this blog doesn’t seem to work anymore. I’m not getting updates in Bloglines. Anyone have any ideas or solutions? Sorry it’s not about the log pile, but I really like having the feed! Thanks.

  17. Josiah says:

    On an even more unrelated note, comics genius Alan Moore gives a shout-out to Fun Home in passing here. (It’s part of a mainstream comics site’s overview of homosexuality in comicsΒ β€” mostly talking about superhero comics and the like, but Moore mentions Alison and Howard Cruse, while also getting a well-deserved dig in to Frank Miller for the historical absurdity of 300.)

  18. Hayley says:

    There is nothing like knowing that you have a ton of wood to bank against your future.
    Unrelated: anyone on this board attending Falcon Ridge Folk Festival next week? We are firing up the Westfalia on Monday and will be at the fest Thurs morning. Anyone going…meet you at Nyota Ting’s stand for some curried mock goat. Mmmmmm. I love Nyota.

  19. kate says:

    or maybe wormhole is the new whatnot?

    okay, so i’m rather dumb but do you need wood in the middle of summer in vermont? funny i don’t remember that.

  20. TeratoMarty says:

    Ha! You’re RICH! That is the feeling I always get after the wood’s delivered.

  21. Mother of Two Siamese Cats says:

    Having grown up in New England (during the times of the oil and energy crises) having cords of wood delivered during the summer was not uncommon before the fall which would allow time to chop and stack it. In the late 70’s many homeowners had them installed into conventional central chimneys, fitted into their fireplaces (and curbed their gas heater use) or they built chimneys for woodstove use. The blizzard of 1978 left many on the northeastern seaboard without power and without gas heat which was another reason the woodstove became a popular alternative energy source, something that united blue-collar union guys (that like to go duck hunting) with Greenpeace. During that blizzard our house was without power for over a week and we had to sleep by the fireplace to stay warm (it’s a good thing we had wood stacked and covered on our outdoor patio). The following year my grandfather installed a wood stove into our fireplace.

  22. Mother of Two Siamese Cats says:

    I have two Siamese cats but they are males. I got my first Siamese cat in 1988 that was a female seal point given to me as a present by an ex. I did not know the DTWOF strip existed until 1990. Seven years later my current partner (now of 15 years) and I got a blue point Siamese female and we had two Siamese cats, but unfortunately both died from mammary cancer in 2002 and 2006 (which female Siamese cats have a higher rate than other felines). I always loved Siamese cats for their inquisitiveness and their strong human interactive bonding and I got my Siamese males in 2001 and 2006.

  23. The wood’s still sitting out in the rain. I’m trying to get a local kid to stack it and he hasn’t called me back. I was actually surprised at how little it cost to get someone else to do this. I think I paid him thirty bucks last year. After I’d given up on ever finding time to do it myself, and ruining my lawn.

  24. Mother of Two Siamese Cats says:

    When I was graowing up in New England my mother and I would split and stack the chord of wood that the dump loader deposited into our driveway. At the time as a teen I didn’t like the chore but it turned out to be a good workout long before the days of 24-Hour Fitness with its bevy of professionals on treadmills and freeweights. I now live in Sacramento where it does not freeze and a wood burning fireplace is more for ambiance on rainy nights in December than for anything else.

  25. Deb says:

    As a rabid Oregonian, yep…….the wood is all split and ready to go.

  26. van says:

    Do you guys go through so much wood that fast? AB already has a pretty stocked up shed, but apparently is still a truckload short. I’ve no idea how long this stash can last, the whole year? lol, I make a bad Girl Scout… good thing I was never one.

  27. ragthetiger says:

    Nice lilies, Alison.

  28. Dr. Empirical says:

    Hayley,

    No Falcon Ridge for me this year! I’m just back from Bear’s Picnic, and I’ll be doing Phillyfolk next month.

    Pack lots of dry clothes and have fun!

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