Nothing Comes Between Me and My Carhartts

Along with the seasonal time change there's the light change that comes along with it. Here in Northern Vermont, heading up to the barn at five, for the three hours I'm there if I evening milk, the light outside is tinged with a purple and pink glows-- where it's not bathed in fog.

I was late. 5:03. 3 minutes late, and feeling horrible about it, I walk in to the barn. No amount of saying "fuck, fuck, fuck!" in my car as I white knuckled the dirt road to Laini's got me there any faster. This time of year the drive is as gnarly as the nubbed roads.

I was able to distract Laini from my lateness.

I had spent my day getting outfitted.

Last week Laini and Kate kept checking out what I was wearing. Kate thought maybe there'd be something around that I could wear over my clothes, but I didn't want to ask. I'd come up with a combination of old ski gear that was losing it's oomph on the hill - or on the flats. Yoko nordic-gloves have proven to be extremely udder-friendly.

I'd already invested in Muck boots, but it was the rest of me -- the parts that had to lean on the barn stalls and on the milking stand and on the goats themselves, the parts of me that were having to sometimes get a little dirty with what what my feet were protected from.

Let's just say I now know why certain boots are called "shitkickers".

If I've just taken my writing off the Church reading list, so be it.

Back at the barn, what I opted for held up.

What I'd set out for in the morning was coveralls. On a hot tip from a friend, I set out for Waterbury.

I guess these have gone out of fashion, or are just not a part of this season's line. The four storesI went to in three different towns had only a pair each -- and the smallest was Men's size 48. None of them stocked the "ladies" version, which I didn't know existed until store #2.


Knowing that I shouldn't show up back at the barn without some more sensible attire, I was on a mission to figure this out. At store #1, I'd already come up with the overall option, seeing that Carhartt made a smart pair for my tasks.


I knew from seeing some guys at Martha's and at the hardware store in Lowell, just North of Lazy Lady, that all of these options came in padded or not. I wasn't sure what I wanted. But at store # 2, in Waitsfield, I had three different salespeople helping me and giving me advice, while I was eyeing all these other cool Carhartt items in the surrounding racks.



I'm not including the above vest on my wish list, but it was the first unnecessary item that caught my attention. Just as I was thinking "that would look cute on me", I realized it was because a boyfriend or two had the same one, and I did not need to own this. I thought I may have even worn this, after Pink Floyd, cold and leaving Nassau.






But then I remembered it was this.






And it wasn't walking the parking lot. This is what the guy who slept next to me lent me while we waited on line overnight for the tickets in Midtown Manhattan. The corner of 57th and 3rd, even in June, makes for a really cold night, even if you're in a tent. My line-mate was convinced we were getting 4th row. I got 11th.


This jacket has kept me warm a few times since. Guys who like music like this jacket. The next one I wore was of the boy who taught me to love AC/DC and the Allmans.

I drift, but Carhartt did help take my mind off my sorrows yesterday. At another time in my life, and in the life of our nation's economy, you could say I was partaking in shop therapy.


Yesterday, I did not get tickets to phish Merriweather. With three computers, two phones, and six friends and relatives on the task, it did not happen.


So in Waitsfield, not knowing that Carhartt had gotten so racy and high-fashion, I make a note of some things I want to and can buy.

I was two hours' drive from work, and losing time. Driving south hadn't been the smartest idea, but neither was putting what I'd seen and thought I wanted on special order. I loved this color.

They call it sandstone. I call it khaki. No one had it in my size, and really, it wasn't lined, which by store #3, also in Waitsfield, I'd realized made sense. My upperbody and hands stay warm from all the activity, but my legs tend to get a little stiffer and colder.

I gave up and headed north. I knew I could stop in Morrisville, and did, and I hit the jackpot. Literally.

Store # 4, Caplan's, had discountinued ladies' chocolate brown bibs, lined, size 10.

You will have to channel the image for now.

They rock.

At the till at Caplan's, they have you pick out of a bucket, choosing from hundreds of colored slips of paper, to get a discount.

$74.96. And I'm pretty sure these are going to last.