Grand Union's Grand Pickle

After a month away, our shelves were seriously bare so we hit Rutland's Grand Union for a quick restock.

With our tummies rumbling, we were easily distracted but one particular item caught our attention. A giant jar of Herr's Blossoming Onion crisps. It wasn't because we're particularly fond of crisps but rather because there was a glaring inconsistency between Herr's packaging and the sales pitch from Grand Union.

To be fair to Grand Union, Herr's crisps are apparently inspired by Outback Steakhouse's famous fried appetizer, the Bloomin' Onion (note they didn't even get the spelling right. Damn Aussies, always doing everything differently!). But at $4.99 for a giant jar, how can you go wrong?!

There's No Place Like The Rut

We've just arrived back in Rutland after four weeks away. Some things have changed (Connick's has a stall at the Rutland Farmers' Market, hooray) and some things have remained the same (the mall is still devoid of any character whatsoever).

The one thing that remains refreshingly the same is the Rut's ability to make us laugh via the random things that we see on one given day. We kid you not, our first day back in The Rut, we snapped the following:

1. A bra strewn on the sidewalk on Woodstock Avenue

Out for an afternoon stroll, the four members of our walking party had a laugh out loud moment when we walked past a bra on the sidewalk (hey, we'll readily admit small things amuse small minds). We were a little way away from the closest laundromat so we don't think this fell out of someone's laundry bag. We hope it was a little spring fling and nothing nefarious.

2. A fire next door to Applebee's

After a few drinks at the Downtown Tavern we headed to Applebee's for a very late dinner and were somewhat shocked to see what appeared to be a raging fire next door. No one was panicking so we quizzed our server who just shrugged his shoulders and said 'oh, that's our neighbors, they light fires all the time'. Fair enough, it was a pretty cold night for May.

3. A woman carrying an open laptop while crossing South Main Street with her family

Not sure why you would need to have your laptop open while out on a walk (she's behind the girl with the giant purple ball). Random GPS application? Hell, we have no idea, we just love the entire photo - from the giant ball to the laptop to the dog straining to get off its leash.

It's great to be home! There really is no place like the Rut.

Sandra & Elin Aren't The Only Ones Hurting

We all know Sandra Bullock and Elin Nordegren are hurting at the moment with their respective men playing away from home (Bombshell McGee? Really Jesse James, what were you thinking?!).

It seems there is someone in Rutland that's hurting just as much.

One of our readers spotted this house on their morning commute today. The home on Curtis Avenue is sprayed with multiple obscene slurs (so look away if you are easily offended) . Clearly someone isn't happy.

We hear that moves have already been made to remove the offensive spray so if you're planning on a drive by, it may be too late.

It actually bears a striking resemblance to some of the messages that have popped up on Bombshell McGee's MySpace page. We know Sandra Bullock has a home in Vermont (her sister Gesine owns a confectionary (her spelling, not ours) business in Montpelier) but we're pretty sure Bombshell doesn't have a home here so if you know anything about the back story to the Curtis Avenue home, email us - rutgirl@gmail.com - not that we condone the actions, we're just interested is all.

Things You Find In A Rutland Bin

It's not every day we look in bins but when we were on our way to Pack the Paramount the other day, Mama Rutland drew Rut Girl's attention to something glistening in the sun.

Moseying on over to the Center Street bin we saw all the usual things, namely cigarettes (filthy habit Rutters, give it up), a soup cup and other indiscriminate rubbish.

But what really caught our eye was the tin of partially eaten olives. If you look closely enough, you'll actually see olives from the can amongst the rubbish. Tin olives, really? Each to their own we suppose.

Rutland Creative Economy Community Forum Set To Spark Spirited Debate

Email inboxes and twitter feeds lit up across the weekend as news spread about the Rutland Creative Economy Community Forum scheduled to be held this Wednesday, March 31 at the Paramount Theatre (although we see the event isn't listed on the Paramount's calendar, what's up with that?!).

Some people are genuinely excited about the event (which we hope to make, but we already had plans - seriously folks, a week's notice??!!) but others are angry about the lack of agenda for the forum.

The meeting made front page news of the Rutland Herald today with the Creative Economy's Chairwoman Tara Kelly quoted as saying the group had begun to hear that there was 'public perception that the group wasn't open and accepting of new members'.

It will be interesting to see how receptive the group is to new ideas and new members. Equally it will be interesting to see how receptive non-members are to the ideas presented by the Creative Economy - the emails we've seen doing the rounds from non-members are certainly fiery.

One email we were forwarded called projects undertaken by the Creative Economy 'Disney like' and another called the projects some of the 'worst investments ever'. Harsh. Additionally, the comments portion beneath the Herald's story features some spirited debate.

We have to say the bulk of the ideas up for contemplation during the 'open ideas' portion of the forum that were outlined in today's paper didn't exactly have us in raptures. Another reason for us to try and get there to have our say. The ideas for new groups and projects includes:

• Forming a group to spearhead a comprehensive implementation of Rutland's marketing brand (there's a marketing brand?!)
  
• Create a downtown gateway at the train station (we're sure that's the first thing visitors will notice when they stumble off the Ethan Allen at 9.05pm at night or 11.30pm on a Friday night. How about working with Amtrak to promote the service so we can have more than one train a day?)
• Beautifying the city's gateways through landscaping and prominent signage (seriously, enough with the signage already, how about filling those vacant stores and promoting local business better?)

No matter what your position is, we think it is fantastic that there are people committed to putting Rutland back on the map so while the drama queen in us is looking forward to the potential fireworks at the forum, we hope that the passion is harnessed into positive projects that will actually make a difference.

Side note: we hate to be spelling Nazi's but a shout out to the Creative Economy - there's a glaring typo on your pages

An Important Public Safety Message From The Red Moon Saloon

First of all apologies for the intermittent blogging. Poor health, the weather and a job that pays the bills have conspired against Rut Girl and eaten into her spare time, but this week she'll be back in full force.

Seeing as how we're in such a good mood, we thought we'd share a sign we spied in Rutneyland during a nighttime drive with Mama Rutland.

It is planted outside local drinking establishment The Red Moon Saloon. 'Take Safety Home With You'.....what kind of message is that to send to prospective patrons?!

Admittedly, we haven't been to the Red Moon Saloon. To be honest, we haven't heard great things....although according to the Rutland Herald, The Red Moon put the Vegas in RutVegas!

We also love their Facebook page, in particular the reference to transport in the area. Taxis and limos? Apart from the fact that we have never seen a limo in Rutland, the Friday night we were in the Red Moon parking lot, there was not a car to be seen. In fact, it was dark, desolate and all we could see were a couple of eyes peering through the darkness, watching our every move! In fact it looked closed.

So we did some preliminary digging online and found the minutes from the Board of Alderman meeting in October last year. Seems there was a motion to suspend the Red Moon's 'entertainment permit' because the place is a giant fire trap waiting to happen (our words, not theirs).

We also found a couple of awesome reviews online - one referred to the Red Moon as a 'place for toothless, lower class people' and another mentioned they nearly got into trouble when they emptied their bladder on someone's car.... you don't say?! So maybe the sign is in fact an appropriate public message from Red Moon's management; we're thankful for the warning.

We've got a birthday coming up in April, we may just take a chance and find out for ourselves.

Come On Rutland, Let's Pack The Paramount!

We know that we like to joke about Rutland and point out certain inconsistencies but sometimes there are serious causes that we need to get behind and highlight.

This Friday and Saturday is Pack the Paramount, an annual food drive sponsored by businesses including CVPS. Organizers have set their sights pretty high - they're hoping to get their hands on 20,000 non-perishable food items, enough to fill each seat in the Paramount Theatre.

We know everyone is doing it tough right now but if you've got 50c, that's enough to purchase tinned vegetables; just one tin can make a difference.

Three local food shelves will benefit - Rutland Community Cupboard; the Salvation Army and BROC.

Downtown Seeks To Improve Signs - We've Got A Suggestion Or Two

We've been sitting on this article from the Rutland Herald for a few days now, contemplating our response. After all, we're new here, we don't have a whole lot of history to draw on but then again without new people and without their input, no matter how naive, how can things improve?

It turns out the Downtown Rutland Partnership and Rutland Redevelopment Authority are submitting two grants for a total amount of $48,000 to purchase.....new signs. New signs?! Who knew signs cost so much?! The purpose of said signs is to welcome travelers to downtown and point out amenities .... particularly the parking garage on West Street (really, the parking garage?!).

Don't get us wrong, some directional signs would be nice. Take for example these signs we saw today for Rutland's Farmer's Market. Some directions (say an arrow or an address as a basic starting point) wouldn't go astray. The Rut's Farmer's Market is a FANTASTIC event on a Saturday, but in its current winter location it is impossible to find. We should be doing everything we can to support and promote local businesses and we think applying for grants supporting those types of endeavors would be a more worthy investment of time.

How about helping existing businesses establish their own websites (so few seem to have them)?

How about encouraging new businesses to setup downtown (a subsidy on the rent perhaps)?

That way when travelers and tourists visit, there's actually something there for them to see, rather than vacant stores (take a look at the number of listings on the Downtown Rutland Partnership's site) or food venues and shops that aren't open weekends when lots of travelers go exploring.

How great would it be to have a few sit down options for breakfast downtown on a weekend? I mean Clem's is great and all but it gets a bit boring week in week out. How great would it be to direct people properly to the Farmer's Market so they can sample and purchase our local wares?

Speaking of the Farmer's Market. Is it our imagination or are there decidedly less vendors at the moment? We seem to remember a Mexican guy who sold beautiful jewelry, a cupcake woman and maybe a person with homemade dips? We didn't see them today. On the plus side our favorite musician was playing today making for a pleasurable trip around the stalls.

Rut Girl's Friday Honor Roll

Friday Funny

Well it isn't everyday that we would nominate the Rutland Police Log as funny but one particular item on the list (published in Wednesday's Rutland Herald) caught our eye. Take a look at the 3.13pm entry on Sunday, February 21. Yes, that's right 'breathing'. Take that as a warning all you Pine Street residents, take one breath and Rutland's finest (what's left of them anyway) will be at your door.

Friday Fail

Following on from last week's Friday fail featuring Cafe Terra's spelling error, we thought we'd found another one when we saw this sign at Ponderosa Steakhouse on Route 7.

That's not how you spell ace is it? Convinced that no one could possibly have erred that badly (who would describe their seafood buffet as ace anyway?!) we googled the term.

Surprise, surprise AYCE is an acronym for 'all you can eat', not one we're that familiar with, but there you go, not only do you learn something new everyday but it's yet another example of the death of the English language (and yes we mean you Diamond Run Mall). It is not like there isn't plenty of white space (obscured by the vehicle) to fit all those words. Lazy!

(apologies for the quality of the photo, but it's not easy when you're a passenger on a bus on the opposite side of Route 7).

Diamond Run Mall - A Great Place To Dine and Snack

We know it seems like we're picking on Rutland's Diamond Run Mall but when we saw this ad in today's Rutland Herald, our reaction was 'what the?'.

Don't get Rut Girl wrong; not featuring the 'over 50 stores' claim is a solid move but replacing it with 'come enjoy our stores and shops to dine and snack' is certainly a unique tactic.

Rut Girl knows she's had a lot of cold and flu medication in the past few days but she doesn't think it's her imagination .... that sentence doesn't make sense. Then there's those first time visitors whose expectations are now no doubt high about the fine selection of dining and snacking they may be able to enjoy upon a visit to the mall.

Let's revisit Rut Girl's list of stores from her visit last week:

So let's do the math: Something Sweet, Orientaste, Sbarro, Gene's Beans and The New American Grill & Tap Room are the 5 dining and snacking options on offer (unless you count Vitamin World). Oh hang on, we forgot, there's also the K Cafe inside of KMart. Make that 6.

Hardly a wealth of choice and let's face it, Something Sweet doesn't really count because as delicious as they're offerings are, you don't really snack on their goodies while walking around the mall (we could be wrong). Orientaste and Sbarro aren't really what we'd consider 'dining' options either, unless you're idea of dining is eating off Styrofoam plates with plastic cutlery. Each to their own though.

And let's not forget about the free parking. That's the biggest reason of all to go? Back to the drawing board marketing team.

Fireworks Spectacular

There was a lovely fireworks display on Sunday night in downtown Rutneyland. Unfortunately the fireworks took place some time between 11.30pm and 12am so those who weren't jolted from their sleep by what sounded like gunfire, missed the lovely array of colors. Not sure what the occasion was, most likely a bored teenager making the most of the holiday week. Next time let us know so we can all ooh and aahh together.