Tag Archives: family

Snow at Last

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White Stuff in the Viewshed

Finally we got some snow yesterday. We spent an hour or so outside as a family last night tossing the stuff at each other. We got wet. We got chilly. We slept well. Today we had good reason to play. We sledded. We skied on the hill and in the field. We had some good fun. The temperature never got all that high. It was in the single digits by the afternoon. Still, we could not stay in all day. The wood stove did its duty for us today.

The temperature should get below zero tonight. We will snuggle down and sleep well again. We will still have snow again tomorrow. The parents in the household need to decide if skiing is worth it with wind chills in the negatives. Skiing? To be determined. We will play one way or the other. I just hope the snow sticks around.

Weather

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Last weekend we had some fine weather.  We took a family walk with some friends in Shelburne, had a picnic, enjoyed the views and the cool breezes.  Good times were had. We had some of this:

Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks

And some of this:

Walking Route

Last night, the clouds starting dropping their burdens. Today we had a whole lot of this:

Rain While Waiting for the School Bus

I walked around outside a bit today and I got wet more than once. I have to say, however, I love this stuff. Fall rain, with foliage turning and the cool air and woodsmoke in the air. I mean, does it get better than that?

Pizza on a Chilly Night

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Pizza for dinner. That is a standard one in our house. We sat at the table and ate together. I want to make sure we do that as often as possible. It matters. It was a quick dinner to make. The dough was made already, half what we usually use. but it did the trick. My wife had made it for a pizza breakfast this weekend. That isn’t so typical, but why the heck not? We were out of standard breakfast fare, so dinner for breakfast. I rolled out the remaining dough tonight after letting it rise a little. It was way thin. It was awesome. I’m going to use less dough more often. The super thin crust makes it crispy and just plain old dee-lish.

It is chilly. Fall is full on, winter on the way. The woodstove warms the house. I just came inside. The kids and I went out to see where my son found a cool rock. We looked at the stars, at Jupiter trying to outshine the moon, at the crescent of the moon in its humble glory. Clouds drifted. Smoke rose from the chimney. Hard to get more beautiful than that. Excepting my wife, of course.

Soon the children will get wrapped into their evening routine–showers and pajamas and books and a story. I like the routine. Cleanliness and literacy, two good things. They also need to scrub the sauteed leeks and onions from their teeth, some of the last produce from our garden. That made for a good pizza topping. I have been trying to cook more lately. I made bread over the weekend and that should be a more frequent event. I need to make some pumpkin soup, and some pumpkin pie. I want to make some pasta as well. It has been too long.

The nights are shorter. Our home feels cozy. The children already are showing signs of resistance to heading up to bed, but once they get into it, they will glide along. Here is to a quick drifting off to sleep for them. Maybe the adults in the house will have some quiet time before they as well need to go to sleep. I plan to rise early in the morning. There will be frost. The stars will be out. I want to get plenty of sleep.

I had hoped to run this morning but was feeling off, and way tired, even though I woke in time to get in some miles. It is hard to start the week without running. It needs to happen tomorrow. Venus and Saturn will be waiting to greet me. That should help me pick up the pace, my headlamp beam bouncing on the road as I go. Just imagining that, it makes me look forward to waking tomorrow. I only need to slumber well before then. And some pleasant dreams will help–give me something to stir my thoughts as I move through the cold of morning. As I run though fall.

Visit to the Orchard

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We took a trip to Shelburne Orchards this afternoon to pick some apples.  The place is beautiful and they almost seem to have more apples than they can handle.  We picked our fill pretty quickly.  Then we came home and ate two pies.  First, tofu pot pie for dinner (tastiest stuff ever–if tofu scares you, you should try this), then apple pie for dessert.  We ate the apple pie a little late–just before the children went to bed–but I could hardly say no to them after all the anticipation.  I had made the crust ahead of time, but still, it needs to bake for over an hour.  It was, as you might imagine, de-lish.  Worth the wait.  And we still have plenty of apples left over for tomorrow.  And the next day.

The Pick Your Own Welcome Shed

The Pick Your Own Welcome Shed

The View of Lake Chaplain

The View of Lake Chaplain

Apples Low

Apples Low

Apples High

Apples High

A Few Hours Later, Pie

A Few Hours Later, Pie

Birthday and Photos

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One Fine Afternoon to be Outside

One Fine Afternoon to be Outside

I recently turned 40.  Up until this birthday I didn’t think all that much about what each birthday milestone meant.  Sure I had more rights and responsibilities at 18 but I was more concerned with smooching than with the off chance I might get called to war.  This one, however, has got me thinking, reflecting, really, on what has been and what may be to come.

My parents visited this past weekend.  They brought, quite literally, hundreds of photos.  I had asked my dad to bust them out for a project I had hoped to work on.  We have plans to get together as a somewhat extended family this fall.  Since I have a sister in the west coast and there are five of us siblings, we don’t all hang in the same place all that often.  So our plans to get together are significant.

My idea was to put together a slide show for the gang.  It would include photos from the past 45 years or so.  My parents were married in 1965 so I thought that might be a good place to start.  A lot of photographs can accumulate in 45 years, however.  So it took a few hours just to sort though the boxes of prints.  And we didn’t even get to the slides.  There are a lot more slides than prints.

So the big marker birthday, accompanied by all the photo browsing, has made this Gen X-er think about things a bit.  I know this is the time, traditionally, to enter the mid-life crisis phase, but I have been working to avoid that for a while.  Life is good.  I could ask for little more (although, let’s face it, I do).  Mostly I have just been thinking about my life.  Why not?  It seems a good enough time to do that.

On an afternoon run today I thought more than I would have liked.  I like to get out there and drain away all those pesky thoughts.  I guess I haven’t been getting out there enough.  I need to start getting up early and tying on the old shoes.  I’d like to get another ultramarathon in before I need a hip replacement.  Or new teeth.  Running with dentures might be a nuisance.

Jupiter rises and the children are asleep.  The dishes are washed and, while the laundry awaits folding, I am enjoying the quiet of my home while my wife is out with friends.  I just stashed a bucket of tomato soup, freshly made, in the freezer.  The rolls I made for dinner are wrapped for lunch tomorrow.  Like I said, life is good.  Here’s to forty more good ones.

Balloon Rally

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We had planned to be there between 5:00 and 6:00, when the balloons were schedule for a mass launch.  Thirty or so was the count.  That’s a lot of hot air balloons.  We got word, however, that the launch was cancelled.  Then we planned to get there a little later.  All those balloons were scheduled to be lit up at once at 8:00.  That would be a site.

Since this was all happening at Shelburne Museum, which isn’t all that far from our house, we weren’t worried.  When we got there a few balloons were lifting up after all, leaving a little later since the wind had abated.  The “glow” was postponed until the next evening, however.  Oh well.  We stuck around and watched a couple of balloons lift off.  We all got a kick out of that.

After the last one was up and away, the children colored pictures of hot air balloons.  We met up with several friends at this very popular event.  And we were home in time for bed.  The event continues today.  We plan to head over there at some point.  Meanwhile, here are some photos of one of the balloons we saw yesterday:

Filling...

Filling...

Filling More...

Filling More...

Almost Ready...

Almost Ready...

Up and Away

Up and Away

Higher...

Higher...

And Higher...

And Higher...

Buh Bye

Buh Bye

Triptych

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Triptych

After Han-shan

1.

This farmhouse—my home at field’s edge.

Sometimes cars pass on the dusty road.

The woods so quiet, turkeys roost at night.

In the river’s shadowed pools, trout rising.

My daughter and I pick pears from a lonely tree.

My wife tugs carrots from the garden.

And in my house what would you see?

Walls of shelves filled with books.

2.

My father and mother taught me to be content;

I need not envy how others make their living.

Click, click—my wife knits by the window.

Zoom, zoom—my son with his trucks.

Apple blossoms swirl around my raised arms.

Hands in pockets, I listen to warblers high in the oak.

Who might notice how I pass my days?

Well, the mail carrier stops each afternoon.

3.

Walking, I pause at the collapsing barn.

The barn, slowly folding, fills the still mind—

Mornings milking despite drifting snow,

Afternoons stacking the loft with hay.

Where sumac tumbles from the window hole,

And gray walls tremble from swallows’ shadows.

In the old cemetery, the bones of those who built this place—

Their names fading, but written in stone.

New Toy

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I am not really a fan of stuff, and one type of stuff that seems to always grow is toys.  Our children have a gajillion toys.  We buy them toys occasionally (hard to resist when you are Disney World, for example) but they also arrive as gifts from friends and family, and they also arrive as toys that are outgrown by cousins or friends.

Our children have received many toys that are really great.  They have a huge collection of Lego and Duplo blocks, for example, that were given to them.  We did not have to buy any for them to be able to create buildings and spaceships and cars and cities.  My son’s favorite toys are wooden trains.  Most of those were given to us as well.  So we have received some good stuff and I am thankful for that, even if they don’t quite see the beneficence of their relations.

We have lots of crap as well, of course.  Can you say birthday party gift bags?  How many UPO’s have they generated?  About a bazillion, I’d say.  And the Mardi Gras parade this spring?  Plastic bead necklaces up the whazoo.  Too much, if you ask me.  Even if you don’t ask me it’s too much.

Today, however, our children got the most excellent toy.  My father-in-law had mentioned this teeter totter that his second set of kids had played with and loved, and that he was hoping to pass on.  He came by today and left a shiny new plaything.  The thing is, the one he dug out of his barn was broken, rusted, not in good shape.  It wouldn’t be safe to use.  So he made a new one.  It is strong and beefy and operates smoothly.  And it is no ordinary teeter totter.

Call it a seesaw if you will, but this doesn’t just pivot up and down.  The pivot also allows the cross beam to swing in all directions.  So it goes up and down, yes, but it also swings in circles.  My children have been playing on it for about three hours, with breaks for dinner and spraying each other with the hose.  They have been laughing most of the time as well.  I love this thing.  Not only is it just plain old fun, but they have to work together for it to be fun.  They seem to have it down pretty well at this point.  They are spinning fast.

I think my father-in-law ought to patent this thing and sell them.  Seriously.  It is fun just to watch them spin around and up and down.  I am betting that this becomes the toy of the summer.  They won’t play with it quite so much as the days go on.  They will become accustomed to it and the newness will wear off.  I am sure, however, that it will continue to be way fun for them.  It is one item of stuff I feel will get plenty of mileage at this household.

Going to Florida?

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My sister-in-law and her step sister called to talk to their sister/step-sister at different times today.  They wanted to talk about going to Florida.  What the hell did I know?  Tickets were cheap, and then they got cheaper, and they were going anyway and they asked my spouse if she wanted to go as well and take the children?  What about me. was what I thought?  You think I have something against the sunshine state?

No, they just thought I had to work.  Ho ho, I have the week off, too.  They pestered me, good naturedly of course, about why my wife would not answer the phone.  Sure, she doesn’t get great reception where she works but, more importantly, she was at work.  Not a great time to talk about a trip south.  They wanted me to say “Sure go ahead and book the tickets before the price goes up,” but we had not talked about it.  The closest we came was last night when she said to me, “My sister had the idea that we might go to Florida, but I’m not sure about it, what do you think?”  And then we got interupted.

So all of a sudden I was in the position of having to decide if she might want to go with the kids and can you please decide right now?  I deferred.  I supported the idea but I did want to spend that vacation week with the family.  We could use some time together without work and school pressures.  And I wanted to go along if they were going along.

Apparently we have made a plan.  We were going to keep it secret but my wife can’t keep a secret.  She keeps talking on the phone and talking to me and oh forget it let’s just tell the kids.  I didn’t even know where were we might go but it turns out Orlando is the destination.  Disneyland and all that.  I’m going to Disneyland!  Once I went to Orlando for a conference but I didn’t really get to Disneyland.  I wandered around the silly shopping area but that hardly counts.  I didn’t even buy anything except some chocolate coins with Mickey Mouse on them.

It is kind of exciting, just to take a trip and fly on a plane and get away from home and go someplace new.  Disneyland?  I guess that could be fun.  I remember, as a kid, others telling me about their visits to the Magic Kingdom.  Finally I will get a peek at what it is all about.  I am sure we will have a fine time.  Cable television and a swimming pool and we will be all set.  The rest is gravy.

So our vacation will be eventful.  We will have some friends visiting before we leave and we will get some down time when we get back.  Sounds about right.

Freezing My…

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Ran this morning, first thing. It was cold–14 degrees. That isn’t too bad but it was way windy. I ran up Carpenter Road but turned around after a mile and a half. I was afraid of getting frostbite on my face. It was a crosswind, so either direction I was getting it.

Then I took a turn to try a different route. I figured it would be in the trees. I had a tailwind for a bit, over the river and into the woods. I didn’t even get close to Grandma’s house, however. When I got to the class IV part of the road, I was walking like an elderly grandmother. It was so icy that I could hardly walk at all. At the rise, where I could see down the road a ways, I could see that the skating rink kept going. I bagged.

It was warm yesterday, in the 40’s. Things melted. Then it got cold. Things froze. It made for great skating, but I was running. I did not get as far as I wanted, but so it goes. I went home and stirred the fire in the wood stove. And I had coffee. I warmed up soon enough.

Went into Burlington today for the Mardi Gras parade. We were concerned about finding a place to park, so we drove part way to take the bus. The bus was late. We stood around in the icy wind, the family and I. We got chilled. The bus was full, which I thought was a good plug for public transportation. If it was more reliable and stopped closer to home I might use it more.

Not as Warm as New Orleans

Not as Warm as New Orleans

Waiting for the parade to start, and walking down the street, we got chilly. The kids have less mass that the adults they live with, so they got colder faster. They forgot about the cold when the crazy floats started passing and the people in zany costumes started throwing bead necklaces and moon pies. But once the noise and commotion passed us by, we split. We warmed up in the mall for ten minutes while watching for anyone we knew or didn’t.

The children did not play outside much today, but at least we got plenty of fresh air. And we got to take a bus ride. That was a highlight for them. The temperature did not rise above 20 degrees here at the house. The bank thermometer in Burlington read 24 degrees when we passed it. That was such crap. I know it was windy but 24? No way.

Now we have way too many bead necklaces, more plastic crap that we don’t need that will outlive all of us. Tomorrow I need to try again for a morning run. The bummer is that is forecast to be even colder tonight than last night–a low of 5. We hope to go skiing tomorrow as well. Maybe the afternoon will be our time to play. I don’t want to freeze any parts of me.