Great Weather, Transition Towns, Library, Fogg's, and Guitar

Did I mention that the weather has been stellar, and yet another reminder of how lucky we are to be living here? Just how I like it, cool and clear, with lots of puffy white clouds. We've been getting just enough rain to keep things green without making it exceedingly dreary and depressing. And it hasn't been too hot, though I've been told that this weather is closer to being normal than that hot spell we had a few weeks back.

We are back to having one car because my mentor #1 took the truck back, as we were expecting. He is on his way back to the area for the summer season and his business will kick back into gear, so we knew at some point the truck would have to go, but either way, it's sad to say goodbye to it. Also, having one car makes life a challenge, but not impossible. It does inspire us to get another car, though, and that's something we'll keep in our minds. I will say this - we had our brakes replaced by Bob's and the car runs so much better. I am so through with Midas in W. Leb, not only did they do a terrible job of changing our breaks (I had to go in to have them redone), but the car never really ran the same, and we had persistent noise in the front wheels. When Bob's did it, it runs so much better. Again, don't go to Midas. Plus, they charge a lot more, and tried to scam me on service before I declined it.

Now that we have one car, we have had to do the tag-team thing, with R coming home and working here so we can be mobile. Even though we knew GL would take the truck back, it was sooner than we thought, so we've had to scramble a bit. There was a lot to be taken care of, and we managed to squeeze it all in. I had to go to drop A off at guitar, N decided he's through, go to Fogg's, stop at Stern's, then to the library and finally the Coop. All within five hours before N's t-ball practice, where I'm a coach, if you can believe that.

I'd got some exterior stain for the house about six months ago and like a fool never checked the color to see it was right. Well, I was going to paint a couple of days ago and opened the can and would you believe it? The color was all wrong. I was so bummed, and I got it in September, so I wasn't sure I could get it changed. The plan was as follows-since N decided he no longer wanted to attend guitar practice, I figured I'd drop A off and during the lesson I'd have plenty of time to hop on over to Fogg's, where I could consult with my assistant mentor, Rhett. Once we got there, however, it became a bit of a complicated situation.

Mind you, they were very cool and had every intention of replacing the stain no charge, but he wanted to first see if he could fix the faulty can first. After mixing it and checking it, he was very meticulous and thorough, he decided the stain was not redeemable and said he'd mix up a new can for me. Nice guys, but it took longer than I'd anticipated so we had to jet back to get A after her lesson. I abhor the idea of her being all by herself waiting for me, the stuff that gives me nightmares. We picked her up (they're learning standard tuning now) and we had to go back to Fogg's to get my stain, but not before stopping at Stern's to get more strawberries and honey. They were out of blackberries (total bummer) but we'll make due.

One quick note-because we are no longer driving my mentor's truck, we can eat in the car. It was a problem before because I didn't want to mess up his truck, so eating was out. This complicated situations of lunchtime because it forced us to stop and sit somewhere to eat, which is a huge burden of time. Having a bite in transit is not ideal, but makes certain activities during midday more plausible. Anyway, we had lunch in the car.

After getting my stain, it was off to the Coop to get some more vittles and a roast chicken for dinner. Went to the Hanover one, which is smaller and perhaps not as well stocked, but cozier somehow. Had a few more feel good scores-kettle corn was on sale, and we got a killer piece of salmon that we can make into two meals. I love when that happens. They were out of chickens when we got there, I was so bummed, but the dude brought the new ones out just as I had lost hope. Good vibes there.

Next it was onto the Howe Library where we had some more good scores. Got the next Star Wars (#1, Phantom Menace, which I personally thought totally SUCKED!) for the kids, as well as the latest big kid's lit phenomenom by Rick Riordan, The Last Olympian. I didn't realize this, but this series is a huge hit. At least a half dozen kids were coming up to Denise asking for it, and she said the same thing - it's on hold but you can put your name down. Guess why it was on hold; because they were holding it for us. Our time had come, and A got to read it. Good to see what age kids are looking for it, and for the most part, it was 5th and 6th graders. It is, after all, a NY Times bestseller.

Unloaded about 75 books and got about 75 more, saw our buddies the Mack's, though the girls weren't there, but even still, always good to see them, then it was off to home to drop A off with mom and take N to t-ball. A had her killer book, and she got a huge kick out of the librarians commenting on how they knew what she was going to be doing that night-curling up with a good book. She agreed.

Now I know I've mentioned this before, but somehow I've ended up becoming a coach for N's team. It's awkward for me because I'm not good at dispensing instructions, but they're only five and six, after all, and nobody really cares. Even still, all the parents are sitting there watching and I can't help but be self-conscious. Practice was fun, though, the kids are responsive for the most part, and N hit the ball well. In fact, he had great form and was looking good up there. The other coaches even commented that they could see he had been practicing with dad, and of course I was beaming (coyly, of course) with pride. He did look good up there, he had a great stance, good form, and then he belted the ball. Ah, the joys of parenthood.

We had a fitting end to the day by eating a nice supper of roast chicken and string beans and corn on the cob. Spring and summer are here. I was kind of bummed that I didn't get to carve the bird, but boy was it nice to come home to a ready meal. Gotta love family life.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.

Homeschool Considerations and Goals, Writing, and Skiing

We have made a vow to be more diligent about our homeschool obligations. I don't mean in terms of our daily teachings, but more in terms of answering to the state. It behooves us to do as such. We just received our enrollment paperwork for the next school year, and last year we waited until the zero hour and suffered accordingly. The shame of it all was that we had so much time and rested on our laurels. Or should I say, I rested on my laurels.

The fact of the matter is, homeschooling is my job, though I got a little huffy when my wife seemed to hint at this. My apologies to her, and I'm sure she wants to flog me for my behavior at times. Then again, she'd better be careful, I just got my blue belt.

Either way, our short terms goals go something like this-we need to sit down and assess where we've been and what we've covered, then compare that to what we said we'd do (i.e., our curriculum). We can still cover the things that fall short because there is still a lot of time, but again, it goes by quickly, and the better prepared we are, the easier it will be.

Then we need to begin assembling the portfolio, which isn't due until Labor Day, I believe, but like a lot of situations, when you have so much time, you waste all of it. The easier part will be to fill out the enrollment for the next school year. For the record, I admit that I got a little whiny when it became clear that this was going to fall in my lap. My apologies, once again, to my wife, but at least I'm not getting angry... sort of.

Just thinking about it makes my head spin, which is the kiss of death because those are the times when I just shut down and try to ignore it. Can't do that this time.

To make matters all the more complicated, I have my minor writing gigs that don't pay much but I want to maintain, while I'm also searching for the elusive writing gig that will pay me much, or at least enough to maintain our fabulously opulent lifestyle (for those of you who don't know me, this is a joke) And then there's my blog, or should I say, blogs?

It's all a bit much, so we'll deal with it in the best possible way-by trying to go skiing. Today is Friday, the last Friday that the Quechee Hill will be open, and it's supposed to rain. Bummer, but yet another example of how life is unpredictable, and rather than moan or get angry, just deal with it and make the most of it.

See how well my anger management is working?

If it were possible to put in a humble request to the weather, however, we would not complain if the rain came later rather than earlier, but that's just us.

We have a busy weekend up ahead, and it just might involve... you guessed it, skiing. Looking forward, however, to Saturday in Hanover at the Howe Library (one of my favorite libraries of all time!) and dinner at Boloco, one of my five favorite places to eat in the Upper Valley.

Until then, thanks for reading.

Dartmouth Skiway Revisited, Coming Through for the Howe, and Missing the Mark

We have to be in Lebanon this afternoon, which will entail the usual juggling act with the car. We'll drop Ruth off at work early because she has a meeting, and then we'll head out to the hill for half-day before our optometrist appt. We'll give the Dartmouth Skiway a try again, because it should be in full operation after the big snowfall. In fact, it might be our last hurrah before the rains come later this week-total bummer. Whose idea was that?

It'll be a tight squeeze as usual, but worth a try. We should expand our skiing horizons, as much as we love the Quechee Hill. Besides, at least in this instance, it's closer.

Just a quick note about our favorite library in the world, the Howe-we'd lost a book, something we dread doing because we always feel like we let them down. Even though they are completely cool about it, and the book can be replaced, it's still a drag, and we feel terrible. Now considering how many books we take out, we're not doing terribly. We probably check out well over 2000 books a year, and that's not an exaggeration. In fact, last year one of the librarians informed us, not without some degree of amusement, mind you, that we'd checked out over 2400 books. Pretty crazy. Given that number, we've probably lost two or three books, and one of them was found, though after we'd replaced it. Not too shabby, all things considered.

My point is, we'd lost another one. They gave us a bit of a reprieve to try and find it, but it wasn't looking good. That is, of course, until yesterday, when the kids found it. It had fallen in a small crawl space that only one of them could fit in, and she found it. We were elated. Good vibes in that department.

However, I also missed my chance once again to help out the Hartland Trails folks. I should know after every heavy snowfall and plow to clear out the trail on our property. Granted, I have plenty of our own stuff to do, but want so much to help them out. They do fantastic work and the trails are a blessing to our town, but somehow I always miss the mark and fall short of helping. Yesterday there was a strange car in our driveway and I realized it was a trail person clearing snow, something I'd forgotten to do, once again. I introduced myself and offered more empty apologies, but in the end, actions speak louder than words. He was very nice, and in the end, I'm confident that I'll get my act together.

Famous last words.

We're going to see Grease this weekend, hopefully, and we have a birthday coming up. Would love to go to NYC to see the cousins and hang out, but we'll see. Until then, thanks for reading.