The Great Race

I’m a little behind on this blog, but it’s summer, and the holiday was a busy time... I know, excuses, excuses. Either way, last week was the culmination of our go-car endeavors, and it was a blast. JM organized the big go-cart race, even though the other half of our team was nowhere to be found, they were out of town on a trip. In their defense, the final date of the race was kind of thrust into our laps with little in the way of notice, so they would not have known in time.

Things worked out well, in the end, because the kids managed to find a couple of kids to fill in, and I think it worked out for the best. One A’s new friends from clown camp was recruited, and ES was also willing to fill in. ES is a great kid, a very nice and loyal friend, not to mention hard working and athletic, so she was a good candidate for the race. Plus, she’s on A’s track team, so they can both run.

The race was held over at the school, after clown camp, and it was a hot day. I don’t know A’s friend, A, that well, but I told her mom that we’d be happy to have her over and then bring her back home. She was fine with that, so we went for it. We took the cart over to the school and it was quite a crowd that had gathered. The carts were amazing, so well done. One team built a heart shaped car, and another made one in the shape of a guitar, complete with a real guitar back rest. People really went for it. JM had car music blasting (i.e., Beach Boys), and there was plenty of ice cold watermelon. A good thing, too, because the heat was sweltering.

There were probably 100 kids out there, and the race was pretty simple. One member pushed the car halfway around the track, and then they switched for the second half. A and ES did great, finishing in the top three. This meant they raced all together for the final, and the race was close. They lost to the heart car, but was it ever close. I’m talking inches, but I was there, and I could see that the heart car won. For all it’s worth, it was clear A’s team let up a little in the final stretch, and that’s what gave the other team the win.

No matter, however, because all the kids displayed a lot of class and character, giving hugs and encouragement and praise to each other at the end. It was nice to see, they were all so nice about it. At least from my end, and I’m the king of cynics, it all seemed so sincere. Regardless of the outcome, the kids had a blast, and that’s all that matter, right?

After the race, we dropped A off at home, then headed back to the farmer’s market, where the kids hung out, got crazy, and played. They spent a lot of time in the brook, and there must have been 20 kids in there. Talk about fun. I felt bad dragging them away, but it was getting late, and it was a long but wonderful days. The kind that reminds parents (who, for the most part, are completely out of touch with what it means to be a kid) what being young is all about.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.

Game 2

We had our second hockey game last week and we won, though it was a close one, going into overtime, no less. There has been some grumbling that our team has a few guys who should be playing in the B-league, and I don’t dispute this, but I think every team has at least one player who stands head and shoulders above the rest. We just happen to have two or three. I agree, they should probably move up, because it’s not as fun when on person can take over and win every game if they want to.

The game was fun, closer than I’d expected. The Green Machine are good, and they really controlled the game at times. The scoring was evenly spaced out, and they got one of our young guys who is really good, so that evened up the playing field. I think it was more evenly matched because they had a couple of pros, as did we.

I did manage to score another goal, and unlike the first one, there was no ambiguity to it. It was definitely my stick that hit it in. Whatever be the case, it was a blast, and I am so hooked. I can’t get enough of this game. When are we moving to Canada? I’ll take Scandinavia, if need be.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to dryutsky for the pic.

A Very Long Day and Dragging the Kids Along

Since we’re a hockey loving family and it’s summer, we are experiencing a bit of different worlds colliding in that we are combining winter and summer activities. In other words, life is good. Summer up here, as it is in most of this country where parents are neurotically overbearing or are looking for somewhere to dump their kids, means camps, and lots of them.

For us, this meant clown camp, at least for this week. The kids love it, it’s their third year doing it, and the guys running the show, JM, MZ, and JM, do a fantastic job. Kudos to them for their efforts. Anyway, the camp runs until noon, and we had many other things to do after that. A had her guitar lesson after lunch, and then we had plans to go to open stick at UA. After that, I had a game, and didn’t really have time to drop the kids off, so they were forced to hang out and watch me play.

This, of course, required all of us to eat supper away from home. Now any normal family would have simply picked up pizza or had a hot dog, but we’re not a normal family. In the quest to have a healthier diet, the only course of action was to make something healthy and bring it with us, which meant more planning. During the day when the kids were at camp, I had to make a meal that was not only vegetarian, but was something the kids would like, and could be eaten on the road. I decided on spaghetti puttenesca, which has become one of our favorites. Pasta is good at room temp, and the kids love it in most of its forms. Included a mesclun salad and some roasted peppers, and we have a meal that would satisfy even the staunchest vegetarian.

We had about a half hour break after A’s guitar lesson, so we came home, dropped off the guitar, grabbed the supper and hockey equipment, and headed for UA. We had a blast at open stick, and then had about an hour and a half until my game. I set us all up on a table with supper, and it was kind of sad melancholy because we were the only ones there. There was a practice with a HS team, but we were alone in the lobby, eating supper. In retrospect, I could have brought the kids home and made it in time for the game, but it would have been rushed, I would more than likely have been late, and A&N said they wanted to watch me play. Say no more. Even DF commented on the fact that we were still there as he headed home for the night.

Right after supper, we had some dessert, and the kids took to the stands to watch me play. They were, needless to say, really cute in the stands, and one of my teammates even commented on how cute they were being, but she was probably just being nice, even though I completely agree. I don’t think they were too bored, and they got to see their dad getting worked over on the ice. After the game, we headed home after an exceedingly long day, but what else is new in our lives?

At least once we got home, I didn’t have to make supper. Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to ~ petel ~' for the pic.

Chainsaw Fixed

I dropped over a $150 to fix the chainsaw because they said it had an air leak, whatever that means. The problem was that when I released the throttle, the engine kept running and the chain would spin. As you can imagine, this is not good from a safety standpoint. They fixed the leak, which involved taking the whole thing apart and replacing the seals, and then I brought it home and finished the wood pile.

The problem seemed to still persist, however, and I brought it back to Joe’s (after all the wood was done in case they needed to hold it). The mechanic took it out back and fixed it in 10 minutes. Apparently there is an idle adjustment that needed to be done. He said it was the “other” idle adjustment, whatever that means.

Either way, I’m glad it’s fixed, and they didn’t charge me. I love Joe’s equipment, those guys are so cool. Plus, I used the saw one last time before running the gas out in preparation for winter storage. As it stands right now, I won’t really need it until we get out next log load, which will hopefully be next spring.

Until then, thanks for reading.

Not Quite Ready to be a Vegan

I have to come clean and admit that I’m not ready to be a vegan. It’s way too hardcore, and I don’t think it’s fair to subject the kids to a diet devoid of fun and excitement, especially when we grew up with all this stuff, for better or worse. We’ve made huge strides in healthy eating, and have removed dairy (except for the occasional ice cream-kids have to have ice cream), a lot of meat (we’ll continue with fish and some pork), a lot of sugar (but not all), and other assorted bad things.

Let’s face it, even Jack Lalanne ate fish and egg whites, so he wasn’t a complete vegan. His key was activity, and I’m all for that. Plus, I never set out to be a vegan, I just wanted to eat healthier for a number of reasons which I won’t go into.

All in all, I think we have to have balance and reach a happy medium. Besides, a lot of the information is intriguing, and some of it is backed with science, but they don’t really have the answers, and there are no guarantees. There is no perfect diet. Every person is different, and you just have to make informed decisions and do the best you can. It was getting a little too hardcore for my taste, no pun intended. For every Jack Lalanne out there that eats like a rabbit, there is a Julia Child who live to be the same age. Sometimes I wonder if our obsession with eating healthy is what is actually killing us. Maybe we need to lighten up and enjoy ourselves for a change.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to ediblevegdible for the pic.

More Spontaneity and the Blue Angels

On the advice of the Amazing PR Man and his wife, DR, we headed out on a whim (sort of) and went to see the Blue Angels. We are just the masters of spontaneity over here. We had discussed with the kids the idea of checking out the Blue Angels in Portsmouth, but we had a crazy week with Clown Camp and Open Stick, and I was ready to hang out on the home front, myself. Maybe even do something crazy like mow the lawn.

R was looking into the Blue Angels, and she thought it would be nice to go to the coast. The kids seemed ambivalent at first, but they gradually warmed up to it, and by Saturday morning, it had been decided. We were driving to Portsmouth to see the show, and maybe drive up to Maine to hit the beach, afterward. How’s that for getting crazy?

The drive isn’t that bad, about two hours, but somehow it’s less painful than going to Burlington. The Blue Angels were performing at this old airport, and there was a big air show preceding them. The weather was hot, but it was breezy with some cloud cover, so we didn’t roast. In fact, it was fairly nice. The crowd was huge, and the show was cool. We missed the first couple of hours, intentionally, and made it in time to see a few bi-planes doing crazy things before the Blue Angels fired up their engines.

It was a pretty amazing show, and we all loved it. They did some incredible flying, and A&N were beside themselves, they couldn’t get enough. I think they both want to be pilots now. The show lasted about an hour, and then we packed up and drove up to Maine for even more spontaneity. We hit Ogunquit beach and frolicked in the surf for a few hours. The water was freezing, though that didn’t stop the kids from jumping in. I was amazed.

The tide eventually came up high and we had to leave the beach, so we went in search of a good lobster roll, figuring we were in Maine, after all. We ended up in York, and I have to say, I was a little disappointed in my first lobster roll. The lobster was fresh, tender, and delicious, but no mayo. I thought a lobster roll had mayo. Either way, it was good, but not quite what I was expecting. Still searching.

The drive home was a bit brutal, but we made it, and now we have the rest of the weekend to catch up on some rest. That is, of course, until UF.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to iconic labs for the pic.

Good Vibes in Montreal

Okay, we officially love Montreal. What a cool city. It’s got some of the big city feel that you’ll find in New York, though not as angry, intense, dirty, or noisy. Sure, sometimes you want the insanity that is New York, I know I did at one point in my life, but now, I find a city like Montreal more manageable and fun. Though New York is a big melting pot of culture, there is a lot of anger and discontent that underlies the multiculturalism. As much as there is a huge mix of people in NYC, all is not harmonious.

Montreal definitely has more of the European feel. Maybe it’s because it just doesn’t have the New York edge, or maybe they’re more comfortable with foreigners. Whatever be the case, I felt much more relaxed in Montreal, and not as targeted as a tourist and outsider. We ended up exploring a lot more the city than we had the last time we visited. We wandered into several ethnic neighborhoods, all on foot, tried a variety of foods, and of course visited the home of the Montreal Canadiens. It would have been amazing to have gone to a game. That way, the fans would have been swearing in French, so the kids wouldn’t understand.

The last time I had been to Montreal, which was before the kids were born, we stayed in the old section, which was really nice. We went back this time around, and it really struck me that that part of the city is really designed for tourists. You get all the generic bistros selling crepes with the attractive host/hostess competing to lure people in and the kitschy shops selling the same tacky and somewhat tasteless stuff. Who buys this stuff?

Actually, we do! N decided to buy hockey pucks for all the major cities that have teams, and Montreal is the Mecca of all things hockey. A is also getting into jewelry, so she got some earrings, so I can’t really criticize, can I? That won’t stop me from being a hypocrite, of course.

All in all, we had a great time walking around the city, trying different kinds of foods that you can’t find in Vermont, which pretty much means everything that isn’t pizza and burgers, and just had a great time. I love that city, and it’s an easy trip to a place where we could practice our French. Plus, if we time it right, we could catch a hockey game. Enough said.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Mohammad Abtahi for the pic.