Up and Running

I think we were a little behind the curve, but our garden is in full swing, and everyone in our house has is involved. In fact, what started out as my own personal venture has become a family affair, which is really how it should be. I originally set out to grow only tomatoes, that’s all I really wanted, but there’s plenty of space, so R jumped in and planted some of her own stuff, and now she’s hooked. She loves visiting the garden and watering and weeding, and just watching the progress of plants. Plus, it’s a community garden, so there are herbs and strawberries that are there for the taking, within reason, of course. It’s just a really nice place to spend time.

Speaking of family affairs, when I first planted everything, the kids helped me out, especially N. He really did a nice job digging holes, applying fertilizer, and transplanting the plants. He’s quite the industrious young fellow, and so conscientious and hard working. I really love to see it. A loves to help, as well, but being the artist and all, she’s more prone to letting her mind and attention wander to more fun and whimsical things. It could also be the pre-teen mind at work.

I also managed to score a bale of straw for ground cover, so we are up and running and in business. I’m curious to see how the tomatoes turn out, and if we get tomatoes like we did last year, then that will be very cool.

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

Coming Home

A week or two back A went away to camp, her first experience for such a long duration, and she had an amazing time, but it’s nice to have her back. She’s such a presence, and I think N is happy to have her. He even said he missed her, which broke my heart, though it’s good for him to adjust to doing things without his sister because once she hits her teens, she’s not going to want to have him around. Again, this breaks my heart.

Either way, back home, all A could talk about was camp, which is proof positive that she had a great time. Plus, she made a boatload of friends, some of whom I’m hoping she’ll keep in touch with. A fair number live in the area, or at least the state. The interesting thing about this camp is that the kids come from as far away as Rhode Island. Crazy.

Her enthusiasm has inspired N to want to give it a try, and I’m all for it. When we went to the orientation, there were parents whose kids were skeptical about the camp and said they wouldn’t last a day, but according to the counselors, no kid has ever gone home early. It sort of makes sense, kids who are not as social can end up having a great time with a group of kids at camp. I never had this experience but wished I could have, and I love the fact the kids get to have a chance. The next camp is in the fall, so we’ll see where N stands then. I’d like to see him go but would never force the issue.

In the meantime, we have all summer to kick back and enjoy. As of today, A has not stopped talking about it. So far, so good.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to clang boom steam for the pic.

Happy Father’s Day

We had a nice father’s day yesterday, and though I’m rather cynical of these fabricated holidays (what holiday isn’t fabricated?), it doesn’t mean you can’t make the most of it and enjoy it. Besides, sometimes you need an excuse to mow the lawn.

I’m not one to make a big deal about a day, especially if it’s for me, but everyone else was excited to celebrate it, and I didn’t want to be the wet blanket, which is something I can excel at, though for the record, I’ve gotten much better. R and the kids wanted to do all sorts of things, and asked me what I wanted. I had only one request, and that was for a hot fudge sundae. There are so few occasions where I can eat ice cream with mom’s encouragement, so why not make the most of it.

We sort of winged it, and in the AM weren’t even sure what the plan was, but we gradually figured things out. Our lives right now are bit complicated by our search for new car, so we spent the better part of the morning shopping around. Believe me, it isn’t fun. I made pancakes and bacon for the kids because N missed out the day before at A’s sleepover because he was sick in bed, and A wasn’t complaining about getting pancakes two days in a row. We then set about doing some market stuff, and I was toying with the idea of mowing the lawn. You can’t get any more cliche than that, can you?

I went to the barn to tie up loose ends before we get the insulation in, and then it was lunchtime. By then, we had come up with a plan, and it went something like this. We would have lunch, then come home and do assorted things before having supper. We decided to BBQ steaks and burgers, and then afterward make our own brownie hot fudge sundaes. Since it was ultimate frisbee day, as well, I took the kids to the field and R stayed home and baked brownies and made hot fudge sauce. At that point, the weather was turning cool and gray, and it started to rain. The turnout at ultimate was poor, so we threw around for a bit and then went home early. Kind of a bummer, and makes me wonder what the future of ultimate is.

We hung out at home for a bit, I was still stuffed from lunch, but eventually we started to re-gain our appetites. Around 6:30 I fired up the grill, or rather, got the coals started, and then cooked the meat. I have to confess, the steak and burgers turned out nicely, and the kids were loving it. I’m glad N is feeling better (so glad!), and he ate a good meal. Afterward, R assembled the sundaes and they were amazing. So nice to have a big hot fudge sundae all to yourself. No question that it’s the best dessert, ever. Period.

Afterward, R cleaned up, the kids watched a movie, and I got to finally take my nap, albeit a short one, but a nap, nonetheless. What a fitting end to a great father’s day.

Hope everyone else had a great day. Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Dave Olsen and Ellen K for the pics.

Sicked and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

I won’t keep harping on my sense of frustration about being sick once again, but this has been the worst year for being sick. I have never seen anything like it in terms of duration. I would say for that past 8 months that we’ve all been sick at one point or another, and for some of us, it’s been continuous. I am not exaggerating. I know for me it started some time in November, when I was really sick, and then we’ve all had some sort of head cold or cough ever since. I got better for a spell, but the kids have been coughing non-stop. It’s beyond being a bummer and a cause for some concern. I see it in the kid’s friends, they’ve been sick for months, going on a year.

Thankfully, we’re getting better, but again, it never really seems to go away. At one point we were a little bed-ridden, but I think (hope) that has passed, and appetites and energy levels are returning. Now, of course, yours truly has caught something, and needless to say, it’s a complete drag. Being sick is bad enough, but when you’ve got mountains of stuff to deal with, it makes it that much harder. I’m just hoping for some respite from this barrage of illness.

If there’s a bright note to all this drama, at least it stopped raining. The past couple of days have been beautiful, which means it’s time to do yard work. Normally I’d whine about such things, but I can’t complain when the weather is this nice. How’s that for optimism?

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Jake Nickell for the pic.

Shopping for Cars

We’re delving into that thing we love to hate, buying a big ticket item. Our car took a dive recently and now we are once again living with one vehicle. It’s a tough time because not only do we have the market, but everyone is sick, and the future is somewhat unclear. Then again, there’s never a good time to drop that kind of dough, is there?

As I’ve mentioned, we knew this day was coming, we just didn’t think it would happen so soon. In retrospect, it’s amazing we made it this far, because when you look at our car, it’s pretty beat up. The rust is so bad that the body is literally falling off the frame. You can just tap it and it breaks off in chunks, so you know bad things are happening to the frame underneath. The car really isn’t safe and shouldn’t be driven, especially with the kids and at high speeds. I’m thankful the wheel didn’t break off when we were on the highway, that could have been a disaster.

Now we’re in the market for a new car. The question is, which car? The biggest issues is cost, of course, which includes the price of the car, fuel efficiency, and reliability. There are many options, and since we did this a few years back, we are not completely ignorant. Just slightly.

Time is a consideration, as well, since not only do have our lives to lead, but the market happens every week, and it goes without saying that we can’t do it with one car... or can we? I think this time around, we’ll land a car more quickly than the last time, which I think took about 5 years.

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

Rough Day and Back to One Car

Talk about a rough day, though for the record, it was not filled with despondence and despair. I consider this to be a good sign.

I needed to return some supplies to LaValleys thanks to SH and his planning. I can’t say it’s completely his fault, but our shift in plans was largely due to his needs, and this change required the return of hundreds of dollars worth of insulation. I’ve noticed that contractors are pretty relaxed about ordering too much stuff with the assumption that it’s easy enough to return, but returning it is not always so simple and clear cut.

This time around, we used less than half the insulation, and it wasn’t cheap. The stuff came in bundles of 5 sheets, and each bundle weighed well over 100lbs. more like 150. Too heavy to lift. I called LaValleys and said I’d like to bring it back, and the first thing the guy said was, “No way!” I got the stuff in December, so it had been 6 months. He said 30 days or less, or tough luck. I couldn’t believe it, but from past experience knew that you have to get second and even third opinions because the first person you talk to doesn’t always know what they’re talking about.

This was the case in this instance. I asked the guy if I could talk to the manager, and he put me on hold only to come back and say that I could return them as long as they were in re-sellable condition, which they were. There was also a 10% re-stocking fee. Good enough for me. He just mentioned that we should bring it in as soon as possible, and I couldn’t agree more. Now that there was some doubt about returning it, I just wanted to get the stuff out of my hands.

Now the big question was, how to get it there. I had three bundles, and each weighed a lot, so that ruled out any vehicle that we owned. The easiest thing to have done was to call my Mentor, who is in town, to help me out, but I haven’t spoken to him in awhile, and I don’t think it’s right to call him first thing with a favor. Bear in mind, that hasn’t stopped me from doing exactly that, but I might as well try to avoid it.

That meant I had to locate a truck, which is easy in these parts, but I needed one that I could use for a few hours. Most guys need their trucks for work, but I do have some friends that have an extra vehicle. Enter GG, my hero. I’ve borrowed his truck in the past to buy drywall (with the Amazing PR Man, no less), and he’s really cool about lending it out. This time was no different, though his wife JG needed it around noon, so I had to spring into action.

I drove over to their house, chatted with JG for a few, then headed to LaValleys. I returned the insulation, and then stopped in the parking lot to secure some things in the bed, but then the truck wouldn’t re-start. I couldn’t believe it, and thought maybe there was a kill-switch somewhere. GG runs a plow on that thing and there are buttons and switches all over the place. Nothing worked. I called JG to explain the situation, and GG to see if he had some insight.

Now luckily enough, GG worked nearby, and actually came over to help out. He said something like this has happened once before, and after some investigation, he isolated the problem. We did not, however, have the means to solve it, so he said not to stop until I got back to his house. The problem was one of the battery connections is loose, and can’t be tightened anymore. The contact is being made, but every now and then, it slips enough to kill the power. It’s would probably be easy enough to fix with some washers.

I got back to their house just as JG was pulling in, and I explained the situation. I started the truck again and it worked, but I think the whole situation weighed a little on her mind. Can’t say I blame her. I thanked her profusely and then headed home, which is when the fun really started.

I drove down the hill and into town, and as I was about to enter the main section I heard this loud rattling sound from the back wheel. It didn’t sound good, like metal pieces clanking around. I pulled to the side and had a look but couldn’t see anything. I kept driving and the sound didn’t go away, so I pulled into Mac’s and had a closer look, putting the back end on the jack. The first thing I noticed was the wheel seemed somewhat loose, and when I grabbed it, I could shake the thing. Not good. Reaching into the wheel well, I could shake the shock absorber/strut, so it seemed that the wheel mount had dislodged from the frame. This is the same wheel that had a flat last weekend (a sign?) and needless to say, I wasn’t about to drive the thing anymore.

I called R and she came to get me, and we decided to have the car towed to Meuniers, our trusty mechanic. AAA sent a truck over and we had him make the trek over the hill. The driver said he could hear what I had heard, and he thought it might be a broken strut. When we got to Meuniers, RM took one quick look at it and said he can’t believe how much more rust damage it had sustained since he last saw it. He did say that this would be the last year it would pass inspection, and he was right. I was hoping for one more year, but no such luck.

We left the car for him to check out, and then came home with the knowledge that we really need to get a new car. This is a complete bummer when for a million and one reason, but especially if you had any idea what we went through buying our last car. To make matters worse, one of us is sick in bed, so it just keeps getting more interesting. At least the insulation is taken care of.

Now we go shopping for a new car. We knew this day was coming, just not quite so abruptly, but sometimes that’s the only way that things happen. You have to be forced into action. R and I are both glad for one thing - the strut/shock didn’t snap off when we were driving at high speed with the kids in the car. Thank goodness for that.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Daizy Smith and BlazerMan for the pics.

Crazy Weekend and Thanks to Bob’s Auto

What a nutty weekend. I can’t even begin to tell you how crazy it was, but it all turned out okay so I shouldn’t complain, but of course that won’t stop me. Upon reflection, I have to say that I didn’t lose my cool and scream out all sorts of expletives in the presence of the kids, or for that matter, lose all hope and dwell on our misfortune with my usual fatalistic sense of doom. In fact, I actually just went with the flow. Could it be that I’ve turned over a new way to look at life... nah!

This past weekend N had his big lacrosse shootout up north in Middlebury, and it’s a bit of a trek, compounded by the fact that his games were early in the AM. Saturday was 9:00AM, Sunday was 8:00, which was thankfully changed to 9:00AM. Still painful, just not as much. I usually like to carpool with another group for a number of reasons, but mainly so that N has some company in the car for the long drive. Plus, he gets to hang with his buddies.

I didn’t even have to be the mooching inquisitor because GG sent out an email to see if anyone was interested in getting a lift with him. I was going to ask him myself, and then I got the email. Funny how things work. I was to meet him at the school in the AM, and then we’d head to the tournament. On the way, however, I noticed the car felt wrong and sounded horrible. I pulled over about a quarter mile from the school and saw that the back tire was completely flat. Big bummer. What I should have done was changed the tire right there, but foolishly I drove the quarter mile and parked the car. That came back to haunt me, but live and learn. We sat and waited for GG while I pondered how I was going to address this situation.

Normally when things like this happen, I get so bummed I can’t function anymore, dwelling on my misfortune. I hate being so fatalistic, but that’s how it is, or should I say, that’s how it was. This time around, however, I feel like I dealt with it pretty well. It was on my mind, no question, but I didn’t let it stop me from dealing with other things in life. Plus, I wasn’t debilitated by depression. I consider this a huge step in the evolution of mankind.

The ride was nice, I always enjoy hanging with GG, he’s a worldly guy who knows a lot about a lot, plus he’s a stellar hockey player. Say no more. He took a scenic route to Middlebury, which was nice, but sort of windy, and one of us got car sick. It wasn’t horrible, but kind of a bummer at 7:30AM before a big lacrosse tournament. I felt bad because GG had to slow down for our benefit. We arrived with no more incidents and N played in both games..

The game went well, N’s team won both of them, and he scored goals in each contest. Afterward the kids were excited and we piled into GG’s car for the ride home. There was some discussion about stopping for lunch, but nobody was really famished, and N and I decided not to eat until after the trip home. Plus, I had to deal with the car. On the ride back, GG was kind enough to slow down again, and of course, I felt bad, again.

Once we were back, it was only about 2:00PM, so there was time to fix the car tire. I could have left it until Monday, but figured there was time. The one big question was if any garages were open and would fix the tire. GG offered to give us a lift to the station in town, but I figured it would be better to drive over to do it. Then we could just drive home, and he could get back home and get on with his life. I put on the spare and drive (slowly) to the gas station.

This is where it got interesting. I drove to the town garage, but they were only selling gas. Big bummer. I wasn’t sure where to go, when I remembered that I keep a phone book in the trunk, and started calling around to mechanics. It being Saturday, they were all closed. In fact, the only place that answered the phone was Bob’s in White River. They are a great garage, trustworthy and reliable, and in our instance, open. The guy said the garage was sort of open until 5:30PM, but he could fix a leak on a tire. Awesome.

We headed over and he took the tire and looked at it. His first question was, “Did you drive on the flat?” Boy was I embarrassed. It turns out that driving on a flat tire is not a good thing, for a number of reasons. In addition to any damage you can do to the wheel, it actually destroys the rubber on the tire. The tire was toast. I asked if he had any for sale, but he didn’t, so we drove home dejected but not without hope.

Well, when I got home, I realized that I had extra tires in the basement. I called Bob’s up and he said bring it on over, which I did. The guy working there, I think his name was Chris, was incredibly helpful, and he put the tire on the wheel, balanced and mounted it, and it was only about $20. I was so stoked, not to mention grateful. Really good vibes from Bob’s.

Now our car is up and running, at least for now. This will probably be the last year we drive it, because it has major rust damage, so much so that I’m wary of driving it, but what are you going to do? We need a car, and it runs fun... at least until the frame implodes. After living for five years up here with only one car, you learn that any car that runs is worth it’s weight in gold.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Boston Trinity Academy and Florian Schwind for the pics.