Bike Repair and Revelations

Something I'd put off for who knows how long was replacing the tires on N's bike. They were in reasonably bad shape, no doubt about it, but it was not as if we were doing any high stress or impact riding. They were adequate, but it clearly bothered him, enough to discourage him riding it and instead, opting for his old bike.

I'd even got him the new tires, they were sitting in the barn, collecting dust, and he would keep asking me, "When are we going to put the new tires on?"

Finally, the other day, I put everything off, sat down with him, and we replace the tires. It's not rocket science, it just requires that you get a little dirty. In fact, it reminds me of when I was kid. We used to sit around the neighborhood and take apart our bikes, sometimes ruining them in the process, but oh the things we learned.

Now he's got new tires, and is enjoying his new ride. There's something special about a boy and his ride, you just can't put a price on these moments. Now, of course, we need to get new brake pads, but we'll head on over to Paradise Sports and get them. I love that store, BTW, because not only is it a killer store with a cool cast of characters, but it's local. You can't beat that.

Speaking of bikes, I had a revelation about A's bike. I got her bike essentially for free. It was left over from a yard sale, and the sign said everything remaining was free. It has a $10 price tag, so I left the money and took the bike. It is in decent shape, but was not the most picturesque piece of machinery. A is a good sport, however, and said looks didn't matter, and she could add stickers and spruce it up. Of course, the stickers all fell off, and she had alluded to the fact that she wasn't so keen on the dull gray color.

I told her we'd keep an eye out for a nicer, spiffier bike, but she didn't make issue of it. Then it dawned on me that we could get her one and then either R and I could ride hers. It's a 24 incher, and we ride 26 inchers. The difference is negligible considering the riding that we do, which is family style cruising. We need a 4th bike for family outings since we only have 3. This way, A can have a cool new(ish) bike, and we have a bike for every family member. How cool is that?

Now I just need to find a new bike. Oh well, the search never ends. Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Gabriella Silvestrini for the pic.

Fun Friday

The weekend, and we had a nice Friday to cap off a busy week. In other words, more things to do and places to be, but excuse me for being so darn cynical. We ventured out to get our beef and found good vibes with the farmers. Afterward, came home in time to eat lunch (the kids thankfully finished their school work in the morning) and then do some stuff around the house. By the afternoon, it was time for story hour, and again, it's nice because A&N get to hang with school kids in an afterschool activity.

There are a bunch of nice kids, though N is not into the story or the craft, so I end up entertaining him. With the nice weather, however, he can ride his bike, and we can start Spring training for the upcoming t-ball season. I hope I don't end up having to coach, but you never know.

We'd also been invited to dinner at HH's house, leaving us little time in between. We came home after story hour, got a few things together, met with R, and headed over. Just a side note, and I don't know why I'm so stupid to fall into this trap, but HH's daughter asked me what I was bringing, and I told her brownies. She mentioned that everyone else was bringing deserts and that the needed more beverages.

I should have realized she didn't completely know what she was talking about, but fell for it, anyway. We went to a couple of stores looking for drinks, but all they had were high-fructose corn syrup garbage, so I nixed that idea. I called R and asked her to get some juice. Of course, when we got to HH's, they had plenty to drink, and the OJ went unopened. I shoulda known betta.

The party was nice, and the kids had a blast, even though the temp outside was freezing. My karate teacher's wife was there, and their daughter is a super nice kid. Everyone had fun, and it was a really nice dinner, though the soup ran out quickly, and I was starving, so I ended up eating all of the bread. What a pig I am.

Wow, are we social animals, or what?

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

Bowling With A

We've developed a nice routine on drama nights. When A has class, N and I go bowling, one of his favorite activities. I have to confess, it's a lot of fun, and it's a scream watching him bowl, he gets so into it, and when he hits a strike or spare, the sun seems to shine a little brighter on the world. How can you beat that? Usually when N has class, A and I go to the coffee shop and have cocoa and scones and relax.

The other day, however, A wanted to change things up and go bowling. Sounds good. I don't do as much with just her, it's usually the guys and girls hanging with each other, so it was a good opportunity to spend quality time with her, and we had a blast. She's a good bowler, nice form. She must get it from her mom, who is not only a good bowler, but has good movement and form. So much so, in fact, that it's really enjoyable watching her in motion. Must stem from being a dancer.

Not to deviate too much from the subject, but I remember in NYC, before we started going out, that I used to enjoy just watching her walk down the street, like poetry in motion.

Anyway, A and I had a nice time bowling, though I ended up beating her, and I didn't want to. She's not super competitive, so she was unfazed, and it's good for her to lose now and then. She also scored big in the arcade, and won a bunch of tickets, which we liquidated for some cool flying helicopters. Half the fun of bowling is doing the skee-ball and other games, and then redeeming the tickets for toys. The helicopters were cool, though I think it's time to stem the tide of toy accumulation.

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

Busy Week, No Time to Breathe

It seems as if the more we try to simplify life and slow things down, the crazier things get. It could be do to the weather change. As we shift into Spring, there is so much to do, on the home front and with kid's activities.

Case in point, with all the stuff the A&N have going on, we are running around quite a bit. It's a bit crazy, though I think the kids sort of like it. The classes for drama are a lot of fun, but for A, they require a bit of diligence and work, because she not only has to remember her lines, but she has to add a little panache, being an actor, and all. She's good at it, and she's also has a pretty good memory, so it works out, though initially she was a bit frustrated and overwhelmed. I do think she benefits from a little challenge, as do all of us.

A has three drama productions currently going, and sometimes I ask myself what I've gotten her into. She has the school musical, the drama class, and the local play. In all honesty, I only wanted her in the school play to be immersed with other kids her age. Plus, a lot of them are her friends, and it's nice for her to be with them on a regular basis. She's playing a supporting role, so the pressure is not high, and she likes it.

The local play will be fun, as well, and will involve mainly something that comes naturally for her - playing guitar and singing. There might be a tiny bit of acting, but for the most part, it will be fun, especially since she gets to work with the locals, doing something she's done before.

The real challenge for her is her class. They have a lot of fun, but they teach real drama here, and it's not just all fun and games. Again, I think it's good for her, even if it's difficult at times. The end result should be the reward, and we'll see how that goes. Her memorizing capabilities and her flair for drama will work in her favor. She's the youngest in the class, which I think is good, because she does better with older kids. Also, she's hanging with the imaginative, creative, and quirky acting types, which also seems to suit her.

On top of all that, we've got plenty of other stuff going on. We have to prepare for the farmer's market, making our product. We did find a local beef provider who has gotten rave reviews for their grass fed beef. They are up in Pomfret, and they homeschool, as well. How cool is that? Actually, her daughter was homeschooled to the age of 14 and is now at the local HS, and her son is being homeschooled but takes classes at the school.

It's funny because I went to pick up the meat around noon, and because I was with the kids, she immediately pegged us as homeschoolers. Ah, so nice to meet kindred spirits in unexpected places. It's amazingly beautiful up there, BTW, and the farm was really nice.

Now we've got the meat, we have to do something with it. Eat it, perhaps? Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Daniel Foster and Marijn van Braak for the pics.

Re-Entering the 21st Century and the Weekend

Okay, things are getting ugly over here with my blogs, only in terms of staying on top of things, that is. It seems like it doesn't take much to let things slide, and suddenly I'm way behind. Bummer, but such is life. You can't dwell on it, because you end up just wasting time dwelling on it.

I called the cell phone company to complain about our free cell phone, only to learn that the problem with it, of course, is my fault. Somehow, that doesn't come as much of a surprise. Besides, how do you complain about something that's free... sort of? It turns out we hadn't charged the thing enough, and when the woman on the help line explained this to me, I could hear the disdain in her voice concerning what a total loser I was for not trying that one out.

Oh well, it just goes to show you, you can run from your shortcomings, but you can't hide.

One other notes, we had a really nice weekend, albeit two weekends ago, bearing in mind that I'm really behind here. We went to a birthday party at DCC&S', it was CH's big day. The party was very mellow and low key, and the kids had a blast. In a testament to what a great kid he is, C ended up as the master of ceremonies, and he pretty much ran the whole thing. Made it easy for mom and dad.

I felt sort of bad because when we have playdates, it's usually a time when CH (the mom) and I chat about homeschooling and share parenting war stories, but we ended up dropping the kids off for two reasons. One, I had a ton of stuff to do at home, none of which I was able to finish. And two (more importantly), we think it's good for the kids to have fun with mom and dad hovering over them. We spend a lot of time together, and I'm an overbearing parent, so it's good for everyone involved, a part of growing up as, they say.

A&N had a really nice time, ate lots of junk food, and that was our day. What more could you ask for?

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Michal Ufniak and COFFY | MOTIONDESIGN


got our phone to work, for now
had a great weekend, went to a birthday

Busy, Busy, Busy

I never really know how these things transpire, but are busy as heck over here. With all this talk of simplifying and slowing things down, life just seems to get crazier. It seems as if every day we have some event to attend to, and when we have a day off, we still manage to find somewhere to be. Thank goodness for my Mentor and his car. We couldn't live without that thing, though I'm aware that our time in Eden is limited, and with this in mind, we are initiating our search for a second car, or at least a horse drawn carriage. Again, R and I have philosophical differences in this arena. I'm all for buying cheap and driving it into the ground, while she wants to wait and get something good that will last. Personally, I would take anything that moves, just to have a vehicle.

We'll work this out, not that we have a choice.

Having the second vehicle has enabled us to partake in numerous extracurricular activities, which also can make a person crazy, but what parent out there isn't a little crazy? Both the kids are doing drama, which takes up Mon and Tue, and there are drum lessons on Wed, followed by our regular playdate with GK&T, then A has her musical at school on Thu and Fri, and guitar lessons on Fri. Now that the weather is nicer, we'll probably do some swimming, and once summer kicks in, all heck will break loose. We are doing summer camp this year, but it somehow struck me as exorbitant. They raised their prices, I'm sure of it. All the more reason to get my glorious freelance career up and running, so we can afford this fabulously opulent life.

In the coming month, our town is putting on its own play, and of course A is going to be in that. I know this sounds crazy, but there is a reason for all the madness. I asked A if she were interested in partaking in all these things, and she was enthusiastic about all of them. The main thing is, she's getting a lot of great kid interacting, and with the exception of the drama class, they are, for the most part, low stress. I had planned for it to be that way. We don't have aspirations for our kids to be movie stars, but wanted them to interact with kids with similar interests in an environment that was filled with quirky, imaginative, and individualistic people. What better place than drama?

Either way, she's doing a great job, and enjoying it, and making lots of new friends while also hanging with old ones. A lot of the kids in the school play were also in the Xmas Choir, so she's maintaining friendships.

And, N is really jiving with the kids in his drama class. How cool is that? It's really the guys, they seem to get together and just click, because they can be silly and crazy and just let loose. A good step towards finding his own way. We're just happy that the loves the class so much.

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

Exiting the 21st Century

If you can believe this, one day into our new life with a cell phone, and the darn thing doesn't work. For whatever reason, and of course there are no shortages of theories, but our cell phone won't turn on. The kids were fiddling with it all day, learning the intricacies (to eventually teach us) and functions, and suddenly, no life. Not sure what it all means, but it's sort of funny when you really get down to it... sort of.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.