Great Range

I had to have our car fixed the other day and since Meunier is about 3 miles from our house, I thought it would be a good time to try out the kid's walkie-talkies. I took one and the kids had the other, and I kept in constant radio contact. It's all so James Bond, isn't it?

Anyway, they worked beautifully. I provided constant updates up to the moment I arrived at our mechanic, and we could still talk clearly.

Pretty impressive. Then again, these are not toys, they are the real deal, compliments of blogging perks, no less.

Thanks for reading.

Eve of Hallow's Eve Good Fortune

We went down to the wire with Halloween this year. Come to think of it, we do this every year. Halloween fell on a Sunday, and by Saturday, we had yet to finish our costumes. N had decided he wanted to a robber, and A was a wizard. We still had things to finish, and R had to go to a meeting with her Africa charity.

We all set out in search of a few key items. N needed a mask to make him like a robber, and he was leaning towards a full face mask. Personally I thought it would have been cuter to wear a mask just covering his eyes, a la Lone Ranger, but he was adamant about his mask, and who was I, dull boring dad, to contradict him.

I called around to several ski shops in search of a full face mask. My first thought was Rugged Bear, the best place to buy kid's clothes in my opinion, but they said they had not come in yet. Bummer. I tried Henderson's and they had them, as did EMS and even Kmart. The masks were not exactly what he wanted, though. They covered the head and chin, but had full face exposure. N wanted the kind with two eye holes and a mouth hole for extra menacing effect.

We set out to find our stuff. First stop was the dump to unload recycling and check out the thrift store. No luck there, so we checked out the Listen center, which for the record was a madhouse, but still no mask, though we scored a meat filling gun that squirts out blobs of ground meat. Kind of like a caulking gun for dumpling filling. Thought it might come in handy if we decide to take part in that madness again.

Next up was the Powerhouse Mall, where EMS said they had the masks. If we couldn't find them there, we could always go to Kmart right across the road. The masks at EMS were actually all adult sizes, so they weren't going to work. N mentioned at least trying Rugged Bear again, and then maybe LL Bean. I figured why not, even though they said on the phone that they hadn't come in yet.

Well, believe it or not, when we went there, they said they hadn't been unpacked yet, but were in boxes on the floor. Not only did they have the masks, but they were exactly what he wanted. How cool is that?

I love when things like that happen, and it just goes to show you, it ain't over until it's over. Regardless of what people tell you, find out for yourself before you throw in the towel.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.

Hockey Game, Homecoming, and Going For It

I made what I thought to be a big blunder, but like many things in life, my mistake morphed into serendipity. Just goes to show you that life is wonderfully unpredictable, as it should be, and rather than shy away from it in fear, we should embrace its whims.

But enough of my pontification. We had been talking about going to see a Dartmouth women's hockey game, and never seemed to get around to it. I finally resolved to do it, and there was an early evening game on Friday. Perfect.

The plan was to go to story hour, grab a quick bite to eat, and head over to the game. It was all complicated, of course, by the fact that there were other things going on. There was a local Halloween party, which I'd never been to, as well as the fact that the kids like to play well after story hour has ended, so it was going to be a bit of a wrestling match to get them to comply.

Also, I learned later that it was homecoming weekend at the college, which meant oceans of people, which also meant really bad traffic, the kind that reminds of living in that hell on earth known as Los Angeles. I was ready to change our plans, but at some point realized that things get too crazy when you try to explore every possible option. Just deal with it.

Besides, the kids were excited about going to the game, and to be honest with you, I really enjoy them, though I like the brutal and physical aspect of the NHL, but that's a guy thing.

After thinking about it for a few minutes and asking R her opinion, we decided to just go for it. We also thought that the homecoming festivities might be fun, and a good way for the kids to get a taste of what college life is like. I know, it's a bit early, but you never know what sort of moments really speak to a child.

When story hour ended, we piled into the car and headed over to the big city. Since the food options at the game boiled down to hot dogs or pizza, which is akin to fine cuisine for a kid, I'd made some healthier fare. For R I brought a goat cheese and roasted red pepper wrap, and for the kids, some cold cut wraps along with some fruit. We have been on a whole grain kick lately, so I also made R a wheatberry salad with feta cheese and olives.

While R loved the food, the kids had one thing on their mind - hot dogs. Oh well, I tried. The game was a blast, and kind of poignant in that they played Brown, our old haunt, and beat them. Out with told, in with the new.

It was a lot of fun. The women are incredibly good, and tickets are easy to come by since nobody seems interested in watching women's sports, which is a shame. After the game, we walked over the Green to watch the homecoming bonfire, and they really went all out. The pile of wood was at least 2 stories high, if not more. Kind of menacing.

There were loads of people, as we anticipated, but it was mellow, and they even had free food. After several interminable speeches, they lit the fire, and man was it impressive. It really warmed things up, it was cold out there.

They have some sort of tradition at Dartmouth where the students run around in circles around the fire, I'm guessing until it's done. There were a few students out there acting silly who were clearly drunk, but for the most part, they were pretty civil. You figure even though these guys are young and prone to crazy behavior, they are Ivy League students and have it together. More so than the students where I went to college (UCLA), where they would never hold a rally like this because it would have most definitely turned into a riot.

We watched the fire for a bit, then headed home. It was a really nice evening, and though we got home really late, I'm glad we did it and did not bow down to fear and anxiety. Nothing worse in life than saying "I should have..."

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Rob Dickie and Neil Thorne for the pics.

Crazy Weather and New Rakes

Not that I'm complaining, but I don't know what to make of the weather sometimes. Last week it was freezing cold and we even had a few October snow showers, which is a bit early, even for a New England neophyte.

This week, it warmed up to what felt at times like 80 degrees. I doubt it was that warm, but the weather forecast called for temps in the mid-70s. That's incredible, though again, not bad news for taking care of our septic tank.

Because it was so nice, A&N were inspired to go out and rake the leaves into a big pile. Our rakes have taken a beating over the years, a lot of which is due to neglect on my part. I.e., I leave them out over the Winter and they degrade. Consequently, they break, and though they're still usable, they sure lose a lot of efficiency.

With two broken rakes, the job of making a leaf pile was all the more challenging, but the kids weren't complaining. At some point we did decide, however, that we needed new rakes. We headed over to Aubuchon and got two new ones, one metal and the other plastic. They have some really cheap rakes, and you probably get cheaper ones at Family Dollar, but at some point you have to ask yourself if you're really saving any money... my Mentor, not to mention JH and my in-laws, would be proud of that POV.

We broke in the new rakes ASAP, building up the pile and making it almost ready to jump into. Until then, thanks for reading.

Stood Up

So I got stood up by JF, who said he'd help me with my website. Yet another example of the pitfalls of relying on free advice to get something done. I can't tell you how many times things have fallen through with this website, and in the end, I'm the fool for waiting around and hoping someone will magically come through for me. I need to just do it myself and stop whining (who's whining?)

I'd spoken to JF a few times before the big fateful day. He works near the Howe library, so the plan was to meet him there in the afternoon. I had to meet with CiH's brother, RH, who happens to be JH's brother and CH's uncle, as well. Are we connected to this family, or what?

RH came over and we discussed painting matters, since he's a painter, and we could have gone on all day because there is so much to learn. At some point, looking at the clock, I told him we had to go. I was carting the kids with me to the Howe, where they'd entertain themselves while I talked Web design with JF. I was worried they'd get bored, but as usual, they did a stellar job of entertaining themselves. They're such good kids, objectively speaking, of course.

Anyway, we got there on time, and I sat and waited... and waited. JF never showed up. I tried calling his number, but it was either busy or I couldn't get through. Finally, after an hour, I emailed him with the realization that it wasn't going to happen. He emailed me back and apologized that he'd gotten wrapped up in something and forgot.

Shot down in flames again. Truth be told, after fiddling around with this program, I think I can pull this off. Sure, it's not going to be a top notch, award winning website, but at least it will be of my own making, and won't set me back hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. I spoke to one person who said the guy who did his site, which for the record is beautiful, charges $2000. I almost dropped to the floor when I heard that.

We also saw our friends the Macks, sans AM, which was a bit of a relief. The kids are growing fast, and it was nice catching up.

The librarian commented on how well A&N entertain themselves and don't create a fuss. I'd have to agree. By about 6:00, R arrived, and we headed over to Boloco for our usual feast. I didn't get any help for my website, but again, I've got nobody to blame but myself for not simply doing it (can you hear the violin music in the background?)

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

Good as New

There aren't too many things that are as much of a bummer as car woes. You really rely on the thing, and when it isn't working, it can have a profound effect on your state of mind because you take it so much for granted, even though I try not to.

We had a few issues recently, not huge, but enough to rest on our minds. The check engine light was on and we were having acceleration problems, coupled with the fact that we needed a new inspection sticker.

Well, our mechanic found the problem, and it turned out to be fairly easy to fix. In fact, in the short term, he fixed it with some duct tape. We passed inspection for about $40. I still had to get the new part, and prepared myself for the worst. However, even that part was only about $40. Factor in about $15 to install it, and we came out of it fairly unscathed.

I love (and am thankful) when that happens. Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Belovodchenko Anton for the pic.

Crazy Busy and Squeezing It In

In the spirit of squeezing things in in what little you've got, not to mention living the life of a soccer mom, I managed to get a ton of stuff done while the kids were having their art class, operating under the prescient words of Eleanor Roosevelt who once said, "You must do the things you think you cannot do."

I've learned that since becoming a parent, the only way things get done is to just do it, even when you are not sure you can. If anything, that is all the more reason to try. I can't tell you how many times in the throes of doubt I didn't do something and kicked myself because in retrospect I could have pulled it off. This also applies to situations where I had the time, but felt too timid or pensive to even try (what a wimp).

Now that I'm a parent with little to no time, I seem to make the most of the little time I actually do have. Funny how that works. Somehow, like begets like. Too much free time makes me a sloth.

Either way, I had two hours, and made the most of it. After dropping off the recycling at the dump, I had to get new floor mats for the car and the only place nearby was the dealer in W. Leb. After going there, I headed over to Stateline to get R and A's skates sharpened. It takes about a 1/2 hour, so I had to come back and get them. During that time, I went to Stern's for produce, then the Coop for assorted items, then back to Stateline to get the finished skates.

I had about 45 minutes and had to make a decision. I had a check for my Mentor, and wanted to get it to him before he left for the season, which was going to be in 2 days. I could have waited until the next day, but again, when I put things off until a later date, I usually regret it. It would have meant making a detour to get back to the kids, but I could have a made a loop to pull it off.

I went for it, and as I headed over there, I started to sweat a little looking at the clock. I had to be back to get the kids, and then take them all to karate class with me. Talk about non-stop action. I got to Quechee quicker than I anticipated, ran inside to give him his stuff (he said, shaking his head "Boy, the life of a soccer mom."), then headed back over the hill. By the time I got back, I had more time than I thought I'd have, and even stopped back at home to drop off the groceries and skates.

I made back to class with about 10 minutes to spare, feeling good that I not only tried, but took care of business. Just goes to show you, when in doubt, go for it.

The kids had fun at karate, but what a long day for both children and adults. Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Geir Akselsen for the pic.