Random Pictures

Sobo brought the girls these Japanese rice paper umbrellas.



She oozes personality.



And today's moment of Zen.

We have lots of great cemeteries up here, due to the granite quarries around. This is from Hope Cemetery in Barre.

Violin Concerto for Mums in D Minor

We started renting a violin for Fiona. The bow is purple. Her lessons should start soon. There are free group lessons during school once a week, but I think we are going to look into private lessons as well. She also wants to learn piano, which is great, but I said let's take it one instrument at a time.

She's coming down with a cold or something. She came home from school today with a sore tummy and a runny nose with sneezing. She said she just wanted a box of tissues, a bag for used tissues, and her violin, so she could practice "outside in the fresh air next to the mums".

This violin is so small, it's like a pinky violin.

Oh, by the way, the carpenter did a fantastic job with our windows. We're definitely keeping his number for future projects. He's also very cool in that he wears kilts. I guess it is his trademark, because when you write out the check, you make it out to "The Kilted Carpenter". So if anyone needs a carpenter in central Vermont, give a shout out in the comments.

The Incredible, Edible Egg

So I did make a souffle with those sexy eggs. I got even more the other day. The sweet person who is always there and looks for eggs for me seems to know the secret places to find eggs. Normally, he just goes to the coop, but I saw him looking in bushes near the farm stand, too, for eggs. Free range, you know.

The above is a roux (the flour and butter cooked until light brown) with the egg yolks, milk, and seasonings (pepper, salt, a bit of cayenne--I'd put more in, but Sophia might eat it). It's very dark compared to when I use grocery store eggs. Normally, this would look very pale yellow.



I love egg whites. When we would make chocolate meringue at school, we had to use an enormous mixing bowl. The thing is, to fold in egg whites in that volume, you can't really use a whisk or a spatula. You have to use your whole arm. (Actually, it does work better to use your hand to fold in whites, but a whisk works well, too). Being covered with chocolate meringue is definitely not a bad thing. And if it makes you squeamish to think of someone's arm in your meringue or cake batter...you probably should eat your meals at home.



Before (I added cheddar--Cabot's Hunter's Cheddar--and Parmesan).



After. Great fun to eat.

The Sound of Silence

Is really louder than you would think. Both girls are at school today. We have this great carpenter putting windows in (hallelujah!) and even that is so. quiet. Friday would have been the first day of the Loud Quiet, but I did volunteer work all morning.

I feel like I should be eating something like Fruity Pebbles and drinking Dr Pepper and watching Supernatural, but that would probably put me into some sort of coma.

When the windows are done, I'll get paint colour samples and start on my descent into Wallpaper Hell (which I'm sure is the 9th level of Hell).

Okay

Maybe I could sacrifice my beans and sunflowers for this:


Quote:

A couple of pudues, in the south of Chile, specifically in a city called Ensenada.
Pudu is the smallest deer in the world, its original of Chile and is in danger of extinction.

Thanks, Dad :)

Star Trek + Nine Inch Nails = Closer

= Brilliant!

NSFW!

Squee!

Cosmos is now on iTunes.

Two Things

Sobo and Sophia were taking a walk near our house. Sophia bends down to pick up a leaf. She said, "Oh, a Japanese Maple leaf". She was right. I am not sure where she picked that up...

Fiona and Sophia are helping Doug at the grocery store in the self-checkout line. I, personally, go nowhere near the self-checkout line. A woman is chatting with them as they check out. They get to this sparkling Rose that we get: it's good with food and easy to drink. Fiona says, "Oh, this is that champagne that I like so much!"

Preschool

This picture is actually from "Drop In" day to set up her cubbyhole and get used to the place a little more. Today was her actual first day of school, and she did very well. She played by herself at first and gradually played with the other kids. No surprises here. She helped make the soup, which they make every Friday with a vegetable from each family. I don't think she ate the soup, but they had apples to eat, too.

We actually have a day of summer today: a steamy 85F. Then it starts to plummet and we'll be in the low 60s for a high. I love this time of year.



One nice thing about this year is the food available locally. We often stop off at Dog River Farm for corn picked that morning, amazing tomatoes, etc ... but the best thing they have are their eggs. Far better than anything at the grocery store, even better than the eggs at the local co-op, these eggs have a dark orange yolk and are very perky. What is more disappointing than cracking open an egg to find a watery white and a yolk that can't even hold itself together? Okay, recent events not withstanding. Let's focus on the little things. The problem with the eggs is that they are sporadically available. Today, we hit the jackpot. I never see the eggs anymore, but if I see one of the farmers there, I ask about them. He recognizes me now. Sobo asked today, and instead of half a dozen here, 4 there, we got a whopping dozen and a half eggs. We will be having souffle tonight.

I made a roast chicken last night (I don't know if even the "hormone free/organic" chicken--from who knows where--is bigger these days, but lately, it seems to take longer to fully cook the meat around the thigh bone. I should probably go back to getting our chicken locally.) and amazingly, both the girls ate it and (!!!) the garlic green beans (from the Dog River Farm). Sophia ate some potatoes and Fiona, who did not like the potatoes--and never has liked potatoes unless they are in french fry form--actually tried the potatoes. I feel invincible. Dare I make a kale/Parmesan souffle? I think I'll stick to garlic and Parmesan tonight. It will be so cool, because the souffle will be orange. I'll try to get a picture in our dark kitchen.

And now, a la The Daily Show, here is your moment of Zen:

Feeling the Need for a Five Course Venison Dinner

I could have cried, but I really felt more like manical laughter when I saw this.

These are the sunflowers that we grew from seed, which were actually about to make it to full bloom this summer. These are the beans that we have been enjoying and were at the peak of production. You can see where the beans were too tall to eat.

Look, deer, you have the whole of the forest. Stay away from my garden! I'd get more garlic/rotten egg spray, but really. What is the point now?

Grrr. I'm most annoyed by the sunflowers. I was really looking forward to those.

Dental Star

Sophia did so astonishingly well at the dentist, that instead of just "counting" her teeth, she had an actual cleaning and fluoride treatment AND X-rays! It was surreal...except that she didn't really talk a whole lot to the hygienist and she nodded yes to every question. This time, instead of trying to hold back tears because of my own personal hellish experience with the dentist as a child, I was trying to hold back tears because it was going so well. Look, I'm a sap, okay? I did manage to hold myself together, though.

Anyway, she, incredibly (because getting a toothbrush in her mouth at home is a whole other ball game, let alone floss...I tried not to laugh when they asked me if we floss her teeth), has no decay at all. The only problem is the constant thumb sucking. It's causing a cross-bite and a slight overbite, a narrowing of her upper palate, and a huge gap in her bottom front teeth (people think at first she has already lost a bottom tooth). I'm sure they will introduce us to the orthodontist in about four years (kids seem to go in a lot earlier to the orthodontist than in my day!).

Now for Fiona's nitrous oxide/cavity filling experience on Tuesday. Gulp. I'm actually not going to that. Sobo offered me a Xanax for that, but I'm not sure it's a good idea to combine it with the Lexapro. I had no idea children required so many pharmaceuticals.

Hen of the Wood Again

We love Hen of the Wood. We returned there on the 23rd while Sobo watched the girls. Hooray for Sobo!

Again, Hen of the Wood did not disappoint. No pork belly on this menu, but they did have Niman Ranch pork cheeks, which could not have been more meltingly tender. That was served with a mustard creme fraiche. We could not decide between the crispy fried oysters with tarragon aioli, lemon zest, horseradish and parsley or the hen of the woods mushrooms with Vermont bacon and grilled Red Hen Bread. We got the oysters, which were light and lemony and delightful. If I had to pick a favorite, though, it would be the pork cheeks.



For the entree, we had the short ribs, which are braised overnight, and was served with chard...and I can not remember the starch for the life of me. Oh, I think it was smashed potatoes. Doug and I ate half of everything and then switched plates and he had the first half of this. I was too mesmerized by the short ribs to really notice anything else. We also had the smoked Labelle Farms duck breast with local kohlrabi puree (now there is an underused and under appreciated vegetable, if there ever was one), Pete's Farm Lacinato kale, and blackberries. Now, the duck was great, but the star of this plate was the kale. It was cooked with shallots (I actually thought it was garlic, but the server said it was shallots) and it was just so flavorful and tender. I could have eaten a whole bowl of this kale. Lacinato is a great variety of kale...it is not very bitter and it is really easy to cook with.

We had the cheese plate again (I didn't write down the cheeses or grab a cheese menu, but it was delicious) and one dessert: a clean tasting lemon tart with caramel ice cream and candied hazelnuts.

I did grab the wine list this time, and we splurged and got this.



This was a big wine, with dark juicy fruits and just a real pleasure to drink. It went so well with everything. It even somehow went with the oysters (whew). This would also be satisfying to drink on its own, but it was just a star with the pork cheeks. It helped that the pork cheeks tasted like something deities would eat on Mount Olympus.

Why You Should Not Nap

Right before you pick up your child: You will only notice in the nick of time, while waiting outside surrounded by people, who all seem to be checking everyone out anyway, that your wrap around skirt is about to fall off. You only show a brief glimpse of underwear to all; it could be worse.

This happens while you are talking to someone who you think is someone else and as you are tying your skirt back together, you remark that your daughter is thrilled her son is in her class (J). Embarrassment must have muddled your brain, because she informs you that you have her confused with someone else, because her son's name is C.

What a stupid day.

Last night Doug and I played hookie from the preschool parent's night and went to the Main Street Bar and Grill instead for drinks and nibblies. I learned that I love Hendrick's gin in a dirty martini (they give you three olives: regular, stuffed with garlic, and stuffed with blue cheese) and I learned, to my great unhappiness, that I can not drink two of them. A little tender today. We had some yummy shrimp quesadillas and an almond/peach tart with caramel ice cream and a blueberry lemon cake. Doug had a blueberry martini and a lychee one. The blueberry one used local blueberries (we have great blueberries here), but the lychee one was the winner, I think.

1st Grader

Fiona starts today. She now officially goes to school all day, every day. It's going to be so strange.

Sophia wants to go, too, but she has to wait until next Friday.

Champlain Valley Exposition

The celery made me laugh. Upper left corner.

We went to CVE yesterday (hereafter referred to as "the fair"). This is Sobo's first time there, so we had to partake of the mini doughnuts (freshly made on the spot) and the maple cotton candy. We didn't watch the pig races this year, because quite honestly, I did not want to deal with a pooping pig toy this year and Sophia was a bit of a growly bear yesterday, which is so draining. Part of the problem was that it was actually quite hot yesterday and she stubbornly wanted to wear one of her favorite long sleeved dresses. She wouldn't even change her dress at the fair. She got very pink and sweaty.



If you click on the picture, it will be easier to see Fuzzy, Sophia's lovey, who used to be white instead of that interesting gray, sticking out of Doug's pants pocket.



Riding the ponies (okay, I know this one is a donkey, but she insists it's a pony) is Sophia's favorite part of the fair. Fiona loves it, too, but she gets very tense holding on. Note how pink her cheeks are. She can get very, very pink.



Fiona loved the pumpkins.



Root beer float!

Good times.

Tonight is Fiona's school's barbecue where we get to meet her teacher and her classmates. She starts school Wednesday and, thankfully, she is very excited to start.

Firewood

The firewood came Friday! Very exciting. I was there, but napping (!!!) and Sobo had the girls in the backyard, so she gave them the check I had written. We stacked it up, unsure as to whether it was really two cords or not. Doug decided it was two cords, like we ordered.

But then.

The next day, more firewood showed up.



The wood is totally different and it smells totally different (the first delivery had an aroma of cow manure and wet dog going on--the second smelled like fresh wood). And, yeah, they just dump it and then leave. They don't knock on the door or anything. I was worried that an earlier fizzled-out contact had decided to drop off some wood, but Doug remeasured the earlier wood and it seems the first delivery was only one cord. So we are going to assume that this wood is all from the same place, I suppose. I called to confirm this, but no one has called me back.

We live in a strange place.

Fabulous Blog

Cake Wrecks

Prepare to laugh.

Listening to the Falling Leaves

Yes, it's that time of year again! We aren't officially in foliage season, really (that's late September/early October), but the maple trees are definitely turning.

We pick Sobo up at the airport today. She suggested I not tell them and then just say, oh, let's go see if Sobo is at the airport today. That wouldn't work on Fiona anymore, but it would amaze Sophia. Maybe. Actually, she may be too old for that now, too. Anywho, it's too late. They are already playing games where they "go get Sobo". Sobo is going to have groupies when she gets here.

Hopefully, today is the day a truck comes to our house and delivers two cords of wood. I'll take a picture, because two cords of wood is a lot of wood. Not for here, you understand, and certainly it's not a lot if our only method of heat is via wood stove (there are houses here like that--ours is not). But it is impressive to me, and it's also a lot of wood to stack (we get to do that part, of course).

They have been milking the last days out of the public swimming pool. It's barely 70 here, so I don't go anywhere near the swimming pool. The chill in the air doesn't seem to faze the girls at all. I already wear my sweatshirt around the house.

Silly Star Trek Quiz

From Ellen Aim's blog.

Your results:
You are Beverly Crusher

Beverly Crusher 65% Spock 59% Chekov 55% Jean-Luc Picard 55% Geordi LaForge 55% An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 55% Mr. Sulu 50% Will Riker 50% Leonard McCoy (Bones) 45% Uhura 45% Deanna Troi 45% James T. Kirk (Captain) 35% Mr. Scott 35% Data 34% Worf 30%

A good physician and a caring parent. You are devoted to your children and to your occupation.

Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Quiz


I think once I said I was a parent, that sealed the deal ;)

Break Out

So last night I'm sitting down to some well earned West Wing (Season 7), when I hear this enormous craaaacccccck! At first I thought it was outside. There were people outside talking and laughing, and I thought, oh, they busted something. Our house also makes all sorts of interesting noises that I can never identify.

However, like the victim in the horror movie, I go to see if I can identify the noise. That's when I hear water.

Gushing water.

I find myself in the girls' playroom (which used to be a dining room) where we keep the very large aquarium. There is a huge crack running horizontally on the front. Our one fish is swimming frantically around. (Anyone remember when we had 6?) Our two crayfish are hiding, as usual.

We have wood floors and if you spill something on them...it goes straight to the basement. The basement which has been dry for the first time in months.

Doug has taken the girls swimming so I frantically grab things to start putting under the waterfalls. I grab every dish towel.

Then they actually get home early because of a thunderstorm, so Doug helps me while we stick the kids in front of the one eyed babysitter. One bucket falls over. It's full, of course. Another bucket is discovered to have its own crack in it.

The drama is over, the aquarium is in the basement, and the fish and crayfish are living in our cooler for now until we can find new homes for them. The floor is very clean and the birds have a lot more room now.

I have no idea why the aquarium spontaneously cracked open. Maybe the crayfish have had enough. Maybe our fish is looking for his dad.

Adventures!

Last Sunday, we drove down to Boston to visit the Stone Zoo. We just missed the thunderstorm. That in itself was just a fun outing, but we actually went to Target on the way back home. This is sort of silly, but it's kind of exciting because we have no Target anywhere around here. I got a few shirts. It's so nice to have stain free shirts.

Last week Fiona had her science/nature camp at the Montshire Museum of Science. This is an hour away, and Fiona is of the age now where the camp lasts all day. I had originally thought I'd sign both Sophia and Fiona up, but Sophia is not quite old enough yet. Those October birthdays. Anywho, Doug stayed home and did projects on the house (the garage and basement look totally different!), and Sophia and I spent 6 hours every day doing errands in the surrounding towns and hiking. One day I took Sophia to VINS (Vermont Institute of Natural Science), where they have raptors that they rescue and shelter. They had a couple of trails there too, so I thought, why not? It was a huge hit. We would go more often, but the price is a bit steep when there are three or four of us. They had a "tree house" exhibit (it's not really a tree house) that Sophia loved. I loved the tropical dart frogs they had--their colors are incredible.







We spent most of our time hiking and having picnics from the Hanover and Lebanon food co-ops (in New Hampshire). I happily ate lots of California and dragon rolls, and Sophia ate lots of bagels, fruit, and orange things. Orange things are cheese puffs. She saw a big jar of these at BJ's and went "oooooh!" and grabbed it. So I bought her some multi-grain ones at the co-op. They are still bright orange. I have to confess here that I have a cheesy poof weakness that I secretly indulge in now and then. Sometimes it is great to stay up late watching movies and eating cheesy poofs with Dr Pepper. Actually, Doug bought me one the other day for a treat, and it was just too sweet for me to drink more than half. The urge comes up now and then, however.

But I digress.

Her interest in the hiking was sustained by hunting for acorns, of which she has a quite plentiful supply now. The only drawback to the hiking were the hoards of mosquitoes. All these trails are near water and the skeeters are just thriving right now. Fortunately, Fiona didn't seem to have a problem at camp, and they didn't seem to bother Sophia much (except getting in her face), but I got chomped on, and poor Doug, who came with us on the last day, has swollen red bites all over him. I tried this citronella woo, but it didn't seem to do a damn thing. Anyway, it was a delicious week of sun and not quite 70F degree weather despite the skeeters. I somehow did not make it to King Arthur Flour, which I'm kicking myself for now, because I need chocolate disks to try a new chocolate chip cookie dough recipe.

Fiona decided, apparently, they should end the week with haircuts. She did this very quickly and quietly. She did it right before we went out, in fact, and I didn't even notice it until we came back. I thought Sophia's hair looked funny (she always takes her barrettes and ponytail holders out these days), like the front of her hair had been somehow tucked under the rest of her hair and behind her ear...

Fiona, to her credit, was honest about what had happened, and I now have, from her dresser, a jar of her sister's ringlets. She was trying to make her sister's hair "like hers". Sophia was a most enthusiastic participant.



Fiona just did her bangs, and it's not too bad.



The missing ringlets.



New bangs.

This is the last week of summer vacation for Fiona. Sophia has another week.

We still don't have firewood, presumably because of all the rain, but it should come next week. In early September, we're getting our drafty windows replaced, which should make the downstairs more bearable in winter.

The most exciting news is that Sobo is coming next week for a month! On the heels, of that, we get to have Triana for a few days. It's so wonderful to have visitors.

Bill Nye

I have been trying to get Bill Nye the Science Guy for Fiona to watch, and guess what? It's not on TV anymore (I have no idea what's on TV anymore) and it's not on DVD. However, one can find full episodes on You Tube (the full episodes seem to be broken up into three parts). How cool is You Tube, anyway?

There is a petition to get the show on DVD or back on TV here. He has a new show called The Eyes of Nye, as well.

Fiona is hooked.

We were going to spend the day outside but thunderstorms drove us back inside. The pouring rain kept us there.

There's a Chill in the Air

Ellen Aim sent me a copy of The Post-Birthday World, which I have started reading. I'm on chapter two (a clear sign I have children, or I would have just stayed up all night reading it or called off work) right now and already enjoying it. Thanks, El!

It has been extremely cool here--70F. I love late summer/early autumn. We usually get a really great one here (I believe that this is the time of year that the population of tourists outnumbers the people who actually live here). If it doesn't rain the whole time, of course. Now is when we get can get corn from the farm stand that has just been picked, tomatoes (finally), blueberries (Oops! Better get some tomorrow before they are all gone!), and also when mums start appearing on everyone's porch, and the public pool closes (at least this summer we aren't taunted by hot weather before school starts, which can happen). The state fairs start and we will certainly eat our way through those (well, at least one of them). I'm sure there will be pig racing. Fiona starts first grade on the 27th (yes, a Wednesday) and Sophia starts on September 5th. I am hoping to spend Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning tearing off the Wallpaper from Hell while listening to very loud music. Preferably Joan Jett. I'll have to do something to our ancient walls...I don't know if I can just patch them somehow or what. First the wallpaper. Then, paint!

First, of course, I'll have to just sit in the house doing nothing for a couple of weeks to get used to it. This is all assuming dropping Sophia and Fiona off at school goes smoothly.

And then! Then! We have visitors! Sobo is hopefully coming soon, and after that, Triana!! There will be warm, fresh cider doughnuts and apple picking, oh yes. It will be so hard not to go back with them to Denton or Austin, but I will resist. Hopefully, I can visit this winter when it's so bleak here.

A Dreaded Sunny Day

We have had so much rain that our backyard patio is covered with moss. Note the poor, sodden flat daisies. By the way, you can click on the pictures to make them bigger.

These are pumpkin blossoms. Hopefully, the slugs will leave us one and we'll actually have a pumpkin for fall. We'd prefer at least two, but whatev. Nice weeds, right? I'll get to it. Those dishes are beer slug baits I have emptied out. Every time I put out new ones, it rains and thus pretty much defeats their purpose.


Lots of red bean blossoms and we picked our first bean! Fiona spit her bite out loudly into the grass and Sophia ate the rest of the bean all up and did not want to give any to me (I got a small nibble). She said YUM!

I was cleaning up more than usual today because someone was coming over to look at four of our downstairs windows we'd like to replace. They keep out the cold air about as well as if we'd put up a sheet of cardboard. I look over at Sophia and she's falling asleep at the kitchen table, thumb in mouth. Thankfully, she did not fall out of the chair while I took her picture.

Fiona's dental appointment went well except she does have one small cavity starting on one of her permanent molars. She'll get that filled early September with nitrous oxide and they will put sealants on all of her permanent molars. She's never used nitrous oxide before. I am a little apprehensive because I don't see her really going for it. She had 4 cavities on her baby teeth that we had quickly filled when she was about 3. They gave her Valium then, and that did not work out well at all. It completely backfired. She got enormously pissed off that this dentist was working on her teeth and we were not stopping him---we were, in fact, helping him! Oh, she got sleepy, all right, but Fiona sleepy is not a compliant person. Fiona sleepy is a wild animal. It was very quick, but it felt like an eternity. Obviously, NO and Valium are different things, and she is much older, but I still worry.

Fiona spent her time in the forest surrounding our house, so no pictures of her today. Today she was the elusive forest creature.

I Laughed

so I wouldn't cry.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Spew

Well, Sophia seemed fine this morning until she barfed her cereal all over our bed. So Doug and Fiona will go to the dentist and A Single Pebble and I will snuggle Sophia today. At least her fever seems to be gone. She actually seems fine now and keeps asking for more cereal. She refuses soup and crackers, so we're trying grapes.

And there will be chocolate cake this afternoon (perhaps while someone is napping)! Plus, Doug is bringing home food from the restaurant.

We got Doug a new computer monitor for his birthday. It's our first LCD monitor and we love not only the widescreen, but the fact that it does not take up the whole computer desk. Or other monitor was really dark no matter what we did to it, and now we can see all sorts of things in pictures we could not see before. It's great fun.

When Life Hands You Rain, Make Cake

Thanks to those of you who checked in on me and gave me real and virtual hugs. Today is better.

Today I'm also making chocolate birthday cake, so that probably helps. The cherry pie was good (well, I can't recommend buying cherry pie filling in a can, but the crust was good) and it's gone. Everyone liked it except Sophia. She stuck her finger in the filling now and then (it is red, after all, and red is definitely her favorite color), but wasn't really impressed.

Sophia started running a high fever yesterday which went through the night into today. She seems better now, so hopefully we are still making the trek to the pediatric dentist for both the girls. Tomorrow is Doug's birthday, so I made lunch reservations at A Single Pebble. I know I have said this before, but I'll say it again...they have the best Chinese food I have ever eaten anywhere. It is rather surprising to find such a place in Vermont---not that Vermont doesn't have great places to eat; there is actually a high concentration of those--but I think Chinese food is not one of the first things to come to mind when one thinks of Vermont.

Now if we could only get an awesome Mexican or Tex-Mex restaurant.

A friend of ours is on his way to opening up a Spanish tapas-type place, so that is very exciting. They had two sittings one evening and were totally full and got some mostly positive honest feedback. Hopefully, we can get in on the next seating. He's a great cook and there isn't anything like this kind of food around here.

Another Funk

Things are not going so well. I'm back on the Lexapro.

Blah.

Nuts

We get this enormous plastic jar of mixed roasted nuts about twice a month at BJ's. BJ's is like Costco with an unfortunate name. Anyway. Sophia loves the nuts, but she rummages through and picks out the ones she likes best. At the end, only the almonds are left. Without the salt.

So she has figured out that she can dump the whole jar in the colander to get a better view of available nuts. I heard her doing it and I came into the kitchen to see her happily picking out Brazil nuts.

I am actually pleased she does these things for herself, but you may want to pass on the roasted nuts if you come to visit unless you like your snacks pre-licked.

I know this post is also a gold mine of puns, but let's not even go there.

Doug's birthday is this Tuesday. I'm making cherry pie per his request but I don't think it's going to be the birthday pie. For one thing, I have here two grocery-store brand cans of "cherry pie filling". I don't think I've ever used pie filling before. It tastes rather bland. I may add some lemon zest and vanilla bean to it.

Ice Cream

Desperate to get out of the house, I took the girls to...the Ben and Jerry's factory store! They both had chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream (the classics are always the best) and I watched and waited to scavenge what was left. Then we went to the playground there where Fiona immediately rounded up about 3 girls her age and led them in play. I don't have an iota of these leader skills and I never have, so it is just fascinating to watch. Sophia followed...or dug up mulch to drop from the top of the structure. Can't resist sand and mulch, that one. I'm thinking of giving her a big bag of mulch for her birthday.

It was actually a sunny and warm day for it... and it was so crowded. I guess it is a popular tourist destination, because most of the license plates were from out of state. The guy we bought the ice creams from gave us two kid cones for the price of one. Maybe they were small, but they were plenty big. He was so sweet to the girls. They sang Happy Birthday to Ben and Jerry's along with the staff for free sprinkles. I guess Ben and Jerry's have been around 30 years this year. And look! A new flavor. I love the name. And fudge peace signs. Now the real question is: will I be able to FIND it?

Compare this picture to this one.



Mom, lick this for me:



Tired of asking me for a lift, she tries to construct her own stool:



They loved this:

Gulf Carts

That is what the sign says in front of the RV shop on the way to Montpelier. It makes my eye twitch every time I see it. I thought, okay, maybe it's a type of cart that I am unaware of. Certainly possible. However, there are several golf carts lined up behind it.

Unfortunately, it is on a busy narrow road, so I have no picture to share.

Drying Out

Before.


After.

We got pummeled with even more pounding rain last night, but today, the sun finally seems to be out. The ground is still squishy wet and everything is still very, very wet. Our yard is shady, so it will be a while before everything dries out. The concrete in the backyard is becoming a green carpet of algae. Actually, maybe it's moss. We have a lot of moss.

Even the daisies are flat.

Our little bean tepee with morning glories! Alas, the moonflower got dug up by something. We'll pretend this would have been the first summer it would have bloomed before it got too cold. Actually, most of the morning glories got dug up, too. And something is eating the leaves off of the beans. I suspect deer.

Just for fun, here are some of the zinnias. Slugs have claimed about half of them. Slugs may also keep us from growing a pumpkin. They keep eating the blossoms. That orange dish you see in the back is a beer trap for the slugs. It works very well, but there are just too many slugs. Plus, I drink most of the beer before I can dole it out into the traps.

When Calvin and Hobbes is Your Summer Reading

So Fiona calls from the kitchen, "Mom? Can we go out for pizza tonight?" I say, "Noooo...we aren't going out tonight and I made pizza for lunch." She starts trying to say "So, mom, what you're saying is you'd rather stay home and cook and clean rather than spend a few bucks for dinner?" Only she gets maybe 2 of the words out and starts laughing. She spurts out the rest of the words with considerable effort. I paraphrase here. I know exactly which Calvin and Hobbes strip she is talking about.

She is still laughing.

Here is the strip.

Brunching

So we went to The Main Street Grill for brunch last Sunday. Usually the brunch is an outlet for the students to make cool little delicacies like pork rillette, head cheese, pates, mousses, and salads--not to mention a selection of hot dishes, omelettes and waffles cooked to order, and an ice sculpture. Hopefully, the students get this experience at the campus in Essex their second year, because now the brunch is no longer a buffet, it is a prix fixe menu/a la carte. The menu is perfectly fine (I had a very nice crab and corn cake and a cheese platter) but it's noticeably lacking in the cool funky French preparations. There is still a nice dessert buffet table, however. The kids menu (and the kids eat free in July if you order the prix fixe brunch) is quite simple, however. It's fine if your kids want just a regular breakfast: eggs, pancakes, waffles (i.e. if your child is not my 3 year old Sophia). If your child wants pasta, however, they will make what they have...but you must pay for it. It seemed a little off key considering it was brunch. The total bill from our trip was another reason that this will be a once in a while trip. One nice change is that the brunch is on Saturday now, too, instead of just Sunday.

Taking Sophia somewhere like this is always a risk as she does not want to sit still for long. Anywhere. She is someone who needs to be on the move. Guess who wanted nothing on the menu? (Hence the pasta). And did not eat it? Well, it is the first time we have taken her to The Fancy Brunch.

I do recommend the lemon drop martini.

Blathering

I hate to complain about rain when so many places need it so badly and...you know, at least it's not a hurricane. But damn. We've had enough. The yard is so buggy and the basement is so stinky and we want to play outside in the sun. That thing we don't see so much of in the winter, right? /Rant off.

Fiona did very well as a sailor in her play H.M.S. Pinafore. Video taping the play and getting Sophia to sit in one place was not an easy task, however. That added some special interest to the video, I'm sure. The auditorium was stifling hot (I can't imagine how it must have been on stage) so Sophia was even more wiggly than usual. Everyone in the play did an amazing job, especially considering they had only been working on it for two weeks. Alas, I do not have pictures, only video. Doug was in Oregon at the time, which is why I was solo.

We've dropped the chess for Frog Juice for the moment. Fiona was getting too frustrated at not winning every game now that her parents are remembering how to play. However, Frog Juice is very cool. I recommend it. Made by the same people who make Sleeping Queens, also fun.

The swimming lessons, despite my pessimistic moaning (sometimes I have to roll my eyes at myself), actually went very well. It did not rain (for a change!). The water temperature was bearable. The kids, of course, had a fabulous time.

I think we may actually have a firewood source. Our second source called back and said, "Oops. Sorry. We have too many customers and not enough wood. Bye." (Really, I feel quite privileged that we got a phone call at all). Our first source is not returning my calls. However! We have Third Source. Third Source is very much on the ball and has given me an actual delivery date. Has actually asked WHERE they should drop off the wood and where they can pick up the check if I am not around when they drop off the wood (only in Vermont, I think, would this not sound suspicious...but I will still be here when they come with the wood). So. I know it's not that exciting, but believe me, it will be very exciting for us to have wood this winter.

Ah, thunder! Perhaps another day where the electricity goes out for hours. We've had some high (for here) wind storms this summer and the trees just keep coming down. Not ours yet, thank goodness. It's fun for a while with the kids when there is no electricity. The fun does not last as long as you think it would, though. Oh, no. No it does not.

I hope those in the path of Dolly come out safe and sound today.

Chess

Fiona has been learning chess (I think she was inspired by my Foxtrot comic book--the dad loves chess and is always hounding his family to play with him). She just came to us and said she wanted to learn chess. She is doing really well. She and Doug play every day and she writes little notes about how much she loves chess.

Despite repeated correction, however, she keeps calling the bishop piece "The Butcher".

We're going to brunch this morning--kids eat free in July! Woot! It's the NECI restaurant, so there should be yummy nibblies like pate, rillette, cheeses, and salads. Including the usual brunch fare. There may or may not be adult beverages involved. Depends on the kids.

Time for a Bracing Two Weeks

So today starts two weeks of swimming lessons for the girls and music theater camp for Fiona in the afternoon. Hopefully, Fiona will enjoy the camp and I won't turn into ice during the lessons. See, because Sophia is a "Tiny Tot" until she turns 5 (meaning I'll be doing this next summer as well, I'll wager), I get to go in the water with her. The water is always bitter cold. It's not necessarily warm during the summer here. It rains quite often (but the lessons go on). Oh well, it will probably wake me up. I haven't been sleeping well (except for last night, thank goodness). Insomnia and wakeful creatures who need you in the night seem to go hand in hand to exasperate the problem.

Yesterday, we tried to finally get Sophia her own bicycle, but she now just wants her tricycle and not one "pink like Fiona's". We tried to get Fiona a bike helmet and she doesn't like the strap under her chin (I was exasperated and sympathetic at the same time...I hate things around my neck or under my chin). So I guess we'll be getting our exercise by swimming and, hopefully, hiking this summer. Both girls are getting the cutest freckles. I'll try to get close ups soon. They are getting tan lines despite copious amounts of sunscreen that says it protects against UVA and UVB rays.

I have, for the first time since we moved into our house, actually been trying to get firewood for next winter. It's been like trying to get a carpenter or contractor to work on your house. No one returns my calls. If you talk to a person, they say they will call later. And don't. There are the few who are exceptions and it is work to find them. Because of this, I have somehow made 2 orders for 2 cords of wood each (I thought one guy was a flake and wasn't going to call me back). We're going to wait until we have an enormous pile o' wood in the driveway before I cancel the other one. We don't need 4 cords of wood (I hope), but we sure do need wood. After our last heating oil bill, I wonder if we will be sleeping in front of our tiny wood stove next winter.

Fiona just came down the stairs. I thought she had fallen back asleep (feel free to laugh at me here). She just spent about an hour silently in her room reading a Calvin and Hobbes book she found hiding in her room. It was hiding in her bookcase, you see. You see that the apple does not fall far from the tree.

Pass the Tissues

Well, Ellen Aim wasn't impressed, and I can see what she means, but I enjoyed Wall*E. It's true the message was about as subtle as Kool Aid, but it was entertaining. Plus, who can resist mushy robots and cute cockroches? Okay, then.

Sophia didn't like it. She thought the robots were scary. I am not sure this is an age thing (although she is not quite 4 yet), I think in this case, it is a personality thing. Fiona did like it, which does not surprise me. It was fun to see her face change throughout the movie. So I cuddled Sophia and ate her popcorn (I promise it was okay with her). I only blubbed a little bit during the movie, but I blub at everything. It helps that I am not taking Lexapro anymore, however. But even then I still get teary. I mean, I totally bawled at Fiona's kindergarten graduation (they even have 8th grade graduation now??). Why? No one else was. Did I bring tissues? Of course not. I got to be a slimy mess during my child's graduation. Oh well, I'm sure they all think I'm bizarre anyway. Now they think I am unstable and bizarre, I am sure.

Recently, Doug told me he was driving the kids home the other week and he looked back in the mirror at the kids and Fiona was silently crying. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. They had just passed a dead fox, and she was sad.

At times like this, I am pretty sure she will use her powers for good.

A Neat Little Commercial

I had to share.