Out of my Head

CSA

2009-06-13T10:33:00.003-05:00

We got our first box of produce from our CSA (Community supported Agriculture) farm. I was hoping for strawberries, but theirs aren't ready quite yet. Instead we got a batch of asparagus, swiss chard, a beautiful bunch of green onions, lettuce and spinach. Plus, a freshly killed chicken, which I'm glad to say was fully plucked and de-gutted.

Our own garden is still giving lettuce and spinach. I'm freezing some of the spinach right now, after a quick blanching. Trying not to let all this bounty just rot in the garden or in the fridge.

Now I've got to rework my menu for the week to take in account the CSA produce. I'd been depending heavily on Menus for Moms for the last few weeks to do my thinking for me, but I'll need to plan menus myself all summer to use up what I get from the Yoders.

Lacrosse

2009-05-09T10:56:00.005-05:00

Some pics of Nathan playing something that has a passing similarity to Lacrosse.

Chasing down an attacker

Learning to shoot

Playing a game against Canton's kindergartners. Nathan liked being a defender.

I would have had video, but the second game was rained out.

Family Food

2009-04-25T15:04:00.002-05:00

A couple of things I've wanted to write about and they tie together nicely.

Today we signed up for a farm share from a local Amish Farmer.
200 lbs of veggies from this list of what he's growing...
Lettuce, Radishes, Beets, Onions, Peas, Potatoes, Broccoli, Squash, Carrots, Tomatoes, Cukes, Beans, Peppers, Sweet corn, Canning tomatoes, cabbage, pickles, cauliflower and garlic.
Plus strawberries and 15 lbs of chicken.

We stopped by today to pay $250.00 for the season. Mr. Yoder was fairly young, with 4 kids from infant to five years old. They showed Claire the baby chicks that will be food or egg producers in a few weeks. And the greenhouse is full of sets, we may get some tomato or pepper plants for the garden once the frost threat is past. He'll write me when the first produce is ready, maybe some asparagus, and then we'll go by weekly to pick up our share. Find a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) near you!

The next trick is actually figuring out how to cook all of it. Because I can't cook, or shop, or plan menus.

The problem is that I'm married to a man who is never home for dinner. I spent years working odd shifts where either I wasn't home for dinner, or dinner was really breakfast. And in the last years before the kids were needing to be cooked for, I had a free lunch at work so I lived on sandwiches at home. But I've had at least four years now where I should have been preparing full meals for me and Nathan, and there's no excuse for the amount of times the meal has been McDonalds, Mac & cheese or a PB&J.

A few weeks ago, I found Menus for Moms, and I've really loving it. I NEED someone to spell out exactly what should be served each day and what groceries I need, and this does it. The kids aren't eating everything on their plate, but just exposing them to the variety is a big deal, and will help in the long run. And a few things that I never would have thought they'd like have been big hits. (Couscous, enchiladas, pesto chicken) Some of the items are on the wrong side of the healthy/fattening scale, but there's always veg and fruit on the side. And a lot of the planning includes bulk cooking and freezing, so that the meal can be pulled together quickly when I get home from work.

I'm hoping that a few months of this will give the skill and confidence to do more on my own. And also help build up the pantry and freezer so when I don't want to go shopping, I'll be able to find something to make instead of calling Dominos.

Easter 2009

2009-04-12T09:37:00.004-05:00

Easter usually pretty low key, but now that Claire is getting older we can get into it some more. They had fun coloring eggs yesterday, although three of the eggs landed on the floor and got cracked. Unfortunately, I wiped the card while uploading photos and deleted all but this one shot of Claire.

I got a little stressed as the evening wore on. I wanted to send the kids on a scavenger hunt for their baskets, and tape it so Dan could see it. But I couldn't bear to have the house looking like a disaster area for all to see, so I had to struggle to get everything tidy after they went to bed, even though my arthritis is not being kind to me this week. And then I still had to make the clues. Knowing that they were probably going to wake me up at 6:30 too. (Dan worked 10-9 yesterday, and was up at 2:00 am for brunch today!)

Claire's was easy. I planted a few eggs around the house and took pictures of them. Then I printed the photos and put them in other eggs to lead her from one to another For Nathan, I wanted him to be able to read his clues. He's getting much better at reading books at night, so I wanted to reinforce the fun of reading. Each of his clues also went in an egg. They were.....

Follow my clues
And you’ll see
The Easter Basket
Hidden by me

Where’s the first clue
Where is the place
Go get something
To wash your face

Clue number 2
Is so easy
Go get your favorite
Game for Wii

Find number 3
Don’t be a fool
Get your backpack
And go to school

The fourth clue
Is the best
You’ll find your basket
Under mommy’s desk!!

Here's the video of the search. Nathan's goes on for awhile as he tries to sound out words. And Claire's gets pretty dark, should have turned on more lights. ON my dark monitor it goes completely black, let me know if that's true for everyone else too. Oh well.

Compost

2009-03-28T10:02:00.004-05:00

I’ve been planning to build a compost heap out of wooden pallets for the last year. I found this wonderful guide for doing it, and of course I love to do things cheaply. Here's another version that looks pretty high class.

The problem is that whenever I saw pallets by the side of the road, I had kids/carseats in the car. And on the few occasions I could go out without them, the pallets had already been snapped up. Same thing happened last night when the 8 that had been outside the appliance store at 5:00 were gone by 10:00 when Dan got home. But since I was out anyway, I swung by the Agway and found 3 there, that's good enough to get started.

Look, it already has yard waste in it. And the neighbors' horses keep dropping presents by the side of the road, so I'll add that once I get the wheelbarrow out. It's secured in place with four wire coathangers. Ideally, it would have another pallet on the ground to improve airflow. Also, a fourth wall to finish the enclosure, but that would have a hinge for opening to turn the pile. For now, I've just set it up so that the open area faces away from the prevailing wind. Although I may turn it 90 degrees so that it faces the garden instead. It's near the garden, kitchen door, and water hose, but put in so that it won't shade the garden plot. Hopefully that's the ideal spot.

Next to it is the beginning of the garden layout. I've turned over two 4 sq foot areas and dug out a couple of rocks. I still have two weeks before I plan to plant any seeds, so there's time to rake and work it some more. We're still debating if we want to do raised beds. It would certainly look neater, and be easier to maintain as the years go by, but I don't feel like spending money on wood for it. I'll also have to look at fencing. I honestly have never seen a rabbit or a deer anywhere in our yard, there are easier pickings for them in the neighboring woods and fields. But I'll bet that as soon as the carrot tops pop up, they'll find us.

In other news, we had a massive windstorm waaaaaaay back. A few days after Christmas. Because there was snow on the roof, we just got the insurance adjusters out here a few weeks ago, but the check for a new roof came yesterday. Yahoo!!! One estimate is in the works, a 2nd is hopefully coming soon too.

Digging in the Dirt

2009-03-19T18:41:00.005-05:00

I'm very psyched that the Obama's have decided to put a Fruit and Vegatable garden in at the White House. Dan and I joined the group Eat the View months ago, while the race was still on, to advocate for removing part of the lawn and replacing it with a useful, healthy garden. Here's the list of what they're planting. (With the help of the assistant chef, gardeners, and local schoolchildren)
Lettuce
peas
Spinach
radishes
broccoli
Fennel
Onions
Kale
Collards
Carrots
Rhubarb
Blue, rasp & Blackberries
Herbs
Marigold, Nasturtium & zinnias

A lot of similarity to the seeds I've bought for this year. Except I'm planting beets, something the President hates.

Here's the start of our garden.

I may have planted the lettuce too soon, but they do like cold weather, and I reserved most of the seeds for later, successive planting. I have an ideal planting diary planned out, and am going for a Square foot garden lay-out that will hopefully be easier to maintain than what we tried last year. The peas will have to go in the ground first, around April 4th here. Then Onions and Radish, then Spinach, then beets and carrots at the beginning of May. Anything else we want, like cukes, tomatoes, peppers or eggplant, I'll buy as sets. I've also got seeds for Okra and pumpkin that we'll start inside after the lettuce seedlings get planted.

I'm also thinking of joining a CSA. (Community Supported Agriculture) At the start of the season, you buy a share of a local farm, and then each week you get a portion of the produce. An Amish farmer that I've bought from in the past seems to be offering it this year. Of course there is no website of phone to check on the prices, I'll have to write or stop by.

Now I need a stress test

2009-03-06T20:50:00.002-05:00

Heard the phone ringing as I was putting the kids to bed, but decided to ignore it and let the machine pick it up. I hear a mumbley, kind of southern voice and think it's the insurance agent getting back to us. (Still waiting to finish a claim on damaged roof tiles from Christmas, but the roof just saw the light of day after two months under snow.)

Then I had to go downstairs because Claire needed to go potty, so I begin listening to the message and I just can't comprehend any of it. I keep waiting for a reference to snow or roof, but instead the only thing that stands out clearly is "stress test" before the message wraps up. So I hit replay, and this time I realize it's from Dan's doctor and he seems to be implying that he's just gotten test results from another doctor, that things look good, but he wants to do a stress test. WHAT? HUH? WTF?

I managed not to panic immediately, and instead begin a threatening dialogue in my head to yell at Dan for not telling me that he had some kind of medical emergency. (Chest pains? Stroke from Claire stressing him out?) I decide that waiting an hour for him to come home may kill me before I have a chance to kill him, so I called him at work even though it the dinner hour on a Friday night....and learn that he's just as confused as I am, he hasn't been to the doctor in months. But neither of us are as confused as the Doctor who dialed the wrong number on a Friday night.

Our Garden, version 2.0

2009-02-28T10:37:00.002-05:00

Our garden was pretty much a failure last year. We were overly ambitious, and poor planners. A bad combo. And then the weeds took over. We did get some good squashes for Dan to turn in soup, and one pumpkin that survived a late frost to fulfill it's purpose as a jack o'lantern. The other successes were the tomato plants that my mother-in-law gave us, although we practically had to use a machete to get through the weeds to get to it.

But, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. So I'm looking at a planting calendar to see what seeds need to get started this month. Lettuce, collard greens, cabbage. Brussel sprouts and Broccoli. We have limited space to grow seeds, so I'll have to be picky about what we plant.

I'd also like to spruce up a flower bed I started. The bulbs I planted two falls ago came up in a small, sporadic display in the spring. We need to add more perennials and some other plants that will bloom later in the summer.

Older kids are mean

2009-02-18T20:57:00.002-05:00

Nathan's on vacation from Kindergarten this week. Yesterday he got a good break from daycare when a friend's mom picked him up for a few hours. But today, he fell under the thrall of one of the older kids who he only sees on vacation weeks. This child not only forced him to be in some kind of "stupid" club, but also talked so much about monster, vampires and ghosts that Nathan is now afraid of having nightmares tonight. Grrrrrrr.

My good deed for the day

2009-02-16T18:30:00.002-05:00

Zeppo & Sprite's first home, the Potsdam Humane Society, is trying to win a contest to get a makeover. If you have pets and want to join ZooToo, please vote for them this month. It's much easier then sitting on a roof to raise money for them.

Tentative Summer Vacation Plans

2009-02-03T20:18:00.002-05:00

I officially have 10 days off from work, starting July 11 through July 20, to go to my High School Reunion. The question now becomes, how to divvy this time up between family, friends and fun and not be totally wiped out by the end.

Question 1 - Should I press for a family reunion the same weekend as the High School Reunion, even if that means everyone gets a bit short-changed on the visit? Or do I suggest a family get-together the first weekend, and spend the intervening week camping or in Vermont?

Question 2 - Who can watch the kids while I'm at the reunion?

Question 3 - Will Dan's friend's all find out he's a bachelor for the week and take him out drinking every night.

Question 4 - Are other friends going to be in town for the same week, or will we only see eachother at the reunion?

Question 5 - Do I finally meet Dave and Mark and Hadley and Aidric?

Thoughts. Comments. Advice.........

President Obama

2009-01-20T21:25:00.002-05:00

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Pulling teeth

2009-01-15T19:19:00.002-05:00

I've often said that getting Dan to communicate things is like pulling teeth. Today Nathan gave me a demonstration of the ways he might take after his Dad. It's amazing that he can talk non-stop, and then be so uncommunicative when I actually have questions for him.

Me: Hey, you lost a tooth. Did you lose it at Kindergarten or the Daycare.
Him: Kindergarten
Me: Where?
Him: The nurses office.
Me: The nurses office? Was it bleeding so they sent you there?
Him: No.
Me: Was it so wiggly that they sent you there for the nurse to pull it.
Him: No, I was already there.
Me: Huh?
Him: I was wiggling it while waiting in line.
Me: Waiting in line for what?
Him: To get my head checked.

So, to go along with the tooth I thought he pulled but that actually fell out on his pillow, and the tooth that Claire knocked out, we now have the tooth that he pulled out while waiting to get his head checked for Lice. Fun times.

Christmas Cards

2008-12-16T21:58:00.002-05:00

Just so you know, I'm slashing my Christmas card list this year. I just don't have the time/money for my usual 40-50 cards to everyone. If you're tech savvy enough to be reading this, it means you probably aren't getting a card. But on the flip side, you know A LOT more about my life and have seen many, many more photos of the kids, so hopefully that's an even trade. I'll try to get a better e-mail card out in a few days. Sorry.

Holiday Concert

2008-12-13T14:58:00.005-05:00

Nathan had his Christmas concert yesterday. Here's one song, the rest are up on Youtube.

I really must remember to get there early and bring the tripod next time.

Hockey Mania

2008-11-30T09:18:00.004-05:00

Nathan started hockey a few weeks ago. It's been a learning experience for both of us. On the first day, I forgot his stick, so he starting crying when everyone else started practicing with the puck and we left instead. I also flubbed the uniform assembly, by putting his kneepads on outside of pants with nothing over them. But I'm learning. I even found a youtube video that showed how to wrap his stick in tape so that it'd be easy to pick up with gloves on. I had one awful moment when I had to be a mean, threatening mommy to get him on the ice because he was feeling shy. But I knew that once he got out there, he'd have fun.

He's learning too. From the first day they've been drilling kids on stopping, getting to their knees and back up, and parallel turns. We're a month into things and they're doing work on passing and controlling the puck. The kids are between five & seven, some are in their second year, but most just had basic skating skills. Nathan has been skating well, but he doesn't know how to hold the stick. We think that although he's finally settled into being righty for writing, that he may be a lefty for sports. So Dan keeps showing him how to hold his stick for a lefty, but then the coaches keep switching it around on the ice. The picture below has him holding it completely wrong, but he's about to score a goal, so that's cool.

This weekend, the kids got to do a little show at the period break of the Clarkson U Men's game. We went on Friday with Papa and Clair in tow. Unfortunately, Clarkson's method for revving up the crowd before the game is to blow a giant train-like whistle as they introduce the starting line-up, with a noise assist by the pep band. Claire immediately went into hysterics, and her wail "I want my blankie" could be heard across the stadium in the silence before Au Canada started. I managed to get her into the lobby and calmed down, and cajoled her back into the stadium a few minutes before Nathan's show started, when Clarkson had the temerity to score and that fricken-fracken whistle blew again. She was able to calm down enough to watch Nathan, but as further proof of my bad luck, I discovered the camera had gotten too cold in the car during dinner, and wouldn't work to film the event. Oh well.
We had a second chance on Saturday. This time I left Claire with the grandparents, and we had fun watching the game for awhile too. I could even explain most of the rules to Nathan, and he loved it when the puck skimmed the glass right in front of us. He's decided Clarkson is his favorite team, which could be a problem with Dan who's been a St. Lawrence fan all his life. And here's the video of him skating around the arena and not coming anywhere near the puck for two minutes. He's #14. (There is a second #14 with striped socks who I started to follow, Nathan just has blue pants on)

The Eighties are back

2008-11-23T14:41:00.003-05:00

Can't believe that it's almost time for my 20 year high school reunion. The planners have started a facebook page and people have been posting old photos. The girls all have big hair and the boys have mullets and feathered bangs. I know that we're supposed to look worse as we age, but I'd bet that everyone's profile pictures look much better then the yearbook photos.

For now, I'm just struggling to remember anyone beyond the six friends I've kept in contact with over the years. There should be at least 40 people that I had regular contact with in band, class or drama club. And a slightly large group that my friends knew from other classes or teams. But out of a class of 240, that still leaves a lot of unknowns. Help!

Yes we carve

2008-11-03T20:02:00.004-05:00

Dan made this from a template at Yes we Carve!!

VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!
VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!
VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!
VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!
VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!

On with the snow

2008-10-29T17:41:00.004-05:00

It's October. Not December.

The power was out from 9:30 pm yesterday to 6:00 pm today. And our lilac tree is probably unsalvageable. There's really nothing else to say. Except it's only OCTOBER!

Into the Leaves

2008-10-18T14:00:00.001-05:00

Sorry the ending is so abrupt, the steadicam didn't like being thrust into the pile.

Fall day

2008-10-13T15:30:00.002-05:00

I let myself get buried too. What a treat for the senses to be surrounded by the feel and smell of dry leaves. Plus, it was in the seventies today, so that's an even better treat.

Got the other tooth out finally. I'm teaching him "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, because he sounds funny with his new lisp. The new teeth have already broken through, so he should be all set soon.

i think the kids were playing a bit of CSI. Claire stuffed her doll in the branches, then covered it with leaves. Nathan had stolen my camera away, and he took the crime scene photos as they recovered the body. This is why we needed to add parental controls to the Tivo.

Claire's got a mean left hook

2008-10-06T18:32:00.000-05:00

Nathan was energetically showing us his stop, drop and roll skills when he rolled right into Claire. Somehow in the tangle of limbs, she hit him in the face and knocked out his loose tooth. What a fun story to share.

Dora the Explorer

2008-10-04T12:07:00.000-05:00

After this haircut, it seemed obvious that Claire should be Dora for Halloween. Would you believe I was able to find Orange shorts at this time of year. All praise Wal-Mart!!! And they were only a buck. Somewhere in the house is a bracelet we made to complete the outfit. And I love that almost everything will be used again, except for the orange shorts. They're a bit much.

Photo dump

2008-09-30T20:35:00.003-05:00

September is about new schedules and new schools and no time for blogging. So here's some pics instead.

Family hike on Labor Day weekend to a waterfall in the 'Daks.

Waiting for the bus the first day of Kindergarten.

On the bus.....

Stuffing scarecrows at the Harvest Festival.

Birthday party for Brittany the pig. (the candles are carrots)

Dream a little dream for me

2008-09-24T19:33:00.002-05:00

If someone had asked me during the long job hunt last year:
"Amy, what would be your dream job?"
I would have responded:
"I'd like to work in Payroll/HR for a big company. Not doing the hiring and counseling stuff, but managing benefits, keeping the paychecks accurate, maintaining the payroll records. I liked doing that in D.C., although the three unions and weekly payroll was sometimes stressful. But where, oh where, is there a job like that in the sparsely populated North Country?"

This week, there is an opening at my bank with a job description that pretty much matches everything I want to do. Every single thing listed in the "Major Responsibilities" is something that I already have experience in.

There are some obstacles though. It's a good paygrade, which means that everyone who's been putting in time as Tellers or in Data Entry will be interested. And technically, they're only looking for one year of experience in accounting/HR. So many people will meet the minimum qualifications. I would be very doubtful if there's anyone with as much Payroll experience as me, but someone with a little experience who's been with the company longer may get a chance to ahead of me. So I'm trying to relax about it and not start cleaning out my cubicle yet. But I really, really, really want it.

Political links

2008-09-22T19:17:00.004-05:00

I'm trying to take the high road and not spend much time on the Uber-liberal Daily Kos, but I have to thank them for pointing out this poster.

Other sites I can't stop visiting are:
538 -An excellent site on polls. Even better now that I can look at the electoral map without cringing.
Mudflats -a political blog from someone who follows Alaska politics
Comics Curmudgeon on Wonkette -fun with Editorial cartoons!
TPM and Huffington Post - also ultra-liberal, but I can't resist.
Wake-up -Dan's spot for ranting
I was also sucked into a massive post on Metafilter with 5000 comments and hundreds of links that went up the day of Palin's selection. I won't link to it, just cause it's taking a few minutes to load at this point. But it was an incredible time waster for about two weeks.

Plus, I'm tuned into XM's POTUS channel every day. Although they have a Republican strategist on every morning, and I sometimes have to attack the radio to turn it off. I try to hear their side, but there always comes a point when I can't stomach the lies/smears/contempt for my intelligence any longer.

Donovan's review

2008-09-07T16:30:00.003-05:00

The review of Dan's new restaurant was in the paper today. They haven't posted it online yet, but here's my favorite snippet.

"Upscale" doesn't have to mean "intimidating". The restaurant has a relaxed look and feel, a professional yet personable wait staff and a chef who definately knows what he's doing.

Also:

Applewood bacon-wrapped filet of pork was exceptional, with a smooth, smoked flavor, moistened with a sauce of caramelized onions. It was served with fried mac and cheese, an updated preparation of an old favorite, absolutely complementing the dish.

New York Strip - It was a generous portion of top-quality meat, cooked perfectly and topped with brandy mushroom sauce. An interesting and yummy side, a piece of potato pie made with bacon, cheddar and scallion, was a nice touch.

I need to congratulate Donovan and Dana for getting everything right. Dan's been so much happier since he started working there, but he's really going to be flying high after getting this public praise. 4 1/2 forks out of five. Great job!!

Pro-Choice

2008-09-02T18:15:00.006-05:00

Imagine you're a jury in a John Grisham novel. The Prosecutor has just unleashed a tirade that seems to damn the defendant, only to have the judge rule that it's all inadmissible. And of course, you, as a juror, are told to forget everything you've just heard. Yeah, right.

That's how this Palin thing feels for me now. Since Friday night I've been caught up in reading every detail or rumor that's been dredged up. But today, I gave myself a big slap on the head to remind me that "Hello, I'm a liberal feminist. What Palin CHOOSES to do during her pregancy is none of my business. How she decides to balance her family responsibilies and her job are none of my business. If I'm going to laud Biden for not quitting his job over increased family responsibilities, then I can't expect Palin to turn down a once in a lifetime opportunity just because of a messy family life."

That's my public opinion. How I feel in private is another matter. And I probably won't be able to stop trying to work out if the Religious Right's public statements of support may be different from the private thoughts they'll have in the voter's booth. They tend to not be as enlightened about feminist issues as me.

That said, here is a long list of reasons that Palin is bad for women, bad for our country and just a horrible, horrible choice.

Wants to have schools teach abstinence only.
Wants schools to teach creationism.
Tried to fire a librarian for not banning books.
Supported the bridge to Nowhere.
Supported indicted Senator Ted Stevens.
She continually injects God into Government.
She doesn't believe that human activity causes global warming.

You know there's more than that. I can't even imagine how much more will come out in the next few days. But I'm going to try very, very, very hard to NOT make this a big election about small things.

Were you in it just for me?

2008-08-29T19:59:00.005-05:00

Very distracted during Palin's speech. All I could think about was how much she looked and sounded like Tina Fey.

She had me for a few minutes with her baby, and her "Hockey Mom" line. But I'd be really bummed if the first female president was a Republican. And I'd be furious if it was a woman who was anti-choice, pro-creationism, anti-gay and a lifetime NRA member.

I'm also a bit disgusted about the media playing up the fact that she has a down syndrome child as "proof" of her Pro-life credentials. I'm not sure where to direct my anger about that, because I don't know if it's really her promoting the connection or just the media.

Just tell me that the men and women of this country who were excited about Hillary's run aren't gullible enough to think that Palin's a good second choice. She and McCain are against everything that Hillary stands for.

Frozen River

2008-08-26T17:18:00.003-05:00

I don't get to the movies much. But I'm intrigued by the fact that the Sundance Grand Jury winner for drama was set near where I live. So if anyone does decide to see Frozen River, you'll get a pretty good glimpse of the snow and cold that's waiting for me this winter.

What Have I DONE!!!

2008-08-16T19:09:00.002-05:00

Good? Bad? Horrible different at first but I'll get used to it?

It was really necessary after the haircut she gave herself. And Dan doesn't like her screaming fits when he has to comb her hair and put elastics in. Now I just have to deal with screaming fits at the hairdressers every few weeks.

Any suggestions for different styles that aren't so "page-boy"? It's hard to think of what would work with her straight, fine hair.

Turn me Off

2008-08-16T17:22:00.004-05:00

Got our electric bill from Jul 10 to Aug 11. Tankless hot water heater was installed Jul 3. Our usage dropped from about 1050kWH in June to 575kWH in current billing cycle. Turning off the computer more, changing lightbulbs and generally being smarter has helped drop us from 1165 last August to this low. Our Dec & Jan totals were almost 1500 kWH, I don't know how much of that was water, and how much was just the need to have more lights on in winter, but we should see an improvement there too.

I should update when I figure out the propane costs, but right now I'm looking at bills for the delivery of a bigger tank, installation, and a credit for the old tank. Can't quite figure out how that translates into how much was in the tank or how much we use each month for cooking and water.

Bullwinkle!

2008-08-15T19:20:00.003-05:00

I know, I know, you can't see anything. But the brown smudge on the tree line (just to the left of the white post) is a moose. He's been hanging around this field for about a week. I kept forgetting to stop by and see, so a co-worker called me on her way home to say he was there.

Unfortunately, he wasn't being very photogenic. We could see his ears wiggling a bit, but he hadn't moved from the spot for at least an hour and a half before we came, and he decided to stretch it out by another half hour after we got there. I was just getting to the point of leaving when he finally stood up. And in the time it took me to get the kids back out of the car and across the street, he'd already disappeared into the trees. We got a brief glimpse of his tail (or booty, as Nathan has taken to saying) before he was gone.

I'm posting about it anyway, because HEY I saw a Moose!!!

(Much better picture of the Moose here.)

You gotta have Friends

2008-08-10T08:53:00.002-05:00

I'm not particularly good at making friends. I put too many barriers in the way. "We work different shifts" "We live too far away" "She's not married" "She doesn't have kids" "Her kids are different ages" on and on and on.

And then, even if I meet someone who I can't find any objections to, I still have to cultivate the friendships somehow. It can take me a year to work up to trading e-mail or phone numbers. I'm not someone who chats on the phone, very un-girly of me, so I don't know how to move easily from acquaintance to friend. Our habit of moving every 2-3 years has not helped this process.

When we first moved here, I was only expecting to stay for a year or two as well, before moving back to Saranac Lake. So I wasn't stressing too much about the need to put down roots and make friends. But a few months after moving, I met Allison, and not only did she meet all my stupid, random qualifications, she was nice too. It still took me months to get around to calling her to make plans. And we've seen less and less of eachother since I starting working. But we also had many good talks at the beach, playground and skating rink while keeping one eye and ear on the kids.

This time, instead of me leaving, she has. To Atlanta. Very, very far away. Sigh.

So now I'm back to square one. It's like dating, something I have even less experience with. The only other woman who I'd gotten beyond calling "so & so's Mom" is also moving this summer. I have to hang out at the playground, or find time to make small talk during daycare pick-up. Now that Dan works Sundays, I may try the U-U Church again. This really sucks.

Beauty School Drop Out

2008-08-03T16:39:00.004-05:00

Okay. There are two things wrong with this picture, can you spot them?

See the hair next to her ear. It's supposed to be about an inch longer. But my darling, angel of a daughter decided to practice her beautician skills and gave herself a haircut last night. At least most of her work was confined to the end of the pony tail, so a visit to the hairdresser should even all that out tomorrow. But there were also a few suspiciously short hairs right on the crown of her head too, that I discovered when I removed the elastics. She may be sporting a spiky Alfalfa do later this month.

Here are the remains.

Animal Planet

2008-07-29T17:30:00.002-05:00

It's getting to be like Wild Kingdom around here. First a snake in the kitchen. Then Dan found a bat stuck to some burdock while mowing. He disentangled it and left it on the swingset to recover for the day. And now Nathan's just gotten two stings, one on his leg and one on his cheek, from a wasp or bees.

Several minutes of ear-shattering screaming have now been replaced with a child happily playing in the tub. But I'm worried about that cheek. It's probably going to bother him a lot at bedtime.

Sun & Wind

2008-07-27T17:40:00.005-05:00

I'd love to have some solar panels....
Or a wind turbine.....
But until then, I suppose I should at least harvest a little wind & sun and save on some energy bills.

I think the only reason we hadn't done this sooner was that with the pig farm next door, we weren't sure about the odors. And also, this is right next to one of Zeppo's runs, and I just haven't figured out a better place to move him to. But for now, we'll just go with it. If he causes trouble, we can always use the far half. Or hang things out while we're gone for the day and Zeppo is in the kitchen.

Unfortunately, I spent so much time working out the correct knot for the clotheslines (taut line, btw), that I got the sheets out too late. I wasn't thinking about the fact that the sun sets in front of the house, and this spot gets shady by 6:oo. Well, sheets dry fast. And the rest can go in the dryer for 10 minutes.

And just so you know, Dan's restaurant is doing great. They were serving 60-80 on weekdays, and up to a hundred on Fri & Sat. And that was before getting the liquor license. Last night was the first Sat with the license, and Dan thinks they may have done 200.

The only downside that I know of, is that they had wanted to be open for lunch, but they were having trouble getting staff. And this is impacting Dan because he has to go in earlier to do prep for dinner. If they had lunch cooks, a lot of the dinner prep would be done and Dan could go in at 1 or 2, instead of 10 or 11. So hopefully that will get settled soon. I know that he's managing the extra hours, but it'd be nice if he had some time to himself each morning instead of having to go to work as soon as he's dropped the kids off.

Slight break from typing as I went into the kitchen to get dinner and there was A SNAKE OH MY GOD WHY IS THERE A SNAKE IN THE KITCHEN BROOM BROOM WHERE'S THE BROOM GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT AHHHHHHHHH

I don't like snakes. I reaaaaallllly need to convince myself that it came in while the back door was open for awhile, and that it is not actually from a nest of snakes in the basement or in the walls of the kitchen. Please, please tell me that that is the case, and that it won't find it's way in again. Please.

Sorry

2008-07-24T17:35:00.001-05:00

Not writing much, sorry. I wasn't used to Dan being home nights for the 2 months before the new place opened. And now I'm not used to him working nights again. Plus, he now works Sundays, which he used to have off, in addition to Saturdays. I'll try to get back in the habit soon.

Dr. Horrible's Sing A Long Blog

2008-07-15T18:14:00.002-05:00

Go watch. Right now. Especially if you like Buffy(Once more with Feeling), Doogie, Firefly, Over-emoting, evil laughs, and love songs that revolve around freeze rays.

Donovan's Steak and Ale

2008-07-09T17:23:00.003-05:00

The restaurant opens tonight. They had a practice run last night.

My dish
NYS
Grilled Dry Aged New York Strip
Bacon, Cheddar and Scallion Baked Potato Pie,
Brandy~Mushroom Sauce, Haystack Onions

Janet's
Pan~Roasted Atlantic Salmon
Vegetable Couscous, Cucumber Salad
Roasted Pepper & Tomato Sauce

George's
Grilled Sirloin Steak
Steak Fries, House Steak Sauce

I didn't take a picture of the kid's hot dog and chicken fingers, although the steak fries were artfully arranged. Everything was wonderful. I barely recognized the place from our last visit when chairs were piled everywhere and the floors were covered with drop-cloths. Last night was all white tablecloths and attentive waitstaff. And food that fires off all your taste-buds.

Dark skies and quiet walks

2008-07-07T21:45:00.002-05:00

I wish I could take you all out with me when I walk Zeppo at night, it's so amazing.

After I put our house to my back, there's only one house in my sights. They're far up the road, and don't turn many lights on, so my eyes adjust to the dark pretty quick. I get past our trees, and there are fields to either side of me for 2/10 of a mile. Tonight, there was still some straggling fireflies floating around. The field on the left has new bales of hay scattered all around. I think once they bring those in, they'll put some cows to pasture there. A small sliver of a moon was there tonight, a bit orange as it was rising.

That's the only direction that I get a "city glow" from Potsdam, and it's not much of one with only 10,000 residents. Sometimes there's some more glow to the north from Massena, but that's 30 miles away so it's not very strong either. Looking to the right is always totally black. There are no towns between us and the Adirondacks in that direction. Even though I can't see the mountains, the dearth of human activity is evident at night. Because the moon was just a crescent tonight, and there were no clouds, it was a fantastic night for stargazing. I've never seen as many stars anywhere else I've ever lived or visited. And the milky way stretching over it all.

We usually walk for 10-15 minutes, and hardly ever see a car or hear any sound of humans or machines. Dogs, yes. And coyotes a few times, they call them coy dogs here. Last week, at dusk, a car did come by and scared out a deer that had been hiding in the field as we passed. Poor Zeppo really wanted to chase it back down to woods.

That's where I live. And why I live here.

Country-style wedding

2008-07-06T19:01:00.000-05:00

Just got back from the wedding of Dan's cousin Meg down in the Rochester area. I think this picture captures the mood of the reception pretty well. Meg got out of the dress and into a tank top pretty quick. The cake is layers of cupcakes with sugared violets. The father of the bride is just out of the shot and wearing a John Deere T-shirt. And we've just finished our ribs and are about to start the square dancing.

All this was at Uncle Norm and Aunt Mar's house. Norm had built a barn a few years ago to house some vintage tractors, so that gave us plenty of room for dancing and the bar. And the side yards had some lawn games for the kids. At the time we left, they were firing up the tiki torches and I think there was going to be a firepit going. Aunt Mar must have started planting flowers and planning the gardens since the engagement announcement last year. The yard looked absolutely beautiful.

I know Dan has been looking forward to this visit for a long time. Even though we're not separated by many miles, it's still an ordeal to get the kids down, so we haven't seen many of his cousins since we moved back. In fact, there were two other weddings in the family this year that we missed. But he got to see a lot of the family the night before the wedding when they had a boat cruise on Canandaigua lake. I missed out, but I'm not dissapointed to be spared the 1 1/2 traffic jam leaving the fireworks show.

But I must say, having a 3-4 hour trip take 6 1/2 hours is really making me rethink the camping trip to Maine next year.

Feeling Hot Hot Hot

2008-07-03T17:35:00.003-05:00

We just got our hot water back on today. Part of the delay was that we decided to go with the tankless. Here she is.....

It's very small, only about a foot wide and two feet tall. The water is instantly heated by propane as we need it, rather than having a tank being heated constantly. Our electric bill is going to plummet this month. Now I can finally give the kids baths, which I must to soon because we have to get ready for a weekend trip to a wedding near Rochester. Happy 4th!!!

Brrrrrrrrr

2008-06-30T16:39:00.002-05:00

Our hot water heater died Friday. We're certainly giving Roto-Rooter a lot of business since we moved. New well pump, all new pipes, plus a patch job on the sump pump. And now a water heater. You may think that since it's summer, we don't necessarily need the hot water. If you think that, you've obviously never tried to shower with 50 degree well water.

It should get installed tomorrow, although there's been some wrangling over the expense. We've been wanting to switch to a tankless water heater, but they're mega-expensive. Although they quickly pay for themselves in reduced electric costs. But we either need to be approved for financing tonight, or get a rental agreement to get those. Otherwise, we'd have to go with a traditional electric heater, which is such a waste of energy. I'd thought that if we had to go traditional, we could at least switch to propane, but apparently we can't get that installed in the basement.

It's really never a good time for a heater to fail. All of Dan's thoughts are on the restaurant opening next week, and we're off to a wedding this weekend. Hard to organize our time when we're also traveling to Canton every day for a shower.

Flikr Mosaic

2008-06-25T20:00:00.004-05:00

I liked Joy's Flikr Mosaic based on those "get to know me" lists that are always flying around the internet. And since I was off today, I did one too. You answer the following questions, then plug them into the Flikr search. After picking an image from the first page, you load the photo into Mosaic Maker.

1. What is your name? Amy, so glad I didn't have to use an Amy Winehouse photo
2. What is your favorite food? mac & cheese
3. What high school did you go to? Maloney
4. What is your favorite color? green
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Henry, the Super Accountant
6 What is your favorite drink? coke
7. Where is your dream vacation? Sedona, (too bad McCain lives there)
8. Favorite dessert? Ice Cream
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? restauranteur
10. What do you love most in life? my kids
11. One word to describe you. quiet
12. Your Flickr name. saffry-had to cheat and use saffron

1. Cupcakes from Amy Sedaris' 2. gotta be KD, 3. Sarah in the Band, 4. Verde no Aquarius, 5. christopher_gorham, 6. return for refund, 7. Cathedral Rocks, 8. Homemade berry ice cream 9. Juanita Musson 10. Bless from above 11. A Winter's Landmark, 12. saffron

Graduation

2008-06-23T17:02:00.004-05:00

I think every grade now does some kind of moving up ceremony, which will soon get tedious. But this first one was fun anyway. Here's Nathan with his teacher, which is a counterpoint to the photo in this post.

The ceremony was rather elaborate. The kids sang songs (except Nathan, who just looked around while everyone sang). As they were giving out diplomas, they played a recording of each child saying what he/she wanted to be when they grew up. Behind them, a large sceen showed them each dressed up as their future job, then a picture they'd drawn. Lot's of veterinarians, doctor's, nurses and fireman.

I'm sorry that this video came out so strange, the camera couldn't deal with the projection screen. But the audio makes it all worth it.

Roughing it

2008-06-15T15:02:00.002-05:00

Have you been wondering if we're still without power? Sorry I didn't update, we got it back Thursday afternoon.

I'm finding it ironic that after two days of complaining about no heat or water, that Dan and I are talking about going camping sometime. Not this summer, since he's so busy with the new restaurant plans, but next summer.

I've started looking at campsites near Acadia National Park. And trying to decide if we should spend a whole week in one place, or break up the trip by also camping somewhere between here and the Maine Coast. It's a very long drive, but we really would like to see the ocean again. Especially the wild, rocky Maine coast.

I'm also trying to get a sense of what type of campground suits us. On the one hand, we like peace and quiet and would not want to be in an RV-centric place with lots of organized activities. But I think with the kids, we'd want a place that was big enough to have a pool/playground and convenient bathrooms and showers.

Of course we have no gear to speak of. Not even sleeping bags. Dad might have some camping supplies we could borrow, since he and Kyle go weekend camping a lot. But we'd need a bigger tent, and our own sleeping bags. And an air mattress. Definitely need an air mattress. We'll probably find that the cost for the gear will outweigh the savings of a campsite over a hotel the first year.

Anyone gone camping recently who could give me some tips? I went on week-long trips every year when I was a kid. Until about the age of 13 or 14 when Ray and I started going to Scout camp instead. I loved the quiet mornings when Dad would get the fire going and make breakfast on the camp stove. Dan's experience is limited to a few overnights, and his most lasting impression was that it was hard to get the tent up. Well, we have awhile to plan and think and decide if this is what we want to do.

No power

2008-06-12T11:49:00.004-05:00

We had a storm rip through the area on Tuesday afternoon, and our house has been without power since. For us country folks, no power means no water, so we've de-camped to the in-laws in Canton for a few days.

Luckily, the storm missed the more populated Canton and Potsdam villages, but it did a number in some of the nearby towns. Here's a news article with pictures of some of the damaged houses.

At our house, the storm only polished off one of our maples, the one that got damaged the week after we moved in. The trunk is still there, but all the limbs came crashing down onto our power line. Oh well. More details when I'm back on my own computer.

Hey Batter, Batter, Batter Swing Batter

2008-06-09T19:10:00.004-05:00

I think he learned that follow through from Big Papi.

Canton Dairy Princess Festival

2008-06-07T15:14:00.005-05:00

Went to a small festival in Canton yesterday, the Dairy Princess Festival. The town green was chock-a-block with vendors selling hot dogs, pretzels, sno-kones etc. A lot of it was fundraising for the small-town groups that keep small-town life going, like Kiwanis and the Lions club. Plus a bounce house with a reallllllly long line. That we had to go to twice.

There was a cake walk to raise money for a playground. I've never seen this kind of fundraiser anywhere else. They put stakes or safety cones with numbers on them, and then 20 people form a circle and walk around while the music plays. When the music stops, you pick a number to stand by. The organizers than draw a number, and if it's your number, you win a cake. So it's a simple raffle, but with an exercise component to make it seem like work.

The main event was a band sponsored by the local John Deere dealership. They close off a few blocks of the street and park a variety of tractors for the kids to climb on. And hand out a lot of green and yellow balloons.

But the more exciting event for us was the Big Wheel races. We watched most of the 4 yr old level, as they ran 6 heats, and several semi-finals to narrow the 30 kids down to three. There were probably more in the five & six years groups. Although, as you can see by Nathan's attempt, we didn't need to stay past his heat to wait for the semi-final rounds.

Owwww, don't do that

2008-06-02T20:59:00.000-05:00

New Favorite Show

Anthony Bourdain No Reservations

Feeling Old

2008-05-30T23:00:00.004-05:00

I made Dan feel his age awhile ago, by telling him that this young man getting cross-checked in the neck is heading off to college this year. The young man is question is the son of Canton's Lacrosse coach, and Dan remembers him being born. That was back when Dan was the Golden Bear racing up the field a step ahead of the Shamrock player.

And I have to say, after watching them play, that Shamrock is the least accurate sports name I have ever heard in my life. Shamrock implies something small, that can easily be crushed under foot. Not six foot powerhouses with broad shoulders slamming sticks against sticks to shake a ball loose. Actually, those sticks were hitting arms, heads and anything else the ref wouldn't see. Full Contact Sport.

Today's game was the Section X finals, and although Canton kept the game close, Salmon River is ending the season undefeated. Not surprising, since many of their players are Akwesasne Mohawks.

So will this be Nathan next year....

and in 13 years.....

Or do I encourage him to take up Canada's other great sport and enduring pastime, curling?

nana na na, nana na na, hey hey hey, goodbye

2008-05-28T21:04:00.003-05:00

More upheaval at home, this time on the job front. Dan couldn't stand working for his boss for one more minute. I won't get into all the details, because that's generally a bad idea on public blogs, but it's really best for his mental and physical health not to keep working for this guy. When the Lodge burned down, we joked about how coming here and working for this guy was an option, ha ha ha. And here it is two years later, and Dan was going crazy from the lack of respect, lack of benefits and general bad management. Even after getting an out of the blue raise, he just couldn't take it anymore.

Meanwhile, another guy that he did respect is opening a restaurant a few towns over. The former owners ran it as a family restaurant, which would be a big step down for Dan food-wise. They're going to upgrade the menu a little, although I'm not sure how far they'll be able to take it in a town with a pretty low median income. There are still a lot of people around here who distrust food that seems too fancy. So instead, Dan will probably have a menu that looks like a steak joint at first glance, but has hidden depths with it's sauces and sides.

I just wish it wasn't so far away, and that gas wasn't so expensive. But if the place takes off, Dan will be getting a cut of the Revenue, so that should take the sting out of the commute. If it doesn't take off.......

R.A. round-up

2008-05-21T17:58:00.003-05:00

Quite a bit of upheaval and change after my Doctors appointment today. Problems in the short term that should lead to good news long term. If you want all the boring details, read on.

First, I need to lay out the case for why I've never like Methotrexate(MTX), the drug I've been on since March 06.

1. I have to remember to take folic acid supplements every day or my hair will fall out, I'll get sores on my mouth and I'll get nausea.

2. I have to get a Bilirubin & CBC count every two months to make sure my liver isn't getting damaged.

3. I feel like I have "methotrexate coma day" within 12-24 hours of each weekly dosage. My thought process gets fuzzy and I just want to take a nap.

4. And just to rub salt in the wound, this drug is why I had to stop breastfeeding Claire. (It would also cause servere birth defects if I got pregnant, but that boat has definately sailed.)

Still I have to take it. It did help when I was first diagnosed, although not as much as the Enbrel and Rituximab have helped. I've continued to take it while taking those as well. I thought it was because MTX helped their efficacy, but my doctor gave me a different spin today.

You see, when the FDA does testing for the new biologic R.A. medications, they can not ethically give a placebo to half the test subjects. So all the test subjects get MTX and half also get the new drug. Which means that FDA formally approves it ONLY if it's given with MTX. And my insurance company follows suit. My doctor disagrees. In the case of Rituximab, he feels that the MTX is unneeded and somewhat dangerous given it's side effects. And even though he is on the Board of Directors for the insurance, he can't get the head pharmacologist to agree to dropping the MTX as a requirement for receiving the Rituximab. So for the whole time I was on Rituximab last year, I was still on MTX even though it was really against my doctor's wishes.

Okay, back track a month. I got my labwork for CBC & bilirubin as usual. I do it in Canton, and a copy goes to my doc in Saranac Lake. Someone probably should have checked it more carefully, because my white cell blood(WBC) count was 1.8 (normal is 4-8, er....somethings per somethings...., anyway, it was low.) He had them run another check today and it's down to .8, not good. This makes me very prone to infections, so it's a bit scary.

There are two things that cause low WBC in R.A. patients. The less common is Felty syndrome, which the Doc would treat with Rituximab. More common is MTX toxicity. The MTX is starting to fight off my folic acid supplements and folic acid is necessary for WBC production. So as of today, I'm off the MTX, off the folic acid supplements, off the blood tests every month. WOHOOO. And I can celebrate by having a beer, because I no longer have to worry about the sixth reason I didn't like Methrotrexate.

6. You're not supposed to consume any alcohol while on MTX. Some people have the occasional wine, but with my Mom's history of liver disease I never wanted to risk it. Since I went from Pregnancy, to Breastfeeding, to MTX, I don't think I've had more than a few glasses of alcohol in almost four years. I also thought I'd be on MTX forever, and although nothing would stop me from a champagne toast at a wedding, I didn't think I'd ever have more than one glass at a time, of anything, ever again. (And I'm actually still going to play it safe by holding off on any celebratory beers for another month until I'm sure it's out of my system.)

And to follow up on the low WBC, I got an IV push of folinic acid today. I'll take high doses of that for another ten days, with CBC's done every week to make sure the WBC is up again. Whew!

And that's not all. I'm back on Rituximab today after an ill-fated attempt to use Humira. The Rituximab was wearing off after only 4 months, when I was hoping for a good 6 months, basically because I'm overweight. Plus, it's not too convenient to drive to Saranac Lake for a 4-5 hour treatment 4-6 times a year. I thought the every other week dosage of the Humira would go smoother, but instead I got less relief and giant rashes at the injection site.

A long chat with the Doc confirmed that the Rituximab is probably my magic bullet, and I just need to deal with the more frequent dosage. Or lose weight. And part of the reason for that was the sad updates to my family medical history. Doc uses Rituximab for treating Sjogren's Syndrome (which my Mom and her sister had) and for treating Dermomycytosis (Sarah) and although I'm fuzzy on the details, I know that Uncle Richard was getting an experimental Rituximab treatment last year for a form of anemia. So it makes sense to stay on a treatment that not only helps the R.A., but may stave off other auto-immune diseases that my family may be prone to. Especially the Sjogren's, which is often seen with R.A. patients, and if I do have Felty's instead of MTX toxicity, I'd need it for that too.

I should really invest in some Genetech stock.

No trauma

2008-05-19T17:40:00.002-05:00

Nathan came downstairs with a very satisfied smirk on his face and his hands cupped together this morning, tooth #2 clasped firmly between them. No blood, no crying, no fuss. He just yanked it out before getting out of bed in the morning. The tooth fairy is getting extra mileage this week.

More trauma.

2008-05-18T15:17:00.002-05:00

So of course Nathan wants to take the gold coin everywhere and show it to everyone. And of course he's wearing pants without pockets today. So of course he dropped it somewhere in the sand at the playground.

I just about had his friend going home to get a metal detector when I remembered that I had four other coins in my purse waiting for the next teeth. So I put on my sneaky shoes and dropped a new coin under the slide, although given that Nathan was right behind me, I came close to being found out.

More details on the box for Joy.....Every time he loses a tooth from now on, he'll put it in the box and in the morning he'll find the money in there. I had a tooth-shaped pillow that did the same thing in my youth. I like the box idea better though, because once all the teeth are out and the Tooth Fairy legend is debunked, I'll put his baby teeth together in the box for a keepsake.

The TRAUMA

2008-05-17T20:42:00.004-05:00

Finally got a tooth out. Thank God. Although I'm pretty sure that the damage has been done as far as getting the new teeth lined up properly. How much do braces cost?

For weeks now I've been telling him to "wiggle wiggle" every chance I get. For a little while he was letting me wiggle and pull on the understanding that I'd stop if it hurt. I must have gone too far because that privilege ended two weeks ago. But I managed to get a chance again tonight at bedtime and was able to get it out pretty easily after just a few seconds of pulling. Surprised the hell out of him and me. There's soooooo much blood. Yikes.

So of course he starts freaking out and crying. I stuff a few kleenex in his mouth and carry him (boy he's heavy now) downstairs for a wet washcloth. After a few minutes of sucking on that the curiosity got to him, and he stopped crying so he could look in the mirror. By then I was plying him with an icy pop too. He was pretty tired, it was already past bedtime when this all started, and I think he was anxious to get the tooth under his pillow. So now he's sleeping. Or possibly lying in bed looking at his tooth every other minute. I had to stop myself from trying to do the grab when I kissed him goodnight, because he'll probably keep looking at it for awhile. I put it in a baggy, so I should be able to fish it out when I got to bed.

I'm not going to bother with taking a picture of the tooth. It's so tiny, like the bits of popped popcorn leftover in the bottom of the bowl. Instead I give you a picture of the loot. The box I made last month and one gold dollar. Maybe I'll print up a note from the tooth fairy too. Dan tells me he once got $50 dollars for a tooth, but only because it was going to have to be pulled by the dentist and that would have cost more.

Claire's Three!

2008-05-15T18:39:00.000-05:00

Past and Present Mother's Day

2008-05-11T22:17:00.004-05:00

2002 - Spent the day upset and frustrated because we'd been trying to conceive without luck for a few years. Trying to stay hopeful about the appointment I had with a fertility doctor in a few weeks. Also annoyed because we had plans to go to Vegas and canceled when Dan was promoted-he'd have to work Mother's Day. Dan came home from work and thought he'd done a good thing bringing me some leftover dessert of chocolate mousse in a chocolate box. Except I burst into tears when I saw the "Happy Mother's Day" on the lid. So instead he hauled me off to a local restaurant for a late night snack to cheer me up. He must have done a good job because Nathan was born about nine months later.

2003 - First Mother's day! It was actually pretty rough. Dan working again, and just a few months after my Mom died. But I dragged Nathan over to Dan's restaurant for Brunch and got ooohed and aaahed over so much by the restaurant staff that things perked up.

2004 - Dan working again, do you see a trend here? Dad came to visit, so it was a much nicer Mom's day. We pretty much spent the whole weekend painting and decorating Nathan's bedroom.

2005 - Very, very, very pregnant. Decided to walk to a local ice cream place with Nathan and indulge. (I think, and I could be wrong, but I think Dan was at work) Pleasantly surprised when a woman there strikes up a conversation about the joys of motherhood. Realize later that she'd seen me on Mother's day with no husband around and no ring on finger (too swollen) and thought I was a single mom about to be raising two kids. She was talking to me because she pitied me.

2006 - Had to share this one, it fell on Claire's B-day. But I decided to ignore her and have a Mother's day for Janet and I.

2007 - I'm finally coming to grips with the fact that the kids will probably be out of the house before Dan can take the day off and give me the whole "Breakfast in bed, massage, feet up all day, no chores" Mother's day that everyone dreams of. Not that we did too bad this year. The kids and I had a great morning painting, and playing by the riverside with Zeppo, practicing baseball and making brownies. A little bit of everything. And then Dan was home for dinner, so that's the best part. Although I still haven't gotten a massage.

Spring

2008-05-03T13:15:00.002-05:00

Just some pictures of the kids and Zeppo out in the yard. The weather for the last three weeks has swung wildly from hot summer days, to snow and freezing nights. It's made it really hard to organize the kid's dressers when they go from wearing shorts one day, to jackets and mittens the next. Hopefully, we're past that now.

Last picture of Claire with long hair, we got it chopped right after this picture.

I'll take some pictures of the yard soon. Dan went crazy mowing this week to try to reclaim some of the yard for a veggie garden. We bought seeds today, so we need to get moving on that soon. We also want to put a compost pile there, and need to get supplies for that. Plus, we added some more flowers to our flower patch today.

The next step is a classic white picket fence for the front yard, so Zeppo can go out without a leash, and so the neighbor dogs won't be able to add their poop to our yard. It's poopy enough.

Humira is not my friend

2008-05-02T16:50:00.004-05:00

My medicine merry-go-round continues. I stopped talking the rituximab a few months ago. Partly because the benefits were wearing off after only about 4 months, instead of 6. Partly because I didn't want to miss 4-6 days of work each year to do the 4 hour infusion in Saranac Lake.

My doc switched me to Humira, and it was only adequate. This is a drug that I inject myself with every two weeks. There was no problem the first few times, but then about a week after one of the shots I got a rash at the injection site. The next week I got a bigger rash a few days after the injection. Talked to the Doc and got some ointment, but it keeps happening. This week, it flared up to a four-inch round circle within a day of the shot, and itched and burned. No fun.

So I came home today to a message from the Doc saying I must be allergic to it, to stop taking it, and he'd get me switched to Orencia. But..... Orencia is another drug that has to be infused. And even though it only takes half an hour, it's going to be a pain in the butt if I have to drive to Saranac Lake every month. I'm hoping he hasn't forgotten that I live 1 1/2 hours away. If I can do it in Potsdam or Canton, it won't be an issue to get the time away from work.

Otherwise, I think the only drug left for me is Enbrel. It's a weekly shot that didn't work so great for me when I tried it a year ago, but it may be my only choice.

Family History

2008-04-28T19:19:00.003-05:00

I've been in the mood to get my family trees sorted out. I started an ancestry.com tree, but I haven't wanted to spend $15/month for the full membership. So I'm filling in what I know, and at some point I'll be able to link up my trees with other family members who've been doing their own branches.

I've been doing more on the DuBois side, because that history is all in New York and it's fun to get it untangled now that I live in New York too. Also, growing up, I was more interested in all the Irish ancestors and annoyed with the DuBois line and the constant mispronunciation of the name. But now I think it's pretty cool that I had ancestors who came to the U.S. in the 1600's and decided to settle in the Catskills after someone's wife was kidnapped by Indians. I've also finally solved the mystery of why my Father's Grandfather and Great-Grandfather married Irish-born women. There was a stone quarry in the town the DuBois's lived in, so a lot of Irish came to work the quarry in the late 1800's.

Not that I've completely forgotten my Mom's side. My cousin Mary has set-up a Yahoo group for folks to post pictures and stories, which is really fun. Don't you love this picture of my Nana in Asbury park?

She has an amazing diary from the 3-4 years before she got married. It's very short entries each day, but there is something on every day. Plays, vacations, bowling, going out for drives with boys. I'd love to get that online too. I'd tried typing it up years ago, but it was back in the dark ages of computers and I didn't get very far. I've seen people enter old diaries in blog style, which probably makes searching it easier. I'll have to take a look at it again and see what I can do. Or see if any of my cousins wants to tackle the job.

Take me out to the ballgame

2008-04-21T20:46:00.004-05:00

Dan and I are still arguing over whether the kids will play baseball or lacrosse every spring. But I've drawn first blood. Lacrosse won't take kids until Kindergarten, but T-ball will start them at 3 or 4 years old. he he he

So here's Nathan, ready to hit a home run.

Turned out to be more of a dribbler up the third base line. And there were a few foul tips and bunts. He's a bit slow on the fielding plays too. And I think he's trying to bowl the ball. Maybe lacrosse is better. And maybe I should bring the video camera next time so you can all experience the charm of 14 boys and girls who have no idea how to play baseball.

Red Sox Round-up

2008-04-17T18:51:00.004-05:00

I'm watching the Sox on the YES network (Pride Power Pinstripes... Puke), and Jacoby Ellsbury just slid into second, then did a fantastic little skip jump when he realized the ball got thrown into the outfield, so he took off and stole third too. I may have found a new love. Not that I'd ever forget Tek.

My baby's growing up!

2008-04-15T19:56:00.000-05:00

The tooth fairy has been ready and waiting to make a delivery here, and the wait continues. Nathan's bottom two teeth have been wiggly for a few weeks, but there is extra urgency now that their replacements have shown up. We need to get the stragglers out to lessen the orthodontist bill down the road.

The string tonight seemed to help him get a grip for more pulling and wiggling. Backseat dentist's will recommend tying the string to a door and giving it a slam, but there's too much danger of trauma or leaving a piece behind. So we'll skip that.

It may help that his friend Nadia (with the same birthday as him) just lost the exact same tooth we're focusing on. C'mon peer pressure! I was very happy to hear that her first tooth netted her .25 and a tooth fairy box, because I've heard of people giving $20.00 or toys and didn't want to pony up that much. We are going with a shiny gold dollar for each tooth, plus a box for the first one. We'll use the box for the tooth exchange now, and then when we're done, I may take it to store the teeth in for a keepsake.

Mrs. Butterworth can take a flying leap

2008-04-04T18:54:00.003-05:00

Have you been in suspense wondering about the output of the McFarland Sugarbush? Well, wonder no more. We've gotten a little over three pints so far, much better than I expected. Although we have to re-bottle things now that some of the sediment has settled, otherwise there's some weird black sludge inside. Yuck. I bought cheesecloth to strain it, but I don't know if Dan remembered to use it while bottling.

For comparison, I took this photo of a big sugaring operation up the road that can make 80 gallons of syrup a day. Here's their evaporator.

And ours.

And here's our finished product. I don't think it's quite fancy grade, it's a bit darker with stronger flavor. But still very nice. And it smells so nice while it's boiling down.

Slight hitch in the proceedings today. Dan went to boil down about 7 more gallons, and it went much faster than usual, and he left it unattended at the wrong time. So now our pot has a burned mess inside. Not quite sure if we'll be able to resume operations.

Dr. Seuss Made me Cry

2008-04-03T17:05:00.014-05:00

Sarah was a loving, generous, playful person. And although we shed many tears, there was also an outflowing of love and generosity from all her friends and family at the funeral. I hope it has helped to comfort my dear Aunt Erin and my cousin Patrick and his family.

Sarah loved books, and especially children's books. To honor her, people who came to the wake and the funeral brought books and toys to donate to the elementary school. I think there were probably a hundred books there, and her best friend Phyllis used them to decorate the reception hall, a much needed burst of color and humor after the funeral mass.

Here are some of her favorite books, some books that she gave my kids, and some books that she shared with others.

Superdog: The Heart of a Hero This is an amazing gift. Not just because the story and the illustration are so good, but because the Superhero dachshund shares his name with my childhood dachshund, Dexter. Although my Dexter was much happier lying in the sun than rescuing stranded cats.

A Teeny Tiny Baby was another great gift, that really celebrate new motherhood. My favorite page is when the two week old goes to the botanic garden and the guard says..."Ahhh, and already he's seen the forsythia", because it just expresses how wonderful the world is when you see it with fresh eyes. And now it will continue to remind me of Sarah because of how the sight of the blooming forsythia welcomed us to Maryland and brightened the tables at the reception for her.

The Legend of the Curse of the Bambino It's a kid's book about the Red Sox. What's not to love.

The Giving Tree I've always had my doubts about whether this is really a children's book. It's always seemed to be more for the parents, a reminder that as we give our love and help to our children, it may not always be appreciated, but that we can be happiest when we give without expecting anything in return. My mother had this book for a long time, and I think it helped her when she needed to grieve the illnesses and loss of her mother. It was the center theme of Patrick's eulogy, as he remarked on Sarah's unceasing generosity to her four young nephews and all her friends.

Where the Wild Things Are One of Sarah's prized possesions was a signed copy of this. But even without the signature, it should be in every child's bookcase. I love it because when Max says "Let the wild rumpus start" I give Nathan three pages worth of wild jungle music

Oooomba laka laka, Oooomba laka laka, Oomba Oomba Oooomba laka laka

there's more, but it doesn't really translate to English.

Phyllis talked of two books in her eulogy. She first talked of how the day we heard the news was definately a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!

And then she did an amazing job of reminding us all of the fun that Sarah brought to our lives every time we saw her. Who else makes regular pilgrimages to NYC to go to a children's book store? Or decides to memorialize her vacations by taking pictures of an Ernie doll at famous tourist attractions? And who else gives a book to a best friend that has adorable pictures of how best friends still love each other through bad hair days, green spotted faces and pepperoni earrings?

Bad Kitty One last book. I saw it on a table at the reception and thought it was delightful, and funny, and sneakily educational. I later found out that it was her newest favorite, and her co-workers at Barnes and Noble had given it to Patrick to read to the boys. There's going to be copy in my house as soon as possible too. It's an absolutely perfect book to remind me of Sarah.

And finally, a last word from Dr. Seuss.

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

What the @$%*!! is Dermatomyositis!

2008-03-27T18:26:00.002-05:00

I didn't know my cousin Sarah was sick, another auto-immune disease. So now I'm completely blindsided and shocked and heartsick to find out that she died last night.

She'd been a silent reader of the blog. I was hopeful that she'd be able to come and visit sometime, I've missed her since we moved away from Maryland. Having her and Aunt Erin around when Mom died and the kids were born was very important to me, and helped so much when most of my family was too far away.

And now I'm soooo sad that I'm not in Maryland, because I want to comfort my Aunt in person, to be there for her as she was there for me. Because as if this wasn't horrible enough, my Uncle Richard died just last month. I didn't get down for his funeral, but Dan and I are trying very hard to make arrangements to go down for Sarah's.

Can I tell you how much I want to scream swear words into the night.

Liquid Gold

2008-03-25T17:17:00.000-05:00

I was hoping our neighbor would come by with the offer to tap our trees in exchange for receiving a gallon of finished syrup at the end of the season. But he seems to have retired. So instead, Dad dug four buckets and taps out of his barn and brought them here last weekend. We drilled on Saturday, broke a drill bit on the last tree, and now we're waiting. Daytime temps have still been around freezing, so the sap isn't flowing too strongly. But when I got home from work today each tap was dripping a little.

We don't really have the facilities for boiling. If you do it inside, you end up with steaming sap covering the walls and peeling off wallpaper. I'm thinking that I'll try to boil most of it off on the grill on the weekends, then finish it inside. Ideally, we could get as much as 4 gallons of syrup, but that would only be if we had the time and energy to boil down 160 gallons of sap, and I don't see that happening. I'll be happy with a few pints, and the fun of doing it.

My All-star

2008-03-24T16:49:00.003-05:00

This is the finale of nearly five months of skating lessons. Nathan actually preformed much better than I was expecting, and hit most of his marks. Only one of the falls was unintentional. He's the only skater with a red shirt and black helmet, so it's pretty easy to follow him in the wide shots. Enjoy.

Feed Me

2008-03-21T19:01:00.002-05:00

Dan's blogging again. It's all about the bread now. Just don't tell him I accidentally tried to melt his starter in the oven again today.

A Recipe For St. Patrick's Day

2008-03-16T12:20:00.002-05:00

Irish Bread from Father Brian’s Mother

4 cups unbleached flour
3 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
6 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 stick of butter NOT oleo, softened
2-3 cups buttermilk
1 cup raisins
1 tbsp caraway seeds

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in soft butter. Add seeds and raisins. Mix well. Add 2 cups buttermilk. Mix gently – if dry, add more buttermilk 1 tbsp at a time to make nice soft dough. It will be sticky.

Turn onto lightly floured board. Shape into round with floured hands. Cut a deep cross in top. Place in buttered 8 or 9 inch black fry pan or 8 or 9 inch layer cake tin – Not Glass. Bake at 350 degrees 45 min or until it tests done.

Some folks sift dry ingredients- my mom did – I never do.
Some folks use baking soda – I don’t, unless the buttermilk is fresh. I usually use buttermilk when it is thick and glops out of the container – about 3-4 weeks old. You can tell if it is going to be good, it actually “talks” to you when you are shaping it on board. You can “hear” it rising – truly.

Good Luck. Have the kettle up for tea, with plenty of butter and jam at the ready. Enjoy.
P.S. Try it toasted (not a conventional toaster) in toaster oven. It’s super, can also be frozen.

This is the recipe my Mom always used. I love the extra notes from Fr. Jeffries mom about putting the kettle on. But I noticed as I was typing it out that it never says to split into two loaves, which is what I always do. I think it works either way. A single loaf fills the pan and leads to an even looking crust. Double loaves turn out as a more free-form circle with a crunchier crust, like scones. It's also nice microwaved for a few seconds to give the butter something to melt into. I always use baking soda, because I don't read ahead in the notes where it says I don't need it. And I never, ever, ever use caraway seeds because I hate the taste of them.

Super Duper Trooper

2008-03-13T18:43:00.002-05:00

From the local paper:

Visit from trooper State trooper Patrick Roda visited Mrs. Martin's pre-kindergarten classroom at Lawrence Avenue recently. The children have been learning about "Our Community and Jobs People Do." Posted 03/13/08.

Nathan is #18. When Officer Roda (otherwise know as William's Dad), asked the kids if they knew what he does, Nathan raised his hand to say they "under arrest bad guys". I wonder if he told the officer that he thinks George Bush should be arrested if he ever comes to New York. It's perfect timing that he's learning about community helpers this week, because he has his first dentist appointment next week. After Mrs. Martin has him whipped into an anti-cavity, anti-sugar frenzy he'll be thrilled to see the dentist. He was especially impressed with the effects of coke on an eggshell.

If you really want to know everything there is to know about where I live, you should read this paper. It really gives a perfect impression of what it's like to live her. Especially the venting and complaining in the Sound Off section. Just don't laugh at how little there is in the Events Calendar.

Hulu watching

2008-03-12T23:47:00.003-05:00

Have you heard of Hulu.com yet. It's free T.V. (with limited commercials), a lot of older shows, but also new stuff. Right now I'm watching the first episode of Remington Steele. My favorite show as a teenager, and I never saw the premiere and therefore never understood how Remington conned his way into Laura Holt's firm. I feel like I want to alternate with episodes of Veronica Mars (not on Hulu, alas) to see two views of young, sassy, female P.I.'s.

Doesn't this look like the perfect network line-up?

* 30 Rock
* The A-Team
* The Addams Family
* Arrested Development
* Battlestar Galactica
* Battlestar Galactica Classic
* Benson
* Buffy the Vampire Slayer
* Dilbert
* Doogie Howser, M.D.
* Dr. 90210
* Facts of Life
* Fame
* Family Guy
* Fantasy Island
* Firefly
* Futurama
* Hell's Kitchen
* Heroes
* Jack of All Trades
* King Of The Hill
* Kitchen Confidential
* Kitchen Nightmares
* Knight Rider
* Kojak
* Lost in Space
* The Mary Tyler Moore Show
* NewsRadio
* The Office
* Outer Limits
* The Tick
* Top Chef
* Who's the Boss?
* WKRP in Cincinnati

Say! I will eat them ANYWHERE!

2008-03-05T18:45:00.002-05:00

I started this post a few minutes ago

I seriously didn't plan this. I made ham last night. So there were leftovers today. And usually when there is some leftover ham, I scramble up eggs for the kids to have with it for dinner. And a few months ago, I discovered how much they like to have food coloring added to their eggs. So, on Theodor Geisel's Birthday, my kids had green eggs and ham.

And then I found out from Wikipedia that his b-day was the 2nd, it's just that Nathan's pre-K was celebrating it today. So just forget I said anything.

Claire's class was "studying" clowns last week. Isn't she adorable? I wish I had a picture before all the paint wore off. She has a wonderful teacher, and each week they pick a theme. They've done triangles and pets and snowmen; all their artwork and stories revolve around the them each week. It's really cute.

If she wasn't already dead, I'd kill her

2008-02-25T19:24:00.002-05:00

Egad, I finally finished the book. The mystery of the black veil got revealed in the last 10 pages, and it was a complete cop-out. I blame Jane Austen. I forgot that she was writing a parody, and I now suspect she put in the bit about the black veil because she agrees with me that it's presence in the novel was stupid and pointless. If she was writing today, the characters would have been discussing the finer points of The DaVinci Code.

I suspect that the author didn't plan out her story and was writing later chapters after already having published early pieces, and backed herself into a corner. Even the death of the major villain happened behind the scenes as she struggled to tie up all the loose ends and get the heroine married off. How else to explain that the Italian Countess Laurentina had murdered Emily's Aunt, and then secluded herself in the French convent that Emily just happened to be staying at after her father's death.

And if you must know, Emily thought it was a corpse behind the veil, but it was actually an old waxwork statue that a former resident of the castle had put up as a penitence for his sinful ways. The End.

The terrible twos

2008-02-24T13:20:00.000-05:00

She looks like a sweetheart, but she's really a demon sent to torment me for the trouble I gave my Mom when I was two. There is no saying no to her. She won't accept it. I can be firm, I can cajole, I can soothe, I can ignore. No matter what, she will insist on getting her way or she will have an unending crying fit.

Today's she's being sweet though. And yesterday, she even let me braid her hair, so now I'm looking for new hairstyles to try out on her.

Boo

2008-02-20T19:43:00.002-05:00

I'm reading a new book. Actually, an old book, and it's proving to be a bit of a slog.

Here's the backstory. I love Jane Austen, especially Persuasion. The current marathon on PBS has led to me also re-reading all the novels, even Mansfield Park, which I've never enjoyed as much as the others.

Northanger Abbey, if you've never heard of it, is actually more of a satire of romance novels than a romance novel in it's own right. Throughout the story, the heroine is comparing her own experiences to the heroines of gothic novels. She's especially impressed by The Mysteries of Udolfo, and talks about it to her companions at every opportunity. And here I am, two hundred years later, reading about Catherine reading about Emily.

"But, my dearest Catherine, what have you been doing with yourself all this morning? Have you gone on with Udolpho?"
"Yes, I have been reading it ever since I woke; and I am got to the black veil."
"Are you, indeed? How delightful! Oh! I would not tell you what is behind the black veil for the world! Are not you wild to know?"
"Oh! Yes, quite; what can it be? But do not tell me--I would not be told upon any account. I know it must be a skeleton, I am sure it is Laurentina's skeleton"

Now, with that kind of a build-up, aren't you dying to know what's behind the veil as well. So, I decided to read Udolfo for myself, and downloaded it to my little PDA. According to my Microsoft reader, I didn't get to the black veil until after about 1200 pages of descriptions of mountain scenery, gondola parties, and many, many, many moonlit walks where the heroine laments her parent's death and the separation from her lover. (I think in paper versions, it runs to about 700 pages) I Didn't even get to the mysterious castle until Volume 2. And now, even after Emily has seen what's behind the veil, she is so shocked and disgusted, that the author hasn't had the courage to reveal to me what's going on yet. So I'm still in the dark about the veil. But at least the action has finally picked up, and there's been an attempted kidnapping, poisoning, and more than the requisite amount of fainting ladies. I'm on page 1700 now, I have no idea how much longer it goes.

I just wish it hadn't taken quite so long to get to this point. I did love her scenic descriptions, but when I kept expecting something "horrid", and kept getting lute players instead, it was a bit of a letdown. Hints were dropped early on of the mystery, but Emily's delicate sensibilities always kept her from investigating, which leaves me in the dark too. I want someone to edit it into a "good parts" version, with just the sword fights and the the ghostly sightings that have been coming fast and furious in the last 100 pages.

Who needs Hallmark?

2008-02-14T21:39:00.003-05:00

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

2008-02-13T19:13:00.003-05:00

I'm going to lose my mind.

Since we haven't used the washer in over a week, we didn't notice that the pipes there had frozen too. And they cracked and were gushing water when I got home from work today.

All the spare towels are at the in-laws waiting to be washed, so I'm seeing how long it will take to soak up with paper towels.

This Old House February 2008 issue

2008-02-12T20:26:00.000-05:00

Where to begin........

The broken dryer - that's not really a house issue, since it's a dryer we rescued from our last landlord's basement.

The burst pipe - that's more interesting, but not a surprise, since the pipes under the sink had been freezing up every time we had a sub-zero windy day. Just a matter of time before they broke.

Although the combo of the two was funny, since it led to me feeling like a college kid as I went to the in-laws this morning to use their shower and drop off a load of laundry.

I like the more humorous break-downs, like locking myself out of the bathroom, as I did tonight.

Here's the deal. This is the latch/doorknob for our only bathroom as seen from the inside....

Pushing down on a the exterior button raises the L-shaped piece in the center, which then raises the horizontal bar so you can get in. The horizontal bar pivots where it's attached to the small section on the far left.

Unfortunately, the screw on the far left sometimes gets loose. Especially when we have company who aren't used to the latch and get rough with it. When the pivot point gets loose, the horizontal bar doesn't lift on the right-hand side, and it's impossible to get the door open. When my aunt and uncle visited this summer, I had to get Nathan to crawl through the window to open the door. And let me just say that he wasn't too bright about following directions, since he thought I just wanted him to unlock the door, and then crawled back out the window before opening it properly.

I was not about to drag him out of bed and into the 11 degree, snowy night. Unscrewing the latch from the outside and vigorously rattling a screwdriver around eventually got the horizontal bar lifted. I just wish I knew a permanent fix to this. I tighten the screw every few weeks, but obviously I was too late this time. And I'm trying to imagine how people have been using this door for a hundred years and not had this problem as constantly as we have. (I think the door was once an exterior exit from the house, and the hardware and cut-out for the latch certainly look authentic.)

Taking all the hardware off has shown me areas where the wood is worn down, which I think may be causing too much stress on the hardware which is loosening the screw. Not sure if there's a way to fix it without removing the latch completely. And since I'd like one room in the house where I can get privacy, that really isn't an option.

Cowabunga Dude

2008-01-30T17:37:00.000-05:00

Nathan is FIVE!! Can you believe it? I can't.

We had a fairly large party at the house. Invited twin boys who we've known since swim lessons when we first moved here, and who are in Nathan's Pre-K class. And Sunny and Mimi who we've been friends with for awhile. Plus a girl from daycare and skating who shares Nathan's b-day, and whose party we went to on Saturday. We also ran into his girlfriend from Canton, and decided to invite her too, even though we seldom see her anymore. Her Mom was a font on knowledge on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle lore, so that was a bonus.

All total, that means there were 8 kids between the ages of 2 1/2 and five running around. Two other parents never RSVP'd, so I was prepared for having 10 kids. They were actually very well behaved, so well behaved that I was afraid they weren't having fun. Especially when they all sat quietly around the table eating the fruit and veggie platters that Dan made. But there was enough chaos during the pinata to make up for everything (and no, they didn't bean anyone with a bat, you can get pull-string pinatas now).

I love the party dresses that all the girls had on, I'll have to get a cute one for Claire's birthday.

glug, glug, glug

2008-01-28T21:47:00.000-05:00

Yay me, I fixed the exterior pipe on the sump pump. But I must have been a little rough with it, and twisted the pipe too much, because I think I'm responsible for breaking the pipe in the cellar.

The water is no longer gushing out of the side of the house and puddling against the exterior foundation. It is now gushing out of a broken pipe and spraying against the interior foundation in the basement. Sigh. This is a job for a plumber, because there is no way I'd be able to do the repair in time to stop the water from backing up too far. I unplugged it for about two minutes and the water level rose considerably. I really wish I knew where this spring was so I could dam the damn thing up. Although I do have really soft hair since we moved.

Our own Niagara Falls

2008-01-20T17:43:00.000-05:00

Pretty, isn't it? Too bad it's not supposed to be doing that.

The white pipe is from our sump pump, which keeps the water from the spring in front of the house from turning our basement into a swimming pool. This pump has been going 24/7 since we started getting snows and thaws. Whoever ran the pipes for it did a pretty poor job. When we moved in, a section of pipe had broken and eroded all the dirt above and around it. And last week we saw that another section had broken about a foot away from the first break and was creating another mini-lake in the yard. So I was already planning on ripping the whole thing up to dig a deeper trench that would be more frost resistant.

This ice show just happened today I think. The coupling broke, and the water coming down from the house is hitting the broken pipe and spraying all over the place. I don't want to think about how much of the water is just leaking back into the basement. Although the basement could probably benefit from a good flood, if the furnace and hot water heater weren't down there. Some more pictures to give you a full view of what you get when you buy a hundred year old house.

This is the hole where the sump pump is. I have no idea how deep that hole is, I only know that it is currently filled to the top with water. Where the water is coming from is also a mystery. There is a gravel filled ditch that runs the length of the basement, and I think that any leaking water from the walls is supposed to be channeled from there into the sump pump hole, but I really don't know if that's what is happening.

The reason I don't know is that I try to spend as little time as possible down here. Even at my height, I hit my head on the ducts. And those are the stairs on the left. The steps are only about half the width I'm used to, so you have to watch every step coming down.

But I do think this is pretty cool. The wood beams that support our house, that were put in place a hundred years ago, still have bark on them.

All gone

2008-01-13T23:40:00.000-05:00

This was last Saturday, when the kids and I had a grand time building a fort and playing in the snow.

On Sunday, Dan got into the act and made the gigantic snowball pictured here.

Alas, by Monday night it was all gone. Truly. Every bit of snow on the lawn is melted, and all that remains is the icy, dirty piles that line the roads where the plows have gone by, and they're on their last legs too. Today, the ground was dry enough that we could go out and pick up the tree limbs and shingles that came loose during a crazy windstorm last week. You'd think it was spring, we were even up in the high 50's one day.

Meanwhile, everyone is reminiscing about the ten year anniversary of an ice storm that knocked out power for days, even weeks in some areas. Shame that it happed just two weeks after Dan and I moved to Georgia. Look at the fun we missed.

Screw the Networks

2008-01-03T20:31:00.000-05:00

Now that our T.V. viewing habits are completely messed up by the strike, I've taken to watching lots of TV on DVD. Although now I'm getting confused about whether watching DVD's is supporting the writers or not. They get residuals, but apparently they're pretty minuscule. I'm know I shouldn't watch reality T.V, Leno or internet downloads, but after that things get iffy.

Anyway, here's a few reviews to cheer up your darkened T.V.....

Kitchen Confidential - I don't know why Fox pulled this after only four episodes. It's crass, sexist, violent - you'd think it'd be an instant hit. Maybe the "gourmet food" angle turned people off. Personally, I just had trouble trying to believe that Will from Alias could be anything like Anthony Bourdain. I read Kitchen Confidential a few years ago, and it was almost enough to make me want Dan to change careers. Dan and I have been watching a few episodes each night since he got it for Christmas, and it's really funny. Especially the bits where they torture the intern. Although I worry that it's giving Dan ideas. And after he shares it around work, I'll really worry about anyone who comes unprepared into that kitchen. They've been known to send fellow employees out looking for ingredients that don't exist.

Odyssey 5 - This was a Sci-Fi show on Showtime. Yeah, try to figure that one out. I found it a few weeks ago on the Sci-Fi network, although they only ran one episode. It's possible that taking out all the swear words and gratuitous nudity made the censored episodes hard to follow. Decided to rent it because the premise was cool, and because it had my new T.V. boyfriend, Christopher Gorham from Ugly Betty, in it. (And if you ever find Jake 2.0 on Sci-Fi, he's excellent in that too.) It's about a space shuttle crew that witnesses the destruction of the earth, and then has their minds sent back in time to their younger selves to try to prevent it. Lots of stuff about sentient beings roaming the internet and synthetic creatures making trouble. In the meantime, they're trying to work out problems in their personal lives that may or may not be repeating in the new timeline. I'm not quite done with the series, and I've been warned that the never resolved cliffhanger ending will drive me crazy, but I've really liked it so far.

Freaks and Geeks - What a wonderful show. It's set a few years before we would have been in High School, but looks horribly familiar anyway. Imagine if we'd turned our backs on our Honor roll, band geek, friends to start hanging out with Heavy Metal listening, class cutting, stoners. Hmmmmm. Moving right along. The problem with watching it as an adult, is that I can't decide if I relate more to Lindsay or her mother now. Although it's Sam who really steals your heart. (and he's the intern in Kitchen Confidential too)

Deadwood - Borrowed this from some of Dan's co-workers. I think the third season stumbled with the Hearst plotline, but the brilliance of earlier episodes outweighs that. Although sometimes I feared that the T.V. would burst into flames each time Bullock sent a lustful look Mrs. Garrett's way. Tim Olyphant could outstare a statue.

What else should be in my Netflix queue? I'm going to give Undeclared a go next, with Seth Rogan and many of the Freaks and Geeks & 40yr-old Virgin folks. Any other late, lamented shows that would make good viewing?

Up to our necks in snow

2008-01-01T14:50:00.000-05:00

And I thought is was hard to take pictures of the tree. It's even worse trying to get kids in motion while opening presents. Nathan got all the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but seems most excited about his dinasaur "Cuddly". He came with a website link that let Nathan name a star. We picked one in Ursala Major somewhere. Claire got about three baby dolls, but for some reason has focused on the one that cries when you put a pacifier or bottle in it's mouth.

Today was supposed to be a day of semi-relaxation mixed with home improvement while the kids went to Grandmas. But we're looking at another foot of snow today, and didn't want to have to worry about driving over to get the kids tonight. So instead, the kids are eating popcorn while Dan is shovels the driveway and I tear all the old, broken, dingy window blinds down and replace them with old, dingy curtains. And I'm kind of astonished that whoever did the last paint job here didn't remove the blind brackets first. I've always thought the paint was one of the good points here, but now that I'm looking at a square of brown paint in the kitchen corner windows, and a swath of white paint over the front door, I'm pretty annoyed.

And Dan is annoyed that he can't find metal shovels anymore.

Someone's in the kitchen

2007-12-23T10:48:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, Claire is a perfect little Sous Chef...........

Sometimes, she is not.

To kids from one to ninety-two

2007-12-20T23:08:00.001-05:00

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!" Dr. Seuss

Christmas is not about flat screen T.V.'s and diamond jewelry. Christmas is a four year old who:
Knows all the words to Rudolph the Red-nosed reindeer.
Is learning math by adding up the number of school days and home days until Christmas.
Can't wait to make the Chocolate Chip cookies for Santa.
Thinks a lucky rock is the perfect gift for Papa.
After seeing a manger and hearing my explanation of who Jesus was, decided that Jesus should go out and fight bad guys with Luke Skywalker and the Ninja Turtles

and a two year old who:
Yells "Christmas tree, Christmas tree" whenever she sees lit up houses or wrapped presents.
Wants to open and read all the Christmas cards.
Gets wonderfully sticky whenever she eats a Candy Cane.

More words of wisdom............

Poor Frosty

2007-12-17T19:32:00.000-05:00

He's just about buried. I had to dig the timer out so he'd light up tonight. I'll have to remember to move him further from the road too, the plow hill just about hides him from sight.

Fifteen inches was the official total, and they didn't even cancel school.

Definitely getting a White Christmas

2007-12-15T13:23:00.001-05:00

I'm incapable of getting good pictures of decorating the Christmas tree. Either the kids are out of focus because the move around too much for the low flash setting, or the high flash washes out all the lights. This is the best I could do.

I've been wanting to get some snowy pictures up to please Joy. We've had snow almost every day for the last two weeks. Flurries some days, a few inches on others. I think we're at about a foot on the ground now. Tommorrow we're going to get hammered. At least a foot of snow in 24 hours, maybe up to 2 feet, with lot's of wind to cause snowdrifts. Dan is supposed to be working a charity dinner, I really hope they call it off today so he can stay home and drink hot cocoa with me and the kids. I'll post some pictures of that when the coast is clear.

But, just for Joy, here's a shot out my kitchen window. I wanted to get it when the thermometer said 0, but it's a completely unreliable piece of crap and currently says twenty when it really around five.

Now I have to do some caulking around that window, because it's very drafty. And then I need to rid our kitchen cabinets of mouse poop and plug some more holes. As well as wrap some pipes to keep the pipes leading to the washing machine from freezing again. Is it okay that I sometimes wish for global warming?

The Employee handbook is 142 pages

2007-12-12T20:41:00.000-05:00

Was I too vague yesterday? Yes, I got the job. The ins and outs of how that happened so fast are still a mystery. As is the fact that I somehow managed to have my first day of work be the day before I was offered the job.

Now, I am filling out forms. Lots of forms. Three cheers for:
-Employer sponsored Health insurance starting immediately
-Vision and Dental
-Pension and a 401k with decent matching
-Flexible spending accounts for daycare and health
-discounts on loans and mortgages
-Paid holidays and Personal time (I'll even get paid for Christmas!)

Hip, Hip Hooray

Working 9-5

2007-12-11T23:34:00.000-05:00

Yay!!!!! I can finally delete all the job search sites that I've been looking at for the last 2 1/2 years!!!!

Spoke too soon

2007-12-05T21:58:00.000-05:00

You can ignore my last post. Someone in my department gave notice yesterday. All the bosses were in a meeting this morning, and I was not surprised that the first thing my supervisor did when she finished was to call me over and ask me to stay. It is still just a temp job, until a permanent replacement is found. However, it seems that if it was up to her, or the majority of my co-workers, the replacement would be me. I kinda felt bad for the woman who's leaving, because people were talking much more about my future prospects than hers. But she hadn't been there long, we actually started the same day.

Cross you fingers that no one who's already employed by the bank applies. No one has the last two times it's been open because it's near the bottom of the payscale. Then hope that HR doesn't have requirements that would exclude me no matter how good by recommendations are. In the meantime, I'm still employed.

And to add to this cheery post, here are some Christmas card rejects.

Easy come, Easy Go

2007-12-01T08:29:00.000-05:00

The temp job has proved to be a temp job. I really like it there, my co-workers really like me, but there's just no permanent job for me. Last day is next Friday. So, onto plans A,B & C.

We're going to keep the kids in daycare for as long as we can afford it. Which gives me the freedom to just take any temp or part-time job that comes along. Kelly Services got good reviews of my work, and I'm also going to try to get into the bank's on-call teller system. That would make me an internal candidate for any future openings at the administrative offices.

Also, someone's advertising for Admin and HR people for permanent and temp jobs, and offering a wonderfully high wage for it. It must be Wal-mart getting geared up to do hiring for the new store, which is quickly rising up out of vacant land outside Potsdam. I don't really want to be a Wal-mart person, but the idea of working for them during a hiring blitz is intriguing.

2007-11-27T20:54:00.000-05:00

Since the mall is forty minutes away, and the Wal-mart is still a work in progress, we country folk have to find other ways to get our Christmas lists to Santa. In Canton, they plan a tree lighting ceremony for the day after Thanksgiving, then all the kids line up to see Santa on the town green. He arrived by horse drawn carriage, and there were also a half dozen people dressed as Frosty, Rudolph and various North Pole critters walking around to keep the kids entertained while we waited.

Claire didn't last through the hour wait. It was below freezing, and a layer of snow and slush covered the ground. (Something Mom should have thought of before deciding to wear a pair of lightweight sneakers instead of boots.) So while she and Grandma retired to make Hot Cocoa, Nathan and I stuck it out to see the big man himself.

Apparently, he wants Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toys this Christmas, and was devastated that the free goody bag had a book instead.

In other Christmas news, I'm trying to figure out how to decorate the house when I have absolutely no exterior outlets. Just to get this modest display up took three extension cords leading from the farthest corner of the garage, a timer and a small three outlet adapter.

I want to put lights on the porch, and bought an adapter to convert the light bulb socket into a plug, but I don't want to risk overloading that. Also, the porch is Zeppo's domain, and I'm not sure how he'd take to a change in decor. Although he's left the garland on the lamppost alone so far.

Whatever we do will certainly pale in comparison the the neighbors. They've been lit up for over a week, keeps me up nights.

Huh?

2007-11-24T09:58:00.000-05:00

I set up an interview for Tuesday and they want three letters of reference. I don't think I've needed that since I applied for college, and yet the prospective boss indicated that it was the most normal thing in the world and required by the company. Ugh.

Most of the employees are nurses and health care workers, so I can see the point there. But I've never been asked for this for accounting jobs. They seem content with just running background checks.

So now I have to come up with a member of the community ("like a teacher, or politician"), and two employers. And I know that Hyatt employees aren't supposed to do letters, they're very much in the "let's avoid lawsuits by only verifying dates of employment camp". Plus, Hyatt employees don't stick in one job for long, so I don't even know if I can find my former bosses.

Should I just cancel the interview?

Hat, Glove and Scarf time

2007-11-16T22:27:00.000-05:00

Does anyone wanna come over and take my doggy for a walk? It's 20 degrees out and I'm still not warmed up from the walk I took him on two hours ago. I suppose I should be grateful that it's not snowing again. Only six more months to Spring!!!

Crash and Burn

2007-11-12T21:30:00.000-05:00

Ugh, I'm having a miserable week. Coughing. Coughing. Coughing. Night and Day. I stayed home from work Wednesday, and got some drugs from the doc on Saturday, but I still feel pretty rotten. Can't sleep unless I am propped up by four pillows, and even then I wake every hour with a coughing fit. Or drenched in sweat. Attempts to speak either come out in whispers or devolve into hacking fits. I dread having to call out to the kids to stop doing something, because half the time I can't get the words out.

The silver lining is that Dan took a week's vacation to chill out a bit. So every night he's been home to corral the kids. Except last night, when he was passed out drunk on the futon from too many Jager Bombs. You see, his co-workers like to have a yearly bar-b-que party, and since they're all apartment/frat house dwellings college kids, it was decided a few weeks ago to have it at our house. I cheerfully cleared out, and took the kids to the Grandparents for the afternoon. I expected to come home to my loving husband, who, knowing I've been sick all week, would have had things cleaned up and be prepared to take the kids off my hands again. Instead, he was the victim of peer pressure, which I'd think would be pretty hard since he's not only the boss, but also 8-15 years older than everyone else.

At least his friends can hold their liquor better, because someone did manage to clean things up, and one guy stuck around to make sure Dan wasn't alone. Although I was also really ticked off that they lit a bonfire in the backyard. Not surprised, these are chefs after all, they have to set things on fire, it's part of their nature. But I mentioned it to Dan last week and told him if he thought they'd like to burn some of our yard waste for fun, we should first get a permit. Instead, I came home to an illegal fire that was way to big to burn out before bedtime. The aforementioned responsible friends made sure to clear a ring around it and bank it a bit, but it was still smoking in the morning. Not happy about that, especially because I think that enough smoke got in the house to send me into twice the usual number of retching fits.

Whew, had to get that all off my chest.

P.S. You have to watch Ratatouille. Just don't watch it on an empty stomach.

Bethel, VT

2007-11-07T22:50:00.000-05:00

Found this cool photo on a blog today. That's my Dad's house on the hill on the far left.