Note to Santa

Gwen was suffering from an earache and the sniffles on Christmas Eve.  As we set out the milk and cookies for Santa last night, Caitlin added a little letter.  It read:

Dear Santa Claus,

May you make it snow a blizard tommorow?
Can you also make my sister feel better?

from,
Caitlin

"Santa" wrote back:

Dear Caitlin,
Gwen is a very strong girl and with your love will get better soon.  I am not sure I will have time to make a blizzard tomorrow, but I will try making one later this winter.  Hope you and Gwen have a wonderful Christmas.
Love,
Santa

PS  Thanks for the cookies and milk.

The Caroling Party

Tonight we held our sort-of annual caroling party.  It was quite a frantic exercise getting the house ready for guests after all the neglect the Nutcracker season brought.  However, we were all shiny and ready when our first guests arrived.  Steve and Michelle came with Alex and Elizabeth.  Caitlin and the twins immediately got busy.  They grabbed the caroling books and headed for Cait's room to prepare for the main caroling event.  Renee, Chris, & Kenai came next, bring along Renee's mom, Carol.  Then John & Julie Conroy made it.  Finally, Lisa, William and Caroline joined us.  (They had stayed at home to watch for a special message from Craig broadcast from overseas to the local TV station.  That was an event too special to be missed.  Fortunately, his message was presented early in the broadcast window, so they made it in time.)
All our guest brought delicious side dishes, appetizers, and cookies to share.  Jeff  made spinach bisque, Swedish meatballs, and his signature garlic green beans.  I made gingerbread cookies at the last minute which Gwen expertly icinged.  (I had hard boiled eggs ready to be deviled, but they got forgotten in all the hubbub.)  And, on top of this, we ordered three extra large pizzas to feed the children.  Once the pizza order was placed, those of us who wanted to carol headed for the door.  Jeff stayed in by the fire with Michelle, while Gwen & Kenai got each other really wound-up.
Caitlin, Alex, & Elizabeth led the carolers the entire time.  They were so excited!  At every house we sang a carol (not quite in key, but with gusto), and then the little girls offered the people some mini candy canes.   The kids didn't seem to mind the cold at all, so we hit every occupied house from our place to the top of the street, both sides.  For our first rendition of The First Noel, I tried to sing the harmony part, but that totally threw off the rest of the singers.  I did not attempt that the second time we sang it.
When we finally returned to our house, we sang one final song for the folks who stayed home.  Just as we finished, the pizza guy arrived!  Talk about perfect timing.  We spent the rest of the evening eating and drinking and making quite merry.
Happy Holidays everyone!

Oh Christmas Tree!

We all went out this morning to get our Christmas tree from Clark's Elioak Farm.  All I can say is that it seemed a lot smaller in the field.  It peak is touching the ceiling and the branches obscure part of the mantel.  Since it is pear-shaped instead of the traditional cone shaped tree, Jeff and I have taken to calling it the Winnie-the-Pooh tree.  Remember the story of Pooh getting stuck in Rabbit's door.  Well that was Jeff trying to get it in the house.

Quote from Caitlin

"When you laugh, it's like you are speaking a thousand different languages."

In the city that doesn't sleep - New York

Last Friday, Jeff and I took the girls to New York City.  Our main objective was to attend a concert by Yann Tiersen, Jeff's favorite musician.  He happens to be French and rarely seems to give concerts outside of Europe, so when Jeff saw New York City on his concert schedule he bought tickets immediately.  And then we saw how much hotels cost in the city! Yikes!
Nevertheless, Jeff battle traffic to our hotel and I handed over my credit card to the friendly desk clerk.  Once we settled in, our first stop was Pizza!  We went to Angelo's Pizzeria for a delicious lunch.  Pizza and a beautiful organic greens, beets, and goat cheese salad for me.
Then we hired a pedicab (a bicycle with a big seat behind it) to take us to the UN.  This bicyclist was amazing.  I couldn't believe he could pull all four of us.  But it was a great way to see the city, no taxi-cab roof means a perfect view of the buildings.  He gave us a little tour along the way.

When we got to the UN building and bought tour tickets, we had to wait a bit before our tour began.  So we walked around outside and admired the flags of all 192 member nations.  Gwen really liked the flags.

Inside there were pictures of all the past and current Secretary Generals of the UN.  At first the pictures appeared to be paintings, but on closer examination, we realized they were hooked silk rugs.  Here is a photo of the girls in front of the one of Ban Ki-moon.

Gwen loved the UN tour.  Caitlin was a little less enthused.  Gwen really participated in our tour, asking insightful questions and answering our tour guide.  At one point, our guide asked about the six official languages at the UN and Gwen rattled off four of them.
After the UN, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed to the concert.  We were so worried about being late that we were over half an hour early.  We needn't have panicked.  The concert started 45 minutes late.  We were debating just throwing in the towel and taking the kids to the hotel.  It was already past their bedtime.  But, once the concert started, everything was great.  Gwen was ok with the music, but she has never had a hard time staying awake so no problem there.  Caitlin, who I was sure would be napping 5 minutes into the concert, was spell-bound.  The concert itself was really awesome.  Yann Tiersen played guitar, piano and violin and sang as well.  He had quite a few musicians with him, a female vocalist, a  synth player, a drummer, 4 violins, a viola, a cello, a flautist, a clarinetist, a bass clarinetist, and an bassoon player.  They were all amazing.  Caitlin's favorites were the two pieces where Yann Tiersen himself played a solo violin piece and the violin/drum set duet.  His fingers just flew across the strings and the music was powerful and driving.  Both times, Caitlin sprung to her feet and clapped her little heart out.  She even shouted out his name after the band left the stage.  He has a huge fan in Caitlin.
The next morning, we had breakfast at the cutest little diner just a few blocks from our hotel.  We decided to go in search of cheap pancakes after seeing the prices at the hotel restaurant.   We packed up our suitcase and checked out of the hotel.  Then we caught a cab for Battery Park to go to see the Statue of Liberty.  With all the breakfast and packing and the traffic from uptown, we didn't get to Battery Park till around 11am.  Jeff was just a few people behind the ticket salesperson when they announced that entrance to the statue base was sold out.  We could go to Liberty Island, but we couldn't go inside.
We decided to go for it anyway.  It was a gorgeous day and I am glad we went.

 The ferry ride to the island afforded us with a fresh breeze and beautiful views of the famous statue.

 Proof:  we were there!

She really is a beautiful and inspiring sculpture.  I am quite sad we didn't get to go inside.
One more note, the ferry guides were amazingly pushy.  They kept telling people to move faster, take bigger steps and crowd around closer to the dock.  They may as well have announced, "Push and shove people, let's get everyone to push and shove.  Shove a little harder folks!  Come on!"

Well, we are back in Maryland now, and I for one plan to stick to cities where the traffic lanes are more than a simple suggestion and you can buy a pack of gum for about a buck.  (I won't tell you what it cost at the hotel, but ei-yi-yi!)

Faster, faster!

I was struggling with the timing on slip jig so I got out my handy-dandy metronome. As I was playing, it felt like the metronome was going faster and faster. "Surely not!" I thought, so I adjusted the tempo slower. Again it seemed to go faster and faster. Finally, I noted the beat number before and after I set it. Sure enough, the weight was slipping down and speeding up the metronome.

Spiraling Up

Gwen and her friends in Spiral Scouts had their spiraling up ceremony yesterday.  They were promoted from FireFly level to Spiral Scouts level.  Their badge work will now be a little more involved and they get to take on new responsibilities during camping trips and field trips.  To celebrate the day, we all made ice cream sundaes for snack.

Then the girls, including our only FireFly scout, learned about strategies for building a good campfire.  Check out their hard work:

Too cool for the kitchen

Gwen was helping me cook today.  One of her jobs was to help chop the shallots.  However, the shallots made her eyes teary so she put on sunglasses.  How cool is this:

Cat that ate the canary

I took the girls to get their passport photos taken.  They were both really, really excited about the idea of getting a passport and traveling the world.  But, Gwen didn't want to show her braces and Caitlin was trying to be a bit serious, I think.  So, both of them smiled with their mouths shut.  Huge smiles but not a glimpse of teeth!  Imagine a cat that has been salivating over her owner's precious pet canary for months.  Imagine the cat has just caught the bird and still has it in her mouth but doesn't want the owner to see the bird.  This is exactly what their passport photos look like.

Beautiful Day

It was such a beautiful day!  I took the girls up to the park on our bikes.  (Yay!  I can finally ride my bike again.)  They played so nicely.  Then, they helped me make dinner at home.

Gwen is trying out a new sport: lacrosse.  Check her out!

In Gwen's own words

Jeffers Hill Elementary has this "Positive School Climate Quiz" where kids read a chart about expected school behaviors and answer questions about them.  One of the questions was "List one rule for showing that you are respectful in the lunchroom".  

The chart shows 

• Line up single file with hands and feet to self
• Use appropriate and quiet language
• Keep eating area clean
• Demonstrate polite table manners

But, of course, Gwen cannot simply copy verbatim from the chart.  She wrote "Use polite table manners and eat like a human".

I love that.  I think they should make a poster that says that for the lunchroom.  

10 simple things that make Gwen happy

1.  Watching airplanes, jets in particular.
2.  Looking at helicopters.
3.  Watching birds.
4.  Playing made up games in the backyard with friends.
5.  Climbing
6.  Reading about airplanes.
7.  Pretending to skydive off the playset.
8.  Planting and nurturing her corn, beans, and potato plants that she planted all by herself.
9.  Swimming.
10.  Pretending to be a pilot.

Pie weights

We just finished a delicious dinner and I was reminiscing about how far I've come in the kitchen.  I used to barely be able to boil water and now, I have pie weights and I know what to do with them.

Wearing shoes!

I have finally given the boot the boot.  Yesterday I finally wore real shoes for first time.  And, my left foot no longer looks like a potato!

Too many questions!

In the past few days, I have gotten the following questions from Gwen:

What peace agreement ended the Vietnamese War?  If we won, would the people there speak English?
What is the official language of Iraq?  Is there more than one?
What year did the Korean War begin?
What was Denmark's involvement in World War II?

When I told her that one of our friends was sick and needed lots of rest, Gwen asked "Does that mean she sleeps alot?"  I said, "yes" and then Gwen asks "Well, how many hours?"

I am SOOOOO ready for school to start.

Jennifer - 1, Honda - 0

My car problems started last year.  In November, my car suddenly stalled in a parking lot.  I took it straight to the dealership but their service department found nothing wrong.
A month or so later, the dash board lit up like the Forth of July, then it stalled.  I took it in again.  They could find nothing wrong.
We repeated this a few times until July when it really stopped running.  I limped it into a local service station where they said the pistons weren't firing.  They replaced my spark plugs, removed buildup from the engine and charged me $800.
All seemed well and good.  Wednesday, I took it to the dealership for an oil change and the 135000 mile service.  I dropped another $300.
Then on Thursday, it stalled twice while I was driving on 29.  Thank heavens it wasn't rush hour or Caitlin and I would have been creamed.  As it was, Jeff had to leave work and pick up Gwen from her camp, about an hour late.  (Those wonderful camp counselors at the Howard County Nature Conservancy were so understanding.)
So, I did a little research on-line and found out that 1999 Honda Odysseys have a stalling problem related to the ignition switch.  I found multiple incidences of this so it sounds like a rather well known problem.  I don't think that the Honda service department ever checked the ignition switch.   This is where I get really mad.  I take it to the dealership because they should know Hondas backwards and forwards.  If there is a known problem with the ignition switch that should have been the first thing they checked and replaced last year.  So they have been sending me out in a dangerous vehicle for over half a year.
So, when I took it in today, I asked them to change the ignition switch and I convinced them that they were not going to charge me.  And they very kindly agreed.

Garden as Jungle

Nuts.  I allowed my garden to turn into a jungle again.   I suppose my broken foot can be considered a mitigating factor.  Still, I don't feel good about breaking one of my resolutions.
Anyway, for the first time today I wore the small light boot instead of the 40 pound black metal and foam monster boot and I actually worked a bit in my garden.  Mostly I cleared out overgrown, bolted, and gone-to-seed plants.  It is only August, so I am hopeful that I'll get a few more crops in before winter.
Regardless, we have gotten tons of cherry tomatoes, some beets and chard, big zucchini, some nice carrots, and bushels of blueberries.  And for that, I am thankful.

I broke my foot

I was planning to take the girls down to the Smithsonian museums yesterday when I had a bit of an accident. While I was loading up the car, I stepped on a pinecone, rolled my foot hard and fell down. My keys went flying. My foot hurt, but I thought it was just sprained a bit. But, it started to really hurt and swell so I got Jeff to take me to the emergency room. The physicians assistant (I didn't see a real doctor) declared it broken at the first glance. An X-ray confirmed it - I broke my fifth metatarsal. Let me just say that it hurts, a lot. Like wow, pass the drugs please, hurt. I don't recommend doing this.

And for irony, we don't have any pine trees in our yard. Jeff took a look and noticed that this pinecone was covered in peanut butter and birdseed. We are guessing that it was some sort of camp project that a neighborhood kid hung in their tree and was then removed and planted on our driveway by some juvenile delinquent squirrel. I have seen our squirrels perpetrate some of the most clever and vicious birdseed related crimes. They are completely qualified to commit this latest act of treachery.

Butter on both sides.

Yesterday, Caitlin had some toast and she got to butter it herself. She spread butter on both sides. I couldn't bring myself to tell her not to because it reminded me of my favorite poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay:

First Fig

My candle burns at both ends; It will not last the night; But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends— It gives a lovely light.

Civilization at its finest

I'm back and let me tell you, running water never looked so good.

Gwen and I just returned from a camping trip to Gunpowder Falls State Park. (Hereford Area, Camp Wood, if you want specifics.)

While it was really beautiful, it was a bit ill-fated. We went with our scout troupe and we happened to pick the hottest weekend this summer. I was soaked with sweat the moment I left the car. But the trouble didn't begin there. It started a mile up the road, or rather, what was once a road. About a mile from the parking lot the road turned into a series of large potholes separated by narrow strips of something that was asphalt in its distant youth. To say this road was badly maintained would be an insult to other badly maintained roads.

So, after stressing our shock-absorbers, Gwen and I pop out in search of our campsite.

"Follow the trail to the bath house then take the mowed path to Site 3." Sounds pleasant enough. However, mileages weren't mentioned. We put the total distance, car to campsite, at about 1/3 of a mile. Downhill.

So, in 90 degrees and 100% humidity, Gwen and I haul our tent, sleeping bags, mats, clothes, hiking boots, backpacks, toolbox, camp stove, large box of kitchen gear, jugs of water, and our Coleman lantern to the site. We set up camp and wait for our fellow scouts to join us. And we wait. And wait. And wait.

The "arrive between 3pm and 7pm to set up camp" comes and goes. So, we call to find our leader is actually on the pathway down. So, we have company and friends. All is well. We start a campfire, roast our soy-wienies, and sing songs while we wait for the one other family we were expecting. And we wait. And wait. And wait. And darkness falls. And surely, if our friends are sane, they got stuck in traffic, realized they'd be pitching tents in the dark, and wait till morning to join us. Nope. We head to the bathhouse to wash up for the night and pass them hauling down their gear in the pitch blackness. These are hardy folks because, not only do they have a ton more stuff than we do, they navigated the path with no light (the moon was pretty full though) and pitched camp after 10pm with two kids in tow. Gotta respect that.

Gwen and I finally tucked in, still sweating profusely, and fell asleep.

I greeted the morning very enthusiastically because I was going to try out my new camp coffee pot. It is the tiniest little pot, stainless steel, and so sweet. And, it made an absolutely brilliant cup of coffee. No more of awful instant coffee or wimpy coffee in teabag for me. I had espresso. Bring it on, wilderness, I was ready.

The scouts worked on camping projects like leaf prints and rubbings and nature observation. They got to make beautiful art in their journals. Then, after lunch, we took them to the Gunpowder Falls River. This river runs at a cool 55 degrees thanks to the way it is sourced by the dam and the state park's plan to support trout in the river. That 55 degrees went a good way to cooling us off in the second day of 90+ temperatures and 100% humidity. We all went wading by an old bridge near a few rocks that made a sweet little riffle in the river. It was 2 feet deep most of the way, and shallower at the sides. Perfect for cooling off. When the conditions were right, a mist would form over the river and it looked so magical. Also, there was this cool dead tree lying in the river just begging to be climbed. The girls happily obliged.

Then the girls prepared a camp dinner. This was for part of their camping badge. One of Gwen's jobs was to pour the pasta into the pot. She heads to the pot and I call her back saying "Let me help you open the bag." I was sure the bag of pasta was going to explode. Well she stood there and carefully opened it a little bit. "I got it, Mom". "OK". Well somewhere in the next two feet she decided that the bag needed to open a wee bit more. You saw this coming, right?Ffffwhoosh! Pasta everywhere! Luckily, our fearless leaders had brought more and tragedy was averted. Then we made foil packets of veggies to bake in the coals. Gwen and I brought carrots and green beans. The other families brought interesting ingredients like sweet potato, squash, and pistastios. Guess what 3 of the 4 scouts put in their packets? Carrots and green beans. Ahh, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.

After we ate, we held a badge ceremony for the girls. Standing around our campfire, our leaders reviewed the badges and the activities over the past year and awarded each scout their earned badges. We sang a campfire song and then celebrated with a peach cobbler cooked in a dutch oven in the campfire coals. I've got to give our leaders credit. They can cook at a campsite. Me, I'd be eating granola three meals a day. However, for future reference, the delicious pasta in a pesto sauce, while tasty, was a horror to clean up. The olive oil didn't want to rinse away in our less-than-sophisticated camp sinks. (Remember, running water is a good thing, running hot water is even better.)

Afterward, Gwen and I tempted fate by sleeping in the tent with the rain flap off. We really slept under the stars and the moon crept in through the trees to light the tent so brightly I could almost read by it. Lovely.

And, tomorrow I will tell you about our second day camping.

Need a stylist? Call Caitlin!

I just had to post this photo.

And just so you know, Jeff loved every minute of it.

Photos from backstage at Caitlin's Dance Recital

I waited with Caitlin and her friends backstage for the 7pm dance recital. Caitlin and her friend from the Lyrical dance class started dancing around, just making stuff up. They were so cute, I had to take a few photos.

PS Jeff took recital photos with his professional camera. Those will be coming soon!

First Harvest

For dinner we had my favorite swiss chard dish and the swiss chard came from my garden! Now that's local!

Yeast rolls in summer

Note to self: when making yeast bread dough and the temperature is 90 degrees in the shade, reduce the rise time significantly, or the dough plumps up over the edge of the bowl and gets thoroughly out of control.

AND ..... I'm done!

Caitlin had her dance recital tonight. For the afternoon performance she danced with her jazz class to the song "Splish Splash" and with her friend Lyra in the Lyrical class's performance of "Shadow of the Day". She did a repeat of the Lyrical performance in the evening show. She was just wonderful. After the first performance, she was convinced that the Lyrical dance was terrible. She was in tears. But, after an ice cream (which does wonders for just about any problem) and a very helpful talk with my friend Maureen about how every dancer feels that they didn't perform perfectly but the audience never knows, she really perked up. For the evening performance, she danced almost exactly the same moves, but with a new level of confidence. She left that stage really proud of herself and it was a wonderful thing to see.
So, after softball, dance classes, softball play-offs, recital rehearsals, end-of-the season softball parties, and recitals, I am done. I am so happy to be done. I think I might actually have 15 minutes of calm and quiet tomorrow. I really hope so.

Awesome Mother's Day

Jeff and the girls gave me an awesome Mother's Day. It started with breakfast in bed, including delicious eggs, toast, coffee, and a vase full of beautiful buttercups from our field.


Then I got my gifts. One was the incredibly cool and fast camera that I used to take a picture of the buttercups. The other? It seems like it was created just for me. Chocolate - yes. And, the shape, you wonder? The chocolates were in the shape of a HIGH HEELED SHOE!!! No way, you say? True story. Check out the picture. (Also taken with the fantastic camera!)



See. I kid you not. Carrie Bradshaw, eat your heart out.

Bedtime story switchup

I had a little bit of a headache tonight so I laid down for a little bit. Around Caitlin's bedtime I got up so I could read her a bedtime story. Caitlin had another idea. "Here Mom, you lay down on my bed and I'll sit in the chair and read to you." And she did. She read to me from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. And I curled up on her bed and nearly fell asleep. (FYI, I did rouse myself and tuck her in instead.)

Gwen's First Softball Game - Ever

Gwen's team had their first softball game today. It was really fun. The girls have only had two weeks of practice and have come really far. And the coach is just wonderful. She completely focuses on athletics, sportmanship, and fun. It really isn't about winning and the girls really know that.

Here are a few pictures of Gwen warming up.

Dying Eggs - Yellow/Yellow Orange

I wanted to figure out how to dye Easter eggs using natural dyes. My first attempt this year was somewhat mixed so I wanted to do proper experiments to figure out the best formulas, or at least, formulas that work.

Here are the results of my experiment to dye hard-boiled eggs with yellow/yellow-orange dye from yellow onion skins.

1. Pour three cups of water into a small stainless steel pot and add a large handful of yellow onion skins.


2. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Strain out the onion skins. The resulting liquid was dark orange.


3. I divided the dye into three cups. The first one was the plain dye, the second one had 1/8 cup white vinegar added, the third one had 1/4 cup of white vinegar. To each cup I added one already hard-boiled egg.

4. After five minutes in the dye, this is what the eggs looked like. The left most one is the plain dye. It was a very light yellow. The eggs in the vinegar solution were light orangy.


5. Here they are after another five minutes.


6. After a total of 15 minutes here are the eggs.
Just the onion dye:


With 1/8 cup vinegar:


With 1/4 cup vinegar:



As you can see the eggs with the vinegar solution turned a darker orangey color, but the vinegar also started to dissolve the eggshell. It was easy to rub the color (and part of the eggshell) off the shell.

7. Final result after 20 minutes in the dyes:
So, the vinegar free solution was the winner.

Whew!

I had a harp gig at the Bowie Senior Center today that I was a little worried about. It has been really crazy at work with unexpected rushed deadlines and I haven't had time to practice as much as I'd like. In spite of that (and my persistent stage fright), it went really well. I think it was one of my most solid performances. And I enjoyed playing for the seniors and volunteers. They were a very kind and appreciative audience. Now, I have to knuckle down and get some of those tunes recorded here to share with you!

Spring Break Ice Skating

We signed the girls up for ice skating lessons this week. The girls really enjoyed it and learned alot.

Gwen knew how to stay up on her skates, but now she can really move.


Caitlin used to be very afraid of the ice. Now she can skate without holding anyone's hand.


She can even touch her toes while skating. Her instructor said she had great balance and flexibility.

All Creatures Great and Small

I was working in the garden today sifting the compost. Now, our compost is great. It has about equal portions dirt and earthworms. Earthworms are great for the garden, but the process of sifting the compost, however, is not great for the worms. Caitlin feels a personal obligation to rescue each and every worm from each scoop of compost that I put in the sifter. Every. Single. One. My daughter, the fairy-princess daughter, who judges clothing on its twirling potential, loves earthworms and cannot abide the idea of one becoming mush. And so, the sifting took a very long time. (At least while she was looking.)

I earned an exercise pass for the night as well. I took out our last thorny Japanese barberry bush, including the root. It was not easy. I am always amused at the gardening catalogs that show perfectly coiffed women in spotless pastel pantsuits kneeling on a padded bench amongst a bounty of blossoms holding a delicate pair of garden shears. Ha! In my yard, gardening is a full-contact sport. There is dirt, there is sweat, there is elbow-grease, there are mud-encrusted shovels and fearsome bypass loppers, there are shouts of challenge, of victory, and occasionally (especially when there are sticker bushes involved) there is blood.

And speaking of thorny bushes, what were the previous owners thinking!?! Who plants Japanese barberry? Those are some of the wicked thorns I've ever met. Needle-sharp and designed to pierce even the sturdiest garden gloves. Why? Clearly it was planted by people who hire lawn care services and spend the summer admiring their manicured yard from the comfort of their air-conditioned home. No one who actually spends time IN the yard, say playing baseball, catch, or soccer would plant child-hungry bushes everywhere.

Well, I'm done and I have totally earned the gorgeous chocolate mousse cup that Jeff brought me from Bonaparte Bread. And after I eat it, I may have to exercise anyway. Or find someone else with a Japanese barberry that needs taking down.

Easter photos

Whoo-hoo! The Easter bunny came!Ooh! What is this fun thing?
We are silly!
Easter egg hunt!
I think I see some!
Let's go to Uncle Dave & Aunt Judy's for Ben & Renee's baby shower.

And, of course, we should try out the trampoline and make sure it is still working.
Yep, works just fine. Whee!

This is what a ten year old looks like

Sorry I am a little behind on posting these. This is a photo of Gwen taken on the morning of her 10th birthday.

She has grown up so much but she is still my little girl. Hey Gwen, how old are you?

This many!

Recipe for a Bike Rider

Caitlin learned to ride a bike this week - without training wheels.

At first I tried to help her by running along side holding up the bike, but that wasn't working. She felt very tippy and that scared her. (Read that as she was screaming and crying at every little bump and wobble.)

So, I had a new idea and it worked like a charm. Here's my recipe for biking success.

1. Get a good bike. For Caitlin, this meant trading in the steel tube 60lb el cheapo bike from Toy'R'Us for a super-lightweight aluminum bike from a real bike store. Caitlin just couldn't pedal a bike that weighed more than she did. And, the nice folks at the local bike store (Race Pace Bikes) have a fantastic buy-back policy. When Caitlin out-grows that bike, we'll trade it in and our total cost will be less than what the steel tube bike cost.

2. Spend a little time with the training wheels. Caitlin spend one summer with training wheels and that taught her how to pedal, brake, and steer.

3. Here's my secret ingredient - when you take the training wheels off, don't pedal the bike: scoot. I lowered the seat so that Caitlin's feet could be firmly on the ground on each side. Then we found a nice level place to practice. She pushed off with her feet and just tried to keep the bike from tipping. Her feet were close to the ground and caught her from falling. Eventually, she really understood what it felt like to balance on two wheels.

4. Start to pedal.

5. And you're done!

Caitlin went from completely unable to balance to riding very confidently in five days.

She is so proud of herself and so are we!

Spring Training Princess Style

King of the house warms up for a pitch.



The princess swings, it's a hit!



Rounding the bases! The crowd goes wild!

And now for a Gwen story as reported by Jeff: Gwen was pitching a fit for running a little bit late for school. As they pulled into the lot, Jeff said, "See we're not late, the buses are still here." Gwen retorts, "Dad, those are the late buses!"

If she ever becomes a lawyer, I pity her courtroom opposition.

Just for fun

From the Praire Home Companion - Pretty Good Jokes show:

"Case of Viagra stolen by hardened criminals."

Did you laugh?

Ice Skates

Are ice skates "shoes"?

I hope not, because if they are, I broke my "buy no clothing/shoes/accessories" vow. But, to be honest, none of my other shoes will really work out on the ice.

Here's how it started.

Last Saturday, Gwen got invited to an ice skating birthday party. Caitlin was so jealous that I took both her and Gwen ice skating on Sunday. I had such a good time that I went to the 12-2 open session on Monday while the girls were in school. In fact, I went the next day and the next. It was so much fun. And, as we are gym members, it was free except for the skate rental. So, I elimated that problem by buying my own pair. And I was tired of the rental skates chaffing my feet.

I went in with the intention to buy the least expensive beginner skates I could. But then, the salesman gave me his schbeal and asked me some questions. Beginner skates are fine for basically going straight on two feet. "Do you want to jump or spin?" he asked.

"Is the Pope Catholic?" I thought.

"Do bears poop in the woods?" I thought.

"What on earth would I want with skates that only let you go straight-ish?" I thought.

"Heck yes!" I said.

That fact that, any attempt to jump or spin would right now land me on my butt, or in the hospital, or both, not withstanding, I want to learn how to do all those things.

So, now I have what could best be described as "hopeful beginner skates." They were the cheapest pair with a chance of success at jumping or spinning. And now, Jeff and I are both signed up for lessons! I can't wait! Wish me luck!

BTW, Mom and Dad, if you are reading this, rest assured the ice rink is a mere 4.2 miles from the nearest hospital.

Caitlin has a new smile!

Caitlin lost her first tooth today. It was quite an exciting event. It came out at the orthodontists' office while Gwen was having her braces adjusted. If you plan to lose a tooth and your not at home, the orthodontists' is a great place to be. There were sinks and dixie cups for rinsing right there!

Afterward, Caitlin had her ballet/jazz class. She is so amazing at dance. During their creative dance section, she did dramatic pose after dramtic pose right in the front of the class and in keeping with the dramatic moments of the song.. Then she got down on the ground and did "Nutcracker - Arabian Dance"-inspired moves. This stuff is way beyond your typical six-year-old. I so enjoyed watching her!

Blizzard of aught-10

We are totally, deeply, buried in snow. That isn't to say we haven't been having fun. Check out these pictures!

Here's our street!

When I suggested to Gwen that she put on her snowsuit and go have fun she said, "It's cold, Mom!". Can I argue with that? No.

But Caitlin was ready to go. She had a blast in the snow.

To fully appreciate this picture, notice that Caitlin has on a complete snowsuit, whereas Jeff is just wearing jeans and has been working in the snow for the past hour.


So we stayed cozy inside and did a lot of cooking.

BTW, Gwen took this photo. Pretty good, yes?

New York City

Jeff, the girls and I just returned from a weekend trip to New York City. Jeff had a conference there last week and the girls and I took a train on Friday to spend the weekend there with him. We had a fabulous time. The girls loved the train ride up, but the subway was so noisy and bustling that it was a little overwhelming. Since it was so crazy cold, we decided against our original plan to see the Statue of Liberty, but we went to the American Museum of Natural History, the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, and the American Girl Store. We took a cab ride across the famous Brooklyn Bridge and we ate some awesome pizza (and soup) at Franny's in Brooklyn. We saw the outside of St. Patrick's Cathedral and we saw the skating rink at Rockefeller Center.

Caitlin and I went to Broadway to see the Lion King. It was fantastic. I am ruined for all future Broadway shows, it was that good. We had a bit of an adventure getting there though. I originally thought the show time was 1:30pm, but realized that it was really a 1pm show just as we were getting on our subway train. Caitlin and I sprinted the four blocks from the Times Square subway to the theater and sat down just as the lights dimmed. After the first song Caitlin turned to me with big eyes and said "That was amazing." Direct quote. And that was just the beginning. We laughed, we trembled, we cried, we cheered. The Lion King should win every musical theatre award ever invented, starting with music, costumes, and scenery. Wow! Just wow!

Jeff and Gwen, however, did not want to attend because they consider musicals on par with waterboarding as a form of torture. (They don't know what they are missing.)

Oh, and funny Gwen story: We sat down in the hotel restaurant for lunch. While we were waiting for our food to arrive, Gwen picked up and studied the selection of jams in little individual containers on the table.

I asked, "So Gwen, which jam would you like the best?"

Without missing a beat, she said "None of them. They all have high fructose corn syrup."

Dear advertising-industry-that-tries-to-get-kids-to-eat-junk-that-isn't-good-for-them,

There is one kid in America that you have no control over. She's onto you. She can't be fooled. And if you ever meet her in a court of law, you are going down.

Love, Gwen's mom

Jeff - 12, Skating Rink - 1

Today was just pretty darn wonderful. One of the highlights was Caitlin's gullibility. It started when Jeff complained that one of his ears was hurting near the outer ear. I asked Caitlin to get the flashlight to I could take a look. As I turned it on and directed it to Jeff's ear, he says to Caitlin "Look in the other ear and you'll see the light come out the other side." She shouted "COOL!" and peered in the opposite ear. Jeff and I were in stitches!

Then we went to the local gym that we finally decided to join. We get in the indoor pool and Caitlin's lips immediately turn blue. It was plenty warm for doing laps, but it was turning Caitlin into a popsicle. So, we took her and Gwen to KidSpace, the attended playroom for the kids. They wanted to play for a while but Jeff and I had not brought any gym clothes. We thought we were going to be swimming for a while. Since it was our first day there, we took ourselves on a little tour and ended up in the skating rink. Despite having NEVER skated before, Jeff was up for it. We rented skates in the most eye-searing color you can imagine, proof against skate-lifting I'm sure, and headed for the hard-wood. Jeff wibbled and wobbled and managed to make it around the rink at least a dozen times, only going down once. It was actually great fun. We had a blast.

That done, we took the kids home and washed up just in time for the babysitter to come over. We were having dinner with friends at a restaurant that hasn't made up its mind whether it want to be "India Delight" or "Royal Taj". Despite its indecision, it was fabulous food and I finally got to meet the man Jeff has been working with so much, John Conroy. He is clearly one of the smartest people out there, but he and his wife, Julie, were absolutely charming and easy to get to know. We had a wonderful time.

Now we've tucked the children in bed and I've got a lemon bread baking in the oven. Sadly, it isn't for me, but for the African-American Read-In volunteers who are donating their time to the girls school tomorrow. But I can enjoy the scent of it baking!

Look out Julia Child

Today has been a cooking day. First I made Ratatouille from Julia Child's recipe. I've made the recipe in the Moosewood cookbook and it doesn't come out nearly as good. Of course, Julia's recipe took 3 hours from start to finish, but wow, the TASTE! Jeff went crazy for it.

Then, I got to have dessert - homemade yogurt. I started it last night and the recipe was shockingly simple; just organic 2% milk and a litttle yogurt starter. I brought the milk to a boil, let it cool, stirred in the starter, poured into sterilized jelly jars. To keep it at the optimum temperature, I put the jars in a cooler wrapped up in kitchen towels and with a warmed up cherry pit pillow. I sealed up the cooler, went to bed, and hoped for the best. This morning I popped the still warm jars into the fridge. And after dinner tonight I topped the thick, creamy yogurt with fresh strawberries and a little agave nectar. It was really good. Feel free to stop by for a sample, there is plenty more!

Bon Appetite!

Smile Under Construction

Gwen finally got braces put on her upper front teeth. We are all looking forward to seeing her new improved smile. She is being a real trooper about the tender teeth and the dietary restrictions. In fact, I'm a little surprised she can eat anything at all given all the metal in her mouth right now. But, I think we are going to see a big payoff in the long run.

Music sample 1: Take 2

I THINK I got this music file to be downloadable. Click here:
Star of the County Down
and hope for the best.

Testing 1, 2, 3

As promised, I have been working on recording my harp music. I'm trying to provide a little sample here, but blogger won't let me publish a music file. It will however, let me publish a movie, so I had to pick an image, add the music, and save as a video file. So, I'm crossing my fingers and hoping this works.

Hmm. Not working so much.

Ok, I'll give this another shot after I get some sleep. Goodnight!

Wiggle news

Big news here at our house: Caitlin has her first loose tooth. And that girl is beyond excited. She is practically vibrating out of our dimension. She got to share the news with friends and teachers at school today and I am fairly certain that no one was missed. And now all of cyberspace knows the big news.

She's a dancer!

Due to scheduling issues, we enrolled Caitlin in a Lyrical dance class instead of ballet. This style of dance is very flowing and interpretive and emotional. Caitlin LOVES it. This is what she dances like when she is at home and music is playing. This just comes naturally to her. I can't wait till the spring recital, Caitlin is going to be in dance heaven. Music, dance, costumes, make-up, stage lights! Does it get any better?