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.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
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!
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!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
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.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
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!)
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.
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.
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.
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!)
Friday, September 17, 2010
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.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
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:
Then the girls, including our only FireFly scout, learned about strategies for building a good campfire. Check out their hard work:
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