Tsk tsk

Shame on me for slacking off here.

New Hampshire was a blast. A whirl of delicious food, stunning views, constant cricket song, kids so cozy, and a kickass pond with a rock perfect for jumps.

We stopped in to join Julie, Mike and Cam for dinner on our way home. The next day, Mike D. came for a visit. Our time together was full of sharing, listening, eating, and laughing.

Yesterday was Christmas in August. Cap and I went to see the Sox lose to the Yanks (a picture perfect day for a game, which was, as predicted, quite the pitcher's duel). The kids spent the day with Takai, Lisa and Ellie. My brother took them out for lunch at a kaiten (revolving) sushi place and they swam in the pool at Lisa's mom building (a sweet heated outdoor pool with views of the Manhattan skyline). Later we all met up at P.F. Chang's for dinner.

In between I've been wrestling with a secret knitting project and let's just say it's been an "opportunity for learning and growth". I think (hope) the steepest of learning curves are behind me and look forward to settling in with this project soon.

Off to pick up Cap from the office and to purchase a new vacuum cleaner. The experience of rearranging the nest and the major dustage that ensued has me rethinking our health and habits. Upright vacuum for our predominantly wall-to-wall carpets, here we come. (This is the first place we've lived in that has WTW carpeting---you live and learn, yes you do.)

Pictures soon.

Overnight

We're hoofing it to New Hampshire after all. Back tomorrow night. It'll be good to drink in some New England country air.

I had a long overdue fit of cooking yesterday powered by Trader Joe's dark choco sea salt covered almonds (I love this store): carrot tofu scramble, potato salad, roasted potatoes, Lady and the Tramp meatballs, a big batch of brown rice... I couldn't get to the banana bread, but that's okay.

I was so tired from my period, but somehow that primal we're- going- somewhere- unfamiliar- in- the- middle- of- nowhere- and- I- don't- know- whether- my- kid- will- have- enough- to- eat thing kicked in and it got me going.

I cast on a special something last night, 146 stitches, and am loving the Addi Turbos.

Watched Dan in Real Life to chill out before bed and enjoyed it.

Oh, the open house for the democratic school was a dud, unfortunately...

Zodiac

Ooh, the thrillingest movie I've seen in a long while, hands down. And shoulders clenched and eyes peeking through a lattice of fingers and heart thump-thump-a-thumpin'. It is about trying to figure out the identity of a serial killer, so Barb needs to have the remote quite handy for this one. But, it is so worth it if you can get past that. The performances were smooth (with one of my top misters, Mark Ruffalo) and the directing, editing and cinematography were sensational.

It was a good day. Cap's back home and I got to go out alone for a bit. I hit the kids' consignment shop and picked up a bunch of pants and Hanna pjs. Also a pair of black rubber boots coolly decorated with skulls and cross bones and grey wings that I told Sag he'd either love or hate. (He hated them...but I think he might grow to like them :-)

Then I went to the yarn store. Mmmmm. I just love going to the yarn store. Can't go into much detail here right now, but I am excited about my purchases and upcoming projects. I bought my first skein of Malabrigo and I love it. Can't wait to see how it knits up. Also my first skeins of Noro Cash Iroha. Same thing, can't wait to get 'em on my needles. Speaking of needles, I also picked up my first set of metal needles. They're a circular pair of Addi Turbos which some claim are the creme de la creme. I'm usually a bamboo girl, so we'll see how the metal works out.

Back home, the kids' room is nearly ready for them. Gem went through his massive collection of Ben 10 store stock (the other three have abandoned this ship and Gem has taken over the whole operation) and now they are neatly stored in five plastic tubs. Tomorrow we work on where these tubs will go. We may be looking at putting up a shelf in the kids' room.

We're all really enjoying the living room set up. It looks cozy and somehow feels more like home than it ever has. Our room needs a lot of attention at this point. General upkeep has fallen a bit by the wayside and Gem voluntarily cleaned the toilet this afternoon.

I got to talk to Barb around dinner time for an hour (it paid to make a phone date).

We finalized our New Hampshire plans and will spend Sunday-Monday with Mary, Nate and Saskia at Nate's mom's place on a lake.

PMS was intense there for much of the day yesterday, but like a fierce storm, it has left clear calm in its wake. I think the Evening Primrose did its job this cycle.

The external hard drives have arrived and Cap began the process of downloading our music files.

Sag and I continued our StarWars film fest (Gem is watching with us for the most part, but this is really Sag's thing). Sandy and Mike sent us the first trilogy on VHS earlier in the week and we've watched A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and are an hour into The Return of the Jedi. We're planning on finishing the trilogy tomorrow.

Also on deck for tomorrow: many loads of laundry, some food planning and prep for our trip, and an Open House for the local democratic school where we are thinking of enrolling Gem for some half days in the fall.

Why no photos

Sigh. Yes, there have been no photos this week.

Our computer is full to the gills and is no longer accepting new files. There are two external hard drives purchased and on their way. I'm looking forward to learning something new about computers and using the hard drives to store photos. This will be yet another to declutter as we have a lot of photos that were lead ups to the "good" shot and are not essential...not keepers.

There's also old crap on the hard drive that I'm sure I can chuck.

(I know I can take and upload photos to the blog bypassing uploading them to the computer, but somehow, I've just paused the process wanting to wait till it's sorted out. Sag is also in the middle of making a Star Wars movie and actively using the camera, uploading into Cap's laptop for now.)

We may buy a new computer sometime in the fall. Apparently it is not advisable to buy a new Mac right now, most of their computers are approaching the end of their cycles. If the hard drives work as well as I am hoping they will, we won't need a new computer.

Ah, the reason I can even contemplate a new computer? The freakin' IRS finally sent us a letter saying we're getting our economic stimulus check!!! This has been a saga which included an IRS employee telling me to my face that though the government makes it seem like everyone eligible is entitled to one of these checks, the truth is that not everyone is and that we would be eligible again next year. Huh?!?

My nerves and soul are clanging with the energy of PMS. I'm gulping breath and riding the waves. Off to make some tea.

Acorns and due south

Heard this morning: tiny baby acorns kerplinking and kerplunking on the roof of the porch which is right outside our second floor window. Another sign of the changing seasons.

I'm watching Due South. Paul Gross, from Slings and Arrows was the main draw, but it was created by Paul Haggis, so it had that going for it, too. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get past the LOUD, thumping, cheesy, early 90s tv soundtrack. It's enough to have to get past the LOUD shirts the American sidekick/partner gets to wear to show...I don't know, something about his character.

No worries tonight though, it's Project Runway night!

Cap's back at Jay and Amy's, Mummu is resting after having a fracking buckle put in her eye to help the retina continue reattaching. Oy.

Gem's got swollen glands now atop the low grade fever. Weekend plans to visit Mary and co. in New Hampshire are starting their slow spiral flow down the drain. I'm hoping to salvage some time with her while she's on the east coast. We'll see.

Comfort

The kids and I watched Star Wars Episode IV (that's the "first" Star Wars to most of us) this afternoon. It actually held up pretty well, and served as a reminder that clunky dialogue has always been part of the mix.

I just let the piles be for a couple of hours (my intention had been to work as they watched).

Another comforting thing? Leaning over the tub as I ran a bath for Sag, the lavender and vanilla filling my nose and soothing my nerves.

Dust

Our place looks like we just moved in. So much stuff out on the floor, on tables, on chairs, on beds, waiting for homes to be found for them. And the dust...it's bad. I'm sensitive to dust and my nose has been running for days, my sneezes voluminous in force and size.

(But it's going to kick ass when it's done.)

Mummu (Cap's mom) has been scheduled for yet another eye surgery. This is wearing the poor woman down. Cap leaves later today to chauffeur her and hold her hand.

Thanks for your comments. I read each one and they often bring a smile to my face and a warm squeeze to my heart. I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond to each one. Know that they matter :-)

I'm not sure how bloggy I'm going to be the rest of this week. My virtual haven here may have to take a back seat to real life for a bit.

Overheard

"Let's declutter clutter mountain!"

We de-bunked the kids' bunk bed a couple of days ago. I think their room is going to look great. They are very excited, especially Gem, who was overheard making the exclamation above referring to a pile of stuff that needs to be sorted, decluttered, and given new homes in the altered configuration of their room. (The boy speaks the truth thanks to Clean House :-)

Paper, string, glue, wind

Our annual kite flying afternoon with Sayoko was yesterday. She visits NYC every summer from her home in Japan with boxes of handmade kites imprinted with love and her message of peace. She gives away kites to anyone who wants one (we supply the markers for decorating and message writing). These outings are so refreshing on many levels.

Sag was a little serious and Gem was a little silly yesterday.

Sandy was delighted towards the end of the afternoon when Gem actually, possibly without even realizing what he was doing (if you know him, you know what I mean), leaned into her and made unguarded physical contact. Oh, she grabbed her moment in his sun and made it last, collecting some giggles and much protest along the way.

A summer night and early morning after

The kids were waiting for Michael Phelps to come on the tube, but bedtime came first, even with an Olympics extension. (We taped the events so they can watch them this morning.)

I woke to Sag's tearful cries at 6:15am when he discovered his in-progress legos x-wing fighter which had been put back together not-quite-right by his father who had knocked it over last night as he dashed to the couch to catch Michael Phelps' IM race right after I finished watching the pilot episode of Due South. (That was a long sentence. Catch your breath.)

Turns out I am an ace legos helper. I've had to hit the ground running he has fallen so in love with this medium. Sag is back to singing and humming Weird Al's Star Wars themed American Pie song. On heavy rotation in his soul these days.

Me, I'm going to sit back and enjoy the quiet hour or so we'll have together while the other two snooze. Maybe get some qi gong in, revel in the cool early morning air, and hope that I find my cell phone charger which has been MIA since returning home Sunday.

Polliwogery rules

The kids are loving the pool at the Y.

Today they tried Youth Swim for the first time. Kids in the pool with life guards on call. Parents and guardians in the observation area. They are so comfortable and confident in the water, what a transformation. Especially for Gem.

Yet another reminder of the need to respect his pace. To not rush him. To decipher what it is that makes him feel the way that he does (and not push him.) Because it's almost always simple, but often times not obvious. (And so many of us, well meaning as we may be, tend to try to understand things via the obvious so much of the time.)

It was interesting to see him flapping his hands away poolside at times during the hour of free swim. He still does that when truly stoked.

Our version of Olympic fever

A nice thing about having cable tv. The kids and I have been catching bits and pieces of the Beijing games since returning home.

This afternoon we saw Becca Ward, a homeschooler, and her women's fencing team win the team bronze. We're watching the Japanese and Chinese men's volleyball game as I type.

We've also caught some swimming, synchronized diving, gymnastics and baseball.

Legos and whittling

Legos have finally "arrived". This last one was the visit that hooked Sag into legos and Star Wars, two of Will's passions.

Gem discovered $20 in their room yesterday, most likely the money left for the kids from the Halloween fairy in exchange for their candy (who is this magical being so flush with cash?)

So with his half, and what was left of his own money and with a little help from us, Sag bought his first Star Wars legos set. He's been building and tinkering ever since.

Gem learned firsthand how to whittle from Will and Brent. I ordered him smooth and serrated edge pocket knives from L.L.Bean. The serrated edge one arrived yesterday and he immediately set about working with it.

Have I mentioned Mad Men here? It's a lot of fun to watch. Season 1 is available on Netflix, season 2 is currently airing on AMC.

The piles of stuff in my home, on floors, on tables, on pretty much every surface, are a drain and a strain, but nothing new there.

The now

Parts of me are shifting gears for fall, while I remain tuned into what is very much August.

The kids have a terrific swimming teacher at the Y. I introduced myself to her yesterday and discovered she is planning on teaching in the fall around her college studies schedule.

We're scheduled for peace kite flying Saturday. Sayoko will be returning from Japan with her wonderful kites.

Mary will be making her annual trip out east with Nate and Saskia. We're driving up for a weekend of New Hampshire lake fun.

For the fall, I am thinking of enrolling Gem in a local free school part-time. He has been "bored" a lot since turning 8 and I think a change of scenery may do him some good. The philosophy is free, but there is tuition, so there will be some figuring going on.

Sag is saying he wants to stop drumming class.

I am facing a couple of new knitting projects, woolly challenges that hint at cooler times.

The car is in middle age, the computer is in middle age...life around here is not feeling so shiny and new. But, not terrible, either.

We're back

Here are photos from our lovely week in Massachusetts. Thank you, so much, to Karen, Brent and the kids for their generous and delicious hospitality.

Knex radar dish movie

Quiet on the blog front

The kids and I will be gone for 9 days. We'll be enjoying some R&R at Karen and Brent's next week. Today will be spent packing and preparing. The cicadas are relentless these days around here. It's hot, muggy, sunny...a true summer.

Cap and I had some alone time in Manhattan this week and spent about an hour browsing here. It was a version of heaven for me.

I caught up on the first season of Mad Men and enjoyed it.

Hosted a lovely co-op dinner Wednesday night: Finnish carrot pancake, purple cabbage cole slaw, African peanut kale-pineapple-peanut stew, brown rice, chocolate chip cookies and iced peppermint tea with agave. Yum.

My first set of DPNs (double pointed needles) are purchased and waiting for me to cast on to knit my first hat (this one's for Gem). Wendy forwarded me the link to the website of the folks who made the needles and it is worth sharing here for this photo.

Travel plans have unexpectedly and quickly coalesced. Barb and Audrey are flying me out to Oakland in September because B's back is not predictably well enough for her to plan to travel east this fall, and Cap and I will use our time share week (a family gift) for a weekend away in Atlantic City of all places, later on in the fall :-)

(I wanted to go somewhere with ocean and good food, that was not more than a couple hours drive and was somewhere we'd never been before. And, of course, had to have a participating hotel.)