We Are The World

With all the press surrounding Michael Jackson's death, and everyone reliving their favorite Jackson memories, I know that whenever I think of Michael Jackson I immediately think of the "We are the world" project he spearheaded. I think it was 1985. When the most brilliant artists around got together to help curb famine in Africa....they even formed their own "band" called USA FOR AFRICA.

I want to add two points about MJ before I go on
1. There is no WAY....not even for a second....that I believe Michael Jackson ever raped any children. And I am totally serious. The unfortunate part about teaching high school is that I have to tell my students that "Michael Jackson was ALSO a singer, ya know!" It sucks that part of his legacy will be tarnished by these money-hungry parents using their kids as a commodity (oh wait...are we talking about Jon and Kate?). MJ was amazingly talented, and I dont even think we'll realize just HOW talented he was until years from now when we look back at what he did.

2. I give the press about 9 or 10 more days until someone looking for their 15 minutes of fame comes forth with some conspiracy theory (a-la-Elvis) about how Jackson faked his own death, is really alive and hanging out with former "father in law" Elvis who is also still not dead. We'll see it all over the tabloids at Hannaford. "Hannaford," for you out of staters, is "Mainespeak" for "supermarket."

WE ARE THE WORLD....

I went and did a little research on WATW yesterday, watching the video, reading about the project, etc. Apparently, NOTHING in terms of charity events since then has even come close to generating as much money (or buzz) as the WATW project. And we've had lots of stuff from Farm-Aid to the 9/11 concert for freedom, to that thing they did for the thunderstorms down in New Orleans, etc. I think that is absolutely amazing. Furthermore, when you watch the video (and you can find all sorts of stuff on youtube) you begin to realize just how much sheer genius was present in one room at the same time....all working on music: Quincy Jones, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen, etc. It was amazing! But then, somehow, Dan Ackroyd weaseled his disheveled, unfunny self into the mix; I have no idea why, and I never knew this before, but you can clearly see him in the WAYYY back of the singers on the top riser. This is interesting: Michael Jackson is paired with Tina Turner following each other with their "solos." But, originally, MJ was supposed to be paired with Prince. But......he was a no-show on the day of the recording!

I had the tape. And the poster. And I wish I kept it because I bet now it gets big bucks on ebay!!

A funny "feature story" news headline might read: "Over 20 years later, Phil Collins still sore about not being invited to WE ARE THE WORLD." I can see that in theonion.com or something!

Do you know what I mean??

Who the heck gave Cyndi Lauper her own solo in this song?

Why did MJ used to wear jackets that made him look like Prince Charles?

Does everyone just EXPECTED that Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles were close friends, since they were both piano players, both black, and both blind? That sucks if its true; I wonder if they got annoyed at the way everyone just assumed they were close. I wonder if they actually hated each other since people probably expected them to "do stuff" together like make Christmas albums, do "blind tours," etc. Ray Charles had a cool "situation" going, being a musical prodigy AND blind; he probably thought he had it made-in-the-shade since he was one in a million. THEN comes along Stevie Wonder....Charles was probably pissed! What the hell are the odds of THIS happening, AND his last name is "Wonder??" he probably thought to himself. That might be why (and when you watch the video, you'll notice) Ray Charles is in a completely different room. Maybe he couldnt stand being next to Wonder.

The Amazing Things Callum Did

Callum's two favorite things: Kitty and keys....




When I was younger, my dad brought me home this book from the Boston Public Library called : The Amazing Things Maui Did. I dont really remember much from it, except that the illustrations were beautiful and this kid "Maui" did all kinds of cool stuff....it was like a Hawaiian folktale kind of thing. Anyway, I thought the title of this blog appropriate because, lately, Callum is doing so many awesome things that, to us, defy ordinary in every way! I know I am biased, but I really do think that, for just turning one two weeks ago, he is VERY smart (I'm talking Annapolis material here!) Here is a list of some (specific) things he does!

1 When asked what a kitty says, he says "MEEEOH" (he can't do the "ow" sound yet I guess)
2 Whever he sees a dog, or you ask him what a puppy says, he says "ruff ruff"
3. He can tell you what a "snake" says (ssssssssssssssss) as he shows you all his teeth in the process
4 If you ask him what a cow says (or if he hears a motorcycle...which I guess, to him, sounds like the low toned sound of a cow) he looks at you and says a clear "moooooo."
5. He (sometimes) oinks if you ask him what a pig says
6. He LOVES Elmo....and I am not just saying that. This. kid. loves. Elmo. We watch youtube videos, Sesame street, look at his Elmo birthday card he got, play with his "Hokey Pokey" Elmo, etc. He points and screams "MELMO"
7. He shakes his head "NO" if you ask him the following question: "Do you like the Yankees Callum??" (I am most proud of that)
8. Whenever he sees a truck or a car, he points and goes "voom voom!" Also, he plays with his trucks and his cars on the floor, pushing them around saying the same thing
9. He broke our computer--the one I am on right now, actually: In an attempt to "grab" Elmo off the computer screen, he lunged at the keyboard and tore off the "D" and the "R." Amanda got the D on (thats what she....) but the R is seemingly broken, and it is a pain in the butt to type anything with the R in it. (By the way "IT" George....do you know how to put keys back on??"
10. He fixes stuff: We have 3 cordless phones. One of these lives in the basement den. It hadn't worked in a year and a half. Callum loves to play with the phone, preferably pushing buttons while his Nannie or Papa are on the other end. We gave him the "broken" phone to play with (it wouldnt even turn on....despite all our attempts to fix it). In less the 5 minutes the phone was working again, and it still works great!
11. When he sees a picture of a fridge, he points and goes "YUM YUM!"
12. He makes prank calls: When he does play with the phone, he many times presses random, arbitrary numbers (usually a bunch of 3,s, 6s, and 9s for some reason!) We always get a kick out of all the numbers he punches in, and we love hitting "redial" to hear the numbers play back. One evening, just as we were sitting down to eat, and Callum was playing with the phone, we heard the phone start "ringing" on the receiver: Callum had typed in 7 numbers....that just happened to be the correct exchange and final 4 digits of a Portland number! Anyway, the man (Callum's new friend "Richard" ) called back wanting to know why we had called him because he saw our number on his caller ID. I (feeling stupid and embarrassed) explained the situation to him, and he laughed for a whole minute, thinking it was the funniest thing he'd heard in a long time. We ended up talking for a couple of minutes actually....he was telling me about when his kids were little. It was kind of cool, and kind of weird at the same time. His final words to me before we got off: "Well...enjoy all these little things he does, because my youngest is now 24....and tell him his 'prank grandfather' Richard says good night!"

Meanderings 51

1. We live in a country where the two top rated news stories of the moment are:
a. the divorce of two selfish idiots who took needless fertility drugs in order to bring more kids
into an already overpopulated world...and then exploited the hell out of said kids in order to
make a ton of money, buy a huge, ostentatious house, get tummy-tucks and hair plugs, rent
bodyguards, and then bang the bodyguards which, in turn, was a cause of said divorce.....

b. the "free" elections of the latest jihad country to piss everyone off. (hint: you probably
arent going to have free elections in a country that has a "SUPREME LEADER" in the first
place....are we in Star Wars for crying out loud????) Why do we continue to take them
seriously??

2. Seafood is really really expensive, no? And, as one may notice, it seems to get more expensive the closer you get to the place from whence it comes: Seaside fish places are always more expensive. Kind of funny. But here is my question: Why is tuna fish, in a can, so INEXPENSIVE?? I mean, you can buy a can of tuna fish for 59 cents. But tuna NOT in a can is like 1000% more expensive. Why?? Even "frozen" fish is still pretty expensive. It kind of makes me concerned about what they do to it to make it so cheap.....

3. I saw an ad/coupon for dog treats. The "sales gimmick" slogan of the ad said "crunchy on the outside, with a chewy surprise inside." And then I began to think: Everything is a surprise to a dog. It doesnt take a lot to trick these animals up, ya know? I wonder if the dog really gets surprised and says "HOLY CRAP, I didnt expect THAT at all!!" I just dont see dogs (as great as they are) as being animals with that level of cognitive insight

4. In the same stack of coupons from last Sunday's paper, there was an ad for a ceramic Irish "gnome" you could buy to put with all the other chatckas you dont know what to do with. Interestingly, this little Irish gnome advertised how he came with a "certificate of authenticity." Ya know....there are a LOT of "poser" Irish gnomes out there!! I pray that my family never fall victim to "Irish Gnome Fraud."

5. Someone in the "snack food lobby" in Washington needs to do something about pretzel sticks ending up in bags of Chex Party mix, "Munchies," and other snack-like mixtures. Besides being the "Quiddich" (blatant FILLER....and the reason I didnt read any of the other Harry Crapper books) of these snack mixes, their inherent shape--which differs from everything else in the bag--really disrupts putting a "handful" of this mix in my mouth. Do you know what I mean?? Chex squares, nuts, CHEEZ-ITS, Doritos, mini-bagel chips, and other "staples" of the whole snack mix cadre are, for the most part, of the same size and shape. But then someone (someone intent on pissing people off) threw pretzel sticks into the mix, and all went to hell. The sticks simply dont "fit." You cant just take a handful and throw them in your mouth, ya know? I find myself screening my snack mix...and I have more important things to do. Obviously.....

6. I guess I am person who, by nature, doesnt do well with change....and I really get annoyed when people try to market "new" things that are really nothing special. For example, "cinnamon rolls" existed for generations and generations in American homes. But then, in the early 2000's, when places like Dominos and Pizza Slut started to make them, they were suddenly these AWESOME things that we'd been really missing out on for years. Do you know what I mean? I felt this way during the whole "chicken Caesar" wrap phase too: EVERY place in the world advertises their chicken Caesar wrap...or their lobster roll...or something like that. I just get annoyed.

But my point here is that, for a long, long time, sandwiches were around and all was well. Just regular, classic, old fashioned "sandwiches." THEN....the hippies and soccer moms had to have their "wraps" so they could more easily and conveniently bring their lunch to IKEA or someplace. Okay. Fine. Stupid idea of you ask me, but whatever. But NOW....everything has to be "flatbread." First of all, what the hell IS flatbread? Isnt all bread--when you slice it--by nature "flat?" Why do we constantly need change? IS flatbread even anything new? Or are we just fooling ourselves? I know you are reading this saying to yourself "wow....this kid needs to lighten up." But seriously...look at #1 on this list, and then do a Google search for "flatbread," and I think you'll agree that we really are a confederacy of dunces....

Trek Across Maine (Part II)

After three days of riding 180 miles across Maine, here I am about to cross the finish line in Belfast, Maine--right on the ocean! Behind me is my teammate Eric Pendleton.
Crossing this finish line was one of the most euphoric feelings I've had in a long time, and, somewhere along Route 1, about 5 miles or so from the finish, I started to get a little bit "veclempt" thinking about what we've all accomplished. To "trek" across any state would be an arduous task, but Maine presents a whole other slew of obstacles: Weather more finnicky than a Jewish mother-in-law at the Olive Garden, roads in more disrepair than Dick Cheney's soul, shoulders more uneven than Oprah's monthly weigh-in, and terrain more up and down than "Jon and Kate's" Google hits. Should I do any more comparisons? Or are we good? At any rate, Maine's bicycling terrain is very difficult, and at the risk of sounding big-headed, I am very proud of myself for what I accomplished this past weekend. And I am very proud of my team and my brother in law, because this was his 3rd time doing this!

Bicycling is an interesting and beautiful sport for the way in which it exhausts the body, yet frees the mind to think, ponder, and philosophize as one rides. Its kind of an interesting paradox; when I am running, I am totally focused on "finishing the run" and nothing else. But bicycling, for all its stresses on the body, somehow clears the mind. I can't even tell you how many world problems I solved while riding for 3 or 4 hours per day..haha. But I saw so many beautiful images on this trip: Misty fog rising and dancing between western Maine hills, turtles laying eggs in a soaking wet road shoulder, people sitting outside their houses in country villages cheering us on, the image of seeing NO images, as you were pelted constantly in the face with a seething rain, a father (bigger than me) on a "triple" bike, towing his two kids in back of him for the whole trip, and the scene of hundreds and hundreds of bicycle riders, as far as the eye could see, slowly climbing up Route 3, heading toward midcoast Maine, striving to finish the Trek.....

Here we are: The "Maiden" Trekkers at the finish line. Massey, Regan, and yours truly were first time riders. My helmet is still on, because my hair just wouldnt look right if I took it off.....


The "Team Breezemare." From left to right: Michael, Christina, Jared, Evan, Eric, Gary, Regan, and Steve. Gary (number 25) is a THIRTEEN year veteran rider of the Trek Across Maine. He is the assistant superintendent of Winslow schools. "Breezemare" means "Breezy Meadow" in Swedish. Gary's first wife passed away from cancer many years ago, and "Breezemare" was the name of their first home....as their big front yard was made up of a....well....breezy meadow. Michael will be a senior this year at WHS, and the rest of the "kids" in the pictures are not only Gary's, but also graduates of Winslow. A fantastic bunch of people. We all crossed the finish line together.
Jon and his team started and finished earlier than our team, but he still hung out with everyone at the finish line so we could get our picture taken after. We then all went out for a good father's day lunch at Rollie's bar and grille.

Amanda is going to ride next year!!

All in all a very emotional, mind blowing, and exhausting weekend. And it was second father's day!! Callum got me a gift certificate to Mathieu's cycle....so I can go and "play" there a little bit and buy some new stuff for my bike! So now that I have the triathlon and the Trek behind me.....I can start splitting all this wood!!

Trek Across Maine (Part I)

Here are some pictures from Day 2 of the "Trek." The one above is me rolling into Colby College--roughly 120 miles into the ride. I dont think anyone in their right mind took any pictures of Day1.....probably because there was absolutely nothing to celebrate!

Day 1 started at the base lodge of Sunday River ski resort in Bethel. The National Weather Service reports that the state of Maine saw 3 inches of rain on Friday (when the ride started). I'm not going to lie and say "well....we had rain, but in the end it was kind of fun!" No. Friday was probably one of the most miserable days in recent memory: The ride was about 67 miles through mountainous terrain....in the pouring rain....and my bike computer (the thing that tells average speed, distance, mph, etc) didnt work for the first 28 miles. Being wet wasnt the real issue...I can deal with that. The problem was the danger level the rain posed. Road bike tires have zero tread on them, and travelling down rolling hills (on Maine country roads with zero shoulder and broken pavement) presented a huge technical challenge for me. But, alas, Team Breezemare did stick together. We supported each other, rode together, and all made it to UMaine Farmington that afternoon. GO BREEZEMARES!

That night I came home from Farmington (about an hour away from our house), ate probably 2000 calories from Asian Cafe, "re-carbed" with some wonderful wheat beverages, and slept in a dry and comfortable bed.

Day 2 started from Farmington, Maine, and we rolled out at about 7 that morning. It was a much better day and a much easier ride (dare I even say we saw blue skies for roughly 46 seconds!). But the ride took us through beautiful towns like New Vineyard, New Portland, Anson, Embden, Madison, Norrigewock, FAIRFIELD!, and then Waterville where we ended at Colby College. This ride was beautiful because we rode through (what I think is )the most beautiful part of the state...along the Kennebec River in "real Maine" woods!

Amanda and Callum (along with the rest of the Team Breezemare "support team") were there to greet us at the finish line. At the risk of sounding too sentimental, I can't explain how wonderful it was to cross at Colby and hold Callum....I thought of him so often during the first two days, and just thinking of him doing his funny animal noises, etc. helped me so much through the tough parts. Standing beside me is the wonderful Regan Smith, one of Winslow High's finest alums. I'll get more into the team later. ....
Winslow's Finest! From left to right, we have Regan, Chris Bertolaccini (she teaches science and coaches track at WHS), some shady guy with a cute kid, and Christina Massey, a recent grad. Massey, an outstanding track athlete, had done one previous "training ride" before starting the Trek....and she did OUTSTANDING. The same goes for Regan, who has trouble with her hip. Awesome ride!
A shot Amanda took of the "bike corral" at Colby. I think there were about 2600 people who rode the Trek this year. It was amazing to see so many people come together in a celebration of bicycling and clean air....which is why I thought it so ironic (yet so appropriate) that a Winnebago towing a car behind it had the audacity to lean on the horn in frustration as it passed me up a hill. Yeah...how's that "Kountry Air" camper doing on gas mileage for ya??
Jonathan, who rode with the "Charlie's Big Wheels" team was hanging out at Colby after the day 2 ride. We walked over to visit with him and his team at their tent, and Callum had some fun with Uncle Jon.
I'll do Part II later on. I have to go clean my bike!

Gone riding

I'll be back on the blog on Sunday night...after I finish the Trek Across Maine. I roll out tomorrow at 6am, and the forecast is calling for lots of wonderful and pleasant cold, pelting rain. This will be fantastic, especially in the western Maine mountains! So, unless Amanda posts while I am gone, I will see you all when I get back (or, more like it, you will see me....as I post some pictures, etc).

I am also on summer vacation starting today.

A few more pictures from Callum's 1st birthday party

Hi everyone. Here are a few more pictures from Callum's party on Saturday. First of all, check out these M&M's that Mel ordered for the party. Aren't they the coolest thing? Callum's face is actually on these M&M's. I felt only slightly weird while eating them. But only slightly. They're still M&M's after all. But aren't they great? Now my only problem is trying to figure out how to preserve them as a memento from his 1st birthday party. Any ideas????

Here are Callum and Grampy checking out the pictures that Grampy took during the day. I find it totally amazing how this kid can just sit still and look at a book, watch tv... he is totally engrossed in Grampy's camera. I hope he keeps his attention span...

Callum and Grammy fooling around after the party. They love to make faces with each other.

One more shot of Callum with his cupcake. I love his Birthday Boy shirt but I cannot get those chocolate frosting stains out... Oh well. Now when I see those stains I'll remember how they got there!

My little man, sitting and waiting for his cupcake.

I just can't believe that a whole year has gone by. It seems like just yesterday I was pregnant and we were just waiting to meet him. Now he is here and he is more amazing than I could ever imagine. I love you, Callum Stuart!

The big O-N-E!

I cannot believe we have a one year old son together! Although today is the actual day, his birthday party was yesterday (Saturday). Present were Grammy, Grampy, P-Pop, Uncle Jonathan, Mel, Mandy, Tony, Griffin, and Liam Pelotte. Amanda did a beautiful job getting everything ready for the party--and you'll really see her baking skills at their full fruition in the pictures below. There are a bunch of great ones, but here are just a few. I'll also be posting a "short film" (check out some of Thurston's for a good time!) of my own. All I know is that Callum's party...combined with all the rain today...combined with driving home from my Friday night camping trip at 1am on Saturday have REALLY got me beat. Luckily, this is the last week of school coming up!

Here's the big boy after his cupcake. He looks like he's had enough, dont you agree? He's also styling in his new high chair, which is one of the gifts grammy and grampy got him.

Opening some presents: Here, mommy opens up the wrapping on Callum's new puzzle, while Callum plays with some of the wrapping and tissue paper that covered the outside of it.
Callum got some cool gifts: An inflatable pool so Callum and I can have fun while mommy is at work this summer, a remote control car (that is actually a BRILLIANT invention for a little toddler to use actually!), some cool blocks, books, fingerpaints, and a huge dumptruck that can be ridden. He, however, is petrified of this dumptruck, and cries whenever we put him near it or it goes near him.

Here's the cake Amanda made. She made a smaller cake and augmented it with some awesome cupcakes, as you'll see in a second.
Callum and his buddy Liam played together a lot yesterday, and here is a neat two or three minute situation that I was privvy to: Liam had a cracker in his hand, and Callum was trying to get the cracker out of Liam's paws. It was a futile attempt, because, obviously, Liam can walk and Callum can't. BUT Liam, being the great friend he is, broke the cracker in half and gave the other half to Callum. I think I was the only one who saw this....and I am pretty sure they had no idea I was watching them. Kids are kind of cool like that, huh?
Here's a family shot: I was pretty tired from the previous night's "festivities" up in God's country, Maine. PLUS, my head hurt from the wollop I took from MIKE and his piece of wood...haha just kidding....If you blow this picture up, it is kind of funny...Callum looks like he has a lot of hair. But he doesnt in real life. Weird.
Close up of one of the monkey cupcakes Amanda made. The were awesome: She used Necco wafers for the ears, and had to do a lot of other technical stuff. While she was making them, she yelled at me every time I went near her. It was kind of like growing up with Papa Goldsmith!
The table before the festivities began....

Callum is such a happy, easy going, and gentle little boy, and we are SO PROUD of him for just being him. He never ceases to amaze us each and every single day, and I can't believe a whole year has gone by since we first brought him home from Thayer Hospital--that is a day (or days) I will never ever forget....from Amanda's water breaking just as we (the Favry's and Papa and us) were about to call in some Chinese food, to me speeding to the hospital, to seeing Callum "emerge" from Amanda and laying eyes on him for the first time....

As the Bible says, "I am among men most truly blessed."

Wednesdays with Callum #6

Hi everyone. Amanda here. What follows are some great pictures of Callum that we took today while we were home together. He is such a ham -- it makes me laugh and smile!



In this picture he's practicing for future photo shoots with his Daddy, Uncle Jason, Uncle Johnny, and Uncle Tim. You know how it goes... they all pretend that a monster is coming at them and they make goofy faces. Look out!!!

I love this picture! It's like he's trying to look all innocent but he knows he just did something he wasn't supposed to. He really didn't do anything this time - I think I just caught him at the perfect moment.

Callum's latest thing is raising his arms above his head. All we have to do is say "Reach High!" and he does!

Nice teeth.
Today Callum figured out how to put the cap on my Nalgene bottle. This kept him busy for about a half hour...

Lastly, following in the footsteps of his Mumma and Grammy, Callum seems to love puzzles. He has two books that are also puzzles, "Jigsaw Pets" and "Jigsaw Farm". Talk about a perfect combination - puzzles and books! He has just figured out how to take out the pieces. All he does is eat the pieces right now, but I'm trying to show him how to put them back into the book.

Goodnight!

FAIL

I'm finishing out the year with my freshmen by reading THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA. ALthough its not the most fascinating book, it is still, nonetheless, a book rich in literary value. I'm having the students focus in on the idea of a "Hemingway Hero;" that is a hero who learns and perseveres in the face of failure. I'm leading our discussions toward the idea of the American obsession with "failure,"and how our television shows and entertainment pursuits to a great deal focus on the failures of others. For example, from my own research going into this unit, I've found that if you google "Jon & "Kate + divorce" you get more than 600,000 hits. Likewise, do it for "A-Rod + steroids" and you get about 600k as well. The most fascinating one, for me, involved googling "American Idol + fail" and finding close to 1,300,000 hits. Obviously, we love to read about and watch others struggling. Why is that??

At any rate, my idea is really taking off, and as I was doing some other work on a powerpoint presentation, I checked out "failblog.org," which is a funny site to check out--lots of pictures and videos of others "failing." There's a link entitled "look-a-likes," and, for kicks, I clicked on it. ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS stuff, and once again made me ask the question: Why didnt John, Jay, Tim, and I go into this business a long time ago? We could totally do this stuff. (Do I hear "Hard Hats" in the distance??)

These dont necessarily substantiate the whole "fail" thing, but are funny nonetheless. ENjoy....

For you, Jason.....

Almost done.....

With school, that is! This year really did fly by, and I am really looking forward to the summer....quite simply because we really dont have anything "big" planned. And, sometimes, the "least-planned-in-advance" things work out to be the best. My seniors are all gone, but I still have four kids in my public speaking class, and I still have my one freshmen class. With the "extra" time I have, I keep busy by doing some professional development stuff, working on syllabi because that is what the Dept of Education is having us do this week, keeping my 9th graders interested in OLD MAN AND THE SEA, and bothering Mike Thurston. Next Monday is the last day of classes, and then we have four days of finals. My last day will be next Thursday, as I got special permission to miss Friday due to to the fact that the Trek Across Maine starts that day (still looking for last minute donations....let me know!)

I realized I hadnt posted any pictures from the surprise party Amanda threw for me....I was definitely shocked. I didnt think I had that many friends....haha. Uncle Jonathan brought me out to the bike shop and then for a beer while Amanda got things ready, and I returned to see a house full of friends, family, and little people.

Also, we had Taquitos.

Here are some funny pictures:



Little Liam, Callum's "daycare buddy" was very interested in Grammy Lynne....he was nodding off on her lap. Liam really likes Callum, and calls him "Ba-Ba" for some reason.
Here, Ciara looks like she usually looks when I walk in on her in the shower. Just kidding. The guy with the mind-numbing shirt on is Jesse, and the little cherub perusing the Taquitos is none other than Jackson....one of my youngest music fans! And then we have Aiden hanging out on the bench....
This photo needs a caption...maybe something about how Tony is explaining to Eric the unimportance of self grooming (wah wah wah). Meanwhile, Jane prepares some Czech Jednahupki for my party...haha
And here I am, walking in the door of my surprise party....Amanda, you totally got me and you are totally awesome. It was the best party ever. Thank you and I love you!

Tomorrow is a "Wednesdays with Callum" sort of day...so look out for that! Tonight Callum had his friend Sara babysit for him (Sara is one of my students) while Amanda and I went to a mid-week bible study at Pastor Paul's house. We'll have to do a "church blog" soon to let everyone know what is going on in our lives at the "Church of the Resurrection."

Fiber Frolic and a belated birthday dinner

Hi everyone. Amanda and here. On Saturday my mom and I met at the Windsor Fairgrounds for the 9th annual Fiber Frolic. It was a beautiful day - sunny and not too hot. We go every year and we always spend way too much money. Jared always says that I'm not allowed to buy any more yarn until I use what I already have. Obviously he doesn't have a hobby of his own and he knows nothing about needing to have a 'stash'. Deep down inside, though, I think he really likes the fact that I have so much stuff. I think he would miss it if I actually did use it all. Right, Jared?

Anyway, not only is there everything 'fiber' at this fair (yarn, fleece, rug-hooking, felting, etc... ) there are also animals from whom we get our fiber. These little guys were for sale and I thought about bringing one home for Callum. Then I remembered that we only have .24 acres.

This is a little baby alpaca that has just been sheared. Isn't the little guy cute???

Okay, this is a pretty bad picture of my mom and I. But it’s the only one I had from the day. We had just finished our walk through of all the vendors and we were just consulting our notes to see which ones we wanted to revisit. I ended up buying yarn mostly for projects for Callum and Jared. I did get one “family” thing which is a felted pumpkin. I hope it turns out okay. I think Callum will like playing with it.


When we got back to the house P-Pop, Dad, Jonathan, and Mel were there for my “better late than never” birthday dinner. I had requested Dad’s Philadelphia-style hoagies. Now, I did have pictures of them but Jared must have deleted them to make space on our memory stick so that we could take pictures at Meadowbrook Farm yesterday (see yesterday’s post for those pictures). Sorry everyone. You’ll just have to use your imaginations. But they were GOOD!!!

Uncle Jonathan and Callum played a little "reach up high!" game while Callum ate dinner. Callum is so smart...

P-Pop and Callum also got to spend some time together. Callum loves his P-Pop!

Lastly, this picture is from Sunday afternoon. Isn't Callum such a little man in his romper with the collar? Speaking of which, he is going to be ONE this Sunday. I can't even believe it has been a whole year already. It makes me cry. Stay tuned for pictures from his 1st birthday party on Saturday!

Bye.