Summer Plans??

SORRY....THE INTERNET IS TOO SLOW TODAY TO UPLOAD PICTURES....YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT TIL TOMORROW......


So, since last night we had a winter storm warning (and some parts of Maine got a ton of snow), and since right now we have a fire going (like we have for the past two nights), and since it is almost May, I thought we would ponder our summer plans. What are yours? As you know--if you know me well--I absolutely positively HATE the summer. We talk about moving to Minnesota or Alaska or Newfoundland, since we hate the heat and want as much cold weather as possible. I HATE THE SUMMER. But anyway, here is what is on tap for the Goldsmith family

1. A season pass to Lake George park, where we'll go several times per week to swim, canoe, explore bugs and fish and turtles, and stop at Oak Pond Brewery at the way back...
2. Lots of long bike rides--Amanda and I would like to do an overnight ride (not where we ride through the night, but where we stay at a hotel, with our bikes, and ride for a couple of days)
3. MS Ride for the Cure: I will be doing this in August. Last year I did the Trek Across Maine, which was awesome. But more people closer to my heart are living with MS. And not that the Lung Association (Trek fundraiser) isnt great and all.....but just dont smoke!
4. Trip to NJ to see the Real Housewives of NJ, eat crab, tour the QVC studios, and maybe get some cheesesteaks.
5. Several trips to Mt Desert Island, since Callum is now an ocean freak
6. The Adirondacks (?) We will have to see about this one. We went last year, but it is a ten hour ride. I dont know. Our heart wants to go.....
7. Visits with the Kranthonys: Hopefully no one will have to go to the ER this time, and hopefully they wont have any more ragers at their house while we are staying there (wah wah wah)
8. Camp Greenlaw. We'd love to get out and see our neighbors on China Lake more this summer. It is awesome to get out, have some drinks, and let Callum drive Uncle Dana-the-Pirate's party boat...
9. Firewood.
10. Firewood again
11. Sitting in the cool basement to escape the oppressive heat (oppressive, for me, is anything about 70)
12. Nannie is taking everyone to the cape for a week....
13. Dirty Weekend '10!!! I am greatly looking forward to this. Sometime in late August. The boys come up. We go to the Forks. The rest is privileged information.
14. VBS: Amanda and I are helping out with Vacation Bible School at church. Word is I have to dress up like a bee. A yellow bee. In tights
15. Triathlons and such and such.....

Meanderings 60-Yup......that's America....

Wow. Only 40 more meanderings more until I reach 100. At that time, I'll have a party. Most likely. Here are some things that make Americans truly "American." I have thought of all these in the past couple of days, after I observed #1....

1. I was driving home from the grocery store the other day, when I happened to drive by "South Beach Tanning" (a tanning salon, in case you havent figured that out). Standing outside the door of the salon was a chubby girl wearing clothes that were way too tight. She was texting. A chubby girl wearing too-tight clothes standing outside of a tanning salon texting. YUP, I said to myself, THAT IS AMERICA.....

2. In most any other country, when cooks make something a "salad," it usually means they are adding some type of vegetable collection to the beef or chicken or whatever.....like maybe they are adding lettuce or spinach or julienned carrots or something. You have to wonder why we are all so overweight when, in America, making something a "salad" means you simply add MAYONNAISE to it. Have a can of tuna? Want to make tuna "salad?" Add mayo. Potatoes? Add mayo, and you've now got potato salad. Same for seafood, chicken, macaroni, etc.....

3. The American restaurant-goers decency as a human being is inversely proportional to how loud they ask for chopsticks at their local Chinese restaurant. You know....so EVERYONE can see how important they are for using them. Chopsticks? Come on. Unless you use chopsticks for all your meals, all you are being is an elitist showoff. You probably order "spring rolls" instead of egg rolls too. Why does people using chopsticks bother me so much? I dont know. I think because there is this certain liberal arrogance Americans have where they have to "one up" each other as to how "cultured" they are; the usage of chopsticks is like the "poster child" for this type of haughtiness. I've actually been out to Asian restaurants with people who are appalled that I dont use them.... like if you dont use chopsticks, then you are just a fat, ignorant American carbo-addict. I mean this without the slightest bit of sarcasm: What is the advantage or reasoning behind chopsticks? If anything, it looks like rice would be the most inconvenient thing on earth to eat with two wooden sticks. But what do I know....

4. The first lesson American kids get in how much the world in which we live makes no logical sense whatsoever comes when they buy their first pack of crayolas, and see the ever present "white" crayon amidst the "real" crayons. The white crayon is the crayon who sits alone at all the junior high dances; the white crayon has probably turned emo from both the lack of attention it gets and the uselessness of its own existence. I pity the white crayon. Why does crayola include a white crayon? You can't see it on white paper, and, no matter how hard you bear down with it on colored paper, all it looks like is that you either sneezed on your construction paper and then smeared it across the 8x10....OR that a slug from your dad's tomato garden has just traversed the blank space. Either way, gross and useless.

So that is what I have been thinking about over the last two days.

Mt Desert Island Part II

The annual "moose" picture. Last year, Callum was afraid of it. This year, he thoroughly embraced it. Literally. George always dresses up the moose to reflect the season, and this year, Merlin (the name of the ebony moose) was all set to do some fishing. One of the many things we love about Callum and his language is the way he "itemizes" everything. What I mean by that is that, when he talks, he is so complete and thorough in including everything when he says HI or BYE. When we would leave to go to the park or to eat dinner, Callum would start his goodbyes--"bye bye Moose....bye bye Moose bag....bye bye moose hat....bye bye moose fish rod...." and so on...

We took a short hike to "Wonderland," which is about a mile or so of nice, flat woodlands that lead out to a beautiful stretch of harbor just beyond Seawall. I believe that is Cranberry Island in back of us, out to sea (where else would an island be though!?) We loved combing the beach for pretty flat rocks and shiny shells. This was the one place where we let Callum throw rocks, so he was in his glory....
Good family picture.......with a haircut like that, Callum looks like he teaches physics at MIT or something....
Amanda snapped this on the Wonderland trail. Nice picture Sally! The brightness in the background is the trail leading out to the sea. The little guy LOVES sitting up on my shoulders (or, as he calls them, "der-dersh). I thought it looked funny how far over to the right he is up on my shoulders, and when I brought this to Amanda's attention, she said that he always sits like that. Weird. We have an interesting son, I guess.....
Mommy and little boy looking eastward.....out towards the beautiful islands that make downeast Maine so special.....

Mt Desert Island Part I

What a fantastic weekend! This was definitely the first trip Callum actually "got," and he had a fabulous time; usually, since he is so young, he is just kind of "along for the ride," but this time he was fully engaged in all that we did. He is still walking around asking to go see the ocean, the beach, the kids on the beach, ducks, and the woods. He LOVED walking on the trails, climbing the rocks, and running around chasing ducks. We can't wait to bring him back--we have a feeling this summer (especially with Amanda working part time) will bring us up Downeast a bunch!

Below, the Goldsmiths arrive at The Collier House--the bed and breakfast in Bar Harbor (Town Hill village) we have been going to for the past 3 years. We always go the first weekend of my April vacation. The building in back is the main house, where there are some guest rooms, and where George serves up his fantastic gourmet breakfast. There are, however, several outbuildings; we always stay in the carriage house overlooking the little duck pond.

One of the first walks we took was on the carriage roads that go throughout the park. We embarked on the Witch's Hole loop--Witch's hole is a pretty neat Beaver pond in the middle of the woods. Evidence of Beaver activity was everywhere, as shown in small part by this picture Amanda took.....
Here's Witch's Hole. Pretty secluded, and very beautiful. You can see a big beaver lodge at the bottom of the photo--but there were DOZENS more dams and lodges (arent they the same thing?) scattered all over the place. We met a black lab named Bella, and her owners were letting her swim in the pond--it must have been freezing though! It is always pretty windy up on the island....
That afternoon we decided to drive up to the summit of Cadillac Mountain. Last year we did the same thing, and Callum hated it (it was very windy, and he was NOT impressed). This year, being a bit older, Callum enjoyed walking around, looking at the ocean. Although we really cannot wait to hike up the mountain with the little guy, driving up will do for now. And, in my dream of dreams, I have the goal of riding my bike up the 3.3 mile auto road this summer. We'll see if it happens. Going up is the tough part....but riding down scares the crap out of me.....
Amanda and Callum. For those of you interested in Acadia National Park and the Gulf of Maine islands, the big island in the top center of the photo is Great Cranberry Island. Our friends Randy and Craig used to paddle their kayaks out there quite often. If you were to go a bit to the right, you are now entering "Blue hill bay," and you would start seeing Swan's Island, Bartlett Island, etc. I had an adventure on Swan's Island once. Maybe I will recount it sometime...
Stay tuned for part 2...

SECOND POST OF THE DAY: FUNNY SHIRTS

Some English based...some not

If you understand these (or think these are funny) then you must be friends with me......

When reading was fun....

Don't get me wrong...I love reading. But when I was a kid, reading just seemed so much more fun (and time seemed so much more available!). I used to be a HUGE reader when I was younger...it is all I did. Remember all the Beverly Cleary books like HENRY AND THE PAPER ROUTE and BEEZUS AND RAMONA? I used to dig the "choose your own adventures" too. Today, being an English teacher, it is easy to see how we are clearly in the "Golden Age" of young adult literature. My friend Johnny is a youth librarian out in Nevada, and I have to say I am sometime jealous of his job; to be surrounded by books all day (well, I kind of am right now, but it is different) must be pretty neat.

When Johnny and I were in elementary and middle school, we were obsessed with all the "biographies" in our library....and there were plenty of them! We devoured information about George Washington, Abe Lincoln, John Paul Jones, David Bowie, JFK, and this guy....

My third grade teacher, Mrs Kenney, read this book to us aloud:

Do you remember this book? For a third grade kid, this book was hilarious. There were sequels like "Fudge," Superfudge," and, more recently, "Fudge Forever," which Judy Blume wrote for her grandkids (or so I have heard). Judy Blume also wrote some other great books like "Maddie and me and the dirty book," "Otherwise known as Shiela the great," and, for the pre-Emo kids, "Are you there God? It's me Margaret." No one ever read that.

We had a few popular "reading campaigns" when I was in school; one was called "Read Across America," and it was sponsored by our school. Depending on how much you read, you got different awards like shirts, rulers, pencils, and a cool pin we all wore that said "Eager Reader" on it! The whole idea was to read ACROSS America, and we got "moved" for every book we read. Another popular reading venture:

I kicked BUTT at this! I read so much for this, and I got so many pledges; I was able to fund raise a lot for MS. One of the big prizes for reading here involved getting gift certificates for Papa Ginos Pizza--I really wish we had one of these in Maine (the pizza place, not the MS Readathon...although that would be nice too!)

These days, if I get to read one book per month, I think I am doing pretty well! I would really like to commit to reading more. How about you?

We must be bad luck...

Because for the past three times we have gotten together with the Favry family, someone has ended up in the hospital. On Thanksgiving, Jackson had to be rushed to the ER with some type of allergy/rash/breathing issue. Then, when the Favrys came up a few weeks ago, they left early because Jackson had a 105 degree temp and they stopped at the hospital on the way home. And FINALLY, this past weekend, while we were down in CT for Jackson's first birthday party, Anthony went to the ER at 1 in the morning because he had food poisoning. And then Jackson starting projectile vomiting everywhere too. What is going on? Is Callum a demon or something? Anyway, I hope everyone is feeling better!

We did, however, have some really bright moments from our visit. I got to see lots of family I dont usually get to see. Callum got to see his Nannie, Papa, Grammie Goldsmith, and Papa-Bob. And Jackson got to see me (I am one of his favorite people on the planet, for sure). Also, on Saturday night, when Twon was at the ER, Kristin was up, and Jackson was screaming for hours on end, I got some special bonding time with little Jacko, when I got up, tended to him in his crib, and sat and rocked with him for a while; he fell asleep on me, which was wonderful. Having a baby fall asleep in your arms is one of life's rarest and most beautiful of gifts. Think about it.

Here is the little man getting his soy-based frosting birthday cake (he is allergic to milk stuff)

It was a "Sesame Street" theme, which excited Callum beyond all recognition. I got into the spirit by donning my Cookie Monster shirt, which also made Callum one happy little guy; he loves when I wear my shirt. The cake they got Jackson was almost too beautiful to cut...but we did. And when we did, it was one of the most creepy and wrong culinary experiences I've ever had; we had to cut Cookie Monster's head off in front of a bunch of kids, and then pass out pieces of said head for the little ones to enjoy. Weird. Also weird is trying to come to terms with what, exactly, Anthony is doing with the inflatable Elmo in the background. Just saying......
Sunday was a beautiful day (well, for everyone except Twon, who was semi-conscious for most of the day). Callum went out on a "date" with Auntie to pick up some meds for Twon at CVS. Amanda and I got some special time with our nephew, and then Amanda and Callum took a three hour nap together....it was just that type of weekend I guess. What WAS really neat was taking the boys for some cool wagon rides in Jackson's sweet new wagon his Papa got him for his birthday. I would like one for myself. I think this is a great picture:

Callum had to show he was the "big" cousin by getting out of the wagon and pushing his cousin. If you blow the picture up, you can really get the expression of Jackson's face, which is priceless.
Clickety Clack, Clickety Clack goes the wagon.....
Callum just LOVES being outside...he hates to go in, actually. I get the sense his little cousin follows in his footsteps.

Okay, time for Glee!!

I love to jump

Hi Callum here. Here are a few pictures of me jumping with my mommy and my friends Brittany and Brianna from next door!



And here is a video of me jumping. My lip dont get sore, nothing

He is risen indeed

Happy Easter everyone. Here's some pictures of Callum's morning at church. We had a great morning--we met at church for a breakfast put on by the men of the congregation at 8:30. Then, at 9:15 there was an Easter egg hunt. This was followed by a beautiful church service. I cooked my traditional Joseph's Mellogold Ham on the BBQ (which meant I smoked it with Maple, rubbed it with my secret ingredients, and then glazed it with a rootbeer/brown sugar glaze). Awesome. Callum's BaBa joined us for dinner, and then Jon and Kelsey came by for dessert.

Here's Callum and his friend Emily helping him with the "little kids" egg hunt. Emily is so cute; she loves helping Callum all the time. It is great how the "older" kids step up and help the little ones with everything! As you can see, Callum CLEANED UP with the eggs.

Here, Callum and some of the other kids wait in the fellowship hall corridor in preparation for the hunt. A kid's Easter egg hunt is like the annual Filene's Basement wedding dress sale....only with ham at the end.
Our young family outside church after the beautiful service.
Callum and his very good friend Mia. What is great about this is how we didnt ask (nor did we tell them to) for them to stand and pose for a picture. They both just took it upon themselves to stand in front of this bush after church. Callum has so many great friends at church. And he loves them all.
Who does he look like now? We are so proud of our smart, loving, and good boy!

We are so blessed to love our church; it is such a solid place. And we are constantly surrounded by such wonderful people there.

Meanderings 59

Video is at end of this post.....

1. Has anyone ever taken a tea bag and seeped it in hot coffee instead of hot water? If so, what would the marriage between tea and coffee be called? I am actually surprised this hasnt been done yet, seeing as how every other "competing" thing seems to be mixed together--Guinness and Bass for a "Black and Tan" for example. After I write this, I am sure St. Arbucks will start selling some foofy sounding coffee/tea drink for 7.50

2. Why do people--when they are trying to explain something to you and can't figure out the word they are trying to say--somehow "move" their arms toward you in an assertive fashion as if somehow that will make you understand what they want to say...its like they are trying to wield the word out of thin air or something.....

3. People who say something like: "Well, if you are making that statement, then I guess my question would be blah blah blah...." I GUESS MY QUESTION WOULD BE? You dont even know the question you are asking? If you dont know the question you are asking then shut up. I am annoyed by the continual castration of the English language

4. The loudest are the weakest. Myself included. Just remember that. The loudest are the weakest.

5. No one ever takes a doggie bag home when they go out for breakfast

6. On my way up to Machias a few weeks ago, I noticed a new housing development called "Oakfield Estates." This simply cannot be. A "field" with "Oaks" in it is no longer a "field." A field with Oaks in it is called a "forest." Screw those rich developers

7. Here's a funny expression: "It scared the living crap out of me!!" Ya know....versus all the "dead" crap you have inside. Actually, come to think of it, I would rather have dead crap in me than living crap....crap is gross enough...I dont want to think about it now "living." Now we've entered the set of "Alien" or something....

8. A Universal Truth: It is impossible to pull out a sofa bed while there is another person in the room with whom you are not romantically involved and not feel dirty and pornish.