Woods are lovely, dark, and deep....

Tell me the poet who wrote these lines, and I'll give you a backrub....

We took Callum out on a long walk back in the Springpond woods this past Sunday....showing him our favorite places out back of Lynne and George's house. Lynne and George live on WINGS MILLS Road....so, at one time, there was in fact a WINGS MILL--George can tell you the history on this better than I can for sure. Anyway, the mill was a grist mill, and it operated deep in the woods off a tote road (Maine speak for 'logging' road). Long unused, the remnants of the mill are still there.....it is kind of spooky actually, to walk back into the forest, and then have everything sort of "open up" into this old site of a working mill....very X-Filesish....

Lynne and George's neighbor "Walter," this 116 year old native, still does some logging back there, and this is one of the makeshift bridges he made for his skidders, diggers, backhoes, etc to negotiate the tote roads. In Maine, we call bridges such as this (logging roads, snowmobile trails, etc) "Jerry Bridges." I dont know why. So, below, Callum and I check out the bridge over Belgrade stream....looks pretty safe, huh?

Why am I wearing orange vest? Hyunting season, dudes!

Below you can see part of the mill--the foundation of where the water wheel once stood, etc....if you blow up the picture, you can see pieces of steel, etc. I thought Amanda got the millstone, grinder, etc, but I guess not. These items have just been sort of haphazardly laid in the stream....
Mumma and our handsome boy--sporting tie dye AND knit sweater--by the bridge. Amanda has lots of memories from this site of the woods. Ask her about them.....
Some perspective for youse: the bridge with the stream in the background. Maybe Callum will get his senior high school pictures done here....a beautiful spot for sure....one of my favorites! This is actually the first time I have been back here NOT in the snow; usually it is one of my favorite snowshoe trips in winter. See the "tower" thing in the upper right corner of the picture? One time I remember I was out snowshoeing with Daisy, Amanda's old chocolate lab/springer spaniel mix....and, flighty as she was, somehow got across the stream and climbed up that rock facade. It was heck trying to get her down!!!
Low and behold, in a clearing deep in the woods, was a logging backhoe and digger....this made Callum's day, obviously! Again....kind of creepy to see these things way back in the woods all alone....
And the budding naturalist (no pun intended!). Callum learned about Red Oak trees, and, more importantly, wintergreen, which loves to grow in shady places underneath beech and oak trees--back off the snowmobile trails we took to get to the old mill, I pointed some out to him. DADDY!!! THIS IS JUST LIKE GUM!!!! I wish I could always be so excited about such simple things. Thank you Callum.....
(Maira was back at the house napping with MeeMee and Grampy....)

Maira is a Goldsmith....

Not a Willard, like Callum. And being a Goldsmith is a good thing. I need someone on MY side. So, therefore, I give Maira the thumbs up.....

Maira will eat anything. Amanda and Lynne are two of the pickiest eaters I know (haha). Callum doesnt eat much. He is a Willard. Maira is a Goldsmith. Maira is big like a Goldsmith. Callum is small, like a Willard. Maira is also wicked high maintenance, like a Goldsmith. YOu cannot leave her alone for even a minute...she hates it. Callum is wicked mellow, like a Willard. Very easygoing. Maira looks like my dad, I think. Also, Maira is never sick, like a Willard. Goldsmiths are never sick. Finally, Maira is not affectionate at all....she will not cuddle or snuggle. Just like a Goldsmith. Very cold Irish blood. Maira is a Goldsmith.

I think Maira looks JUST like her Auntie KK in this picture. Does anyone else think so?

Maira loves the drums....
She's had a BIG week and a half. First of all, she is eating ALL SORTS of new foods--basically ANYTHING!! With Callum, we used the food mill to grind stuff up....with Maira, we just kind of chunk it and throw it at her and she's good. Even with only those two bottom teeth. She manages to fight through the adversity. She's a Goldsmith. She loves hot dogs, eggs, pizza, cheese, and more. But I think her favorite food has to be Pepperidge Farm Goldsmith. Just imagine what she will be like when she DOES have teeth? (Prime rib on a bone, anyone?)
ALSO, Maira's vocabulary has EXPLODED over the past couple of weeks....for the longest time she was saying a primitive form of KITTY (KIYYYYY!!!!) and DADA. And that was it. But now she is trying to repeat just about everything she can....and it is so funny! Last night we went to Yellow Beans (LL Bean, but CS calls it YELLOW Bean....) and I took Callum to the bathroom. When I came back, Maira, sitting in her stroller, smiles at me and just says HI! She had never said hi before, and it was just wonderful. Now she says HI to everything!! She tries to say THANK YOU, and it is really funny as well. And she looks at things and asks THIS? Just a few days ago, she started to wave at people, and she loves putting both arms over her head and saying YEAY!! in celebration--most of the time she is celebrating nothing but that fact that she is just sitting there....and this makes it all the better....

Here's Callum at Mee Mee and Grampy's today. Kid looks like a freakin homeless person. WILL. NOT. WEAR. JEANS. (we make him though). All he wants are his "comfy pyants." See how he has his little "set up" at Mee Mee's? Thomas DVD? Check. Comfy Pants? Check. His 'mee mee' toys thrown around the living room? Check. Showing MeeMee his new tie dye cool as a moose shirt? Check.

Meanderings 66

Just a few for youse

1. Still, in 2011, when you go into a store and look at picture frames, the picture frame manufacturers need to fill the frames with fake/example photographs of a couple with exceptionally white teeth holding a cat or playing touch football. Why is this? Do they think Americans are really that stupid (they might be right) that they need 'suggestions' of what to do with the picture frames they buy? Might seeing some 'examples pictures' in the frames encourage them or put them over the fence to the point where they might say "ya know? I never thought of using a frame for this!! I think I might buy this now!!!"

2. The word "retired." So, when people were still working, is that saying that they were "tired," but, at their retirement party, they momentarily were wide awake, and then, when they woke up the next day, they were suddenly "tired" again? Wouldnt people be LESS tired when they were REtired, since retirement means you have less responsibilities and less stuff to get up for, etc? Is going out for boneless chicken breast and a baked potato at 3:48 pm that exhausting?

3. Wedding showers are simply parties to celebrate the fact that a party is going to take place. That is it. Oh, and they give guys some well deserved peace and quiet. Unless they are those 'jack and jill' monstrosities. But, mostly, they just celebrate the fact that a bigger and cooler party will happen soon thereafter. Better hope little kids don't get wise to the logic of wedding showers. Suddenly, Callum will be saying to me in February: "Daddy, can we have the party to celebrate my REAL birthday in June??"

4. A funny phrase that I heard a seemingly educated and professional person say recently was "literally unbelievable," as in "His foreign policy stance is LITERALLY unbelievable." Think about how stupid that phrase is....NOTHING can be 'literally' unbelievable because all unbelievable things are already LITERALLY like that. That is why they are unbelievable. Try this: DO NOT think of the color purple. DONT. See what I mean? I dont know. I'm confused now.

5. Reality TV shows love to show the passage of time by means of clouds passing by really really fast across the backdrop of blue skies. Cute.

6. Facebook needs to get cuter and fresher with their 'relationship status' qualifiers. Right now you've got "married to..." and "in a relationship with"....and "divorced...." I mean they have "its complicated," but that's as cute as they get. Put me in charge of that stuff! I'd kill it! We need "in an abusive relationship" or "married to deadbeat____" or "she's a freakin' cheater, that chick_____" or "cheating on______" with ______" or "friends with benns with____" or "stalking______" and such and such....

Storyland/Santa's Village 2011 part deux

I have so many great childhood memories of my own from going away with my dad to storyland and Santa's village from when I was a kid....I remember one time we went there towards the end of August when he was on vacation....and we stayed in this little motel that had a playground outside....and Kris and I were really excited to play on the playground...maybe even more so than go to Santa's Village....my dad got upset. I am one hundred percent sure that he will think I am crazy for thinking that this hyappened. But it did.


But I just love Santa's village. I remember, however, that when we were kids there was a 'trained parrot' show we saw...those parrots must have long since died. Oh well. I think it is cool to sort of pass the torch along to Callum and Maira, and now bring MY kids to a place I once went as a lad. And I have NOOOOO desire to go to Disney. At any point. Hate heat. Hate lines. Hate spending 100 dollars to drive a pretend car around.


At Storyland on Sunday, Clifford the big red dog made an appearance....Callum knew this and had looked forward to it for weeks and weeks....UNTIL, that is, Clifford manifested himself in all his six foot glory. Then Callum retreated into his shell. I dont blame him. Kind of creepy costume if you looked up close....The Picture Place.....
A great even from the weekend that I DONT have pictures of is the Attitash/Bear Peak Oktoberfest Anthony and I attended....you pay ten bucks to get in....you get a couple of free samples...and then you buy tokens to get full pints of some great local stuff. On tap from Maine was Shipyard. Some great NH and VT breweries were there too: Long Trail Brewing, Tuckerman's Brewing, Woodstock Brewery (Thurston and I's favorite Pig's Ear Brown Ale!), and, our personal favorite of the event, Moat Mountain Brewery. I actually did some research to find where in Maine I could get some. I was successful! Immediately, Moat works its way into at least my top five beermakers of all time. Excellent stuff. Oh, and did I mention Narragansett was there? And they DIDNT come in last place!! Seriously....

Jackson having a great time on the antique German carousel....
I think was trip # 4 in a row for Callum.....giving me a high five as we rode....
And in the small section of Storyland that actually IS dedicated to classic children's stories (come on....I'm an Englishy book nerd...you knew I was going to say that....) we had none other than Miss Muffett and her tuffet (whatever the heck a tuffet is....) and the spider. Have I mentioned how much Callum LOVES spiders? He does. And we have SO many around our house.....outside of course....
And at the end of a long day, Callum loves looking at pictures with his Nannie.....

Storyland/Santa's Village 2011

Oh my goodness....where to start....a really great weekend with fantastic weather to boot (record setting temps on Sunday at 85 degrees....that sucked, but the tourists liked it!). My mom wanted to celebrate fall by getting all the family together to spend Columbus day weekend at a condo at Attitash...the plan was to hang out, go to the attractions, eat good food, and drink lots of Pumpkinhead (well, for Anthony and I anyway). Callum. Had. A. Blast. He went on rides, stretched his comfort circle, smiled and laughed all day (mostly), and had a blast playing with his cousin Jackson. This, even though he is actually kind of sick right now, with some crazy head cold thing going on. Same with MairaBeth, who, despite being sick, had a great time seeing everyone.

Here are Anthony, Jackson, Joanne, Nannie, and Kristin driving the cars early Sunday morning at storyland. Callum did not want to go on--he was kind of in a timid mood on Sunday morning, mostly because he knew a lifesized Clifford would be there....and, although he looked forward to it for months, he got really freaked out when the big red down started strutting across the park....

A random guy squeezed my butt as he walked by (which happens to me a lot actually), and it turned out to be my friend Steve--Steve was JohnnyCrockett's roommate at UVM, and I got to know him well that way. Great guy and great times. Also, my mom automatically loves him because he is O.F.D. like her (Originally From Dorchester....). What a small world!
While the old people and kids and Amanda had lunch, Anthony and I braved the lines to do the Polar Coaster! I am sure two grown men waiting in line for a roller coaster in a kid's park didnt look weird....
Unequivocally, Callum's favorite ride/attraction of the whole weekend was the antique German carousel at Storyland. He went on it--literally--five times in a row. Each time he picked a different color horse. It broke my heart to tell him he we had to leave. The kid just shined on the darn thing....

ALso, notice his reindeer carefully stowed in the strap with him. He used some "souvenir money"he had to buy both himself and his sister a reindeer at Santa's Village. Since Saturday, he has rarely been more than 14 inches away from "James/Rudolph/Thomas" the reindeer....
Upbob was a champ--despite his health issues he went on rides, walked around the park with everyone, sat in a Callum-imposed time out, got in some Maira-time, and even managed to smoke me in a good game of cribbage (while everyone else played on their iPads, Upbob and I went oldskool!)
(the way I uploaded these pics presents them 'backwards' chronologically for some reason, so these are S.V. pics from the day before)

Callum was timid of the reindeer merrygoround at first, but after seeing Jackson brave a deer, he decided to get on too. NOTE: Callum, much like his mom, MeeMee, and BaBa is ALWAYS cold (even when it is 80) and ALWAYS wants to be wearing a 'cozy' (in his words) sweatshirt. Cool.
Santa's sky-sleigh--a really neat ride that took us above and through the whole park. Poor Amanda...she took all the pictures and is never in any! And poor Maira-you can tell she doesnt really feel well.....

I just want to point out how happy I look though...because I was! Being there with my wife and two kids was just awesome. And getting to spend some time with the Favrys, Joanne, my mom, and Bob just added to the fun. Already, on the ride home, the Goldsmiths were planning our next visit to Santa's Village (we liked SV better than StoryLand).
This one is so cool! Callum and Amanda went on the REAL ferris wheel together! Amanda HATES Ferris Wheels, and I was going to go on too....but after waiting in line for 25 minutes, I had to pee, and thus I missed my turn. Oh well. Amanda said she had sweaty palms the whole time....Callum just beamed from ear to ear....blow up this pic to see it better!
Lots of great cousin-time for the boys. Jackson absolutely LOVES Callum (and the feeling is mutual) and copies just about everything that Callum does. It is very cute. Can you believe Callum is ten months older than Jackson? Even though Callum looks pissed, he was having a great time! He just hates getting his pic taken....
At the end of the day--when the kids were in great moods (haha) we took some family pictures. This one came out pretty good--my mom, bob, and 'the kids.' I will try to post a 'round two' of this great weekend....I know Amanda is posting on FB, and Anthony also took a TON of pictures!