The Fountain, Ice, and Crazy Seniors

one thing I cannot figure out is how to write BEFORE the pictures (like I used to do with my Mac). Now I can only begin writing after the first picture. Weird. But, at any rate, above, is a picture of Callum in the background, playing in last weekend's ice storm; we had a snow day last Friday and then it ICED all night...we probably got a half inch of ice....it made walking and running and driving very interesting. A beautiful landscape though!

Last Thursday, good friends Brad, Fred, and I went to The Fountain (also known as Oak Pond Brewery). I need to do a PILTDOGS about this place. You hard core blog readers will know what I mean by PILTDOGS! Trips to The Fountain are developing into a fantastic tradition among the three of us goons, and we have taken it one step farther my incorporating Red Barn chicken baskets into the mix...this way the whole family can enjoy supper while the guys all do a tasting of their ales and such. Below, Callum,, Mia, and Caden enjoy, as Callum calls it, "The Whale Show," (a National Geographic documentary about Blue Whales) while Siena, Sasha, and Amanda give Maira her bath, and while Jared, Fred, and Brad drink White Fox and discuss ice shacks. And such.

Continuing to catch up on pics: A couple of weeks ago, I took Amanda out on a date. We just went into disgusta to Barnes and Crapples to look around and get a coffee. Students Conner (a frequent Goldsmith Facebook--when I had it--contributor ) and Elizabeth came by to watch Callum while Maira slept. These two young people are just fantastic individuals and I am so excited to see all the places they will go--I want them both back at WHS eventually to be English teachers. But whatever. He is also going to either go to Stonehill or Wheaton, so hopefully Mom will have him over for supper once a week. He will like that. And Elizabeth is off to attend whichever basketball program she chooses...she is good. Both great individuals. Both great students. And, as you can see, they pass the most difficult test of all.....a three year old's approval

By the way: They took all these while Amanda and I were out. Good times.

Back......

We are back....for the time being. I really hate our new computer. I really hate our Internet service. It is all very frustrating. I dont have time to learn a new trendy piece of crap technology that will change in a year anyway...I dont have the patience for it. I am too busy doing other stuff. But, at any rate, I do want to post our family blog and have people see our kids and our lives, so I am in a Catch 22. But I am ready to throw this Dell away. Also, we had no Internet for the past two weeks, and we are KIND OF back...but, chances are, I'll get dropped from connection as I write this. Above, see Maira in her sled. I WOULD write this BEFORE the picture, like I used to be able to on my Mac...but, like I said, this Dell sucks.

In the next few posts, I will try to catch up on some of the pictures that we've been taking over the past couple of weeks. These ones entail Callum and Maira in the snow, and there is one of Callum and Maira building a huge train layoutey thingy. So yeah. Here they are.

yippee.

faster.

snowsuit.

fun.

Meanderings 68

The above picture is the FIRST picture that comes up after a google-image search of JASON PONTICELLI. Hilarious. And SO TRUE!!!

The picture below is the first one that comes up when I do the same search for HENRY GOLDSMITH. Fun!

And here's Henry Goldsmith today....

The Goldsmiths are going on two weeks now with no Internet at home....we hope to get the problem remedied soon....but, for now, I thought I could blog during my free period at school, and catch up on some meanderings.....

1. "Estates" is the great ambiguously mysterious word of the 'real estate' world. You can never tell, if a housing 'neighborhood' is called "Estates," whether it is an ultra posh, 1%, totally rich and pretentious housing development, OR, whether it is a total ghetto slum. Indeed, "estates" walks both sides of the line pretty well; the great class-breaker of our time. The word means both! How cute.

2. Consider the 'punter' in football. Such an unglamorous position--not only in sports, but also in jobs in general. The ONLY time you are useful is if your team sucks and is failing at their objective at getting first downs/succeeding. Has there ever even been a punter that anyone has ever even heard of? Tony Franklin, but only cuz he had the whole "barefoot" gimmick going for him. And, there is Tony Meola, who was only popular cuz he had long hair and was a pro soccer player too. He played for the Jyets, right? As a punter, no one is ever happy to see you, because seeing you just means your team is lame, and they are inherently in a bad mood. They are the 'tax collectors' of our time. And such wusses too--the always fall down if a defender so much as 'brushes' them; they do this in a shameless attempt to score a penalty....which is all they really have offer to their team. Or, heaven forbid they have to TACKLE someone? Forget it. Punters are the redheaded stepchildren of football.

3. I have had my ideas for two great web sites (twoguysonamoped.com and thingsamanshouldneversay.com). Here's another one: chickennuggetsculpures.com. Basically, I run a web site where I get stupid McDonalds eating fattys to buy 2 or 3 twenty-piece boxes of nuggets, loiter around the dining room of McDonalds (while they wait for their magic the gathering group to start) and make sculptures and designs out of chicken nuggets and tooth picks. I post them in a gallery. This fad would catch on for a week or two and then get lame, but I would have already made my money....

4. There is nothing more inherently American than FLIP FLOPS with BOTTLE OPENERS on the soles. Disgusting..................

5. Something genetically wired into women's brains: The necessity of females to at least CHECK OUT (if not patronize) any 'new store' going up/going in within 20 minutes of said women's home. Women NEED to be aware of and check out new stores...they NEED to be in-the-know and informed. They hope it is a clothing or candle store, but they'll still do their duty whether it is a pet shop, calendar club, supermarket, or school supply center. The draw the line, however, at hardware stores. Unless the hardware store sells candles Like our Agway does.

BLACK DAY

ENGLISH 12

1 I AM THE CHEESE
-Using computers research "The Patriot Act" on your own and answer the questions on the board about the controversy surrounding this. THis is to be handed in for a participation grade
-discuss this act, as well as conspiracies, and how our book is about a conspiracy
-read JUST chapter 15 in class (very short)
-no reading assignment tonight...be ready to read in class on Wed.

HONORS
1. Monte Cristo
-present awesome projects....and they were very good!
-no time to start V for Vendetta...but we just checked out The Simpsons and their version of the story!

Does Jesus make pee?

These are the kinds of questions I have been getting from Callum lately.....my dad and mom are no doubt satisfied beyond belief at the level and intensity of questions my little guy is offering; I guess I was (and, in many ways, still am) the most amazing question asker of them all when I was younger. As they say, payback is a ......

But it is amazing to see the way language progresses in little kids, from Maira learning new words each day, to her 'making up' words for things she wants; trying to decipher WHY she uses certain words for certain things is indeed interesting. For example, she will point at the fridge or cabinet and say "uh-naaaa! uh-naaaa!" and that means she 'wants' something. Perhaps she is saying "another" in her mind? I think so.....

Callum, partly imbued from his latest book craze of "Amos and Boris, and partly from his time at church, has been asking a lot of questioins about "death" and dying lately. At church, he hears all the time about how Jesus has "died" for our sins or how, in baptism, we "die" and are reborn in Christ, etc. In Amos and Boris, we see a story about a seagoing mouse who experiences a storm and becomes shipwrecked, saying to himself at one point "I wonder what it will feel like to die out here all alone" before, suddenly, he is recued by Boris, a friendly whale. The result of both of these things is Callum asking a lot of questions about "dying." I am certain that he has no clue what death actually means,, but I think he is getting curious.

The other day, he wanted to see a picture of me when I was a little boy. I went downstairs and showed him a picture of me with my Nana Goldsmith--my "mee-mee," as I told him. "You were really cute daddy!!" he said (smart kid....). Then he proceeds with "hey we havent gone to see Nana Goldsmith in a while...." That is because, as I told him, Nana Goldsmith died a long time ago when I was little, and now she is in heaven with Jesus. "Oh," he answered. "But I'm not dying right?" And then he proceeded with his other rapid fire questions: "My Rudolph isnt dead, right?" and "I dont want my puppy and my Rover and you and mommy and Maira and Lupine to die, okay?" How do you respond to these kinds of things? A cliche parenting question no doubt.

Often, our response to these kinds of queries turns toward church, and how Gold takes care of us and made the world, etc. Then the REAL fun starts: Did God make my purple nutcracker? (purple is his favorite currently). Did Jesus make my friend shrimp and my strawberries? Does Jesus make my pee when I go pee? Then he delves deeper into the whole "Christmas" and "manger scene" scenario (he asks, daily, if today is Christmas Eve yet...) asking "If Jesus was born in the manger, then where is he now?" When I explain how NOW he is in heaven where he lives, Callum retorts: "In heaven, is Jesus still a baby up there or is he a daddy (daddy is Callumish for "grown up man")." Well, I answer, when he went to heaven he was 33 years old. "But is he STILL 33, or does he keep getting older every year? Is he an old man now?"

I think the kid is smarter than me and is just messing with me.

Sometimes I think I just prefer the "this?" kinds of questions Maira asks when she points at things....haha

A Surprise for Nannie

This past weekend Kristie and Upbob threw my mom a surprise 60th birthday party. At the clubhouse, of course. Everything good always hyappens at the clubhouse. In usual fashion, we brought both our video and regular camera down to the CSA, but neglected to take any pictures, etc. We just get so busy that it slips our mind. So if Papa or Auntie KK or Uncle Anthony have any pictures they want to send us, that would be swell.

In honor of Nannie's 60th, I thought I would put an early video of her two little boys (pre-Maira, of course) when the Favry family came up for Halloween. Enjoy.

Nannie's party was great--a lot of her old friends were there and some of our old Foundry Street neighbors from 'the olden days.' One such couple was Frank and Maureen Murphy, parents of my old best friend Michael Murphy, who died a couple of years ago at 33. Very tragic. I wrote about Mike when he died--check the archives, even. The party was catered by "The Chateau," a lovely restaurant down the road from my mom's, where Jai and I also once shared a very Romantic Valentine's Day brunch. The kids were all great...Callum and Jackson got some great time in chasing each other around, playing balloons, etc....Anthony and I--without anyone even realizing it--consumed an entire growler of OPB in approximately four minutes....my mom was totally surprised....everything was good. Nicely done Kris, Twon, and Upbob.

The next day we did Christmas with Papa and Grammie Goldsmith, since we hadn't seen them yet for the holiday. Callum got a SICK dump truck, and he has yet to be more than 5 feet from it. Also a hit was his OFFICIAL Patriots helmet "just like Tom Brady's!!!" he says. He also loved his firetruck and binoculars. Maira got some really cute clothes, a girly SUV, and a "cube of fun," which I know sounds like something inappropriate, but really is just a neat activity square that comes apart. This morning while mumma slept in, Maira was all over that, and Callum was all over using his dumptruck to move around some new blocks that the kids also got for Christmas (the point of that last sentence wasnt to let you know what they played with....it was to let you know how nice of a guy I am for letting Sally sleep in). Haha!!!

A long, tough weekend for the kids actually. Callum has always been a great traveller, but now he is old enough to start to understand the concept of hours in a car. And Maira has just always sucked travelling anyway. So yeah. But she is gorgeous and we love her so! So today was just a hang out day...play in the snow....go to Agway and Hannaford....play blocks....

A "regular" (and more Snowman stuff!)

She'll probably get really mad at me, but I am going to sing the praises of Michelle Sirois. She'll get mad because she is, in fact, so humble. Michelle is a former student of mine (actually, I never really had the pleasure of HAVING her in class....) and I have written about her several times on the blog here. We have done a great job at keeping in touch since she graduated, and now she is a senior at Harvard! The time goes by so fast!! Michelle ALWAYS makes time to come by and see us--even in the midst of her busy, busy schedule; we are continually humbled and honored by this. It has become a "tradition" that she stop by for winter and summer visits, and we greatly look forward to them.

Michelle is a truly wonderful person who comes from a truly wonderful family; as parents, Amanda and I would love to know what Mr and Mrs Sirois "did" to create the close knit family dynamic that the Sirois have going for them. There are five kids (the oldest, Andrew, I had 8 years ago) and the youngest is sophomore this year at WHS. The rest have gone on to achieve success at Harvard (two of them, in fact), BC, and St Anselm's. THey are all "best friends" with each other. They play Scrabble. They have kitchen parties (long story). They do really cool things. They have "special" dinners. Add a healthy dose of british comedy, and they would truly be a Goldsmith wishlist...haha.

And, because they do such cool stuff, it naturally follows that they were "Snowman" kids (growing up reading and listening to THE SNOWMAN). This story has literally become a PHENOM in our household. Michelle, in her boundless thoughtfulness, brought over a pen drive (the first time I ever used a pen drive!) and put some of George Winston's interpretation of THE SNOWMAN onto our new computer. Callum is thrilled. And so are we. We love when Michelle comes to visit, and we hope to see her really soon!!!

My gosh, was I fat!!

So we got a new computer....soon we will be able to Skype again with Nannie and Friendly Henry. But anyway.....for the first time in probably two years I have been able to see all our old pictures which were previously on our external hard drive....and you know how the expression goes "outta site outta mind....."

So I have uncovered some amazing old pictures...some of Callum when he was really little. Some of great times had with great friends. And some pictures just beg the question: Why didnt anyone tell me how awful I looked? I mean, my buddies always joked with me about how fat I was...but I guess I didnt realize how unhealthy the situation had become. Wowza.

In other news, we are FINALLY supposed to get a real, live snowstorm on Wednesday night. Let's see what happens. My guess? We get a few scattered sprinkles of rain here and there. We never get snow. This winter sucks. Really depressing. It isnt even cold.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the fat pictures while I try to figure out how to navigate and use our new computer. I know it is probably a silly thing to say, but coming from using a Mac for three years to a new PC with Windows 7 is a learning curve. I fully understand I am a moron. But I dont mind being a moron with computers.

Some things a man should never say.....

above is a really cute picture.....the rest of these are just the Goldsmith children proving that they are total HAMS....

Maira has five teeth....which is actually above average for a girl in Maine.....

Here is a list of some things a man should never say

1 Do you guys have any diet Moxie?

2. I really need to waterproof my Uggs!!

3. The Mary Higgins Clark book that I am reading is really really awesome!!

4. I think Josh Groban covered this song

5. Can you recommend a good exfoliator for me?

6. My dust ruffle matches my bedspread

7. I think Slatkin makes a much better and stronger scent than Yankee Candle

8. Can you bring me some chopsticks when my food comes too!

9. When we play "Nutcracker," do you want to be the soldier or the Mouse King?

First of all, these are all true life things I have heard real males say within the past two weeks.

Second of all, I am guilty of numbers 3, 5, and 9 myself. So yeah.

Other differences between men and women that I try to convey to people.....

My wicked awesome sports coat is not PINK, but SALMON. Girls wear pink....boys wear "salmon." Cuz salmon are hardcore and are tough to catch and are fatty

Furthermore, dont make fun of me for running in my spandex shorts, because I dont wear spandex. GIRLS wear spandexx.......boys wear "compression shorts."

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs

playing "Nutcracker:" we use kitchen spoons....Callum is always the Mouse King, and you have to be the Nutcracker....and then you 'fight' to the music...Maira getting her kitty cat and Callum getting his puppy from "yellow bean" (LL Bean). Callum, moments later, named his dog Rover.
Maira's DNA blocks! Check out the snow abutting the Springpond woods (Jai, 2996). It DID snow on Christmas. At least we got that....
The "Snowman" legacy is alive and well in the Goldsmith family.....have you read this?
"The Snowman" by Raymond Briggs, has got to be one of our favorite books of all time. I say "our," meaning Amanda, me......and now Callum. The book was such a special piece of writing (or lack thereof, since it is all just beautiful illustrations and you 'figure it out' yourself...it is essentially a graphic novel) during the time Amanda and I were "courting." The basic premise is quite simple--it is like a romantic "Frosty:" A little boy builds a snowman that comes to life at midnight....the snowman comes in the house and the boy teaches the snowman about his world....then, the snowman takes the boy on a magical adventure to teach the boy about HIS world. Sounds very cliche and overdone, right? It isnt. It is absolutely beautiful. Just give it a chance.

When Amanda and I were dating, I remember it all so clearly: she didnt have a TV in her room at her apartment, so her roommate Ally was good enough to let Amanda borrow hers...I rented the VHS from the video store in Durham, and we had a Snowman date. First, we made a gargantuan bowl of pasta and homemade sauce with Italian sausages in it. Then we watched the movie. It was one of the most pleasant and beautiful dates we ever had. It still is all so vivid. We bought the book at Stroudwater Books in Dover, and AAmanda wrote "Amanda and Jared" in the front cover--it was so special because this is the first book we ever 'bought' together.

Fast forward twelve-plus years, and now it is the most amazing thing ever to happen to little Callum Stuart. I know the kid loves reindeer and snowmen, so, this past week, when perusing the library collections, I borrowed the VHS movie for him, since I knew we had the book upstairs. PLUS, for CHristmas, Callum got a beautiful book called "To Make A Friend," which is based around the same premise of a boy making a snowman and then losing him when the warm weather came. The movie was a smash hit for Callum--he is in love with the film AND the book....not to mention the amazingly beautiful score of the film--he walks around humming it all day long. I love how he loves "The Snowman" for two reasons: First, it is a special book for the Goldsmith family and it is definitely a "rite of passage" for him, so to speak. Second, I am in love with the fact that a lot of kids today would absolutely HATE this book and film. The book has no words, just sketches. Done in colored pencil. Not 3D -bright- digital- color- things. Thre is limited "action;" the boy and the snowman do simple things--they dont go blow stuff up and they dont fly in a turbo infused aerodynamic module ship thing. There is no bad guy. It is just a beautiful book, and that is all. And the movie has no talking in it at all. Just motions and a beautiful musical score. It takes work and imagination and patience to appreciate it, I believe, and I am so happy that Callum loves it. Smart kid. Go check it out!