Portsmouth

We met my mom and Bob in Portsmouth. It is kind of like a half way point for both of us, so it worked out great. We went to Kohl's and Longhorn (two MUSTS if you are ever in Portsmouth NH!!! The ones there are OUTSTANDING!!!!)

#sarcasm

We took a nice little stroll in the Prescott Park area of downtown Portsmouth...I have written about the great city many many times on this blog; it is probably the Goldsmith's favorite city, because it is where we "fell in love." Lots of great memories and "ghosts" in this old stomping ground.

Here is a unique picture of Callum. I love it and I think it might be one of my favorites. It captures a "Callum" few ever get to see. His expression is so mysterious, even to me.

(please apply this paragraph to the first picture on this post....I HAD the picture here, and then it got deleted, and then I reposted it. Shut up). Callum doesnt pose for pictures. Or talk on the phone. Plus, no one could catch him cuz he was running around Prescott Pyark. But here is Maira with Upbob and Nannie....(actually, I think I was trying to find a place for Callum to go poo poo, cuz he had to go poo poo in THEEEEE most inopportune place on the face of the earth. But I found a place. I found a place.

Prescott park is a lovely place, right on the water. Across the harbor you can see the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, along with several tankers and Coast Guard cutters which are docked there. There are many places to run run run. And, as you will see behind me, there is a whale. Callum spent approximately 42 minutes sitting on this whale. Basically, Callum and I raced for much of the afternoon....the kid just LOVES competition. And he is getting cocky.

I told Callum I would post "his favorite horse." This was something they didnt have in Portsmouth when Sally and I lived down on the seacoast: Horsedrawn carriage rides. Callum, obviously enamored with horses, loved checking out the Norwegian Qtr Horse--from afar, that is. If this type of novelty service existed when I was at UNH, can you imagine all the dates I would have taken for rides on this? SO many. SOOOOO many dates. A lot. A lot of them. A lot.

Our kids do not ever run out of energy. Here we are walking from the park back to our car, getting ready to make the drive back to Fairfield. Too bad Callum wasnt a LITTLE more to the left...then it would be a stellar picture.

Give me a break....

I am so very tired of hearing the story about the Army sgt in Afghanistan who "executed" the 16 civilian Afghani people. Yes it was a tragedy. I dont discount that. But I feel like now the whole "purpose" and mission of our involvement in this country is in question because of the actions of one "bad apple." What REALLY is getting to me is the way in which Afghanistan is now judging the seemingly entirety of the United States of America and her armed forces based on the misguided actions of ONE individual. It is really a good thing that the United States, over ten years ago, didnt, in turn, judge the entirety of one nation based on the actions of 16 people (hijackers) who killed thousands upon thousands of innocent Americans. Do you see what I mean? Are we demanding 50K from the Saudi government for each innocent American killed? Our brave men and women have done countless acts of humanism and charity over there, and shown wave upon wave of compassion and even love to the people of Afghanistan. Is this all forgotten now?

The real tragedy of this whole situation is the dramatic irony--there is such blatant hypocrisy on both sides of this conflict. Afghanistan is a country that, for DECADES, has had groups of people who have both aligned themselves with and shown allegiances to WAR LORDS. Look at the name, for crying out loud. They are a country PREDICATED on war. That is their whole deal. For better or for worse, this is how they have chosen to deal with their lives and their situation. And NOW, the death of a mere 16 people (I dont mean to sound callous with that...but in the grand scheme of things....) has the whole country crying foul and freaking out and jihadding all over the place?

TheOnion.com had a BRILLIANT headline that read "Act of brutality by American soldier taints purity of war." Seriously. We are in a WAR here. The fact that there are even "rules of engagement" and all the stuff is just so silly. So silly. I understand that the Afghanis killed were civilians and not "military" (like Afghanistan has their own military......), but simply because they didnt wear a "uniform" makes their death more unacceptable? There are other examples of this dramatic irony too: When, months back, some korans were burned, it was total jihad. So, then, it is okay to kill kill kill kill kill and break up families and business goes on as usual....and that is all fine....but if you burn a BOOK, then that is just senseless barbarianism?

The biggest difference between us and these people, however, is something I have mentioned before: They protest with 8x10s of pictures in their hands. We dont. Maybe we need more 8x10 pictures of dead leaders like Kennedy or Taft or Harding. Then maybe we can all skip work and go out in the street and say their name over and over again. Maybe, then, we can start to relate to these people and figure out what the heck we are doing trying to help them.....

Meanderings 71

1. Remote Control: The remote control is aptly named because the farther along you get with relationships and people living in your house (wife...kids...) the more you see how you are only "remotely" in control of what you are watching--hence, "remote control."

2. How about an app for iphone, etc that is, itself, the screen/interface for a "rotary" phone? I am sure, actually, that this exists. Does it? And, if it does, is this the ultimate irony? That we pine for something nostalgic that simply doesnt exist anymore because of the item by which we are hoping to find this nostalgia? #doyouknowwhatimean?

3. A restaurant idea: CATS. No, they dont serve cats, silly head. You eat your meal. You enjoy your coffee. You savor your dessert. All while a dozen or so well behaved and non-human-food-interested cats mosey around, maybe jump up in your lap, maybe sit with you, maybe want to be pet, etc. A great gimmick. Eating out is not stressful now.

4. Can you imagine how many of the nation's problems could be fixed with the money used by stupid white men to campaign and advertise how they want to fix all the nation's problems? I know that, often, my meanderings are just ridiculous drivel I think of while I run....but this one absolutely astounds me. How do we, as Americans, let this happen? Why do we stand idly by while candidates spend literally hundreds of millions of dollars JUST to get elected? SO STUPID. Yet, so American

5. I am increasingly bothered by the phrase "lifetime guarantee" or the gimmick on a product "will last for a lifetime!" This is such deceptive and silly advertising, yet we fall for it. EVERYTHING will last for a lifetime--EVERYTHING. Every "thing's" LIFE ceases to exist at the end of its LIFETIME. The laws of physics and chemistry and nature prohibit ANYTHING from lasting longer than its lifetime....that is the whole point of a lifetime, right? I mean, it is simple philosophy. Am I wrong here? Everything "exists" until it...well....ceases to exist. At that point, the "guarantee" is null and void. I mean, I could sell a fly with pancreatic cancer and say that it will "last a lifetime." Ya know? And this whole "lifetime guarantee" is equally stupid. Because the only time we are ever interested in "cashing in" on this lifetime guarantee is when we need a new one of whatever we now no longer have....and, sadly, at this point, to be fair, the guarantee ceases to exist, because it was only for the thing's "lifetime."

6. I hate all these fad-dy ploys to get bored housewives making tons of money, because these ploys always end up giving the individual a title with "consultant" at the end, and I find this patronizing and condescending. I have former students who work at tanning salons and are now called "tanning consultants," etc. The one that seems to annoy me the most is this new "Scentsy" candle ponzi scheme thing. The women ( There may be men, but I have never seen any who do it) are called "Scentsy Consultants." To me, a "consultant" denotes a person who is more expert in a chosen field than the other person, and thus needs to be called in to remedy/help/guide/facilitate a given situation. So are these scentsy people insulting my ability to SMELL? Do they inherently know what smells best for me and my house? And, if so, what kind of training do they receive to give such sage-like advice? If I wanted "burnt apricot dew" would they advise against it for economic reasons and thus suggest "cranberry bog morning?" Are they THAT good? I mean, come on....how many people need help trying to figure out what kind of smells they like. Is this yet another thing we Americans can no longer do on our own?

Lucky Leprachaun Part II

Callum just LOVES to run. Some little kids like baseball. Or basketball. Or trucks. Or legos. Callum Stuart loves to run. I hope it carries into his pre teen and teen years. After the race, he wanted to do the cool down with me--this is kind of our deal because, usually, he gets visibly upset when he cannot run the entire RACE with me. Also, sitting down after the race, looked at me and said, "Daddy, when I get bigger and bigger and bigger I'm going to RACE you....and then I am going to BEATTTTTT YOU!!!" I told him it was "on like donkey kong" and we shook on it. I also told him that I cant think of anything cooler than having my own son run a race with me someday....and beating me!

As I mentioned yesterday, we started and finished the race at Amalfi's Restaurant in Rockland, and, after sampling several of their Shag Rock Brews, we decided to just stay and eat at the place. I think this will become a classic Fitzgoldwards establishment, and I think we'd all like to go back (without the kids...) WHO SAID THAT??? what? I didnt hear anything......

As you can see, the view is great...but the picture didnt come out super well....

Callum and his good buddy Caden. It is cute to watch Callum try to copy just about everything Caden does....I think Callum is at "that age." He looks up to Caden, who is, as you can tell, a "big kid." haha...

Typical Callum face....

After lunch, we headed down to a kind of sandy (well...sandy for MAINE) beach to walk around and let the kids play a bit. Callum and Mia seemed to be as content as could be to throw rocks into the ocean. Caden was a masterful rock skipper. Also, Caden, Mia, and Callum worked on their shell and rock collections. Siena texted the whole time (JUST KIDDING!!!!). And Maira? Well, she just kind of stood around and took it all in. That is, until her big fan Caden started playing with her!

We just love being on the ocean....

Lucky Leprachaun 5k-2012 (Part I)

I just wrote a TON of text for this post....and I hit some random button....and it ALLLL got deleted. I am so frustrated right now. I am NOT typing it again. But here are some pictures from yesterday's race. Maybe when I get cooled off, I will write more. MAN sometimes I hate this computer.

The Winter Beard......

well, it wasnt really much of a winter, was it? PATHETIC. But, since I spend so much time outside in the winter--wood, running, etc--I usually grow a beard. I do this for three reasons: a) something to do b) I HATE shaving and I am lazy c) it keeps me warm when I am outside. Despite what people will say, this WAS a cold winter. And if you didnt think so, then you didnt spend a lot of time outside. But here is the beard. It was getting a bit redonkulous, and people were, quite honestly, starting to get rude about it. In fact, one lady at church told me straight up that I looked "ridiculous" and "disgusting," to name a few descriptors. Very nice thing to say to someone at church, huh? But, anyway, I decided to do this:

Shave it off. When I did, Callum told me I looked scary and that I should get a new beard real quick. My students told me I look twelve. And Maira kept shooting funny glances at me. I guess I really didnt realize how much different (and younger) the beard makes me look. But look at Maira....isnt she a beautiful little girl? We are just blessed with two children who have REMARKABLE personalities. Maira's favorite words of late are APP-ULL (apple) and MOOB (moon....as in her favorite book GOOD NIGHT MOON) She also loves giving kisses, as Papa can attest to from skyping with her, saying BYE MAIRA and then having Maira pucker up and lean in towards the computer....

The Goldsmiths all love to read, which is why the only (and ONLY) reason I miss cable is for the Bruins. Everything else on TV is crap--Ice-road-hoarder-shore-storage, for example. We love to read, and we hope the kids really do too. I think Callum is a shoe in to be a big reader. He can sit and look at books for a while, and he is VERY focused when we read. Maira is **starting** to come around. She will sit for minutes (MINUTES is a big deal for her!) on end and look through her SPOT books and stuff....but she isnt like her brother in that she doesnt enjoy sitting on laps for twenty minutes digesting a good story.

She likes to read books on her terms. She is a VERRRRRRY busy young lady. She is, quite honestly, exhausting. She never ever sits still. Even I sit still SOMETIMES.

Tonight, as I write this, Sally is out with her girlfriends from church at Craparitas. The NJ people would get a huge kick out that if they ever read the blog and didnt spend their time going to big- fat- bully- dont -confuse -me- with- the- facts Chris Christy rallies or whatever they do. But while Maira went to sleep, Callum and I got to hang out for a bit and work on letters and numbers....when WHAT TO MY WANDERING EYES SHOULD APPEAR but Dana from next door bringing:

He had asked to borrow our pot/steamer because I knew he was making some steamers. I guess he bought forty (yes, FORTY) pounds of clams. He brought over a little sample for us....they were OTHERWORLDLY. #whereisjaywhenyouneedhim Callum, even though he won't eat chicken tenders from Red Barn, WILL go ga-ga over clams and mussels, and he was THRILLED to have a big bucket of clams. In fact, he is sleeping upstairs with one of the shells right now (I washed it off...dont worry....but he REALLY wanted to sleep with one of his clams, he said).

The Brethren of Real Evangelical Witnesses

In case you havent looked close enough, this stands for BREW, which is entirely what this "club" is dedicated towards...haha. Our Pastor always talks about how brewing beer is a very important part of our Lutheran history, and we (all the people you'll see pictured here) are happy to honor this history....and then some. Disclaimer: This is not a "get wasted" kind of meeting. Not at all. Rather, we all really love craft beers--microbrew, local, exotic, homebrew, etc. Occasionally we get together for a tasting, some great food, and some FANTASTIC conversation. You cannot have a bad time at one of these things! And the resulting "dead soldiers" can be seen below.....(some of them, anyway....)

A really fantastic group of guys--the two sitting by the windows were friends of our friend Mark (and the guy in the denim shirt is one of those guy's dad....a retired mill worker from Millinocket, down for the weekend to stay with his son and see his grandkids....a HOOT of a guy...a man who, in his own words, thinks Narragansett is the most exotic beer he's ever had....classic!) The two friends of Mark are SEVERE home brewers, ready to possibly take it to the next level and perhaps offer growler filling opportunities, etc. I believe their company is called BREWSTRONG, and, if, unlike me, you have facebook, you can find them. Their stuff was just simply marvelous, and my favorite had to be an "all grain" lager that tasted like a light hefenweisen (an unfiltered wheat beer) that would be perfect with a wedge of lemon and a sunny day! They also did some marvelous cream stouts, which are stouts brewed with actual lactose sugar (lactose is the sugar in milk, if you didnt know). A wonderfully creamy flavor. I need a beer right now. I am really lucky to have such great friends from simply so many walks of life....all interested in different stuff....Pastor, pictured in the tan sweatshirt on the right, brews some of my favorite stuff, and, sticking to his "roots," it is usually of the German or Belgian nature. He more specifically shared a Belgian "Dubel," which is wonderfully rich and provocative (Tim will make fun) tasting beer. I wont even try to pretend I am wordy and creative enough to assign adjectival monikers like "earthy undertones" or "essence of the number six" or "left rear palate cleansing" or anything of the like. It was just GOOD and you should taste it for yo'self!

Good friend Fred, pictured above, is a very talented and creative chef at a great restaurant in town (Waterville) called The Last Unicorn. In fact, I took Amanda there Saturday night for a date (beer night was Friday). Fred put together a spread of appetizers that we were almost too afraid to eat, since it was so beautiful....haha.

This would have made my father in law drool, since George is always putting together cheese trays like this. You've got some fresh mozzarella mixed with tomato and basil...you have some gouda, swiss, and some type of "costello" blue cheese (I hope I have that right!). He's also got a couple of really gorgeous (can you call a sausage gorgeous??!!) sausages--some chorizo and andouille, etc. And even though you cant see it, some homemade ciabatta bread which was delightful.

I love food.

I love beer.

I love seeing friends.

PS: Sorry for all the words I probably butchered as far as spelling goes!

A quick trip to Sadie's

Last week or so I was going over my friend Eric's place to supposedly watch the Celtics for a bit....to my everlasting joy, we spent the entire time discussing The Count of Monte Cristo, since he just picked it up at the library to read, and he knows it is one of my all time favorites. Before I went over his house, I stopped by the high school, since the Sadie Hawkins dance was going on. Obviously, I was dressed for the occasion. But I wanted to see some of my students--this year's senior class is comprised of some of the finest young people I have ever had the pleasure to teach. I will really miss them when they are gone, and, now that we are in mid March almost, that time is nearer than one might think!

Here is Christine, one of our babysitters. Also, she and Amanda share an intense love of Birki's and other cool sandal stuff....

Elizabeth, whom I had the pleasure of teaching as a freshman too. She is taking an independent study with me this year on teaching English. Next to her in Conner, who will either go to Wheaton, Stonehill, or St Mike's. If Wheaton or Stonehill are it, then he can hang out with Annie at the clubhouse. Next to her is Sydney, and next to her is Sarah.
The "cool kids." Obviously.

Dont you sometimes wish the simplicity and fun of high school? These are some fantastic kids for sure

Like I said, I was dressed for the occasion. The Sadie's dance also ends the official "Winter Carnival" week at the school. Winter Carnival has been written about before on Goldsmith5. It is a crazy week of inter-class competitions and games, all culminated by a crazy assembly I host for the whole school--eating contest, tug of war, basketball, etc.

Now come the doldrums of March. Worst winter EVER as far as snow. Yesterday was daylights savings time. "Nicer" weather is coming. Longer days. This all, for me, equals SEVERE depression. How long is it til next NOvember???

Maira the Bully (???)

This is what Maira does: She follows Lupine around. She gives her things (see the treats??) She also gives the kitty goldfish, cookies, milk, the phone, and SPOT books. She also likes to sit in Lupine's bed. Is she a bully? Judge for yourself by these pics taken in chronological order....

Yup. She's a bully. Who does she take after??

Meanderings 70

1. Used weights: In our school classified email directory, there was a woman selling used weights "like new" for virtually the same price as she paid at Dick's. Her exact writing was "two 30 pound hex dumbells....only used a couple of times....like new....paid 30 bucks, would sell for 25 bucks." Why do weights lose their monetary value at all? Why would used weights be a "bad" thing? What could possibly happen to weights to make them lose their effectiveness? Why would it matter that they were "like new?" All a weight needs to do to be effective is be heavy. This woman is stupid.

2. When you are a kid, you get an "operation." Then, from the ages of roughly 15 to 40, you have "surgery." After 40 though, when you go under anesthesia, what was previously called an operation or a surgery is now a "procedure." Old people always have "procedures." Funny.

3. In Maine we make a big deal of low income heating assistance. This is where we give money to financially struggling people so they can pay for oil for their furnaces. This is totally the wrong thing to do--I dont mean "helping" people....I mean giving them money for oil. Fundamentally wrong. By giving them money for oil, all we are doing is fuding dirka dirka nations and their ridiculous price gouging of fossil fules. Here's what the gov't should do: give FIREWOOD allowances to people. This makes way more sense. We are, essentially, putting money back iinto the economy in Maine. Since it is my money going to these programs, shouldnt I have a say in this? And what I say is that we should, instead of sending the money to dirkadirkastan, give it to hardworking Maine loggers and wood people so they can get some cash. Now some people would say "what if these people dont have wood stoves??" SImple. That can be paid for too. Get them wood stoves. I would be willing to bet that if you did the math, it would be cheaper to install a basic wood stove and chimney pipe ANNND give them a few cord of wood rather than pay for oil. This makes perfect sense to me. The next thing people will complain about is how they dont want to be bothered with stacking/carrying wood....they dont want to clean up from the mess....they dont want to have to, essentially, DO anything (feed the stove, empty ashes, etc). Okay. Fine. But dont expect free handouts then. I burn wood. It is a lot of work. I do it because it is better heat and cheaper. Yes, oil heat is more convenient. Definitely. We continue to entitle the people of society.

4. Only in America do we have web sites with "INTERACTIVE" weather. Seriously people? How arrogant, American, and dominating do we need to be now that we want to/think we have the right to INTERACT with weather?? WEATHER??? It is the most powerful force on the planet....and, somehow, just because we can watch a cute little doppler of a rainstorm we somehow think we are "interacting" with this? You are NOT interacting with weather. Weather doesnt give a crap about you. And you cant control it. YOu cant hang with weather. Now go out and stack some wood.

Trippy does his thing

My Nana Courtney used to have an old friend named "Trippy." I think that was his nickname. Anyway, for years and years and years she had this newspaper clipping of this guy named Trippy, and the clipping was taped to the mirror over her bedroom bureau; it is one of the things I simply "remember" about my Nana's room---that, and all the pictures of Jesus and Mary. I dont know if Trippy was a boyfriend or not. If my mom read this blog, perhaps she could enlighten us with the answer. But, alas, she does not.

The picture of Trippy reminds me of all three of these pictures of Callum. Thank you (seriously) Fred and Amy--this drum set belongs to "Little Fred," and when we were over their house last week for dinner and playtime and beer, Amy and Fred were lovely enough to let Callum "borrow" this until one year old Fred can, well, use it. Suffice to say our little young man was ENTRANCED by this drum set--he really loves playing the drums, and he actually can keep a beat....it is awesome to watch. Even awesomer (although she was napping at the time so I couldnt get a picture) is the way Maira is starting to copy EVERYTHING Callum does....he is indeed her big-brother-role-model. She, too, will pick up sticks and bang the cymbals, snare, etc.

The set has a little pedal for the bass drum....it is all electronic so the little plastic plates make the drum noises. ALSO, you can play drums along to some pre recorded pieces offered by the "set." Callum's favorite song by which to play along is a tie between Gavin DeGraw's "Still not over you," and Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain." We even have a little family band going; yesterday, in fact, for the snow day where we were all home together, Amanda got out her oboe,, I played keyboard, Callum did drums, and Maira walked around withe a tambourine, and we played the Gavin DeGraw song. Callum thinks we are in a real rock and roll band....

One more funny thing--Callum (although not in this picture) usually needs to stop what he is doing in order to get his "rock and roll outfit," which consists of his blacksmithed ring from Santa's Village (he puts it on his pinky) and his green sunglasses. Then, he says, he is all rock and roll.....