Apple Picking #1

Actually, this ended up being our THIRD trip to the Apple Farm--we had gone, previously, in search of their fantastic tomatoes, which we found, canned, and stored in our canning section of the cellar. The Apple Farm is just awesome, and we love going whenever we can; a gorgeous farm with some gorgeous views (in one direction, it is a papermill....haha) and some good memories. A lot of folks near and dear to our hearts have gone there with us: Nannie, Papa, Tim and Eleni, MeeMee and Grampy, and Dave and Muriel--who joined us last Sunday!

It was MOBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBED at this place, since it was a beautiful day and the Patriots werent on until 8 that night. Last year, with Tim and Eleni, Callum and Maira were ECSTATIC about the horses that gave wagon rides. This year, Maira was still very very excited to see horsies...but Callum, as seems to be the case with him lately, was a bit scared of "Mister Zee."

We have so many fresh apples now, and we are great with that. We picked some Macs and Cortlands, and we bought some already-picked Macoun apples--I think those are the crowd favorite with the Fish-Houston/Goldsmith clans: A crisp, intriguing flavor that is not too sweet and not too tart

We will be going back several more times in the weeks to come to begin to buy a steady stream of "economy grade' utility apples so we can begin making and canning our famous applesauce. YES!!!!

Oh, and today, as one of Maira's milestones, we realized she can count to five (to eight actually, but her pronunciation up to five is great!). Callum has been undergoing a train renaissance, and he has set up a fantastic ThomasTrack in the living room, and we play trains WHILE watching Thomas stories...and ultimately we make our own stories. I got to be Toby tonight #goodday

The Thing about Fall is....

that we go about it all wrong. Other than winter, I would see we, as humans, do the most "celebrating" during the autumn season. And, if you think about it, the only reason winter is more of a 'celebratory' season is because of the holidays associated with it--Christmas and New Year's Day. Fall, essentially, is celebrated for its role as a 'season' only; there are no great holidays associated with it (well, except for Halloween, which celebrates the fact that there is a night where dead spirits can roam the earth.....MY kind of 'celebration!!!')

But therein is the funny part about fall: What are we celebrating? What happens in the fall? Well, everything dies. And days get darker. And people spend more time inside. And it gets colder and less desirable to BE outside even if it were light out (oh sure....everyone loves the nicey crispy fally sunny days for about two weeks, so they can show off their Eddie Bauer sweaters....but let's face it, when the temp dips below 50 degrees, Americans complain about how cold it is). But maybe that is why we celebrate fall, simply because it gives us carte blanche to complain, and complain with indignance (and I dont care what you say, COMPLAINING is the great American pasttime--and I am very guilty of this as well).

Fall is just a disjointed season: We have all these "harvest fair" kinds of things and "welcome fall" kinds of parties with apple things and donut things and cider things-how come we never have any 'spring' parties like this? There is no celebration of the 'beginning' of life anew--but we are so quick to celebrate death with all these county and country fairs. What is also funny to me is how autumn is the 'harvest' season....but, as someone who grows herbs and vegetables, I can tell you that by now my gardens have just about been picked bare. I mean, we are into the CANNING and preserving season, but there really is nothing else to harvest. And 'scarecrows' are SUCH a mainstay of the fall season; they are as identifiable with fall as pumpkins, witches, and ghosts. But wouldnt scarecrows be more of a 'summer' kind of fixture, like right when you are planting your garden and everything is more tender and young and vulnerable? How come there now scarecrow "summer" decorations? And finally, speaking of decorations, fall is the only season where our decorations and adornments are, essentially, trash, cattle feed, compost, dead plants,and insect torture-chambers--hay, cornstalks, spider webs, and fallen leaves make up the crux of seasonal garb. And we pay money for this stuff.....

I've written before on this blow about how fall is indeed the most misunderstood season of them all--we try to rush in fall (folks go apple picking at the beginning of September when it is 88 degrees, but they still wear vests and jackets) but then we are so slow (and dare I say TRICKED) by the season itself; fall laughs at us by conspiring with an early winter, and, before you know it, fall is over, and all those decorations become soggified pieces of carrion pumpkins and gourds that sit out until spring and tarnish the crisp, bright colors of the Christmas decorations, which will most likely be out before the first week of November....

But fall does have one thing that makes this all seemingly worthwhile: I am talking, of course, about one of the best films of all time, "The NIghtmare Before Christmas."

So here we are

in week 3 of the NFL, and as I write this, the Pats are about to take on the Baltimore Ravens in prime time--NBC Football Night in America, as I have written many times, is undoubtedly my favorite show on television. They have the best color analysis, interviews, and, in my opinion, annoncers.... We havent taken many pictures lately but we hope to start that up again soon....we went apple picking today, and I will post some pictures of this soon. Boy was it crowded up at the Apple Farm today... Yesterday, on Saturday, Amanda and her mom went, again, to a quilt store in Jefferson (a beautiful country town). I hung out with the kids, played football and soccer (Callum's favorite things to do lately...with soccer, we play pass, and he is showing great technique....and with football, basically, he just wants to tackle me), and went with Callum on a run around the block. I, too, went for a long 8 miler yesterday. In the rain. #chafing. Speaking of running, we are over half way through the season, and, at this point, our regular season is over. We are undefeated as a team (points system....kind of complicated) as we head into the Festival Of Champions this coming weekend, Mt Blue Relays, and then the 'playoffs' version of XC. It makes me so excited to run and race, and I look forward to doing some 5ks this fall. Maira updates: Her latest obsession is definitely dolls (or as she calls them BABIES), and her favorite baby is the Cabbage Patch Doll Papa got her for Christmas last year. She has named it Ashley (she pronounces it ASH-EEEEE). Finally, her other favorite thing to do is be lifted up so she can stand on the kitchen counter and look in the snack cabinet and (hopefully) score some candy corn. Her eyes literally LIGHT UP when she stands on the counter and opens that magical snack-door, even.... Okay. off to the game.

My Wife

is on sewing fire lately....I will have to take some pictures of her little sewing nook down in the basement...I am really proud of her lately for the way in which she is taking control of her own health and doing things that she loves doing--all too often, with kids I think, we forget to nurture our own bodies and souls. For me, working out has become an almost sacrosanct activity--if I dont get my run or my yoga or my exercises in, I am a miserable person. For Amanda, I know she loves to create: knitting, sewing, quilting, etc. It is SO EASY to just come home every day and veg out and watch TV, catch up on laundry, etc. But she is kicking butt getting her quilting projects in line, sewing a Halloween wall hanging, and (almost) finishing a sweater she started for me a few months ago (84 months to be exact....). PLUS, the chick is DESTROYING the Harry Potter's. She began re-reading them in mid July, and she has just ONE MORE book to go before reading the WHOLE series again. Keep plugging away with nurturing yourself Amanda!

Callum, too, has become sort of interested in what is involved with sewing and quilting: He went to the store with Lynne and Amanda on Saturday, and he, too, chose some fabric for a "craft project." He loves calling these things "craft projects" no matter what it is--he loves to create. He chose one piece with lobsters on it. And another piece with Christmas bells. Amanda will strip them, align them, and sew them into a little "lap quilt" for him. I hope Callum is well rounded enough that he grows to appreciate not just the stereotypical "GUY" stuff like soccer, football, running, paddling, and all the other stuff he loves....but also some of the great artistic things out there....

Maira, on the other hand, is happy to be doing just about anything, as long as she can bring her "baby" (the cabbage patch doll my dad got her for Christmas) whom she has named "Ashley." Very cute. On Saturday, while the other Goldsmiths were in Freeport, Maira and I went over to Colby College and did a little nature walking up the hills we run up for Cross COuntry practice--she loved it, did some of her own "hill repeats," collected pine cones (her favorite) and chose about 5 or 6 acorns to bring home to "buddy."

We are growing to love Saturday nights, having the college football game of the week on: I am growing to really love college football, simply for how exciting it is--no matter who is playing. You just see more longbombs being thrown, and just more risk in general. And, on Saturday night, it was FIGHTING IRISH vs Michigan State. Jeesh...how the mighty have fallen: When I was a kid, ND was THEEEEEEE college football team. EVERYONE had Notre Dame apparel, hats, etc. You dont see that much anymore. Maybe it is just cuz I live in CentralMaine, where the majority of the people-unlike in Easton Mass--are NOT Irish...

Christmas in September

Oh hi. Amanda here. Blogger is being so weird and I have no idea if this will even turn out right. Jared had told me that they changed the site but I didn't realize how messed up it was until tonight when I'm trying to write this blog. Anyway, on to more important things. Like baking cookies with Callum!

Okay, so I guess I can't write in between photos anymore. What the heck?

 Oh - I figured it out. ANYWAY - Callum has been asking to make Christmas cookies lately. I think this is because he and Maira are OBSESSED with the movie 'Prancer'. They ask to watch it first thing in the morning and then continue throughout the day. Callum, I know, has lines memorized. In the movie the little girl feeds Prancer some Christmas cookies because that's all she has to give him for food. Callum decided he would like to make some too. You know, just in case we found a wounded reindeer outside our house and we needed to feed him...

We made all different shapes - pumpkins, bats and ghosts; bells, trees, and snowflakes; a house, a mickey house head, bears, and moose. Callum did a great job rolling out the dough, cutting it out, and then decorating them. He LOVES sprinkles.

Maira was taking her afternoon nap and it's always nice to be able to spend some time with just one of the kids. Callum and I also love taking funny pictures together. Here is our favorite:

And here is my little baker. On our last batch, he decided that we would play 'Bakery'. He informed me that he was the baker and I had to sit at the dining room table. I had to just sit there. And do nothing. I couldn't even read a book. Apparently I had to sit and just wait for my cookies to be done. Actually, in the words of Callum, 'Mommy, you sit here at the table. I'm the baker and I'm baking cookies for you. I'll let you know when I'm ready for you to put them into MY oven, okay?" Okay, CS...

I met....

My new student teacher intern today...her name is Kelsey, and she is a senior at Colby, and I will be her "mentor teacher" while she does her student teaching with me until the end of January. Basically, my advice to her will be to watch everything I do as a teacher..........................and then do the opposite. It was REALLY great meeting her; I remember when I was a intern at Noble High School back in 2001, and I remember the energy and high hopes and nervousness I had for all I was going to experience. I also remember that as an intern, almost exactly 11 years ago, I was interrupted in my class by the PA speaker as Mr Tornrose, the school principal, came over the announcments saying words I will NEVER forget: "Young people, it pains me to report to you that the United States is currently under attack....a plane flew into the twin towers in NYC...another plane flew into the Pentagon....and one flew into the White House (that was what the news first reported on 9/11). I remember as an intern not knowing WHAT.THE.HECK. to do after he got finished. What do you say to kids? Or anyone? It was one of the most scary and bizarre days of my life. Indescribable. I know someday Callum or Maira will do some project or something for social studies where they'll have to interview Amanda or me and ask us where we were when we first heard about the terrorist attacks on 9/11....I will tell them this story. I cannot imagine starting out as a new teacher again; I wouldnt wish the first year of teaching on my worst enemy. I have said that over and over again. I hope you enjoy the pictures of Callum and Maira watching their favorite movie as of late: The 1989 hit "Prancer."

Clinton Fair 2012

First, I apologize....I am writing this blog in "HTML" because our computer is being weird...and I have no idea how this is going to come out.... First, check out the pictures of what we took out of the garden today! FINALLY,our tomatoes are starting to do something!! We are harvesting tomatoes daily now, and we even have some huge, beautiful Brandywine varieties--Callum is holding this one. Clinton Fair was awesome this year, as it always is....but Callum was ABSOLUTELY terrified of the whole scene, which is weird, since after CHRISTMAS, the Clinton Fair is his favorite event of the year! He was scared of the loud noises of the tractor pulls, the music, the roller coaster, and the Hurdy Gurdy Man (this creepy old dude who drove a motorcycle around the fair, and in the back of the motorcycle was a trailer pulling fake automoton monkeys who played fake instruments....). He wouldnt go on any rides or anything! But Maira did, as seen with her merry go round pictures with me! She rode the horsies twice in a row, while Callum watched, laughed, and took pictures of her! Food was great as it always is....I enjoyed a sausage and an apple crisp. Amanda enjoyed the same. The kids had hot dogs. Lynne and George, who met us there on their way back from Seawall, enjoyed some sausage, but also bought a four dollar apple fritter/donut thing that was roughly the size of a small pizza. Feeding the goats, visiting the chickens, petting the bunnies, and staring at all the Clinton freaks rounded out the day. A great time at the fair!!

Home Meet

And they're off!

Since we only have one XC meet per week, we end up having only one HOME meet at WInslow High School. It would take too long to have more. I cannot explain--without you seeing in person--just how exciting racing is. You wouldnt think so, but it is really high energy and high excitement situation. Our home course (3.1 miles) is actually considered pretty tough. Perhaps I should take some pictures of it for you to see; we have fields, hills, deep woods, roots, rocks, bridges over streams, and gravel trails similar to the carriage trails in Acadia. I think we have an excellent course! The general rule of thumb is to subtract (sometimes) 3 minutes off your WHS course time to see how this would translate onto a typical ROAD race; the mud and grass really slows you down! Number 101, our best runner, Nick, ended up getting second overall with a time of 19 minutes and change....

Callum loves these races--he often wants to BE in the race and, more often than not, warms up or cools down with the team! Here, he hangs out with his friend, senior runner Cody. Tim, Cody is the only Greek person I have ever met in Maine.

Oh hi! Kate Cassidy, mother of one of our runners, takes roughly 300 photos per race, and she puts them on FB for all to see/tag/etc. She does a great job and I am grateful!

Checking in with the girls before their race (girls and boys race separately). Notice Callum with his gatorade cup AND the official whistle. In lieu of a gun (you cant say GUN in skool) we start the race with a huge whistle blow after I say RUNNERS SET! Callum blew the whistle for the girl's race and I think it pretty much brought completion to his life....

Amanda and the kids try to make it to every race, and it is great having them--Cross Country is truly a family affair. Maybe I will even coach my kids someday! Although I think Maira will opt for football....

Lots of rain

last night....our woodstove chimney continues to leak in strange places; interestingly, the chimney that was built when the house was built (over 50 years ago) has never had an issue....but the one built in the 80s (the 1980s) for the wood stove has more issues than National Geographic, he, said. Weird. Leaks in the basement by the cleanout. By the stovepipe. And through ONE brick in the kid's room....

Callum and I picked fourteen tomatoes tonight, including a HUGE brandywine beauty--I took a picture and will upload it tomorrow....

Callum has his four year old doctor's appt tomorrow afternoon...he will get  many shots, although he doesnt know that yet...I wonder if, given the choice, he would choose shots over having to go to preschool??

Did you ever go to work with your dad when you were a kid? I was just thinking about this today. Maybe it is because I spent a lot of time on Saturday talking to people who work in Boston, as I used to for a bit; I still miss working in the city sometimes, and my dad worked in Boston for like 30 years. I used to go to work with him all the time and, looking back, I realize it was one of the most exciting things I did as a kid. Isnt that funny? Going to WORK was an exciting thing? I think it was because of all the offbeat logistics that went into going to work wit Hank: Getting up at quarter to four in the morning....listening to WBZ with Dave Maynard all the way into town (my dad has always called Boston 'town' which I think is funny)...watching the day transition from night to morning, and watching the increasingly large volume of cars on the highway as we made our way in....stopping at Ray's Subs in Cambridge every morning, where ALL the glaziers stopped for toast and coffee before work...and eating my way through the day (coffee truck at ten, coffee breaks, chinese food for lunch usually, etc). I cant believe my dad did this for so long--he has been retired for a number of years now. My mom hopes to retire in a few years. My Aunt Patty just retired last week. George is supposedly retired.

Here are some pictures from FOUR Septembers ago....Amanda and I were looking through these tonight, and LOVE these. Our poor little guy is growing up so fast and he is still so anxious and sad about school....but you cannot protect them forever....

From when Papa and Grammie Goldsmith came up to visit. Callum 'sizing up' Papa back in the day...

Funny how the brain works--going from thinking about Boston to going to work with my dad to retiring? Tangent central, I guess. I wonder if I will ever get to retire? I cannot even IMAGINE being done with work. What a strange feeling it must be, to put it lightly. It must be amazing. Or sucky. Or both. I will probably drink a lot.

OOOMPAHHHH!!!!!!

Congratulations to Tim and Eleni, who just not only hosted one of the best parties of all time, but also consecrated their wedding rings at this past Saturday's Engagement Party. It is so interesting learning about all the different cultural aspects of the Greek Orthodox tradition. For example, Tim and Eleni had their rings blessed by the priest, and, from this point on, can wear them on their LEFT hand. Then, in May, when they are married, they move the rings over to their RIGHT hands, since that is the way they do it. Another neat tradition was having Tim and Eleni dance up on a table while people stuck/pinned/whokknowswhat money onto their dress--this is to bring good fortune. Finally, Tim had to swear before all those present that he would not only pledge his whole self to Eleni, but also, at some point, open up a pizza restaurant and work there 84 hours per week for the first two years of their m, arriage.

Amanda and I got the scheduling of the party a little messed up, and this was no big deal, except, to make a long story short, we had to leave the party early (it started at 4 and we left at 830) from Bedford MA, and then drive up to Mount Desert Island to rendezvous with the Willards, who were on vacation and watching the kids for us. So, at 130, we rolled in to the hotel, tried to sleep, and got up early the next morning with Maira. It seemed like one. Long. Day.

But the party!! Oh my goodness what a blast. Getting to be with my two bruthas Tim and Jay (missed you Johnny!), enjoying CaptainMorgans and coke/ginger ale, dancing to Greek music with one of Eleni's nieces, working the room like a politician (thanks CaptainMorgan), and eating more than any human should be allowed to eat in one 24 hour period. The hilight, of course, was the goat: Tim's dad Georgio (owner of THE Georgio's Steakhouse Restaurant in Dighton, MA), along with his brother Christo, bought two young goats, drove them home, slaughtered them in the back yard, dressed them, loaded them onto spits, rubbed them with the seasonings of the Greek gods, and rotisseried the hell out of them to achieve something truly amazing. Just an awesome time with awesome people. Tim's mom produced her world famous Baklava (no idea if I spelled that right), and several other desserts too amazing to even mention.

In true Jared form, I DID manage to annoy/piss off someone--I am extremely skilled at annoying people/pissing them off/getting them to not speak to me/all of the above. Let's just say a woman at a nearby table wasnt a huge fan fan of my supposed "trivializing" of the Greek culture...so what if I said OOOOMPAHHHH 13 dozen times per hour? It is a party. Have a drink.

If this much fun was had at the engagement party, then surely thinking about the wedding in May will get me through those dark winter months ahead......even though I look forward to the winter like Callum looks forward to donuts!

METAXA!!!!!!!

#workingtheroom

 I loveeeeee heeeeeem......

METAXA!!!!!

Shades of his father.....

Ask my mom and dad what I was like as a little kid when it came to things like school, camp, etc: I was petrified. I was homesick. I had preposterous anxiety. I used to fear that people would forget to pick me up at school or Sunday School, rendering me abandoned and all alone. In my pre-adolescent years, I think I lasted three days at Boy Scout camp at Camp Squanto: Myles Standish State Forest  before screaming to my mom how I hated it so much and I wanted to go home--I cried every single day. Yet, somehow, I never suffered one single and solitary moment of homesickness at college. Go figure.

This anxiety has been passed along to my dear son Callum, and, truly, it is breaking our hearts. He started pre-school at St. John's School in Winlsow (seriously about 300 yards Winslow High) and we have never seen the poor kid act like this--not only does he absolutely hate school, but also he is OBSESSED with thinking about it when he is NOT in school. At night, he wakes up from bad dreams about school, asking what time it is and how long he has before he has to get up for school. This past Friday, he asked to see a calendar so he could count how many more days until he had to go back. Even on Saturday, the act of simply DRIVING BY St John's on our way to Agway made him start crying. I have never see the kid cry so much. Today I was having a completely separate conversation with Amanda about how we were being dismissed from school this Friday for our meet in Lewiston, when Callum yells from the back seat: "Would you guys mind not saying the word 'school' when I am around? I dont like that word."

Gosh we hope this changes. This is a tough one, and I am the one who both drops him off and picks him up: My day begins with him crying as I walk out the door. Daycare, when he was much younger, was never this tough.

Hopefully, since he inherited my propensity for extreme anxiety, he will make up for it by also inheriting my extreme good lucks, charm, and ability to work a room at Greek Engagement parties #shadesofTim.....