Monet and a new bag

Amanda and the kids got me an awesome new baquepaque for a birthday/father's day gift--and I just got it, actually, because it is handmade in Maine, and the lady who owns the business was away. Check out the web site for Alder Stream Canvas:

http://alderstream.wcha.org/packs.html

A few years ago, Sally and I were at the Common Ground Fair, and we saw the woman (Jan, I think) who owns the company...she had a booth set up, and she had lots of gorgeous, hardy, practical bags, totes, and more. Like I said, explore the site and you will see all her great stuff. I had bought Amanda a tote bag a couple of years ago, and she returned the favor, so to speak, by buying me the 'daypack.' I am really fussy when it comes to backpacks--I dont like bells and whistles and frills and straps. All the ones from LL Crap and EMS have too many 'things.' This daypack is simple and nice. It is handmade right up in Kingfield Maine. And it is still cheaper than most of the ones you buy at the bigger stores.

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Lydia, down in NJ, continues to be so good to both Callum and Maira. She was an art teacher, and she loads the kids up with AWESOME craft/art books, supplies, and videos. The video the kids are really REALLY into right now (and, I have to admit, we are too) is "Linnea in Monet's Garden." I think we have watched this 30 minute video at least twice a day for the last four or five days....

There is a book and a film of this, and right now we have the film. We need to get the book. Basically this little girl Linnea has a friend named Mr. Bloom. He is an old man who teaches Linnea lots of stuff about art and culture. She loves all his Monet books, and, one day, they decide to take an impromptu trip to Paris and to see Monet's garden. The film teachers all about the artist, his work, etc. Callum and Maira both love the video itself, but Callum is suddenly REALLLLLY into art--he keeps telling us, with utmost resolve, how Monet is DEFINITELY his favorite artist of all time. He teaches me stuff about how Monet was an impressionist and if I squint my eyes, things might look different to me, etc. He also keeps asking when we can go to Paris. He really really really loves Monet's waterlillies and the Japanese bridge Monet had in his garden. Both he and Maira want to walk across the bridge there, but I struck a deal with them and asked if this one, in Somesville on Mt Desert Island (on route to Seawall) will suffice for them this weekend. I think they have accepted this offer:

Art is alive in the Goldsmith house! Next stop: The Colby College Museum of Art (the biggest art museum in the state...I didnt know that!) and then down to Portland to their art museum too. Good stuff. Art is something I know little about, and I would like to learn with everyone.

Day 2 of school in the books. Freshmen only tomorrow. Then we are live. Thank goodness. All this downtime and meeting time is not my favorite. I just want to 'start' and 'get going' with teaching already!

16 weeks til Thanksgiving.....

Saturday post

It has taken all summer for our garden to anything remotely resembling a garden...but now, all of the sudden, the squash and cucumbers (I hate when they are referred to as CUKES) are taking off. The kids and I were out for a bit today picking...see pictures below. And I found a source for tomatoes!! Our neighbor at the end of the street has a huge garden and sells produce under a yellow umbrella all summer long...I went over and tried to 'wheel and deal' with her a little bit to see if I could buy some of her endofsummerugly tomatoes--she was so thrilled that we were 'young people getting back to the earth with canning' that she is virtually GIVING me all her tomatoes. I do need to compensate her though...she is very kind for doing this! And Amanda and I may can our first batch of tomatoes tomorrow!! The amount that this excites me borderline concerns me...lol...

Anyone who has never stayed in on a Saturday night....canned tomatoes or pickles or applesauce...and listened to Maine Public Radio's Saturday night lineup (Prairie Home, Thistle and Shamrock, World Cafe) has never truly lived. Add a round of cribbage and you can die a happy man!

School starts on Monday with meetings, etc. I have a fall intern named Alyssa and she goes to UMaine Farmington and I am excited to work with her--I end up learning just as much from my interns (this will be my third) as they (hopefully) learn from me! She will be with me through December and hopefully we will get a lot of cool stuff done.

The fall is such a difficult time for me, as I mentioned in my 'transitions' blog last time--I reallllly and going to miss being with my kids each day and doing nothing (yet everything) all at once on lazy summer days. Cross country adds a whole new dimension to the start of school, and our season is off to a great start. I had the kids for most of last week, since Chris, the other coach, was bringing her daughters to to college. In addition to the runs (we are prescribing MINUTES not MILES this year--ie 'go run for 40 minutes' vs 'go run 5 miles') and I am implementing some core/strength/plyometric components at the end of each practice--when everyone is dead tired. Our first meet is next Friday in Disgusta, and then, the following week, we have our only HOME meet!! Fun!!  I love how excited my own kids get about XC--Callum thinks he is one of the coaches. Jeesh...the kid is a better runner than me anyway!!

Lots of great stuff to look forward to though in addition to XC stuff--we are going to head up to Seawall next weekend with the Willards...we have an awesome Santa's Village NH trip with my family coming up...we have the Clinton Fair...a d, of course, the Apple Farm visits are in high gear!! Then we can start to play musical wood and bring wood into the garage and shed for winter....a very busy time ahead!!

My little indentured servants earn their room and board......

Maira raises her hand to ask if she can go in from the hot sun. The answer is no. JK guy, jk....she was just really proud of the cucumber she 'growed.'

k

 We picked seven cucumbers (and harvested several mint leaves for the homemade lemonade the kids have been making....)

Now, all of this is NOT from this year....we have a lottttt of stuff from the past few years. But thus far this season we have probably done a dozen quarts of pickles...four quarts of strawberries...five quarts of watermelon rind pickles...and some other stuff. Notice on the third shelf down on the right the cans that are upside down? These are sour mustard pickles, and you dont have to 'process' them in a bath...the vinegar and hot mustard kills anything that tries to live...haha

Transitions

I never do well with 'transitions,' and this time of year is always a bittersweet one for me--we have begun cross country pre-season, and teachers report for the first day of school on Monday; I am excited for both XC and the school year to begin. However, it is always tough for me to end the summer and, in particular, end getting to be with my kids all day. Even though they drive me nuts most of the time (kidding...but not really...but kind of...) it is truly a blessing to get to be their dad each day. The adage is so true--the summer goes by WAYYY too fast, and I dont necessarily mind 'that' per se, but, rather, in retrospect, I always regret not living 'in the moment' enough, and questioning if I really have enjoyed the summer to the fullest, and been aware of all the awesomeness the ensued.

This school year will be a tough one for sure (I always say that I know). I will have more students (numbers-wise) than I have ever had in my whole career. I have a new intern for the fall. We have a new principal and a new athletic director. And we have 'lost,' essentially, two English positions (no one lost a job, thankfully, but people were shifted around, and the result is a tougher situation for the remaining English teachers)

From my point of view, now is an equally emotional time because I primarily teach 12th graders. All last year, I taught them and watched them grow (or not) and make some really tough decisions about where they were headed next. Then, on FB, all summer, I have seen them living it up, having fun, and enjoying their 'last summer.' Now, starting this week, they all begin the journey to college for the first time, and I can see and feel the emotion in their words, conversations we have, FB posts, emails, and more. It is is just extremely special and interesting (weak words I know) to teach seniors, graduate them, and watch them move onto the next step. Suffice to say I will be a WRECK when Callum and Maira leave home for the naval and air force academies (respectively).

I remember leaving for college VERY well, down to minor details I wont even write because my mom and dad think I make up details and stories for attention. But I even remember what I wore, if that isnt crazy enough! I remember seeing my dorm room for the first time, I remember my dad getting teary (but he gets teary if Maui is out of lobster sauce), and I remember going to bed that first night, all alone in Christensen Hall. Amazing amazing amazing memories I had, and amazing and precious these kids will have as well. I love 'seeing' their journeys.

Late last week Molly and Lauren Schassberger came by to say goodbye as they were leaving for college--Lauren, on the left, is starting year 2 at Davidson, and Molly, on the right, is going to be a freshman at Wesleyan, where she will run XC. Teaching involves so many blessings, but one of the big ones involves the relationships you get to make with just these humans as 'students' but also as 'people.' I am proud to say that I have some very very good 'friends' who are former students. And Amand and I love seeing Callum and Maira grow up around this kind of 'situation,' as we hope it will teach them positive life lessons about relationships and more!

And now for two completely random and unrelated things.....


I realized that we had a new roof put on the back dormer earlier this summer, and I forgot to put pictures to show my dad (and anyone else who is interested). We opted for the sheet metal, which is fun. So there is that.....

...and here is our wicked wicked crappy garden this year. Or our weed-den. Stuff in our yard just grows CRAZILY--and most of this involves weeds. Our tomatoes are almost silly. Gross. And now we are getting tons of cucumbers daily and squash (not 'summer' but butternut, acorn, etc) are starting to do better. Next year we are going to abandon this 'plot' and just do containers in the walkway. Hi.

Peaks-Kenney State Park

Oh hey. The blog has been kind of on hiatus it seems, and there is a lot of catching up to do. One trip we took was to Peaks- Kenney State Park in Dover- Foxcroft for a little getaway camping trip with the Parks-Stamms. It was the most hyphenated camping trip I have ever experienced...lol. 

Peaks-Kenney is DEFINITELY the nicest state park we've ever seen in Maine. LOVED it there...beautiful, cold, deep, clean Sebec Lake...a glacially formed land mass leaving tons of boulders on which kids climbed and climbed...spacious and wooded campsites...playground for good times....just a special place!

The kids had a fun time as always. Below, Polly attempts, for the third or fourth time, to kiss Callum. Each time, Callum gigglingly said 'no no no!' followed by 'AGAIN!' when she stopped. #playa #thuglife

Great campsite...Amanda had baked a meatloaf beforehand, and I fried up slices in the skillet on the Coleman Stove. Mashed potatoes and our own homemade dill pickles rounded out dinner. (I had to make sure I kept food in this blog...I have a streak going)

No trip up to the bathhouse was complete without stopping for some playtime on this unique geological monstrosity--a playground of boulders! Polly and Callum kept flip-flopping between two games: 'Superheroes' (where they were superheroes who chased each other around) and 'Machu Picchu' (where they had to save Machu Picchu city...cuz...ya know...five year olds are way into Machu Picchu....)

Ben, Betsey, Amanda, and I had great conversations, as we always do, about NPR, word derivations, apple cider making and apple tree care, the death of fiction, the golden age of television, mass media, and how I dont find Giselle Bundchen hot. Basically, we talked about everything that would get me stoned to death by people like Jezsin Ponticelli. But it was awesome!

And Maira got into the action too, hanging out in one of the boulder caves....

A neat shot of Sebec Lake...you can walk practically all the way out to the end of the buoy ropes and still stand, unless you are three foot nine like Lin...in the background you can see Borestone Mountain. I think that is how you spell it. A gorgeous view that our camera doesnt even come close to capturing. And Maira doesnt like the water lately. And see Mom, I have a hat on...oh wait...she doesnt...well...you know the rest of the joke....

And while we had lunch over at the Parks Stamm's site, the kids came back over to our site to enjoy some good coloring/art/drawing time. I love watching kids color. It totally relaxes me, and I think it relaxes them too. Does anyone know what I mean? It is like the artistic process (to offer creativity outlets) that imbues the discipline of 'staying in the lines' (almost like a meditation).  Very therapeutic. .Shut up. It is.

Efth comes up, and other alone things I did...

Cute title huh?

So everyone is baque from NJ now, and I am very happy we are all together again.

I did have a great time, however, on my own, while Amanda and the kids were away. I tried each day to be as productive as possible (realizing that REST and RELAXATION is productive...especially for me)

I was really lucky to have Tim come up for a visit; he did this last year too during 'bachelor week.' We were missing Jawn, who is out in Reno, and Jezsin, who had softbuoll. But we made sure to skype, talk, and keep them in the loop as much as we could. Thaim came up on Friday, on a day when, after all was said and done, the meteorologists said we got FIVE inches of rain. Crazy. It was pouring pouring pouring out when Tim came. So we just hung out, drank #fridgebeer, and watched a Workaholics. Then we went to Mardens. I have no idea why I suggested this, and, Tem, I apologize. From there we went over to Maineley Brews, had a couple, and then walked, in the rain, over to Cancun for a stellar BurritoRoqueta dinner.

On Saturday, we awoke to an intensely bright and beautiful sky, and we went up North to the Forks to do a swiftwater float paddle trip on the Kennebec--I have written and posted about this before. It truly is one of my favorite things to do in Maine! Perfect day, great cold, clean water, wonderful part of the state. It is awesome. We had great conversation, great Pearl Jam deep album cuts, and a great time all around before heading back to Mainely Brews again, this time for dinner.

I always say how blessed I am to have the 'founding fathers' of Jay, Jawn, and Tim. We do our best to try to see each other whenever possible, and a bad time is never had. I really appreciate Tim coming up! I definitely have a way of 'losing' friends (especially up here in Maine); you'd be surprised at the list, and it really eats at me sometimes. But I know I can always count on my pals. Thanks guise.

Other things I did while everyone was away:

• Lots of long runs in preparation for the coaching season
• a few longer bike rides since, after the season starts, I wont see my bike til November
• sitting. A lot. And reading. A lot. 
• I actually wrote 2 or 3 new songs!
• I pickled four quarts of 'BaBa pickles' and 4 quarts of Dill Pickles (Callum's favorite)
• played 'musical wood' by moving a bunch of oak into the wood shed...
• made room for the other cord of wood we just go delivered (Lin, come over and stack it!)
• watched the XFiles like crazy (my friend Lacey lets me borrow the seasons, and, since I am married to a 8 year old girl who wont watch them with me, I have to watch them alone)
• sometimes, around dinner time, just rode my bike around the neighborhood for a couple of laps because I love the way the sunlight 'works' at around 630 or so...in August. Isnt that weird? Check it out sometime though...
• caught up on podcasts like Toucher and Rich, Maine Calling, A Prairie Home Companion, and This American Life
• scrubbed and bleached mold off the house and wood
• landscaped and tied up bushes like forsythias and comfreys
• cribbage with Karl and Andy--I love love love cribbage and, this fall, want to play more. If my mom read this blog, I would tell her to tell Upbob that the challenge has been set forth!!
• 
  

Fun in New Jersey!

The kids are having a blast....but hopefully not too much fun....so they still will want to come home to me...haha...above, Callum, Emma, and SteveeeeCeeeee horse around on Steve's parent's boat down on LBI (that, for you Mainers and Massers, stands for Long Beach Island) on the Jersey shore....

And what lobsters are up here in Maine, so are crabs down in NJ. Below, Callum and Steve inspect a crab. If this crab were 400 times bigger, one might mistake it for NJ governor Chris Christie....

I get to talk to the kids and Amanda at least three or four times per day. This week is killing me. Yes, it is nice to have time to come and go as I please, and I am getting a lot of work done, but I REALLLLY miss everyone. I am no good on my own. My friend Elizabeth nailed me to a tee: I am actually a very introverted person, in that I enjoy being alone and I dont do a "ton" with friends all the time. For example, all my exercises are introverted exercises--hours and hours running or biking alone. And I love reading alone. And paddling alone. But, as she points out, I am an extroverted introvert, in that I need to be 'told' what to do alone...haha. At any rate, I cant wait to see my family again. I have no one to cook for. There is no laundry to do. And it is way too quiet around here....haha. Oh, and I lied above: I said I get to talk to the kids and Amanda. That is not true. Yes, Callum, who adores me, talks to me. As does Sally. But Little Miss Maira wants NOTHING to do with me. She will not talk with me, nor did she even give me a kiss goodbye when they left. Oh well. Just like all the females in my family I guess......

Speaking of, it is too bad that my mom and my sister do not read this blog, because I think Maira looks EXACTLY like Kristin in these pics!!

Did I already put this pic on the blog? If so, sorry....

Emma, no doubt, is the STAR of the week to Callum and Maira. They ADORE her. I think even more than MeeMee...haha. But the kids have also had a blast playing with their other second cousins, Brandon and Samantha. Maira and Sammi were playing dolls together a bunch at Michelle's house. And hey!!! What is George doing in the background?? Is he on #screens?? Check out Maira's little dress.....

Some much needed downtime....Maira does like to cuddle while watching tv....

Today I met with the XC team and had a sort of 'paperwork' meeting with them. I cannot believe we are 'live' soon!!! Monday is when all the 'official' fall season begins. Just as well. I hate summer. But this has been an awesome summer. .Perhaps the best I have had in a long time. But too much rain.

Tomorrow is my final day without everyone. After some XC stuff perhaps I will go take a trip to Lake George, take a swim, do a solo paddle (yes...wearing my life vest), and bring my book. Unless it rains, and then I will put on a CLINIC of X Files watching....

Second day all by myself.....

Jeesh. I dont think I really like this at all....

Yes, it is nice to have the place to myself...I get to o what I want, when I want....

but it is way too quiet here and I miss Callum and Maira asking me 43,761 questions per hour, and I miss Amanda wanting to have serious conversations about our life at 1130 at night when I am trying to go to bed...haha

The other day, before Amanda and the kids left, Callum wanted to have some lobster. So CS and I went over to B&F to get some (3.99 per pound...not bad). They were, as the original papa GOldsmith would say, FAIR. They werent all that great...they werent quite soft shell OR hard shell...they were somewhere in between...and the meat wasnt as sweet as other lobsters I have had #firstworldproblems...

VERY excited to buy the lobsters, cook them, hold them, put them into the water, put them on a plate, take their elastics off, and sit down to eat....

....and ended up eating ZERO percent of any lobster, saying "um....I think I only eat lobster with Papa." Fair enough. More for us. Maira, on the other hand, put on a CLINIC with her corn, and wouldnt bring herself within six feet of any lobster. Too scary, she said....

I have been keeping busy...stacking firewood, ordering another cord of firewood, and puttering in our weeden (some call them their 'garden'). Today I had the fall coaches meeting with our new athletic director, and I met our new principal. I have been reading, catching up on X-Files (one of the best shows EVER), making pickles with all our cucumbers, and playing cribbage with Karl. Yesterday, former students Conner, Sydney and I paddled a great little section of the Kennebec, right here in Fairfield, putting in under the Shawmut dam, and paddling down to the downtown Fairfield boat launch

Here is a view of the Shawmut Dam on teh Kennebec....it is hard to see, but if you blow it up you can see, across the river, the Flood dairy farm...a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE Maine milk dairy farm. The trout fishing at the base of the dam (mostly on the other side where there are huge rock ledges to stand on) is legendary. The water is fast and fun when you first put in....

I thought this was cool--one of the regular freight trains that passes through Fairfield each day, as seen from the water on our way approaching 'downtown.' Notice all the little rocky 'islands' in the river....these were used by river drivers during the log drives when they used to float logs down the river from up in Moosehead lake, etc...

What a great paddle, literally only 1.5 miles away from our house....

And, finally, here are Emma and Maira eating dinner yesterday.....what a ham is that Maira!

Beginning of August Check-In

*The other day I went to the hospital to give blood....on the front registration desk there was a big bowl of lemons with a sign that said PLEASE TAKE ON
*The other night I ran perhaps the TOUGHEST running race I have ever run....an 8K (5 miles) at the Quarry Road Trails....it was hot and humid and dirt and rock and hills....CRAZY hills...with switchbacks on them eve....the Quarry Road Summer Race Series has been AMAZING,, and tonight is the final one. I hope to get there

* Callum, yesterday, went to the library and CLEANED UP, earning every possible prize for reading all his summer reading books. Thus far the kid has gotten gift cards for: Free french fries at Bee's Diner, Free sub at Subway, Free ice cream at Giffords, and Free mini golf at Benton Family Fun Park. Also, he got to pick out a free book to keep AND he is entered in a raffle to win a huge gift certificate to the Children's Book Cellar (the awesomest children's  book store) in Waterville

* Tomorrow the kids and Amanda (along with Lin, Gorge, and BaBaBooey Ensign) are going to NJ for the week--I am staying in Maine because I have XC preseason and such and such. I will REALLY miss them. And I will miss seeing everyone in NJ. Kind of. Just kidding. Kind of. lol.

*Maira's favorite author of the summer has to be Kevin Henkes, the writer of all the "Penny" books (Penny is a cute little mouse who has many adventures). Henkes has written about several other little mice people named Owen and Lily too, for example. She loves them all. Other favorites she can seem to put down are THE JELLYBEANS (this little group of animal friends who call their club the jellybeans) and Olivia books

*Callum is definitely in his summer-of-Willems; THAT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA, LET'S GO FOR A DRIVE, and THE DUCKLING WANTS A COOKIE remain books that crack him up....he has a great laugh

*This past week was Vacation Bible School at church (as opposed to the one they have at The Bob In). For the fourth year in a row, Sally and I were the music leaders/MCs...and, since only 1.6 people volunteered at our church this year to do anything, Sally was a teacher as well. She did a great job with Mia, Malyn, and Emmy. The them was all about mountains, and the small core group had a fantastic time. As I write this, Callum and Maira are listening to the VBS music CD, developing some choreography for some of the songs (I put together some dance moves...kind of...for the kids at the camp...and now my kids are following suit)

*Most popular hit songs of the summer (did you ever notice how you always associate certain songs with summer more than any other season??) are Life is a Highway by Rascall Crapps (CARS soundtrack), Carry Me Ohio by Sun Kill Moon, Everything at Once by Lenka, Appalachian Spring by Copeland, and, far and away the NUMBER ONE song of the summer, thanks to Dave Houston, is Miss me when I'm gone/Cups by Anna Hendrick. I will attach a link to the youtube video....if you havent seen it, you should definitely watch it. One of the coolest videos I have seen...and not just because of the cool cup tricks. Neat cinematography too....all pretty much one 'shot' from a waitress's perspective....not a lot of cutting and editing, etc. Also, you should watch it cuz Callum can do the whole 'cup' percussion thing that the girl does. For realz.

Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmSbXsFE3l8

Indian Pond

The Goldsmiths went out to spend some time with Tom, Katie, Jake, and Megan at their camp on Indian Pond in St Albans. A fantastic spot for kids! Nice shallow lake. Awesome kayaks, paddleboats, boards, etc. Cool firepit, lawn, fox holes (where REAL foxes live) and more. AND, of course, Callum and Maira were absolutely enamored with Jake and Meg's Playmobil pirate ship and Dora Dollhouse, respectively.

The best part, as corny as it sounds, was just seeing Callum and Maira play so well with Jake and Meg. Even though Jake and Meg are a little older than Callum and Maira, the four of them played so marvelously. It was just great to watch. And Amanda and I got to spend some great time visiting with Kate and Tom (and Teddy too)

We spent the afternoon paddleboating, paddleBOARDING, playing Magic the Gathering (Amanda and Jake), talking about books (Jake and I), and sampling fantastic beers (Tom and I). Also, I peer pressured Katie into running a 5K...haha

Callum and Jake spent a good part of the afternoon on the paddleboat. With Teddy, too, who loves boats. Can you see him in the middle. Callum, usually apprehensive about trying ANYTHING new, jumped right in with Jake and never looked back. Literally.....

Meg thinks about getting ready to paddleboard, and Callum and Jake continue paddling. As a sidenote, Indian Pond *used to be* a river...and then, a long long time ago during the great log driving days of Maine's lumbering industry, they dammed a big part of the river so more logs could be 'driven' (or floated) down to mills, etc. Indian Pond is the result of this damming. Thus, on the bottom of the lake, there are SO many old, waterlogged trees, etc. Very cool!

Katie and her "littlest girlfriend" Maira hang out. Katie used to watch Maira when Maira was a little little baby...and she gave her the nickname then. Maira, ever the diva, didnt want to swim or kayak. She wanted to eat chips and play with the Dora Dollhouse....

....still pedaling....

a shot of the camp...a really great place. Inside has a ton of charm as well, and contains my favorite part of the whole place--an old Atlantic wood-cookstove!

I love the way lakes appear as evening approaches; you can almost feel the stillness as you look at this photo. The water is glass. Everything is calm. You can see and hear fish jumping a hundred yards away as the sun goes down. A beautiful evening.....

And a group shot!!