Every single afternoon, Maira waits for Dana or Cindy to get home so she can play with her friend Annie. I have never seen a dog like Annie. Literally, she is 100% happy and loving 100% of the time. She has almost no mood other than JOY. I dont think I have ever even seen her lie down and rest...haha. Maira will just play with her for an hour or so....it is truly magical to watch. You have to see it to understand. I know all kids love dogs and puppies and animals...but Maira is a little different....like I said, you have to see it. 

On this, the very last day of October, I thought it would be appropriate to show how my buddy Jake and I celebrate Oktoberfest. I got my hat from an Oktoberfest I went to at Attitash a few years ago...and Jake got his from his grandfather, who is from Germany. It is great to drink fall beers....and root beers....haha.....

We continue to love going to have supper on Friday nights at Michelina's Apizza in Waterville. EASILY the best pizza I've had up here. NO QUESTION. Nothing compares, as far as I am concerned. And a wonderfully cozy little eat-in environment. We go, sit, have wine, listen to great jazz, play pac-man and video game bowling, and eat wonderful pie....

....like this one here....which is a white pizza with sundried tomato, artichoke, and spinach.....

...and here is this......Donnelly Engineering.....Easton......yes.

So....like....why did the people who supposedly love me, took vows, etc allow this to happen???

So yeah. I was a few pounds heavier in the photo above. That was taken in 08, and I just stumbled upon it this evening. So many things wrong in this picture.....

At any rate, the other day Amanda and the kids came by school at the end of the day; they needed to give me a ride home. Callum and Maira LOVE coming into my school, and it is so funny how Callum has this hierarchy of things he wants to see: The cafeteria is number one on his list. He wanted to compare it to HIS cafeteria. Hilarious. But they love playing 'school,' and they sit down, attentively, and ask me to teach them stuff. So I pretended to teach them about PeteTheCat and stuff. Then they wrote on my board. But, yes, this is a rare look into my world/my classroom. I love when the kids get to see what I do. I think many people would actually be surprised to see what I am like when I teach. I am the most misunderstood man in the world.....haha

So my  junior class just finished reading (one of MY favorite books from high school at good old OAHS!) A SEPARATE PEACE. A classic. It is a 'coming of age' story about two friends named Gene and Finny and the jealousy they have of one another and how boys will be boys, etc. It takes place on the 'eve' of the second world war, and the war plays a large conflict (no pun intended) in the book. Furthermore, TREES play a huge role in the story, as the major conflict involved Gene 'knocking' his best friend Finny out of a tree one day....perhaps on purpose...perhaps not....it is kind of complicated....go read the book. ANYWAY....John Knowles, the writer, uses nature (trees in particular) to convey symbolism and conflict in the story. In my class, we studied Maine trees and all their characteristics, uses, and nuances....then we went out on some of the cross country trails on campus and actually 'got our hands dirty' and looked at trees close up: What is the bark of an oak like? What color to sugar maple leaves turn? What shape to white birch trees take? etc....The kids are comparing a character from they book to a TREE, noting the symbolism and metaphors that exist (For example: Finny is a white birch tree....he has many layers to his personality, just like white birch bark...and his insides are exposed because his layers peel away....and birch trees grow in clumps, all needing other birch trees....and Finny needs people in order to feel important...he needs other people in order to thrive...etc). You should totally take my class! We have fun! haha. Anyway, here is me out on the cross country trails last week, the US FOREST SERVICE'S "Guide to Maine Trees" book in hand....

I'm old.

You know how I know this?

Tonight I was stacking some wood in the garage after the kids were in bed. I was listening to NPR's FRESH AIR, and I listened to this AMAZING essay read by a "TV in culture" professor from Ryder College talking about "tv purists" and how they refuse to get rid of their DVDs in way of streaming or 'clouding' their episodes and movies. DVDs are getting to be obsolete now? Why?? His argument, although not the one "I" would use (and I guess that, by his definition, I am a 'tv purist') was that it is great to be able to PHYSICALLY own your DVD collection. I guess I buy that. No pun intended. Screw the cloud and streaming--I dont need the whole world/government to spy on me while I watch my sweet Jessica Fletcher solving the whodunits of Cabot Cove. Or the latest crazy character on whom Mr Humphries waits in AreYouBeingServed. Yeah guy, I OWN my DVDs.

But I feel old because two "last bastions" of what he called "classic TV" finally came out on DVD, after being remastered, acquiring music rights, etc: TheWonderYears and PeeWee's Playhouse. Those are CLASSICS now?? Damn. Did you know that TheWonderYears went off the air over 20 years ago. My goodness. I will go and buy this collection post haste. A STELLAR show on the pulse of a generation, yet completely adaptable to today's youth/family/coming of age issues in 2014. And PeeWee's Playhouse?? Tomorrow I will quiz my kids on who knows this show. And perhaps I will show a clip. Kids need to know about Chairy.

The other reason I feel old is because Jay brought to my attention (and he is right) that the Goldsmiths only go to THREE (and three ONLY) restaurants. Period. Maineley Brews. Governor's. Cancun. My friends, this is what old people do. My grandmother went to exclusively Matt Garrett's and The Pewter Pot. She would not be swayed. Anne and Bob are Bertucci's hipsters. My dad has been going to Maui for chinese food since the Carter administration. When you get old, you go to the same place to eat. Damn.

Pictures for youse.

Dana had had his boat in the driveway for a few days, as he was winterizing it and getting it ready for storage. Callum and Maira were only too happy to help. And you can see Maira, of course, playing with her best four legged friend.....

Maira, Amanda, and I (Callum stayed with MeeMee and Grampy) went on a nice paddle last Saturday and took in some peak colors....the pictures dont do it justice....

Callum and I took a little walk on the trail in back of Marcoux's house across the street. These are the trails on which we snowmobile in the winter...the connect to the PAL (youth league) fields and lots of other trails on which to snowshoe and snomobile, etc....Callum wanted to walk over to the fields to play some soccer. It is really neat to be only a five minute walk from acre upon acre of field....

....lots of pretty marshes and ponds off this trail....TONS of ducks hanging out there...dont know if you can see them all if you blow this pic up.... StarDog, Tim's roommate, loves swimming here....

 ....and the fields! Soccer time! It won't be long til we are spinning our track around here in resplendent snow!

We're in full 'get ready for the winter' season here at the Goldsmith house. This week has been cold thus far (after a stretch of bizarre mid to upper 70s temps) and this morning there was a bit of frost on the cars, etc. This Wednesday and Thursday we are supposed to get our first "NorEaster" of the season, with rain of course; some of the forecasts call for 3.5 inches of rain...imagine if that were snow??

One of the things we do this time of year is play musical-wood, moving wood all around, stacking new stuff for 'next' year, and bringing a cord or so into the garage. Pneumonia and a cracked rib have put a damper on those plans, and now I find myself a bit behind...I have to play catch up (as Lunberg from OfficeSpace would say) before it rains....

One of the things I love about burning wood is how versatile, renewable, re-usable, and cool it is! I mean, obviously, we use the wood to heat the home. But we end up using ALL of the wood. We have it dumped in the driveway, and then I split some of the pieces to our desired size. We stack the big pieces in cord-rows. The little pieces become kindling. After all is said and done, we are still left with a huge mess of ground up bark, wood chips,splintered chunks, dirt, moss, and whatever else has fallen to the bottom of the pile from the freshly cut wood. The splintered chunks are set aside and then piled onto the shelf by the barbeque and then thrown on the hot coals to impart a maple or oaky-smoke flavor to the meat. The moss/bark/chip mix is swept up and dumped right on top of our raised garden beds--instant compost fertilizer. It feels good to use every last bit of the product.

Have you noticed how crappy newspapers have become? The BostonGlobe, once a fantastic paper, is basically a tabloid now, carrying non stop stories about Ebola....and then stories about how the public is freaking out, unnecessarily, about Ebola. THEN STOP LITTERING YOUR FRONT PAGE WITH IT. Silly idiots. But then I got to thinking: The dumbing down of newspapers and network news isnt the fault of the networks and papers. I really believe it is our fault. We no longer have any attention span or 'desire' for any real, in depth, serious news. We love everything to be spoon fed and interesting and scandalous and divisive and partisan. So it isnt the fault of the newspapers and web sites and networks: I mean, they are a business, just like any other business, and they are trying to make money, and they are catering to their audience.

Thank God for NPR.


Efth....silly man....

Callum (I dont know where Maira is) at Sunday school....I havent written much about Sunday School lately....Amanda and I are 'intro leaders' this year...I will write about it sometime...

OakHillAndy gave us a bunch of boards for kindling (he now does pellets, so he hath no need of they). They are fantastic pieces of wood for kindling (and a few of them I even turned into raised beds for next year's garden). Best of all, they are nice grainy pine for Callum to learn to 'split' with a hatchet. The passing of the torch so to speak; a coming of age.....

I know I should have him wear safety glasses next time. But other than that, he was VERY good and safe; I even taught him the correct way to pass someone an axe, how to put it away, etc. He was very interested in following the rules of wood splitting. He loves rules.

Hey look, it is Saturday morning, so that means it is time for the Maira and Lupine show! Yeay! Princess Lupine!! This cat looks friggin thrilled. God bless her.....

It has been very disappointing not being to coach this year--but the pros of being with my kids, getting Killim off the bus, and taking Mara to dance class far outweigh the cons of not coaching.. But I DO miss it. At any rate, the team asked me to go with them and run in the Mt Blue Relays last Friday--this is always my favorite race, because I can run it #glorysports #shadesofJay. It is fun and coaches are welcome to participate in the gorgeous, but hilly 2.2 mile course. Mt Blue High School, for those not in Maine, is right by Farmington, at the onset of the western Maine mountains/foothills. It is high up on a hill itself, and the foliage, view, and ancient apple orchard make for a wonderfully aesthetic event. But it was kind of chilly. And after I ran (I had to wear the singlet and the little shortzzzzz) I got cold. And, for the first time this season, my Raynaud's set in--it attacked my hands. I dont know if the picture does it justice, but can you tell how WHITE and void of any blood whatsoever my hands are? What a pain...literally!!

 It is only gonna get worse....

Perhaps the best song I have ever heard about raising kids (and I dont even know if the song is necessarily ABOUT raising kids) is Joni's Mitchell's "Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody." I find myself going back to this song from time to time, adjusting certain lyrics to certain stages at which I find my kids. Even though I am neither a mom nor a woman, I go back to this lyric:

Christmas is sparkling
Out on Carol's lawn
This girl of my childhood games
With kids nearly grown and gone
Grown so fast
Like the turn of a page
We look like our mothers did now
When we were those kids' age
Nothing lasts for long
Nothing lasts for long
Nothing lasts for long

Each day, it seems, I know my kids more and more, yet less and less....does that make sense? In the most loving way possible, I fully admit that I often, simply, do not understand them. Like the turn of a page.......

I just try to enjoy each and every moment. Like times in the library, above, with Maira, reading GREEN EGGS AND HAM in the children's room of the Lawrence Library--a fantastic place. She has moods more mercurial than the ocean tempests, and if I can find her in a calm moment, I'll exploit the hell out of it....

Also, last Saturday, there were cyclocross races at the Quarry Road, where we trail-run raced this summer. Cyclocross is AWESOME to watch....like road bikes with mountain bike tires...mud....trails...running....falling....and more. FAST riding. The kids brought their bikes too, and enjoyed some of the trails....

I look at this picture of my son and I ask myself: Who the heck IS this? Yesterday I washed him in a light pink plastic tub on the dining room table; I had to put A & D ointment on his belly button. Now, when we play soccer and sprint, I, for the first time, actually have to put forth some effort if I want to beat him. It will be a matter of weeks before he is stronger and faster than me....

Congratulations Amanda on finishing your first half marathon!! You've trained super hard and you finished well beneath the goal-time you had for yourself. From Saturday 'long runs' of ten milers with your girlfriends to early morning 5AM four milers with Beth, you have earned the right to call yourself one hot mother-runner!! Running is awesome and is a fantastic exercise. It costs nothing. You dont need any silly fancy gear--just sneakers. You can go on your own schedule whenever you want WHEREever you want. It is a meditation. It is a natural motion. I am so glad Amanda has found running. 

The marathon was on a Sunday morning, so on Saturday Sally went down to Portland to stay in a hotel with Beth and Beth's girls. They did dinner, resting, and an early bedtime....Callum, Maira, and I took advantage of some daddy-kid time to head over to Sunset Greenhouses for mums (the kids wanted to get mommy yellow mums as 'flowers' for finishing the race) and a huge pumpkin for our jackolantern....

I dont know too many kids who, even within the excitement of a marathon finish line, would still sit and read books to/with each other.....I brought several in my backpack.....and then got all self conscious when I realized I brought a backpack to a marathon finish line....there were SEVERAL cops with bomb sniffing duogs, etc. Better safe than sorry....

Alicia finished about 10 minutes or so before Amanda and Beth....Amanda and Beth crossed the finish line together holding hands and it was just very sweet. Lisa and Pete also ran the marathon, but as a 'relay' team with a few other people; each person ran a 'leg' of the race. The even in its entirety was a class act; the emcee called each runner's name/hometown when they crossed the finish line! Plus, Amanda got a SwagBag full of amazing goodies like cups, gift certificates, teeshirts, bottles, snacks, etc!

The Usual Suspects...minus Lisa, who was still running the relay. Beth, Amanda, and Alicia did a super job!! Look at those medals!! And space age blankets. And Maira seems to find her way into each picture too.....haha

On Sunday, by the way, Amanda and I did something we had never done before in our 13 years together.......we went running.....together......we had never done that! It was fantastic. Lin and Gorge watched the kids while we ran a nice five miler on the river trail. Hopefully, many more races and runs will follow!

Amanda and I celebrated our 11th anniversary at the end of September....but I am still so behind on these blogs; I have got to figure something out. 

We went to Amici's for a wonderful Italian meal--I got the Chicken Saltinboca, as I usually do. Amanda got some type of Eggplant/Chicken Parm dish. A sweet night out. I honestly don't know how Amanda puts up with me--I am one of the most polarizing people I have ever known, and people either really love me or really hate me. Yet, Amanda always finds a way to love me, unconditionally, despite my shortcomings. And I hope she knows that I always try my best to be the best husband and dad I can be. I dont always succeed....but I try!!

Below is the first thing Callum ever wrote COMPLETELY unassisted; we didnt even know he did this until he showed it to us after it was done. I love this. Phonetically, it makes perfect sense to me...does it to you?

We continue, this fall, to love going to the Lawrence Bulldog games on Friday nights....Maira loves watching Brittany from next door, who is a junior this year, and is on the cheering squad. AND, at this particular night, all the cheerleaders from the PAL program (basically, Fairfield's little league) did the halftime show....and this meant Maira and CS got to watch their friend Emily do her dance!!

And here is a sign the Callum makes, as he usually does, for the games; this happens to be a picture of a 'bullduog,' and he brings it to the game and holds it up while cheering for 'his teams....

Oh hey. Callum looks happy here at the end of Amanda's half marathong....

Still about a week behind....we lead such exciting lives that it is hard to keep up....

Last weekend Tom had a bunch of the guys from church out for a men's retreat sort of thing...we got there at about 6 on Friday and just stayed the night and we made our way home early Saturday afternoon. We had lots of great snacks and drinks, fun time to explore the camp (which I both know and love immensely) and educational reflections on some cool Bible study materials. The guys there were all top notch, and we all shared such great stories. Tom's camp, you may remember from me mentioning it several times before, is on Big Indian Pond in St Albans (about 40 minutes away from home...)

A beautiful and tranquil early fall evening on the dock....

Our friend Toby, a dentist who moved up from Georgia (and actually practiced for a bit in Rochester NH...our old home!) brought some wonderful cigars to enjoy. Dan (the man in the center of the pic, wearing the Ireland rugby shirt) is, in fact Irish (go figure) and was a Navy pilot during the Vietnam war. Very interesting stories he told about landing/taking off from carriers, flying missions, etc. He flew some anti-submarine planes. And he taught at the academy for a while. Now, a retired Navy commander, he teaches down at USM (I think chemistry or something...or maybe physics....either way, a very smart man!)

Buddy Tom and I enjoying the great evening around the fire with fantastic cigars and legendary beer samples (lots of guys brought some homebrewed stuff....all fantastic and creative and flavorful!!)

Now, you'll have a hard time believing this, but I think I was the first one to turn in!!! Can you believe it? But seriously though...haha...it was going on 1AM and I taught all day. I was beat. I cant keep up with these guys! haha...

"The Survivor's Breakfast." I took this partly because I love Tom and Katie's wood kitchen stove--one of those Atlantic stoves!! Tom and I cooked breakfast for folks--Tom did the eggs and I cooked up some moose sausage that he brought! One of his colleagues got a moose and had some of it ground into sausage and it was just wonderful--moose is VERY lean, but yet not dry. A very good meat.

Saturday just happened to be our eleven year anniversary!!! More on this later, but, early that afternoon before we celebrated, we took the kids out to enjoy the (unusually hot...about 87!!) day on the canoe...we checked out some early foliage on the Messo. Stream....Maira is quite the little looker, huh?

Welcome to the weekend....and this one sure will be a crazy one....Amanda will leave tomorrow to head down to Portland for the night with Beth, Hannah, and Emily....then, on Sunday morning, Callum, Maira, and I will leave at Oh-Dark-Thirty (probably by 7 at the latest) to head down to Portland to see Amanda and Beth and Alicia cross the finish line of their half marathon!!!!

Figures that we have been in full on drought conditions; it probably hasnt legit 'rained' for the month of September and thus far into October....but it will rain for their race. Oh well. They wont realize how much they are sweating.. And that is good.

Callum (and now Maira and Amanda too!) and I just love going to the Lawrence football games; we can walk (as I have written about before) and Callum usually rides his scooter down to the field at the high school. It is such a great community event--all high school football games are this way. I have so many great memories of going to high school football games (especially Thanksgiving day!) when I was younger....and, then, when I was in high school Friday night was always game night under the lights. Winslow doesnt have any lights at their stadium, so all their games are Saturday afternoon games. I find that to be weird! Lawrence plays all their games on Friday nights. One thing that is weird for me is that I teach at Winslow High (and thus BLEED orange and am very passionate about/invested in the school...it is part of who I am)  but live in Fairfield (where Lawrence is the school....and my kids will go to this school....and Callum is starting to forge relationships in this town). I am very conflicted...haha...I dont know for whom to root! Luckily, Winslow and Lawrence are, for now, in different divisions and do not play each other. It is a weird feeling that I suppose only a teacher who lives in a different town from that in which they teach could understand...

And dont even get me started on UNH/UMaine hockey!! Obviously we went to UNH...but now we live in Maine and we can watch the games on Saturday nights...and Callum loves the black bears...oh my stars what to do.......

This is the view while sitting on the porch of the house we had in North Conway...it was foggy out, but across the street you can see the slopes of Cranmore....

Today Callum had his first field trip with his kindergarten class; they went to Lemieux's orchard in Vassalboro (Vassalboro is the next town over from Winslow). I have actually never been there...Amanda chaperoned the trip, and Maira went along too...they had a blast, going on both a hay ride and a corn maze adventure....

We have started taking apart our yard, so-to-speak, for the winter 'rest.' The trees in our yard are always the last in the neighborhood to turn, for some reason. Our sugar maple stays green for a long time and doesnt seem to get the bright and vibrant yellows that I would like it too. Our Red Oak gets nice and bright and red and nice though....but not til later...

Crockpots are the Sparks Notes of cooking; it is cheating at cooking. And that is cool. No one can really screw up anything in the crock pot. Just put meat and liquid and something with salt in there and you are golden....a golden cheater....

How come when people get two life sentences for a crime, they say two 'back to back' life sentences? Do some people serve one life sentence and then die and then get resurrected when they feel like it and start serving the other one?

Big weekend coming up with Amanda's half marathong!!! Sunday is marathong day!!

Maira plays a little game with Callum where she pretends Callum is her little baby boy and his name is 'baby Dough-dough.' It is adorable. Both kids are really in the NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED song and the Llama Lama books series....

so yeah...

Hey, wanna see some pics from Santa's Village with the Favrys and the Bolgers? Okaygreatheretheyare

These guys....matching minions...matching ninja turtles belts...ya know....

Callum's favorite ride....haha....