Some things that I observe/that annoy me/that I think are kind of neat....


No one ever carries umbrellas anymore. They used to be carried like walking sticks. They were an emblem of style. What happened? Where did they go? It still rains, right?

Why does the paper always have to write, when there is a fire, "FIRE DESTROYS WINSLOW HOME?" We know what a freakin fire does there Paully McPulitzer...fires usually dont IMPROVE homes (unless they are in a cozy wood stove, right?) Time and space are important to newsies. We get it. Just have the headline say FIRE. WINSLOW. We'll figure out the rest. Trust us.

The word RENOWN is funny (as in "she was a doctor of great renown" or something). So the "nown" part is derived from the same root as the word "know," which, as everyone knows, means 'to be acquainted with." So if someone is 'renowned' does that mean they are a famous person everyone FORGOT about and then RE-KNEW? Because that is what the word suggests, right? Can a person just be famous in the first place? Or, to be renowned, do they have to be re-acquainted with their public after a hiatus?  Aren't I sad?


People who swing on trapezes in circuses, etc are the only athletes I know of that are regularly called "artists." Right?? Even ballerinas and gymnasts are just called, well, ballerinas and gymnasts. And what they do is amazing...so why are not they given credit? But then you have these circus performers and why arent they just called "trapezers" or something? And what the heck is a "trapeze" anyway? At any rate, just think about that: They are always called "artists." Weird.

I cant remember if I mentioned this ever before, but oh well: It is weird when you think about the way young people vs old people talk about how much something costs. Let's say a shirt at LL Crap costs 40 bucks. Young people will say "It costs 40 bucks." But old people will say " THEY WANT 40 bucks for that shirt." Old people always personify the corporation, making it somehow more "romantic" by using the phrase "they want." Almost as if "want" is a conditional word and, perhaps, if they told the associate they are a veteran or something, they could get a discount--"want" implies that the price COULD change. Have you ever noticed this before? I notice this all the time. And, because I am such a nerd and word-lover, using the phrase "they want" [whatever the price is] almost implies that the vendor is somehow very proud of their product and want to be 'reimbursed' as such for their hard work in making it. Which, as we know, is how most stuff in America is actually made today....

Today was a good Saturday. But it was a BUSYYYYY Saturday. One of the reasons why I love winter so much is because it isnt as 'busy.' You can sit inside by the fire and read and do legos and be all in one spot. .I guess I could do that with summer too, but everyone likes to be outside. This morning started off with a 7am speed workout at the Lawrence track. I came home to good "Wicked" coffee--the best coffee made/found in Maine. Maira and I then took a 'date' to Hillman's where I got a whoopie pie donut for Sally (and me), a frosted cookie for the boy, and a cupcake that Maira picked out. I love Hillmans to death, but their coffee is awwwwwful. It is, on its best day, 'moderately' luke warm. First world problems. Went home and Sally left for HER run. The kids and I sat at the table and read and worked on some writing. Callum loves doing two things with his writing. One, he loves making lists. Two, he LOVES sounding out words (and he gets all self conscious if he doesnt spell it correctly). I told him he spells better than some of MY students....haha. Anyway, here is his list....and, also, beside it, Maira was working on some of her letters as well. Can you figure out what callum wrote? Soccer Game. Stack Wood. Plant Vegetables. Ride to Benton. Eat Burgers. 

Ah yes. Riding to Benton. Callum and I go on a bike ride just about each day. Also, Maira and I ride bikes (actually she does) each afternoon from 3-320 while we wait for Callymn to get off the bus. I walk Orso while she rides. ANYWAY, he started asking this past Monday about riding to his new school: Benton Elementary. He will start first grade there next year, and he is IN LOVE with the school. The school is two miles away from us. But we rode there in a sort of roundabout way--adding on an extra mile on the way there. All told, he and I rode six miles roundtrip to the school....we played on the playground...he wanted to pack a snack...and we rode home. The pic below is one I snapped of him on the way back--we were riding over the Benton/Fairfield bridge over the Kennebec River. We have paddled this section many times, and it is awesome to paddle underneath the bridges. If you blow the pic up you can see two bridges in the background. The one closest to us is a railroad bridge, and it is beautiful to see the train going over the bridge. Especially in the winter. Beyond that, you can make out the Route 95 bridge.

He had a blast on his ride, and I was very proud of him for being so safe and conscientious and for listening so well to me.

Look at these two goonsssssss. Callum asked if we could take a "selfie." Also, yesterday, he asked Amanda "mommy, can you set up my WiFi connection?" What is happening to my kids?? haha.
Also, today he asked if he could change his name to "Jared Jr." My heart melted.

So a fantastic day. But exhausting day. We also had his soccer game at noon. And then we planted a lot of the garden aaaaaand I started stacking some of the two cord of wood that is currently dumped in our driveway. But at the end of it all, Sally and I still had time for this nice picture...

Mother's day weekend was almost a perfect weekend...and it has been a LOOOOONG winter (which I love, yes) with some NOT so perfect weekends. I didnt see my own mom on mother's day weekend, which is why it was ALMOST perfect. On Saturday morning I biked to church for a men's breakfast thingy...then I rode back and Sally left almost immedately so she could spend the day with her mom. They did lunch and Kohl's and other wicked lame stuff #sorry #ilove. I got to be with the kids all day, so everyone won! Callum had a soccer game at noon, so we went to that. Grampy rendezvoused with us at the soccer fields and then we went home and spent most of the rest of the day on the deck, reading books, playing soccer, and stacking (or tryinggggggggg to stack) some wood. 

Here is Maira and her best friend. She often scratches him behind the ear and says "oooh...that's the fahhhht" (fahhhht is Mairaish for SPOT). It is quite endearing to see them interact...

Dinner was at Amici's Cucina on Saturday night. Linda and Sally met us back at the house at 5ish and we went over for supper there. I have mentioned Amici's before, as I used them to cater our class night when I was the senior class advisor. A fantastic, splendid, delicious, and charming place to have a great dinner. I love Cancun and Governor's and I write about those places all the time...but if my parents come up I would like them to come eat dinner at Amici's. A nearly perfect little spot. Maira's facial expression here kills me for some reason. And Callum looks like he just got caught doing something bad....

See if you can find Lupine in this photo....

I mentioned that we spent time on the deck reading. While grampy watched tv and Callum watched some kid's show on the computer, Maira and I hung out outside, and she 'read' me one of her favorite books from the MAGIC TREEHOUSE series: Dinosaurs After Dark. I took a video of her reading this too, but I cannot figure out how to post them on the blog. I should figure this out...

I SHOULD point out that Maira's outfit killllls me each time I look at this picture. It was 76 degrees out, and she STILL wanted a fleece jacket and pants. She is the polar opposite of me...in so many ways. She loves to be warm and cozy and she is always cold...hilarious....

 One special thing we did on Saturday was walk to the soccer fields. We went down the trail across the street and came out at the fields. The kids were ELATED to do this. I put them in the wagon (for which they are getting TOO BIG I am just realizing...) and pulled them down the stretch. They wanted to stop here for a pic because they wanted me to send this pic to Tim and Elwyn's duog, Star. She "loves" this "pond" apparently. It is more like a swamp. But whatever. There is a family of baby ducks and their mum who live in this little marshy spot. Even ducks need mother's day...

Aminals.. This blog is aboot aminals. 

So a few weeks ago (during April vacation) we went out our friends, the Farr's, farm #somanyeffsandarrs. They are friends from church are fantastic folks who previously lived in Colorado and moved to Maine to begin homesteading and farming in Troy (a town near Unity and Thorndike). They are focusing on apples, vegetables, and poultry/eggs as of now. As you can see from the photo, it was VERY cold and rainy and miserable...and the snow was not all gone yet. We buy eggs each week from the Farrs, and the eggs are awesome. I know my dad will laugh...haha...but you REALLY can tell the difference. There is nothing like farm fresh eggs. And a farm fresh boiled egg in the morning is tough to beat #getit? #youdontgetit. Below, we are checking out the chicken 'yard.' The Farrs have four wonderful kids and we enjoyed our visit with them...we hope to see them soon!

I have a confession: I had previously gone through almost 36 full years of life without ever even hearing about a bird called a "Guinea." I dont know if I am even spelling it right, and I am too lazy to spellcheck. The Guinea birds are not so much of a 'meat' or egg product; but, rather, they exist primarily to eat bugs/ticks that might otherwise invade crops/people. Absolutely beautiful plumage and feathers, no? And if you blow up the photo and get a look at their faces, you will see they are tremendously beautiful and ugly at the same time...haha..

Oh and here is our puppy, Orso, hanging out with some happy kids....he continues to adjust well, and he loves going for his walks with us! He just really loves to be where people are and rarely goes off 'alone.' A very social duog and 99% of the time he is either here in the living room or on the floor beside our bed....

He's a tall duog....

And keepin with the aminal theme of this post, check out the shirt that Sally got me!! The best shirt ever. Pusheen is the name of this cat, and, this is hard to explain: Pusheen is a cat that exists SOLELY to be a 'sticker' or 'emoticon' sort of figure on Facebook...for people who cannot express their statements fully in words. Does that even make sense? Probably not. I dont have time to explain. World Cafe is on. Just enjoy the high comedy that is this shirt....

I mean, it is a cat wearing a monocle here folks!!!

This photo was taken about seven days ago....the difference that seven days makes. It was actually pretty cold when the kids were playing outside...hence the fleece...and nothing looks 'alive.' In the past seven days the landscape has truly COME ALIVE. I might have to mow the lon this weekend--if I have time :/ But things are turning green and it has been 81 three times this week. It is gross and I CANNOT WAIT for winter. This picture also sounds like the start of a joke: "So there's this kid jumping off a picnic table, and in back of him there's a little girl with a plastic tea cup...."

 
George Kohl was one of the most legendary teachers in the area--he taught at Messolonskee High School (Oakland and Sidney for you non Maine folks...just the next town over...) for years and years and then died, suddenly. The Kohls are members of our church congregation, and, for the past few years, have had a road race to honor his memory and raise money for a scholarship. Each year we have a conflict of schedules...but this year I could run it. I was excited to do so! The race was last Saturday. Below, I am standing with our pastor Paul Nielsen, and fellow friend and congregant Mike Hein. This was before the race.

Okay so I ended up winning my age group (30-40 year olds). I got a medal that Callum immediately stole. But, more importantly, I got to give Julie (the wife of the late George) a huge wet sweaty hug...haha. Julie still teaches match at the high school. Winning the age group was a huge emotional boost for me. I havent written about this at all on the blog, but this winter/spring has been a health-related quagmire for me, and I have been feeling simply AWFUL for quite some time. Shoulder problems continue. Heart issues (going to cardiologist next week). Most likely have a hernia surgery ahead and meet with surgeon next week. New medications causing fatigue beyond belief. Just a crummy past few months. So earning the tiny victory felt nice.

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And after the race we went to callum's first soccer game of the season. He is one fast kid! He has these really long legs and graceful stride. I dont notice, fully, until I see him run around OTHER kids. Does that make sense? Anyway, he is having a blast, which is all I care about. And he scored four goals on Saturday! The field--for all you blog regulars--is the one we come out on from the trail across the street from our house...the one we come out on when snowmobiling, that is. Hard to believe that a month ago we probably still could have snowmobiled on this field!!