The Complete Works of Goldsmith

Meanderings 68

2012-01-26T11:33:00.004-05:00

The above picture is the FIRST picture that comes up after a google-image search of JASON PONTICELLI. Hilarious. And SO TRUE!!!

The picture below is the first one that comes up when I do the same search for HENRY GOLDSMITH. Fun!

And here's Henry Goldsmith today....

The Goldsmiths are going on two weeks now with no Internet at home....we hope to get the problem remedied soon....but, for now, I thought I could blog during my free period at school, and catch up on some meanderings.....

1. "Estates" is the great ambiguously mysterious word of the 'real estate' world. You can never tell, if a housing 'neighborhood' is called "Estates," whether it is an ultra posh, 1%, totally rich and pretentious housing development, OR, whether it is a total ghetto slum. Indeed, "estates" walks both sides of the line pretty well; the great class-breaker of our time. The word means both! How cute.

2. Consider the 'punter' in football. Such an unglamorous position--not only in sports, but also in jobs in general. The ONLY time you are useful is if your team sucks and is failing at their objective at getting first downs/succeeding. Has there ever even been a punter that anyone has ever even heard of? Tony Franklin, but only cuz he had the whole "barefoot" gimmick going for him. And, there is Tony Meola, who was only popular cuz he had long hair and was a pro soccer player too. He played for the Jyets, right? As a punter, no one is ever happy to see you, because seeing you just means your team is lame, and they are inherently in a bad mood. They are the 'tax collectors' of our time. And such wusses too--the always fall down if a defender so much as 'brushes' them; they do this in a shameless attempt to score a penalty....which is all they really have offer to their team. Or, heaven forbid they have to TACKLE someone? Forget it. Punters are the redheaded stepchildren of football.

3. I have had my ideas for two great web sites (twoguysonamoped.com and thingsamanshouldneversay.com). Here's another one: chickennuggetsculpures.com. Basically, I run a web site where I get stupid McDonalds eating fattys to buy 2 or 3 twenty-piece boxes of nuggets, loiter around the dining room of McDonalds (while they wait for their magic the gathering group to start) and make sculptures and designs out of chicken nuggets and tooth picks. I post them in a gallery. This fad would catch on for a week or two and then get lame, but I would have already made my money....

4. There is nothing more inherently American than FLIP FLOPS with BOTTLE OPENERS on the soles. Disgusting..................

5. Something genetically wired into women's brains: The necessity of females to at least CHECK OUT (if not patronize) any 'new store' going up/going in within 20 minutes of said women's home. Women NEED to be aware of and check out new stores...they NEED to be in-the-know and informed. They hope it is a clothing or candle store, but they'll still do their duty whether it is a pet shop, calendar club, supermarket, or school supply center. The draw the line, however, at hardware stores. Unless the hardware store sells candles Like our Agway does.

BLACK DAY

2012-01-23T12:07:00.002-05:00

ENGLISH 12

1 I AM THE CHEESE
-Using computers research "The Patriot Act" on your own and answer the questions on the board about the controversy surrounding this. THis is to be handed in for a participation grade
-discuss this act, as well as conspiracies, and how our book is about a conspiracy
-read JUST chapter 15 in class (very short)
-no reading assignment tonight...be ready to read in class on Wed.

HONORS
1. Monte Cristo
-present awesome projects....and they were very good!
-no time to start V for Vendetta...but we just checked out The Simpsons and their version of the story!

Does Jesus make pee?

2012-01-19T09:20:00.002-05:00

These are the kinds of questions I have been getting from Callum lately.....my dad and mom are no doubt satisfied beyond belief at the level and intensity of questions my little guy is offering; I guess I was (and, in many ways, still am) the most amazing question asker of them all when I was younger. As they say, payback is a ......

But it is amazing to see the way language progresses in little kids, from Maira learning new words each day, to her 'making up' words for things she wants; trying to decipher WHY she uses certain words for certain things is indeed interesting. For example, she will point at the fridge or cabinet and say "uh-naaaa! uh-naaaa!" and that means she 'wants' something. Perhaps she is saying "another" in her mind? I think so.....

Callum, partly imbued from his latest book craze of "Amos and Boris, and partly from his time at church, has been asking a lot of questioins about "death" and dying lately. At church, he hears all the time about how Jesus has "died" for our sins or how, in baptism, we "die" and are reborn in Christ, etc. In Amos and Boris, we see a story about a seagoing mouse who experiences a storm and becomes shipwrecked, saying to himself at one point "I wonder what it will feel like to die out here all alone" before, suddenly, he is recued by Boris, a friendly whale. The result of both of these things is Callum asking a lot of questions about "dying." I am certain that he has no clue what death actually means,, but I think he is getting curious.

The other day, he wanted to see a picture of me when I was a little boy. I went downstairs and showed him a picture of me with my Nana Goldsmith--my "mee-mee," as I told him. "You were really cute daddy!!" he said (smart kid....). Then he proceeds with "hey we havent gone to see Nana Goldsmith in a while...." That is because, as I told him, Nana Goldsmith died a long time ago when I was little, and now she is in heaven with Jesus. "Oh," he answered. "But I'm not dying right?" And then he proceeded with his other rapid fire questions: "My Rudolph isnt dead, right?" and "I dont want my puppy and my Rover and you and mommy and Maira and Lupine to die, okay?" How do you respond to these kinds of things? A cliche parenting question no doubt.

Often, our response to these kinds of queries turns toward church, and how Gold takes care of us and made the world, etc. Then the REAL fun starts: Did God make my purple nutcracker? (purple is his favorite currently). Did Jesus make my friend shrimp and my strawberries? Does Jesus make my pee when I go pee? Then he delves deeper into the whole "Christmas" and "manger scene" scenario (he asks, daily, if today is Christmas Eve yet...) asking "If Jesus was born in the manger, then where is he now?" When I explain how NOW he is in heaven where he lives, Callum retorts: "In heaven, is Jesus still a baby up there or is he a daddy (daddy is Callumish for "grown up man")." Well, I answer, when he went to heaven he was 33 years old. "But is he STILL 33, or does he keep getting older every year? Is he an old man now?"

I think the kid is smarter than me and is just messing with me.

Sometimes I think I just prefer the "this?" kinds of questions Maira asks when she points at things....haha

A Surprise for Nannie

2012-01-16T20:48:00.002-05:00

This past weekend Kristie and Upbob threw my mom a surprise 60th birthday party. At the clubhouse, of course. Everything good always hyappens at the clubhouse. In usual fashion, we brought both our video and regular camera down to the CSA, but neglected to take any pictures, etc. We just get so busy that it slips our mind. So if Papa or Auntie KK or Uncle Anthony have any pictures they want to send us, that would be swell.

In honor of Nannie's 60th, I thought I would put an early video of her two little boys (pre-Maira, of course) when the Favry family came up for Halloween. Enjoy.

Nannie's party was great--a lot of her old friends were there and some of our old Foundry Street neighbors from 'the olden days.' One such couple was Frank and Maureen Murphy, parents of my old best friend Michael Murphy, who died a couple of years ago at 33. Very tragic. I wrote about Mike when he died--check the archives, even. The party was catered by "The Chateau," a lovely restaurant down the road from my mom's, where Jai and I also once shared a very Romantic Valentine's Day brunch. The kids were all great...Callum and Jackson got some great time in chasing each other around, playing balloons, etc....Anthony and I--without anyone even realizing it--consumed an entire growler of OPB in approximately four minutes....my mom was totally surprised....everything was good. Nicely done Kris, Twon, and Upbob.

The next day we did Christmas with Papa and Grammie Goldsmith, since we hadn't seen them yet for the holiday. Callum got a SICK dump truck, and he has yet to be more than 5 feet from it. Also a hit was his OFFICIAL Patriots helmet "just like Tom Brady's!!!" he says. He also loved his firetruck and binoculars. Maira got some really cute clothes, a girly SUV, and a "cube of fun," which I know sounds like something inappropriate, but really is just a neat activity square that comes apart. This morning while mumma slept in, Maira was all over that, and Callum was all over using his dumptruck to move around some new blocks that the kids also got for Christmas (the point of that last sentence wasnt to let you know what they played with....it was to let you know how nice of a guy I am for letting Sally sleep in). Haha!!!

A long, tough weekend for the kids actually. Callum has always been a great traveller, but now he is old enough to start to understand the concept of hours in a car. And Maira has just always sucked travelling anyway. So yeah. But she is gorgeous and we love her so! So today was just a hang out day...play in the snow....go to Agway and Hannaford....play blocks....

A "regular" (and more Snowman stuff!)

2012-01-12T21:55:00.006-05:00

She'll probably get really mad at me, but I am going to sing the praises of Michelle Sirois. She'll get mad because she is, in fact, so humble. Michelle is a former student of mine (actually, I never really had the pleasure of HAVING her in class....) and I have written about her several times on the blog here. We have done a great job at keeping in touch since she graduated, and now she is a senior at Harvard! The time goes by so fast!! Michelle ALWAYS makes time to come by and see us--even in the midst of her busy, busy schedule; we are continually humbled and honored by this. It has become a "tradition" that she stop by for winter and summer visits, and we greatly look forward to them.

Michelle is a truly wonderful person who comes from a truly wonderful family; as parents, Amanda and I would love to know what Mr and Mrs Sirois "did" to create the close knit family dynamic that the Sirois have going for them. There are five kids (the oldest, Andrew, I had 8 years ago) and the youngest is sophomore this year at WHS. The rest have gone on to achieve success at Harvard (two of them, in fact), BC, and St Anselm's. THey are all "best friends" with each other. They play Scrabble. They have kitchen parties (long story). They do really cool things. They have "special" dinners. Add a healthy dose of british comedy, and they would truly be a Goldsmith wishlist...haha.

And, because they do such cool stuff, it naturally follows that they were "Snowman" kids (growing up reading and listening to THE SNOWMAN). This story has literally become a PHENOM in our household. Michelle, in her boundless thoughtfulness, brought over a pen drive (the first time I ever used a pen drive!) and put some of George Winston's interpretation of THE SNOWMAN onto our new computer. Callum is thrilled. And so are we. We love when Michelle comes to visit, and we hope to see her really soon!!!

My gosh, was I fat!!

2012-01-10T20:24:00.002-05:00

So we got a new computer....soon we will be able to Skype again with Nannie and Friendly Henry. But anyway.....for the first time in probably two years I have been able to see all our old pictures which were previously on our external hard drive....and you know how the expression goes "outta site outta mind....."

So I have uncovered some amazing old pictures...some of Callum when he was really little. Some of great times had with great friends. And some pictures just beg the question: Why didnt anyone tell me how awful I looked? I mean, my buddies always joked with me about how fat I was...but I guess I didnt realize how unhealthy the situation had become. Wowza.

In other news, we are FINALLY supposed to get a real, live snowstorm on Wednesday night. Let's see what happens. My guess? We get a few scattered sprinkles of rain here and there. We never get snow. This winter sucks. Really depressing. It isnt even cold.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the fat pictures while I try to figure out how to navigate and use our new computer. I know it is probably a silly thing to say, but coming from using a Mac for three years to a new PC with Windows 7 is a learning curve. I fully understand I am a moron. But I dont mind being a moron with computers.

Some things a man should never say.....

2012-01-08T20:57:00.001-05:00

above is a really cute picture.....the rest of these are just the Goldsmith children proving that they are total HAMS....

Maira has five teeth....which is actually above average for a girl in Maine.....

Here is a list of some things a man should never say

1 Do you guys have any diet Moxie?

2. I really need to waterproof my Uggs!!

3. The Mary Higgins Clark book that I am reading is really really awesome!!

4. I think Josh Groban covered this song

5. Can you recommend a good exfoliator for me?

6. My dust ruffle matches my bedspread

7. I think Slatkin makes a much better and stronger scent than Yankee Candle

8. Can you bring me some chopsticks when my food comes too!

9. When we play "Nutcracker," do you want to be the soldier or the Mouse King?

First of all, these are all true life things I have heard real males say within the past two weeks.

Second of all, I am guilty of numbers 3, 5, and 9 myself. So yeah.

Other differences between men and women that I try to convey to people.....

My wicked awesome sports coat is not PINK, but SALMON. Girls wear pink....boys wear "salmon." Cuz salmon are hardcore and are tough to catch and are fatty

Furthermore, dont make fun of me for running in my spandex shorts, because I dont wear spandex. GIRLS wear spandexx.......boys wear "compression shorts."

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs

2012-01-01T18:34:00.002-05:00

playing "Nutcracker:" we use kitchen spoons....Callum is always the Mouse King, and you have to be the Nutcracker....and then you 'fight' to the music...Maira getting her kitty cat and Callum getting his puppy from "yellow bean" (LL Bean). Callum, moments later, named his dog Rover.
Maira's DNA blocks! Check out the snow abutting the Springpond woods (Jai, 2996). It DID snow on Christmas. At least we got that....
The "Snowman" legacy is alive and well in the Goldsmith family.....have you read this?
"The Snowman" by Raymond Briggs, has got to be one of our favorite books of all time. I say "our," meaning Amanda, me......and now Callum. The book was such a special piece of writing (or lack thereof, since it is all just beautiful illustrations and you 'figure it out' yourself...it is essentially a graphic novel) during the time Amanda and I were "courting." The basic premise is quite simple--it is like a romantic "Frosty:" A little boy builds a snowman that comes to life at midnight....the snowman comes in the house and the boy teaches the snowman about his world....then, the snowman takes the boy on a magical adventure to teach the boy about HIS world. Sounds very cliche and overdone, right? It isnt. It is absolutely beautiful. Just give it a chance.

When Amanda and I were dating, I remember it all so clearly: she didnt have a TV in her room at her apartment, so her roommate Ally was good enough to let Amanda borrow hers...I rented the VHS from the video store in Durham, and we had a Snowman date. First, we made a gargantuan bowl of pasta and homemade sauce with Italian sausages in it. Then we watched the movie. It was one of the most pleasant and beautiful dates we ever had. It still is all so vivid. We bought the book at Stroudwater Books in Dover, and AAmanda wrote "Amanda and Jared" in the front cover--it was so special because this is the first book we ever 'bought' together.

Fast forward twelve-plus years, and now it is the most amazing thing ever to happen to little Callum Stuart. I know the kid loves reindeer and snowmen, so, this past week, when perusing the library collections, I borrowed the VHS movie for him, since I knew we had the book upstairs. PLUS, for CHristmas, Callum got a beautiful book called "To Make A Friend," which is based around the same premise of a boy making a snowman and then losing him when the warm weather came. The movie was a smash hit for Callum--he is in love with the film AND the book....not to mention the amazingly beautiful score of the film--he walks around humming it all day long. I love how he loves "The Snowman" for two reasons: First, it is a special book for the Goldsmith family and it is definitely a "rite of passage" for him, so to speak. Second, I am in love with the fact that a lot of kids today would absolutely HATE this book and film. The book has no words, just sketches. Done in colored pencil. Not 3D -bright- digital- color- things. Thre is limited "action;" the boy and the snowman do simple things--they dont go blow stuff up and they dont fly in a turbo infused aerodynamic module ship thing. There is no bad guy. It is just a beautiful book, and that is all. And the movie has no talking in it at all. Just motions and a beautiful musical score. It takes work and imagination and patience to appreciate it, I believe, and I am so happy that Callum loves it. Smart kid. Go check it out!

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-28T21:29:00.002-05:00

We had a white Christmas this year!!! After a fall and early winter of record warmth temps, we got a good few inches on the Friday before Christmas Eve (and the roads were BAD). And then, in true Maine weatherperson fashion, there wasnt even as much as a SNIFF of snow in the forecast on Christmas Day....so, obviously, it snowed ALL. DAY. LONG. Seriously. The weathermorons didnt even CONSIDER snow on Christmas. But it did. We got about four inches or so on CHristmas day.

On Christmas Eve I made a smoked fish chowder on the BBQ. Also, as an accompaniment to the chowder, I made some Scotch Eggs. Both came out really well, I think! Maybe I cook so much on the BBQ because I really love the smoky taste of cooking outdoors with charcoal and apple wood.....ORRRRRRRR maybe I cook on the BBQ so I can stay outside. Away. From. Everyone. I havent decided on a good answer yet....haha

Our Christmas Even table--Dave and Muriel joined us once again, and we were so happy to have their presence with us. Amanda made fantastic popovers to go with the chowder and eggs. And George and I, a week before Christmas, had a little snack date where we picked out...well...snacks for before and after dinner. But in a STRANGE twist of events....and this has actually never happened before....he forgot to bring the shrimp!
Lessons and Carols were at 7 at church. My Sunday school teens did a great job reading parts of the Christmas story....and little Emmy Carlson did an adorable solo of "Away in a Manger." It was FREEZING out on Christmas Eve. So Callum and I both wore our scarves. He is into scarves lately. In this picture he looks like he is either petrified or made of clay or experiencing a problem with his glands or hypnotized or a zombie or all of the above....
Most people know our kids are a little unusual....all, I believe, in good ways! For example, what other three year old prefers to watch figure skating to football? And which one prefers enacting scenes from "The Nutcracker Ballet?" That would be Callum. Additionally, whereas most kids have the most affection in their heart for jolly old St Nick, Callum is a TOTAL Rudolph man. He loves Rudoph--and all reindeer--for that matter. And he was most excited to leave cookies for Santa, carrots for the 'other' reindeer, and a shiny red apple for RUDOLPH! On Christmas morning, he was tickled pink to get a note from Santa, thanking him for his generous snyacks!
And here are the best Goldsmiths, walking downstairs on Christmas morning! Maira had a blast, of course, just crawling around and playing with wrapping paper and bows....but her favorite thing thus far must be the big bag of cat treats we got for Lupine....the shiny orange plastic bag is her favorite, and she carries that around most all day, every day.....

The longest night of the year...

2011-12-21T20:49:00.002-05:00

depresses me. Not because it is the longest night of the year....but because that means that, after tonight, the days start becoming longer again, and that means summer is near. AND I HATE SUMMER. TOO MUCH WORK. Too many things to do. Too much peer pressure. Hate it. I like winter. I go out. I am all alone on the road as I run. No one bugs me. Then I come home to my wood stove and all is good. So shut up.

Oh, so Callum can fit into his sister's pyants. Just sayin......

Advent Family Night at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection was last Friday night. We have a fantastic church with a fantastic message and fantastic people. Just one of many "unsung" heroes of our church is Katie--Maira's good friend. Katie lovingly calls Maira her "littlest girlfriend" (Katie's daughter Meghan, who is in kindergarten, is, of course, Katie's "little girlfriend"). At Advent family night we always have a great meal, do kids crafts, and sing Christmas Carols. Maira and Katie looked on together....
And Callum practically peed his pants during the singing of TWLEVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS....we have a tradition of "acting" out the twelve "gifts" in a charades sort of fashion, and Callum just died laughing....
The other tradition, of course, is Santa Claus showing up to deliver a small gift to the children and deliver the important message about the TRUE meaning of Christmas. This year's Santa looked terrible. Almost sickly. Do you know what I mean? Nonetheless, people said he did a great job....
Lastly, this picture kills me. Callum loves the ATV, but is scared to drive on it because it is too loud. BaBa-the-NJ-lover has a pair of headphones in his garage that one can wear while mowing the lawn, etc. They are NOISE REDUCING headphones. Callum found them one time, and he often wants them around our house, since he is scared by loud noises. He solved his problem by finding the headphones you see below: Koss stereo headphones my dad used to listen to in the 70s (the 1970s)--now I have them and I use them for my keyboard playing. Callum is convinced that they block out noise. Kid is hilarious. Jon took Callum for a little ride.

Happy 1st Birthday Maira-Beth!!

2011-12-18T21:38:00.007-05:00

Wow....I owe my blogging audience big time! The last post I did was December 5! I dont like that. I will do better. Take me back. Give me anudda chance, even....

Our little girl Maira turned one on 12-12. Last Saturday, Auntie KK, Uncle Twon, Jackson, and Nannie came up (UpBob and Papa and Grammy were deeply missed) and joined the rest of us crazies to celebrate the little pie's birthday. Uncle Bob was staying with Ba Ba for a few days and he got to come to the party too! In addition, after the party crew left, we did Christmas presents with my mom and the Favry family. A great weekend all around--great to have the Favrys visit....lots of good cousin time with Jackson and Callum and Maira (and Rudolph!). Anthony and I got to take a ride to the brewery late on Friday afternoon, and then on Saturday morning the dads took the boys over to the Quarry Road for a nice brisk walk on the wooded trails by the stream.....

Dave and Muriel look on while Maira unwraps her "kitty" cupcake (she had a "kitty" party...since kitties are her favorite things in life)Amanda did a knock out job on the kitty cupcakes....check them out! Also, she made some chocolate kitty lollipops....but I didnt get a picture of them....
Maira loves to eat! EVERYTHING.
The little lady's new "church coat" that BaBa bought her.....what a beautiful little lady....

Here's just a nice picture of the Goldsmiths outside the Maine State Museum....Grampy took it for us while we were checking out the model railroad show a few weeks ago....look at Callum's face.....

Little Jackson helping Maira open her gifts. Check out the high chair on the right--one of the gifts Papa sent up for Maira...a beautiful unfinished solid wood high chair for a dolly....and a cradle too....

And the two stooges masquerading around with Cabbage Patch doll boxes on their heads....
A fantastic party!

Scotch Eggs and such...

2011-12-05T20:02:00.002-05:00

Everyone knows it and makes fun of us for it: Amanda and I just love British crap. Television. Radio. Cooking. Clothing. Healthcare. Each day at lunch, in an effort to sequester myself from the rest of the school and have 10 minutes of peace (I am SOOOO popular) I sit, in the dark, in my room, eat my lunch, and watch youtube videos of (mostly British) cooking videos. Like many folks, during Christmas and the holidays, I enjoy cooking festive stuff--I just roasted a turkey the other day, and this Saturday, for Maira's first birthday party, I am smoking a ham on the Weber. One recipe I found was a Christmas tradition in England and Scotland:Scotch eggs. Here is a picture of how they turned out:
I did mine a bit on the unconventional side, meaning I baked them instead of frying them--but other than that, I followed a traditional recipe. I boiled and then peeled eggs. Then I took some natural casing sausage, and slit the casings down the length of the sausage, removing the casing, and rolling out the sausage into a little patty, for which I used some special and secretly seasoned flour. Then I covered the whole egg with the sausage, dunked the whole kabang in an egg wash, coated them with some homemade breadcrumbs, and bada-bing! I byaked they for a bit, just until the crisped up. They DEFINITELY would taste better fried, but I didnt feel like cleaning up a big mess. These MAY return for the holidays! As might a special chowder AND a fish pie. We'll see.....

Lynne and George watched the kids for Sally and I the other night so we could a. go to Toys R Us and spend hundreds of dollars on Chinese plastic crap and b. go to DYSARTS!!!!!! When we got home, this is what we saw:
Exhausted from a long night of playing trains, no doubt!
Before falling asleep, George was probably thinking about how tragic Herman Cain's campaign ended up being....hence the dubiously thoughtful posture....

This kid dont go anywhere without Mister Puppy....

Meanderings 67-Some random observations about gender and manners

2011-12-01T10:11:00.005-05:00

1. I am thinking of a new blog or web site I could launch and really make some money..."Things a man should never say.com" It would work. Here are some real observations I have made lately, teaching at a public high school:

-my cat did the cutest thing yesterday

-I think Josh Groban did a cover of this song

-I am so pissed I can't stream JERSEY SHORE on Hulu yet

-do you have any lotion?

-I love my bedroom because my dust ruffle matches my comforter

-I want John Mayer to hold me ever so gently (that one is from me)

I really do keep a small notebook of these. My class finds them hilarious. Do you? More to come....

2. On the same sort of vein, a random observation I have made about Callum is that the kid loves theater: Dance, ballet, drama, and FIGURE SKATING. Last Sunday, he preferred watching Brian Boitano's holiday skate show on NBC instead of the Patriots make the Eagles their beee-ot-chizzes.....I am totally okay with this (as I mentioned on FB). I now show CS some youtube videos of figure skating each night. Kid is transfixed. Love it!

3. For years and years, the benchmark of proper etiquette was putting the toilet seat down in the bathroom when you are finished. The 2011 version of this is (or soon will be) taking your K-Cup out of the "brewer capsule" when finished. Most people know I dislike K-cups intensely, for I believe they truly epitomize what is inherently AMERICAN--fast, convenient, pollutive (sp?), and completely devoid of aesthetics (sound, smell, etc). However, is it impolite to 'leave' your k-cup in there when you are done? I find that when I DO use a Keurig, I always find someone else's K Cup in there. It doesnt bother me at all to throw them away....but I can see some dumb liberal suddenly making a big fuss about how they have to throw someone else's cup away. Pay attention....this will become a bigger deal

4. I really hate when people chastise me for not getting the flu shot. It is ironic that the same dumb liberals who make such a big deal about "keep your laws off my body" with the whole abortion thing are the same ones who usually want to get all over my body about peeing their pants about me not getting a flu shot. At least three people this year have been genuinely offended that I havent gotten the shot and participated in what I call "a government conspiracy." This usually pisses them off, even though I say it jokingly. But when we really do get into the heart of the discussion, I ask them quite plainly: "Do you exercise five days per week at least?" Obviously they say no cuz they are too lazy to go outside. "What does that have to do with anything?" they ask me. Well, as I tell them, they are offended that I dont get the shot, and I put them at a greater risk for getting sick. THey never understand the connection I am trying to make about exercise and staying healthy, but that is just because they are too obtusely liberal....

The flu is a fad. Like Amish house stars, P90X, and Eskimos....

Thanksgiving weekend

2011-11-26T21:29:00.002-05:00

I absolutely love this picture....Callum and Maira in Maira's crib. I love the expressions. I love Callum's usual hammy self, and I love Maira's deadpan personality. She reminds me a lot of the Amanda's grandmother with her personality (with the exception that Maira likes me). As far as looks, however, I think Maira is starting to look more like her two grandfathers. What do you think? It is awesome to see Callum and Maira starting to 'play' together. Speaking of playing....

look at these two goons--Callum and Jackson--playing on Thanksgiving morning.....we are looking forward to seeing the Favrys and Nannie and Upbob again in a couple of weeks for Maira's first birthday (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT...ALREADY???). Callum is looking forward to seeing everyone. But he asked if upbob could leave Nannie at home because, and I quote, "I dont like how she follows me to wipe my nose...." But he loves his Nannie. He tells me so.
And POOF!....Maira has already done more cooking than Amanda has in the past year......

Both kids really love playing with "kitchen" sets---at Jackson's house, at the church nursery, etc--and we will probably get them one for Christmas....
Playing store......
At Thanksgiving was my cousin Kelly.....I remember when she was born....I used to hold her....and now she has her own little girl (Amanda is holding Adriella, and Kelly is holding Maira). I am getting OLD.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T22:42:00.002-05:00

The first turkey!
Turkey Head....

transfixed by Bob the Builder...

Since I am tired and sick--and Amanda is sick. And Callum is sick. And Maira is sick. I have decided to do a Thanksgiving blog post in a "lecture notes" sort of fashion...much like I would do at school when pressed for time....

THANKSGIVING: It was awesome.....a solid, complete trip....plans changed due to storm, etc....

TUESDAY: Come home from school....pack....leave at 615 to put kids to bed in car and drive down to Ct...do this to 'miss' snowstorm in Fairfield that would inevitably dump almost a foot of snow....hit MAJOR rain on way down....get to CT safely....go to bed

WEDNESDAY: Cold morning....go on errands with Anthony to dump, Home Depot, etc....go pick up stuffing and potatoes at Mystic Market....return home in time to see girls and kids off to get pictures done....Anthony and I keep the tradition alive by going to sit at a pub and consume a couple of ice beers whilst watching ESPN....this time we went to Shipyard Pub in Mystic....go home, order Valentino's pizza...put kids to bed....view 'Modern Family' and 'Happy Endings'....later that night Callum would throw up 4.5 times in bed with us...

THURSDAY: Happy Thanksgiving! Beautiful day....play football outside....fry two 21 pound turkeys...make my creamed onions....Amanda makes delicious pumpkin pie...visit with family dont often get to see....Callum and Jackson proceed to watch Bob The Builder Christmas for 26th time in row....boys continue to play trains....boys and 'Ukka Ja-ed' walk down to visit the three horses...horses are subsequently named Thomas, Percy, and James by the two boys....leave at around 7 to drive home through the night again, returning at 1130 or so to a foot of snow...have to shovel doorway to get into house....fun!

Maira being Maira.....

2011-11-15T21:25:00.003-05:00

So many changes JUST in the past week or so....

First of all, last night, she slept through the WHOLE night without getting up once!!

Her favorite word to say is "ditty!!" which she says when she calls for "daddy" or when she sees Lupine and says "kitty." She loves to wave and say DIE! to people (she is saying BYE)....

She is suddenly WICKED fast as a crawler....way faster than her brother ever was...she loves to be chased

She HATES being thrown up in the air and caught like Callum used to....

Favorite food? Goldfish and apples. She says "fish" a lot when she wants them....

She said her own name today. She says "birthdays which is hilarious. I dont think I could phonetically spell it out. Sorry.

A true joy

A Fantastic Season!

2011-11-12T21:05:00.002-05:00

It ended a couple of weeks ago, but I really haven't gotten around to writing about it. Winslow Cross Country is amazing. What a fantastic experience. My own coaching, personal training, and running education improved dynamically. As I wrote before, our boys team made it to the State Championship, and we had two girls qualify as individuals. The race, on Oct 29, took place at Twin Brook Recreational Center, which is down in Cumberland. World famous XC Ski trails. Just as good for running. Our boosters were awesome, and always had all our WHS XC "bling" fully ready for us! Here is one of our tents at the state meet. Notice the propane tank heating the hot water for coffee, cocoa, and every team member's staple: Cup O Noodles.....

Milling around before the start of the Class B race. There were LOTS of people at this. The energy was just amazing.....
The week after the season ended, we had our banquet at the high school. Amanda and the kids came for some of it--the banquet didnt start until 630, and they kids had to leave to go to bed! An excellent night with some fantastic food. I think I mentioned before about the sweatshirt and water bottle I got. Below is an interesting photo: I SERIOUSLY think this might be one of only two (the other one is from Santa's Village) pictures of the whole Goldsmith family....in existence!! One of only two that "I" have ever seen, anyway....
Fellow coach Chris and I gave out the awards to the kids--a lighthearted and sentimental affair...
And now I have a little more time for the truly important things in life......

Another day at the office....

2011-11-07T20:46:00.002-05:00

I miss being on summer vacation with my kids--I cannot believe we are just about three months into the school year already. First Quarter ended just last Friday. Amanda, who is home on Mondays and Wednesdays, gets to capture a lot of great moments during the day...like when these two goons play with each other. Funny: The HAVE a playroom...but they bring all their stuff into the living room...because that is where all the action is, right? Me? I'll take the downstairs den (which, in the past few months, has become a total mess...NOT the 'piltdogs' I wrote about a few years ago--only TRUE goldsmith5 blog purists will get that reference...)
Look at Maira's little curls in the back! I think she is going to have hair just like her mommy....
I realize I haven't blogged much about Cross Country. I should do a whole post about this. This season was amazing, to say the LEAST. Now, it is over. And, although I value having some time back in my life, I miss it terribly. The kids are just so amazing and I really hate going on runs alone. Co-coach Chris and I are doing some marathon training in hopes of preparing for the Sugarloaf marathon, which is in May. We'll see how crazy the training is--and we'll see if I have the time for it! But we had a great XC banquet last week, and it was lovely; Chris and I gave out awards to all the kids with superlatives like "rookie of the year" and "never complain award" and stuff like that. The captains gave out "gag" awards like "most likley to always wear spandex" and "laziest" and "most likely to win the warmup" and stuff. All good natured. We watched a half hour slideshow (set to music) and I was given a copy of the DVD. And the kids wrote some fantastic stuff on some posters and cards for me...AND they pitched in to custom make me a Winslow XC hooded sweatshirt as well as a 'clean canteen' water bottle with the team's photo on it! I was very touched. I absolutely love this coaching gig. Okay. Back to the kids playing....
My beautiful little girl. She says hi and bye and waves. Her latest trick--as of today--is she shakes her head NO to me (get used to it daddy...). Also, she now takes things, shows them to me, and says "this??" with a sort of lisp. I tell her what "This" is, and she then tries to say the word. Usually it sounds nothing like it is supposed to. She has really taken a liking to this "car slide" thingy that I will have to show a picture of. Also, she loves trains--particularly the Thomas the Train "Sir Topham Hatt" car. I think she just wants to be like her brother.....
An afternoon serenade....

ORANGE DAY

2011-11-07T14:31:00.002-05:00

HONORS ENGLISH
1. Same as black day class....I collected your essays

COLLEGE PREP 9
1. O.W.L. 1: take notes on homonyms and words used incorrectly. The test for this will be next MONDAY, since we have no school on Friday
2. Pit and the Pendulum
-writing in class: What was the most prominent sensory image used in this Poe story? Use your notes and explain in detail....this will be graded using the participation rubric I passed out!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T20:50:00.003-04:00

As always, Amanda made the children's costumes. This year, after toggling between being a knight, a digger, an excavator, a cup of coffee, and a dinosaur, Callum decided on being a nutcracker--not merely a 'toy soldier,' like some thought--but, rather, a nutcracker from THE famous ballet...which he loves. He also decided that Maira would be a "pink" nutcracker. What vision. I took this paper on Sunday night at around midnight or so, as Amanda was finishing the costumes.....

Ben, Betsey, Polly, and Brownlow came by to Trick or Treat--although I wish they had time to stay longer and have some of the great chili I made! Polly was an adorable ladybug, and Brownlow was a monkey.....please note Callum's "things" he brought with him: his sword (obviously), his pumpkin trick or treat bag with his name on it that Nannie got him (obviously) and his stuffed puppy named Teddy (obviously).....
Here's Amanda and our adorable, pink, chubby little nutcracker....she loved being dressed up and laughed all night!
I would say we got close to three hundred kids again....we went through seven and a half bags of candy. Callum and the kids started at five (and were done by 5:15) and then we had the rush hour from about 6-730. By 8 the place was a ghost town. I only had two drunk/under the influence of drugs kids this year. My friend Dave can vouch for that! A good year...haha
Bill and Terry across the street gave Callum and Maira their own customized little bags....very cute and thoughtful! Inside Maira's was a box of shortbread butter cookies, which she LOVED. I know someone else in the house--who isnt Callum or me--who also loves these types of cookies....like mother like daughter.....
Our friends Dave and Muriel came by, as they did last year. Unfortunately, in the tumult of putting the kids to bed/eating dinner/cleaning up, we didnt get any pictures of them. Too bad! But we were happy to have them, as always!

Here's me and my wonderful kids as we prepare to go rape the neighborhood of candy......
Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday in Nov.....why can't Halloween always be on a Saturday?? Who says?? Mondays suck for kids and candy.....

Woods are lovely, dark, and deep....

2011-10-25T20:06:00.004-04:00

Tell me the poet who wrote these lines, and I'll give you a backrub....

We took Callum out on a long walk back in the Springpond woods this past Sunday....showing him our favorite places out back of Lynne and George's house. Lynne and George live on WINGS MILLS Road....so, at one time, there was in fact a WINGS MILL--George can tell you the history on this better than I can for sure. Anyway, the mill was a grist mill, and it operated deep in the woods off a tote road (Maine speak for 'logging' road). Long unused, the remnants of the mill are still there.....it is kind of spooky actually, to walk back into the forest, and then have everything sort of "open up" into this old site of a working mill....very X-Filesish....

Lynne and George's neighbor "Walter," this 116 year old native, still does some logging back there, and this is one of the makeshift bridges he made for his skidders, diggers, backhoes, etc to negotiate the tote roads. In Maine, we call bridges such as this (logging roads, snowmobile trails, etc) "Jerry Bridges." I dont know why. So, below, Callum and I check out the bridge over Belgrade stream....looks pretty safe, huh?

Why am I wearing orange vest? Hyunting season, dudes!

Below you can see part of the mill--the foundation of where the water wheel once stood, etc....if you blow up the picture, you can see pieces of steel, etc. I thought Amanda got the millstone, grinder, etc, but I guess not. These items have just been sort of haphazardly laid in the stream....
Mumma and our handsome boy--sporting tie dye AND knit sweater--by the bridge. Amanda has lots of memories from this site of the woods. Ask her about them.....
Some perspective for youse: the bridge with the stream in the background. Maybe Callum will get his senior high school pictures done here....a beautiful spot for sure....one of my favorites! This is actually the first time I have been back here NOT in the snow; usually it is one of my favorite snowshoe trips in winter. See the "tower" thing in the upper right corner of the picture? One time I remember I was out snowshoeing with Daisy, Amanda's old chocolate lab/springer spaniel mix....and, flighty as she was, somehow got across the stream and climbed up that rock facade. It was heck trying to get her down!!!
Low and behold, in a clearing deep in the woods, was a logging backhoe and digger....this made Callum's day, obviously! Again....kind of creepy to see these things way back in the woods all alone....
And the budding naturalist (no pun intended!). Callum learned about Red Oak trees, and, more importantly, wintergreen, which loves to grow in shady places underneath beech and oak trees--back off the snowmobile trails we took to get to the old mill, I pointed some out to him. DADDY!!! THIS IS JUST LIKE GUM!!!! I wish I could always be so excited about such simple things. Thank you Callum.....
(Maira was back at the house napping with MeeMee and Grampy....)

Maira is a Goldsmith....

2011-10-23T20:19:00.003-04:00

Not a Willard, like Callum. And being a Goldsmith is a good thing. I need someone on MY side. So, therefore, I give Maira the thumbs up.....

Maira will eat anything. Amanda and Lynne are two of the pickiest eaters I know (haha). Callum doesnt eat much. He is a Willard. Maira is a Goldsmith. Maira is big like a Goldsmith. Callum is small, like a Willard. Maira is also wicked high maintenance, like a Goldsmith. YOu cannot leave her alone for even a minute...she hates it. Callum is wicked mellow, like a Willard. Very easygoing. Maira looks like my dad, I think. Also, Maira is never sick, like a Willard. Goldsmiths are never sick. Finally, Maira is not affectionate at all....she will not cuddle or snuggle. Just like a Goldsmith. Very cold Irish blood. Maira is a Goldsmith.

I think Maira looks JUST like her Auntie KK in this picture. Does anyone else think so?

Maira loves the drums....
She's had a BIG week and a half. First of all, she is eating ALL SORTS of new foods--basically ANYTHING!! With Callum, we used the food mill to grind stuff up....with Maira, we just kind of chunk it and throw it at her and she's good. Even with only those two bottom teeth. She manages to fight through the adversity. She's a Goldsmith. She loves hot dogs, eggs, pizza, cheese, and more. But I think her favorite food has to be Pepperidge Farm Goldsmith. Just imagine what she will be like when she DOES have teeth? (Prime rib on a bone, anyone?)
ALSO, Maira's vocabulary has EXPLODED over the past couple of weeks....for the longest time she was saying a primitive form of KITTY (KIYYYYY!!!!) and DADA. And that was it. But now she is trying to repeat just about everything she can....and it is so funny! Last night we went to Yellow Beans (LL Bean, but CS calls it YELLOW Bean....) and I took Callum to the bathroom. When I came back, Maira, sitting in her stroller, smiles at me and just says HI! She had never said hi before, and it was just wonderful. Now she says HI to everything!! She tries to say THANK YOU, and it is really funny as well. And she looks at things and asks THIS? Just a few days ago, she started to wave at people, and she loves putting both arms over her head and saying YEAY!! in celebration--most of the time she is celebrating nothing but that fact that she is just sitting there....and this makes it all the better....

Here's Callum at Mee Mee and Grampy's today. Kid looks like a freakin homeless person. WILL. NOT. WEAR. JEANS. (we make him though). All he wants are his "comfy pyants." See how he has his little "set up" at Mee Mee's? Thomas DVD? Check. Comfy Pants? Check. His 'mee mee' toys thrown around the living room? Check. Showing MeeMee his new tie dye cool as a moose shirt? Check.

Meanderings 66

2011-10-17T12:44:00.003-04:00

Just a few for youse

1. Still, in 2011, when you go into a store and look at picture frames, the picture frame manufacturers need to fill the frames with fake/example photographs of a couple with exceptionally white teeth holding a cat or playing touch football. Why is this? Do they think Americans are really that stupid (they might be right) that they need 'suggestions' of what to do with the picture frames they buy? Might seeing some 'examples pictures' in the frames encourage them or put them over the fence to the point where they might say "ya know? I never thought of using a frame for this!! I think I might buy this now!!!"

2. The word "retired." So, when people were still working, is that saying that they were "tired," but, at their retirement party, they momentarily were wide awake, and then, when they woke up the next day, they were suddenly "tired" again? Wouldnt people be LESS tired when they were REtired, since retirement means you have less responsibilities and less stuff to get up for, etc? Is going out for boneless chicken breast and a baked potato at 3:48 pm that exhausting?

3. Wedding showers are simply parties to celebrate the fact that a party is going to take place. That is it. Oh, and they give guys some well deserved peace and quiet. Unless they are those 'jack and jill' monstrosities. But, mostly, they just celebrate the fact that a bigger and cooler party will happen soon thereafter. Better hope little kids don't get wise to the logic of wedding showers. Suddenly, Callum will be saying to me in February: "Daddy, can we have the party to celebrate my REAL birthday in June??"

4. A funny phrase that I heard a seemingly educated and professional person say recently was "literally unbelievable," as in "His foreign policy stance is LITERALLY unbelievable." Think about how stupid that phrase is....NOTHING can be 'literally' unbelievable because all unbelievable things are already LITERALLY like that. That is why they are unbelievable. Try this: DO NOT think of the color purple. DONT. See what I mean? I dont know. I'm confused now.

5. Reality TV shows love to show the passage of time by means of clouds passing by really really fast across the backdrop of blue skies. Cute.

6. Facebook needs to get cuter and fresher with their 'relationship status' qualifiers. Right now you've got "married to..." and "in a relationship with"....and "divorced...." I mean they have "its complicated," but that's as cute as they get. Put me in charge of that stuff! I'd kill it! We need "in an abusive relationship" or "married to deadbeat____" or "she's a freakin' cheater, that chick_____" or "cheating on______" with ______" or "friends with benns with____" or "stalking______" and such and such....

Storyland/Santa's Village 2011 part deux

2011-10-12T21:19:00.003-04:00

I have so many great childhood memories of my own from going away with my dad to storyland and Santa's village from when I was a kid....I remember one time we went there towards the end of August when he was on vacation....and we stayed in this little motel that had a playground outside....and Kris and I were really excited to play on the playground...maybe even more so than go to Santa's Village....my dad got upset. I am one hundred percent sure that he will think I am crazy for thinking that this hyappened. But it did.

But I just love Santa's village. I remember, however, that when we were kids there was a 'trained parrot' show we saw...those parrots must have long since died. Oh well. I think it is cool to sort of pass the torch along to Callum and Maira, and now bring MY kids to a place I once went as a lad. And I have NOOOOO desire to go to Disney. At any point. Hate heat. Hate lines. Hate spending 100 dollars to drive a pretend car around.

At Storyland on Sunday, Clifford the big red dog made an appearance....Callum knew this and had looked forward to it for weeks and weeks....UNTIL, that is, Clifford manifested himself in all his six foot glory. Then Callum retreated into his shell. I dont blame him. Kind of creepy costume if you looked up close....The Picture Place.....
A great even from the weekend that I DONT have pictures of is the Attitash/Bear Peak Oktoberfest Anthony and I attended....you pay ten bucks to get in....you get a couple of free samples...and then you buy tokens to get full pints of some great local stuff. On tap from Maine was Shipyard. Some great NH and VT breweries were there too: Long Trail Brewing, Tuckerman's Brewing, Woodstock Brewery (Thurston and I's favorite Pig's Ear Brown Ale!), and, our personal favorite of the event, Moat Mountain Brewery. I actually did some research to find where in Maine I could get some. I was successful! Immediately, Moat works its way into at least my top five beermakers of all time. Excellent stuff. Oh, and did I mention Narragansett was there? And they DIDNT come in last place!! Seriously....

Jackson having a great time on the antique German carousel....
I think was trip # 4 in a row for Callum.....giving me a high five as we rode....
And in the small section of Storyland that actually IS dedicated to classic children's stories (come on....I'm an Englishy book nerd...you knew I was going to say that....) we had none other than Miss Muffett and her tuffet (whatever the heck a tuffet is....) and the spider. Have I mentioned how much Callum LOVES spiders? He does. And we have SO many around our house.....outside of course....
And at the end of a long day, Callum loves looking at pictures with his Nannie.....

Storyland/Santa's Village 2011

2011-10-10T19:47:00.004-04:00

Oh my goodness....where to start....a really great weekend with fantastic weather to boot (record setting temps on Sunday at 85 degrees....that sucked, but the tourists liked it!). My mom wanted to celebrate fall by getting all the family together to spend Columbus day weekend at a condo at Attitash...the plan was to hang out, go to the attractions, eat good food, and drink lots of Pumpkinhead (well, for Anthony and I anyway). Callum. Had. A. Blast. He went on rides, stretched his comfort circle, smiled and laughed all day (mostly), and had a blast playing with his cousin Jackson. This, even though he is actually kind of sick right now, with some crazy head cold thing going on. Same with MairaBeth, who, despite being sick, had a great time seeing everyone.

Here are Anthony, Jackson, Joanne, Nannie, and Kristin driving the cars early Sunday morning at storyland. Callum did not want to go on--he was kind of in a timid mood on Sunday morning, mostly because he knew a lifesized Clifford would be there....and, although he looked forward to it for months, he got really freaked out when the big red down started strutting across the park....

A random guy squeezed my butt as he walked by (which happens to me a lot actually), and it turned out to be my friend Steve--Steve was JohnnyCrockett's roommate at UVM, and I got to know him well that way. Great guy and great times. Also, my mom automatically loves him because he is O.F.D. like her (Originally From Dorchester....). What a small world!
While the old people and kids and Amanda had lunch, Anthony and I braved the lines to do the Polar Coaster! I am sure two grown men waiting in line for a roller coaster in a kid's park didnt look weird....
Unequivocally, Callum's favorite ride/attraction of the whole weekend was the antique German carousel at Storyland. He went on it--literally--five times in a row. Each time he picked a different color horse. It broke my heart to tell him he we had to leave. The kid just shined on the darn thing....

ALso, notice his reindeer carefully stowed in the strap with him. He used some "souvenir money"he had to buy both himself and his sister a reindeer at Santa's Village. Since Saturday, he has rarely been more than 14 inches away from "James/Rudolph/Thomas" the reindeer....
Upbob was a champ--despite his health issues he went on rides, walked around the park with everyone, sat in a Callum-imposed time out, got in some Maira-time, and even managed to smoke me in a good game of cribbage (while everyone else played on their iPads, Upbob and I went oldskool!)
(the way I uploaded these pics presents them 'backwards' chronologically for some reason, so these are S.V. pics from the day before)

Callum was timid of the reindeer merrygoround at first, but after seeing Jackson brave a deer, he decided to get on too. NOTE: Callum, much like his mom, MeeMee, and BaBa is ALWAYS cold (even when it is 80) and ALWAYS wants to be wearing a 'cozy' (in his words) sweatshirt. Cool.
Santa's sky-sleigh--a really neat ride that took us above and through the whole park. Poor Amanda...she took all the pictures and is never in any! And poor Maira-you can tell she doesnt really feel well.....

I just want to point out how happy I look though...because I was! Being there with my wife and two kids was just awesome. And getting to spend some time with the Favrys, Joanne, my mom, and Bob just added to the fun. Already, on the ride home, the Goldsmiths were planning our next visit to Santa's Village (we liked SV better than StoryLand).
This one is so cool! Callum and Amanda went on the REAL ferris wheel together! Amanda HATES Ferris Wheels, and I was going to go on too....but after waiting in line for 25 minutes, I had to pee, and thus I missed my turn. Oh well. Amanda said she had sweaty palms the whole time....Callum just beamed from ear to ear....blow up this pic to see it better!
Lots of great cousin-time for the boys. Jackson absolutely LOVES Callum (and the feeling is mutual) and copies just about everything that Callum does. It is very cute. Can you believe Callum is ten months older than Jackson? Even though Callum looks pissed, he was having a great time! He just hates getting his pic taken....
At the end of the day--when the kids were in great moods (haha) we took some family pictures. This one came out pretty good--my mom, bob, and 'the kids.' I will try to post a 'round two' of this great weekend....I know Amanda is posting on FB, and Anthony also took a TON of pictures!

More than halfway....

2011-09-29T21:36:00.003-04:00

Through my first season as asst. coach of Winslow Cross Country--the finest team in the school. I love coaching XC and the kids are first rate....and so are the parents. I think this is the only sport I would coach...I particularly love the one on one you can have with the kids as you coach them. Lots of people wonder what a cross country coach DOES (hey...go for a run.......umm....great job.....but try to go farther next time....or something....). Actually, we do a lot. First of all, I run with the kids EACH and every day. THis has greatly improved my own personal running times and the shape I am in. We bust our butts each afternoon from 230 to 4 or later. Monday is always our long day. Tuesday is hills. Wednesday is mile or half mile repeats. Thursday is an easy day. Fridays are meets. We have some great runners, athletes, and all around people on the team. If you are on FB, check out and become a fan of Winslow Cross Country. If you want. This Saturday is the annual FESTIVAL OF CHAMPIONS in Belfast. This is a HUGGGGEEEE meet; teams come up from RI, MA, and NH....they come down from Canada! There will be--by my estimation--close to 800 runners from about 70 different schools. A crazy day for sure. After that we begin the regional races....KVACs (Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championships) and then the state meet. The courses are awesome--through the woods, mud, and swamps....up steep hills.....through quiet forests. Chris (my co coach) and I run the course with the kids wherever we are, as we sprint to different checkpoints in order to get the kids' "splits" (how fast they run each mile of the 3.1 mile course.....

And now the kids....

Getting interested in stairs.....

Still only those two little bottom teeth....WHEN will she get more?????
ALWAYS so happy (and drooling)
Loves playing with the Thomas Train table in the playroom....here she is wondering to herself if she can eat this crane....
Amanda took this one. I asked her: WHat. The heck. Was our son doing when you took this??? She cannot remember. I think this would be a great caption contest.....
We're addicted. But we got a great deal....at B&F Vegetables the other day I asked if he had any utility tomatoes, as the season is winding down. he gave us a DEAL--a bushel (what you see here) for 15 bucks. That is half off! Viva la cyanning....

The Canning Season

2011-09-27T19:29:00.002-04:00

This has been the summer (and early fall) of the book in the Goldsmith household. A reading renaissance, even. If you were to come to our house--which no one ever does--you would see, on our coffee table, a stack two feed high of "in rotation" books of Callum and Maira. We keep them there since we usually read on the couch. Our living room is TRULY a living room....we play in there, we watch shows, we color, we read books. Callum ultimate favorite book(s) right now are Arthur stories...each week we go to the library to select a new one. He has almost read them all.

We have been so into our reading that we have even downgraded our Netflix subscription....we used to get three at a time (like Tim in college) but now we only get one--and even that ONE we never seem to watch (Inspector Linley has been on our coffee table for over a month)

I'd love to set up a GOOD READS account on line--my friend Brad told me about this (he has one) as a place to post QUICK reviews of books and keep track of what you have read. Maybe Brad can inspire me to actually start this.....

I have read so many books over the summer, but the one that stands out (not only for this summer, but also for my LIFE) is Polly Horvath's THE CANNING SEASON. Rarely does a book affect me this much. And the mystery of the effect it has on me is that I DONT KNOW why it affects me so much; it is one of those books that, although I finished it two months ago, I still think about as I fall asleep at night...or while I am on a long run....or while I read my current book and lament over the fact that it just ain't as good as THE CANNING SEASON. This is what great books do, right? They confuse us and baffle us and lead us on and intrigue us--like a shifty crush (male or female) and cause us to constantly reexamine what it is we love about the anyway (?) No? You should read it. It isnt that long. And it takes place in Maine. The story involves a girl named Ratchet whose mom is a an awful human being (or is she?) Ratchet is sent to live with her nearly one hundred year old GREAT aunts in the remote Maine woods/coast. I dont know if it is comedy, but it is sure funny. Little adventures ensue. The most amazing thing for me is that, after over two hundred pages (and the final page of the book) you know abso. lutely. NOTHING about the main character Ratchet. Yet you know everything. It is weird. It is an unusual book for sure--the premise of a young, quiet girl going to live with old, stuck-in-their-ways opinionated old spinsters. Lynne and I read it at the same time, and talked BRIEFLY about it....but I need to do more with this book. Our good friend Muriel read it, and I look forward to talking to her. It is a book I need to talk about. You should read it. It won the National Book Award, even.

Currently, I am reading (40 pages from done) THE LOST SYMBOL by Dan Brown. Awesome story (kind of). You could tell he just wanted to end this and didnt know how. Kind of. I dont know

Summer of the book.

just maira

2011-09-24T21:17:00.002-04:00

The other day I left for school and kissed Maira goodbye. When I came home, I wondered where someone took the little girl I left that morning--she looked COMPLETELY different...in the span of like ten hours! She has the most wonderfully fat neck on earth, and she laughs whenever I kiss it. It is so fat and sweaty that it naturally collects soft shards of black lint--this is at the same time gross and cute. She loves her dada, but she seems to love Lupine even more...she says kitty whenever Lupine comes onto the scene. When Amanda raises her arms above her head, Maira will sometimes mimic what Amanda is doing. And, also just recently occurring, is the fact that Maira is starting to get pissed when people take her away from things she wants to be near OR take things away from her. She will stare at you and scream. This is not the mellow, laid back Callum-as-a-baby model we are used to....haha

With Emma at the pub at Sebasco. This place is in the Guinness Book of World Records for "World's most expensive children's menu." Callum got chicken fingers that I think were nine bucks or something. Fantastic fries though. Surprisingly, Giay has not been there....

With George's step sister Lydia, who came up for the wedding. Lydia had (obviously) met George and Lynne before....but she had never met the rest of the family. I think she had a fantastic time. Lydia and George just recently became "re-connected" after MANY years of...well....not being connected....
Still waiting for George to give us the 1500 photos he took at the wedding....but here is one of Maira in her cute dress. I still havent seen what I even looked like that day. Usually sunny. What?
With Emma again....
And this is special, because this is Maira's FIRST ever New England Patriots game....so, naturally, mommy put her in her Packer's shirt (my second favorite team, as many know) since she does not have her own Pats shirt yet....notice I am sporting my vintage John Hannah game shirt.....

More pictures (taken by George)

2011-09-20T08:03:00.002-04:00

right after the wedding, we had a family portrait taken......Callum and I had already changed and had two beers by then....haha
looking out fearlessly toward the horizon (actually, we were watching Kelsey march down the aisle). Callum remarked to Aunt Kelsey later: "when I saw you I thought you were a princess"

Proceeding down the aisle with parents Sue and Geoff.....(notice Aunt June in the background keeping watch over a sleeping, stroller laden Maira!)

Looking beautiful as always!

We were so proud of our little boy Callum for being SO AWESOME during the whole wedding! He walked his MeeMee down the aisle....and he stood up in front with the wedding part during the whole service. What a big boy!

The wedding of Jon and Kelsey Willard

2011-09-19T21:24:00.005-04:00

Before anyone complains about how they werent in any pictures...or there arent enough of the kids....blah blah blah....consider two things: One, Amanda is going to post ALL of these on stalkbook. And, two, Amanda and I were very very busy on the day of the wedding; not only were we IN the wedding party, but also we had two very tired, very out-of-their- element kids. There isnt even a picture of Amanda or I (nevermind one TOGETHER) in this whole mix. A busy busy day. For now, here are some pics...and I will narrate more later. Mkay?

The rehearsal dinner on Friday night at the Kennebec Cafe in downtown Bath. A really beautiful place. I had the honor of toasting Jon and Kelsey that evening at the dinner.....

Jon and I sharing a beverage......
At the wedding reception: Steve, Michelle, and Emma, who is suddenly ALL grown up. Now she cheers instead of quoting high school crapsical. She LOVED Maira. And Maira loved her.....
These two guys were buddies all weekend. It was very cute to watch. Second cousins Brandon and Callum. Brandon is Keith and Donna's boy. He is two months older than Callum...but like four times bigger...haha. All weekend these two shared toys and played and hung out and enjoyed one of the four iPads that Aunt June brought along....
Look for George to post or send some pics of Callum, me, and Amanda in our FORMAL attire. But Callum was a VERY handsome boy. A true lady killer. All the Bates alum were all over him....
Callum and mommy dancing to "Party Rock Anthem." Youtube the song. Cute. Also, notice one of the several pretty views from the great room....
Right in back of our table was this view of (I think) Casco Bay. Sebasco Bay resort was east (I think) of Bath...by the town of Phippsburg. In Northern Massachusetts (inside joke).

Early Autumn visits....

2011-09-14T22:06:00.003-04:00

The first thing that "visited" Callum and Maira came in the mail, in the form of a fall gift box from Nannie--there was a "ghoul bus" t shirt for CS, a Halloween outfit for MairaBeth, some window clingy stickers, and some wooden bats complete with glitter pens and crayons in order to decorate. Callum wasted NO time getting right over to his seat and beginning the process of decorating the bats for the season ahead; he hadn't even checked the rest of the contents of the box! (blow up the pic for a better view!)

Our second visit last week came from Timmy the Greek and his lovely Eleni--can you believe Amanda and Eleni had never MET before this past weekend?? A wonderful, spontaneous visit...thanks so much for coming up!!! The got to Maine last Friday afternoon....they came to my Cross Country meet at Waterville....they came back to the house and we enjoyed some ice beers while we put the kids to bed....and then, in true Central Maine fashion, we got takeout from Asian Cafe!

On Saturday morning, Callum and Maira got right to work with Eleni, playing "Thomas's Birthday Surprise," this game that the Fitzpatrick's got him for his birthday earlier in June....

While I snapped this picture, Tim was out with Star, their dog, showing her the 'finer points' of our town (they hit the trail across the street....had a conversation with 'Mr Marcoux'....hiked a bit through the woods....saw some scurrying beaver....and Star swam in a stream or a pond or something....)
Amanda and Eleni just really hit it off. Excellent stuff. Eleni is a terrific person.
Maira really loved her too, offering a rare smile......
We went over to the Apple Farm in Fairfield later that morning (after introducing Eleni to HILLMAN'S BAKERY, of course!). At the farm, Callum and I walked Star in the orchard and Tim, Eleni, Amanda, and Maira stocked up on Macs. Amanda and I bought twenty more pounds of tomatoes, which have now all been canned. And, finally, after visiting with MISTER Z (a five year old horse) we took a delightful horse pulled wagon ride through the orchard and land surrounding the park. The same folks do SLEIGH RIDES in the winter....can't wait!

The THIRD and final visit this early fall came in the way of the CLINTON FAIR--our ULTIMATE favorite fair in Maine. Small. Simple. Rural. Shady. Perfect. Callum broke new ground and, for the first time, went on some rides (okay....ONE ride....) He rode his blue motorcycle!! He went on this ride two times in a row!!!
You can kind of tell how much he is beaming from ear to ear....I assure you he LOVED it!
One of the nicest weekends I had in a long time!

Wind and claws

2011-09-10T21:11:00.001-04:00

So I can't believe I forgot to post pictures of Hurricane Irene!!! Here ya go:
That's all. The Goldsmiths didnt "sensationalize" the storm like a lot of other people did....in fact, until it got bad and we lost power, we were having a blast playing outside--Callum really enjoyed the wind. In fact, we wrote a song about running in a hurricane. Wannahearithereitgoes!!

We did lose power, but not to the severity that my sister and buddy Jay lost it. Kris, Anthony, and Jackson were without power for a week!! And Jay was nearly that long. That stinks. All in all we escaped relatively unscathed....just a few bushes blown over (I still need to fix them, actually!)

The canning continues! We are having a blast!! At the Apple Farm in Fairfield, we bought a "flat" of tomatoes for canning--14 pounds of them, for .60 per pound. What a deal. In fact, this past weekend we were there again, and we bought another twenty pounds for the same price. I love canning because a) it is good quality time Amanda and I can spend together listening to reggae or WERU b) we are able to eat fresh Maine produce all through the winter c) there is this 'primal' need to store things up for the winter (like firewood) d) we can give stuff to friends and family e) it ensures the founding fathers are getting their money's worth....
On Labor day (last week) I went over to stack some of BaBa's firewood--he has been having a rough time with her nerves, back, etc. So we made an afternoon out of it and he treated everyone to lobster! We usually do this once a summer with him. As usual, Callum had a blast running around, barefoot, going in the woods and gardens. Maira, too, was loving crawling around in the grass wicked fast!!
Callum was introduced to lobster by his Poppy, when we went out to Fresh Catch a couple of months ago. Callum has always been a fan of lobsters (alive ones in the tank at Hannaford that are his friends!). But we NEVER thought he would be interested in even watching OTHER people eat them....never mind eating them HIMSELF!! Lobsters are that rare food that you eat RIGHT out of the body itself, ya know? But he LOVES them. With Poppy, he ate practically two whole claws and some tail....this past summer, at Thurston's lobster pound, he ate a lobster....and, at BaBa's last week...well....see for yourself.....

Lots to write about in future posts: Cross Country, Tim and Eleni visit, more canning, etc etc.....

Maira tells it like it is....

2011-09-06T21:03:00.003-04:00

We NEED to publish more of Maira's milestones. Poor 'second' child! Ha Ha. Maira is awesome. Such a happy, content, pleasant baby. She will go to anyone. She seems to fear nothing. She only cries at night because she is a NIGHTMARE of a sleeper. But that will pass. She is even content when Callum steals all her toys and yells at her to leave him alone. Good kid. She is very engaging in a conversation....she could trade 'na na nas' with you back and forth all day!

You comin'?

2011-09-03T19:35:00.002-04:00

This has been my mantra over the last year or so, since I got SERIOUS about my health, fitness, and weight. I haven't really written a lot about my success with my weightloss, but I have decided to now. Because, for the first time since before I got cancer, I am below 200 pounds (194 to be exact...) My top weight, according to the doctor, peaked about the time little Callum was born--274 pounds. Disgusting.

How did I do it? The right way. The only way. Three simple things: Healthy choices, low sugar consumption, and PORTION CONTROL. I used to eat WAYYY too much. I still do love to eat though. And, when I treat myself to Chinese food, even now, all bets are off--I enjoy. But my eating has changed completely. I dont even say I am on a "diet," because I really am not. I have changed my whole lifestyle. The second thing I did was up the exercise--and, with the weight loss, one hand washes the other, so to speak; whereas before I would be totally wasted by running three miles, once I started getting lighter, I could run farther, burn more calories, etc etc I am the strongest I have ever been. I run, bicycle, do yoga, and lots of body weight exercises (combined with a 50 pound sandbag I bought at Agway...and some 15 pound dumbbells). Whenever I would get tired or unmotivated or aggravated, I would ask myself: "are you comin?" Was I going to let my mind and my heart and my soul keep up with my physical self? Was I going to rise to the challenge?

This was a picture Amanda took of me last week on the summit of Pleasant Pond Mtn.

This is me in June of 2008. What the hell was I thinking?
When I look at old pictures, I guess I failed to realize how heavy I really was......

In the film "Shawshank Redemption," 'Red,' the character played by Morgan Freeman, says of his life imprisonment sentence: "Get busy living or get busy dyin'....."

Life is going to move no matter what. Are you comin'?

Callum reads "Arthur's Computer Disaster"

2011-08-31T20:06:00.003-04:00

Callum absolutely LOVES Arthur books--do you know Arthur? He is that lovable aardvark in those books written by Mass. based Marc Brown. It is also a show on PBS. Luckily, our library has just about every Arthur book ever written (except the Christmas one....which is the one CS wants...). So, every week, we go and get as many Arthur books as we can check out at once. So far, we have read Arthur's Halloween, Arthur's vacation, Arthur goes to camp, Arthur's band, Arthur's tooth, and this one--which is his undisputed favorite. We took a longer (about 3 min.) video, but decided a minute and a half was good for the blog. The kid has this book virtually MEMORIZED, and he doesnt even let us read it to him anymore....he wants to read it himself. It is awesome to watch him. It is great to see him so excited about reading--I remember when I was younger and my mom and my dad would take Kris and I every Saturday to the Ames Free library in N. Easton....I would get like 5 books at a time and it was just great. Johnny Crockett and I were really into the "biographies" (Washington, Johnny Appleseed, Lincoln, Leu Carr, etc) and we'd eat those up. I love reading.

Pleasant Pond Mountain

2011-08-29T20:37:00.002-04:00

One day, mommy and daddy went to hike a mountain....

(Callum, each time he 'reads' any of his books aloud, starts with 'one day......' and then whatever is going on in the story...it is really funny)

But we DID go hike Pleasant Pond Mountain last week. JUST Amanda and me. Thanks Lynne for watching the kids!!!

I hiked this mountain seven years ago while camping with the guys after the school year ended. It was great to get back there. A really nice climb....really steep for short amounts of time....a nice 1.5 mile hike up to a rocky summit....views of the Forks area and the western Maine mountains like Rangeley, Baxter State Park, etc.....and Pleasant Pond in which to swim after you are done hiking. We didnt though. The pond is always freezing. Although very refreshing after a hot hike. The mountain is in the village of Caratunk (and it IS a village....it is like something out of a movie!). Caratun is about ten minutes or so from the Forks, where all the whitewater stuff hyappens. I think the best part of the whole day was just being together and having a break from the kids; we stopped for Dunkin Donuts iced coffees and listened to our audio book--without interruption from Callum or Maira--for practically the whole time!

As you can see, this is a well groomed and maintained trail. It is actually part of the Appalachian Trail, which hikers hike on their way to the end--which is Katahdin.

Amanda, near the summit. This would be a beautiful snowshoe in the winter, since there are so many mini fir trees that would look so great caked with snow. Like an episode of the Smurfs. Or something. ALSO, the summit was loaded with low bush blueberries, so we filled about a half a water bottle with the delicious fruits. Callum really appreciated it.....
looking westward towards Rangeley, Saddleback, etc....
Amanda snapped this one of me making my way back down, shortly after the summit.....
Amanda has ALWAYS been the one to carry the camera, and I have always been the pack carrier. This is fine. What is funny his how she always takes pictures of cute little things she finds in nature---fungi, flowers, funny tree shapes, etc. I think this one takes the cake. A) I dont know how she found this B) I have never seen anything in nature look like this C) It is absolutely hilarious and looks like drug paraphernalia....or something else.....

Mini Golf

2011-08-26T09:43:00.003-04:00

BaBa got Callum some golf clubs for his birthday. So, from time to time, Callum enjoys going outside to practice his swing. He likes his diggers to watch him....

Last Saturday we went mini golfing with Dave and Muriel at Gifford's in Waterville. This was Callum's third time mini golfing. He seems to get it a little more each time....he still has trouble with the whole "let everyone else go too" kind of deal. But he is making strides...haha. Below, Dave and Muriel (who is very good, by the way!!) check out the course....
Did you know that mini golf and rock-and-roll go hand in hand with each other? And did you know that putt putt golf clubs can also 'double' as guitars? Well they do. And did you ALSO know that if you put a fence in front of green portapottys that you can't see them at all??
I love Maira's expression in this picture.....she's like "Hey....it is hot....take your freakin' shot and then let's get ice cream!!" Or not.
Back at "the shop," Callum and Maira do some maintenance on the logging and firetrucks.....
In other news, today is my first Cross Country meet. The Laliberte memorial invitational in Disgusta at cony high school. Excited to see how it goes! Then, we are taking the kids to the final library gazebo concert of the summer downtown....and THEN, after the kids are in bed, Amanda and I are gonna get take out Chinese! M29 and M14 please and thank.

Check out my wife's cans....

2011-08-22T19:42:00.002-04:00

Actually, they are my cans too. All of our cans. And, actually, they are jars. But the PROCESS is called canning. Why not jarring? And why do they say TAKE a shower when you're not rea.......

Anyway. Amanda and I have gotten really into canning and preserving fresh food. Add that to the list of reasons why we are uncool/84/british/stupid. But we love it. The process is not DIFFICULT (well, actually it is) but, rather, tedious. But it lends itself well to talking, listening to an audiobook, or checking out the cool programs on WERU as we can. This summer, as we did not have a garden, we are just doing beans, pickles, and hopefully tomatoes. Next summer, when we DO have our garden, we hope to can LOTS of stuff--for most things that you want to can au natural in just water (versus pickling, vinegar, acid, etc) you need a pressure cooker. A big one. And we just dont have the funds for they right now, even.

Above, Sally is preparing the green beans we bought from Henry's produce tent down the street. We are preparing to make DILLY BEANS, which are green beans preserved in a brine of vinegar, garlic cloves, dill, and cayenne pepper. These were canned to reggae music, if that makes any difference....

Below, Lupine gets in on the mix. She's a good cat. Still gets kind of annoyed with Maira sometimes. But wouldnt you if something was always pulling at your butt/tail and/or trying to put you in it's mouth? But no matter where the kids are, Lupine is RIGHT there. Most of the time. Unless she is out hunting or asleep in the breezeway--which she does for most of the day....
Opposites attract, dont they? When it comes to music, I have no clue how to read those little dots and squiggles and stuff....I am all about improv and free form and unconventional chord structure, etc. Amanda is a classically trained geek who has to have perfection EVERY time. With cooking, I am a 'little of this/little of that' kind of geek, whereas Amanda will scientifically measure out 1/34th of a teaspoon of salt if a recipe calls for it. So, naturally, the canning got funny. Below, she tries to remove air pockets from the jar. Ya know, with a wooden spoon. Cuz wooden spoons have magical vacuum qualities. And stuff.....
My wife's cans are so hot. I mean, look at them boil in the big granitewear pot!!!
After canning, we left them on the counter overnight, listening to the little "TING" that is a good indicator that a seal has been made and we wont die of botulism in January. Good stuff.

This last picture is mostly for Tim, John, and Giay. They know.

They know.
Okay everyone. Enjoy reading and not commenting as usual. Loves!

'astruction

2011-08-17T20:35:00.001-04:00

Is how Callum says "construction." He is SO into it this summer--from his Bob the Builder shows he gets at the library (and used at Bull Moose) to the big diggers Poppy gets him at Village Toy Shop when we visit to the tractors and dumptruck, etc Grampy bought him to his hotwheels to his big wooden blocks he dumps on the living room floor to make roads and bridges and stages (ya know...for rock concerts...), the kid has the "truck bug" that little boys get. But he is WAY into it. For example, tonight before he went to bed, he HAD to go outside to mix some concrete in his sandbox table....he mixed his sand with water, lamented how he needs a 'concrete pourer truck,' transferred his concrete into a dumptruck, and drove said dumptruck over to the firepit and dumped it in (we settled on the firepit because I would not let him dump it on the lawn like he wanted to!). I will try to post some pics of him playing with his blocks--and perhaps some ones of him 'shooing' Maira away as she tries to get into his business. Constantly.

Last week, former student and good friend Meryl (who I cannot believe will be a SENIOR next year at college) came by for a summer visit to see the kids. We are always so flattered when my students think of us and make time in their busy schedules to come over and hang for a while! It was Meryl's first time meeting Maira, and as you can see from the picture, Maira was excited to play with Mer'

And then, almost immediately, Callum absconded with Meryl to the driveway in order that they might make roads and parking lots for his diggers....(side note: please continue to notice how this kid LIVES in his blue boots....). Callum wasted no time in giving the orders to Meryl, telling her exactly how he wanted the roads, etc....

Side project road building......
And pausing with their favorite diggers for a quick picture before we went inside to have a supper of this Mexican rice dish I made for the first time.....
On the Maira front: This little chica is a D.E.V.I.L. She is standing (leaning on things) now. Constantly. She lifts herself up by leaning on railings, chairs, and even the wall. Today she somehow crawled up two stairs, and then slid on her belly (slowly and controlled) down. She is always. on. the. move. More to come....

Brian and Melissa Kemish!

2011-08-15T20:09:00.003-04:00

Congratulations to two wonderful individuals: Brian and Melissa tied the knot at Foxwoods-Lake of Isles resort this past weekend. An unbelievable event in terms of guests, food, music, mohawked photographers, and gin. Amanda and I loved every minute of it; it is also a significant event because it was the first time since we've had both kids that Amanda and I have left them overnight. Weird. The ride down to CT sucked--as most rides south of Portland do--since we sat in traffic in Worcester for an hour and twenty minutes....and moved three miles. No joke. Ask Amanda. We got to the Grand Pequot hotel--where Bri and his buds were hanging out inhaling Southern Comfort--right at two. From then on, it was pure fun.

Getting to see my old college roommate JR was truly awesome. We had to--quite regretfully--miss his wedding to his wonderful wife Theresa (it was the day before Callum was born, and Amanda was 'feelin it'). So, as an extra treat, I got to finally meet her! I figured out that the last time I saw Josh before this was about 8 years ago, when Amanda and I lived in Disgusta in the crappiest piece of crap apartment ever. Below, you can see JR and I marvelling at Melissa as she marches down the aisle. We were standing on a deck overlooking the Lake of Isles. A beautiful, beautiful setting!Brian, who loves to handle wood of all types (wah wah wah), built this beautiful arbor/trellis piece. They got married right below it. Brian was a forestry major at college, and he was on the woodsmen's team (in fact, after one of his meets was when Amanda and I went on our first date in college!). I loved the poetics the Justice of the Peace described when she acknowledged Birch as a strong, noble wood which is also very resilient and bends easily to adapt to stressful situations. What she failed to add--and I think this suits Brian very well--is that it is REALLY hot for a very short amount of time.... it burns up quick...and then leaves absolutely no coals or 'legacy.' HAHA Brian....
Dr. and Mr. Theresa Adams....
During cocktail hour, there was a duet of a guitarist and saxophone player--excellent job! And then the DJ rocked enough to get me, a goofy fatty with NO dance skills to speak of, out on the floor for 96.4 percent of the night. I think the bar helped too. The filet mignon was amazing. And then, at the end of the night, around 10ish, they put out sliders and pizza. Pefect snaking rechargement from all the dancing I was doing with Mrs. Petunia Kemish! Below, beautiful Melissa and beautiful Amanda Stuart pause for a quick photo opp....
In college, Josh and I would go out dancing all the time. Josh is a real humdinger with that. None of what occurred in the last two sentences is even remotely true. But it must have been something in the gin that night....
After the wedding, Amanda and I went to our shady hotel room in rotten Groton (it wasnt thaaaat bad). It was just so great to reconnect with two guys with whom I shared an amazingly formative part of my existence. I really hope the years wont be so far between until I can see these idiots again....whether down in Nashville for Josh, or down in Bristol, CT for Brian.

Congratulations Kemishes!

Seawall-August

2011-08-12T09:12:00.002-04:00

We try to get up to MDI whenever we can. Amanda took off last week and we did a series of little day trips, paddles, rides, and Bobthebuilder viewing parties. We decided to go up to Seawall for just a night. Even being up there for 36 hours is enough to reenergize and focus us. When we are only going for a night, we stay at Seawall Motel, beacause it is our place; we love to camp, but with two kids, it isnt worth it for just one night. This time, Lynne and George came with us for the night, and we had a good time. Part of the fun of going to the island is the ride up--stopping for good coffee (which we didnt even do this time around...)...pranking each other on the cell phones....having Callum ride with his grandparents (which he didnt do this time around...)...listening to WERU Blue Hill community radio. The ride is beautiful. I wish I could persuade my parents to come up to Mount Desert Island. It is only 1.5 hours away from our house...come on! Haha...Oh, here is a picture of my beautiful mother in law.....

It will cost you upwards of eight thousand dollars, Lynne, if you want me to remove this picture (inside joke).

The challenge was all being in one hotel room with two queens (not Jon Willard and Mr Humphries silly....I meant BEDS!). So we put the kids to bed, and then had to be really quiet. Lynne and I read THE CANNING SEASON, which is a book Amanda, Lynne, and I are reading for a book club (Hank, let's do a book together and talk about it!). Amanda looked at a magazine or something. And George looked at the cheese he brought and then stared off into space, reminiscing about playing gigs at the AlJoe and getting hot chicks....
Did we mention the RAIN on the way up Sunday? Crazy rain. But we needed they. Rain on Mount Desert is beautiful...huge fog banks roll in (as you will see in a minute)...the rain and clouds and fog seem to encapsulate and 'close in' the whole island, making everything all cozy. For coffee. But on MONDAY morning, when I was out for my run at 7 in the morning, the fog was burning off to make way for the sun, and it was just glorious--it had harmonious undertones ( Kotsioupolous, 2011).

"Shift Work" was the name of this fishing boat that friends of Vicki and Dave (the owners of Seawall Motel) had 'parked' in their field. Callum was entranced by it, and he thought that maybe WE should get a big fishing boat (like Dana) that he could drive! Please notice the boots...I dont know why we bother even BUYING the kid other shoes. He. Only. Wants. The. Boots.
My two beautiful girls at the motel. Who does Maira look like? Lynne says she looks like Ortiz a bit. Friends say she looks JUST like me or JUST like Amanda. I think she looks like grandmom (great Mee Mee).
At the picnic area at Seawall, this picture doesnt do the view justice; as the sky cleared, huge banks of fog rolled off the tops of the ocean. Stunning breezes and waves and views.

Greatest Hits: Callum and Maira's books edition

2011-08-09T21:51:00.003-04:00

This has been the summerofthebook for the Goldsmith family--we have all been doing a ton of reading....it has been awesome....Amanda and I virtually never turn the television even ON, and it is great....all of us are making more of a concerted effort to get involved with reading and SQUIRTing (super-quiet-uniterrupted-reading-time). Myeah. And although Callum has a level 4 addiction to Bob the Builder VHS tapes, we still spend a good part of each day looking at books. I thought I would post this quick "edition," since one of the purposes of our family blog is to look back at it in 10 years and see what we were doing. It would be nice to be reminded of the books my children loved. Callum is also at the point where, in order to assert his independence, he doesnt want YOU to read to him...but rather he wants to read himself. AND, although he cannot read yet, he has many of his books virtualy memorized. Very cool. Here are Callum's top four most favorite of the summer, and Maira's number one (because, let's face it...all she does is chew on the corners anyway...haha)

Callum has a penchant for holiday books, and we many times read Christmas and Halloween books all during the year. He is like his Auntie KK. But anyway, he picked this out at the library a month or so ago, and the floodgates opened! Now, he gets an Arthur book each week at the library. But he reallllly loved this Halloween one because it had a friendly witch in it....

Probably my favorite on the list, simply because it has some of the most beautiful illustrations I have seen in children's books. Ipcar, a Maine artist, chronicles the night life of the farmer's cat--on one page, you see what only 'we' can see (shadows, etc) and then on the next page, we see it all in full color...as the cat sees it. Callum loves to predict what all the shadowed shapes will be. He has this pretty much memorized. Also, it has a wood stove it in so I love they.

Probably Callum's favorite onthe list. Written by two strung out hippies that you can see on youtube. Great, catchy little story about a cat who steps in fruit and gets his sneakers all kinds of different colors. A catchy song that Callum loves to sing--if you are one of the 4 people who read this blog and you looked at our Rangeley camping pictures, you may have seen Callum and his friend Polly having this read to them by yours truly....

This one is Maira's favorite (and one of Amanda's too). Also by Ipcar. Beautiful and heartwarming illustrations of life on a farm as it relates to the alphabet. Also a thicker carboardy kind of book Maira likes to chew on.

This book is awesome. I picked it out for Callum at the library a few weeks ago...he has renewed it twice since then. The life of a tugboat who has to tow three huge ships into the harbor. Very rich in onomatopoeia, as it describes all the 'hard core' sounds of working the sea. It is amazing what this kid will pick up from our reading of it...randomly, throughout the day, he will just start quoting from it like I quote from the Jerky Boys (yo...Moby Dee....your ride is here OR think I cant pull it?? or tow ropes? TIGHT! or something...)

I love children's books....

Callum the golfer!

2011-08-04T22:08:00.003-04:00

Amanda just got back from spending a couple of days with Maira down in Rochester NH, visiting with Andrea and Michael (she will probably blog about it). Before she left, she wanted to make sure to spend some "Callum time" with the little guy. They went mini golfing for the first time....Callum LOVED it!

Great form and concentration.....

I like this one cuz you can see our car (with the canoe) in the background. We have been LOVING the canoe this summer....
HOLE IN ONE!!!
hockey or putt putt?

GOlf with mommy is the best!
I love my mommy

Smart kids

2011-08-03T21:28:00.002-04:00

My son is so smart. I know every parent says that, but I really think Callum is a very, very bright kid. The other day (and I know the pics arent very good) we put together a 60 piece puzzle his Nannie bought him at a Border's closeout sale when we were down in Mass. It is, like most things in his three year old life, comprised of "diggers." My mom and wife do not believe me, but this was honestly the first jigsaw puzzle I ever put together (and Callum did most of it). Sure, I have done like ten piece things when I was a kid...but this is the real deal. Sixty pieces, for crying out loud. No small feat for a 3 year old dude. Granted, this puzzle probably took a couple of hours spread out over the course of the day, but who cares. In between Bob the Builder, feeding Maira, riding bikes, and changing diapers we went back to the puzzle. That is why I wish I was good at puzzles like Amanda...it is good to have something to go back to. I guess books are like that. But puzzles, more so, because they are more "aggregate," if that makes sense. Plus, you can do them with a community of people. I like that.

The summer is winding down, as I am starting to notice, and I havent written about my "day to day" life of being home with my two kids (well, three days a week when Sally works). It is hard to go out and do anything "big" with the two kiddies, since Maira takes two good naps (one from 830-11 and one from 230 to sometimes 4). So we make due. My day usually consists of getting up, letting Callum watch some MPBN while I give Maira breakfast and get her ready for her nap...then Callum and I usually go outside and ride bikes or have a camp fire or "dig" something...then Maira wakes up and we have lunch...then we have like a two hour block where we can go out to the library, Hillmans, etc...then Maira naps and I usually put in a Bob the Builder so I can have 45 minutes to myself...then Amanda comes home and we spend four hours doing dinner and bed time...haha. But puzzles and books have been big in the Goldsmith household this summer. Both with the kids AND with just Amanda and I. We are actually downgrading our netflix subscription, simply because we hardly watch any TV anymore. We are reading and puzzling a ton. I hope this all pays off when Callum goes to get into the Naval Academy....

BaBanoes

2011-07-26T21:40:00.002-04:00

Combining a visit from BaBa AND canoes. I still have to do part 2 of the visit to Mass--showing pictures from my dad and Babs....but I am waiting for Ortiz to email them to me so I can post. BUT, today was my dad's first day off in almost three days, so I am sure he just rested....

Yesterday morning, Amanda and Maira went to Hannaford, and Callum and I took to the Messalonskee Stream for an hour's paddle while the girl's bought me food. Paddling with just Callum has to be one of my favorite things in all the world (no offense Sally.....). To be with him out on the water...with no distractions....with so much to see and hear and take in....it is truly a gift. And he totally "gets" the canoeing mentality--he respects the boat, the water, the surroundings, etc. I wish we could paddle every single day....We saw two Great Blue Heron's taking off in flight. We saw two turtles dive from their sunny lily pads when they saw us. We picked water flowers. We explored an old beaver dam (and Callum asked if he could get out and go in). We went under two neat bridges (one for Rt 95...so it was a HUGE bridge and Callum loved trying out his 'echo voice' in it). Callum brought with him: A Trek Bicycles water bottle, his new airplane, and his paddle.
Later that afternoon, Callum and Amanda went to swim over at Avis's house while Maira slept and I primed the molding on the garage before we put weather stripping on. Then BaBa came over for a dinner and a visit. We BBQd up some burgers, potatoes, and summer squash. The kids loved seeing BaBa, and he loved seeing them. Looking at these pictures, I feel like BaBa looks younger when he is around Callum and Maira. He just seems to smile differently. Ya know? (I think he likes them....)

Here is Maira, as happy as ever (because it isnt time to go to bed yet). She has really been working on her DADADADADA and GA GA GA GA sounds. A funny voice!!
Everyone has an interesting individual expression. Callum looks like he is the only one who knows what is 'going on,' Maira looks like she just spit up, and BaBa looks like someone threw a snowball at his face....
While Maira was going to sleep, Callum and BaBa read several books together. Although I took this picture, I have no idea what they were doing here. I think they were singing something. And although it would take too long to explain in this blog--if you are interested in a funny story--ask me to elaborate on the "donkey" discussion between BaBa and Callum. It is a hoot.....

July grandparent visit in Mass

2011-07-25T21:02:00.003-04:00

I made a mistake when I uploaded the pics...so they appear out of order, and this one with Maira and Upbob showed up first. Most kids (and animals) seem to really like Upbob. A strange mystery of nature...haha.
This will be part I: The visit with Nannie and Upbob. I will do the visit with Poppy and Grammy Goldsmith tomorrow. A good time had by all. We were going down to visit, and also to attend a meet and greet for my cousin Kelly's new baby, Adriella. None of the folks on the Bolger side of the family had met Maira yet, so we thought it would be a great opportunity for people to see that she really does exist.

Nannie and Callum made some chocolate chip pancakes together. Mostly, Callum carried around a bag of animal crackers that he stole from Nannie. They are in his closet now at home.

Nannie and Upbob both got good time with Maira. Maira was a good sport with the long ride--she doesnt travel far as well as her brother did (and does) but it was VERY hot and she did great. She worked on her crawling, and took a good nap on Sunday (which began on the shoulder of Nannie). Callum loves sleeping at my mom's because he gets to sleep with Amanda and I in the sofa foldout bed. He thinks it is a special occasion.
At Aunt Carol's, we were really excited for Maira to meet Nana B--Bob's mother. We love Nana B and dont get to see her that often, so it was a real treat for Maira to get to be held by her! When I see pictures of Maira from "afar," I realize just how big Maira is! Wow!!
Annnnddd....I did the same picture twice. Okay.
Callum was his typical "shy" self at Aunt Carol's, but he did enjoy playing some baseball with my cousin Kevin (Kelly's sister). I cant believe it: I remember when Kevin was born and I used to hold him (and drop him occasionally.....). Now he is playing with MY kids. I am getting old. But Kevin has always been great with little kids, and Callum was no exception. He had fun!!
Our visits to Mass are always too fast. But I guess that is life travelling with little kids, right? We were sorry to miss seeing the Favry family so Callum could play with Jackson. And we couldnt end up meeting the Hopper-Ponticellis for breakfast either, which kind of stunk. We wanted to get AJ, JJ, CS, and ME together for bacon. Oh well. There is always next time!

What to do on the hottest day of the year?

2011-07-21T22:09:00.002-04:00

Well, if you are Maira, then you take a nap in your air conditioned room from 830 until almost noon.

And if you are Callum??? Well....

You put your mom's breast pump bottle cooler on your head, mittens on your hands, and dance around to the "Spud" song from Bob the Builder.....

You go out at 9:24 in the morning because you want to have a campfire and roast marsmallows.... (when I built the fire and he ate his one and only marshmallow--raw and untoasted--he said, with a sweaty brow, 'daddy, this fire makes it even hotter out.....'
....you check on the baby birds, who seriously grow faster than ANY living thing I've ever seen (I know I am repeating myself....). Also, by the way, when Amanda and I went out back at about 730 tonight, the birds were gone. The mom and the two babies. Gone. I just went out again (at about quarter past 10) and they were still gone....
....and, because it isnt hot enough out yet, you do 'instruction (Callumish for CONSTRUCTION) in the big dirt pile where firewood used to be and where your dad is trying to re-grow some grass....but hey....details, right? Ever since Callum has been hardcore into Bob the Builder, his imagination is really soaring, and he does a lot of "work" with his diggers and shovels and stuff. He narrates all of it, constantly quoting from the show while he works. It is hilarious.
Note the ultra-cool and breathable rubber boots in the picture above....he HAD to wear them...
Did I mention all of these things were done before ten this morning? What a day in the life of Callum Stuart....

Little doves....

2011-07-19T21:25:00.002-04:00

First, our very own little dove, Ms Maira.

Look at that fat little neck. She is so ticklish there; that is where I go every time! Her laugh is so rare, yet so precious.....

Callum would always laugh at everything...Maira is so different. A very very happy little girl, but not as demonstrative. Like a typical woman, you have to work extra hard to get a reaction out of her....We've been checking in on our mumma bird and her two eggs, and last week Amanda hurried me outside because it appeared one of the eggs had fallen out of the nest. I went out to check, and indeed a piece of egg had fallen out...because the eggs had hatched and the mom removed the egg to make room for the babies! Here she is on the day the eggs hatched. You can make out a little fuzz of one of them right below the bottom of her breast....
It is really neat for Callum to see all this bird stuff happening. Each afternoon we go out to check on them to make sure they are okay...he is learning a lot about birds, eggs, nests, how NOT to touch any of it, etc. He's a compassionate little guy and wants to make sure the babies and mumma are okay. You can click on these pics to blow up the size....do that and you can see the two little fuzzy guys....

This bottom one I took two days ago. It is AMAZING how fast these birds grow! I have never seen any living thing grow like these two doves! Seriously.
Interestingly enough, we didnt name the two birds--mostly because, given the chance, Callum will name EVERYTHING 'Thomas.' But we feel like we are part of their whole experience thus far. And they really have gotten huge. This afternoon we went out to check on them, and we are starting to notice the mom taking off (no pun intended) more often...whether she is getting food, etc. But the babies are getting a little more courageous (coming out of the small nest, sitting on the firewood, etc) and fearful (they didnt mind me before, but now they ruffle their plumage at me and come at me like they are gonna peck me or something if I go near them). There is a layer of bird crap about a half inch deep all over my rock maple and birch. But that is okay I guess.

I wonder how long they will stick around....and I wonder where they will go....?? Do they keep in touch with their mom??? Each other? Will they just abandon the nest one day? Is that where "empty nest" expressions come from? It will be sad when they go...although I DO need to stack the rest of our firewood!

Volvsmythe

2011-07-17T22:08:00.003-04:00

Our Volvo 740 broke down on the way to Rangeley last week, so on this past Saturday morning, Uncle Jon came by to fix it; originally he thought it was the fuel pump that went, but it ended up being the fuel pressure regulator (but I dont even know her....). So Callum, Jon, and I took a ride to the infamous "Peter's" in Augusta to get a part from one of the 1600 Volvos Peter has in his Volvo Graveyard. We stopped at Hillman's on the way, naturally.

Jon drove over his 1968 Volvo P1800 on Saturday. A cool car; Volvo's answer to the 'sports car,' as I understand it. It is not made anymore. There arent that many of them around actually....before Jon's I had never seen one. Callum loved Uncle Jon's "race car," and wanted to sit in it. THen, he wanted to help Uncle Jon work on the 740....

Helping Uncle Jon check the fuel pump. Nice muscle shirt Callum! Also, someone needs a haircut....
Oh, and let's not forget little Maira Elizabeth, who is developing such a hammish personality of her own each day! She LOVES to eat her cereal and veggies!
Blow up this picture to see her two little teeth, even!!

Rangeley State Park

2011-07-15T08:16:00.004-04:00

A great trip! It started off a little bumpy though, as we were SUPPOSED to leave on Monday to meet the Parks-Stamms up there....but, about 20 minutes from our house, we broke down. The fuel pump in the 740 died. The bright spot was how Callum got to ride in the big wrecker that came to bring our car back home. He loved that. But, late that night, we packed the OTHER car, and promptly left the next morning so we could have as much time with our friends as we could. We ended up staying Tues and Wed night.....

These pictures are in no particular chronological order....I just thought I would try to give some hilights. One of the constants of this camping trip were BOOKS. For as much as Callum loved being outside, doing all the campy, wilderness things, he LOVED sitting in the tent (or lying in his sleeping bag in the tent) reading by himself OR with Polly. He also loved sitting in the camp chair reading and having us read to him. I was reading PETE THE CAT to the kids while Ben, Betsey, and Brownlow looked on....

The state park had a gorgeous beach, with a sprawling green hill that led down to the crystal clear lake. The bottom could have been sandier....but hey, it is Maine. Maira loves the water...this was her second time swimming. We also made sure to have some fun walking around the beach, getting warm in the sun (it was WINDY by the water....)
On our last morning, we ate at (what used to be) our favorite Rangeley eating spot: Mooseley Bagels. How the mighty have fallen. What a craphole. But, at any rate, we walked out back onto the dock, where Callum marvelled at the boats AND a bull frog we saw on the shore....
THe kids had a lot of trouble sleeping while at camp. I think it was because we were outside, there was stuff going on, and it was BRIGHT out until almost 9 at night. Once the kids were asleep, they slept great....but Callum and Maira both didnt fall asleep...finally....til about 9. THAT was rough. Camping is a lot of work. ESPECIALLY when mom and dad dont get a lot of down time. Callum has always been a great long car ride kid....Maira likes to be out of her car seat, I think. She did well, being bound up in her seat a lot over a few days....but by the time we were heading home, she wad DONE being in her car seat. So we stopped a bunch to give her breaks. Here we are at Smalls Falls, which is a gorgeous waterfall at the intersection of the Sandy River (one of my favorite canoe trails) and another stream whose name eludes me....but Smalls Falls is famous in Maine for its beautiful pools, ledges, and crazy people (like good friend Dave and his sons) who jump off 30 foot ledges into the deep cold pools of water....
Even Maira got her feet wet in the cool Sandy River.....
Our campsite (number 8) while we were setting up. Our tent--The King Pine Ridge Dome from LL Crap--is a great tent that kept us dry during the rain on Tuesday night. A very roomy space, with room for our blowup queen mattress (for Callum, Me, and Amanda) and the pack and play for Maira Beth. I have been to MANY campgrounds in my life, and I have to say that, site for site (and restrooms and facilities) this is one of the most beautifully maintained I have seen. Oh, and there was a bear outside our tent on Wed. night. Sniffing us out.
Callum and Polly, enjoying a pre-dinner happy hour by relaxing in the tent, getting their reading on....
And a post-dinner activity of roasting marshmallows for S'Mores. I can honestly say I have never had a full S'More. I dont have the skill. And Callum doesnt have the patience....he just wanted to eat the marshmallows raw (are they raw, then?) We all enjoyed some of Ben's homemade graham crackers though!!
Reading one of Callum's favorite books (and I think now Polly's as well) PETE THE CAT. A very funny, repetitive, beautifully illustrated book....also loved by Johnny Crockett. This book is interesting because Callum has the whole thing virtually memorized. (Like my canoe shirt??)
Oh. My. Gosh. I know she is my daughter. And I am partial. But how can you not love this little baby? She is awesome. And chunky. It was funny: -8% body fat Callum lasted in the water for 4 minutes before his lips started shivering....Maira, with her...um.....mass.....was as warm and comfy as could be....
I will try to post more. We had beautiful weather and a great time with great friends. I made my famous homemade popcorn on the Coleman Stove. We swam a bunch. We hiked a portion of an ITS trail in Oquassac that we hiked last year with Lynne, George, and BaBa...it leads to a neat wooden bridge over the Rangeley River...it brought back great memories of last year's trip. We walked around the campground a lot (Callum LOVES campers and popups and stuff). We hung out at the playground on the swings. We listened to Loons. I read Garrison Keillor (and Amanda, PD James) by her roaring Coleman lantern at night. We had a crappy fire with the wet birch the campground sold us. Ben and I discussed our mutual love for Suzanne Nance of Maine Public Radio. We are a camping family. Definitely. But I might want to wait til the kids can stay up a little later before going on. Or not......

Captain Callum

2011-07-09T08:51:00.001-04:00

Maira Beth

2011-07-01T20:49:00.002-04:00

First, another picture from last Sunday's half marathon. RIGHT after I finished, Callum was SO pumped to run with me....he was all excited by all the runners crossing the finish line. So, although I was marinating in gatorade and Cliff Shot blocks, we "ran" over to the snack table to have some grapes and water and cookies. Look at this kid's stride; I think that speaks volume about his passion and excitement!!

Our little baby girl had her first BIG milestone today: A tooth!!!! Yeay Maira. It sure has been a long time coming....she has been very unhyappy for some time now! In addition to a new bottom tooth, Maira is also getting VERY skilled at sitting up alone. And, just recently, she has started making all kinds of consonant laden sounds (da da da, ya ya ya, ba ba ba, etc). This is the first step towards making words, even. Look at that smile!
A sure fire way to get a smile or laugh is to kiss her RIGHT in that rolly (and often wet with drool) fat under her chin and on her neck. That is our thing.....ALSO, I posted this picture because (as I am sure Poppy and Nannie will agree) this looks JUST like baby pictures of mine....am I right guys?
She is VERY ready to crawl. But look at her left hand. Why does she always do this? She folds it under, and when you try to "correct" it, she just falls on her chest. A Physical Therapist Amanda knows from a baby group checked out Maira. I guess Maira is double jointed there or something. Cool. I hope it doesnt keep her from crawling and getting into the Air Force Academy (Callum is already going to the Naval one)
Drunk?

New houseguests....

2011-06-27T19:44:00.002-04:00

I was yawning. And Maira was smiling. Yup. That is usually how it goes.....

Callum is HARRRD into Rock and Roll. He loves it. And he doesnt merely love "music," but, rather, ROCK AND ROLL. Today, at Vacation Bible School, for example, he stood with Amanda and I at the front of the church (Amanda and I are the music directors at VBS) and played "guitar" and tapped his feet to the song we closed with. He is really coming out of his shyness. FOR SURE! I mean, he went up in front of all the kids and adults at church and played guitar for like ten minutes. And his vocabulary is expanding like crazy. He uses modifiers like "actually" (Do you want milk to drink Callum? NO, ACTUALLY, I WANT JUICE), "definitely" (I DEFINITELY DO NOT WANT TO TAKE A BATH), and, most impressive to me, "especially." We love Special K cereal with chocolate bits in it. He says "I love cereal; I especially like the chocolate kind." Our kids continue to impress me each and every day.

Oh yeah...rock and roll....these Koss headphones were my dad's. He gave em to me a long time ago. Now Callum wears them around the house and pretends he is in the studio (Hucklebuck, 1999) mixing it up. And playing keyboard and guitar.
Our new houseguests--you will hear more about this lovely lady. I have been in the process of playing "musical wood" where I take wood from the outside and put it in the lean-to wood shed in the byack of the garage. I had just stacked wood two days before...and when I went out, I noticed a beautiful mommy dove, sitting on the nest she had made, warming a single white egg (I noticed the egg after I inadvertently scared her away)....

Here's the egg. And, when I went out just yesterday, I noticed that there were TWO eggs in there! Two little baby birds. Callum is super duper excited, and he is also very respectful of the whole process: He knows he cannot (and should not) touch neither the eggs nor the nest. We did, however, make a deal that when the baby birds were born and had grown up and left for college that he could keep the nest and put it in his room. This was a consolation offer after he asked the following: "Daddy...maybe when the baby birds are born I can put my arm around them and cuddle with them in my bed?" Sorry little man. But he is wicked excited to watch the whole process, and each day we go out to see the mommy bird and the eggs. And he talks to the mom in a light whisper, as not to scare her.

Thirteen. Point. One.

2011-06-26T20:05:00.003-04:00

Almost a year's worth of training culminated today when I completed my first half marathon. It was an indescribable feeling to run over thirteen miles--successfully--and still have the energy to pick up my three year old son afterwards! Last summer, I ran a 5k race and had to stop a bit and walk and catch my breath. Embarrassing. After that race, as we sat in Big G's eating breakfast, I simply decided I wasnt going to be fat anymore. I changed my eating habits. And my exercise routine. Since last July, I have lost roughly 65 pounds. Amen.

Although I did not reach my goal TIME for this race (I wanted to run two hours, and I was about seven minutes over that) I was VERY happy with the MANNER in which I raced. I ran a slower first half and a faster second half. This mean I had some stuff "saved up." My strategy worked flawlessly: Although (obviously) people finished ahead of me, not one person PASSED me that I initially was in front of. Furthermore, I passed many folks--especially after mile 9, when I decided to "go" and really work myself. I was reeling folks in, passing them, and never looking back. Going on the "offensive" was quite the trip--especially for wicked wussy and non confrontational me....

Here is good friend Dave. His first half as well. He beat me by about 3 or 4 minutes. He's a very motivating force to me.

Here I am approaching the finishing gate. The route followed 7 miles from Fort Western in Augusta to the beginning of the Kennebec River Rail Trail (an old railroad bed) and then the route took us along the river, through some pretty woods, and through some towns like Hallowell and Gardiner.
This is a funny picture: I dont know what Dave was doing or thinking (actually, Amanda is sitting here telling me that he is scowling because he said "runners dont smile...they scowl). Either way a good shot.
My running posse people! Colleague Lori Loftus, and student Conner Bourgoine trained with me through one of the coldest and snowiest winters on record....we ran in ice, rain, freezing rain, cows, sub zero temps, did I say cows? Anyway, these are two of the most dedicated people and I am extremely proud of them. I will actually coach Conner (in addition to teaching him Anglish) next year (oh yeah, I am the new WHS co-cross country coach). Conner ran an impressive 1:45 time--which is an 8:03 pace!!
Callum. Loves. To. Run. The "blue thing," as he calls it, was covering some wires that triggered each runner's time as they ran through the chute (each bib number had a chip on it so our times were recorded, even). Callum--with the permission of the race staff--kept running down the chute, in celebration, finishing not two, but three half marathons this morning. He loved it.
And then....ah......relaxation! Thanks to Lori and Trevvie-cakes for hosting a victory BBQ where we drank ice beers, ate good food, and tried to motivate each other to actually get up and move around. My body is very sore and very tired. My feet especially....
Amanda runs her first 5K next Saturday!!!

Catching Up

2011-06-24T22:12:00.006-04:00

Amanda here. I just thought I would post some pictures and catch up on some things that have been going on around here.

Here is our little gardener, Callum. He loves working around the yard and especially watering all the plants, trees, grass, house, cars, himself... And he has not taken these boots off for weeks. Well, except to take a bath and go to bed. But he LOVES these boots. Best $7.00 ever spent - thanks Reny's!

Maira has been making some huge progress lately. She loves the jumparoo, which really shows in these next pictures. She is also getting really good at sitting up by herself and she is SO close to crawling. She gets up on all fours and rocks. I've even seen her lift up her knee - she is going to be on the move very soon!

LOVE this smile. What a beautiful little girl!

These next pictures are from Mother's Day at Graziano's Italian Restaurant. The whole family was there and Kelsey's parents and grandmother also joined us this year.

The bald eagle had to make it into this picture, of course.

A couple of pictures of Ba Ba and Maira.

Every year we go to Graziano's for Mother's Day and this year was no exception. However, I think we've all said that we'd like to do something else next year. It's too far away, the service is never that great, and truthfully the food is just OK. It's much better when you go at a less busy time. Like Friday nights when they have a jazz trio playing (and the keyboard player is the organist from our church).

Callum at home, doing his home things. Like playing with his trains...

and painting in his coloring book...

Hi Callum!

Sick at Seawall (poor Callum!)

2011-06-20T20:17:00.004-04:00

Oh hi. Amanda here. Wow... there are no underlines on this blog! It's a blogging miracle!

So after Callum's birthday party on Saturday Jared and I decided that part of our 'gift' to him would be taking a family trip up to Acadia National Park (the quiet side) for a relaxing overnight mini-vacation. Sunday morning we packed up and were out the door by 10 am... Maira was wicked excited~

The forecast was not that great - it called for scattered showers for both Sunday and Monday. But we didn't care. Even a bad weather weekend up there is still a good weekend. Right after we checked into the Seawall Motel we walked across the street to check out the seawall and the ocean. Callum wanted me to carry him... That should have been our first sign that things were not quite right...

After we checked out the seawall we decided to drive into Bar Harbor to do a little shopping at Sherman's Bookstore and get some dinner. On our way there, Callum got sick - literally - all over the car. Poor little guy! We turned right around and headed back to the motel to get cleaned up. Luckily Dave and Vicki, the owners of the Seawall Motel, have become friends of ours as the Seawall Motel is often the place that we stay when we head up to Mt. Desert Island (unless we're camping). They were so kind and generous to let us use their washer and dryer, cleaning supplies, towels, etc... So needless to say we spent the rest of Sunday and Monday morning hanging around the motel and once in a while, walking over to look at the ocean.

Look out!

Callum and Daddy checking out the surf out on the big rocks.

Callum brought home about 12 rocks.

There was a HUGE beaver dam. And these beavers used LOTS of different things to make this dam besides sticks and mud. There were bottles, pieces of tarp, rope, etc... You name it, you could probably find it in this dam.

Maira all bundled up. You know, because it's June and all...

As I said, we've become quick friends Dave and Vicki who own the motel. Here is their infamous cat, Speedbump. Callum LOVES this cat.

Callum is feeling much better now, but between him getting sick all night and Maira getting up all night, I think Jared and I averaged about 2 hours of sleep on that Sunday night. Not exactly the relaxing trip we had hoped for, but as we keep saying, there is no such thing as a bad trip up to Mt. Desert Island. Thanks to Dave and Vicki for being so helpful and kind, and Callum - we're glad you're feeling better, buddy!

Fiber Frolic 2011

2011-06-19T13:23:00.004-04:00

Hi. Amanda here. A couple of weeks ago Mom and I went to the Fiber Frolic at the Windsor Fairgrounds. (Why does this always happen to me - the underlines!!!) A full day of fiber - animals, yarn, spinning wheels, food - it's always a good time.

We had a great time as always. Here is our traditional picture - the self portrait. I think it came out great this year!

Jared looked at this picture and said, "Were those llamas really just walking around all day?" The answer is yes.

Okay, so Mom wants to make a certain 'shrug' to wear with her dress for Jonathan and Kelsey's wedding but she forgot the pattern on fair day. She needed Dad to look up the information for her (how much yarn, the weight, etc...) So here she is, on the phone with Dad, trying to explain WHERE the pattern was, what it looks like, etc... Meanwhile, Maira and I were checking out the rest of the fairgrounds...
Jared, this one is for you and company.

For lunch we had brick oven pizza... yum! We also had freshly squeezed lemonade. And later we shared fried dough.

And here is the little girl herself. We've got to get her started on her addiction early! As you can see she was loving it!

I think she was looking at the llamas here.

She's so pretty, if I do say so myself. And I do.

Next year it will just be Mom and I, hopefully. I loved bringing Maira, but this is a tradition that Mom and I share (for now. That's okay, right?)

HAPPY 3RD CALLUM!

2011-06-14T21:42:00.002-04:00

We love you so much, buddy! As I write this, Callum is upstairs, asleep, trying to get over this awful bug that has plagued him since this past Sunday; we took a ride up to MDI to stay overnight at Seawall, and on Sunday night, en route to Bar Harbor for some dinner, he threw up profusely all. Over. The. Car. He proceeded that evening (and the next morning) to throw up NINE more times. Poor little guy. Not much of a vacation or birthday celebration, huh? Now he is done throwing up, but has severe diarrhea and extreme exhaustion and languidness. Even today, on his real birthday, he refused offers to a) go for ice cream b) go out for supper at Governor's c) go to McDonalds. He just wanted to go to bed. So he did. Get well buddy!

But his part on Saturday was a lot of fun. Nannie, Upbob, Poppy, Grammy Goldsmith, Auntie KK, Uncle Anthony, and Jackson made their way up from Mass and CT. We had a cookout with bbq chicken, hot dogs, Chinese sausages, orzo salad, fruit salad, deviled eggs, and tons more stuff! Here's Amanda helping Callum blow out the candles on his "digger cake." This was a DIGGER PARTY--by the way....

The cake close up--complete with edible chocolate "rocks"
We had Uncle Jon and Aunt Kelsey, Dave and Muriel, the Parks-Stamms, the Fitzpatricks, and all our family. Even though we have a small yard, I think we made the space work well. Kids were playing, running around, and having fun. It was an overcast day and it DID start raining just as Callum started opening gifts....
I love this. Callum, Jackson, and Polly discuss politics and eat hot dogs at the kid's table....
Callum LOVED his gifts. He has been virtually inseparable from his excavator Papa got him. He is in love with his scooter. He wants to constantly play with his bubbles and bubble gun. He got a sleeping bag which he is excited to camp with. And, when it stops raining, he is excited to wear his bike shirt Dave and Muriel got him. It even has pockets on the back "for my diggers" he says. He got some camping gear from the Parks Stamms, a Thomas game from the Fitzies (which he tries to play himself on the floor), roller skates from Auntie and Uncle Favry, and GOLF CLUBS from Ba Ba. A great day!

Commencement 2011

2011-06-10T22:13:00.002-04:00

Becca Sirois and I....the second to last Sirois to graduate....a fantastic family....if you are a regular to this blog, you may read that Michelle, Becca's sister, is kind of a 'regular'....haha. Becca is going to St Anselm's--my sister's alma mater--next fall....Johnny McCabe....another student who's sibling I taught. I had Johnny's brother Kevin a few years ago....Kevin just graduated from Maine Maritime, and Johnny was recruited to play Division 1 football for University of Maine next year. Callum and I will go see some of these games for sure...Johnny will be a sick linebacker or end....
Camille, my French exchange student. I will miss her very much, and I got the opportunity to meet her dad and brother, who were here from France. But Camille and I are not done yet....we still have a half marathon to run in a couple of weeks! She is joining the running club that Lori Loftus and I have....
I love this picture: L to R you have Christine Parilli, me, Mike Thurston, and Conner Bourgoin. Christine is one of our regular babysitters, and she--being a junior--was selected by the seniors to be a class marshall. Same with Conner: He was a flag bearer while the seniors marched in. I had to pleasure of sitting on the stage with Mike Thurston, as he delivered the keynote address while I performed an original song I wrote for the class.
Many people--including myself--have said that this was the finest Winslow graduation in YEARS. The whole ceremony was beautiful and classy and dignified and fresh. Both speakers--Mike and Darren (the class president) were spot on. Folks said my song went very well. The class, as a whole, was made up of remarkable kids.
For those interested, here is the story that ran in the Morning Sentinel the day after graduation...
*****

WINSLOW -- You'd be forgiven if you left hungry after Wednesday night's Winslow High School graduation.

click image to enlarge

Winslow High School graduate Jeff Decker, bottom center, is reflected in the mirror as he prepares for commencement ceremony Wednesday at Wadsworth Gymnasium at Colby College in Waterville.

Staff photo by Michael G. Seamans

click image to enlarge

Jillian Grant and Sam Lapierre dance in Alfond Arena before Winslow High School's commencement ceremony Wednesday at Wadsorth Gymnasium at Colby College in Waterville.

Staff photo by Michael G. Seamans

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Winslow High School class of 2011

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During the school's 109th commencement, class president Darren Veilleux encouraged his fellow graduating seniors to "spice up your life." Veilleux, an 18-year-old who will attending culinary school at Johnson and Wales, compared his love of cooking to how students are prepared for life during high school.

"Just as when you marinade chicken in oils and spices, it develops more flavor and is more pleasing to the senses," Veilleux said. "Without time, the flavors and uniqueness of a dish cannot develop."

Veilleux said high school is the recipe that provides them with the steps necessary to "cook" -- which he defined as to "prepare, make, put together, fix or rustle up" -- their way into the future.

Winslow High School graduated 118 students at the Harold Alfond Athletic Center at Colby College in Waterville. Friends and family packed the Wadsworth Gymnasium on a sultry evening.

Inside the gym was a class chock-full of high-achievers, Veilleux said, including students who qualified as National Merit Finalists, a 1,000-point basketball player, winter carnival champions and dance organizers, and more.

These students have all been well prepared through classes and other school experiences, he said.

"Just like a recipe, every step is as important as the next, even if it seems completely unrelated to the final result," Veilleux said. "In this case, graduation -- our finished product, our delicacy."

Eliciting laughs from the audience, Veilleux likened several teachers to various cooking methods in a recipe. For instance, science teacher Joan Pierce -- "now use a large mallet to pound out the chicken breast" -- is like a butcher, carving individuals out to make sure all is done correctly, Veilleux said.

By contrast, English teacher Jared Goldsmith -- "gently fold the flour into wet ingredients" -- has a more relaxed teaching style and classroom, complete with a couch and piano.

Goldsmith put his piano to use during commencement with a solo performance of a senior song he wrote, "Something funny for a change." Peppered with inside jokes and class observations, Goldsmith sang in the chorus, "It's a long, long way we've come ... together," and he concluded: "Remember wherever you go, you'll always be a Black Raider."

That sense of completion was echoed by Veilleux, who said that Principal Doug Carville is like a timer, which is now buzzing, "announcing that the food is ready."

"Like cookies hot from the oven, we have completed our time and are ready to enter the real world," Veilleux said. "Take your time, don't rush. Just like frosting on a cake, patience is key."

He closed with a farewell, as the French would say of a good meal: "Bon Appetite!"

But the feast wasn't done yet.

Social sciences teacher Michael Thurston delivered the faculty speech, saying the key to a worthwhile existence is caring every day what people will say about us, "right after our funerals, while they're eating pasta salad."

And our decisions, he said, will lead us down two roads: happier people on the "A-plus road" who care about discipline, skill, learning, community and helping others, and others on the "F Road" who care only of themselves, are stressed out and unimaginative.

Thurston said he and other teachers would love to say, 30 years from now, that most of the class of 2011 chose the "A-plus Road."

"I will miss this class very, very much," Thurston said, "and it's my wish for all of you that you lead happy, productive, and fulfilling lives; that you stay on the right path and hopefully, that when the time comes, you've given people nothing but positive things to say as they enjoy their pasta salad."

Botanical Gardens & Aquarium, Boothbay Harbor

2011-06-07T21:31:00.004-04:00

Hi. Amanda here. I have no idea why my text is underlined, but I'm not going to waste time with it. Sorry if it's annoying.

The moms group from our church went to Boothbay Harbor last week. We took the kids to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens first. What a neat place! I didn't realize that it was so big - they have over 600 volunteers just to take care of it. We spent most of our time in the Children's Garden. Here Callum is pretending to be Burt Dow setting out in his boat the Tidley Idley.

Maira and little Freddie talk about how wonderful the weather is...

Callum is helping his friend Bode Carlson navigate the log path:

Whoops! Pictures are out of order. Here we are at the Aquarium which was just a few minutes away from the Gardens. We learned all about lobsters, and Callum was fascinated. He even picked up a lobster from the touch tank.

He loved learning about lobsters so much that he came home and started teaching Jared and I about lobsters too. And then he wanted to teach his nutcrackers, his puppy, Bumble, Curious George, etc...

Oh, here we are, back at the Gardens. Callum is sitting on 'Little Bear', a character from one of his favorite books, 'Blueberries for Sal'.

And here Callum is checking out the pail of blueberries that Sal must have dropped along the way. This was his favorite part, I think. The rest of the time we were at the Gardens he just kept talking about wanting to go back to see Little Bear and Sal's blueberries.

Friends Emmy and Bode:

Maira was fantastic all day. She is quite a trooper.

Callum is into water lately - he loves to water our plants here at home and play with the hose. So he was thrilled when he found these rocks with water fountains in them. The fountains would spray intermittently and CS was always surprised when they turned on. I love this face!

I hope to do more blogging, so stay tuned!

Bruins, birthday, puzzles

2011-06-04T22:19:00.002-04:00

YES! The Bruins are in the Stanley cup.....this is amazing...I am watching Game 2 right now...they are tied with the Canucks at 2-2....I have loved the Bruins since I was a little kid, when I used to watch them on Channel 38 on my little black and white tv in my room....living outside of Boston, it was impossible NOT to love hockey...even though it is not the NHL, I have such fond memories of watching college hockey--BU, Harvard, BC, Northeastern....the Beanpot Tournament was something I looked forward to each year....and my favorite Bruin of ALL TIME is Cam Neeley. His pyarents were treated at New England Medical Ctr (where I treated for my lymphoma) and he did a lot of charity for the hospital....I used to get his 'season tickets' and Bob and I would go to the games at the Fleet Center...GO BRUINS!

Callum LOVES puzzles, and he is amazingly talented at them--even for an almost three year old...he does them ALL by himself...and he gets these amazingly focused looks on his face...he loves fixing things, using tools, solving problems, and stuff like that....

See the focus?
For my birthday, Amanda surprised me by inviting our friends Ben and Betsey--and their kids Polly and Brownlow over for tacos! It was great fun, and Callum and Polly are great friends....and, as you can see, Maira and Brownlow really seem to enjoy each other's company....
Ben made a tasty rhubarb crisp cake for dessert. Happy Birthday to me. I am 33 now!

Baby, can you forgive me?

2011-06-03T21:44:00.002-04:00

Okay. Lots of rapid fire posts with lots of pictures and not a lot of text while we catch up on our lives. We want to look back at these blogs someday and see all the cool things.....or, at least the 'things' that we've done.

Last night was the big performance of "Kommon Kore," my student/faculty rock band. We get together each year and we try to throw something together for a fundraising concert. Last night, as usual, we PACKED the house. Our sound was superb...we had a pro sound guy set us up. And, if I do say so myself, we are good. It is amazing what goes on when teachers play with students and then share it for the school--is is relationships, relevance, rigor, experiential learning, and community all rolled into one nice tight musical calzone. Even. I can't say enough about it...it makes me very emotional. Our set list:

1. Someone like you-Kings of Leon
2. Forget You-Cee Lo Green
3. A Punk-Vampire Weekend
4. Heartbreak Warfare-John Mayer
Goldsmith/Walsh solo set
5. The Luckiest-Ben Folds
6. June-Adriana Walsh
7. Down-Jay Sean (feat lil wayne)
BREAK

Goldsmith/Walsh solo set pt 2
8. Highway Song-Adriana Walsh
9. As Days Go By-Jared Goldsmith
10. Friday- Rebecca Black (seriously....)
11. How far we've come-Matchbox 20
12. California Gurls-Katy Perry
13. Hey Ya-Outkast

Adri and I performing THE LUCKIEST by Ben Folds. Go youtube it. A spellbinding song. Word is that I will be performing this song at Jon and Kelsey's wedding....

I was lead vocals and keyboard....but when Adri was singing, I had a blast on bongos, conga, et al....
I had great bongo faces....
In addition to me, we had Adrian Walsh on rhythm guitar and vocals...Kari Zemrak on bass...Kody Price on drums....and good friend and teaching mentor Dr. David Lachapelle on a hot lead guitar.....
the chandelier added so much atmosphere.....and mood.....
Fantastic time....

Fireballs and catfood....

2011-05-17T20:54:00.002-04:00

Callum is very independent lately....he likes to cook, vacuum,, and do things for himself

This time, when we werent looking, he decided he wanted to feed Lupine.....
What a great kid, huh? He meant so well...wicked cute...he was so embarrassed...

This past Saturday night, Sally and I chaperoned prom. This was the second time we have gone together....the first time being 7 years ago...in my rookie year at WHS....

To celebrate our date, I made FIREBALLS on the Weber....basically meatloaf with an attitude. A cross between a spicy meatball and a meatloaf...all wrapped in a basket weave of bacon,, of course. I smoked them on the grill for about 2 hours. I love BBQing...
Also, on the BBQ, I made some handcut "fries" which came out well!
A man, charcoal, and a cast iron skillet: It is a beautiful thing....

Maiden Voyage, even

2011-05-09T20:49:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, we went on our first canoe trip of the year, and Maira's first canoe trip EVER. We paddled a pretty section of the Belgrade Stream, which connects Great Pond to Messalonskee lake, even. Lots of good fishing I hear. Pike and such. But we were there to paddle.

First Callum packed his "canoe bag/" Let's see: An orange, his snoopy water bottle, his little paddle, an apple, his bald eagle, and...oh! Let's not forget two Russian dolls!! You need those!!

Getting ready to "shove off." Callum LOVES paddling, and he RESPECTS the boat, his seat, AND, most of all, the water. He embraces it, enjoys it, isnt afraid to put his hand in while we go...BUT he knows to sit in his seat, wear his life vest, etc. A VERY good boy. A beautiful day. Until the thunder storm moved in.
Callum, Maira, and my co-captain paddling "scamper-the camper" canoe! Pretty shallow water...we saw crayfish on the bottom...lots of rocks...beaver dams....many orioles once we got to the expansive march....good stuff
Asleep, soothed by the sounds of the water. Cute little life jacket. She did well for the most part. Needed to eat once, but otherwise enjoyed it. We were only out for about a half hour....
My little buddy. Over the right is the marsh expanse where we saw MANY orioles with their black bodies and orange wings, even.
Come with us next time!

700TH POST!!!!!!

2011-05-08T20:49:00.002-04:00

In honor of the 700th post of Goldsmith5, I thought I would pay homage to a very special little girl who--unlike her brother--has not yet appeared in any blog videos. Grandparents, enjoy. This past Friday, I went up to the bowels of our garage attic, pored through boxes of decorations, dead bodies, and Amanda to-do lists in order to find the one, the only: the Jumparoo. This is a rite of passage for Goldsmith children. Callum spent MANY MANY hours of his life having a blast in this thing, and now it is Maira's turn. She is such a sweet little lady, and we just love her so much. Even if she has no idea what sleeping through the night is. And stuff.

Meanderings 65

2011-05-04T20:44:00.002-04:00

1. My Ajax dish soap--the bottle on the sink-- has "45% more than its competitors" it is funny to think about dish soap fighting each other. Has America really become THAT competitive? Now we have to have cute bubbly sinky-soap getting all nasty and gangster with each other?

2. What about a restaurant that ONLY cooks things in cast iron skillets? Even the water is boiled in dutch ovens. It is a huge selling point. "Casting Like Crazy" could be the name. I'd go. I'd get eggs probably.

3.Do you hate it when you drink something with ice in it and suddenly you learn you are about to drink an ice cube by accident? Like it slipped by the goalie somehow. I hate that. Instantaneously I have a decision to make: Am I going to suck it up and swallow the cube, which will undoubtedly disrupt the whole "groovy flow" I have going on with my beverage du jour and shock my system? OR, do I put everything on hold, stop, shift into reverse, and try to backwash the cube back into the drink. This saves the ice cube from brainfreezing me...but now you are left with backwashed drink which could contain bits of food. What if i am not ready for that commitment yet? I am just DRINKING for crying out loud...

4.Windbreaker? Seriously? A thin layer of nylon is going to "break" one of mother nature's mightiest and most forceful weapons? pa-lease. humans. No wonder we are the same race of people who think Glenn Beck is smart. So stupid.

5. Individual letters, on their own, are called "characters" As if they have personality. No way. Individual letters are not "characters." Except maybe the colon. The colon is cool: He announcing crap to the masses. The colon is a "man of the people." He tell it like it is. Other than that, individual letters are not "characters." They are nothing without me. Or periods. Stupid humans. No wonder we are the same race of people who watch cosmetic-surgery-gone-wrong-as- entertainment. Silly....

oldie but goodie

2011-05-03T21:36:00.002-04:00

Match this text up with the pics I posted this morning....fill in the blanks...yada yada...

2011-05-03T21:07:00.001-04:00

Maira rolled over! This was a huge milestone for her--and about the only happy thing to report about the little girl--since she is most definitely teething and is MIS.ER.A.BLE lately....drooly face, red puffy cheeks, constant crying, etc. I hope she gets over all this crying stuff before she is an adolescent. Ha. But it was this past Saturday: Maira and I were hanging out in the living room while Amanda and Callum were outside, and she just did it...she got a kick out of herself!

Today is a "red letter" day in the annals of American history: Osama Bin Laden was killed by the Navy SEALS last night in a small hamlet of Pakistan. I wanted to include this in today's post since, someday, I hope to look back on all of these blog entries as sort of a "chronology" of sorts. After all--this IS the Complete Works of Goldsmith. Even.

These pictures were taken last week, but I havent been posting a lot. I concede that the kids have me utterly exhausted lately--Maira is an unhappy little chick who always needs to be held lately because of her teeth...and then, on the other hand, you have Mister Scabolious who canno be outside ENOUGH, and constantly wants you to play baseball, ride bikes, play frisbee, run, chalk, drink beer, funnel, and more. Add to that all the WORK that spring in Maine necessitates on the part of the house and the yard, and it certainly a very frustrating situation. It is VERY hard to get any landscaping/repairs/firewood/painting stuff done. I find myself going out at 730 or 830 just to work outside. Oh well.

Look at this kid's love for baseball! I took him to a Winslow game last week, and he LOVED it. He sat right down on the grass next to the bleachers, took out his bag of strawberries his mommy packed him, ate the strawberries, watched the game, and just loved life--he clapped and said GOOD JOB after just about everything that happened!

This is a T-ball set BaBa got Callum for Easter. We got Jackson one for his birthday--it is still in the back of our car, since we thought we were going to see him in Mass a few weeks ago.

The boots are essential....

Eager to learn.....although I dont know if I am the best one to teach him; I was never much of a hitter. I was more of a pitcher. That was my forte. Recently, I struck Ponticelli out in wiffleball. Even.

One thing I will say: The kid keeps his eye on the ball, huh? I bet Papa wishes I did the same when I was a boy....
I'm freakin' exhausted. The end.

Spring Fever

2011-05-02T20:29:00.003-04:00

Okay. I went to post this last night, and ALLLL my text got deleted because our Internet sucks hard. But I will put the TEXT there later. For now enjoy the pictures

Easter 2011-a LOT of pictures....

2011-04-25T20:30:00.004-04:00

A long, exhausting day....but beautiful in so many ways. My day started at about 7 when I went to church to cook with some of the guys to put on the annual Easter breakfast. And we dont skimp at all....eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, homefries, you name it! Breakfast for the congregation was at 830, and then my youth group got the annual Easter Egg hunt going....this was about the most stressful 8 minutes of my life....then we went up to church where we were witness to a beautiful service and sermon--as usual. This brought us to about noon, and then we went home, tried to get the kids to nap (unsuccessfully) , and headed over to BaBa's for dinner and another egg hunt....

Maira in her dress....with her bologna arms....

Aunt Kelsey and Maira hanging out at BaBa's post dinner: a delicious crown roast of pork, stuffing, twice baked stuffed potatoes, arugula salad, applesauce, Amanda's homemade whoopie pies, and Kelsey's angel food cake pudding drippy thingy
Ahh....the happy and cooperative children, posing for a picture. Can you tell from Callum's face that I was "explaining" my impatience with him not listening?? Can you??
Easter Egg Hunt at BaBa's!!! Callum LOVED the idea of this hunt....in fact, Amanda hid some more of his eggs for him today, just so he could find them again....I will just let the pictures tell the story of his excitement and engagement in this....

(Sissy, Sasha, Caden, and Mia made these bags for all the church kids so they could put their eggs in them..)

VICTORY IS MINE!!!
At the church breakfast: Amanda and Siena (Amanda, this is my favorite outfit on you)
Callum, after the kid's egg hunt, playing with his Sunday School teacher 'Miss Thomas,' as well as her kids (and my youth groupers) Taylan and Tiana....
The pew of greatness!! We always squeeze in with the Fitzie's and yesterday was no exception. As you can see, Siena takes care of Maira, and Callum entertains himself with egg things......
Finding the first egg at BaBa's....each time he would spot an egg, he would all out SPRINT to it....and his ground-focused gaze WHILE he hunted was priceless....

I'm tired.

Follow me on Twitter.....

2011-04-21T21:59:00.004-04:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: Callum is into jammin' lately....he particularly likes Neil Young and the song "Long May You Run." He calls it THE RUNNING SONG! We play it together. I will try to post a movie of they.

EDITOR'S NOTE, AGAIN: I just joined Twitter. Phasing out Facebook. Follow me on Twitter at JaredGoldsmith1. I will use Twitter for two things: 1) to post random, meanderingical thoughts that occur throughout the day 2) to follow bike racers, runners, Johnny Spillane, bands, and public radio things. NO farmville or poking or drama or things about tanning or people complaining about being a parent or people writing about how their kid is so cute just cuz they can lift their head or photo albums or breast cancer awareness BS or more drama or dummy dumb dumb dumbs. Follow me. You will be happy you did.

Just hanging out with the Phillies hat from Mee Mee and the green coat from nannie - Callum wants to wear these in the house ALL the time! In this picture he is practicing his sharing with Maira.

They are talking about how awesome their dad is and how hot their mom is and how pretty their Nannie is and how ungrumpy their papa is and how fun their mee mee is and how peaced out their grampy is.
This chair has a longer history than rock and roll in America. Fantastic. Notice the fire helmet. And Maira's chubby affect. During this April vacation, the two really bonded. Callum really does ADORE her. He gave her her bottle yesterday.

Old Stomping Ground

2011-04-19T21:05:00.004-04:00

The lovely Portsmouth, NH. One of my single favorite cities on the face of the planet. So formative a place for me in my "youth." I fell in love with its buildings, its bars, and its coffeeshops. I wrote many of my favorite songs sitting in "breaking new grounds" or "Cafe Brioche." I played music, live, for the first time in the basement coffeehouse of the Unitarian Church. Some will understand this: It is a place that lends itself to romance. Longing. Solace. At its heart, it is a working waterfront--salt piles and cranes and Navy shipyard--and it makes no apologies for its disheveldness and its "rawness." It is what it is and it knows this. Isnt this how the best romances begin? At night, you'd leave a bar or a cafe, and it would be chilly as you'd walk down the road, and you'd look to one side and see "The Press Room" with its live music and packed booths--and you'd hear nothing, but you'd see it--and then you'd look out to sea and see the blinking lights warning planes not to hit bridges or cranes....you'd hear big boats make their way up the Pisquatica River. And this would be the only sound. And you'd feel so alone. And it was so beautiful.

I think my favorite thing about Portsmouth was it was the place where I really fell in love with my wife--not at the hip breweries or restaurants. But on a bridge. An old bridge. A bridge that was going to be shut down until Maine and NH decided to get together and fix it. I guess (and Sarah, can you help me?) it is just called "the route 1 bridge." It leaves from Portsmouth, crosses Badger's Island, continues over the Pisquatica, and leaves you in Kittery, Maine. It was our bridge. We stopped in Portsmouth a few weeks ago on our way back from Mass. I didnt expect the emotional profundity of bringing my children to a place that, in their youth, they couldnt possibly understand in terms of the power it holds over their mom and dad.

But it has tugboats, so call it a tie......
Standing on our bridge, looking out at the Naval Shipyard (in Kittery or Portsmouth---the two states are eventually going to war over this you know....). Two cool things: The tan building with the greenish roof was a HIGH SECURITY prison for POWs during WWII. I hear it is haunted. Big time. I also heard that part of THE SHINING was filmed there? Sarah? Second, in the center, you'll see a Coast Guard cutter. This was the exact boat that went to search for the _____(I cant remember the name), which was the boat from the story THE PERFECT STORM. Also cool is that 1 second after we put the camera away, we saw a seal poke its little head up and search around at what was going on....by the time we turned the camera on again, it has dived down...
Looking west toward the "Route 95 bridge," the big one that brings you into Maine or NH....
Maira WAS wrapped....but the wind kept wreaking havoc....
The tree garden between Prescott Park and Strawberry Banke....home of the famous beer and chili festival!
Prescott Park--Callum LOVED running around here.....

cliche sounding....(part 2)

2011-04-16T20:57:00.002-04:00

Okay. Blog every day. Or so. From now on. I need to. For the kids.

Grammy Goldsmith had yet to meet Maira, as I wrote before. She was excited to meet her first granddaughter!Maira update: She changes every day--obviously. At this point, she is a hair over four months old! She is DESPERATELY trying to turn over....she really wants to....she puts forth a lot of effort! Also, she is quite the chunker, and when we prop her up, her big belly hangs over her cute little pants. She always smiles when you tell her she is "pretty." This either means she likes the sound of the word PRETTY....or that is really a Jersey Girl like her mee mee and zoo family....

For all her beautiful and wonderful attributes, Maira Elizabeth SUCKS at sleeping. She is NO CALLUM in this department (but we all have our strengths and shortcomings, right??) Maira still only sleeps for two-three hours at a time. This is rough. Rougher on Sally, obviously, but rough for BOTH of nonetheless. Maira, please go to sleep....Daddy loves you!
I have no pictures of Nannie from the weekend? Why is this Nannie? We have lots of video though....but Callum loved taking pictures with his Upbob. They are definitely buddies....kids and animals all seem to gravitate towards Bob. Maybe he should have been Santa Claus. Callum's visit to see all his grandparents really left an impression on him--over a week later, he is still asking where "Papa is" or "Upbob is" or "Nannie's house is." He loves all his grandparents very much. And they all love him.
Thanks to Nannie, Callum is now into taking "funny pictures" with people. He is such a ham!
On the way back from Mass, we stopped in Portsmouth for lunch and a walk (another blog altogether!). But this picture, taken on a bridge, seemed a good one on which to end this post.....
Finally, a NATURE NOTE (I am borrowing this saying from Muriel....thanks!): Today is April 16, and Callum, me, and Lynne took a quick walk back on the trails in back of Springpond. There are STILL places on these trails in the woods where one could snowshoe. What. The. Heck. Also, I planned on taking Callum out this week on the canoe to do some fishing....except the two ponds I wanted to take him have no open water---they are still covered in ice. God Bless Maine.

Cliche sounding....

2011-04-13T20:52:00.002-04:00

Meaning that I always say "It has been way too long since I have blogged....." and yada yada yada....

But it has. Lots going on in our lives. This past weekend we made our way to Mass for a visit with Nannie/Upbob and Papa/Grammie Goldsmith. It was a great visit--Callum and Maira had a fantastic time seeing their grandparents. We went down Friday night, got there around 830, and hung out for a bit before going to bed. On Saturday morning it was about 70 degrees outside--beautiful! Callum, who is RIDICULOUS for baseball, wanted to take some batting practice outside Nannie's house. Like his daddy, he is a much better pitcher than hitter. I was a pretty good pitcher....did you know that? Callum has a pretty decent arm. Seriously. Plus, I think he is left handed, which will make him more marketable as a QB at the Naval AcademyI had a great run consisting of some mile repeats; my marathon comes up at the end of June, so I am in full training mode. Callum, Nannie, and Upbob went on a date to Target while I ran, Amanda read, and Maira Beth slept. Later in the afternoon we went over to Papa's house. Here are Callum and Maira. And congrats to my dad, who is having great success with a personal goal of his! We are all rooting for you. Also, Maira is wearing my favorite pants.....
Before we went out to eat (at Fresh Catch, of course!) Callum and Maira got in a great visit with their Papa and Grammie. In fact, this was the first time Barbara met little MB. And when Papa got up to go into the kitchen, Callum and Maira completely TOOK OVER "the chair." It is akin to Archie Bunker's...which resides in the Smithsonian....
Callum, I hope you read this blog in ten or fifteen years. I hope it still exists. You are SUCH an awesome big brother...so caring and tender towards your sister. You know how to make her smile, and you can get her to giggle (even I cant do that yet, and I sired her). Sired, even!

While Maira ate, Callum completely vegged out in papa's chair. He is playing with his "ball eggs," which he STILL has not put down since Nannie bought them for him at their Target date. Basically they are Easter eggs with "ball" designs (football, basketball, etc) on them. The kid sleeps with them, looks at them, carries them around, and shares them with Maira and Lupine. Hilarious. They cost like 99 cents. That is always the way, isnt it??
And as any boy will tell you, their 'rite of passage' is driving their dad's (or Papa's) truck. Callum loved driving Papa's truck. Papa, you should give this truck to Callum when you get a new one. I will tell him, okay? Haha.
This is only part one. I will do another blog tomorrow with some more pictures--Callum with Upbob, Callum playing around with Maira, etc. It was a great visit. Maybe even the best visit we've had to Mass in a long time. We didnt get to meet up with Jackson (he had a big egg hunt and was busy) but hopefully next time the cousins will get together. We had to miss his birthday party because of a blizzard (crap!) and he still hasnt met his newest little cousin Maira Beth. A great time! Even if my mom DID yell at me for looking at a picture on the wall too long, even!

April Fools....

2011-04-05T21:37:00.002-04:00

Are you serious? On April 1st, we had a snow day. Most of the state of Maine did, in fact. We got 14 inches of heavy, wet, slurry dumped on us. Our clothesline out back got crushed over with the weight. It was miserable. This is the second April Fools Day blizzard I can remember; in 1997 or 98, whilst working at Plymouth Rock doing homeowners insurance, we got a foot of snow on April 1. Why?

At any rate, LeRage shut the whole state house down, so Amanda was home with me. So we got to have an early spring snow day. Callum looks out on the confused landscape....And I got to use the new "Kawi" and plow. I have to say: it was a BLAST. I got some good practice with the logistics of plowing our driveway. This will come in handy next winter. Also, I tried to help neighbors: I plowed Bill's whole driveway, and I plowed the "ends" of Cindy and Dana's and Josh and Kora's. Ya know. To be nice....and get practice (and because it was a blast). I have a lot to learn about plowing--angles and winching (that's what she said) and good use of time and space. I am sure next winter we will get no snow at all....

We made BBQ pulled chicken in the crock pot. We made mashed potatoes to go along with they. Callum enjoyed every bit of his BBQ.....
And even Maira--who, we found out at the doctor's the other day, has bronchitis--managed a smile or two.....
I love winter....but COME ON!!!

Still sick....

2011-03-30T20:39:00.002-04:00

Okay. So I am at 90%. I am running again. My times suck.. Still cannot breathe the way I want, and I am kind of drained. Amanda is well. Callum is back to normal. Maira Elizabeth is miserable. It has been about 3 weeks since the Goldsmiths were all good. Well....we're never "good".......

Andrea and Michael came up last weekend, and here are a couple of pictures of Michael playing football with Callum. As you can see, Callum, still clothed in his PJs, still had to go up and don his Tom Brady shirt. What do I tell Callum next fall when, because of their over-inflated egos, the players have decided to not have a season?

Andrea is working on a new degree in speech therapy, and she used Callum as a "case study." Callum was part of a study. Hilarious. Love it. I think he did very well. Basically, Andrea tape recorded whilst they played and talked for 45 minutes. Callum is wicked smart. Smarter than me. But that isnt hard.
The pose below is a pose I made for most of last weekend, when I thought I was dying. I was absolutely miserable with a fever of 101.7 (I got sent home from school last Friday by the nurse...I had no choice!) Callum thought this was a funny pose, and so he made it too, and Amanda snapped a pic....Callum appears to be studying me.....
I love the overalls Maira is wearing. And I love how Callum has his arm around her. This picture warms my heart, although I wonder what the heck he is looking at....
A beautiful smile for a beautiful girl!

SICK

2011-03-24T20:53:00.002-04:00

I hate it when people dwell on the fact that they (and their kids....and their spouses....and their whomevers....) are sick. Everyone gets sick. Deal with it. Move on. Amen. Even. BUTTTT.....the Goldsmith house has been plagued the past couple of weeks, mostly with Callum being EXTREMELY mysterious with his symptoms....fever, cough, vomiting, etc....but also acute sensitivity to everything; the kid could not get out of his own way, and a simple playful bat by Lupine would turn into a ten minute crying event. He seems to be out of it though. Yesterday I MADE him go outside...he cried for twenty minutes at the prospect....but when he got out he loved it. We ran, rode bikes, and sat on the ATV and pretended to drive (he is still afraid to turn it on).

Now I have the most painful cough I've ever had...I have tons of mucus in my chest (sorry...gross) and every time I REMOTELY cough, it hurts like heck! Yet, because I am a moron, I still ran 7.5 today--my football coach, Greg Chapman, perscribed to the adage that the best thing to do when sick and congested was to go run around and loosen everything up. Let's see if that works. Off to go get some tea.....

Oh, and here's my beautful daugter and charming son....

Watching "Little People" together on the couch on Monday when I was home sick with CS....Maira's impression of Fernando (if the Fitzies still read this, they will get it....)
glamour shot.....a pretty girl....who STILL looks like no one I know.
TIM AND ERIC AWESOME SHOW: GREAT JOB!
Callum making Maira smile/laugh by telling her "you're pretty" over and over again....
Right now Macy Gray is playing on AOL radio on the iPod....remember her? Just sayin....

Old School 1

2011-03-23T19:58:00.004-04:00

First of all, I have no idea why everything I am writing is underlined. I am trying to deal with it. But it drives me crazy.

Imbued by an awesome weekend with the guys this past weekend (dinner at Georgio's, lunch at Fresh Catch with Hank and Artie, dinner at Imperial Buffet, hot tub, Tim and Eric, Savers, and ice beers) I thought I would look through some of my old pictures--I have such a rich and storied history with my friends, and I wanted to check out some of the past. I will, from this point on, occasionally do an 'old school' blog where I take pictures of old pictures (no scanner....who do I look like, Mike Ponticelli???) and post they.

RUGBY AT NORTHEASTERN

This was my first match. The one where Hank ate the hill. Look at #11 in white....I am two back from him, ready for the hooker to throw the ball in. In the same match, I saw/heard a kid get his hip broken. It sounded like a man with pneumonia chewing peanuts.
BACHELOR PARTY

Okay. Now the underlining has stopped. Go figure. I had THE best bachelor party. Sorry Jon, Tim, John, and all you other unmarried dinks....nothing will top my bachelor party. We ate a Japanese steak house (pic below) and went paintballing, even. The CAST of my party was fantastic--great friends and family. Back (l to r) Brian Maher, Brian Kemish, Efthemios, Sport Jonathan, Stevee Hatch, Johnny C--Front (l to r) J.R. Adams, Hardworking Mike, Jiason, and yours truly....at the end of the "game," they had me put on an "orange tux" and gave me a one minute head start. I was accompanied by my best man Jiason. Obviously, he took good care of me and my other buds didnt shoot the crap out of me at all....

Earlier, at "Tokyo" in Salem NH...the most excellentist (this is totally a word...haha) restaurant. The food was transcendent. The drinks made me forget my identity. And, somehow, Johnny C ordered me a "quail egg," which, is, exactly like it sounds. A sushi delicacy featuring a raw quail egg the size of a softball....
TUCKERMAN'S RAVINE-WINTER 2000

Buddy and roommate Brian Kemish and I (accompanied by crazy ski guy Aaron) somehow thought it was a good idea to snowshoe up the Tuckerman's Ravine on a day when the USGS signs read "Extreme Avalanche Danger." Young and stupid guys. Aaron skiied down the bowl of Tuckerman's, while Bri and I brought our insulate sleeping pads up, strapped to our packs. We would use these for 'sleds' on the "Gulf of Slides" (to the west of the ravine). This lasted one run--when the friction from the snowpack--combined with the steep speed of our run--literally burned a hole through the pads.

Oh to be young again.

Irony....

2011-03-17T08:53:00.002-04:00

I recently found out one of my college acquaintances died about a month ago. His name was Tyler Stimpson, and we crossed paths many times at UNH, and I even ended up teaching with his father, Tom, at Dover about ten year ago. Tyler was involved in the Army ROTC program at the college, with the dream of becoming, eventually, a Navy SEAL. After college, he went to OCS and was commissioned as a Marine Corp officer--a commission he then denied JUST so he could enlist in the Navy, and increase his chances of being accepted to BUD/S to be a SEAL. At UNH, Tyler and I would often swim together, as we both shared the same aspiration of going to Navy OCS, and, at least trying to make it both into (and through) BUD/S. We'd practice combat swimming drills in the big Olympic sized pool, and we'd even practice our 'drownproofing' techniques, having the lifeguard tie our hands behinds our backs--and then together--as we went to the bottom of the pool and simultaneously came up for air....and then went back down again; this was a common exercise at BUD/S and we wanted to practice. Now for the irony.

Tyler did, in fact, survive hell week, BUD/S, and The Finishing School, and became a decorated SEAL, serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He won a purple heart and medals for valor. His death occurred while on leave, with friends, when he decided to do some recreational skydiving. He survived the most grueling military process in the world, served his country honorably in hostile environments, and became an elite warrior....only to lose his life in a freak, supposed innocuous recreational exercise....

My dad has been in my thoughts and prayers lately, as he deals with many tough issues in his life as of late--most notably his knees (or lack thereof). Tyler's death, while it brought to mind the idea of extreme irony, also reminded me of my dad's INITIAL knee injury--the one that began the painful, enduring knee pain he feels today. It occurred at my first ever rugby match in college, when we were playing Northeastern University, and he came by to watch. Halfway through the first half, my friend Andrew drove a terrier out of bounds, crashing into my dad on the sideline, and knocking him down the small incline that surrounded the perimeter of the field. Isnt it ironic that I made it through 3 seasons of rugby at UNH unscathed (except for a separated shoulder from a stupid practice injury), and my parents, who were so worried about me getting hurt playing such a horrendous sport, were the ones who were injured?

Irony is such a prevalent thing in our lives...is it not?

Some new things

2011-03-14T20:29:00.002-04:00

When in doubt, throttle it out! That is what Callum says, anyway.

This is our new fourwheeler--a Kawasaki Prairie 700--that is one big engine with lots of power. This is, foremost, a too. Although I know that we will have some fun with this as well. The Prairie is a smooth ride that's easy to handle. You can ride "two up" on the big seat. It has some neat features, like four wheel differential switch (so ALL four tires can spin at the same time...in case you get stuck, need that power, etc) a winch, and a plow. The plow can angle from side to side (like your typical plow can) but it also has three settings, to be either flat, "V" or "wing," depending on how you want to move the snow that day. We were definitely thinking ahead when we bought this, thinking of other stuff we will do with it someday--as far as work goes. When we move and have a bit more land, we'll do a bit more firewood (since we will have the space). This fourwheeler will definitely come in handy toting wood around. But let's not ignore the fact, too, that the Goldsmith's will have some fun this summer and fall on all the great trails in Fairfield and beyond.....

Last night we took Callum to Sukee arena to see the "ice-bike" races. Or, at least, the warmups...since the races didnt get underway until about 8. But in the yellow is our friend Paul--one of the mechanics at Mathieu's Cycle. He ended up winning the race last night. Callum got a kick out the whole thing--folks have, basically, screws in their tires, and they get really great traction on the ice!
Callum's latest tower, built this morning. Also note his cash register. He politely does business with Amanda and I, calling us both SIR each time he makes a sale....
Oh, and the subject of this blog is new thingS, so here is the second thing. Callum and Maira now have some goldfish in their room. What do you mean there were FOUR fish when we started out? I have no idea what you are talking about!! But Callum has these great fish, whom he named Thomas. All three of them. Well...four, originally. They. are. all. named. Thomas.

I just really love my children.

2011-03-11T21:16:00.000-05:00

That's all.....

Winter Carnival and Sadie's

2011-03-08T20:46:00.002-05:00

Both of these occurred last week. And both of them made me very very very tired. I am a class advisor--I have been for two years now. This year, our (Lori, below, is the other advisor) kids are sophomores, and, thus, their responsibility was to run the Sadie Hawkins dance. The kids did a fantastic job, and the dance went off without a hitch. No drugs. No drinking. No procreating on the floor. Good stuff.

Once again I was the host for the winter carnival assembly. This year, since I am a man of the people, I decided to don Converse All Stars, spandex running pants, grey turtleneck, pink leisure suit, and beautiful wig. Obviously, I looked ridiculously hot. And I have a feeling these pictures will come back to haunt me. Soon enough.

Hosting these assemblies is always a hoot, and it is yet another example of the overpoweringly strong school spirit possessed by the Winslow High School kids. Why would anyone go anywhere else?
Here's a shot of the dance in our gym. The theme was "Wizard of Oz," and kids decorated by creating the emerald city, characters, yellow brick road, etc. The bathroom stalls had ruby slippers dangling from the bottoms, to make it look like a toilet fell on Lynne...um....I mean...the witch....This picture was taken during one of the TWO slow songs played at the dance; when I was a kid, we had slow songs every other song! This was my only chance to ever touch a girl.....
Like I said...I am a man of the people. Here are three juniors I hope to have next year--Maddie, Sara, and Elizabeth. Maddie's date was a kid named Callum--this is the only other Callum I have ever heard of. Elizabeth, all the way to the right, is a student I had as a freshman. She loves me SO MUCH that she took both my speech and creative writing class. Lucky her. Cuz I am so awesome.
Running on the yellow brick road with Conner and Camille. The three of us....joined by the afore mentioned Lori Loftus.....make up the "RaiderRunners" club--the four of us run most days of the week, and we have a blast. All four of us are signed up for the marathon in June. Camille is my French exchange student this year. GREAT kids all.
March still sucks.

Papa and Auntie: Meet Maira Elizabeth

2011-03-06T14:21:00.002-05:00

What the heck! Last night, I wrote out a long, involved blog, chronicling the visit of my dad and sister....and then when I went to publish it, it deleted itself.......so now I am pissed, it is late, and I dont feel like writing a long post again.

But we had a great visit, complete with Christmas presents, lots of Maira-holding, my famous ham, Amanda's famous pineapple upside down cake, and many laughs. We even set Friendly Henry up on Facebook. You should all friend him. Then, in two months, he will figure out that you friended him.....and he will accept.

I tend to take more video when Papa or Nannie visit Maine...thus, not too many pictures. But my dad sent me some and I will upload them another time. But I have some great video of Callum and Papa with Papa reading a few bedtime stories to Callum--Danny's Mystery Valentine, AND Snow Day. Both are library books that Callum has already renewed twice. He loves them.

Callum, below, is very interested in both Papa's beard AND his strong Boston accent. We dont get a lot of that up in Maine...

Callum was laughing like crazy as Papa read....particularly the part when Danny and his mom go to visit MISTER MOZZARELLA at the pizza shop. High Comedy.
On Sunday, we got up early, played cash register/Hess truck/garbage truck/70 new hotwheel cars and then had a nice breakfast at The Flatlanda Diner before Dad and Kris headed back to Mass. It was great to see them both, and I hope to see them again soon. And so does Callum. And, hopefully, I will get to see my little nephew Jackson next time! He is going to be two next month!