Cribbage

Not the game....but the act of sleeping in a crib, which Maira now does (for her naps anyway). She seems to have found a "groove" of sleep that is pretty reliable. Callum slept through the night at 5 weeks, but Maira is a little different. She has her SOUR HOUR(s) from about 5-9 or 10. During this time, she wants to nurse constantly, and she does not like it when she is not being held. She wants attention. Or at least the vacuum cleaner noises. She usually (on a good night) settles in around 10, then sleeps, sometimes, a good 7 hours. What's more is that Callum has made it a pretty regular habit now (for the past couple of weeks) of getting up at sometime between 3 and 4 each morning and coming into our room and getting into bed with us. What is scary is that, 90% of the time, we dont even notice until we wake up at 6 and all of the sudden he is right there, sleeping in between us. I guess we are just too DEAD TIRED to even try to stop him when he does come in. Kind of scary, actually....

Here is Maira taking one of her first naps in her big girl crib--the crib is in the room Callum and Maira will share together for a while.

a much girlier look than Callum had....she even has her first cabbage patch doll (like she can even hold things!) and some other girly pinky stuffy....she even has her own mobile (a BEE one whereas Callum had a train one). The cross stitch needlework things on the walls are items made by Lynne that Amanda had on HER wall when SHE was just a baby....
The many "expressions" of Maira Elizabeth. Right now, she is kind of like a Newfoundland dog in her dynamicism...but you can see shades of personality. Right?
(this is one of the only pictures where she looks even TWENTY PERCENT like she might be related to me. This. Girl. Looks. Like. No. One.
See the little ladybug on her outfit? Well, one of the only times I have managed to make her smile is when I stare at her and say BUGS!!!! repeatedly. She likes this I think. And Callum gets into it to, saying BUGS and then LUGS and then RUGS and then MUGS and then BUGS again and then BUZZ and then BUZZ LIGHTYEAR!! and then he leaves to go look for his Woody doll....


Tomorrow Maira Elizabeth will be baptized. This is the biggest day in her life thus far, and this is a very important even for us!

What are you doing?

Building towers on snowdays......this one was 13 Atlantic Wharf, where Tim is building a new skyscraper. Callum said so. I never did legos as a kid. I was more of a Lincoln Logs dude. Actually, I was more of a book dude. Taking naps with little sister, and sucking my thumb/rubbing my ear because it relaxes me.....
How can you not love a face like this? Also,, how can you not SUSPECT a face like this.....?
How good do these look? Fresh from the Kennebec: Fried smelts courtesy of Jared. Actually, Phil. Callum actually loved them. This was a pleasant surprise.
Burritos and smelts. Lynne and George came by yesterday afternoon to see the grandkids and have supper.
Callum wanted a "big one" when it came to smelts. Here, he takes the whole fish and makes muscle food out of it!
That's all. Dont feel like writing anymore.

Worthings Smelt Camps

Excellent night last evening, as I went with friends Brad, Art, (and new friend) Phil down to Randolph, Maine to go smelting on the Kennebec. No pun intended--but I am hooked. Smelting combines beer, woodstoves, ice, freezing cold temperatures, great conversations, and, occasionally, fish. These are most of my favorite things anyway. Plus, you get to hang out in a little shanty, which gives us guys the impression that we are somehow in a private little "fort." And we guys love our forts.

Smelt are actually beautiful fish, and they run from the Atlantic Ocean down in Phippsburg up into Randolph/Hallowell/Augusta, etc in search of who knows what to eat. The water down in Randolph and Augusta is brackish and very tidal, and if you hit the smelt camp at the right time, you are going to make out like a bandit. Speaking of Brad, who was standing less than two feet away from all night, he did very very well. When I left at 9, I believe his count was up to 32 or so. Speaking for myself--let's just say I had not more than 29 less than Brad. Is that good rhetoric (coming from a public speaking teacher). Yes. I caught two fish.

Just a fantastic time, and we are planning on going back next Monday. Its a great activity for people of all abilities and ages. The connotation ice fishing creates--that you freeze your butt of for hours on end--is actually a misnomer when it comes to smelting. Most of the time, on the second coldest night of the year that WAS last night, we had the shanty door open, since it was too hot inside. And you can sit. And, if things are slow, I think the little box seats and tables would lend themselves well to a good round of cribbage.

Here's a great picture of our humble stove (but most of all, you get to see Art's hindparts). Even with two or three small pieces, we were being driven out of the place due to the heat!

We found this homeless guy out in the cold, and we felt bad. Being the good Lutherans we are, we invited him into the shanty for some cookies.....(over on the right, you can see the "rack" where the lines and hooks were set. You just put on some fresh sandworm, and then drop the lines into the water.....
Here are my lines. Notice all the action? My bobbers were bobbin' all night. Except they werent. Even in the brackish, tidal, and current laden river, the ice was still about 8 inches thick....
The tradition is that when you catch your first smelt, you have to bite the head off. But, since I am a soft serve, I just gave my little fish a kiss. They really are pretty fish--iridescent silver with purplish hues. And big mouths, actually. Kind of have pickerel mouths....
Me, Phil, and (the Legend) Art Carrano. Art is a master. In way too many ways to list here. Let's just leave it at that.....
The smelt camp. There are actually 83 shacks down at Worthings in Randolph. Quite the scene, actually. To be honest, it looks like a concentration camp on ice. But a much nicer one.

outside our camp. Number 21. Not much more than wooden strapping and tarps. A metal roof. It gets the job done.
Although I only caught a couple of fish, some of the guys (particularly Phil) took pity on my soul, and filled my cooler with 2o more fish. So when I got home I cleaned them all out and got them ready for eating. That part (the eating) is what I am really looking forward to.......

Suffering

This is a post all about suffering. Emotional. Physical. Mental. New Englanders have something very special programmed into their DNA that enables us to handle more suffering (and even appreciate it......and dare I say CRAVE it) than any other people in the United States. Yes, people in Alaska and places like Minnesota suffer with their weather and their perpetually awful (or nonexistent) sports teams. But New Englanders always are given a "glimmer" of hope with things like sports, weather, economy, etc. And then, just when we are ready to embrace it, rug is pulled from beneath us, and we are left out in the cold. But I would not live anywhere else.

It has been almost a week since the Patriots had diarrhea all over the field at Gilette Stadium in Foxboro, and the Jets humiliated us. Hard Core. I can finally deal with it enough to write about it. I wont make any excuses for our beloved Patriots. We sucked. Hard. The Jets played a FANTASTIC game (particularly on defense, and particularly on covering our receivers) and just beat us. Tom Brady must have been drugged by Rex Ryan, but that is besides the point. But, as ever, I love my beloved Patriots. Even if they were 2-14 I would still love them. The epitomize class, as far as I am concerned, and I cannot wait to tell Callum about Tom Brady when he is old enough to truly understand the definition of character. But, for now, Callum is happy to support his favorite QB any way he can....

We are pretty sure Callum is left handed. So, now, perhaps he would be better as a QB and not a Tight End when he plays at the Naval Academy. As you can see, he likes to imitate Tom Brady as he watches the game. Luckily, he did not imitate the failure that WAS Tom Brady.....
(editor's note...blowing this picture up, looking at it, and realizing the score and our field position at the time of the picture depresses me intensely).
Daddy and Callum watching the "new" America's Team. Intent on seeing the Patriots silent Rex Ryan and his band of classless derelicts. Yet, it was not meant to be. The Steelers will just have to shut them up on Sunday....
To continue the suffering motif, here is a quick photo of me after a run last Monday. The thermometer registered 3 above. Yet, like an idiot, I went out. I had a fantastic run, actually, doing a 6 mile loop....and then I rolled my ankle 3 miles from home. That was a great 3 miles, let me tell you. I was pretty bundled up....yet I was covered with rime ice and frost, even. I was even more miserable than I look. Why do I do these things to myself? But this is how you get stronger, right? Train when others are taking the day off, right? Just like Hurricane Ruben James. He slept during the day. He worked out at night. Hopefully, this will come in handy during my June 27th half marathon in Disgusta. Jay, John, and Tim: If I dont see a demote or a FB tag with this in at least two days, then I will be extremely disappointed in youse....
Why the helmet, you ask?
Well, imbued by his dad, Callum wanted to ride his bike the other day. So he did. And then he and mommy built a snowman and a little "Maira snowman" in front of it. Amanda reports that Callum was adamant on putting a pumpkin on the snowman's head. For whatever reason.

Ice Fishing East Pond

A beautiful Saturday morning....a vast frozen expanse....temps climbing to four degrees by 9 o'clock....a thermos of Honey Dew coffee.....two four wheelers....two snowmobiles.....Art Carrano....good friends.....a dozen donuts from Hillman's.....what, in the world, could be better than this? Look at the picture above, and you can begin to get a sense of the bright cold; a brilliant gray that carries the air with a richness of frozen morning. In the background is Sappi--the paper mill in Fairfield, emanating its smokestack....East Pond on the Oakland and Smithfield line. A beautiful place.

Garrison Keillor tells a funny story about how men both invented and go ice fishing to get away from women for a while; it is just a place women dont want to go. They dont see the beauty of the solitude, stillness, and misery. I dont know. I know Amanda would love to go. She'd probably want to knit, though, like she does when I paddle the canoe in the summer. But her fingers would freeze pretty quick....

Below, Seth, Brad, Dave, and Glenn take in the frigid morning; meteorologically speaking, we really did go on the coldest morning of the year thus far.

I didnt even set any traps on this morning; I was merely an observer and "hole fluffer," which means that, after Brad drilled the holes with Art's auger, I went by to each one and scooped out the slushy slurry so we could drop our lines into the water. The ice, if you are wondering mom, was 14 inches thick. And solid. With ice fishing, each person is allowed five traps. Below, I tried to capture our "camp" as it were; if you blow it up you can see Brad and Art's traps. With their flags down. Like they stayed all day. Brad caught the only fish of the day--a beautiful yellow perch. And if you blow up the picture you can see some other ice shacks in the background.....
The guys kept daring me to put the "throttle to the bar" and "floor" it across East Pond. If I did, I may have hit 90 miles per hour. But, as anyone who knows me well knows, I have a irrational fear of speed. On my bike. On XC skis. In cars. And especially on snowmobiles on 14 inches of solid ice on East Pond when it is four. Sorry I let you down guys. I did, however, hit 80 (kilometers per hour, that is). But I had a great time tooling around on the ice, across the pond, spinning around, and annoying all the fish away from taking any of Brad or Art's shiners....

Just a fantastic time. Cant wait to go out again!!

Sibling Love

After a nice winter's eve bath, its so great to climb into warm fleece pajamas, grab your favorite Thomas the Train bath toy, and saunter up onto mom and dad's bed for some cuddle time with your sister. Right?

Like any parents, Amanda and I want Callum and Maira to be not only close brother and sister, but also close friends. Both crafting and nurturing this sort of relationship promises to pose many challenges; we look around at friends from church, students at school, etc. and we just see these amazingly solid sibling relationships. Beautiful. And, naturally, we want to figure out how people do that.

(I wish I had the photograph of Kris and I that my mom has on her bureau; it would be a neat 'companion piece' to this....she'll know what I am talking about....)
When my sister and I were little, one thing I used to love to do was smell Kristin's head. I dont know why. My parents probably thought this would lead to all types of delusional Rex Ryanish types of fetishes....but they havent. I dont think. Haha. Callum just loves to be around Maira; he seems to really care about her well being. Like a big brother should.
Are we starting to get "non" gas-induced smiles? Signs of expression? Emotion? Non-alien things? Perhaps......

Callum certainly causes us to smile all the time; maybe he is just infectious like that!

And they got their first bath together. Naturally, we took a bunch of pictures. But (as sad as it sounds) I know better than to put them on the blog. I'll get a call from Nannie 14 minutes after I post the pictures telling me to take them off. Anonymous people will call me a sicko. The terrorists will target my house. Paul LeRage will kick me out of Maine. So I will only put one. Of Callum "bathing" his sister.

Good boy.

Timmy is stupid

He just is. He's an artist he says.

Well, we got tons of snow with our second 'big' storm of the year. It was a great storm! Before I get into that, let me tell you why technology isnt as great as everyone says it is
1. The dummy meteorologists in Maine kept saying how the "computer models" were saying this storm would barely graze us. They even used words like "this is a non-issue" and "it is no big deal whatsoever," etc. Well guess what? Your computers are stupid. Cuz we got dumped on. Amen. In fact, the headline of today's paper read: "SURPRISE: HUGE STORM CATCHES MAINE OFF GUARD. Well, guess what? I knew it all along. I. was. on. guard.
2. We have this "amazing" new technology at school where we have an autodialer system that replaces the old phone trees of people calling people when there is a snowday. This amazing autodialer calls everyone at once. Naturally, this is so much easier. And, naturally, the system always works. Right? Get where I am going? Let's just say that SEVERAL teachers and students ended up at WHS yesterday not knowing that, although the supt. had cancelled school at 5:08 in the morning, he failed to use the technology correctly. Thus, no one got a call. I found out on Facebook.

Amanda was great yesterday: I sprained my foot pretty badly and yesterday was a great day for me to ice, elevate, compress, and rest my injury. I could not shovel, and Amanda rose to the occasion. She said she had a great time, actually.


Amanda made pandacakes and eggs and we had a good family breakfast, before we started watching episodes of Little Einsteins and segments of Aristocats. Callum, regularly, pulls the zipper of his pajamas down so he can do "Callum belly" and rub his stomach. He likes this. And stuff. Also, I look OLD.
We did puzzles, played Thomas the Train table (running jobs, having Sir Tophamhat chasing an ice cream truck around Sodor, etc), and hunkered down with his "I Spy" board game. Also, we read tons of books while I worked on healing my foot. Callum unequivocally favorite book continues to be the Charlie Brown Christmas book Nannie and Upbob got him, and he read to me. Also on the couch is a collection of Disney stories about "friendship" (containing, of course, one about the Aristocats). Obviously, that was in the rotation. Callum has just received SO MANY gorgeous children's books. I love them! And so does he. I'll have to do a blog about them sometime. Also, we need to take more pictures. Dont we?

A Clean, well lighted place

This is the title of a popular short story by "Papa" Hemingway. But it could also be used to describe 35 Military Ave as of late--I dont mean "clean" in the "let's all vacuum and dust" kind of way...and I dont mean "well lighted" in the sense that we have great light displacing windows. What I mean, in my roundabout sort of way, is that our home has been blessed with so many great, healthy, and memorable visits and visitors as of late. And, to me, that makes our home both clean and well lighted. So yeah.

Papa and Auntie KK were going to have a father/daughter trip up to Maine to meet little Maira, but a pretty bad snowstorm (that, as usual, stayed south of us) kept them down there. Plus Papa was--and still is--sick. So perhaps this weekend or next? But on Friday, we had my former student Sara over; she used to babysit Callum quite a bit, and she wanted to see both him and Maira. So she did. But what was really great was how she stayed after the kids were both asleep; we just talked and caught up and had a great time. One of the many blessings of being a teacher.

Callum really enjoys the company of his sister, and he wants to be near her a lot. He even wants her to watch Aristocats with him, trying to drag her 'fun chair' close to his big chair so they can watch shows together..... Saturday night was a good Maine Saturday night, complete with a visit from Dave and Muriel, some fish chowder I made, some delicious cornbread Muriel made, and some popovers with jelly that Amanda made. Dave, tickled pink, got to hold Maira--who slept soundly--for well over an hour. I think he enjoyed it (haha). We never even got to play a game; we just sat around the stove, doing puzzles with Callum, talking, and enjoying each other's company--the best type of visit!
BaBa finally decided to come back from New Jersey (since he knew there would be riots when the Eagles inevitably lost--and they DID--to my Packers) and today we all gathered here for "baba Christmas." He made some stuffed peckers and stuffed cabbage (for me). Lynne made a meatloaf. And, to Callum's everlasting joy, we opened more presents! These came in the form of gifts from BaBa, as well as ones from the Dovey's and Chimiego's.
Add all of this with the fact that Callum got in a great snowshoe at the Quarry Road yesterday, and it equals a great weekend. We just really missed Dad and Kristin coming up. But we'll see them soon.

Maira is one month old today! Wow. That was fast (that's what she....). She is growing up very fast, already fitting into some three month outfits, smiling a couple of times (genuine--not gas induced) and lifting her head like a champ! Our pretty little girl....

What the heck??!!!

To prove my point that EVERYONE gets snow EXCEPT us, here is the latest weather map for the "storm" this weekend. As you can see, our region is the only (yes the ONLY) place in a 600 mile radius to NOT get snow. Yes.

We're moving to Newfoundland anyway, so it doesnt matter

poor man's renaissance

I believe we are living in an age of a "poor man's renaissance;" poor man's because there are so many cool, fun, entertaining--and stupid things being invented every day: web sites, apps for iPhones, etc. And, from my vantage point, many of these things are invented to:

-laugh at other people's failures

-help us to be more lazy and get away with it

-aid us in being even less accountable for our own actions than ever before

There are web sites now that will do things like track how long, per month, you do things like hang out on facebook, check your email, look at espn.com, etc. At the end of the month, they report to you that you have spent 16 hours reading about Brett Favre's impending retirement on Foxsports.com, and then you can feel even dumber than usual.

And apps! There are so many amazing apps (from this point on I will say APPLICATIONS because I am not too lazy to say the whole word) out there that are so cool--for about 48 seconds of entertainment. We love our Wunderradio application, which enables us to listen to ANY radio show, radio station, or radio special IN THE WORLD. THere is a "mixology" app in which you enter an alcohol, then enter the food you are eating, and it suggests a great drink. Because you dont know what you like on your own, and you need to be told. I have often thought that a MIRROR APPLICATION would be awesome; a program that opens up a shiny piece of metal so girls can see how much ridiculous makeup they are putting on their skin. This could be great. Also, it probably already exists.

My friends and I see these new apps and web sites and constantly lament how we should have thought of that first OR how we have already been doing stuff like this for years! Here are some great sites on which to waste time, be momentarily entertained, and become convinced that society, as we know it, is coming to a fast end. ENjoy.

http://www.someecards.com/

http://www.awkwardpromphotos.com/

http://www.dearblankpleaseblank.com/

http://www.damyouautocorrect.com/

BEWARE: Not always the 'cleanest' and most 'moral' stuff....but still good for a chuckle....