Annnnnnnnnnnnd more Legos....

But you'll get no complaints from me! Legos and books and firewood and Chinese food are the four things in life on which I dont mind at all spending money! In fact, I got bummed because Callum is now OUT of any new legos to put together!! WE NEED MORE!! ahhhhhhhh!!! haha

On Saturday, Uncle Jon and Aunt Kelsey came over. They brought Baxter too, and Lupine, after crapping herself, hid for the day down in the cellar (not the basement/finished den mind you....the actual boiler room...where she could even further hide!). Callum and Maira had a good time, and they REALLY loved having a duog around. They reallllly want a duog. 

Callum saved his 'ambeelance' for putting together with UJ, and UJ even wore a special shirt to impress the kids into thinking that, in his life, he actually HAS read a book (besides Ghosts and Myaunts #jokesonjokes). And Callum, not to be outdone, had to go adorn his Ninja Turtle 'picture shirt.' 

From what I hear, Uncle Jon was quite the lego-er in his youth....and it is easy to see when he gets in the ZONE while putting together stuff...Jon was reminding me very much how Gorge is: Extreme focus.

It was cool having Baxter over too....he's a good boy, but I think he's scared of me. Haha. Maira, true to form, had to get out......................you guessed it! Her puzzle!! It is funny--you know how you go over someone's house and they have their 'conversation pieces' they want to show you? Like a Civil War hat...or some Inuit jewelery...or their record collection? Well, for Maira, puzzles are her conversation piece. I love this girl! Oh, and that is the kids' Hotwheel mat in the kitchen...that is not a regular part of our decor....

Hey! Guess what!!?? They forecast 4 inches of snow on Saturday!! And guess what it did?? (cue downward sloping trombone noise). Weather people suck, and I feel no remorse about saying this.

But we went outside to play in the 'snow' a bit, and the kids and Kelsey took Baxter for a walk. Actually, Callum rode his bike (and fell off about 5 times). Amanda loves this picture, because she thinks she looks good with a duog. I think she does too! Especially with me. Get it?

The adventures of Nigel McFigglehumphries and the magic apple peeler

shut up. 

I have mentioned before about what a fantastic baker Maira is--it might be one of her favorite things to do right now! The little lady LOVES to bake! So on Friday night, while I was out running, Amanda and the kids put together a couple of pizzas (or, as Jay, who thinks he is so cute, would call them, 'zas....but he's a jerk with no directive). ACTUALLY, I should say, the KIDS put together both of the pizzas...the only thing Sally really did was get the dough 'started' rolling out. The rest was all Callum and Mae. It was cute; they had a little restaurant setup going that night--Maira was the cook, and Callum was the manager of the restaurant and got the table ready, waited on customers (Lupine, as it turns out, is a rude customer), etc. 

But somehow they missed the part about cleaning up.....

Ahh....pizza number one....with pepperoni and roasted red peppers. Or is this a deflated football that got beat within an inch of its life and left to rot in the sun? Either way, it was delicious!!

So I am toying with the idea of doing a half marathon in early March (stupid idea...but look at whom you are dealing with folks). I've been trying to extend my distances, doing one 'longer' run per week. The challenge this presents in the winter is obvious: More time outside in the excruciating cold (not snow...cuz we dont get--nor will we get--any more snow in Maine this winter). Today was my long run day. I have been 'seriously' running for about three years now, and in that time I dont think I've had a more miserable run than today. It was 13, which isnt as cold as it HAS been this winter...but the wind was just stupid. I did a new route which brought me a little over 7 miles, and the trip took me up past some farmland/fields that snowmobilers enjoy in the winter (versus the summer...). The wind that came off of those fields on one side...and the mighty Kennebec River on the other...was just awful. At some points I had to stop and turn my whole body because the headwind was so strong and it was knocking me out into the street and blowing icy snow in my beardless face....At any rate, I came home from the run and went into the breezeway and just collapsed into this chair before going inside. This picture tells it all.....thanks Amanda for some great photography....

 and my face tells an even richer story....hahaha

Later today, we took the kids to KMart because,, after all, their Christmas money has been burning a whole in their pockets! We let them each pick out a couple of small things (each one of them has about a hundred buques!) Callum picked out a TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle dressup set (Raphael...who's cool but crude) and another stuffed animal minion (a larger version of Stuart...the one he already has). Maira, seeing her brother with Raphael, had to get HER favorite--Donatello (because he wears purple...doy!). She also got a little ballerina action figure for her dollhouse. Each kid picked out a book, which we obviously let them get. Never say no to a book, right? Unless it is Twilight, Hunger Games, FiftyShadesofZin_, or anything by George W Bush, Rush Limbaugh, or Glenn Beck. Luckily, Callum wanted a Ninja turtles book which I read to them before dinner (I didnt READ dinner to them...stop being a grammar nerd).

Winter is over....

....and has been since New Year's day where I famously made the claim on Facebook that we would see no major snow for the rest of the winter. Since then, we have not. Nor will we. Every year it is the same crap--everyone south of us (Boston...NY...New Jersey...) all get hammered with snow. We got wicked cold temps but no precip, unless it is warm for a couple of days, in which case we get rain. And the weatherpeople up here continue to absolutely suck. Yes, I know they are only 'guessing,' but they have the most sophisticated  equipment money can buy.. They use SCIENCE. And they are never judged or held accountable. Yet teachers, who work with human minds and emotions and moods and have to be creative and THEORETICAL, 'without' the aid of science, are judged and held accountable all the time. Whatever. I say the same thing all the time. Sorry. 

But anyway, since winter is over, I decided to make some changes. This is what I looked like at about 6pm last night....

(this was all fluffed up and exaggerated so I could upset my mom....but then I realized she doesnt read this blog because this is goldsmith5.com and not candycrush.com....wah wah wah....)

and this is what I looked like at about 6:30.

People tell me I look A LOT different without the beard--like younger or something. But I figured that since winter is over, I dont need a beard. Except runs are really gonna be tough now! Part of why I grow this each year is to insulate my precious face (lol) from the cold wind that sweeps across our barren, dry, snow-less expanse of Kennebec Valley.

When Maira woke up this morning she looked at me as if she didnt know who I was (remember: I have been growing this thing since Sept 29). She said "Daddy, where did your beard go?" And I told her that I sent it in the mail to Jason (which I did). She told me that I look way better without the beard but "you definitely need something else now cuz you dont have a beard....so I'll go get you one of my headbands. Okay?" So, until I got in the car and took it off, I was wearing one of Maira's white flowered headbands with which she sent me to school

Happy spring everyone!!

MLK Weekend....

We are in the midst of our long weekend for Martin Luther King day, and we have already been blessed with two wonderful visitors. On Friday afternoon/evening, Christine, a former student of mine, came by for a visit before going back to college. She is studying nursing, and wants to be a Nurse Anes..aneasth...aneas...one of those nurses who put you to sleep in the OR....haha. But she will do awesome because she is one of the brightest kids (and most wonderful individuals) I have ever taught. And Maira just LOOOOOVED her. Maira decided, unequivocally, that Christine was her 'best friend,' and told Christine over and over again. In fact, when Christine had to leave and Maira had to go to bed, Maira became very very upset--to the point of sobbing--that her 'best friend' could come up and lie in her bed with her. It was adorable! Below is a nice shot of Christine and Maira....

....and then Callum sneaking into the pictures....like he always does...haha. Perhaps you will notice two things that I have noticed this weekend: One, Callum's red/raw nose and lips (he has been sick and has had a CRAZY runny nose...he's like a mini Zin _ Ponticelli), and two, both our kids seem to look 'older' to me this weekend. They are changing so fast. It is bittersweet. But do you see that??

Maira and Callum LOVE their puzzles, and Maira, in particular, has seemed to really catch the puzzle-bug from her brother. She wanted Christine to help her put her 'Little Mermaid' puzzles together....over and over again...

On Saturday, Andrea and Michael came up from Rochester NH for a visit. Can you believe it has been about three years since I have seen these two?? Amanda has seen Andrea more. But with coaching, etc, I often miss out on fall trips. At any rate, we were so excited to see them, and Maira now has TWO best friends (Christine and Andrea are her BEST friends). And, again, Maira 'bonded' with her jigsaw puzzles. That is how she 'reels' people in......

Michael and Andrea brought us some cool stuff--hard cider that they made, and gorgeous fingerling potatoes that they grew. Below, Michael, Callum, me, and my ridiculous beard pose for a picture....Yeah...my beard has taken on a life of its own. Also, I have no idea what Callum is doing with his arm.

Lupine is SO FAT. We have no idea how or why. Seriously--she has NEVER eaten regular people food. And she doesnt eat wet cat food. She eats regular dry food...and not that much of it. And from March through November she is outside, running and chasing and hunting and exercising. Of course, now, she marinates in front of the wood stove all day and night. But still...how has she gotten this way?

What could have been......haha (also, please note Maira's 'party dress' which she wanted to wear for her friends' visit....

We hope to establish a sort of 'rhythm' where we can start seeing the Clauss-Veal's more often! They are dear to us and it was great catching up. And, just so you know, if you look up the phrase 'shit eating grin' in the dictionary, I am pretty sure you will see Callum, cropped from this photo...

Meanderings 84

1. The other day I was on my laptop writing a test in OpenOffice, when, all of the sudden, the program closed, and I got an error message that read "some of your information might not be saved." So I decided to tell Libre Office about Jesus....

2. Why do Bananas always have to be accompanied by 'cream' in pies and yogurts and such? Arent bananas good enough to stand on their own? I think so. Like, in a pie, you cant just have bananas in syrup, like you can with blue and strawberries? You are giving bananas a complex here--just give them a chance.

3. When you think about archaeology, what's the first set of images that come to mind? Digging, right? A bunch of white people wearing scarves around their necks digging for old stuff, right? Why is everything 'old,' by default, buried under dirt? Am I missing something here? Does part of the aging process of physical objects necessitate that they become buried under mounds of earth? I mean, have there been, historically, some hard core crazy dust storms or landslides all over the world that have somehow escaped the chronicles of history? Is dirt just attracted to old pots? In several hundred years, will the United States be completely buried under dirt? And, if so, how and why will this happen? Seriously

4. A lot of people have panic disorder. This is as opposed to total 'orderly' panic, where people iron their shirts, comb their hair, and sit up straight while drinking tea in order to panic....

5. We were in a restaurant a while back, and the menu was advertising their signature porterhouse steak which, according to the menu, was 'of the highest quality and cooked exactly the way you want.' I thought of how funny it would be to request the following: Ok...here is how I want it cooked....first of all, the chef must be completely nude, wearing only a collar with bells on it....he must sear it for 2 minutes on each side while listening to (and singing along with) Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and, during the part where they say 'mama mia let me go,' he must attempt to do four pirouettes in succession with Freddie Mercury's voice (any less than 4 will ruin the taste of my meat). Furthermore, it must be precisely 73 degrees in the kitchen and all the lights must be off, rendering the dramatic glow of 'clean linen' Yankee candles, which I will provide. Finally, I want a RED spatula used to turn my steak, and the cook must recite the Pledge of Allegiance before EACH TIME he touches the meat AT ANY POINT during the cooking process. 

6. I always thought it would be kind of funny to look in a library card catalogue for a book about Melvil Dewey (the man who invented the Dewey Decimal System). Like, when you find his entry, is it emblazoned with gold stars or any type of pomp and circumstance or such?

Those Winter Sundays....

No, today is not Sunday. But I've been thinking so much lately about this poem by Robert Hayden (called "Those Winter Sundays"). It truly is one of my favorite poems of all time, and the last couplet just seems to rip your heart out as you realize how unappreciative you are for all those who toil so much, for you, because they love you so dearly. Plus, the poem just seems to fit the whole theme of this winter thus far, as we have been experiencing one of the most physically cold periods in memory---and we are loving every minute of it. That will all change, unfortunately, as this weekend promises to flood our streets with rain and melt our snow away--it is supposed to be in the 40s. That stinks. 

But just take a moment from your busy day or night and listen to the beautiful reading of the poem (you can also see the lyrics). It is only 48 seconds long.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RoaNidQZnQ


In other news,



Yeah. So that is just a normal evening temperature on any given Thursday....our wood stove is working overtime and having a hell of a time keeping up....

But Maira just LOVES helping out in the kitchen--in particular, she loves baking. She was tickled pink to help Amanda make cookie dough this evening; her whole day seemed to lead up to this taking place! In addition, she loves helping to make eggs, set the table, get people water to drink, etc. She loves the kitchen!







And Callum-the-Engineer continues to astound me with his intuition in doing both puzzles and lego projects. Tonight, before dinner, we worked on one of the airplanes he got for Christmas. He simply just astounds me with the way he follows directions in the manuals and puts things together....

I've been thinking a lot lately....

...about my grandmother, Nana Courtney. I guess it is normal, around the holidays, to think of those family members who are no longer with us. And that is probably why I've been thinking about her a lot. I think a lot has to do with a Christmas ornament our Aunt Mary gave us with nana's picture on it....

My Nana C and I got along great when I was a kid--I daresay I inherited some of her quick wit, and a DOUBLE dare say I have inherited her love of sarcasm. And, although I will draw deep criticism from 'the usual suspects,' I am confident I have inherited Nana's work ethic as well--she was one of the hardest working people I have ever known (she didnt retire til she was 80), and I am always puttering around, looking for work and projects, etc.

But I started this post with the word 'lately' because I think, lately, that we would have REALLY hit it off--but she left us before this was able to happen. I feel as though I am a lot like my grandmother in other ways, and I only realized these 'ways' after she died. We are/were both HUGE lovers of mysteries of all types; Amanda and I read mystery after mystery, and we enjoy the PBS shows Nana used to watch like Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. My nana always loved 'radio' and I find myself listening to more radio (not MUSIC, but NPR...arts and culture stuff, etc) than watching television. My grandmother always watched (and was always teased for watching) AreYouBeingServed on PBS (in addition to other 'Britcoms' as they are called) and this show is, without a doubt (and has been for a few years now) my favorite television show.

I bet my grandmother would just be fascinated with the special place that Maine "is." I mean, I doubt she would go snowmobiling with me...haha...but I am sure she would be interested in reading/hearing about all the stuff I am into regarding Maine history and culture: Logging, river driving, snowshoeing, paddling, etc. She really seemed to appreciate the kinds of art and culture that I now find myself into--I think she'd get a kick out of the way Amanda and I strive to bring our kids into this sort of 'way' as well.

So that's all. Just a little of what I've been thinking about lately. My biggest regret about having no grandparents left is that my kids dont get to see what "I" saw and experienced with them. I find myself, lately, talking about Nana Courtney and Papa Goldsmith to Callum--I try to share funny stories about things we did at Christmas, or food we ate on Saturdays, or whatever. But something gets 'lost in translation,' I feel. But mostly, I think it is just the selfish parent in me, who wants to show my kids off to family members who are no longer with us.

So that's that. It continues to be cold, although today reached 16 or so, so we took the kids sledding at Colby College...but it has been so cold that the snow was too FLUFFY to really pack down and make fast sledding. Yesterday I did a little bit of riding on the snowmobile, and had a (snowy) blast. More freezing rain tonight or whatever.....

SOME PICS....

This was taken at about 7AM on New Year's Day. It got even colder a couple days later....

By 7:04 on that same day, while Amanda slept soundly (she lets me sleep in too, by the way...haha), Callum and Maira had opened and set up Monopoly--the same game Sally and I were GOING to play on New Year's Eve....before our ice dam leaks started #alas.....Callum legitimately wanted to know how to play Monopoly...and I taught him the rudiments...he SEEMED to get it...we'll try again later....

Maira LOVES the shirt Auntie KK and Uncle Anthony got her for Christmas....she wanted this on the blog....

....and Callum REALLY wanted this one of me on the blog...he took this New year's day, after telling me to 'do something funny daddy.' So yeah.

I've never seen cold like this...

Seriously. And I love it. I do. Bring on the cold and bring on the snow. This is a great winter thus far, and it is only the beginning of January! I (and Callum, Maira, and Sally) have plans to snowmobile, sled, and snowshoe all over the place. I need to get into the woods!!

Okay. I will admit. The cold is tough. I LOVE winter, but it is tough. I try to maintain my running schedule outside (I will NEVER run on a treadmill or use one of those elliptical things). But it is very tough, dangerous, slippery, and, to be blunt, it sucks the life out of you. I find myself tired all the time, and, furthermore, I just cant seem to eat enough...I am always hungry! I wonder if you burn extra calories in the cold just trying to keep your body warm (?) Obviously, I dont know the answer, because I am a liberal arts graduate....

I wear these special spiky things on my sneakers, but they only do so much. But I have a blast, and I get A LOT of very weird looks from people who cant believe anyone is dumb enough to be outside....on purpose...

Here I am, post run, on NewYear's eve... -6 after the run             

We used the money we made selling the ATV to buy the snowmobile.....and, much to my everlasting shame, we bought a snowblower. Oh well. It will make things easier I guess, and now I will have more time to drink. llz. Below, Sally and the kids try out the new snowblower, moments after the great people at Teague's, in Fairfield, delivered it to us!

On New Year's Eve, the Goldsmiths hung out, ate snacks, drank beer (ok...that was just me), played the game OPERATION, and, mostly, DID PUZZLES!!! The kids (and mommy) absolutely LOVE puzzles....and, they are brilliant at them. A puzzle, for me, is trying to figure out how to work a gas pump at Sunoco....so Callum and Maira definitely inherited the puzzle gene from their very smart mom. Maira focused on the LITTLE MERMAID puzzle Nannie and Upbob got her, and Callum focused on his new puzzle, from Papa, with tons of Disney stuff like CARS and TOY STORY, etc. The alacrity with which Callum orchestrates his puzzles amazes me....and I say this not as his biased dad, but as a bystander watching him. He really is extraordinary. #NavalAcademyskills

Happy New Year! Callum took this photo of us....

New Year's Day, the dumbest day of the year, was spent roof raking, throwing rock salt 'pucks' onto ice dams on the roof, (talk about a buzz kill: we started having ice dam leaks in our front living room, by the door, on NY Eve...that sucked...and it probably isnt over......) and staying THE HECK inside....we watched HOME ALONE, did more puzzles, played more OPERATION, and just hung out and tried to stay warm!!