Good Times with Good Friends

Two Sundays ago we made a quick road trip down to the Downers, ostensibly for an impromptu tennis tournament. As much as I miss Vermont, I do love having so many friends a lot closer now that we live in NH and nearer to "civilization!" Tennis was played at the Downer Country Club, but I won't say it was pretty. In particular, I am a spastic tennis player. Andy, Chris, Nic, Becky, and a host of Downer friends put in a much better showing than I, but it was muggy and about a thousand degrees, so there is only so much you can do with that. My favorite part was that in a stroke of brilliancy, Nicole filled up a blow up pool in the corner of their large tennis court and we moved the plastic lawn chairs in for a redneck spectator ring. With a corona in hand, it was heaven.

The kids were very busy running around the yard, climbing on all the landscaping equipment, splashing in the pool and mixing their own "mocktails." In a second stroke of brilliancy, Nicole convinced a friend's two teenaged daughters to keep an eye on the gaggle of little ones (7 in all, 6/7ths girls...good odds for Aiden!) so we could relax a little and enjoy each other's company. That Nicole, she's always thinking...

Michaela & Livvy

Aiden on Chris's tractor

Pool fun

Livvy, Grayson and Abbie

Livvy the big sister

Then, later that week, Tim and Becky stopped by for dinner on their way up to Becky's family's house on Lake Winnesquam. Aiden had a great time with them and we all got to enjoy Tim improvising his own tunes to songs in the book "Sally Jean, Bicycle Queen" It was priceless.

Aww, Manny the lovebug

Looks like celery, tastes like artichoke...

What is it, you ask? Why, it's a CARDOON!

We got this unlikely vegetable from the owner of Spring Ledge Farm, who gave it to Andy *for free* (foreshadowing here) when he tentatively asked what it tastes like. So home we went to do a little internet research and find out how to eat this Italian faux celery. Full disclosure: Andy and I both HATE celery. It's one of the first things we bonded over, aside from birds. We watched in horror as Adien, our own flesh and blood, happily noshed down some sticks of the stringy stuff at a party a few months ago. How is that genetically possible?

So anyway, cardoon does look like celery, but it's related to the artichoke, and it's a lot higher maintenance. You have to peel the stalks with a potato peeler and blanch peeled pieces for about a half hour in salted water before you can even get your teeth through it. We added ours to pasta with olive oil, garlic and a ton of other veggies we were positive we liked. And it tastes like... artichoke with the consistency of the pithy end of a celery stalk. Not too great. Turns out the owner of Spring Ledge did tell Andy that Italians only eat it "when there's nothing else left."

Pieces of cardoon peeled & ready for the blanching pot

Stuffing the Peek Hole

A few weeks ago, Andy got an excited phone call from someone he didn't know. "I found the perfect peek-hole stick!" said the voice on the phone. "Uhhhhhh...." said Andy, thinking that in about one second he'd hang up on this pervert. "No, really, it's perfect! About 20 feet long and very straight! Can I drop it by your house?!"

It turns out the "peek-hole" is a well-known New London landmark, and as Chair of the New London Conservation Commission, Andy has the dubious responsibility of filling it. Basically, it's a hole through the floating mat of peat moss at Philbrick-Criscenti Bog, through which a very long straight stick is pushed, so that you can pull it up and see just how deep the bog actually is. It's a stop on the self-guided interpretive tour, number 8 to be exact, and EVERYONE in town knows what the peek-hole is... everyone but us, that is.

Peek-hole stick safely bungeed onto my car

Since we have been enlightened, since the peek-hole has been without a proper stick for awhile, and since two "perfect" peek-hole sticks were dropped at our house in the last week... we took off this morning to the bog to fill the peek hole. Mission accomplished.

Aiden with the tip of the peek-hole stick, in its rightful place

Elsewhere on Cape Ann...

Whatever the ultimate reason for the visit, we don't ever let a trip to Gloucester pass by without some quality time at the beach. This time we headed to Plum Island, which is a great place to avoid the crowds... if you can find a parking spot. There are only about a dozen parking spots at the far end of the island, which keeps the human masses to a minimum and gives the birds and other critters some breathing room. It is a National Wildlife Refuge, after all.

We lucked out and scored a parking spot right away, and from there we chased Aiden as he ran out over the dune boardwalk to the wide white ocean beach. He had a great time jumping over the breaking waves (just his size) and playing with "Scoop" (backhoe loader) in the sand, and eating snacks on his blanket. Momoo and Dadoo breathed in the treat of salty ocean air, scanned the beach for shorebirds, and soaked our feet in the chilly water. The only thing making the morning a bit less than perfect were the hoards of greenhead flies that came out of the blue as the day began to warm up. We were forewarned though; a sign at the entrance booth says "It's Greenhead Season! No Refunds!" We had a good laugh imagining someone actually demanding their whole $5 per car fee be refunded because the bugs were too bad. I'm sure it's happened...

We were staying at a small motor inn in Rockport, one town over from Gloucester. It was a great location, right in walking distance of a small beach and historic Bearskin Neck (something about a bear washing on shore there in the 1700s and terrorizing the town). It's one of those kitschy, touristy, insanely cute coastal strips with t-shirt and souvenir shops, ice cream places, and artist galleries, and we loved it just like you should if you are, in fact, a tourist. I had a meaty lobster roll, Andy found the best guacamole he'd ever tasted, and Aiden got a red sox t-shirt and a cupcake with about 2 inches of chocolate ganache on the top!

..............................................Bearskin Neck

Aiden in Rockport somewhere

Dinghies in Rockport

Rockport

We also had a BBQ at Micah and Becky's house and the kids tackled each other and anyone they could drag down (Becky's Dad here...)

Gloucester Triathalon

Andy ran his first triathalon last weekend in Gloucester. He's been training all summer, getting into pretty good shape to tackle the wet, speedy, sweaty, frenetic spectacle that is a sprint triathalon. This was Gloucester's first triathalon too, and they had a great turnout with over 800 participants and at least 10 times as many spectators. It was a zoo!

Micah and Becky's other brother-in-law, Steve, was also doing the tri, so we all hiked across town to watch the race. Minus Becky, who was stationed as a race volunteer along the bike course. Steve had done one triathalon previously, so he had some sage words of advice for Andy... such as, "I was so incredibly nervous at my first one, I almost puked in the water"... Becky, the only other triathalon veteran among us, also tried to inspire some confidence, "Just wait until some 250 lb woman on a pink huffy passes you on a downhill..." Although it may not seem like it, these nuggets of wisdom did relax Andy a bit and made him realize that pre-race jitters are normal- the important part is to have fun and enjoy the experience.

Jenny, Cal & Freddy walking to the race start

Andy (second from L) and Steve (farthest orange cap on R) at the swim start

Andy finishing the swim

We made some rockin' signs to cheer on family and friends and tacked them to the car in M&B's driveway. The bike loop went right by their house.

Iconic Gloucester fisherman getting pooped upon

Andy on the bike loop

Steve shortly after crossing the finish line

So far as I could tell, Andy sailed through the three portions of the race with minimal difficulty. Each time he passed by us cheering him on, he had a smile for Aiden (ok, on that last run loop it might have been a half-grimace) and he finished in about an hour and 40 minutes. Not bad for a first try/tri! His biggest complaint was that for most of the bike portion, he was stuck behind a racer wearing just an american flag speedo and nothing else, and he got sick of looking at the guy's buttocks. I think Andy's got the bug now, because he's already registered for another tri in Weare, NH in September. I have to admit that it did look like fun. The energy is infectious and even though the racers looked tired, you could tell everyone crossing the finish line felt like a million bucks.

Patriotic speedo man and Silicone Barbie cross the finish line

Andy on the run

Andy crossing the finish line


Steve and Calvin enjoying some oranges post-race

Chocolate gelato helps when you're looking for Dadoo among hundreds of bodies speeding by...

Who doesn't love a good carnival?

Got Bike?

Aiden is getting a big-boy bicycle for his birthday, a blue one complete with training wheels. He knows this, but he hasn't seen it yet. The truth is it's not quite assembled yet (read: still in the box). He has been counting down the days to "August Twenty-Five" and the glorious day when he will be Three! I have a feeling he's under the mistaken impression that when he's three, in addition to the new bike, he's going to get the keys to Dadoo's pick-up, unlimited tootsie roll pops, and a DVR to record every episode of Yo! Gabba! Gabba! ever made. Hmmm.

This past weekend he did get one step closer to his dreams when we bought him a bicycle helmet for his forthcoming wheels. Of course, it had to be blue. And he wore it everywhere, including an entire dinner at Friendly's and a two-hour car ride back from HaPa and Grandma's in Vermont. It was very cute.

Other fun in Vermont over the weekend included a nice dip at our old swimming hole on the Huntington River, harvesting crops in Grandma's garden, feeding the chickens, splitting and stacking wood for sugaring next year, and playing with lots of new-to-Aiden toys handed down from the Pottmeyers. Thank you Gerritt!!