Crazy, Crazy, Cra-zeeeeee!

Even though Crazy Uncle Dan didn't make it up to VT for Aiden's b-day at the lake, he did drive all the way up to NH after the party to hang out with Aiden and Grandma Chris for a few days. Aiden was in toddler heaven being chased, tickled, squeezed, hung upside down, and all those other things the rest of us would generally consider torture. Plus he got some serious treatage from his Uncle Dan and Grandma. Books, ice cream, blueberries, you name it. Since Crazy Uncle Dan left, Aiden has gone crazy too, as in schizophrenic... he doesn't know anymore whether he likes the Red Sox or the Yankees, the Giants or the Lake Monsters, the Mets or the ?!?!? What the?! Where am I?!? Who's on first?

Turning 3 at the Lake

Andy's family made their annual August pilgrimage to the Rising family camp on Lake Champlain to relax and celebrate Aiden's 3rd birthday. I won't say it went off without a hitch, because Dan and Paulette's flight was cancelled and they couldn't make it up - FAA mandated that some flights be cancelled b/c of flight back-ups due to earlier thunderstorms and theirs was randomly selected - argh. But we did have a great weekend, with lots of fishing, swimming, playing board games, and overindulging in food & drinks.

Andy smoked his famous ribs in cola dipping sauce, and you basically had to stab the fingers of two certain teenaged cousins, Alex and Christopher, in order to to secure a rib for yourself! Actually, Alex & Christopher were very patient to make sure everyone had some before they dived back in for seconds :) Even Aiden was into the ribs this year.

Oh, and did I mention there were presents!? Lots of them. Aiden got a lawnmower, his own personalized canoe paddle, boxes and boxes of trains, lots of games and toys, and yes... finally... a BLUE BIKE! He also had a Thomas the Train cake (I did my best on this score) and caught three fish (a perch, a sunfish, and a smallmouth bass) on his big party day to mark each year under his belt! Happy birthday Aiden!

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...)