Skipping Town

Andrew and I both had to work today, so the pace of our NH day was a little different. Greta did geometry. Lucia read a lot. She and Andrew went for a long run in the late afternoon; Greta did a shorter run. Then we all went to our cousins' house for a swim and dinner. Back home, we played Scrabble while watching the US/Belgium World Cup match.  What We're Reading: Andrew: finished My First New York; dove back into the volume of Proust he's been working on for multiple summers Margo: The Book Thief Lucia: An Arcane Study of Stars by Sidney J. Shields Greta: The One that Got Away with Murder by Trish Lundy

It was a fully packed NH Sunday. In the morning, we all drove to West Lebanon for some shopping. We passed through Plainfield en route and were excited to see that the rummage sales we'd gone to yesterday had become EVERYTHING IS FREE sales. Of course we pulled over. Andrew picked up a bushel basket, and we found a plastic bench that, once cleaned up, will be perfect for sitting by the pond. I also chose a swan-shaped vessel (pen holder?) that I'd eyed yesterday but hadn't purchased.  Then we went to Books-a-Million (books for Greta), Newbury Comics (Tokidoki blind boxes for both girls), TJ Maxx (clothes for the kids, kitchen stuff for me and Andrew), and Walmart (random uninteresting things like cleaning spray and hairbands). Andrew made us all egg sandwiches for lunch, and then the kids headed for the pond. I read pondside. Then we all read in our hammocks for an hour and a half, until Lucia herded us inside for a game of Scrabble. She has become immediately obsessed with...

We've been coming to NH for the Fourth of July for over twenty years. The girls have never not been here for the Fourth. It is always the same, and the sameness is what we love.  Andrew made pancakes in the morning, and then we headed into Plainfield for the Fourth of July festivities, starting with the rummage sales. For many years there was just one, inside one of the buildings; last year another, outdoor one was added across the street. We made some quirky and maybe questionable purchases, including a house address sign (Greta), a purse (Lucia), a large quantity of buttons (me), an old Dartmouth bleacher seat (me), two small glass Anchor Hocking bowls (me), a box of watch faces (the girls), and an antique dresser (Andrew). Refinishing the dresser will be a NH project for Andrew. We will likely never be able to bring it home. Then we watched the parade, and were given bottles of chocolate milk by the local dairy. We had lunch at the firemen's bbq. We listened as former Suprem...

It was another brutally hot day. We're all feeling it. There was hammock reading, pond swimming, pond floating, geometry, inside reading. Andrew and the kids went on a sweltering run in the late afternoon while I went into town to pick up pizzas for dinner and some groceries. The grocery store parking lot felt like the surface of the sun. We are all ready for this heat wave to end. But tonight we had fun going to see the fireworks in Claremont, where we've gone for the past few years. Many years? It's hard to keep count. It's always a good show. The kids adorned themselves with glowsticks as they've been doing on fireworks night since they were toddlers. 

Today was river rafting day--one of our favorite days of the summer. We headed to Great River Outfitters after lunch, and after the usual safety presentation and distribution of life jackets, we were taken to the put-in area and our float down the river began. It was in the nineties today, absolutely sweltering, so it was the perfect day to just spend on and in the water. We made our first stop very quickly so we could all take a swim before getting the journey underway. As we always do, we stopped at our favorite rocky outcropping for a long spell of swimming, floating in the current, lying in the shallow water, and searching for rocks and riverglass. It was delightful. We scattered around the rocky area, enjoying the complete silence and isolation. Not another soul was in sight. What a beautiful place. We continued on, making one more stop by Hart Island for another dip in the water, and then continued on to the takout point. Along the way, over to our left, was a floating object tha...

It was just the kind of day we like up here: a day at home, not leaving the house once. Greta, of course, worked on geometry in the morning and Andrew did a bit of work while Lucia and I read in our hammocks. Late morning brought a long spell of pond time, and it was so hot out I even got in to float in my inflatable boat. It was exceptionally relaxing. The kids jumped off the dock and sprayed each other with water guns.  After lunch, Greta finished her geometry and Lucia did some SAT studying while Andrew and I read in our hammocks. Then the girls came out and we all read in our hammocks. There is nothing better than that, all four of us reading quietly in the woods. Just the best. Then the two new inflatable boats I ordered arrived, and we blew them up and went back to the pond. I once again floated around. Andrew got in for a swim too.  We ate dinner outside, and made s'mores at the fire pit. Then we watched the US/Bosnia World Cup game on Andrew's iPad (no TV up here, of c...