Quarantine: Sat. 5/16 - Sun. 5/17
We! Are! Not! In! New! Jersey! Anymore! Our trip to NH feels like a jailbreak, even though we haven't broken free of lockdown in any real way. But it's a change of scenery, and we're running through the woods without another soul in sight, so there's a feeling of lightness and freedom that we've been missing for a long time. We're not afraid of getting covid here. We're afraid of getting covid pretty much every single time we step outside our door back home. That alone is freeing.
You know what else is freeing? Driving here in 4 hours and 15 minutes. It usually takes us at least 5.5 hours. There was no traffic whatsoever, and we didn't stop except for a quick fill-up at a gas station (none of us got out but Andrew, and he didn't touch anything except with a Chlorox wipe). It was crazy. We got here so fast. We used to make comparably good time ten years ago, during the month we spent living in a corporate apartment in the Trump Place on Riverside Drive, when we relocated from CA to NYC and had to find a place to live.
We arrived mid-afternoon on Saturday and unloaded the very full car. We brought coolers and bags of food, with the idea that we won't have to go to the grocery store. Of course there were the usual first-time-at-the-house challenges. For example, Andrew had forgotten a house key. He easily broke in by...lifting up an unlocked screen, then remembered the house key is on his key ring, where he'd put it to make sure he wouldn't forget it. Ha! Ha! Ha! Then we found the heat wouldn't work, even though we'd had the oil tank filled this week. The nights here are cold still, so Andrew had to get a plumber out right away. The upstairs rooms had wasps flying around, and ladybugs crawling all over the walls--nothing new, but something that had to be dealt with.
Other than that--we sank right back into our glorious rural life. Lucia blew up a raft and floated around the dock. Greta fished with a net off the side of the dock, and caught a fish (to immediately let go). Farrah explored everything, sniffing everywhere. Andrew and I stood far away from each other in the yard and had her practice her "Farrah! Here!" recall, offering Beggin' Strips as rewards. She's doing a great job.
Dinner was hot dogs on the grill and a box of Zatarins yellow rice. Then s'mores over the fire pit.
The Fun New Thing last night was that Farrah refused to get into her crate to sleep. She's been sleeping in a crate by our bed every single night we've had her. Though we've been tempted to let her sleep with us, we've never caved, and she really loves her crate at home--in the mornings, sometimes she just lazes around in there even after we've opened the door. But last night, she just wouldn't go in. Andrew physically couldn't get her into the crate. So she slept with us, lying at her full length right between us. It was extremely cute. But it was still a pretty sleepless night, because she kept itching and moving around; and Lucia had a nightmare about bugs on her walls; and Greta came in because she heard a wasp; and both of us woke up when ladybugs landed on our faces. Country life!
Today, Sunday, was a perfect New Hampshire day. Gorgeous weather. Sun and more sun. We had pancakes for breakfast then headed to the creek and stayed there till after 2pm. The girls brought Lego figures and boats and floated them down the creek, over rocks and rapids. Farrah waded in the creek and explored off-leash. We keep the leash attached to her, because if she did run off we'd never catch her otherwise, but even when we weren't holding onto the leash, she was uninterested in leaving our sides. She's such a good puppy.
There's nothing more relaxing than sitting by the side of the creek, watching the kids play rapturously in a magical place.
There's a large metal tunnel through which the creek travels under the road, and today L&G wanted to explore on the other side of it. Turns out it's a swimming hole. It was freezing cold, but they waded in (and Greta fell in, to her delight). By this point Farrah was lying down in the weeds, desperate for a nap.
After lunch, we hiked in the fields and in the way-back woods. I actually don't really like this part of the property. It's extremely remote--across a large field, through some woods, across another large, brambly field, and into even deeper woods. I get a very uneasy feeling. Unlike the rest of our favorite spots, there's some bad energy back there. Also there are coyotes barking/yowling in the too-close distance. No, I don't like hiking in those woods. But the kids and Andrew like going there because it's a kind of old dumping ground, and there are always interesting things to unearth. Today they found two horseshoes, a metal seat of some kind, and a weird metal wheel--Andrew plans to google it and figure out what it is.
Later in the day the girls went down to the dock to catch fish and salamanders with their nets; Andrew chopped some wood (his favorite NH activity); and I read a book in the yard. Glorious. Dinner was steaks on the grill, and baked zucchini, and s'mores again. Then L&G did their favorite thing--put the ends of long sticks in the fire to make burning wands and then act out scenes from Harry Potter.
Downside of the day: ticks crawling all over us. *shudder* (I got tick meds for Farrah before we left. Wish there was a pill for humans, too.)
We're so happy to be here.
What We're Reading Etc.
Margo: Exile Music by Jennifer Steil
L&G: Nothing! They're too busy playing to sit down and read
Andrew: The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (I know! Shocker!! I read and loved this)
Podcast for dog-walking: Nothing! Every day is a day-long dog walk--Farrah spends her days outside. We all do.
Show: None! There's no TV here!
You know what else is freeing? Driving here in 4 hours and 15 minutes. It usually takes us at least 5.5 hours. There was no traffic whatsoever, and we didn't stop except for a quick fill-up at a gas station (none of us got out but Andrew, and he didn't touch anything except with a Chlorox wipe). It was crazy. We got here so fast. We used to make comparably good time ten years ago, during the month we spent living in a corporate apartment in the Trump Place on Riverside Drive, when we relocated from CA to NYC and had to find a place to live.
We arrived mid-afternoon on Saturday and unloaded the very full car. We brought coolers and bags of food, with the idea that we won't have to go to the grocery store. Of course there were the usual first-time-at-the-house challenges. For example, Andrew had forgotten a house key. He easily broke in by...lifting up an unlocked screen, then remembered the house key is on his key ring, where he'd put it to make sure he wouldn't forget it. Ha! Ha! Ha! Then we found the heat wouldn't work, even though we'd had the oil tank filled this week. The nights here are cold still, so Andrew had to get a plumber out right away. The upstairs rooms had wasps flying around, and ladybugs crawling all over the walls--nothing new, but something that had to be dealt with.
Other than that--we sank right back into our glorious rural life. Lucia blew up a raft and floated around the dock. Greta fished with a net off the side of the dock, and caught a fish (to immediately let go). Farrah explored everything, sniffing everywhere. Andrew and I stood far away from each other in the yard and had her practice her "Farrah! Here!" recall, offering Beggin' Strips as rewards. She's doing a great job.
Dinner was hot dogs on the grill and a box of Zatarins yellow rice. Then s'mores over the fire pit.
The Fun New Thing last night was that Farrah refused to get into her crate to sleep. She's been sleeping in a crate by our bed every single night we've had her. Though we've been tempted to let her sleep with us, we've never caved, and she really loves her crate at home--in the mornings, sometimes she just lazes around in there even after we've opened the door. But last night, she just wouldn't go in. Andrew physically couldn't get her into the crate. So she slept with us, lying at her full length right between us. It was extremely cute. But it was still a pretty sleepless night, because she kept itching and moving around; and Lucia had a nightmare about bugs on her walls; and Greta came in because she heard a wasp; and both of us woke up when ladybugs landed on our faces. Country life!
Today, Sunday, was a perfect New Hampshire day. Gorgeous weather. Sun and more sun. We had pancakes for breakfast then headed to the creek and stayed there till after 2pm. The girls brought Lego figures and boats and floated them down the creek, over rocks and rapids. Farrah waded in the creek and explored off-leash. We keep the leash attached to her, because if she did run off we'd never catch her otherwise, but even when we weren't holding onto the leash, she was uninterested in leaving our sides. She's such a good puppy.
There's nothing more relaxing than sitting by the side of the creek, watching the kids play rapturously in a magical place.
There's a large metal tunnel through which the creek travels under the road, and today L&G wanted to explore on the other side of it. Turns out it's a swimming hole. It was freezing cold, but they waded in (and Greta fell in, to her delight). By this point Farrah was lying down in the weeds, desperate for a nap.
After lunch, we hiked in the fields and in the way-back woods. I actually don't really like this part of the property. It's extremely remote--across a large field, through some woods, across another large, brambly field, and into even deeper woods. I get a very uneasy feeling. Unlike the rest of our favorite spots, there's some bad energy back there. Also there are coyotes barking/yowling in the too-close distance. No, I don't like hiking in those woods. But the kids and Andrew like going there because it's a kind of old dumping ground, and there are always interesting things to unearth. Today they found two horseshoes, a metal seat of some kind, and a weird metal wheel--Andrew plans to google it and figure out what it is.
Later in the day the girls went down to the dock to catch fish and salamanders with their nets; Andrew chopped some wood (his favorite NH activity); and I read a book in the yard. Glorious. Dinner was steaks on the grill, and baked zucchini, and s'mores again. Then L&G did their favorite thing--put the ends of long sticks in the fire to make burning wands and then act out scenes from Harry Potter.
Downside of the day: ticks crawling all over us. *shudder* (I got tick meds for Farrah before we left. Wish there was a pill for humans, too.)
We're so happy to be here.
What We're Reading Etc.
Margo: Exile Music by Jennifer Steil
L&G: Nothing! They're too busy playing to sit down and read
Andrew: The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (I know! Shocker!! I read and loved this)
Podcast for dog-walking: Nothing! Every day is a day-long dog walk--Farrah spends her days outside. We all do.
Show: None! There's no TV here!
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