Skipping Town

Since I last posted, I've been to Pittsburgh and back. I left on Wednesday morning, taking the Dartmouth Coach to Boston Logan for my flight. My interview was scheduled for Thursday afternoon. But the best laid plans etc etc. The terrible weather and storms brought chaos to air travel on Wednesday, and my flight ended up being delayed for five hours as the weather systems moved and changed. All flights were grounded across the Northeast. We boarded, waited, deplaned, waited, boarded, waited. It was dreadful. And so stressful, since I knew there was no option but to get to Pittsburgh that night. Another passenger felt the same, and we decided we'd drive together if the flight was cancelled. But it wasn't! It did, miraculously, take off. I didn't get home till after midnight, but I did get home. And I got some sleep and did the interview Thursday afternoon. Then I had dinner with Mom and Dad, went to bed early, and got up at 4:00am for my flight back to NH. Which is where...

We survived our day of chaos with power and internet intact. I did my China calls and editing, Andrew did his interviews, I got my hair cut. It rained all day. The girls, again, read all day. It's a reminder that even though today was chaos, the girls have tapped into the NH stillness and are fully enjoying their days. Andrew grilled some delicious chicken tonight, and I made potato salad. Our Bourbon Smashes were most welcome. Wildlife report: A couple of ticks on Andrew.  What We're Reading: Margo: The Lost Wife by Susanna Moore Andrew: The Wager by David Grann Lucia: Divergent by Veronica Roth Greta: The Wizard Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

It's the third rainy day in a row, the rainiest day so far. So rainy, in fact, that late this afternoon we lost power, which means we also lost internet. The prospect of a very very dark night was upsetting enough. But worse? Andrew has FOUR INTERVIEWS tomorrow, on Zoom. And I have an essay to edit plus two Zoom calls with China-based students for essay coaching. None of this is possible without internet! It's barely possible WITH internet! As I madly crocheted a set of spaghetti and meatballs to keep from panicking, we strategized. The power company's website assured us power would be restored by 5pm. If it wasn't restored, we knew we'd have to find a dog-friendly hotel in a nearby town and do all of our business from there tomorrow. Nutmeg, of course, would have to stay home in the dark.  Greta--not a crier--instantly began crying, refusing to leave Nutmeg. What if there was a mouse, what if there was a wasp in the room, what if the house catches fire, there are n...

Another restful day. We all read a lot, I made a coffee cup amigurumi, and Andrew got out the chainsaw again. The girls and I made some beaded friendship bracelets. We sat around the fire pit after dinner, then had a round of our favorite NH game, "Mole or Tick?" during the evening's tick checks. Lots of small ticks have plagued us all. No wildlife to report today, the benefit of a day spent mostly inside. I am still unable to walk. This morning I felt better, but my injury worsened throughout the day, and by tonight I was crawling around the girls' room, trying to clean up after Nutmeg. I need to just...not move tomorrow.

You never know when it will happen...and today was the day: our annual trip-ending event! Rather, our annual event that, if not resolved swiftly, would be a trip ender. This year's event was, as usual, a plumbing emergency. Also as usual, it was on a weekend. There is only one plumber serving this area. Andrew called and left a message. An hour or so went by. I perused hotel options. Lo and behold, the plumber did call Andrew back and came over around 6pm. Every couple of years, roots (or something?) grow into the piping of the septic system, creating a blockage. With a lot of loud grinding and shrieking of metal, the plumber cleared the blockage. Not a trip-ender after all. Not this time. It rained all day. We were kind of glad for the break in our active, active week of running, tennis, rafting, and more running. I, for one, am uncharactistically in pain--I've pulled some kind of muscle. I am not usually this active. I mean, I'm an active person, but INTELLECTUALLY--readi...

We had a relaxing morning, and after lunch we all went out to read in our hammocks. This, too, was relaxing, until Lucia spotted a porcupine high in the tree RIGHT ABOVE OUR HAMMOCKS. It was nestled between two branches, and didn't seem inclined to come down and spear us with quills, so we stayed where we were. The porcupine stayed up there most of the day.  There's a bird's nest in the bushes right next to the front door, and today we peered in and saw two teeny-tiny baby birds! So cute. 10/10 wildlife, no notes.  Andrew had two interviews this afternoon, so I took the girls to Books-A-Million and a new stop for us: a comic book store next to the bookstore, with a giant selection of Funko Pop figurines. Lucia picked out a Moana and Greta chose a Wednesday Addams. They have their eyes on several more. Perhaps a new collection will be part of our NH stay this year. Of course they found a lot of things at Books-A-Million, but narrowed down to one (Greta) and a buy-two-get-one...

We did it! We went on our annual river rafting trip today. Even though we've been doing this for many years, it still feels like a real accomplishment to make it happen. We'd booked the trip when we first arrived, but it turned out we were the only group going out this afternoon. It was a perfect day, warm and sunny. The water had a little current, but we had to do a lot of paddling too. We stopped at our favorite rocky outcropping to explore and swim, and we were able to paddle around Hart Island, which we hadn't been able to do the past two years. It was a great day. We'd booked a table at the Harpoon Brewery for dinner and had a lovely meal to finish off the afternoon. The girls dissolved into hysterics as the afternoon progressed as Greta insisted on changing her preferred names for us--"Mother" and "Father"--to the nonsensical "Mum" and "Pum." They thought this was the most hilarious thing in the entire world, and finally we ...

Wildlife report: This morning Andrew told me that he woke up at 3:00 a.m. to the sound of either coyotes or fisher cats, so close he thought they might be circling the house. I don't know how I didn't wake up. Obviously this is terrifying. This morning, we set up a Zoom area for us to do some interviews today and in the coming days. As I prepared for an interview, I caught a glimpse of motion out the window, in the back of the house, and when I peered closer I saw a porcupine. It was ambling slowly in the grass, nibbling on things. We all watched it for a while from the window. Eventually it turned the corner around the side of the house, where I was able to see it from about four feet away, and then it went into the high grass by the road and disappeared. Anyway. I had an interview, and then we had lunch and drove to some tennis courts in the nearby town and played tennis for an hour. Like we're a sporty family!  We spent time by the pond after that. Andrew took a swim the...

We (Andrew) put up the rope across the pond today, a final step in getting settled for the next couple of weeks. The girls use the rope to pull the floating dock across the pond, Moana-like, usually singing the song from Moana where the villagers are sailing. Of course, faced with the large coil of water-ravaged rope we'd stored in a trash bag since last year, we had no recollection of how we'd set it up before--which end went to which tree, did it somehow connect to the dock, etc. I scoured my pictures from last year, but there was no useful info. We did ultimately figure it out, and I took a bunch of specific pictures of the setup, for next year's sake. Today in wildlife: The girls saw a small turtle in the pond. Andrew had a couple of ticks on his legs. We also went to Walmart today for some provisions, and the exotic pet store for Nutmeg's hay. We sat around the fire at night, but it was too windy to stay out for long.  Farrah is uneasy here. When we're outside,...

A leisurely NH day. I edited in the morning, the girls slept late, Andrew had a consulting call. We set up the hammocks in the woods and read for a while. I tried to teach the kids amigurumi (limited success; I'm not giving up). Andrew and I sat by the pond while the girls played on their inflatables and the dock, screaming if they actually touched the water because, you know, the crowds of snappers we're certain are living there. We all went on a twenty-minute run. Tonight, Andrew made a breakfast casserole for dinner and then we sat around the fire pit. Farrah was so exhausted she draped herself in my arms. Later tonight, as I brushed my teeth, I spotted a wolf spider under the radiator in the bathroom. I hurried downstairs, advised Andrew to find a large shoe or, better, a brick, and finished brushing my teeth in the kitchen while Andrew took care of the wolf spider upstairs. He accused me of making up the name "wolf spider," and maybe I did make it up, but does it...

Summer actually began on June 8, which was the kids' last day of school, but I haven't gotten around to starting my summer posts until today. So be it. We're in NH: we arrived yesterday, after an eleven-hour drive, mostly in the rain. It was exhausting, but fine, and we are now settling in. We spent today getting groceries, making bracelets, hanging out by the pond, and sitting around the firepit.  Nutmeg spiced things up last night by escaping her room (of course) and refusing to come out from under our bed, and when she did come out Greta somehow managed to scoop her up and carry her back to her room--unheard of. Usually when we try to pick up Nutmeg she shape-shifts into an armful of water, impossible to hold. There's a lot going on, and this stint in NH involves some new elements like zoom interviews and flights back to Pittsburgh for in-person interviews, but such is our life at this uncertain and unpredictable time. We made it here, which was at times in question,...