Enter Wildlife

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 matter? Even he had to admit it was huge and slightly hairy. Shudder. I see the wildlife portion of our stay has begun.

Oh, and our first night here, Andrew ran upstairs in a panic, waking me up, because there had been a huge crash in the basement. When he went to investigate (?!?!), he found that a large metal beam had dislodged itself and crashed to the packed-dirt floor. A beam that might very well have been holding up the house for 200 years. We waited quietly in the dark to see if the house was going to collapse, but apparently it's not going to. For now. 

Nutmeg has not caused any more trouble. She is eating normally and scampering around as usual. However, since the girls sleep on freestanding beds here (i.e., not pushed against a wall), there has been a lot of fear and anguish over the possibility that one of their beloved stuffed animals/dolls will fall out of bed during the night and get chewed up by Nutmeg. (This happened to Greta's Long Cat back home.) Pause for a moment to imagine the scene of Lucia waking up one morning to discover that Nutmeg had chewed up Carmel Judy, and you'll understand why I lost a night of sleep over this upon arrival. I've now made both girls burrito their animals/dolls in blankets, tied up with yarn, before bed. If the bundle falls out of bed, Nutmeg will have to do a LOT of determined chewing to do any damage. 

What We're Reading:

Margo: Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

Andrew: a history of Cornish with a faded, tattered cover

Greta: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Lucia: Admission by Julie Buxbaum