Skipping Town

Saturday was so hot. Just absolutely blazing. It poured in the morning, and we thought that would cool things off, but somehow it just intensified the heat. Andrew claims he enjoys the heat, but the girls and I could barely move. Could barely think or function. It was stifling in the house; I worried for the pets. The kids swam in the pond a lot, doing a lot of filming of themselves jumping off the dock into the water, and got some terrifying up-close photos of the turtle. Later in the afternoon, we went for a swim in our cousin's pool--I felt like this swim actually saved my life.  It was hard to do anything in heat like that, but unfortunately we had to do ALL the things, since it was our last day and we had to unwind ourselves from the house: take down the hammocks, take down the swing, deflate all the inflatables, take down the rope across the pond, put all the yard furniture into the barn, wash all the sheets and towels, pack, clean, clean out the fridge, make lunches for the ...

It was a muggy, hot, buggy day today. We all got up early for a run, and it was almost impossible to move in all that humidity. Clouds of bugs surrounded us. It was not pleasant. We'd planned to do our Mt. Ascutney hike, but couldn't imagine doing it in this weather, so we changed our plan. Instead, after Lucia and Andrew did some geometry, we drove out to the recycling center to drop off our recycling, then made a final stop at Books-A-Million. We had lunch at Panera. Back home, Greta did some video-ing for her own book trailer, doing something she's been eagerly anticipating since yesterday: jumping into the pond fully clothed. That was the first thing she said to me this morning when she woke up: "Today I'm going to jump in the pond fully clothed." She actually did this twice throughout the day, in different outfits, all in service to various book trailers she's making. She also found another dress in a closet here and did some filming in that too. Note...

Happy Fourth! Kind of ironic that today is meant to celebrate the independence of our country from a monarchy, etc etc etc etc, but onward! The day started off with a sighting of two big parent-turkeys in our yard, along with EIGHT turkey babies. They were so cute, hopping and trying to fly. A wildlife win. We went into Plainfield this morning for the annual festivities. Alas, there were no haunted dolls for sale this year, which was disappointing. However, at the rummage sale Lucia found a quiver of old arrows for $3, and there was a big metal box of old watches for $1 (Greta bought five, Lucia one); and across the street the girls found some great gnarled wooden walking sticks at an antiques store, where the owner chatted amiably with shoppers while a "side arm" hung brazenly at his side. (Never know when you'll need that!) So they definitely came away with some fun things. The parade is always fun to watch, though the girls are now clearly teenagers so hardly anyone th...

I had to work half a day today. Greta read and Lucia worked on geometry. After lunch, we read in hammocks, my favorite activity, then went to pick up some groceries. Andrew then went on his annual long run (6.5 miles) while the girls and I went to the pond. The turtle made an immediate appearance, and then just kept appearing. The girls stayed mostly on the dock but did venture off to float around on inflatables, occasionally falling off into the turtle-infested water. At one point, when they were both on the dock, the turtle sidled right up next to them--and they both REACHED INTO THE WATER TO TOUCH ITS SHELL, like they were at the touch-tank at a children's zoo. Meanwhile, just moments prior, they'd watched the turtle snap out and devour a tadpole. "My feet were in the water when it did that!" Greta said excitedly. Wow. Anyway, they said touching the turtle felt like "touching a rock." The turtle did not seem to be aware of what was happening.  The girls a...

No work for me again today, another day of "PTO" as they say (paid time off). Lucia and Andrew worked on geometry this morning until Andrew had to get to some meetings. The girls and I gathered in our hammocks to read, but we quickly realized that none of us had *exactly* what we wanted to be reading today; so we headed to Books-A-Million to make our perfect selections. We also went to the comics store next door, where the girls each bought a new Funko Pop for their collections (Lucia got Elsa; Greta got Pocahontas). After coming home and having lunch, we spent the next couple of hours--two? three?--in our hammocks, silent, reading. A perfect afternoon. Then the girls met with their math tutors online, I made dinner, and we ate dinner outside. A nice, quiet, bookish day. Last night, long after I wrote my post, Andrew convinced us to go outside to look at the stars since the sky was very clear. The girls and Andrew lay on a blanket for a while in the front yard; I stayed close...

Five years ago, a tiny baby doodle was born at Creampuff Farm, a doodle that would, eight weeks later, become our Farrah. Happy 5th birthday to the sweetest doodle in the world!  To celebrate, we all piled in the car to get ice cream at our favorite spot, because they have Pup Cups--ice cream topped with a strip of bacon. We were horrified to discover that they are closed all week for vacation. Instead, we bought ice cream and bacon at the grocery store and made Farrah a Pup Cup at home. We gave her two new frisbee-like toys, her favorite thing to chase around the yard here. Can't believe we've had her for five years. Can't imagine life without her. Greta and I got up early and went running. She did 2.5 miles while I wheezed through my run/walk. However, to be fair to myself, my training program now has me running for 5 minutes at a time--as a non-runner, being able to run for five minutes straight without keeling over or injuring myself is an accomplishment. Every morning ...

The sun was out and it was a beautiful day. Sadly, geometry for Lucia (and Andrew) had to carry on regardless. While they toiled, Greta and I read in hammocks and then played gin and Chinese checkers. After lunch, we went to the creek--both sides, the regular creek side and the other side with the lagoon. Farrah seemed to enjoy herself, bounding from rock to rock, wading in up to her belly, drinking copiously from the creek. A huge tree had cracked in half on the creek side; a stand of thin trees had fallen across the creek--perhaps recently--on the lagoon side. I spotted a small brown tree frog in the leaves. We were all overheated after walking back from the creek, and changed into swimsuits for the pond. I decided it was time for me to float around the pond on one of the boat-inflatables--something I enjoy every year. Andrew was back at the house, so it was just me and the girls. I swanned in gracefully, pushing off from shore, then flipped onto my back to float. Glorious. It felt c...

We had a plan for the day--strawberry picking--that got derailed when it rained all day. It rained almost the entire day, with blustery wind, and was very chilly. It felt like it did when we used to come up here in the fall. So, an inside day. We did go out to West Lebanon to get some groceries and pop into Books-A-Million (Greta got three books, Lucia got two), and then stayed home the rest of the day reading. Glorious. Lucia also did geometry, and Greta and I played gin and Chinese checkers. Then the girls and I played two rounds of Rummikub. Tonight we had our annual Fried Dinner (chicken tenders, eggplant, zucchini, onion rings), a family favorite. It is, however, the absolute messiest dinner we could have up here, and I'm not sure why this became a NH tradition instead of a tradition in a place with a normal kitchen. Moot point, by now. It was delicious as always. After dinner, all four of us played two rounds of Rummikub.  A rainy but pretty idyllic NH day nonetheless. What W...

River rafting day! It always feels like a triumph to make this outing happen. It was a lot cooler today than we'd anticipated, but we had a wonderful float. The water was moving fast, so we didn't have to do too much arduous paddling, and we were able to stop for a long time at our favorite rocky outcropping. We collected rocks, waded around in the river, skipped rocks (Andrew), and swam/floated (Greta and me). The water was cold, but the setting is so pretty, and we were the only people for miles around, and I just had to get in.  We navigated around Hart Island, which isn't always possible, and stopped there for a bit too. Then it was time to pull the raft out of the water at the stopping point. We spent a little time there wading around and exploring, and then we pulled the raft to the collection poing and walked through the Path of Life sculpture garden back to the outfitter.  As is our tradition, we changed clothes and ate dinner at Harpoon Brewery. Always a welcome en...

Last official day of work for a few days!  Lucia did a bunch of geometry first thing in the morning with Andrew, and then she and Greta went to the pond for a long time. The snapper did not make an appearance. My workday was very busy, but when it was done I read in hammocks with the girls for a long time, and Andrew even took a break to come out too. My very favorite New Hampshire activity. The girls spent a while today exploring artifacts from an old bureau in the upstairs hallway. A medal from a Harvard regatta was one fun discovery, as well as a photo of a woman sitting outside with a rabbit snuggled up next to her and a turtle on her lap. Who is it? Is the turtle the ancestor of the snapper? What other buns were part of Andrew's family history??  While Lucia finished up her geometry later in the afternoon, Greta and I played Chinese checkers (I won three times) and gin (Greta won three times). We went out to our favorite ice cream spot before dinner for the summer's first...

Another sunny, beautiful day. Greta and I got up very early to go for a run (Greta kept passing me on the road as she did 2.5 miles), and then I had to work. Lucia and Andrew worked on geometry, and then Andrew had to work as well. I took a break to read in hammocks with the girls, and then to go to Rite Aid to get some allergy meds for Lucia. (Her allergies have been insane here, untouched by Claritin. I got her some Allegra and allergy eye drops, which helped.) Later in the afternoon, while Andrew finished his workday, the girls and I went to West Lebanon so I could pick up our Amazon-ordered drone from the UPS store (our locak pickup spot). Andrew had the idea to bring one up here, and I think it's going to be really fun if it actually works. The girls demanded to go to Books-A-Million again while we were there, and each bought a couple of books.  We went to the pond after that, and the snapping turtle made its first appearance of the summer! The girls were on the floating dock ...

The rain is gone and it was a beautiful day. Unfortunately, I had to work; I took a lot of days off to be here, but I have to work a few days too. I had to put on makeup and do a bunch of zoom meetings. It felt very strange and wrong not to be doing regular NH things all day. Andrew and Lucia worked on geometry, Greta read a lot, and the girls went to the pond. I joined them to read in hammocks in the afternoon. They had an online math tutoring appointment at 4, then we went up to our cousins' house for a drink (me and Andrew) and a swim in the pool (the girls). Andrew grilled burgers and zucchini for dinner. The girls read while he cooked; they're tearing through their books from Books-A-Million. It was a late dinner, and by the time we made a fire in the fire pit, it was pitch black outside and all kinds of WILDLIFE began to emerge. Well, we didn't actually see anything emerge, but we began hearing significant rustlings in the woods, barn, and pond, so we went inside. I l...

Another rainy day, but full of NH fun. While Lucia worked on geometry this morning, Greta and I made bracelets, read, and played gin and Chinese checkers. After lunch, the girls went to the pond even though the temperature was in the high 60s. They have an elaborate setup with all the inflatables, with lots of screaming whenever one of them slips off an inflatable into the open pond water. No sign of the snapper/s yet this summer, but it's still early in our trip. It began raining when we were at the pond, and Farrah and I returned to the house. It wasn't thundering or lightening, so the girls stayed in the pond--even when it began pouring. Andrew and I stood at the kitchen door and could see them dancing around on the floating dock, scream-laughing and occasionally covering their heads with inflatable rafts. They were having a grand time. Because it was so cool and rainy today, we decided to run our errands today instead of later in the week, when the weather is supposed to be...