Doing Almost Nothing

We’ve had a wonderful holiday season in the Ellett household despite worries about money. We have not, however, done very much. We followed all our Chanukah and Christmas traditions and enjoyed all of our family rituals but we haven’t been inclined to do much else since but relax at home. Maura had a few play dates with her cousins and friends but I have hardly left the house since I did the holiday food shopping last week. I didn’t even drive Maura to her skating lesson on Monday. Her mother is on vacation this week and she took her.

Our one family excursion out of the house was to go to see a movie, one last Christmas tradition I didn’t mention last week. Sometimes we go on Christmas Day but this year we waited until Tuesday afternoon, two days after. We try to find a movie that the whole family can enjoy, but of course it must be a movie that is appropriate for Maura. We let her pick the movie but the adults in the family get a veto over anything that doesn’t appeal to us. Most often we see an animated movie because we all enjoy them. Most years we see a Disney feature but there wasn’t a new one this year.

This year the movie Maura chose  was Tin Tin which we saw at the Cameo Theatre in Columbian Square, Weymouth. It was a good choice; we all enjoyed it. It had plenty of action and humor. The plot was not a surprise to anyone familiar with the Tin Tin comics but nevertheless satisfying. Maura wants to read some of the comics now. I’m proud of her.

After the movie we went out to dinner. We had a little money set aside to have fun over the vacation, we were hungry and it was late. We went to one of our local favorite restaurants, Sweet Lemons, our local gem of a Thai restaurant. We weren’t disappointed. We’ve been going there for years and the food and service have been consistently good.

I’ve really enjoyed a few days of doing almost nothing but I am finally starting to get a little bit of cabin fever. It’s nice out today for almost January. I think it’s time to go out for a walk.

Holiday Traditions

In our interfaith family the holiday season is very busy. Chanukah has started and Christmas is coming soon. We celebrate both holidays with or own traditions—some drawn from our families and others unique to us. Our holidays would not be complete if we skipped any of them.

Chanukah comes first, of course. The first day of Chanukah is my deadline for holiday shopping—I always try to get all of it done before the first night of Chanukah, no matter how early it falls. I feel lucky when Chanukah is early. I might have my shopping done by Thanksgiving and not have to worry about it during December. There always has to be eight presents for everybody for Chanukah so everyone can open one each night after we light the candles on the menorah. Most of them are small and practical, especially in these financially stressful times, but appreciated nonetheless. Even practical things can be fun.

Our Chanukah food is potato latkes. At other times of the year we bake latkes and they come out of the oven crisp and tasty enough to satisfy everyone but the Chanukah latkes have to be fried and they are the best. We always have them for dinner one night during Chanukah. We make a big pile and eat nothing but latkes  accompanied by plenty of sour cream and applesauce. I look forward to it all year.

Our Christmas celebration is just as important for the family and it also goes on for days, though not for eight of them. Sometime before Christmas we decorate the house. We don’t have room for a big tree but we set up a small table tree that Maura decorates with enough ornaments that it’s hard to see the green beneath them. I string lights around the living room to give the house a festive air and our gifts are piled on the piano and on the floor under the piano bench.  Most of them come from my parents.

The Christmas celebration starts on Christmas Eve. It starts with supper, always soup or chili. For me the most significant part of it is the evening service at my church with Christmas carols and candles. It always fills me with peace and joy no matter what emotions the season has brought to me before then. Since I worked in retail through the last ten Christmases I have been in dire need of both most years. When I get home we read “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” and Maura gets to open one gift before she goes to bed, my family tradition from my childhood. We let her pick one, but we won’t let her open the best one. She also makes up the plate of cookies for Santa, complete with a carrot for the reindeer.

In the morning Maura wakes to find her stocking filled with small gifts and one more present added to the pile from Santa Clause. If she is up before her parents she gets to explore her stocking, also a tradition from my family. When we were young my sister and I would be up by 6:00 am on Christmas but my parents wanted to sleep in. We could wait to open our gifts because we had small surprises small surprises to keep us occupied. It works with Maura, too. Once we are all up we enjoy our Christmas breakfast of Christmas cookies, clementines and eggnog lattes while we open our presents. It’s always fun to watch Maura open hers while the cat's chase each other through the piles of discarded wrapping paper.

Later we get to the best part of the day, dinner. Our Christmas dinner is always duck. We don’t eat duck any other time of the year but we all look forward to the Christmas feast and won't eat anything else unless we are having guests in which case we cook a goose. We always have shrimp as an appetizer but the rest of our meal is different each year. It is always carefully planned and lovingly prepared. We always finish with a decadent desert. We’ve never made the same dinner twice but it’s always a feast to be anticipated and afterwards remembered, my favorite meal of the entire year.

Fairs and Strolls

Last weekend my parents came for their annual holiday visit. It was a short one this year. They arrived from Indiana on Thursday and left again on Monday morning. We thought about doing lots of things while they were here but in the end we spent most of our time at home. We dined in local restaurants and did a little shopping but never went far. Our big events for the weekend were on Saturday and early on Sunday. On Saturday morning Maura’s school had its annual holiday fair and in the evening we went to the Holiday Stroll and Tree Lighting in Columbian Square, South Weymouth. On Sunday we attended a craft fair.

Maura was excited about her school holiday fair. She volunteered, helping with games for the younger kids, but she wasn’t needed for long. There were plenty of volunteers. She was happy that her grandparents could come and see her school. I don’t recall that they had ever seen the inside of it before. I admit that I begged off spending much time the school fair. I got a badly needed haircut while Maura was volunteering and only showed up for a short while. Maura didn’t seem to mind very much that I wasn’t there the whole time.

I was along for the trip to the Columbian Square Holiday Stroll but I wouldn’t have been upset to be left behind. It was cold and crowded and there was not much happening to excite me. Maura had a great time, though. She took part in the scavenger hunt that encouraged us to visit many of the businesses in Columbian square. I did a little shopping along the way but unfortunately my current financial troubles (I’m still unemployed) take what little joy I might otherwise find in that away. By the time we had completed most of the circuit, and Maura had claimed her prize, I was entirely out of holiday spirit. I’ve been stressed lately and I only hope I didn’t ruin everyone else’s night. I did manage to cheer up at dinner. Two bottles of Dos Equis beer and an excellent Mexican meal at El Serape in the Braintree part of Weymouth Landing were very good for my mood.

On Sunday we went to a craft fair at Congregation Sha-aray Shalom in Hingham, where Jennifer and Maura attend services. It was quite a large craft fair with about two dozen exhibitors. Most of them had beautiful things. I would have done some holiday shopping but the things I would most like to have purchased were too expensive for this year’s budget. We did pick up a few small things for Maura. Her grandmother bought her a bracelet of beads that turn from white to bright colors in the sunlight. She’s worn it to school every day since.

Maura Skates Again—the Icicle Invitational

On Saturday, December 3^rd, Maura skated in the Icicle Invitational at Navin Arena in Marlboro, Massachusetts. It was her second competition and the first one she has skated in away from her home rink in Rockland. Maura did very well and had a great time.

We got up early and left the house before sunrise. We wanted to get the rink by 7:00 am because we were told that we should check in an hour before Maura was due on the ice and she was entered in the very first event of the day, Pre-Alpha Stroking, at 8:00. It’s about an hour’s drive from our house in Weymouth to Marlboro. We allowed extra time in case we got lost. We didn’t so we were at the rink by 6:30. We ended up waiting in the lobby for an hour before we could register.

Once we were registered everything seemed to go smoothly. Jennifer got Maura ready without any trouble despite having to share the locker rooms with the hockey players who were finishing up their games. Maura skated in two events, Pre-Alpha Stroking and the Pre-Alpha Individual competition she did in October. She skated very well in both her events, at least to my untrained eye. She even managed to do a good job keeping her arms up, which is one of her biggest problems. When she got off the ice after her individual program Maura had a big smile on her face. She knew she had done well.

Maura took first in both of her events. It was not a big surprise. She was the only skater in her age group at her level so she wasn’t competing against anyone. Nevertheless, Maura was pleased with her two gold medals and proudly wore them for a photograph on the podium. If she keeps skating Maura will likely get more of them, and not always because she is the only skater in her group.

This might have been Maura’s last Pre-Alpha competition. Maura’s coach, Jenny, was happy with her performance. On Monday, at Maura’s lesson, Jenny said that if she works hard over the next few weeks Maura can take her next test and move up to the Alpha level before she competes again in February. Now that the local public rink is open again for the season and Maura has more chances to get on the ice I expect Maura will improve more rapidly than she did in the fall because of the extra practice. Her mother and I will encourage her to keep working hard off the ice but she doesn’t need much encouragement when she has the chance to skate, just a ride to the rink.

Thanks Giving

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. Ours here in the Ellett household was low key but enjoyable. Perhaps the fact that we didn’t go to extremes made the holiday better. It certainly gave all of us more time and space for reflection.

Our Thanksgiving celebration began on Wednesday night with attendance at the Hingham/Hull Interfaith Thanksgiving Service at the Old Ship Church. A unique 17^th century survival, Old Ship began as Hingham’s Puritan meeting house. It's wooden architecture is unique and beautiful in a simple and understated way. It is worth a visit though it is not always open to casual visitors. Maura and Jennifer have attended the Interfaith Thanksgiving Service before but I was happy to finally be able to join them this year. I needed the reminder of how much I have to be thankful for.

On the day itself we feasted at home. Jennifer made the traditional turkey with untraditional side dishes. Stuffed pumpkins have appeared on our Thanksgiving table two years in a row and are well on their way to becoming a family tradition. We had a small gathering. It was just the three of us and our friends the Tittlers, who are as close as family. Thanksgiving dinner at home without a crowd of near strangers was very relaxing. There was plenty of opportunity to talk and many chances to reflect on the meaning of the day, though we did not stop to do so formally.

When I do pause to reflect, whether on Thanksgiving or on any other day, I find that I have many things to be thankful for. I have the love and affection of my family and friends, and the encouragement and inspiration that they give me. I have the opportunity to love and encourage them in return. I have the freedom to think and believe for myself and the right to express my thoughts if I choose. I have material things to more than meet my needs—I have no fear of being hungry, naked or cold. When I think about the people who don’t have what I do—a loving family, a roof over my head, enough food to eat—I am thankful for one other thing, that I have the ability to help others.  When I do what I can to help other people it is an expression of gratitude, both to the God I sincerely believe in and to the people who have helped me.

This year the group of friends that we spend our Sunday evenings with has decided not to exchange holiday gifts. We’ll be gathering together to help others instead. We’ll take the money we would have spent on gifts to each other and make a group donation to the Greater Boston Food Bank. It may become a new tradition.

Veterans’ Day Trip to Boston

On Veterans’ Day Maura had the day off from school and Jennifer took a day off from work so we made a trip into Boston for the day. Our destination in the city was the West End Museum a small museum dedicated to documenting the old West End neighborhood of Boston and preserving its heritage. I had wanted to go for several months, ever since I had noticed the sign for it on a previous trip into the city. I thought it would be good for Maura to learn about the West End. We haven’t been able to determine for certain but it’s quite possible some of her ancestors might have lived there before moving to less central parts of Boston.

The West End Museum is small but fascinating. It gives a glance into memories lovingly preserved of a place where people were happy to live. It was once a multi-ethnic immigrant neighborhood where people from many places got their start in America. The museum also holds up an example of bad government—the urban renewal projects of the 1950s that destroyed the neighborhood and displaced its residents. The result might have been higher property values but not a more vibrant city. At least lessons have been learned. Redevelopment in Boston no longer includes the demolition of entire neighborhoods.

Our trip to the museum was enhanced by our host, an older gentleman who lived in the West End in its last days and shared his memories of it with us. He gave us a personal guided tour of the museum. It isn’t often that we get such a personal glimpse of the past, even when the past is still within living memory. We gave what we could to the museum when we left—the museum does not charge for admission but it does accept donations. I wish we could have given more.

After our visit to the museum we spent some time in today’s Boston. We walked from the West End to Chinatown where we planned to have lunch. On the way we passed Boston’s Veteran’s Day parade. It was good to see the city honoring those who have served. The highlight of the parade was the Boston Police Gaelic Column, a pipe and drum band that plays on ceremonial occasions. It is one of Boston’s traditions and the sound seemed to bring us into the life of the city as it passed.

After the parade we made our way into Chinatown where we had lunch at Pho Pasteur. We enjoyed our spring rolls and pho, the Vietnamese soup that is the restaurant’s specialty. It was perfect for a chilly November day.

Concert at Sanctuary Hall

Last Saturday the Ellett family attended the Jake Armerding Trio concert at the East Weymouth Congregational Church where the sanctuary had temporarily become a music hall. We were fortunate to get tickets at half price by purchasing them last week at the church fair but we saw a great show that would have been worth every penny of the full fifteen dollar ticket price.

The Jake Armerding Trio consists of Jake Armerding on guitar, fiddle and vocals; father Taylor Armerding on mandolin and vocals; and brother Jesse Armerding on drums. They played an eclectic mix of folk, bluegrass, gospel and rock-and-roll with a hint of jazz thrown in. Most of the songs were originals with the exception of the encores. The final encore was a fantastic cover of Paul Simon’s “Graceland” that raised the roof. All the songs were played with honesty and feeling. The up-tempo tunes had a great deal of energy. It was clear that the musicians enjoyed playing as much as I enjoyed hearing them.

I’m sorry to say that Maura didn’t seem to enjoy the music quite as much as I did. She seemed half asleep during most of the performance. She did wake up during Jesse Armerding’s drum solos which held her spellbound. Once or twice during the show she started whining. I admit that I wasn’t paying enough attention to her to get what she was whining about. In Maura’s defense the show was late for her and she was tired. I don’t think she got quite enough sleep the night before. Perhaps the homebaked goodies she had during the intermission improved her mood. She didn't whine during the second half of the show. When we asked her if she enjoyed the show afterwards she said she did.

Several times during the performance Jake Armerding commented on the great sound in the East Weymouth Congregational Church sanctuary. Musicians enjoy playing there because it has wonderful acoustics and makes them sound their best. The sanctuary can hold about 300 people in the pews and there are no bad seats. If you live on the South Shore, or not too far away in other parts of the Boston Metropolitan Area I recommend you come and hear it for yourself. Jake Armerding was the first event in the Music at Sanctuary Hall series at the church. Information on upcoming events can be found at http://www.eweyucc.org/specialevents.html.

My Helper Maura

Last weekend was a stressful and busy weekend for me. My activities centered on my church, East Weymouth Congregational. Saturday was our annual Christmas fair. The fair features a craft tables, raffles, a silent auction, home baked goodies and a snack bar featuring my own famous chili. It’s my mom’s recipe and I’m going to teach Maura how to make it soon, passing it down to a third generation of the family. As a member of the Stewardship Committee I helped plan the fair and, barring serious injury or death, I had to be there. My job was selling raffle tickets.

Friday was set up day, though I’ll admit there was little to do. The heavy work had already been done on Thursday night and no one had let me know so I wasn’t there to help. There were a few little things that still needed doing. I helped label the raffle cans and collected the gift certificates we were offering as prizes to hold until the morning. I’d brought Maura along because it was Friday afternoon after school and I had no place else to leave her. She enthusiastically helped with the decoration, helping to stick paper gingerbread men and holly leaves about to give the hall a festive look. Maura did more work on Friday than I did.

I know I can always count on Maura to work hard at a task if she is enjoying it. Given a chance to help decorate or set up for a fun event she’ll pitch right in and work with a smile. It’s not always that easy to get her to help out at home or do chores that have less appeal. She’s long been responsible for putting away her things in her room and in her corner of the living room and recently we’ve given her a few more chores. It usually takes a few reminders and occasionally a threat to withhold her allowance before she’ll do them. I’ll admit we haven’t given her pleasant things to do. She empties the dishwasher, which must seem like busy work, and cleans out the cat boxes. No one enjoys doing that. She’ll avoid both jobs unless pressed.

I can’t blame Maura too much for shirking on her chores. I’m not very good at remembering to do some of mine either, and for the same reasons. The dish washer get loaded and run, unless I’m very busy, and I get dinner made most days (once and a while I leave it for Jennifer). It can be weeks before I get around to mowing the lawn; I don’t need much of an excuse to put it off. Maura, I’m afraid, takes after me.

Maura’s First Competition

Last Saturday Maura competed in her first ever ice skating competition. She skated in the Halloween Classic at the Rockland Ice Rink, where she takes her lessons. It was fun for her to compete first on home ice where she had been working on her program all summer and fall.

Maura and her mother had been busy getting ready during the week before the competition, getting the things she would need and making sure they were all in her skating bag and ready to go. My parents came for a quick visit so they could see Maura skate. They were in the stands with Jennifer and I watching. Family friend Rheannon Swire and her dad completed Maura’s cheering section. Rhe is an accomplished skater and one of Maura’s idols. Having her in the audience was almost as special to Maura as having her grandparents come to see her.

We got to the rink early to make sure Maura had plenty of time. It was good to watch the more advanced skaters who skated before Maura. We could see what Maura will be doing in a few years. Next time we won’t arrive so early. It is easy to forget how cold it is in the rink and we were all freezing by the time Maura was ready to skate, including Maura. She wasn’t nervous though, until right before she went on.

Maura didn’t win. In fact, she came in third in a field of three. Nevertheless she did very well for her first time out. She completed her program without falling and almost on time. She will skate in competition again and next time I expect she will do even better. She learned a bit about what the judges look for and she is inspired to work a little harder, on and off the ice, so she will improve. We’re planning to enter her in one competition a month during the winter, but the first one won’t be until January. She can use the extra time to get some practice.

After Maura skated her grandfather and I gave her a big bouquet of flowers. She had a big smile on her face as she waited for the scores to be posted. I hope she continues to enjoy skating competitions as much as she enjoyed her first one, even as she takes them more seriously. I’d like to see her win someday but the important thing is that she always does her best and makes the effort to get better. That is what the competition is really about.

Our Annual Nashoba Valley Pilgrimage

Last Sunday we made our annual trip to the Nashoba Valley Winery in Bolton, Massachusetts. Circumstances were less than ideal for the trip this year—Maura had Hebrew School until 1:00, Jennifer was not feeling well and the sky was cloudy and threatening rain—and I might have suggested we skip this year if the trip to one of Nashoba Valley’s fall festivals wasn’t a long standing tradition in our family. Maura has been to a Nashoba festival every year of her life and Jennifer and I have been making the trip annually for even longer than that. We were also expecting to meet friends there and we don’t like to disappoint.

I was in a bad mood by the time we arrived. I’m a nervous driver and it was rather a long trip. Traffic was horrible considering it was a Sunday afternoon. Fortunately for me and my family my mood quickly turned around once we had parked the car and located our friends. A snack and conversation started cheering me up and the attractions of the festival finished bringing me around.

The festival we’ve attended the last few years is the Brews and Bluegrass Festival. It features the products of Nashoba Valley’s brewery and the bluegrass music of Southern Rail. I always enjoy both and this year was no exception. The beer is always good and this year I particularly enjoyed the Blueberry Porter. Southern Rail consistently gives a great performance and I enjoy hearing them every year. Someday I might go see them at another venue. Unfortunately their closest performance this year is at a bad time for me and I won’t be able to make it. I may have to check online for their spring and summer schedules.

Maura, as usual, had a great time. Of course she doesn’t drink beer so we’ll have to attend twelve more festivals before she can enjoy a brew with her father but Nashoba offers food and activities for kids. Our family favorite is the caramel covered cider donuts which are very much worth standing in line for. Maura also enjoys the music and playing with her friends. They danced to the music and ran at high speed through the crowd. This last activity did not meet with parental approval and earned Maura a reprimand.

Since we arrived late we stayed until Southern Rail finished their final set and then explored some back roads on the way home to avoid the bumper-to-bumper traffic. Despite the cloudy weather it was a very pretty drive through the countryside. The fall foliage was nearing its peak and the trees were aflame with bright reds and yellows. Perhaps next year we will go that way again, and maybe it will be sunny.

Maura Goes to the Circus

Maura had a big adventure without me last Saturday. She went to see the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus at the TD Garden with her Aunt Andrea and her cousins. She came home with a big red plastic clown nose and a smile on her face. By her breathless account she had a wonderful time. She went on about the pirate acrobats building human towers by flipping people into the air with a seesaw, the animal act in which an elephant picked up a dog and put him gently down in the ring and the seven motorcyclists riding inside the spherical steel cage. I wish I could have been there to see the smile on her face and the wonder in her eyes, not to mention the “greatest show on earth.”

As Maura gets older I know I’m going to miss more of her special times. She’ll have more opportunities to do fun things without her father and she won’t always want me around even if I can be there. That’s the way things should be. As children grow up they are supposed to develop their own identities and separate from their parents. They grow, they learn, they develop. It’s a parent’s job to help them when they need help and get out of their way when they don’t.

Maura is doing a good job of becoming herself. I’m happy and proud when I see her succeeding without help from me or her mother and I’m glad she doesn’t need us all the time. I’m especially glad she doesn’t need our help to have fun. Maura’s growing independence tells me that her mother and I are doing our job as parents. I’m also happy that Maura does still need us, and not just to feed her, cloth her and get her to school. She still needs our approval, our advice and our company. She still wants to be read to and tucked in at night. She still needs to be reminded of her responsibilities and provided with consequences when she fails to fulfill them despite the reminders. She still enjoys having adventures with her father.

I enjoy having adventures with Maura, too. She is good company. She is intelligent, curious and good natured. I’m happy to spend time with her. So, to Maura I say, “I like the circus, too. Let’s go together sometime.”

Bogs and Beaches

Thanks to a teacher in-service day on Friday followed by Columbus Day weekend, Maura had four days off from school. We had considered going camping and the weather would have been perfect for it but Saturday was Yom Kippur, which meant that Jennifer and Maura were in services. On top of that Jennifer thought she might need to work Sunday or Monday so we decided not to plan a camping trip after all. We did get the chance to get out for a few nature hikes.

On Friday afternoon I took Maura to Ponkapoag Bog in the Blue Hills Reservation. We walked the boardwalk that crosses the bog to the edge of the open water of Ponkapoag Pond. We searched for signs of southern bog lemmings but didn’t see anything that we could be certain of. I’d hoped to find green droppings or piles of clipped sedges that indicate their presence. All we saw were narrow paths through the vegetation in the open parts of the bog that could be lemming runs. While we saw no clear signs of lemmings we did enjoy the walk and noted the succession of environments as we moved away from solid ground from thick woods dominated by maples and cedars through open meadows to a final verge of stunted cedars on the edge of the open water. We saw some beautiful red dragonflies and few birds flitting through the brush that I couldn’t see well enough to identify  but nothing else was moving in the bog. The weather was perfect but I suspect most of the wildlife had already moved on for the season.

On Sunday we made a family expedition to Plum Island, in Newbury, Massachusetts, on the shore north of Boston. The weather was unseasonably warm for October. The temperature reached the low 80s Fahrenheit, ideal weather for a day on the shore. There was heavy traffic on Interstate 95 around Boston so getting to Plum Island was a chore but we enjoyed our visit once we arrived. A wrong turn took us to the inhabited part of the island where we discovered that Plum Island Light was open for visitors. We ate our picnic lunch on the grounds of the lighthouse and then took the opportunity to climb to the top, stopping along the way to chat with the friendly Friends of Plum Island Light who staff it when it is open. The view from the top was spectacular and we learned how lighthouses work.

After the lighthouse side trip we finally found our destination on Plum Island, the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, which occupies the undeveloped part of the island except for the beach at the southern end which is a state park. We parked at the Hellcat Trail lot and walked both loops of the Hellcat Interpretive Trail where we learned about the National Wildlife Refuge and the barrier island environment of Plum Island. Both loops of the trail are on boardwalks to protect the environment and allow visitors to cross wetlands dry shod. A pamphlet available at the trailhead describes the trails and gives information on the wildlife and ecology. One loop winds through a man-made freshwater marsh which was constructed in the 1950s to improve habitat for migrating birds. We saw an egret, swans, and ducks in the open water and learned about invasive species in wetlands, including the common reed which still fills much of the marsh. On slightly dryer ground the trail wound past bayberry and through stands of red maple.

The other branch of the Hellcat trail climbed the large stabilized secondary dunes that make up the backbone of the barrier island. At the top an observation area looks out on the smaller, less stable primary dunes closer to the beach, with their spreading mats of false heather and beach grass holding them in place. Along the way the interpretive guide described the ecology of the island and the plants that survive in the harsh environment of salt-spray and shifting sand. It also discussed the impact of development on barrier islands and their important role in protecting the saltmarshes and the mainland behind them from the impact of storms.

The one environment on Plum Island we didn’t visit was the actual beach. It took too long for us to get there and we didn’t have the time for one more walk down to the water on the ocean side. Perhaps next year we’ll get to visit the beach there or make a trip to the Cape Cod National Seashore for a trip to a wild beach.

Maura Taken Sick

Maura is generally a healthy child. Jennifer and I see that she eats her vegetables, gets adequate sleep and isn’t a couch potato. She gets the occasional cold and suffers from hay fever in the spring but she has not often been seriously ill. Last week she was.

On Monday she complained of having a cold in the morning. I took her to school anyway. She wasn’t complaining of anything that should keep her home. An hour later, though, I got a call from the school nurse to let me know she was running a fever of 102°F and I should come pick her up, which I did, right away. Children’s ibuprofen brought her fever down but it didn’t go away and she developed a cough. Since she wasn’t improving we called her doctor on Tuesday evening and on Wednesday morning he saw her and diagnosed pneumonia.

In times gone by this would have been a dangerous illness and everyone we told of it reacted as if Maura was on death’s door. Thanks to modern medicine, though, she was rapidly on the mend. A course of antibiotics treated the infection very effectively. On Thursday her fever was much reduced. On Friday it was gone entirely, and she was able to go to Rosh Hashanah services with her mother.

The most traumatic part of the whole week for Maura and for me was convincing Maura to take her medicine. She hates liquid medicine and she is very stubborn when she’s sick. Even when she knows it will make her feel better she won’t take the medicine if she doesn’t like the flavor. Since almost every children’s medicine is flavored either with grape or cherry, the two artificial flavors that Maura hates the most, she usually refuses, leaving Maura still sick and me frustrated. This time we finally hit on a solution. After it had been mixed into a banana-chocolate smoothie Maura claimed not to taste the medicine and happily drank it all down. I’m looking forward to Maura growing up just a bit more. She might not grow out of her aversion to liquid medicine but after a few more years of growth it won’t matter. She’ll be large enough to take an adult dose and she has no trouble swallowing pills.

Maura is back in school now after having been out all of last week. She seems not to have missed a beat. She is rapidly catching up with her missed school work and moving on to new material. While the extra week off hasn’t seemed to hurt her academically I hope she isn’t sick often this year. No parent likes to see his child sick but Maura being home unexpectedly causes other problems for me. Except for her aversion to liquid medicine Maura is a very good patient and not at all demanding but it’s much harder to get work done when she’s home.

Life is Good

Last Sunday Jennifer and I took Maura to the Life if Good Festival at Prowse Farm in Canton, Massachusetts. We scored free tickets courtesy of our friend Julie Tittler, who attends Trinity Episcopal Church which abuts the farm and lent its parking lot for VIP parking, receiving a block of tickets in exchange, a few of which Julie passed on to us. Thank you, Julie.

Maura had a great time at the festival and I would think about going again even if I had to pay to get in as long as I could afford the $65 ticket price. It's not a bad deal for a whole day of music and fun and the money goes to charity. The Festival is a fundraising event that benefits the Life is good Playmakers, an organization dedicated to helping children affected by disasters recover though play.

The festival itself is dedicated to play, both for children and adults. It features live music on three stages and many games, shows and activities for all ages. Vendors sold a variety of crafts, souvenirs, food and beverages. Maura had fun with the batting cage and the climbing wall, though there was a fair crowd and the lines were long. She also enjoyed seeing friends who were at the concert and eating free samples of yogurt.

Anyone attending the festival as concert event might want to arrive early and find a place near the stage. We got there long after things got started and it was impossible to get close enough to the stage to see the show, though hearing the music was not hard at all. Music could easily be heard anywhere on the festival grounds. I wasn’t familiar with any of the performers I heard playing the festival except for the Imagination Movers who played the children's stage. I listened to most of their set while Maura was waiting in line to climb the rock wall. Their Disney Chanel TV show is pitched to an audience of young children but their live show was clearly intended to appeal to parents and older children as well as tots. They played with a lot of energy and had a great rapport with both children and adults in their audience.

Eggplant and Bananas

I bribed Maura to eat her vegetables last night. I offered to make her dessert if she ate her eggplant and tomatoes. Mara detests eggplant and it’s a struggle to get her to eat anything that contains it. I can’t say I blame her. Eggplant isn’t my favorite vegetable either.

The eggplants were little Brazilian ones, about the size of jalapeno peppers with green and yellow stripes. I sliced them crossways, like jalapenos for nachos. Then I pan fried them with onion, garlic, and sweet red peppers. After they had cooked down I added a diced tomato. A little salt and cumin seed completed the dish. I thought it turned out fairly well. The sugar in the onions caramelized. Everything was sweet and the flavors blended together.

With only a little urging Maura ate all of her portion as required and let on that she found the dish less objectionable than she usually finds eggplant. She didn’t whine at all for which I am grateful. If I get any more of the Brazilian eggplants from the CSA I’ll cook them the same way.

When Maura had cleaned her plate I kept my promise. I made her caramelized bananas. I cooked a sliced banana in butter and brown sugar with a healthy shake of cinnamon on top until everything was sticky and gooey. While I cooked I explained what I was doing so she could do it for herself sometime. When they were done I divided the bananas between two plates and sat down to enjoy dessert with my daughter.

I don’t generally believe in bribing Maura to do the things she should do, like eating her vegetables. Special rewards should be received for special actions not ordinary ones. Paying children for ordinary good behavior makes them into little mercenaries who expect larger and larger rewards for doing less and less. Still, I’m glad I made my daughter dessert. Sharing it with her was a small moment that made both of us happy. We’ll remember and look back on it in years to come.

Busy Maura (Busy Dad)

Now that Maura is back in school all of her other activities are starting too. Ice skating, soccer and Hebrew school have all started up right along with Maura’s school year. Now the carefree hours Maura spent reading and watching TV during the summer are taken up with practices, lessons and organized games, not to mention homework and chores. Maura is glad to be back at all of her regular activities. She loves ice skating and she enjoys soccer and even her Hebrew school classes. She’s a little less happy about doing her homework and her chores. With a little reminding she does her homework without many complaints but it often seems that she does everything she can to put off her chores until there isn’t enough time for her to get them done. I usually have to remind her several times to empty the dishwasher and clean out our cats’ litter boxes. I’m glad to know I have a normal child. I don’t much care for doing chores either and cleaning the litter boxes was definitely not a favorite of mine when I did it before Maura was old enough to take over.

When Maura is busy I’m busy too. I step into the role of Maura's chauffeur. It is a role I don’t enjoy. Maura’s activities are far flung and often at inconvenient times. I hate fighting traffic and I worry about the cost of gas. I do what I need to so that Maura can get the opportunities she needs to become a well-rounded person. At least I don’t have to worry about being late for work. I do find I enjoy the time while Maura is busy. It can be fun watching Maura have fun but I often use the time to work. I can bring my laptop computer almost anywhere and my notebook and a pen anywhere at all.

My antipathy to driving is one reason why Jennifer and I have chosen Maura’s after school activities but it is hardly the most important one. We have chosen to limit Maura to three days of after school activities not because I get tired of driving her around (which I do) but because we believe that unstructured time is valuable. Maura needs and deserves an occasional afternoon off so that, once she has finished her homework and chores, she can spend time playing with her friends, reading a book, or watching TV. I have no doubt she is happier for having some free time.

Back to School, Back to Work

Maura, Jennifer and I had a very pleasant Labor Day Weekend to finish off our summer. Jennifer and I did some work around the house and Maura spent hours playing outside with her friends in the neighborhood. We went to the Tolman MDA Telethon Party at Congregation Sha’aray Shalom in Hingham. We had a good time enjoying the company of friends and helped to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Maura jumped in a bouncy house while the adults listened to live music. There may be an outing to hear Bon Jovi tribute band Living on a Bad Name sometime in our future, but we probably will leave Maura with a babysitter when we go. After the telethon party we had our friends the Tittlers and the Longs over for dinner. I made feijoada (black beans with pork), a favorite dish from my childhood when I lived in Brazil. It was much appreciated by all the adults present and by Maura, who likes my cooking.

Now that Labor Day is over Maura is back in school. She started the fourth grade on Tuesday. Maura couldn’t wait to go back. She missed her friends from school. She hasn’t seen most of them since June. She’s also been a bit bored, especially since we came back from Indiana. We have lots of fun when we go off on adventures but we can’t have an adventure every day. Summer for Maura has been quite long enough.

It’s been long enough for me too. I’m probably even more ready for Maura to go back to school than she is to be going back. I always enjoy the time we spend together on outings and we find plenty to do together when we stay home but I find Maura distracting. When she is around it is difficult to concentrate and very hard to give my work the attention it needs. When Maura is in school I enjoy the hours of quiet and the freedom from interruption. While Maura is getting back to her books I will be getting back to work on mine.

The End of Our Vacation

This weekend was the end of our vacation in Indiana. We had to cut it a day short in order to get our home ready for Hurricane Irene and to avoid driving through the storm. As it was we drove through some of the outermost rain bands on Saturday afternoon and ran into a traffic jam on Interstate 95 around Boston because all but one lane of the highway had been closed by flooding. That was the worst of the storm for us. We got home before the wind arrived and I was able to bring in the trash cans and lawn furniture before they blew away. Most of our town lost power during the storm but not us. I’m glad we left Indiana early. Crossing Upstate New York on Sunday would have been a dangerous nightmare and we probably would have stayed away until the roads were safe.

Our final days in Indiana were some of the best but they were not busy days. We spent them at my parents’ weekend home on Lake Monroe, near Bloomington, Indiana. We had time to relax, read, nap in the hammock and talk. Maura’s grandfather took her fishing and she caught a catfish. We saw a deer cross the back yard and watched hummingbirds buzz around the hummingbird feeders like a swarm of feathered bees.

Maura’s grandparents took her back to Zionsville on Thursday and let Jennifer and I have the lake house to ourselves for another day to celebrate our wedding anniversary (it was actually on Sunday). While Maura spent one last day with her grandparents we spent a wonderful day without her. We spent the morning exploring the shops and galleries of Nashville, Indiana, and had lunch at the Big Woods Brewery (the Pale Ale was wonderful and the food wasn’t bad either). Afterwards we hiked in nearby Brown County State Park. The terrain was rugged, green and beautiful and the hike felt great after a week with not enough exercise. We saw toads and a snake sunning itself on the trail but very few people, though the park is popular and much busier on weekends.

On Friday morning we drove back to Zionsville, picked up Maura and hit the highway. It was a long trip and we took two days. Maura was good in the car. She had plenty to read and is happy with her nose in a book. We aren’t fans of the New York State Thruway so we took the southern route across New York--Interstate 86 to Binghamton and 88 to Albany before picking up 90 to Boston and home. We had one disappointment on the way. On Sunday morning we’d planned to have our breakfast at the Unadilla Diner.  Jennifer and I had often stopped when we were on the road during our college days. We wanted to take Maura there because the last time we’d passed that way she was too young to remember it. We found that it had closed and it was for sale. It was a small note of sadness in what was a very happy trip.

Vacation in Indiana

This week Jennifer, Maura and I are in Indiana, visiting my parents. Jennifer and I arrived on Thursday evening, after a very long day in the car. Maura travelled with her grandparents a week ago. We’ve been staying in Zionsville, just to the north of Indianapolis and within its metropolitan area. Much of our time has been spent enjoying the company of our family but we’ve found the time to explore two of Indianapolis’s excellent museums.

On Friday we visited the Eiteljorg Museum, which showcases extensive collections of Western and Native American art. The western collection includes many works by artists who worked at the Taos artist colony and also sculpture and paintings by Frederick Remington and C. M. Russell. The Native American collection includes traditional pieces arranged by tribe and region but also contemporary works by Native American artists, some of which are far from traditional. In the museum’s lower level is an interactive children’s exhibit. It focuses on the history of the western United States and engaged Maura for hours. Maura might have enjoyed having some other children around but for the adults in the group it was nice that the exhibit was nearly deserted. Unlike in Massachusetts, schools are now in session in Indiana but it is too early in the school year for field trips.

The lack of most school age children worked to our benefit on Monday when we visited the Indianapolis Children’s Museum. The Indianapolis Children’s Museum is without a doubt one of the premier children’s museums in the world. When we visited it was not crowded but it is a fun day even when it is. They have a wide variety of exhibits on four floors with topics ranging from science to toys, centered around a three story high tower of Dale Chihuly glass forms. The exhibits include a wide range of interactive elements to appeal to children of all ages but they are also very adult friendly, so much so that the Children’s Museum is worth a visit even for adults unaccompanied by children. Anyone visiting Indianapolis with youngsters should make a point of visiting. Highlights of this trip’s visit include our visit to the Dinosphere, which displays dinosaur fossils, the new National Geographic Treasures of the Earth exhibit which covers archaeology, Take Me There: Egypt, exploring modern Egypt and the restored carousel which once stood in an Indianapolis park but now delights museum goers. Maura also greatly enjoyed the temporary Barbie exhibit which spotlights the history of Barbie dolls and the fashions that have inspired and been inspired by her wardrobe. We visit the Children’s Museum every time we come to Indianapolis with Maura and it’s always a fun and educational day.

Strawbery Banke

Last Thursday Maura and I drove to Portsmouth, New Hampshire to visit the Strawbery Banke Museum, a collection of historic houses in the preserved Puddle Dock neighborhood. Maura and I met my parents, on their way back to our house from a short trip to Maine, and we explored the museum together.

Unlike similar historical attractions that recreate a village or a neighborhood at a specific time in the past, Strawbery Banke shows the whole history of the area from the first European settlement in the 17^th century up until the mid-20^th century. A few old buildings have been moved to Strawbery Banke from other places but most of the buildings are original and have been restored to an earlier appearance and configuration. Some house exhibits devoted to such topics as construction methods and local handicraft industries. Other houses have recreated rooms showing how they would have looked when they lived in at specific times in the past. Each house has been recreated as it looked in a different time. We didn’t visit every open building in Strawbery Banke but we did see houses recreated as they would have looked in the 18^th, 19^th and 20^th centuries. There are also recreated gardens and outbuildings with some of the houses.

We all had a wonderful time on our visit to Strawbery Banke. Maura and I both enjoy history, an interest we share with my parents, so I was not surprised. What made our trip extra special was the friendly and knowledgeable museum staff, both the docents on duty in some buildings and the costumed re-enactors in others. The staff members who were not re-enactors all seemed eager to pass on their knowledge and enthusiasm for the past. The historic re-enactors were just as knowledgeable and enthusiastic but also kept in character as they portrayed people who once lived in the houses where they were stationed. I was particularly impressed with Mrs. Shapiro, the woman of the house in an early 20^th century Ukrainian Jewish immigrant family.

I enjoyed the 20^th century exhibits most. I think that is because I’ve seen many house museums restored to their 18^th or 19^th century appearance but few homes furnished as they were at any time in the 20^th century. Both the Shapiro House, restored to the nineteen-teens and the World War II era Mardon-Abbot store were really fascinating. Both were staffed with costumed re-enactors but I think I would have still found them fascinating if they had not been.

During our trip Maura took advantage of a kids’ program, a scavenger hunt intended to highlight some of the open buildings. Stuffed cats were hidden in a number of the buildings for the kids to find. If they found them all they could win a prize. Maura found all of them and took home a Frisbee from the museum store. I’m happy to say that while the scavenger hunt determined what buildings we visited Maura is interested enough in history that she paid attention to things other than the cats.

After our visit we grabbed a late lunch at Geno’s, a chowder house on the waterfront a few blocks from Strawbery Banke. It was suggested to us by the museum’s parking lot attendant. We were not disappointed. The food was simple but delicious, the service was great and the deck overlooking the water was pleasant. My lobster stew was very good and I heard no complaints from anyone else. We all had strawberry rhubarb pie for desert and we all agreed it was the best we’d ever had in a restaurant.

For me the only problems with the day were in getting there and getting home. I ran into unexpected traffic on the way there and then got lost when I was leaving. It took me a while to find Interstate 95 and get headed back towards home so I reached Boston right at rush hour and spent far too long in the Central Artery Tunnel and on the Southeast Expressway. A GPS unit would have helped with this and I should have asked for directions. On a future trip I may plan on eating dinner in New Hampshire and coming back late.

Blessed Union, Big Party

Last Saturday the Ellett family traveled to Nashoba Valley Winery. We have been there many times but this trip was special. We attended the wedding of our close friends Rebecca Tatum and Mike Long. I was privileged to be one of Mike’s groomsmen and all of us were honored to be guests.

The ceremony was beautiful. It was well thought out, simple, and went off without a significant hitch. The bride and groom made “the happy couple” more than a euphemism. The joy that showed on their faces illuminated the event even better than the bright summer sunshine.

The reception that followed the ceremony was a grand success. There was a fine meal. Wine and beer flowed freely without anyone seeming to be obnoxiously drunk. The many children amused themselves without ever becoming much of a nuisance. The guests danced, chatted, and danced some more. Only the most determined to be depressed failed to have a wonderful time.

It was Maura’s first formal party with adults present. She got to wear a new dress and her mother painted her nails with sparkly pink polish. She got to dance with her father and she behaved like a perfect lady, even when I accidentally stepped on her toe. That little incident aside I think she enjoyed herself as much as I did.

I love weddings. I wish I had the opportunity to attend more of them. Being present as other people celebrate their love for each other reminds me of how much I love Jennifer and Maura. Every time I’m at a wedding I feel like I am renewing and strengthening my own wedding vows. I wish Mike and Becca and all other newly married couples the joy and contentment I receive every day from my own family.

WeyRec

Last weekend was a busy weekend for me but I had my fun without Maura. During the week Maura is having adventures without me. This week she is spending her afternoons going tubing on the Weymouth Back River as part of Weymouth Recreation summer activity program. She has been exploring the waters of the Weymouth Back River while floating in an inner tube. It is great fun for her on warm summer days. I think I’d enjoy it, too.

Tubing is only one of the many options that the Weymouth Recreation program offers. Two weeks ago Maura took a rock climbing class. Her group was bussed every day to the Quincy Quarries where old granite working faces make popular climbing routes. Maura also took swimming lessons at Lane Beach this year, as she has in previous years. She’s learned to swim in the tidal waters of the Fore River.  In past years Maura has explored the woods and salt marshes of Great Esker Park, along the Back River. She got to come home wet and muddy every day. She’s always enjoyed her summer activities.

Maura’s summer activities are only a small fraction of what the Weymouth Recreation program offers. The programs are offered to all children, not just residents of Weymouth, though Weymouth residents like us do pay lower fees and get to start registration earlier than non-residents.  Early registration gives Weymouth residents a better chance to get into the most popular programs which have limited spaces available and can fill up quickly.

Food, Dinosaurs and Distant Worlds

Jennifer took a few days off this week to spend with Maura and me. We had planned to go camping but had put off making site reservations and in the end we decided not to go. Money is tight and we have extra expenses coming up. We didn’t want to spend all our time sitting at home though. On Monday we took advantage of our Museum of Science membership and spent the afternoon there. We took in the current temporary exhibitions and saw a show at the recently renovated Hayden Planetarium.

Our first stop once we’d arrived at the museum and picked up tickets for the planetarium show was to “What I Eat: Around the World in 25 Diets”, a temporary exhibit exploring dietary habits of people around the world through photographs showing what individuals from around the world ate on one day. The exhibit was not hands on but it was fascinating for all of us. We spent quite a while reading all the captions. Maura couldn’t miss any. She wanted her mother to read them to her but after the first dozen or so we made them read them herself. The diets of the people around the world made me think about the similarities and differences in what people eat in different places and the factors that affect the quantity and quality of the food.

Our next stop was “Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries”, another temporary exhibit which will only be at the museum through August 21^st. It explores some of the new discoveries and ideas that have been made about dinosaurs in the last few years. New finds from China allow for the reconstruction of an entire Cretaceous landscape and new studies of the biomechanics of dinosaur skeletons tell us about how they walked and ate and how they might have found their mates. Some of the exhibits were hands on and others had beautiful audiovisual components.

We finished our trip to the museum by taking in a planetarium show. We had two free passes from our membership at the museum that we wanted to use before they expired so we only had to pay for Maura. The Hayden Planetarium has recently been upgraded so it can now show more than how the stars look from the surface of the Earth (though it can still do that). We saw “Undiscovered Worlds” about the discovery of planets around stars other than the sun. The program explained how the planets can be detected and what we can learn about them and discussed some of the discoveries that have been made so far. The imaginative representations of some of the worlds that have been detected based about what we know about their composition and surface temperature made for some impressive visuals. We all enjoyed the show which was both informative and visually stunning. It also had the extra advantage of letting us sit down for a while at the end of our day.

A Lemming Hunt

I’d promised Maura months ago that we would hunt lemmings this summer. We don’t want to kill any, of course. We just want to find them. Our hope is to spot one, or at least see some evidence of their presence. We’ve both of us done our research. There certainly are lemmings in Massachusetts. The Southern Bog Lemming lives in the Commonwealth. As its name suggests it inhabits bogs. It is not an easy animal to see because it lives in runs at the base of the bog vegetation and rarely comes out of cover but if you look closely it is possible to find signs of its presence in the form of distinctive green droppings and little piles of clipped off sedges.

This lemming hunt took us to an out of the way corner of the Blue Hills Reservation in Braintree. It’s cut off from the rest of the reservation by Interstate 93 and doesn’t get many visitors. We didn’t see anyone while we were there. We hiked for most of an hour. Unfortunately we didn’t see any lemmings either. On the map there appeared to be a road leading through a wetland that might be good lemming habitat. The road is there, and the wetland, but there is no way to see the wetland from the road through the dense curtain of trees and bushes that borders it.

As a lemming hunt the trip was a bust but Maura and I did have a nice hike together. We’ll go looking for lemmings again soon. The next time we will try the boardwalk on Ponkapoag Pond, which I’m certain will lead us over some likely lemming habitat and get might us close enough that we can see the signs.

Maura's Choice

I’d planned a big adventure with Maura on Friday but I had to give up my plans to make her happy. I'd planned to take her to Plimoth Plantation, the living history museum that recreates the first Pilgrim settlement at Plymouth. It was Plimoth Plantation’s week to take part in Free Fun Friday, so our admission would have been free. Even though she’d been there recently on a field trip from school she said she wanted to go and I have no doubt would have enjoyed the day. I’d let her wander where she wanted and linger in the places that interested her most. She’s always enjoyed history when she can take it at her own pace and ask her own questions.

Then something came up. Her maternal grandfather (she calls him Papa) called to invite her to lunch on Friday. I might have suggested another day but Maura is busy this week and there was no good time. Her grandfather lives in Florida and though he’ll be in Massachusetts for most of the summer there might not be that many opportunities for them to spend time together. While I’d be disappointed not to spend the day on another adventure with my daughter I had to let her make the choice of what she wanted to do. It was the only fair way for me to make a decision.

Maura chose lunch with her Papa. They went to Friendly’s and then to Nantasket Beach to ride the carousel and play ski ball. I didn’t go along to see for myself but Maura clearly had a wonderful time. I spent the afternoon relaxing and working at home, alone. I missed the fun we might have had together but I’m glad I gave her the choice. Maura and I will have many more opportunities to have adventures together before she goes back to school and we'll make the best of them.

A Weekend of Fun

The holiday weekend was a busy one for the Ellett family. We visited museums and enjoyed celebrating the Fourth of July holiday with friends and family.

For Maura and me the weekend started on Friday. We went to the Heritage Museums and Gardens in Sandwich, Massachusetts. Admission was free for the day as the institution was participating in Free Fun Fridays presented by the Highland Street Foundation. Each Friday in July and August different Massachusetts museums and cultural institutions will be offering free admission. Find out more about the program and check out the calendar for the rest of the summer at www.highlandstreet.org.

Maura and I left early for our trip to Sandwich. We arrived at around 10:00 when the property opened for the day and spent about four hours exploring the gardens and poking through the museums. We both enjoyed the day. The gardens were beautiful and peaceful despite the crowds. The labyrinth and the maze garden were favorite spots for Maura and me. I’d like to return to the gardens in the spring when the rhododendrons are blooming. The Heritage Gardens bost one of the largest collections of rhododendrons in the United States. The Hidden Hollow children’s discovery garden was an interesting concept that would be fun for younger kids. It integrated musical instruments and water features with many opportunities to learn about nature. It was very crowded and I thought Maura was a bit old for it. The art museum was another favorite spot, especially the carousel exhibit, which includes a working carousel as well as fine examples of carved carousel horses and menagerie figures. The car museum didn’t particularly thrill Maura but other children might love the old cars.

On Saturday we made another museum trip, this time with the whole family. We went to the Museum of Fine Arts to see the Chihuly exhibition and explore some of the new Arts of the Americas wing. Everyone enjoyed the glass artistry of the Chihuly installations. The brilliant colors and the shear imagination of the forms kept everyone entertained. Maura was a little bored in the new wing, which she had seen before but I had not. We did all enjoy the “Behind the Scenes” interactive exhibits that explored collecting and conservation for the museum.

Sunday evening we went to the Town of Weymouth’s Fourth of July celebration at Lane beach. We had planned to picnic but waited to go until after dinner to go because the weather was threatening thunder storms. The storms never materialized and the weather improved as the evening progressed. We were joined by Maura’s maternal grandfather and his long-time girlfriend. We enjoyed the family time, and Maura enjoyed playing with some of her friends that we met at the beach. The New Band played live for entertainment before the fireworks started and the fireworks were worth waiting for. I’ve seen better, but not this year.

We spent the Fourth of July relaxing. We attended a barbecue at our friends' the Longs and had a very pleasant afternoon of food and conversation. It was a great way to finish what had been an enjoyable but busy long weekend.

Summer Icetime

Maura has now been on summer vacation for a week. It hasn’t been the most exciting week for her. I’ve been busy and we haven’t got the money for long adventures. She has many plans for the summer but had nothing for the first week except the beginning of her summer skating.

Ice skating isn’t a traditional summer activity but skating will be a big part of Maura’s summer this year. She started on Thursday with her very first private skating lesson with Jenny, one of her favorite instructors. Maura began learning the program she’ll skate in her first competition, the Halloween Classic at the Rockland Rink (where she takes her lessons). She has until October to get ready.

The competition program is something entirely new for Maura. Until now she’s been focused on learning new things on the ice. Now she has to perfect what she already knows. She will be skating at the lowest, pre-Alpha level initially so her program has to demonstrate the most basic strokes and moves in skating. To do well she’ll not only have to do them correctly, but do them with style. Maura seemed to understand what was required when I watched her taking her lesson. I’ve rarely seen her concentrating so hard. Often the details seem to escape Maura but last Thursday she was clearly thinking about even the fine points of her form. Even to my unpracticed eye it was clear she has some work to do but she has plenty of time. I’m looking forward to the first time she gets to skate to her music. It will be fun to see what she does with rhythm.

Maura needs to skate more than just on her lesson days if she is going to do her best. I plan on taking her to the rink every chance I get. The Rockland Rink has open skating on Tuesdays so I took her to the rink to practice her program and cool off on a warm day. Even I didn’t mind being in the cool rink. Usually I shiver and endure it for Maura. It’s much more pleasant there in the summer.

Father’s Day

Maura gave me a wonderful Father’s Day this year. She got up early to make me breakfast and in the afternoon we took a family hike. In the evening I got one of my favorite desserts and we all watched a movie together.

It has become a family tradition for Maura to help make breakfast on Father’s Day. She had her mother’s help but in the future I expect she will do more of the work herself. We have the same tradition for Mother’s Day, except that I help Maura and her mother gets to relax. This year’s Father’s Day breakfast was spectacular. Maura and her mother made a puffed pancake with a berry topping. Most of the berries were Massachusetts grown strawberries from Stillman Farms. We’re now in our fourth year participating in Stillman’s CSA and we’ll be enjoying their fresh produce until October. The local strawberries are the best I’ve ever had. They are small but very sweet. I look forward to them every year and I’ve never been disappointed yet.

In the afternoon we took advantage of the perfect weather to take a hike. We hiked in Bare Cove Park, in the neighboring town of Hingham. We had a nice hike through the woods and along the shore of the Weymouth Back River. There were lots of people near the entrance walking their dogs, but the trails further from the parking lot were nearly deserted and for most of the hike we had the place to ourselves except for the wildlife. Mostly we saw chipmunks and gray squirrels, both of which are everywhere in Southern New England. We spotted birds as well. A flock of marsh birds feeding in the salt marsh occupied our attention for a while but with our limited birding knowledge we weren’t able to identify them. Even without knowing what kind of birds they were it was pleasant to watch them moving as one when they flew from place to place in the marsh.

Later, after dinner, we all settled down to watch our family movie. Dessert was still baking in the oven. The movie was the extended DVD version of The Return of the King, so we planned on taking an intermission. Generally we won’t let Maura see movies based on books unless she has read them, or had them read to her. I had just finished reading The Return of the King to Maura earlier in the week and she was excited to be seeing the movie. She had already watched the first two in the series and heard the first two books. We all enjoyed the movie, though Jennifer and I had forgotten just how long it is. Maura got to bed a bit late. I didn’t worry too much about it. She had school on Monday but it was the last full day. I didn’t expect she would be doing anything very important. She certainly wouldn’t have any homework.

We enjoyed our dessert during an intermission at the end of the first DVD. Jennifer had made pudim, a Brazilian custard, for me. It’s been one of my favorite desserts since I lived in Brazil for several years during my childhood. I don’t get it often but it never fails to please. The sweet treat was a great capstone for a wonderful day.

The Wax Museum

As the school winds down and Maura prepares to third grade her school work focuses on big projects and fun. Tomorrow she has her big fieldtrip for the year, a trip to Plimouth Plantation where she will learn about the Pilgrims and their Wampanoag neighbors. I expect she’ll have a good time, too. There was no call for parents to chaperone this year, so I won’t be going.

Yesterday was another of Maura’s end of school year activities. For their big end-of -ear project the students in the third grade did book reports on biographies and presented their reports on posters which were displayed in the gym. Then they dressed up as their historical subjects and answered questions that they had prepared in advance.

Maura chose Pocahontas as her subject. Her poster told the familiar story of how she saved the life of John Smith, helping the first English settlement at Jamestown to survive. It also told how she later married another Englishman, John Rolfe, and traveled with him to England where she died, leaving behind a young son.

Parents were invited to come see the wax museum, which was the name the school gives to the display of posters with their costumed presenters. I went to see Maura in the Pocahontas costume that her mother made for her. She looked very cute in it. She did an excellent job answering the three questions she had prepared and written on her poster. She also answered  a few other questions people asked about Pocahontas’s life, showing that she had learned about her subject, not just memorized a few facts. She even managed to answer some of them in character. I was very impressed with her presentation and I’m proud of her.

Dinner and a Race

Last Thursday I took Maura into Boston to watch her mother run in the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge, her first road race ever. Before the race I took Maura to dinner using some money I had been given for my birthday.

As usual when we head into Boston we took the T from Quincy Adams station. We parked on level 2B in the garage. Someone always asks the question on the way home—2B or not 2B? It’s part of our ritual when we travel by T.

Maura and I left the subway at Copley Square and looked around for a restaurant. My first choice had closed since the last time I had been by so we went with my second choice, Fire and Ice, one of Maura’s favorites.  Fire and Ice features a buffet of raw ingredients that are cooked to order for you on a large grill. They always have a good selection of things to choose from, including meat and seafood, accompanied by a variety of sauces. The precise mix of ingredients on the buffet changes every day so the food is never the same from one visit to another. They almost always have shrimp though, which makes Maura happy.

To accompany our meal Maura and I had Lava Flows from the bar. A Lava Flow is a mixture of strawberry daiquiri and pina colada. Maura, of course, had the non-alcoholic version. I would have been happy with a touch more rum in mine.

After dinner we walked down to the starting line for the race, on Charles Street, by the Public Garden. We watched the start hoping to see Jennifer but could not pick her out of the crowd of 12,000. Once the last racer passed us we headed across the Public Garden to a spot near the finish line. We got to our new spot in time to see the leaders go by. We clapped for the first few hundred finishers, until they started coming in too close together to clap for each one. We did manage to spot Jennifer as she went by near the finish because the pack was not as thick as it was near the start.

Jennifer did fairly well for her first ever race and we’re proud of her. She finished around 7000^th (out of 12,000). Her time for the 3½ mile race was approximately 39 minutes.

After we’d seen her pass we went to our rendezvous point and met Jennifer to head home. She collected her stuff and we headed home. Because the race hadn’t started until 7:00 pm, the earliest that the City of Boston would close the streets for the course, it was a late night for Maura but it was fun for us and a big achievement for Jennifer.

Maura in Vermont: Camping, Morris Dancers, Art and Cheese

Over Memorial Day weekend Maura, Jennifer and I went camping in Vermont. We stayed at Fort Dummer State Park, just outside of Brattleboro. The trip was strain on our family budget but worth it. Everyone had a wonderful time. It certainly helped that the weather was near perfect, with only a few drops of rain, plenty of sunshine and none of the storms that the forecast had suggested were possible. We loaded up the car and headed for Vermont first thing on Saturday morning. We arrived well before check-in time but our campsite was ready so were able to unload, set up camp and head out to enjoy Brattleboro and its environs. We walked around Downtown Brattleboro for a while, window shopping and exploring art galleries and visited the local yarn shop (Jennifer knits).

After a break for a picnic lunch we headed out of town for the afternoon. We headed north on Route 5 through Putney and Bellows Falls and looped back through Grafton down to Route 30 which we followed back to Brattleboro. Mostly we drove and enjoyed the scenery but we made a few stops along the way. In Putney we stopped at Basketville, a large basket shop selling baskets from all over the world and displaying basket animals in the rafters. The shark was particularly impressive. It is about life size. In the same building was the Putney Mountain Winery. Jennifer and I tasted some of their wines and Maura got to taste their non-alcoholic cider. All the wines were made from local fruit and there was an interesting variety. Our favorite was the Apple-Maple wine. We purchased a bottle to enjoy later. A little further down the road we stopped at Harlow’s Sugar House to pick up some locally produced maple syrup. We bought grade B, with a stronger maple flavor and darker color than the grade A dark amber we buy in the grocery store. It doesn’t make sense to bring syrup from home to Vermont. In Grafton we stopped at the Grafton Cheese Company shop. We sampled cheese and decided we would purchase some later at their Brattleboro location before we left Vermont on Monday so we wouldn’t have to worry about keeping it refrigerated in camp.

Back in Brattleboro we watched the morris dancers perform at the annual Marlboro Morris Ale. Morris dance teams were in Brattleboro from the local region and from as far away as Vancouver, Canada. The Morris dance is an English folk dance often danced at festivals in the spring. It involves complex figures and athletic moves. The dances are accompanied by live music and the teams include musicians. The dancing was fun to watch and to listen to. Jennifer and Maura enjoyed it so much that we’re already talking about going back to see it again next year.

On our second day we started with a hike. It turned into the low point of our trip. We hiked on the Retreat Farm trails on the outskirts of Brattleboro. The trails were nice but the clouds of mosquitoes were so thick that they drove us out of the woods, despite the heavy application of insect repellent. We retreated to camp to rest from our ordeal, and then went out again after lunch.

In the afternoon we visited the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center where we enjoyed their current exhibitions of contemporary art. After that we drove the Molly Stark Trail, Vermont route 9, through the Green Mountains to Wilmington, where we did some more window shopping. Along the way we stopped at the scenic overlook on Hogback Mountain to enjoy the view looking out on three states. Then it was back to camp for a bonfire, dinner cooked in foil in the coals and s’mores, which we have to make sometime on every camping trip. In the morning we broke camp, packed up and headed home, stopping before we left Vermont to buy cheese at the Grafton Cheese Company in Brattleboro as we had planned.