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.