Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving in the Ellett household was a time of peace and reflection this year; at least once the preparations for the feast were complete. Because our extended family members were far away or busy elsewhere we shared our feast with our good friends the Tittlers, then feasted again with them at their house on Friday. It was quite easy to resist the temptation to go shopping on Black Friday. The weekend as a whole was quite relaxing and there was plenty of time to contemplate the many things for which I am thankful.

On Wednesday evening we attended the interfaith Thanksgiving service at the Old Ship Church, in Hingham, Massachusetts. Attending the service has become a family tradition as important as the turkey, perhaps more important. This was my second year of attending but Jennifer and Maura have been going for longer. Before last year I had to work and couldn’t get the time off. The service draws from the variety of faiths represented on the Hingham-Hull Interfaith Religious Council and is the one religious service each year that all members of our interfaith family can attend and feel equally at home. It is always a beautiful service and a reminder that Thanksgiving is, at its heart, a religious holiday, though one that transcends the boundaries that divide faiths.

Thanksgiving is a time to count your blessings and despite troubles my blessings are many. I have a loving family and loyal friends. When it comes to material things I have enough despite tough economic times. I try to be truly thankful for the things that I have because I know that what I have is truly worth being thankful for.

Open Mic at the New England Wildlife Center

On Saturday evening we attended the weekly open mic night at the New England Wildlife Center in South Weymouth, Massachusetts. This weekly event, held at the center’s Catbird Café raises money for the New England Wildlife Center’s education and wildlife rehabilitation efforts. All the money is raised through voluntary donations. There is no cover charge and the coffee and snacks are free.

Since the event is an open mic anyone can come and perform. The poster for the event mentions musicians, poets and belly dancers. We heard from several singer/guitarists and one poet. As you might expect the quality of the performances varied from act to act but the majority of the performers we saw were both talented and accomplished. Most of the musicians had a folk style that goes well acoustic guitar accompaniment. They performed a good mix of originals and interesting covers.

We all had a good time at the show. I almost always enjoy live music no matter what the genre and with this show no one could complain about not getting his money’s worth. Not only do you get to choose how much you want to donate but the money goes to a cause worth supporting even if you didn’t get an evening’s entertainment in the bargain. We won’t be going every week but I’m sure that other Saturdays will find us at the open mic night again.

The South Shore Wildlife Center is located at 500 Columbian Street, South Weymouth, Massachusetts. The open mic is every Saturday starting at 5:00 pm. For additional information check out the center’s web site,  www.wildlife-education-center.com.

First Synchro Competition

Maura’s first synchronized skating competition was last Saturday. Her team competed in the Thanksgiving Classic at the Armstrong Area in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The competition was  a great experience for Maura but not so wonderful for me or the spectators in general.

It was a long day for everyone. We dropped Maura at the Rockland Rink at 8:30 in the morning and we all left Plymouth together at around 4:30 in the afternoon. Maura’s team, the Winterettes Basic 3 team representing the South Shore Skating Club, was the only team at its level so they skated against the book—meaning that they had to achieve a set standard to receive a medal, which they did scoring high enough to be awarded the gold. The Basic 1 team from Maura’s rink also took first place, though they had plenty of competitors to skate against. Once they had skated the team had to wait for the mid competition on-ice awards ceremony at 3:30.

For Maura the wait was fun. It was a chance to bond with her teammates and see some of what the higher level teams could do. For me the wait was a nightmare. The rink was overcrowded to the point where I am certain it was far beyond its capacity. In the event of an emergency I’m sure there would have been injuries. I’m not comfortable with large crowds and the crowd there was far beyond my tolerance. I felt like I was on the verge of a panic attack for most of the day. I hope that not all of the competitions are like that. If they are Maura will have to forgive me for not always being there to see her compete.

Halloween Classic

Last weekend was Maura’s first skating competition of the season, the Halloween Classic on her home ice at the Rockland Rink. Maura didn’t win either of the two events she skated in on Saturday. In fact, she came in second out of two competitors in both of them. She still had a good time, as she always does. The biggest reason she competes in individual events is because she enjoys it and that is always a good thing.

Even though she didn’t win, I thought Maura skated well. To my unqualified eye she skated better than her opponent in her individual program, though the judges did not agree. I am prejudiced in her favor. In any case, her timing was spot on and her form was as good as I’ve ever seen it. She’s been working hard on the ice and remembering to stretch and do posture exercises at home. She’s had extra ice time this fall and she has been putting it to good use. I rarely have to pester her to keep her working on the ice, even when she is skating alone. The practice is clearly paying off and her skating is smoother and more graceful than it has been and improving every week.

Much of the practice has been for her synchronized skating routine. Her team skated publicly for the first time on Sunday. It was only an exhibition, not a competition, but they did a great job. I think it was more exciting for Maura to take her place with her team than it was to skate her individual events. She is the youngest skater on her team and has the least experience but she is doing her part. The exhibition was a tune up for the team's first competition, which is this Saturday. Maura’s team looked really good in exhibition and I think they will do well.

Another Year...Another Trip to Nashoba Valley

Last weekend was one of our family’s milestones. We traveled to the Nashoba Valley Winery in Bolton, Massachusetts for the annual Brews and Bluegrass festival. It's annual not just for the winery but also for us. Jennifer and I have been attending festivals at Nashoba each year since before Maura was born and Maura’s first festival visit occurred when she was only three months old. She spent it in her baby carrier zipped inside my jacket for warmth on a miserably cold day.

This year the weather was dry, sunny and not too cold to enjoy being outdoors. I had a wonderful afternoon listening to the bluegrass sounds of Southern Rail and drinking a few tasty beers from Nashoba’s microbrewery. Between sets I had the chance to socialize with friends I rarely see and found time for lunch and to share a treat with Maura that was almost as delicious as the beer—caramel covered cider donuts. Except when it was time for food I didn’t see much of Maura. She spent the afternoon playing with other children but she seemed to be having a grand time

This year even the drive to and from Bolton was enjoyable. We always take the back roads when we go and the scenery along the way is beautiful. This year the fall foliage was near its peak of color and we avoided the worst of the traffic going both directions. Jennifer was driving so for me the ride home was relaxing, a good ending to an enjoyable day.

Ghosts of Halloween Past

Watching Maura grow up is a source of great pride and joy for me. She is smart, empathic and good at many things. Every day she is a bit more accomplished, sophisticated and poised. Soon she won’t be a little girl anymore but a young woman. I’m looking forward to that day but I am also dreading it.

There is some sorrow in watching Maura grow up as well as joy. Each stage seems to go by so fast that there is hardly time to enjoy it before it is gone. I don’t miss changing diapers but I do miss pushing Maura on the swings at the playground and walking her to school. The day will come when we go sledding together for the last time, when she no longer wants to be read a bedtime story, when her daddy isn’t the most important man in her life.

I spent most of yesterday working on an assignment for the web graphics course I’m taking—a Photshop project I’ve titled “Ghosts of Halloween Past”. I found old pictures of Maura in her Halloween costumes and put them together in one image with me in the middle. Each younger Maura is more faded just as those younger Maura’s are fading in my memories.

A Weekend of Festivals

We decided not to go camping over Columbus Day Weekend as we had tentatively planned. I had an event to attend at church on Saturday night and schoolwork that needed to be done. We did the take the time for some family fun, attending festivals on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

On Saturday we drove down to Marshfield for the South Shore Celebration, a sustainable living festival at the Marshfield Fairgrounds. It was an enjoyable afternoon for everyone. We learned about green practices, ate some tasty local food and wandered around a bit. I parked myself near the music stage to listen to the music provided by Boston area band Melloteen. They played great high energy rock music—a mix of originals and well-done covers, many with environmental themes. Their show also featured a bicycle powered sound system. It worked very well as long as they had a few enthusiastic peddlers to keep it going. Near the stage a vendor was selling handmade hula hoops and she had a dozen or so out for people to try. Maura spent about an hour learning how to hula hoop and now she wants to get one for herself. The fun of the afternoon was worth the ten dollars per family admission. It would be an even better deal for a larger family.

On Sunday we headed into Boston for the Local Food Festival on the Rose Kennedy Greenway. It was a much bigger event than the one in Marshfield and admission was free as it always is for events on the Greenway. It featured local food producers, distributors of locally grown produce, restaurants that use locally produced food in their cuisine, and food related non-profit organizations. There was live music on several stages to give the festival a soundtrack. We had a wonderful time. Our visit was a wandering open air lunch. We sampled a great variety of foods ranging from pumpkin crab apple soup to locally produced chocolate. Some of what we ate was free samples and some we bought, though the prices were reasonable. We all enjoy eating a variety of foods so the festival was great fun. For me the highlight was trying raw oysters. I had them for the first time since I was six and Maura tried one for her first time ever. Maura enjoyed her oyster, which is no surprise since it came from the sea. Maura loves all kinds of seafood. I also enjoyed mine. It was a very different experience for me than the first time I ate a raw oyster. Then I definitely did not enjoy it. Of course, now I know that raw oysters are swallowed whole and not chewed.