Sarah's Blog

The Sisters Visit

2012-01-29T21:37:00.003-05:00

Dick's sisters paid us a visit recently. Sue and Mollie were staying in a motel in Saratoga so they went there first to drop off their things and then around 4:30pm they came to our house. Our daycare closed early at 3pm so it worked out really well. I was working in 50 miles away until 5pm and so I got to experience the rush hour all the way home in snowy conditions and got home close to 6:30pm. Around 6:00pm Dick called me to tell me Mollie was treating us the a Chinese takeout. Around 6:15pm I got a call from Mollie's cell phone "Hello, hello, hello, I cannot hear anyone or anything, I am hanging up". I thought it was a butt call but it happened again, and again. About 4 times. So I thought we were all in a bad cell.

Shortly after cresting the hill at the monument I saw a car situated sideways on Burgoyne. It's nose was in the ditch outside our neighbor's house, so the car was parallel with Monument Drive.

It was Sue and Mollie. No one was hurt and the car looked undamaged. Mollie had already walked back to our house to let Dick know "there will be a slight delay in picking up the take out" she told him before she returned to Sue.

Apparently they had misjudged as they left our driveway and had fallen into the ditch quite soon after reversing. Sue thought she could drive the car out and kept going (in the ditch) but another car came up the hill so she had to break and that's when the back end swung around and ended up on the street.

There was a very happy ending. The newly elected Town (of Saratoga) Supervisor, Don Ormsby, just happened to have finished snow plowing the town offices and came across the sisters, so he parked his large truck with emergency-kind flashing lights below the "scene", I picked up the takeout and we all (except for Don who was adamant about staying in his warm truck) went inside to eat while we waited a short time for the tow truck to pull the car out. Jack was in his element with it all.

Here's a photo I borrowed from the internet which demonstrates the angle. Imagine snow, a smaller ditch and a slightly smaller, more modern car and two laughing sisters.

AAA pulled the car out of the ditch quite easily. A happy ending.

Baby Fish

2012-01-23T08:43:00.000-05:00

We have a few new baby fish in the aquarium and I am not sure who the parents are.

I have not had time to photograph them (so I borrowed this photo from the web).

This particular one looks like a juvenile guppy. Ours are similar in color - golden with huge eyes.

Hopefully they grow to maturity and then we will be able to identify them properly.

Helium Balloon

2012-01-22T15:17:00.001-05:00

Kelly brought helium balloons for Jack's birthday last Saturday. Four regular ones and a red foil one which had "You're 3 Today" on it.

It outlasted the others and on Friday as I was trying to get Jack off to daycare in a timely manner, I suggested he take it with him. I told him a few times "Don't let go of it when we are outside because it will fly away and we will not see it again" - he said "Ok. I will not let go of it Mummy". No sooner had we stepped outside, Jack let go of it and I was not able to catch it as it flew up and over our house. Jack's facial expression was one of muted glee (he did not want me to see he was quite excited about it). I told him to say goodbye to it (thinking that gesture would make he feel bad about it - but not at all).

As it crested the roof it dipped a little so I asked Jack to follow me around to the front of the house. As the wind blew it across the lawn, the (warm) balloon was reaching ambient temperature, cooling down and sinking. I was able to catch it. And I put it back in the house.

Our science lesson for the day was "Cold Air Sinks".

Happy Birthday Jack and Patrick!

2012-01-15T09:43:00.017-05:00

Jack and Patrick celebrated their birthdays in Schuylerville and Bishops Stortford, respectively.

Jack was not the only one to love his icecream birthday cake (thank you Campbell and Kelly for that!). Hopefully we get to skype with Dad, etc. in Ireland today.

When I get a chance, I will upload more photos.

Trying Out Everything

2012-01-12T21:26:00.004-05:00

Jack got into my mascara the other evening before his bath.

We are so relieved he did not damage his beautiful eyes.

Good One

2011-12-03T14:41:00.003-05:00

Last week, she checked into a motel on her 65th birthday and she was a bit lonely. She thought, "I'll call one of those men you see advertised in phone books for escorts and sensual massages."

She looked through the phone book, found a full page ad for a guy calling himself Tender Tony - a very handsome man with assorted physical skills flexing in the photo. He had all the right muscles in all the right places, thick wavy hair, long powerful legs, dazzling smile, six pack abs and she felt quite certain she could bounce a silver dollar off his well oiled bum....

She figured, what the heck, nobody will ever know. I'll give him a call.

"Good evening, ma'am, how may I help you? . . Oh my, he sounded sooo sexy!

Afraid she would lose her nerve if she hesitated, she rushed right in, "Hi, I hear you give a great massage. I'd like you to come to my motel room and give me one. No, wait, I should be straight with you. I'm in town all alone and what I really want is sex. I want it hot, and I want it now. Bring implements, toys, rubber, leather, whips, everything you've got in your bag of tricks. We'll go hot and heavy all night - tie me up, cover me in chocolate syrup and whipped cream, anything and everything, I'm ready!! Now how does that sound?"

He said, "That sounds absolutely fantastic, but you need to press 9 for an outside line."

Recordable Book

2011-11-20T18:45:00.006-05:00

The Night Before Christmas:
Gramma Sue gave Jack this book last year and he was a little too young too appreciate it, but he certainly does now. We have listened to it many times tonight. He loves it!

It is a great gift and a great idea. Unfortunately we don't get to see Gramma Sue that often.

Mr McGee and the Big Bag of Bread

2011-11-20T13:25:00.001-05:00

At lunchtime yesterday and today, just before Jack's nap, he told ME a bedtime story of Mr McGee and how the crocodile ate Mr McGree's bed, leaving him to sleep in his tree (with his cat in his lap).

2011-11-05T20:57:00.002-04:00

On October 30th we had a forecast of 5"-12" of snow and many people were scurrying around getting prepared for the Nor' Easter. Even though we only got just a little more than 2" it was perfect snowman building snow. So we had to build one and Jack loved it. However the next few days were warm and Jack learned all about the word "melting".

Writing on the box

2011-11-02T08:10:00.005-04:00

Jack came to me this morning with a mini box of Milk Duds. He was shaking them and telling me he found some chocolate. He said there was writing on the box and I asked "Do you know what it says?" and he replied

"Do not feed the animals"

* That is from "Mr McGee and his Big Bag of Bread" - Thank you Lizzie and Michael for the that wonderful story book!

Pony Rides At The Birthday Party

2011-09-29T19:52:00.008-04:00

Pilar's and Petra's 5th Birthday Party was on Saturday and it was wonderful.

Jack had not one, not two, but three pony rides and I took so many photos you will have to see them here.

He's "a natural" on a pony too.

Teleri Visited

2011-09-17T20:24:00.011-04:00

Teleri and her Mum visited family for a reunion in the Catskills (1.5 hours south of us) and Teleri was able to take the train North to visit us for 24 hours.

I was able to take the day off and we wanted to make the most of our time together so rather than Teleri taking the train back, I decided to drive her back and Mum was able to join us. It was so much fun. We were able to visit Olana and visit some high end shops in Hudson.

Teleri's beautiful aunt (top photo, far right) is a talented artist.

The best thing was we got to meet Teleri's 2 aunts and her uncle. It was very special.

In the last photo: Pictured here is Mrs Jones and Ms Teleri Jones (with a Victoria Secret item).

I have more to say and more photos to add...

Thomas the Tank Engine

2011-09-09T20:04:00.020-04:00

Giggling Ruby

2011-09-04T20:10:00.006-04:00

Patrick and Annabel's new addition Ruby. Born in April. She is an absolute cutie.

Rob & Louie's Horse Farm

2011-08-21T07:08:00.012-04:00

Jack and I felt like we had died and gone to heaven when we visited Rob and Louie's horse farm. Rob took Jack for a ride on his tractor.

Mini Fair

2011-08-17T08:18:00.006-04:00

Fort Hardy Park had a mini fair last weekend and we visited it on Sunday. This was Jack's first ride and the centrifugal force was so strong I was concerned for a short while. But Jack enjoyed it so much he wanted to try out each and every ride. He was "hooked". The love of speed does run in the family! (Dad, Alastair, Patrick, Campbell, Roxy and I are "boy racers").

Jennifer's Wedding

2011-07-04T08:17:00.018-04:00

Jennifer and Jeremy got married at the Rochester Museum and Science Center last Saturday. The ceremony was in the rose garden followed by cocktails on the first floor and the reception on the mezzanine floor. It was spectacular and Jack and Lily and Gaby (baby pictured) could not believe the variety of tactile exhibits. There were so many buttons to push, levers to lift, sliding doors, etc, that Jack kept saying "I like weddings".

We visited Brockport again

2011-07-04T07:34:00.009-04:00

We visited Brockport 2 weeks ago for Dick's niece's wedding (more photos of that to follow). The day before the wedding Jack got to hang out with Dick's nephew's daughter Lily. Lily was a flower girl at the wedding and she is beautiful.

The week before we visited a local dairy farm where Jack became fascinated with barns and the tall, circular silos so when he saw the barn bird feeder - he had to get a closer look.

Can You Believe?

2011-06-07T18:23:00.008-04:00

... Jack will be two and a half next month but he already looks much older because of this haircut.

Plus, he is talking in sentences now and understands and responds to so much of what we say to him. We make a point of using the words "please" and "thank you" when we ask for things. To the point where he says "thank you" if he gets the simplest thing - even a little assistance is rewarded with a "thank you".

He is a sweet boy.

The Rest of the Day

2011-06-05T21:41:00.015-04:00

After the haircut we went to the open day for Schuylerville's new emergency station where a helicopter was to land at noon. But, unfortunately it had to attend a life-saving in Connecticut so we didn't get to see it. But we did get to see the inside of a demo (totally bare) ambulance and an emergency SUV instead which Jack loved.

Sunday Night Dinner

2011-06-05T21:20:00.013-04:00

Sandy, Travis, Tazio, Susu and Hanna come to dinner and we have a great time - especially Tazio and Jack. They play so well together for the majority of the time but now and again they "squabble"
.

Haircut II

2011-06-04T21:23:00.021-04:00

Jack got his second official haircut today and he looks like his uncle Campbell, a marine.

77.5 years apart

2011-06-01T22:38:00.008-04:00

John and Jack are tree climbers. Jack demonstrated his agility and skills this weekend for the first time ever and a day later John joined him in the Saucer Magnolia.

Church Chicken

2011-05-24T19:55:00.004-04:00

On Sunday St Stephen's Church had it's annual fund-raiser of marinated and grilled "Church Chicken". It is one of the most wonderful marinated chicken recipes we know (the recipe is secret). Jack had some for lunch and as he munched, he kept saying to us "I like chicken".

Jack was playing in his sand pit and his knees got dirty. Had to take a photo, it was such a good sight.

Let's Try That Again

2011-05-19T07:12:00.004-04:00

Last night was ASA's Annual Dinner - Forever Farmland Supper and I had to work late. Dick took care of Jack, taking him through his evening routine and putting him to bed (something I always do). Everything went well.

This morning Dick lifted Jack out of his crib and he didn't understand what Jack was saying. Jack became upset and even when I hugged him he was inconsolable. Jack went back into his bedroom, motioned to Dick to put him back in his crib. He lay down and asked for "Mummy". So, this time I went into his room and lifted him from his crib. He was back to his usual, chirpy self.

We started his day over just the way he wanted.

If only we could all do that when necessary.

Painting

2011-05-15T19:28:00.013-04:00

This is really how the day ended. Jack was so focused on his painting. The 4th photo really shows his "zoning".

It started with a walk down the road, briefly onto the boardwalk, through the cemetery and back home to find Grandma Susie's Kia Soul in the driveway. She was dropping off freshly cut lilac blossoms.

Asparagus, Fiddleheads and Ham

2011-05-13T19:55:00.005-04:00

T'is the time of year again for Fiddleheads. We had a friend who knew a landowner who had Ostrich Ferms growing wild so I was able to harvest them from the wild in the last few years.

But our friend moved to Texas and so this year I had to buy ours from the supermarket.

It has been a learning curve for me. A number of years ago I was hiking with John in the Battlefield (yes, where the Brits were defeated) and I came across a field full of Fiddleheads. John joined in to harvest the heads. When we got home I diligently cleaned and boiled them and sauteed them in butter and garlic aferwards. We were excited.

Yuck! They tasted like earwax and we spat them out. Now I pay more attention. They were not Ostrich Ferm Fiddleheads, but some other fern. I do recall they were hairier than I remembered. Luckily I am not so adventurous with mushrooms!

* simmered in a skillet in water for 6 minutes (pictured) and tossed with olive oil and Dijon mustard = delicious

Lip Moisturizer

2011-05-11T07:52:00.002-04:00

This past winter I applied lip moisturizer to Jack's lips a few times and he quickly learned to do it himself. But I had to laugh at the weekend when I walked into our bedroom and caught Jack happily (for a few seconds only) applying Dick's stick deodorant to his lips.

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T08:02:00.003-04:00

It is Mother's Day today. Dick and Jack gave me wonderful cards this morning and 2 Elephant Ear bulbs. The plants are huge and add a wonderful tropical aspect to any landscape. This image shows how big they can get (I found the image on google).

In a few hours Mum, Kelly and I are going to The Clark Museum. We will be back early afternoon. I hope to get a number of photos to add to this post.

Easter Sunday

2011-05-03T08:20:00.008-04:00

Many thanks to "Gramma Sue" for the Easter basket for Jack. He was so excited and he kept saying "I like choc-lat". He had 5 mini chocolate bunnies before we took him out for a walk. Needlesstosay he ran all the way down the road and back.

More photos to follow.....

New Wheels for Grandma

2011-04-23T15:11:00.002-04:00

Mum traded in her Toyota Tundra for a Kia Soul. This isn't a picture of her actual car, but it's the same colour. Nice, isn't it? She now gets 30 miles to the gallon. Which is pretty good when a gallon is now over $4!

Wot? There's no static on this slide!

2011-04-21T08:03:00.005-04:00

We took Jack to the school playground where they have a climbing frame, slides and swings. He was wearing fleece leggings which created static on the slides.

Pillowcases

2011-04-10T07:53:00.001-04:00

A friend gave me a sewing machine he came across in his garage. It's a straight-stitching 1960's Montgomery Ward. The rubber belt and power cable were so "dozed" they had to be replaced (Dick replaced the power cable and I replaced the belt, finding one online). It's a sweet machine and since I have not used a sewing machine since "Domestic Science" class* when I was 15 - I needed some skill-building projects. So that's why I have made a few pillowcases.

I found a wonderful tutorial on YouTube on "seamless" pillowcases. The last image demonstrates this.

The first pillow is a travel sized one I use for Jack, the second is mine (note to self: adjust right seam for a better fit) and the third seemed too bright a month ago when I finished it (I wanted to call is "Florida") but now that it is finally Spring, it will fit right in with the season.

* Our final project was a blouse and I was the last to complete mine because I had become the sewing-machine-troubleshooter. Whenever anyone had an issue - I would assist them (makes me wonder what the teacher was doing).

The other part of bathtime

2011-03-24T21:26:00.008-04:00

The other part of bath time is Diego's involvement with "his" tap.

Diego is not even a year old and his is a big cat. He likes to be with us at every opportunity and is into everything we do. He seems fearless about a lot of things that most cats dislike - the hairdryer, the vacuum, people who come to visit he has never met before. He is a pretty cool cat.

A Bath With A Difference

2011-03-18T08:49:00.011-04:00

Jack outgrew his baby bath and I had problems locating a well designed bigger one so, inspired by the French who have been known to bathe their babies in bucket-like baths, I became creative. Jack loves it. He is able to straighten his legs and enjoys the deeper water up to his armpits.

Green

2011-03-01T07:13:00.003-05:00

Mr Green Eyes. They have definitely changed color. They were gray for a long time.

Lots of Walks

2011-02-17T10:12:00.000-05:00

We had so many walks with Jackson - I lost count.

Jackson & Diego Love To Play

2011-02-13T19:19:00.009-05:00

I am preparing lunch in the kitchen while Jack sings to me and Jackson and Diego play quietly together in the living room.

I cannot remember having such a great weekend. We were outside walking Jackson at every opportunity. Jack was climbing the snow banks and demonstrating his newly learned* skill of making snow angels - lying down in the middle of the snowless road to do so. I told Dick "those are Irish Snow Angels".

Plus our great friends Chad and Deb dropped by this afternoon on their way back from Vermont. It was a brief visit. We always want more exposure. Makes us wish they lived closer than Ithaca.

* we didn't teach him this, so we are curious as to who did. Hopefully it was not Grandma Susie.

Jackson Snippet

2011-02-12T14:44:00.004-05:00

Jackson loves to sit on the back of the sofa and watch the world go by....until it's the mailvan and then he goes nuts. Luckily I didn't record that.

Dog-Sitting This Weekend

2011-02-10T07:59:00.006-05:00

This weekend we are going to dog-sit "Jackson", a Havanese. This isn't him but I thought I would post this now before it gets hectic. I will endeavor to take a few photos of Jack with Jackson.

I imagine Diego will be scarce. Also, there is a high possibility Jackson and Jack will exhaust one another (and us).

Singing toy

2011-02-06T08:03:00.002-05:00

Grandma Susie gave Jack this singing toy and she loved it so much she had to go out and buy one for herself.

Maybe we should borrow Grandma's and have them do a duet.

2011-01-24T20:34:00.004-05:00

We got a bit of snow. We have been making paths for Jack with our snow-blower. Here is Dick working on one right now.

At the weekends we take Jack sledding down the hill from The Monument. It turns out a lot of parents take their kids there to sled and it is wonderful. I will take photo of the hill with the Monument in the background, so you can appreciate it too.

2011-01-19T20:45:00.009-05:00

Diego (7 month old cat) has developed a bad habit in the past few days. Last night I heard an odd noise from the bathroom and I was able to catch him in the act but today he got away with it.

He is acting like butter would not melt in his mouth. Cheeky monkey.

A Day With John

2011-01-13T09:40:00.003-05:00

We had a GREAT day yesterday.

It all started with us getting 6-8" of snow overnight. This was on top of the 6" we got over the weekend. John's school had a "snow day" and was closed. My appointment with a client was canceled because they live way out in the countryside and there was the possibility it could take me an hour each way to get to there (the snow plows don't often get to the country roads). Mum took the train with a friend to New York City for the day. So we took John out for lunch to Panera's on a few shopping errands and to the bookstore before we took him to his Doctor's appointment. Even though the roads had been plowed and I utilized my one-button-push into all wheel drive, it was still pretty slippery and the 4Runner slid a few times. We even took John with us to pick Jack up from daycare. Which was good because it was John who connected us with Sharon in the first place (he married Sharon's brother and sister-in-law). We then took John home for a short while. We had to get Jack fed, bathed and to bed before John came back for dinner at 7:00pm.

It was dinner* and a movie. We were particularly interested in the movie because it has been filmed in Saratoga Springs and Troy. However, it was so slow-paced we gave up watching it within 15 minutes.

* venison sauteed in butter served with sides of mashed sweet potatoes and cauliflower cheese.

p.s. I took this photo of John in August 2010.

If The Glove Fits

2011-01-10T18:51:00.006-05:00

I wanted to post this snippet on the last posting, not that it really matters because I have a lot to add and snippets are good

Jack lying on the floor to look at his Lego barn was a new thing (and much appreciated) because he was consumed with it for hours (also a new thing). He was also consumed with his Thomas the Tank Engine train set (and we will get video of that soon).

I was able to give Dick a number of great gifts but this one did not fit (so sorry Dick) but I did have another pair as stand by which did fit.

So You Wanted More....

2011-01-10T17:40:00.005-05:00

Apparently 25 seconds of video posted last time is just not enough. So here is a little more. There is lots and snippets of it really make me laugh so I will do my best to post a few of them.

Some More of Christmas

2011-01-10T08:44:00.007-05:00

We tend to go for the cheaper, slightly imperfect “Charlie Brown” trees (with the compromised side facing the wall and decorated – you hardly notice). We bought our tree very early this year - A few days after Thanksgiving. John happened to see it on my car, parked in our driveway shortly after we brought it home. He was so excited about it that he phoned me and asked me if we had decorations for it. I said we had, they were hand me downs and were pretty tatty and tired. John explained that Mum was going to put up their short, vertical imitation tree (which could not hold many decorations) so he had many to give to us. That very evening he came to visit with 3 large boxes of decorations. But we waited a while before we “trimmed” the tree.

For the first few weeks we merely had the tree decorated with lights. We wanted the kitten and Jack to become accustomed to it and therefore be less likely to touch it. 2 weeks before Christmas we started to put the decorations on it. Jack helped us. We let him handle all but the glass decorations. Some of the items were amazing – biplanes, miniature bird feeders, a wooden “referee” moose with a string between it’s legs (when pulled it’s limbs went up), a gingerbread man, some of the colorful glass balls looked like their packaging had never been opened. The tree was transformed into something magnificent! We were so excited about it we invited Mum, John, Campbell and Kelly over for drinks to oogle at our tree. Needlesstosay there was not much looking at the tree due to Jack becoming highly animated with his new audience and us (later) playing our new DVD of Shaun The Sheep. It was a short and sweet gathering.

One evening a few days later I got a call from Mum “Just what kind of boxes did John bring you?” she uttered an expletive deletive when I answered. “Those are my decorations and I have been collecting them over the last 20 years!” I apologized and told Mum she could have them back…”but could we just appreciate them for one more evening?” “We will only give you a little grief when you take them back and we might even let Jack watch you taking them off the tree”.

Mum insisted we keep them and she trimmed her skinny imitation tree with lights only.

When we took our tree down last week we carefully repacked and returned all Mum's beautiful ornaments.

These photos demonstrate just how much Diego loves Jack. They are as thick as thieves when they play together. Diego loves to be involved in everything.

Christmas Choo Choo

2011-01-06T09:47:00.004-05:00

This is a special post because is it "Grandma Sue's" birthday today and she sent us this cute Christmas decoration a number of weeks ago and she wanted to see it up and working.

Happy Birthday Sue! Thank you for this cute Choo Choo!

Jack's 1st Professional Haircut

2010-12-22T09:23:00.007-05:00

Shelly, our hairdresser in the village is a master of first haircuts. Poor Jack's quivering lips only lasted a minute and he ended up quite enjoying it. Shelly did a great job.

Jack now does our shopping

2010-12-13T19:29:00.003-05:00

Susu Moved to Boston

2010-12-05T21:46:00.003-05:00

Our most wonderful daycare provider moved to Boston. Susu has family there and it all made sense to make the move. We realized from an early point that Susu is an exceptional daycare provider and it has been an emotional few months (she gave us notice in October). Susu's appreciation for kids has her loved a lot. She's wonderful.

Happiness

2010-12-05T19:40:00.010-05:00

This particular rocking horse has been in the same family until I bought it from a local Grandfather on craigslist.org. It is 50 years old and in great condition. We all cherish it. (Just in case you are wondering - only Jack rides it)

When the cat is away....

2010-12-02T08:57:00.002-05:00

The mice will play.

Last week we were visiting Mum and John and Mum left her computer "unsupervised".

Nice Hat.....I Mean....Cat!

2010-11-27T09:11:00.006-05:00

Every evening, after Jack's bath he gets his bottles of milk with Diego and me. Jack often likes to take advantage of me by sticking his finger up my nostril (doing so in the first photo and again in the one before the last photo).

You can see the love Jack and Diego have for one another.

Halloween

2010-11-23T21:18:00.005-05:00

...it has been a while since I last posted...sorry...

Jack was a little red devil (he was a devil last year too). Right around the time we wanted to take Jack and Tazio door to door trick or treating...there was hail. So, Tazio came to visit.

My computer is compromised and I had to reload the operating system in order to buy some time to back everything up (this is when you ask yourself when did you last back up your computer or important files?).

Tazio's costume is wonderful.

In Memoriam - Tootie Fruity

2010-08-10T07:58:00.010-04:00

Our beloved cat Tootie Fruity had to be put down on Friday 7/30/10.

I miss her terribly and I still keep having phantom Tootie moments when I walk into a room and something catches the corner of my eye I think it is her.

A friend was adopted by a pregnant cat a few months ago and the cat gave birth 4 weeks ago. As soon as the kittens are weened (in about 2 weeks) we will adopt one. Dick and I went to see the kittens last week. Even though they are cute and cuddly, I felt no excitement (possibly the effect of grief).

I am grateful I didn't follow my immediate reaction to get a replacement cat/kitten right away. I did go window-shopping at the local pet store as an emotional exercise. It did cross my mind I would be comparing the new pet with Tootie. Our relationship was unique, as all relationships should be.

In the meantime, time without Tootie is proving to be cathartic.

This new kitten is going to be so important in Jack's life. They will be best buddies - just like Tootie and I were.

Caroline, Joe and Sam visit

2010-08-07T22:17:00.014-04:00

John's daughter Caroline visits (for close to a week) with her husband Joe and their son Sam and their dog "Fruit Salad". They live in Richmond, VA. People are blurred because I didn't use my flash - I wanted to capture the ambiance.

Jack Meets His First Pony & Goat

2010-07-31T21:41:00.007-04:00

Impromtu Nap

2010-07-31T21:02:00.003-04:00

Today we buried our beloved cat "Tootie Fruity". Tootie was a gift to me from Dick in 1999. Dick and I had a cry in front of Jack at her burial. I think Jack picked up on our grief and together with his physical pain of teething he cried and cried until he fell asleep in my arms. It was out of schedule for him, around 9:30 am (he naps now only around 12pm) and I just wanted to keep him with me for the duration of his nap.

Grieving and nurturing seem to go together.

His nap was only an hour but when he awoke I determined he wanted what ever he could do to remain close to me. That was so cathartic and reassuring that Jack wanted to make me feel "better". It helped.

John's Camp At Moreau

2010-07-14T19:33:00.007-04:00

What a cool location - right on the edge of a ravine so quite private. Those lamps are mini lamps (only about 4" tall) and yes, John sleeps on a dog's bed and his dustpan and brush is about 3" wide. Unfortunately this blog will not let me post the panorama of the whole camp.

Homemade Mini Burger

2010-07-09T23:22:00.002-04:00

A while ago (2 days before grandma's birthday (6/28/10)) we made Jack his first homemade mini hamburger. He loved it.

Jack in the box

2010-06-28T18:54:00.002-04:00

We had to buy a multi-room air conditioner recently. It's cardboard box caught my eye and I cut a door and port holes in it for Jack.

The first time he saw it I had to demonstrate getting into it. It is not that big a box and I was thrilled I fitted into it. Almost daily he asks me to get in it with him. He loves it. We will have to get a photo of Mum and son in the box.

Stink

2010-06-16T08:14:00.003-04:00

Last night after Jack's dinner we were hanging out in the living room and Jack had been leading me around. He went over to the coffee table and slipped behind it to look for my laptop (which was not there - it was in my office). He signaled to me that he wanted some laptop time. I retrieved it and we started watching Blue's Clues on YouTube.

I got a strong whiff of poo so I lifted him up and sniffed his diaper. No, not there. I got another strong whiff so I thought it was perhaps on his clothing somewhere so I sniffed his sleeve, his shoulder and even his cheek (there was something on his cheek). Jack was watching the laptop and he stopped, leaned away from me and looked at me as if to say "What are you doing? Is my mother really a dog in disguise?".

It was on the underside of his shoe.

Yuck!

It is amazing how quickly that shoe was taken outside and scrubbed!

p.s. and for those who may be wondering...it was not his, it was probably cat shit from playing out in Susu's (day care provider) yard.

Cocktail party on Saturday

2010-06-02T08:12:00.007-04:00

Mum and John hosted a cocktail party on Saturday. If you daydream at my dress you can see a circle of swimming dolphins.

Boardwalk

2010-06-02T07:39:00.010-04:00

There is a wonderful boardwalk at the end of our street. It turns into a trail through the woods and links to the neighboring village. We visited it with Patrick, Finbar and Alfie on Friday and that is when I discovered Finbar can fly and Jack loves being spun by Alfie.

Alastair's visit

2010-05-27T20:18:00.009-04:00

Uncle Alastair (lives in Australia) put together an impressive itinerary for his USA, Ireland, Yorkshire and London trip. Alastair was in New York State this week. Tomorrow he is off to Washington DC for a train tour and he returns to London and then back to Australia.

I particularly like the 2nd photo of Alastair because I caught the pure blueness of his eyes.

Award Trailer finds a new home

2010-04-08T20:57:00.011-04:00

On March 27th Mum and John's 27 foot Award caravan found a new home. It was the end of an era and an emotional one.

The caravan was my home for the summer of 1998 when Mum's friend Maureen and her daughter Jennifer needed a place to stay during track season when their apartment was rented out for track. I gave up my apartment and moved into the caravan for 8 weeks. The caravan was fantastic.

Russ and Arlene are the new owners.

On March 31st

2010-04-08T09:32:00.003-04:00

This day last week, after Jack's 5pm dinner (and totally unprovoked by us) Jack picked up a black strapped padded lunch box, pretended to put it over his shoulder as he walked to the front door, waving goodbye to us. So we said "Bye...where are you off to.... school?"

(I was able to take a photo of him playing with the lunch box this morning)

Esther's bowls

2010-03-29T19:32:00.008-04:00

This time of year makes me recall writing letters as a youngster. In particular, to my maternal grandparents in England.

Grandpa and Grandma lived in Biggin Hill, Kent. My spelling was not so good. They loved "Esther" and wondered who this special lady was in my life (Easter) and in a separate letter "my sluggish bowls" (bowels) made them laugh.

They especially loved to tease me about the latter.

At this time of year I still think about Esther.

Corned Beef & Cabbage @ Mum & John's

2010-03-18T09:20:00.006-04:00

It was delicious! Mum's hiding her face because she "didn't have her face on".

Is that a halo on John's head?

Happy St Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T08:19:00.006-04:00

It is a much bigger celebration over here. However the only form of celebrating for us is dressing up Jack and we may have corned beef (not the canned stuff we know in Ireland - but a fatty brined beef which is boiled (it is quite delicious)) and cabbage tonight.

Aunt Mollie sent Jack this t-shirt. Thank you Mollie!

I thought I might not get photographs of Jack this morning. He is teething again and we think his molars are giving him rosey cheeks and a lot of pain. But after some pain medication he was singing again.

Mr Kissylips

2010-03-11T10:29:00.004-05:00

Our friend Raechel affectionately calls Jack "Mr Kissylips".

Your Lines Are...

2010-02-28T15:16:00.004-05:00

I took a quick video of Jack today and he was a little vocal. It almost sounded like something coherent (he is not there yet). Every day Jack's babbles are different because he is growing and learning.:

I can almost imagine he has been directed to say:

"Ah"

"Where's Dick?"

before saying "bye" as he exits right

That's My Hair....that's my eye

2010-02-20T09:12:00.002-05:00

Seven Teeth

2010-02-19T17:52:00.001-05:00

Yes, four on top and three below. Jack became quite animated when he realized he was being filmed (takes after his uncle Patrick)!

Cheeky Squirrel

2010-01-23T13:26:00.003-05:00

This squirrel is trying to get to our window mounted bird feeder and it is great entertainment for us, especially Jack.

It is not only the images but the sounds

2009-12-28T19:50:00.002-05:00

... of your little one that you want to remember too ...

Snow on December 5th

2009-12-19T07:51:00.005-05:00

Jack's first experience with snow was a good one.

Although he was wondering why Mum put odd blue things on his hands.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2009-12-03T19:13:00.003-05:00

We Elfed ourselves for Christmas. Yes, even Jack is a dancer!

So....lamb chops with Thanksgiving squash?

2009-11-30T09:09:00.002-05:00

We returned from Brockport, NY at 11:30 pm on Saturday night and I took this video around 3:30 pm Sunday. You can see the daylight is starting to dwindle. Dick (and Jack) were watching a football match on TV with the sound in mute (because I cannot stand the sound of football matches). We were all tired. Jack is still getting over his recent cold and chest congestion.

Drum tester

2009-11-29T00:40:00.003-05:00

Jack's 1st Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T13:27:00.004-05:00

Mum's Art Opening

2009-11-07T19:15:00.005-05:00

Mum has two pieces of her wonder artwork in Riverfront Studios and the art opening was tonight. We were able to make a fleeting visit to support her. It was so well attended we were only able to get a few photos.

Mum's artwork was so well placed too - you go Mum!

It was fantastic but you cannot tell from our photographs because Jack attended for 30 minutes and was home, bathed and asleep for the night within the next 30 minutes.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T20:52:00.003-05:00

I have to share this but sometimes posting photographs one by one to the blog is too slow so here is Jack's Halloween with his friend Tazio.

Aunt Marg & Uncle George

2009-10-15T19:07:00.015-04:00

Aunt Marg and Uncle George paid us an impromptu visit yesterday so we called "Susu" Jack's day care provider and we were able to take them to visit with Jack at Susu's. It was a special day!

9 Months!

2009-10-13T20:41:00.006-04:00

Jack is 9 months old tomorrow!

He had his first hair trim last week (photo taken before the trim) and his upper front two teeth have partially broken through. His two bottom teeth came in about 2 months ago.

This morning I witnessed him getting into a crawl position ... it will not be long now.

Shame it will not fit

2009-09-30T10:10:00.002-04:00

Shame it will not fit ... by Halloween.

Can you guess what Jack was going to be?

Video of Jack # 1

2009-09-23T09:24:00.002-04:00

Homemade Teething Biscuit # 1

2009-09-05T09:23:00.006-04:00

The recipe called for banana flavored rice cereal which I didn't have so I used half a banana which changed the consistency entirely. It was a good starting point and I was very happy with the flavor - as was Jack.

Tractor pulls...

2009-08-28T21:27:00.004-04:00

We have not seen any yet at the Greenwich Washington County Fair but this is what I found:

We took Jack to the fair tonight and he loved it even though we did not see any tractor pulls. Here he is hanging out with Dad and Grandma Susie in the Poultry & Rabbit exhibit.

Teething Biscuit anyone?

2009-08-28T10:05:00.006-04:00

This variety of teething biscuit is pretty tasty (yeah, I like to check out Jack's food) but after 30 minutes a large piece can break away and become a choking hazard. The last two photos reveal his disappointment after I fished a large piece out of his mouth and threw everything away.

Jack is always closely supervised when he gets anything like this. I have already found a teething biscuit recipe I will try for him this weekend.

Hague, NY

2009-08-17T09:55:00.009-04:00

Dick and Doug had to visit a new building site in Hague, NY on Saturday to put together a landscaping proposal so Jack and I went with them. It was Jack's first view of Lake George. He wasn't too impressed with the waves or the cool temperature of the water. We had a nice time just watching the world go by while Dick and Doug took measurements. Hague is 1.5 hours north of us.

This is where I made a movement that was not good for me. 2 years ago when weeding our veggie patch I injured myself by not bending my knees - pulling hip ligaments. It took 6 months to recover. I did a similar thing again at the Lake - I didn't feel any discomfort at the time - just 2-3 days later I was in agony. Hopefully this recovery is much shorter. My fingers are crossed.

Expedition?

2009-08-17T09:01:00.005-04:00

No, just setting off to spend a few hours in Dad's office just over 200 yards down the street.

Can we just get a close up here to see both are wearing sunglasses.

Taking after ...

2009-08-11T08:25:00.003-04:00

his late Grandpa Jack with one hand behind his head (and when he starts moving one leg from side to side too - we will really know he is taking after Grandpa Jack).

Special Thanks

2009-07-20T08:48:00.005-04:00

to Sue and Mollie for staying last week to help us out with Jack (our daycare provider was on vacation). We are so very grateful for Sue's and Mollie's support and all the gifts they showered on Jack including this swing (which put Jack to sleep).

Demonstration for Marilyn

2009-07-20T08:31:00.002-04:00

This is a quick post to demonstrate to Marilyn (a local Murder Mystery author) how to include links on blogs. Marilyn recently appeared in this article.

p.s. Marilyn, I love your new website

John baptized John

2009-07-19T19:27:00.007-04:00

(Sharon Boyd took this photograph for us)

...Well that is "John baptized Jack" and there are lots and lots of photographs from the special day. Not only did step-father John baptize Jack but Dad was able to fly over from Ireland to attend -- both very special events. Thank you John and Dad!

Finbar's Relay Race

2009-07-16T09:40:00.004-04:00

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T10:18:00.003-04:00

Dick's first Father's Day as a dad and Jack's first day having baby cereal rice in his high chair (sorry no photos of that).

Fleetingly

2009-06-14T11:31:00.005-04:00

... happy Jack is back.