Christmas 2007

Christmas was as jolly as ever this year. We found a lovely tree at La Bella's:

Valerie and Michael are here for the week. There was much conversation, dog walking, and good eats.

Little Sue was thrilled with her My Little Pony Skywishes, the only thing she asked Santa to bring.

Brendan actually had some time to relax and enjoy the season.

More Kipper and Sue

Child and puppy are doing better and better together ...

Soccer Is Done

Sue's soccer experience so far has been mostly running around at the tail end of the pack of kids, looking kind of lost. But during the last couple of games this season, she really started to get the hang of it, getting into the fray, and even kicking the ball a couple of times. Hurray!

Kipper and Sue

Kipper is settling into the family quite nicely. We start doggie obedience training in two weeks, and Kipper gets fixed around then too. Although in general he has been very good for a puppy, it's been lots of work, and I'm really looking forward to when he's a bit older and more under control. That said, it's wonderful having a dog in the house again -- the eager puppy face at the door when you come in, the soft warm presence on the sofa in the evenings, the bouncy goofy pup playing in the woods.

Sue had a stomach virus this week. She spent most of her time on the sofa, with Kipper. They are getting to be good buddies.

Puppy Love

Well, after months of looking, we finally found a rescue puppy. Last Saturday we drove to Harrison, NY (Westchester County) to see a puppy billed as part Springer Spaniel, part lab. The puppy is adorable, and we brought him home. However, it's much more likely that he's a mix of Border Collie and something else, Pointer?

Sue is a combination of excited, proud, affectionate, and jealous. In many ways it's like having another child in the house.

The vet gave him a clean bill of health, and put him around 18 weeks old.

The rescue organizations called him Bobo, then Timmy. We're calling him Kipper. And Little Guy. And Little Man. And Poochie. It'll be a miracle if he ever learns his name.

Guilford Fair

It's fair season. Last weekend was the Guilford Fair. This weekend is the Durham Fair. I do love the fairs, but by the time the Durham Fair is over, I'm done with fairs (until next year, of course).

I always feel a little guilty posting about something a week or longer ago, but I'd feel even sillier not posting. So here you go, highlights of our visit to the Guilford Fair last weekend:

Sue rode a camel and a pony.





The petting zoo is always a big hit.




Sue had to go in the Tilt-A-Whirl again, with Natalie and Kim. It's almost impossible to get a good picture with those things turning and twisting.


Brendan with Sue, and Larry with Natalie, raced down the big slide together.


Towards the end of the day, when Sue got tired, we stopped by the horse pull for a little rest. Sue took these pictures. In the first one they're raking the ground under the sledge in preparation for the next pull. In the second picture they're using a tractor to pull the sledge back in place for the start of another pull.

Haddam Neck Fair

Saturday was one of those perfect New England end-of-summer days -- high air pressure, crystal clear air, warm sun, light breeze. We took full advantage of the day: first, a swim for Brendan, a sail on the sunfish for Susan, and some beach time for Sue. Next, it was on to the Haddam Neck Fair, where we met up with our friends Nathan and Joanna, and the Dattilos (Larry, Kim, and their daughter Natalie, with friend Henry). This fair is just the right size for little kids (and adults who don't like huge crowds and long waits in line too). They've got the rides, the animals, the music, the fair food, and this time they were doing dog agility trials, where the dogs run an obstacle course. Lots of fun was had by all ...

Natalie, Kim and Sue rode the Tilt-A-Whirl. Several times. Totally Barfaramic. Henry, Brendan and Larry looked on, glad they weren't the ones being flung around.



Sue rode the carousel.


Brendan took Sue down the big slide.


Sue wanted cotton candy more than anything. And she got a pony ride too.


Nathan, Joanna, and Brendan (who won a frog for Sue)


There was a petting zoo with llamas and Jacob sheep (supposedly the oldest breed of sheep).




Top it all off with yummy pizza at the newest place in town, come home and collapse. Ahh, those wonderful end-of-summer (or is it start-of-fall?) days!

First Day Of Kindergarten

Sue's first day of Kindergarten was yesterday. She is going to a morning pre-school program where we drop her off, then a bus takes to her Sliney school (the local elementary school) for Kindergarten, then she takes the bus home.

Sue's backpack is now full of her kindergarten stuff.



This is the building where the pre-school program is held, about ten minutes away from the elementary school building.



Sue settled right into the pre-school program with paper and markers. She discovered that a nice boy named Georges from CDC (her nursery school) is in both this pre-school program and in her Kindergarten class.



Both Brendan and I were a wreck all day, although Sue was fine with it all. I went to meet the bus, only to discover when the bus arrived (half an hour late!) that Sue was not on it! Yikes! Once the driver got on the radio, it was discovered that Sue was on bus #9. I ended up meeting her back at Sliney. Sue was taking it all in stride. Not so much Mommy. Round trip, house-bus stop-Sliney-home, 1 and 1/2 hours. And much agita.

Needless to say, Sue's bus number is plastered all over her backpack and Sue has been drilled with her bus number. Hopefully today will go more smoothly.

Yarn Harlot At RJ Julia

I went to hear the Yarn Harlot speak at RJ Julia's last night with Abigail and Jessie. What a hoot! Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is even funnier in person than in her books. I was laughing so hard I was crying.




She took the usual sock pictures ...




And there was a book signing, of course.



One of the best nights out I've had in a while.

An Unexpected Visitor

Yesterday Brendan and I came home from dropping Sue off at school and found this guy in the house:

 

It had chewed a hole in the screen on the kitchen sink window to get in, eaten a good third of an apple, and was running around trying to get out again. You should have seen Brendan and me trying to shepherd the squirrel out. We opened the back door, then Brendan went one way and I went another, trying to herd the poor frightened animal. It took us a good 5-10 minutes of "herding" before the squirrel finally found the open door and ran out onto the deck.

Oberlin Reunion

May 25, 2007

I dithered endlessly ... to go or not to go? Finally, on the day of the deadline, I sent in our reservations. We would go, the entire family, to my 25th college reunion at Oberlin.

The 11-hour drive was as uneventful as I could have wished. Little Sue is a very good traveller, Brendan is willing to drive so I can knit, the weather cooperated, and although spending the entire day in the car is not my idea of a great time, it's a lot cheaper than flying.

Oberlin put the 25th reunion class in one of its nicest dorms, Talcott.





Then they put the overflow (that included us) in another of its nicest dorms, right next door to Talcott, Baldwin.

There were organized children's activities, so Sue was entertained, while I wallowed in nostalgia as I dragged Brendan all around town and around campus. When not being dragged around, Brendan found some time to recover from the long car trip:



I hung out lots with Nancy and John. The class dinner was noisy, long, and still lots of fun.



Nancy and I met during freshman orientation, and although we don't get to see nearly as much of each other as we'd like, our friendship is still going strong.

Sue's Latest School Photo

Sue's school photographer has consistently produced wonderful pictures of Sue. This year's school pic is no exception.

This Little Piggie

Last weekend was the CT Sheep and Wool Festival. I was in heaven, Brendan was bored, and Sue had a good time. This year they had a table set up with toys and games for little kids, and Sue picked up a pig nose. Ever since we got home she's been wanting to play piggie ...

Soccer

On Tuesday, April 24, little Sue was slated to have her first 'organized' soccer experience. We wanted her to have a little exposure to soccer so she wouldn't be completely lost; she also missed the first 'season' because it clashed with ballet lessons.

Thank God, the dad of a favored schoolmate is the coach and had little Sue put on a team which has two of her friends on it.

So we dragged her to the park the week before to try out her new ball

 

On the Saturday before, we took her to the park in full regalia. She liked keepin the ball away from us, but was not much interested in her dad's expert instruction on passing or shooting. 

She loves her soccer gear, though: the cleats were very good in the woodchips of the playground, the synthetic athletic shorts went very fast on the slide and the shinguards really helped when climbing around the playscape.

When we arrived, coach Brunner took them through a little warm-up... 

...and thereafter a few shots on goal and then a free-form ball of kids chasing a ball around the field, with a slightly changing cast of characters as free substitution reigned supreme. (Little Sue is number three in the yellow shirt)