PEACE Quote

May the tree of our life
Be firmly rooted in the soil of love.
Let good deeds be the leaves on the tree.
May words of kindness form its flowers
And may peace be its fruits.

-Amma

Video of Flooding in Wilton

Sunday's snow had turned to slush and then it rained all night, so I was surprised to see that school was closed on Monday. Then I went outside and saw the small river pouring through the stone wall, down the side of our garage, across our back lawn and then into and through our fire pit.

Our dirt road washed out completely a few houses down the hill from us and around the corner one neighbor almost lost their living room to the torrent.

Roads all over town will need to be repaired or repaved after water completely overwhelmed the normal drainage system and dug deep channels next to them, undermined the blacktop. I don't look forward to next year's tax bill, though state and (supposedly) federal aid is on the way.

Route 101, the main east-west thoroughfare across the state was blocked by a landslide at the town line and even now, nearly two weeks later, all Rt 101 traffic is detouring through downtown Wilton, where a temporary traffic light (the only one in town!) has been set up. It's a mess at the commute hours. The hillside that collapsed is so unstable it may be weeks before it can be repaired.

Yes, that's a fish in the street next to Town Hall.

- Jeff

Can you find Henry in these photos?

Round 2 of our newest game here at Susie's minutiae. Can you find Henry in these photos? Good luck, because he's decked out in camo, head to toe!

Making Change for Good

My girlfriend Christine and I went into Cambridge last night to hear a talk by Cheri Huber, who I've mentioned here before. I would link to the posts I've written about her in the past, but I don't know exactly how to do it and BloggerHelp is unavailable. So go up to the search window up there and type in "Cheri Huber". That'll get you there. I just haven't posted in awhile and I want to get this out. Otherwise it won't get out.

Which was Cheri's point last night. She's a buddhist monk, from a big monastary (complete with hermitages!) in Northern California, and has written many books that have changed my life and the lives of others.


---
I am having to laugh right now... I'm trying to pull my thoughts together into something with enough power to perhaps get you to check out one of her books or search for past posts of mine. And I'm listening to Dave Matthews, whose music can make my emotions swell and my heart pound just from the sheer goodness of it all. And Maggie is standing at my feet telling me her favorite lines from her favorite movies, in attempt to entice me to play one for her. She wants to watch Madagascar. "Please? can I watch it please?! I really want to watch it. I like that part --" and now her voice drops a couple octives "I like to move it move it I like to move it move it!"

I'm having trouble centering my thoughts. Which was ALSO Cheri's point last night! But I know she'd be laughing too. Anyway. really good stuff. The title of this post is the title of her new book, and I will be checking it out for shizzle. You should do so also. You will thank me.

more later, I hope!

Stormy Monday

What a bunch of rain that has fallen today!




Here's behind the town hall, and is that a dead fish in the road?!



This is about a mile from our house. Yikes!

We get a visit in the night

Friday night, Henry observed the following:

Well, I saw my motion detector light go on outside. I thought there was a car pulling up. So I looked out my bedroom window and I saw a big black bear with a grey nose, but the tip of the nose was black.

I went to my parent’s room and said, “Mom! Dad! Call the animal patrol! There’s a bear outside!” We all ran back into my room and looked out the window. Luckily the motion detector light was still on, but we didn’t see the bear.

Dad ran downstairs. He looked out the porch window, turned the backyard floodlights on and here is what he saw:

Jeff observed the following:

I remember Henry saying it was a black bear. He swore that’s what he has seen and I know that Henry really knows his creatures, so I had no reason to doubt it. I crept down the stairs to turn on the backyard floodlights, which are not on motion detect and have to be turned on from the second-floor screen porch. I opened the door, switched on the outside floodlights, and listened. I didn’t hear anything, so I started tip toeing to the screens. That’s when I heard the footsteps start. And they were very close, it sounded like it was right underneath me. It must have stopped walking when it heard me or when the lights came on. But it didn’t seem in a hurry; the steps were very slow and heavy-sounding in the crunchy snow, like a human’s. It was heading out toward the back lawn, right where the floodlights shine. When I got to the screen, there he was, 10 yards away walking away from me! He had walked down along the west side of the house, and was now shuffling out onto our backyard lawn. We have seen small black bears crossing through our backyard before, but this one was big. Definitely full-grown. He turned back toward the house once or twice and the nose was just as Henry described. I wanted the others to see, so I ran upstairs just as he started heading across the back of the house toward the fire pit. By the time I got Henry and Susie to Maggie’s window, they only got a quick glimpse. Poor Maggie was almost asleep when we rushed into her room and turned off her princess lamp so we could see out the window, much to her chagrin.

Maggie observed the following:

It was very scary.

And I observed the following:

I saw the tail end of the black bear heading around the tree toward the fire pit.

Kermit gets his haircut

Well, sort of. We're not exactly finished yet. He looks like he's got big cowboy chaps on his front legs because he got so skittish about the clippers on his legs. And of course the little goatee he insisted on.

Here he is in the middle of his haircut:



Poor Kerm. bless his heart. Here he is just trying to put the whole experience behind him:



But it does make him a very popular cuddle buddy!

Can you find Henry in these photos?

I picked up some hunters camoflauge makeup from the still good table at the dump this weekend. Henry was thrilled. When I got home from going out for dinner last night, he'd showered and had his dad cut his hair. he had these very dramatic black eyebrows where he hadn't washed the makeup out - wish I'd gotten a picture of that!

Maggie is such a goof ball

If you ask her to smile for the camera, this is what she gives you:



This is a sweet little summer dress Maggie's Aunti Di sent her for her birthday. she really loves it - thanks Dian! I like this photo, how the center of it is in focus, and on the flower.

A word about Rudy and Kermit

Here is Rudy doing what he does nearly all day these days, laying around. He's a wise old man with many aches and pains, bless his heart.



And here is sweet Kerm. He's about to get a haircut one of these days. I noticed that this blog has just passed the 100th post mark, and that I gave Kermit his last haircut right around the time this blog got going! So Kermit's haircuts last about 100 blog posts. or about five months. not bad!



here is is after his last haircut. I love how his hair makes him look so different. Although I prefer the shorter look, myself. Makes him want to cuddle more.

Weekend Update

Well I had a great weekend. Jeff took Maggie up to Maine for the weekend (and they had their own good time), and Henry and I stayed behind. We went to see "Meet the Robinsons", which was such a great movie. Papa if you're reading this, you would love this movie. We saw it at Chunky's, which is a combination restaraunt and movie theater. We went with our good friends Bob and his daughter Emily.

Henry and I also went on a walk around sunset down to the farm. That was really nice. I'm trying to get caught up in Henry's jetstream of youth and vitality. I asked him to hold me accountable for getting outside each and every day, and the reconnection with nature and outdoors has been good for all of us.

Did anyone else notice the beautiful moon this weekend?



On Sunday Henry and I did a whole bunch of housework and I feel about two steps ahead as a result. Finally got the christmas tree hauled ito the woods (thank you Henry) and the swing back out onto the deck. a bunch of sweeping and hauling. I paid Henry ten cents for every item not found in nature he collected from the back yard (he made over 2.50!) and then another three bucks for other work too minute to mention here but certainly mattered to the overall goal. in the meantime I cleaned out the garage and got my piles set up for what will be several trips to the dump this week. the improvement in the garage is significant, let me tell you.

Jeff and Maggie got home mid day on Sunday, and he took us all out for ice cream after dinner. Another sign of spring in new england being the ice cream stands are open again (although it appears to be earlier in the season than ever before). I love mint chocolate chip in a waffle cone. you?

The kids play outside

These pictures are from sometime last week. Maggie was so thrilled to be out there, doing the same stuff as her big brother.

Pictures from our walk

Henry and I went on a walk yesterday to the farm. I took him to a new spot, one he hadn't visited before, on the non blueberry field side of the road. The water was really flowing as the ice and snow melted and we found a couple different little impromptu streams and creeks.



if you look up close in this one, you can see the little ice covers that've formed along the segments of the plant that droops across the creek.



this is a neat shot of a moss covered stump. I like the idea of using it as a backdrop somehow in a photo collage. the green stump looks like a mountain or big hill from this perspective.


the path we were walking along is something of a nature super highway. We saw turkey tracks and deer tracks on saturday, and then while walking along the same path with jeff and maggie this afternoon, we noticed some kind of wolf or coyote print. these pictures are from Saturday.


I like how all the turkeys seem to keep to the right and the deers to the left.



there's something like a 'race car boneyard' at the bottom of the field we were walking through, and I saw this bumper sticker on one of the dead cars, made me think of Brooke.



we also spent some time visiting with the two dogs that live at the farm, Riley (in white) and Scout (in black).



and then we wrapped up the evening with dinner at Chilis. here's maggie and her dad, enjoying each others company.

Grasshopper New Media

GNMParents

GNMParents is a multi-media channel featuring blogs, podcasts and video, aiming to provide a full and rich content experience for parents at all stages of parenthood. Our goal is to inform, entertain and engage the community.

There is a lot of good stuff there, so if you're a parent, ch-ch-ch-check it out!

Maggie's toys

I made Maggie a castle out of recycled stuff, painted it white and then mod podged tissue all over it. Then I sprayed it a bunch with sealer, then I squeezed a bunch of puffy paint onto it. She uses it to stage elaborate plays, casting any suitable friend in the role of a lifetime.


This morning we decided to fill up her castle with all available cast members and take photos for you. (And I wanted to show off the little felt stuff I've stitched up here and there!)


Here is Little Guy, on the left. He plays the Beast. On the right is Phillipe, the faithful steed.


I am trying to figure out ways to make clothes for the various dolls. I think I need different fabrics and more experience. I sure hope I pick up a sewing machine at a yard sale this summer! wish me luck!

And the purple rose I whipped up in request to Maggie needing a rose for sleeping beauty to hold while waiting for the prince (played by Woody from Toy Story) to kiss her.


Dora and Polly Pocket hug it out at the castle entrance.



cute, huh? HUH?!?!

Me and my Daddy

This picture is from a couple years ago, and it's the picture for March on our calendar in the kitchen.

Book Report

I just finished "Such a Long Journey" by Rohinton Mistry. Such a wonderful book. This is the guy that wrote "A Fine Balance", which I loved, and also "Swimming Lessons: and Other Stories from Firozsha Baag". This author is so terrific, I can't begin to tell you.

from the back cover:

"Such a Long Journey" introduces us to a novelist who recalls both Dickens and the early V.S. Naipaul. Through the best of movtives Gustad Noble becomes enmeshed in the corruption of the Indira Gandhi years. Gustad's attempt to sort out his conflicting loyalties manages to be ribald and heartbreaking, deeply compassionate adn unsparing, in its depiction of the venalities and compromises that make up this novel's large and teeming world.

Gustad is such a wonderful man to observe as he makes his way through the story. I really enjoy novels that are set in other countries, written by people from those countries. Mistry was raised in Bombay and emigrated to Canada in 1975, and his descriptions of the plight of the average joe living out their lives in the heart of Bombay, India are totally delicious. I really did savor every word of this novel, just as I have the other two books of his I've read. I just ordered his one other book I've not read online, in fact!

My favorite passage:

Dinshawji smiled weakly. 'Your smiles will vacate the premises,' said Gustad, 'when you hear what I have to tell you.'

'You keep shouting at me,' he complained. 'All afternoon you have been drowning yourself in anger. But why not say what has left its sting poking in your heart?'

"I want you to be able to enjoy your cup of tea first. It may be the last thing you will ever enjoy.'

Dinshawji laughed, a poor copy of his usual incorrigible laugh. 'What suspense you are creating, yaar. Taking tuitions from Alfred Hitchcock or what?'

(Dinshawji is a real cutup at work, raunchy joke and has been making jokes about wanting to introduce the bank receptionist named Laurie to his lorri. 'You can play with my lorri,' he said, 'such fun the two of you will have together.' Well Laurie finds out that lorri is a slang term for penis and realizes what's been going on, and so decides to confide in Gustad before taking the matter up the chain of command. But obviously she is mortified and wants to quit, but can't quit, etc. Gustad assures Laurie that he will convince Dinshawji never to upset her again and has arranged to meet Dinshawji after work to lay into him.)

Gustad minced no words, wanting them to be as deadly as the goaswalla's knife that went bhup! Dinshawji's pale countenance lost its last trace of colour; his mouth fell open, fetid breath billowed across the table. 'But there is more,' said Gustad mercilessly. Dinshawji gazed blankly at his hands in his lap, too ashamed to look up, too dazed to speak. "Luckily, Laurie does not believe in your secret service and ten lakh rupees and guerrillas. She laughed when she told me. But if it reaches Madon's ears? And he gets suspicious about our deposits? What are we going to do then, you bloody fool?'

(so then Gustad tells Dinshawji that he must stop harrassing the coworker, and that he will tell the others that 'poor Dinshawji's health is not good again, he is completely under the weather' so that Dinshawji has an excuse for toning down his behavior across the board at the bank where they work. Thru out the book, Dinshawji is described in such a way so you realize he has been slowly growing seriously ill.)

From the next morning, Dinshawji changed utterly. Everyon'es heart went out to the grave individual, suddenly fragile and spent, who greeted them with only a quiet hallo. When Gustad came across him later in the day, he was surprised at how authentically Dinshawji project his new image. Till he remembered that it seemed authentic because Dinshawji was no longer playing a role; reality, at last, had caught up with him; and Gustad felt awful for confiscating his mask.

Anyways. a really terrific read. I can highly recommend it. Especially if you enjoed "A Fine Balance", and who wouldn't?!

Maggie is sick!

This picture is from last year, but it's suitable enough for my purposes today. A stomach bug of some kind. Feeling kinda yucky. Tummy is all scratchy. Feeling berry berry kinda yucky. She threw up some water twice today and is now resting comfortably on the couch. I bet she has what henry had a couple weeks ago, only it's coming out the end that is the opposite way of henry's bug.

Some Art

My sister Marcia sent us a couple of squares to decorate with crayons that she will incorporate into a baby quilt, and this is what I sent. Notice that I didn't let the kids do anything beyond henry adding his name to the second one. It was too fun and I'm too greedy!




And here are two pictures Henry and I made for my dad. I felt sort of silly and regretful after I put the words on mine, but it just happened. One of the things I'm struck by as I sit all the way over here on the other side of the country, is the profound gratitude I have for folks who come to visit my dad. It is so good of them to come. I just really wish I could be there to add my visits to the mix on a regular basis and since I can't, at the very least I want those who do sit with him to know how much I appreciate the fact that they are there. Anyway. I was compelled to add the words and I think my uneasiness with it comes more from my art having exposed my true feelings about the situation.




Henry's picture is really great, too. The colors are so rich. I wish I'd reminded him to sign and date it. Marcia, if you're reading this, jot down on the back the who and when before you tack it up, would you? THANKS!

Block Posters

I came across this great website that lets you upload a photo, and then decide how many pages across you'd like them to blow up the image. Then they make a .pdf file based on that information that is however many pages it takes to print out the image at the larger size! It's very cool. Takes a gallon of ink, as you can imagine it might, but given the right opportunity, it'd be worth it.

Here are a few things I've made so far. The ink supply on my printer is wonky right now, so the actual print quality is not the greatest, but you get the idea... This is a big family photo I made. It's hard to do the trimming and fitting together, also. I made a poster of my friend and the trimming and fitting together went smoothly on that one, so maybe it just takes practice.




This one I like a lot. The picture is very abstract to begin with, so on a larger scale, it looks very cool. It's a picture of my neice Karina in front of one of those exhibits they have at science centers where you can horse around with shadows and light play and soforth.



Then this weekend Lanie and I were playing around with the idea of blowing up an image to a really large size and then printing out just one page of it. We made these of her (wearing her billybob teeth) and nora and phil before I ran out of ink while trying to print cassidy's. I found this cool clear plastic sleeve thingie at ikea and it makes a perfect frame.


Anyways, check it out if you'd like. it's fun and it's free!!

Blockposters.com