Wit's End

Reviving Part II

alijeanc — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 16:36:44 +0000

Lowell, MA

Lexington & Concord

Papa playing the game he and the boys started: pelting one another with acorns and other nature paraphernalia. While walking the trail near the Merrimack, he nailed Emerson, to which Emerson retorted, “What did I do? I did nothing!” And then it was game on.

These were all from the pond below Concord Cemetery

Henry’s House and Walden Pond

oh the trees at Walden Pond were outstanding…I have so many pictures…

The little tree just seemed to glow…

Papa at Mr Alcott’s school

Papa for:

Aunt Alisa & Uncle Caleb

And for my sisters

Barbie pine cones

I collected a cup to send home to you both, but it disappeared between our hotel and home. I have my suspicions.

Revive

alijeanc — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 15:22:32 +0000

It’s been a bit. Here’s what has been happening…

Kayaking at Searsburg Reservoir

Rainy Day around Bennington, Vt with Momo & Papa…we tried the long trail, but it was fast becoming a gully!

Kaaterskill Falls

Kayaking with Papa

and Momo at Erie Canal, Vischer Ferry.

Building a boat from found materials

It floats! Maggie was quite upset about launch…she had bigger plans for this boat, but end of day was approaching and it was Cold!

We took Momo & Papa on a drive through Northern Massachusetts to some of our favorite places

And then to Boston and some of our favorite surrounding towns

Yep, we stood in that line…

And it was so worth it!

Difficult to see, but just a couple of Revolutionary characters hanging out in the local tavern.

I spent most of the trip doing exactly this, Jerking Emerson from the path of others…

Roommate

alijeanc — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 20:15:22 +0000

One of them anyway…

Bentley…

And because it is the 1st of October and I love Robert Frost:

“O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes’ sake, if the were all,
Whose elaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost–
For the grapes’ sake along the all.”

Emerson’s birthday

alijeanc — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:15:04 +0000

Emerson is 4!

Happy Birthday Tiny Guy!

American Pickers & the AT

alijeanc — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 08:15:29 +0000

On our way to and from church Sunday, we had to stop and pick up some furniture sitting by the side of the road. As Eric and I loaded a small table, chair and some frames into the back of the vehicle and the children’s laps, Evan blurted out, “We’re just like the pickers, Mom!”

Later that afternoon, we went for a hike in Vermont. We picked up part of the Long Trail off of Rte 9. It was a steep climb. The kids kept asking if Bill Bryson had hiked there and quoting their favorite parts of his “A Walk in the Woods,” which mostly consists of the part where Mr Bryson states that if a bear were to come into his camp he would “blow his sphincter out his backside with a merry little toot!” That was followed up by raucous laughter and we were ensured not to see any wildlife this hike…

Guess who came home with wet tennis shoes?

Snoooooze

alijeanc — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 20:07:01 +0000

I am not a good blogger. I am not diligent nor do I have entertaining things to post. Sure we hit a highlight here and there with a weekend on the beach, some apple picking, which I did not manage to blog about and the weekly nature hikes, but there isn’t much beyond. My days consist of dilemmas such as, can I just read my new biography on Zelda Fitzgerald and let the kids paint and draw fall pictures and their dream houses…in trees…with lots of animals…like woodpeckers that live indoors to prevent termites: ” There’s a lot of wood in a tree Mom. And you know how much termites like wood…” Yeah, definitely science in that. And then there was that documentary we watched in the afternoon, “No Impact Man,” during which they had to cover their ears several times due to profanities and crazy talk about things like global warming. ”It’s kind of like santa clause, kids.”

There was a lot of talk about what we need to live and what we could do without. The boys want an indoor worm compost, but Maggie is strongly against. The flies it could produce give her the heeby-jeebies. But she could totally wash our clothes in the bathtub and definitely would like to get a bike taxi to take to the grocery store. Hmmm, why do I not think she would volunteer to pedal…

In other news, Evan celebrated his 7th birthday. He was disappointed that we did not have the usual gathering of family and was quite disconcerted by the re-lighting candles I discovered with some of our birthday decorations.

All and all I think he had a nice time and was delighted by the little gifts his siblings had squirreled away for him. And promising him that we could re-celebrate when Momo and Papa came to visit helped. Ugh, I am so not ready for our family’s season of birthdays…

Happy-late-Birthday to me…

alijeanc — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:12:03 +0000

(pumpkin-mascarpone cheesecake with whipped creme fraiche made by Eric)

I don’t have great beach pictures…I didn’t constantly carry my camera. With all the towels, toys, snacks, clothes, shoes, etc, the camera seemed the least of my worries. And I didn’t trust myself as scrambled over rocks and down into tidal pools to collect shells and other sea paraphernalia to keep my camera dry and in one piece. Those rocks are slick!

But we made it home with some lovely finds…

And I had a lovely time in a tent on the beach for my birthday!

Sand Flea

(Hoping to get hit by a wave…note Evan’s pants.)

And birthday celebrating at Joe’s

Homeless

alijeanc — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:23:44 +0000

We recently moved the kid’s twin mattresses to where we are staying so they wouldn’t have to all sleep on the blowup mattress, needless to say, they all sleep together on one twin mattress.

Yep, we are homeless. Note I did not say shelter-less. We are not living out of our vehicle or in a cardboard box, but we are still living out of boxes and bags and sleeping in various locations…think air mattresses, sleeping bags. Our current mailing address is Eric’s workplace and most of my things now belong to others or are packed into a 20 by 10 storage unit with a roll up door. And despite some tears and angry words over a less than stellar situation, I’m content. Yeah, pretty much okay with it all. Sure I miss being able to easily access my recently alphabetized books and my dutch oven, but all in all, it’s kind of nice not having all the extra baggage. As I have slowly pulled things from boxes I’ve realized how easy it was to live without it, how little it really mattered. What little imprint these ‘things’ had on my life and it has made me happy. A couple more of these moves and we will fit into a yurt!

Will try to update more with pictures. We are headed to the beach this weekend, going to try out our tent on the sand. Hopefully I will remember to bring along the camera…

And Denise, yes this state is terribly mismanaged and the residents overly taxed, but that is what life is like in a welfare state. We knew that going into this move. And that is a big reason we have not bought a home as of yet… and may not…until we fit into that yurt! Would book club consider a field trip to NY? Fall is beautiful here! Miss you all!

HUGS!

Dear Citizens of New York,

alijeanc — Fri, 21 May 2010 15:20:41 +0000

Are you kidding me? $20,015 yearly in property taxes!!! Have you heard of tyranny?

Signed,

A concerned future tax payer

Moving=Not fun…

alijeanc — Fri, 21 May 2010 14:57:32 +0000

Where did all of this stuff come from? Why have I wasted my energy and resources having this stuff?

My yard is stinkin’ gorgeous. The perennials are coming in nicely, full and bountiful of flower and leaf. My asters are going to be absolutely stunning this fall, but alas I will not be here to see them.

We have wonderful church family, with encouraging and edifying members, but I won’t be enjoying the fellowship.

We live in a state that does not ask preposterous things of me as a home-schooler…

At least Emerson will be in good company… in New York.