Keller Family

Christmas, etc

2010-01-08T08:50:00.006-05:00

The holiday season has passed. Whew!! Now we hunker down in the upstate New York winter. Olivia is taking skating and skiing lessons, and continuing her swimming lessons, so she has plenty of physical stuff to stave off the cabin fever.

Winter's here

2009-12-14T09:43:00.009-05:00

Well, the weather gods have declared winter in full effect. We had about 8" of snow a few days ago. "Ol' Bessie" the snow blower got a good workout, as did Tom, horsing it around.

Building up to Christmas - Olivia's getting more excited by the day. The outside lights are up, the inside decorating is done, and the shopping is just about done. (We like shopping on line)!

But our main present to ourselves is a camp on Sacandaga Lake, about an hour north of us. Everything is finally coming together, and we're hoping to close before Christmas. Then begins the "fun" of gutting and renovating the little cabin. We'd like the makeover to be done by spring, so we can use the place this summer. Our kayaks and Tom's sailboat will have a permanent home now, and will be most likely joined by a small powerboat, since the property includes a nice dock and lakefront area. We'll post our progress.

Meanwhile, Happy Holidays to all!

Fall 2009

2009-11-23T09:43:00.005-05:00

So it's almost Thanksgiving! Since last post, we've been busy buttoning everything up for winter. The generator got a shakedown run last week, when we had a power outtage for a few hours. It was definitely worth the investment to have the fridge and water heater stay on, as well as the heating system and some lights. C'mon, ice storms - make my day!

Olivia was a black cat for Halloween. Daddy painted a kitty face on her. Not really professional, but you get the idea - She went to the neighborhood parade given by the Fire Department, and then trick or treating. (These days, it's only "treating" - When we were kids, seems we had as many "tricks" as treats)! Anyway, we're just finishing up the mountain of candy loot she scored. I never thought I'd say this, but I'd be happy not to see chocolate for a while!

Our little girl is going to be seven in a few days. Seems impossible! She had her party last Saturday. It was at the bowling alley, believe it or not. It actually was a pretty clever idea, since keeping 14 little girls all more or less in one place and occupied for two hours can be a challenge, not to mention the "collateral damage" to the house, if you are crazy enough to have the party at home. It worked out well. There was pizza, cake, balloons and everyone had a great time. It was amusing to see the little peanuts trying to heft and fling the ball down the alley. Then again, a couple of them broke 100, which is better than I can do at times. LOL!

Andrea and Olivia are taking piano lessons. After looking at several "real" pianos, we decided to get a nice digital one. It looks somewhat like a piece of furniture, but isn't as big and heavy as an acoustic piano. By this time next year, the two girls in the house will have assumed the mantle of "musician" from Tom, who is happily "retired" from playing music.

Summer wrap-up

2009-09-08T07:55:00.011-05:00

Labor Day has come and gone already. Olivia's getting ready for first grade, which starts tomorrow. We had an orientation day last week, and she met her new teacher, and her classmates. Quite a few from last year. All the supplies are bought, an she's really eager to get back to school.

Our week at Lake George was great. Swimming, sunning, kayaking and we rented an 18' bowrider for a day, to cruise around the lake. Tom also got in some good sailing with his new "Sea-Skimmer" car-toppable sailboat. Olivia was thrilled to host her two cousins and aunt (Andrea's sister Cindy) for an overnite visit. We had a barbeque with them and "Mimi and Poppy".

We also hiked up to the top of Prospect Mountain, for a spectacular scenic overlook.Of course, now our search for our own camp has been kicked up a notch!

While we were at camp, we had all our downstairs floors refinished. Now we're pretty much done with home improvements. (He says, not all too confidently)!

The lawn continues to grow relentlessly, so Tom can replace his cardio workout with mowing about every other day. Looking forward to that one week period between mowing and snow blowing (LOL)!

For the grand finale of summer, we went up to Jiminy Peak Ski resort on Sunday. We rode the alpine slides (numerous times) and the mountain coaster, and Olivia did the bungee trampoline and spider climb. Andrea bagged the summit on the rock climbing wall on her first attempt! Pretty spectacular!

We stopped at the pretty village of Williamstown (home of Williams College) on the way back, and had dinner in a nice Indian restaurant.

Halloween is next!

Flowers

2009-07-08T15:09:00.003-05:00

As per the last post, the wet, cool Spring really helped the flowers - Here are some pix of our gardens.

OK, that was a fast Spring!

2009-07-07T15:00:00.013-05:00

Where does the time go? It's July already! The fireworks were fun, although the hordes of people created a traffic nightmare. It was worth it, though. Olivia marched in the parade with her Daisy Troop (Pre-Brownie Girl Scouts). See pictures.

Olivia finished up Kindergarten, and is now happily doing the first of two summer camps. She had her dance recital, and has decided she likes dance and will do it next season too. Of course, trying to be a 6 1/2 year old teenager, she wants to take hip-hop dancing - we'll see... Pictures are attached.

We've now pretty much finished all the work we wanted to do on the house. The last remaining items have been done: hardwood floors in the guest bedrooms, and in Olivia's room, re-doing the guest bath, and painting the entire interior. This was after re-doing the kitchen, master bedroom and bath, office and living room. Whew! We also put in a generator, so when the inevitable storm takes out the power, we won't have to worry. Now we hope we'll be staying here for a long time, to enjoy it all!

The cool and wet weather has been not so good for outdoor acivities, but really great for the plants. Everything is literally going wild! Flowers everywhere!

We sold our canoe, and replaced it with two kayaks. We took them out for the first time, and paddled for an hour around Round Lake, which is a few miles up the road. Really nice, and we plan to go to some larger lakes, and maybe the Mohawk/Hudson River, and take them with us to Lake George in August as well. Some more pix attached.

Now maybe it will finally warm up, and Summer can begin in earnest!

Next up, a visit to our friends in CT, and then a trip to Long Island to see Bryan, Michele and Dylan, and meet Tom's new grandson Logan Thomas Keller! We'll probably go to the beach when we're down there, as well. Should be fun!

Winter winding down

2009-03-23T09:14:00.005-05:00

Some miscellaneous pics and notes:

We took Olivia skiing - at first she was quite reluctant (after the initial slipping and falling), but eventually got into it, and finally said she loved it. As with most things physical, she seems to be a natural, and she had a lot of solo runs, racing down the bunny slope. (Dad still had to help her on the rope tow).

We had another tubing session, which was as enjoyable as the first.

Olivia finally lost her other front tooth, which had been flapping around for what seemed like months. Now she looks like a completely "official" gap-toothed six-year old!

TK went to LI to visit Bryan, Michelle and Dylan, at Dylan's first B-day party. Fun was had by all, and Tom saw a lot of old friends and relations. Although the drive was 4.5 hours each way, it was well worth it.

We sold our Toyota Corolla and our Miata, and replaced both with a BMW 325Ci convertible. Looking forward to top-down family rides, as the weather warms. (Couldn't fit three of us in the Miata)! Also, now we are back to two cars and a two car garage. No more windshield ice scraping, thankfully!

Chef Tom continues to enjoy whipping up gourmet(?) meals. For Valentine's Day, it was a heart shaped carrot cake.

We're all looking forward to spring, as we hear robins and bluebirds, and see the bulbs beginning to push up.

Winter Carnival at Saranac Lake, and show

2009-02-09T09:49:00.005-05:00

Feeling some cabin fever from the relentless cold and snowy winter, we took a refreshing break, with a show and a trip to Saranac Lake, to see the Winter Carnival. Nestled in the Adirondacks, Saranac is a beautiful spot.

Every year, they have a Winter Carnival, highlighted by the building of a huge ice castle. This year's theme was "Pirates of the Adirondacks", so besides the castle , the had a pirate ship made of ice. They cut huge blocks of ice from the lake, slide them to the site, and build the ice structures. They are lighted at night, and really beautiful!

After proudly reviewing Olivia's report card, with which we couldn't be more pleased, we started the weekend with a live show at Proctor's theater, a real old fashioned Victorian-era place in Schenectady, that has been meticulously restored to its turn-of-the century grandeur. We were accompanied by our friends Rick and Judy, their daughter Sara and her three children, Gil, Clara and Jens. Gil and Olivia are about the same age, and although Gil lives in Delaware, he and Olivia have become really good friends. We all had dinner at Red Robin, and then drove to Proctor's.

The show was "The Magic Tree House", adapted from the kids books by the same name. It was a really cute musical, and we had the extra treat of watching from a box seat high above the stage. We really enjoyed it!

The next morning, the Keller family (minus Emily the poodle, who was "vacationing" at Mimi and Poppy's) trundled up to the 'Daks. It took two hours, but the scenery was gorgeous, and inspiring!

We stayed in a nice motel with a heated pool, which we used several times. It was like bathwater, nice to be swimming and looking out picture windows at the snow and the mountains!

We ate lunch in a restaurant right across from the ice castle, with a beautiful view. We checked out the castle and the pirate ship. (At one point Olivia "lost" us in the maze). Then, it was on to the band-shell, to watch a silly frying-pan tossing contest, then a treasure hunt, with clues that had us exploring the town. All the locals were dressed as pirates, and racing around to be first to find the treasure. It was really fun to try to find the various clues, and move on to the next one, etc. Naturally, since we we not local, we "cheated" several times, and asked local people what the clues meant. They happily and conspiritorily shared their secrets. We didn't quite find the treasure, but we did get a lot of the clues, and had a blast exploring the cute little village in the process. It was a lot of walking, and Olivia was a real little trooper!

After a nice warm swim back at the hotel, we headed out to Lake Placid, (site of the Olympics), which is "down the road". We wandered around the town, which is also a beautiful and quaint Adirondack jewel. The weather cooperating by staying in the low 40s.

We got back to Saranac in time for the lighting of the ice castles, and a spectacular fireworks display. Olivia has decided she now loves fireworks. Up until now, she was not a fan!

Then it was dinner in a really nice Italian restaurant in Lake Placid. It brought back fond memories of our first trip to Lake Placid, ten years or so ago.

On Sunday morning, we had a nice breakfast and then another warm swim in the pool. We had the option of going tubing, and/or taking the toboggan slide, but the weather wasn't cooperating. (Windy and wet snow), so we headed back home. Naturally, Olivia was sad to leave. She really does love staying in a hotel, and being with us on trips. She did really well!

We're planning now on doing some other fun things, like skiing, both cross country (Tom and Andrea) and downhill (introducing Olivia to it). As long as we have the snow, we might as well find ways to enjoy it!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-30T11:10:00.003-05:00

Well, Christmas finally came, and the excitement which really began back at Halloween, and continued through November, with Olivia's birthday and Thanksgiving, finally peaked.

Santa brought lots of things that Olivia said were "just what she wanted". "Good", say the parents!

She especially likes her "High School Musical" denim jacket Aunt Cindy sent, (gotta look like a teenager, y'know), and her Barbie Razor Scooter, on which she is deftly zipping around the house, (usually) avoiding crashing into the furniture. (Oh well, this stuff was planned "kid furniture" anyway).

The parents exchanged only a few gifts, by design. Tom especially likes all the gourmet food items and fine wines he got. Andrea got the Fossil watch and purse she wanted, as well as some other nice and useful things.

It was a family time, and featured a small Christmas dinner with Tom, Andrea, Olivia and Mimi and Poppy. Emily got some tasty ham scraps too!

Well, now to hunker down for the rest of the winter. We've already been sledding once, and are looking forward to more, and maybe some skiing and tubing, snow cooperating.

Dueling magical beings

2008-12-23T12:39:00.005-05:00

Olivia has had a loose front tooth flapping around for what seems like months. On her birthday, she decreed that it would "be out by December 1." Well, that day came and went, and the stubborn hanger-on wouldn't yield. We were all concerned that the tooth fairy and Santa would be tripping over each other on Christmas eve.

As it happened, Olivia was getting one of her beloved boisterous piggy-back rides on Daddy yesterday, with Emily the dog in noisy hot pursuit, when she yelled "Dad! Stop!!!" I stopped, worried that something was wrong , and she said, laughing, "My tooth! It fell out!" "Where is it?" I asked. After a quick search of the floor, Olivia retrieved the recalcitrant incisor (before it was consumed by Emily).

Into the special Tiffany pouch (leftover from some former gift, or something) it went, and then under the pillow. A quick email to the tooth fairy, and we were all set. This morning, in place of the bit of decaying calcified matter, two dollar bills had materialized in the pouch. (Inflation??)

All are happy and relieved. Well, that's three down and 17 to go!

We're all ready for Christmas, and will post afterwards.

Halloween & 6th Birthday

2008-11-30T10:04:00.004-05:00

The year is nearly done and I'm slipping further behind with blog updates. Halloween was celebrated with parades at school and around the neighborhood. Our Barbie cheerleader had a great time as did Tom. He rigged up a speaker and broadcasted spooky sounds including moaning, shrieking, rattling chains, etc. to the delight of the boy trick-or-treaters and to the terror of the girls.

Olivia's birthday party was held at the Children's Museum of Saratoga, and she had a nice gathering of 13 friends and family.

As for me, my daily routine is about to change dramatically. I'm heading back to work full-time in January and returning to State Farm. I'm looking forward to it. The five year hiatus at home has been wonderful but I'm not ready for permanent retirement (if ever).

Overdue Update

2008-10-14T12:05:00.005-05:00

The big news is Olivia is finally a fully-fledged Kindergartener, and she absolutely loves school. She was so excited on her first day of school. As she boarded the bus, she threw up her hands in glee and proclaimed "I can't believe I'm finally going to school!" Needless to say, her joy overrode any sadness we felt over this major milestone in our growing daughter's life.

Her class is just a half day, and she wishes it was a full day (and so do we). Fortunately, several neighborhood friends are also in her class, and she plays with them regularly in the afternoon when we aren't at dance or swim class. We've also been involved with soccer - the last game is this coming Saturday.

Now we are gearing up for Halloween and next month's 6th birthday party right before Thanksgiving.

Long Island

2008-08-04T15:52:00.005-05:00

August 1-3 we traveled to Long Island to visit Bryan, Michele and Dylan (5 mos). It was the first visit for me and Olivia. We made it into a mini-vacation with a side trip to Smith Point, one of the many beaches on Fire Island National Seashore, and we stayed at a Hampton Inn with a pool. We arrived Friday evening and had dinner with Bryan, Michele and Dylan. Saturday morning we headed to the beach. That afternoon we spent at Michele's parents' home for a barbeque. Sunday we made a quick stop back at Bryan's for the final photo op and returned home.

Lake George

2008-08-04T15:13:00.010-05:00

I had always wanted to rent a small waterfront cabin for a summer vacation, and we finally did just that the week of July 13. The camp was a small two bedroom, knotty pine cabin circa 1950's located on Assembly Point, Lake George and literally smack dab on the water. Fortunately, the weather was the best we've had all summer. The highlight of the week was the power boat we rented for a day - an 18' SeaRay bowrider. Mom & Dad came up for the day to take a ride in it as well. The rest of the time was filled with canoeing, sailing, bike riding, walking around the point and admiring the lake from the dock. Olivia pretty much summed it up with her comment "This is living!"

Summer Fun

2008-07-05T16:28:00.017-05:00

Some highlights of the first few weeks of summer:

Lemonade stand with Juliette (sold 10 cups at 25 cents each).

In the saddle at the YMCA family picnic.

Racing motorcycles and riding the train with Alina at Hoffman's Playland.

Feeding sheep with Emma and Madeline at the 4th of July celebration at the Clifton Commons.

Next week we head to Lake George for seven relaxing days at a waterfront cabin. Stay tuned...

Preschool Graduation

2008-07-05T16:11:00.009-05:00

June 18, 2008 was the date of Olivia's preschool graduation from ABC at the Gowana Middle School at the Shenendehowa school campus.

The "graduates" sang songs and received their diplomas individually. Olivia was the first girl to accept her sheepskin and curtsied to the audience. It was very sweet.

She is pictured with her best friends Alina and Alison after the ceremony.

Cinco de Mayo Poppy-Style

2008-05-06T09:25:00.004-05:00

May 5, 2008 - a gorgeous spring day with clear blue skies and temps in the low 70's. On the spur of the moment, Dad thought it would be a perfect opportunity to take Olivia in the canoe for the first time on the duck pond and to also try some fishing. So we trundled on over to the farm, with Emily, of course. We dragged the canoe out of the chicken coop, dusted it off and stowed it into the back of Dad's pickup and set off up the trail to the pond. Olivia loved bouncing around in the front seat of the truck (unbuckled of course) just like I used to do when I was her age.

I will let the photo slideshow to the right tell the rest of the story along with a direct quote from Olivia: "Poppy! This was the best day of my life!"

"Two-thless"

2008-04-19T17:59:00.004-05:00

About four weeks ago, Olivia's two center bottom teeth loosened - first the left tooth and a day or two later, the right one. When she told me they wiggled, I thought, "yeah, right" - thinking her vivid imagination was again at work, but to my surprise, it was true and my heart felt a pang since those two little teeth greeted us with her smile when we met her for the first time in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Today, the long awaited event transpired. Tooth #1 fell out with some twisting and prying by Olivia around noon and by 6 pm, #2 followed in exactly the same fashion. Fortunately, the look of one missing tooth, however short, has been preserved in the first photo, and the official double gap look is second. So from now until, what - 14 or so? - the smile of jumbled of spaces, baby teeth, erupting second teeth and braces begins.

The Tooth Fairy better be prepared!

Easter Eggs

2008-03-27T10:20:00.008-05:00

We had plenty of hollow plastic easter eggs for the Easter Bunny to fill and hide, so Olivia thought it would be fun to color some real eggs. We boiled six eggs, and then used dye to color them in pastel shades. Then we decided to use markers to decorate them, instead of paint. They came out pretty cute. She was a little sad to realize they had to end up as deviled eggs or in a salad, but they were fun while they lasted!

TK is a Grandpa!

2008-03-23T15:21:00.002-05:00

Yes, it's true! Dylan Robert Keller arrived on February 22, 2008. Everyone is doing fine. Bryan and Michele are now happy (if tired) parents, and Tom is a Grandpa. I went to see Dylan when he was three weeks old. He's exceptionally cute! He loves to sleep and eat (of course), and I told him I was going to stay there until he woke up so I could have a picture of him with his eyes open. He obliged, and I was snapping away. Good thing I have a digital camera! Bryan gave me a whole flash drive full of newborn pix, which I loaded into our computer here.

I'm eagerly embarking on this new life trip of grandparent, and looking forward to our next visit, when Andrea and Olivia will come with me.

Here's our three generation picture. I told great grandpa TLK (my Dad) that we need a four generation shot.

Tubing

2008-02-27T11:17:00.003-05:00

Olivia went to her friend Becky's 5th birthday party. It was held at Willard Mountain (a local ski hill). The party began with couple of hours of "tubing". Big inner tubes encased in a cover, with a hard plastic shell zip you down the hill. You ride up the hill hooked on to a rope tow. After a first sorta scary ride (with mom in her own tube holding on to Olivia's), it got to be quite a blast. Naturally, I had to try it a few times myself. It does seem pretty fast, and reminds me of the Olympic bobsled run at Lake Placid (but without the violent high-G turns).

The party then moved into the lodge, with pizza and ice cream and cake.

We might go up there ourselves soon, before the snow is gone. Speaking of snow, we got about 8" of wet heavy stuff last night. Good snowman material, and Andrea may go cross country skiing on the weekend. My trusty snow blower is getting a good workout this year!

Olivia's plane

2008-02-20T14:53:00.002-05:00

As you know, I'm an RC plane flier (crasher?). Up until this point, Olivia has mostly parodied my efforts by swooping her arm in an arc that ends with a thump on the nearest horizontal surface, while mouthing something like "RRRRRRR-bump!"

Today, she wanted to make her own flying plane out of some spare foam I had. We "designed" it using the "TLAR" (that looks about right) method, and Olivia decorated it in suitable colors. With some paper clips on the nose for balance, we tested it, and guess what? It flies! She then said "You know Dad, I'm beginning to like planes now". Hmmmmm.

Tom' s Four Things

2008-02-09T10:13:00.001-05:00

So, being unoriginal, here are my ”Four Things”:

Jobs I've had: Civil Service test writer, Army officer, rock musician, insurance claims management.

Movies I could watch over and over: Star Wars, Alien, Bladerunner, Spinal Tap.

Places I've lived: California, Long Island, New Jersey, Upstate NY.

TV I watch (when I watch, which is rare): CSPAN Washington Journal, all PBS, Enterprise, Mythbusters.

Places I've been to: Vietnam, Kazakhstan, England, Caribbean.

Favorite food: Sushi, filet mignon, twice-baked potatos, angel food cake.

Places I'd rather be: St. John, USVI, Boston's Little Italy in summer, Monterrey/Carmel CA, San Francisco/Sonoma CA.

Looking forward to: An excellent RC model flying season, being “retired” from playing music (finally), working in the yard and gardens, seeing Olivia start her “real” school career.

Goals: Continue to work out 5-6 days a week, maintain weight, perfect my model flying skills, have more “couple time” as Olivia grows up.

Christmas gifts: A bunch of gourmet snacks and a couple of bottles of fine wine, college sweatshirt, a “Support Science, Not Superstition” T shirt and a “Darwin fish” for my car, two books (“Freakonomics”, by Stephen Levitt, and “On the Wealth Of Nations” by PJ O'Rourke).

Places to visit: USVI (again), Carmel CA (again), Venice, Italy, southern France.

Things you didn't know about me: I have my pilot's license, I've written and e-published an action-adventure novel, wrote bumper song for and had lunch with Alan Colmes in NYC, was awarded the Bronze Star in Vietnam.

Things I wish I was better at: Flying my model planes, being calmer, organizing/cleaning my workspace, “letting go” of playing music in clubs (I sold my guitar, anyway).

Cook without a recipe: Complete Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings, all breakfast items, linguini and clams, mac and cheese.

Musicians I really like: Frank Zappa, Eric Clapton, Bob Marley, Stones.

Other questions they might have asked:

Radio shows I like: Neal Boortz, Lionel, all NPR, Bill O'Reilly.
Podcasts subscibed to: Skeptics Guide to the Universe, On Point with Tom Ashbrook, Cato Institute podcast, Commonwealth Club of California.
Magazines I read: Reason, Model Aviation, Salon (online), Scientific American (online).
Authors: PJ O'Rourke, Richard Dawkins, Charles Stross, Ray Kurzweil.

I could go on, but probably (way) too much information! LOL!

Four Things

2008-02-07T11:15:00.001-05:00

A friend asked me to post answers to the following questions:

Four jobs I have had in my life:
English-as-a-Second Language instructor, college tutor to a blind student, special disaster claims adjuster, insurance agent
Four movies I could watch over and over:
Bridges of Madison County, Meet the Parents, Lonesome Dove, My Cousin Vinny
Four places I have lived:
Nashua, NH, New Milford, CT, Danbury, CT, Burnt Hills, NY
Four shows that I watch:
Occasionally: Antiques Roadshow, NFL Football, Headline News, ESPN
Four places I have been:
Astana and Almaty, Kazakhstan, Quebec City, Quebec, Vancouver, British Columbia, St. John US Virgin Islands
Four of my favorite foods:
Sushi, brownies, nuts, chips
Four places I would rather be right now:
St. John, USVI or any other warm, tropical place
Four things I'm looking forward to in the next 12 months:
Olivia starting kindergarten, driving my Miata, working in my flower beds, summer vacations
Four goals for the New Year:
Finish reading the Pulitzer Prize fiction winners, hike an Adirondack high peak, take a college class for fun, eat clean
Four gifts I got for Christmas:
Snowshoes, gaiters for xc skiing, fleece vest, book: "Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her" by Melanie Rehak
Four places I want to visit:
US southwest, Williamstown, VA, Monterey/Carmel CA (again), Europe
Four things you did not know about me:
I'm a car nut, I like history (old graveyards/old BW photos/old architecture), I participate in online consumer surveys, if/when I'm older, retired and all to myself, I may join the Peace Corps.
Four things I wish I could be better at:
Blogging, entertaining, crafts, keeping a spotless house
Four things I can cook without a recipe:
Chili, hummus, meatloaf, bread
Four musicians that I really like:
Brandi Carlile, John Mayer, Josh Groban, The Black Crowes

Olivia the Photographer

2008-01-22T23:11:00.001-05:00

Olivia was pretending to take pictures of her stuffed toys yesterday. On a whim, I asked her if she'd like to try the real camera. Holding my breath, I handed her our several hundred dollar Sony digital camera. I wasn't too worried, however, because Olivia is very neat and careful, usually doesn't break things. I showed her all the buttons and functions, even how to remove and charge the battery. Being a 21st Century gadget kid, she figured it all out immediately, and was soon snapping away. She scrolled through her pictures, and the various menus, discovered the zoom function, and learned to hold still for the delay between pushing the button and the flash going off. After a bunch of posing and shooting, she showed me her results. I half expected to see a bunch of crazy angled shots of the wall, etc. Imagine my surprise to find a collection of perfectly centered, well composed pictures. Turns out she has a good eye for this, (Andrea says it's better than mine!)

Do we have an "artiste" here?? Oh well, it's a lot of fun for her. These are a sample of her shots:

Good-bye 2007

2008-01-01T13:21:00.001-05:00

Olivia's Pre-K class celebrated Christmas at the local firehouse.

The party kicked-off with a "Rudolph" parade and the children sang "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" complete with gestures.

Poor Olivia's antlers kept slipping over her eyes.

Christmas Day was celebrated here with Mimi and Poppy.

The cash register Olivia received from Santa was put to good use at an ice cream stand Mimi and Poppy helped her set up.

A fitting finale for New Year's Eve: we received a heavy, wet accumulation of snow which was perfect for building a portly snowman!

XC skiing at Dad's Farm

2007-12-15T11:21:00.001-05:00

The first sizable snowfall arrived two days ago, and I took advantage of it, strapped on my old but beloved skis and skied around the farm. With more snow in the forecast, I'll be breaking the trail again soon.

Duanesburg Hike

2007-12-15T11:13:00.002-05:00

Sunday morning, December 9, my new hiking group took a short trek around the Christman Preserve which features a beautiful view of the falls on the Bozenkill. It must be even more impressive in the warmer weather.

'tis The Season

2007-12-08T11:18:00.000-05:00

Thursday evening, the local library held a "family night" with a holiday theme which included stories, sing-alongs and a craft. I thought the craft was especially clever -- a small juice box plastered with Betty Crocker frosting and then adorned with graham cracker siding, gum drop roof shingles, a Tootsie Roll chimney, Andes Candies front door, peppermint swirl windows, a candy cane lamp post and a big, green gum drop for a shrub. Olivia's specimen turned out pretty well -- worthy enough for a post on the blog.

Sleeping Beauty and it's not Disney?

2007-11-26T13:54:00.000-05:00

Last week, I joined a new hiking group through Meetup.com called Hiking Mates of the Capital Region. I found them through craigslist.org. It's an informal group of like-minded people who enjoy the outdoors without the rules and regulations of the Adirondack Mountain Club.

With a picture-perfect weather forecast for Sunday of sun and mid 40's, I decided to initiate my membership with a hike up Sleeping Beauty Mountain which is a 1300 ft. rocky overlook of Lake George and views of Gore Mt. (white ski trails visible) in the distance. The 4 mile loop included picturesque Bumps Pond. Seven people, including me, made the trek which took about 3 hours. The trail was rocky and icy in some spots but not too steep because of the switchbacks. The summit was breathtaking (including the stiff wind).

I can't wait for the next hike!

Finally 5!

2007-11-26T13:30:00.000-05:00

Olivia celebrated her long-awaited
5th birthday at Creative Sparks in Saratoga.
The girls painted ceramic figurines and then
enjoyed a chocolate "Hello Kitty" themed cake.
Afterward, presents were opened to everyone's delight. Barbie items were a big hit along with princess dress-up and a Hannah Montana doll. Seven friends came to the party and everyone had a nice time!

New York: the City & the Giants

2007-11-11T14:33:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, we took a bus trip to New York City for the day. Olivia wanted to see the dinosaurs at the American Museum of Natural History. We started off at F.A.O. Schwartz, the world's greatest toy store and bought Olivia a small Schleich model horse family. Here she sits atop Dad's shoulders in front of some enormous stuffed unicorns and dragons.

Next, we had a pizza lunch and then trekked on along Central Park South, where our happy shopper posed on this Clydesdale statue:

From here we hopped onto the subway up to 81st to the museum. It was very crowded in the middle of a brisk Saturday afternoon. We checked out all of the dinosaurs and made sure to get a photo of Tyrannosaurus Rex with Olivia's posed look of horror.

We also looked at the minerals, gem stones and meteorites. Along the walk back to the subway, Olivia bought a Popsicle from a street vendor; needless to say it hardly melted in the 40 degree weather. No trip to New York is complete without a visit to Times Square, so we made a brief foray into the crowds along 42nd street which included strikers in front of many theaters.

Before catching the bus home, we had dinner at Jack Dempsy's Pub. We had a very nice day.

This morning, Olivia decided to create a new outfit (she changes her clothes several times a day lately). She took a tank top shirt I got for her at the New York Giants' training camp a couple of years ago which was too big then and still too big now and turned it into a jumper with a matching striped shirt and white tights. The shirt says NY Giants Chick. Fitting, because the Giants are playing the Cowboys in a crucial game today.

Go Giants!!

Three Rs???

2007-11-09T10:22:00.000-05:00

Olivia is just beginning to read and write a few words. Emily the dog has apparently been a little too "affectionate" with her lately, always underfoot, wanting to play, lick her, etc. So I guess Olivia just wanted some privacy for a while, hence the sign in the picture, carefully affixed to her bedroom door. We didn't prompt her in any way, she just came up with it on her own. She's growing up so fast!

Halloween, etc

2007-10-29T10:56:00.001-05:00

Just an update as summer winds down, and fall comes on. We had pretty mediocre "leaf-peeping" this year. Let's blame it on "global warming", like everything else! (Don't get me started)! Meanwhile, I'm still mowing the lawn every few days - Hoping a hard freeze will shut it down soon!

Our bath remodeling project is just about done. We're hoping to de-camp from the guest bedroom and return to the master bedroom soon.

Halloween this year seems to be spread over several days.
Olivia has been to a YMCA party, a library Halloween Hoot,
a school party, and will be going to the neighborhood parade,
all before the actual trick-or-treating. She's getting a lot of
use out of her witch costume!

Also, this neighborhood has a little tradition of "ghosting". You sneak up to someone's door with a little bag of treats, ring the doorbell, and run. You also leave them a paper "ghost" which explains what happened, and tells them to do three other houses. Then they are supposed to tape the "ghost" to the front door, so other ghosters will know they've been done. I guess if everyone participated, like in a Ponzi scheme, the geometric progression would quickly take over the whole town, but...

Even though you're only supposed to get "ghosted" once, Olivia must be popular, because we have five paper ghosts taped to our door!

When she went to do it, Olivia got so excited the first time, she rang the doorbell, and ran back to Andrea without leaving the goodie basket. Mommy had to ask her whether she forgot something. She acted like she was doing something illegal! (But fun).

On another note, I've been taking Olivia swimming at the Y once a week. She's really coming along, and pretty much refuses to wear her floatation belt. I go in with her, and she swims back and forth to me and to the steps of the pool for the whole time. I keep backing up to make her take a few more strokes. She smiles and laughs the whole time. She swims better underwater than on top of the water at this point! (Which is good, since she's not afraid to have her head under). We think she'll be swimming by herself next summer.

Finally, now we're gearing up for Olivia's fifth birthday party. We can scarcely believe she's that old already!

Future Entrepreneurs

2007-08-23T10:26:00.000-05:00

Dad had a great idea for the girls - setting up his roadside vegetable stand. First, the wagon had to be washed and hosed down. Next, came the picking. After that, the tomatoes were weighed and bagged. Then, the most important - the sign - with some help from Poppy. As of yesterday, 8 out of 10 bags were sold with the profits split between Olivia and Juliette. Olivia can't decide if she should save her money or spring for some new "hair-dos" - barrettes and elastics.

Juliette's 5 Years Old!

2007-06-27T11:14:00.001-05:00

Olivia's cousin and best friend, Juliette, celebrated her birthday June 16. We traveled to Connecticut for the big party which included a lot of fun games, food and smiles. Olivia made it a point to tell all of the guests that she was an overnight guest, and the girls made it through the night for the first time sleeping in the same room which was almost as exciting for the girls as the party itself!

Graduation

2007-06-27T11:03:00.001-05:00

Olivia's preschool graduation took place on June 15.

The children sang songs and introduced themselves, individually, to the sizable audience, and stated what they wanted to be when they grew up. Olivia's goal is to be a ballerina - maybe not quite as ambitious as one of her classmates who wants to be a doctor AND dentist but just as respectable as the others whose dreams are to become professional sports players and teachers.

AK runs 5K

2007-06-02T14:10:00.000-05:00

The Town of Charlton, a picturesque colonial hamlet, circa late 1700's, sent me a 5K race notification a few weeks ago. Charlton is just down the road from where I grew up in Burnt Hills, and I thought it would be an enjoyable run if the weather was decent. So this morning, a hot and muggy one, was decent enough.

I loaded my bicycle on the back of my car and headed to my parents' house where I dropped the car off and pedaled to Charlton for my "warm up" of about 5 miles. There was a good-sized crowd of runners, primarily families and a lot of leggy teenagers to set the pace.

The course was a gently-hilled, pleasantly tree-lined, country road. The last race I ran was nearly two years ago in a perfectly flat suburban neighborhood, and I assumed this course would be much more challenging because of the hills and with two extra years tacked onto my age...not a formula for breaking records.

So after the Master of Ceremonies thanked the race sponsors and a 15-year-old trumpeter tooted The Star Spangled Banner, we took off up the first hill which left a good number of runners huffing and puffing, including yours truly, but undeterred, I stayed the course.

Well-wishers encouraged us at the ends of their driveways, and one particularly creative group of teenage boys brought their garage band out (with extension electrical cords) and serenaded us as we hoofed past. I also ignored the water cup offerings - at the last 5K race it slowed me down - running and drinking water simultaneously, for me, is the same challenge as walking and chewing gum at the same time for others.

Anyhow, the strategy helped, and I found my times were surprisingly good and my legs were holding up really well on the hills. I attribute that to my weight training. Barbell squats aren't particularly glamorous, but they can be effective.

That initial uphill was now a downhill to the finish line since the course was a double-back, and there was a guy, about my age, running between me and the banner. There was no way I was going to watch his back cross the finish line, so I floored it and flew past him (or at least it felt like it to me). My maximum heart rate registered 101 percent on my heart rate monitor, and I heard the time of 26:14 which pleased me almost as much as finishing the race!

The time was a good two minutes faster than my previous race a couple of years ago, a great time to me if not for the gazelle-like boy racer who sailed in first at 16:26.

Of course, Olivia and Tom were there to congratulate and embrace me. Olivia looked a helluva lot better than me at the finish line, so her picture is posted instead of mine!

What's new...

2007-05-25T13:32:00.000-05:00

Not a whole lot although we wonder how we could work full-time and do everything we do at home.

School is winding down for Olivia. Her "graduation" is June 15. She will move to her new preschool at the end of June for three days per week for six weeks this summer which will get her ready for her five day PreK there in the fall. A good part of her days are spent outside riding her bike or scooter. A 16" Schwinn "Jasmine" is on order for her. The 12" bicycle is ready for craiglist.

Tom has been flying (and repairing) his model airplanes, and I've been doing a lot of yard work and gardening. Tom is heading to Ft. Collins at the end of June to visit his family, and Olivia and I will travel to Charleston in July to see Cindy's "summer" home. Other than that, we have a membership at the local town pools for the summer, so that will fill in those hot afternoons nicely.

Waiting To Fly

2007-04-07T13:50:00.000-05:00

TK flies RC airplanes. I'm patiently waiting for the actual weather to match the calendar, so I can go out and crash, er, fly my creations. It's supposed to be nasty, windy and in the low 40s for the forseeable future. Dang! Well, I guess the planes get to live that much longer!

Anyway, here are some of the flying machines - all electric powered.

Reading & LibraryThing & BookMooch

2007-03-08T13:33:00.000-05:00

These long winter days are ticking off with one of my favorite past-times: reading. Over a year ago, I was tired of wandering around the library not knowing what books to read, and the idea of reading all of the Pulitzer Prize winners for fiction came to me. I found the list on Amazon.com, which dates back to 1918. For some reason, a handful of years had no winners, but the list is 78 books. I'm up to 40 read so far, and I'm loving it. The older books have different language styles and, of course, are politically incorrect, especially toward "African Americans." Some of the books aren't available in the local library, so hunting those down will be a challenge. When I'm done with the Pulitzers, I'm moving on to the National Book Award winners for fiction, which started in 1950. There are some truly forgotten treasures out there. I wish more people read these books instead of clamoring for the New York Times Bestsellers.

I'm keeping an inventory of the books I've read on a really interesting website called LibraryThing. People list their books (some into the thousands to my surprise) and talk about them. One interesting topic was on children's books and remembered favorites, several of which jogged my memory, and the best one - The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron. It is a must see website for book lovers.

A related website, called BookMooch, is a place to trade books. The only investment is postage and a trip to the post office, but you come out even if you send and receive books over time. I've sent out close to a dozen books and have four coming and more to find.

My greatest find was my junior high French textbook from Abebooks.com. I had been looking for it for several years and found it in someone's library on LibraryThing. He wouldn't part with his copy but directed me to Abebooks where I had to shell out a whopping $2.50. The book came from Shawnee, Oklahoma and was in better condition than the one I had back at BH-BL. The hunt was as much fun as refreshing my memory of Mr. Benedetto drilling those dialogues into my head.

Are there any fellow readers out there? If so, please reveal yourself!

Sledding - FINALLY!

2007-03-06T18:55:00.000-05:00

Last week, Olivia broke out the sled at Collins Park where there's a nice pint-sized hill.

Poppy's Birthday

2007-03-06T18:42:00.000-05:00

Dad's birthday was Sunday, Feb. 26. We went to Mimi and Poppy's for a small celebration, and I brought the traditional, homemade carrot cake with extra walnuts.

Olivia amused herself with make-up and jewelry:

Mimi watches Olivia apply eyeshadow.

Concentration.

Pretty!

Voila!

Hotdogging Snowman

2007-02-21T17:07:00.000-05:00

With temperatures in the low 40's and bright sunshine, conditions were excellent to build the Ultimate Snowman. I worked up a sweat and ended up in a sweatshirt and mittens to complete our special lawn ornament. Coneflower seed heads made standout eyes and the nose, and Black-eyed Susan seed heads rounded out the mouth and buttons. I'm hoping no one tries to steal my cross-country skis and poles!

We sing?

2007-02-17T11:39:00.000-05:00

Here's a link to a cover of the Delaney and Bonnie tune "Neverending Song Of Love" TK and AK recorded years ago. It's us playing and singing all the parts. No karaoke here. Of course, that explains the rustic quality of it!

Discovered and rescued from the musty archives, as Tom was going through some old digital audio tapes, in anticipation of selling his pretty much obsolete DAT machine on the proverbial Craig's List.

Click "We sing?" above for the link to a jump page, and then click the link there for the song. The mp3 file should open in whatever default media player you have.

Valentine's snow

2007-02-16T09:42:00.000-05:00

Valentine's day brought a blizzard with it. We got about 20" of snow, temps in the teens, and wind chills below zero. Olivia's pre-school was canceled. We were starting to think we wouldn't get to use our snow blower this year, with the warm early winter. We should have known better! We could use a dose of global warming here, for sure!

Andrea went cross country skiing, and Olivia and Tom stayed huddled up inside. Perhaps we'll venture out today, and try the sledding hill nearby.

Peaceful Kingdom

2007-02-10T15:40:00.000-05:00

What else is there to do when it's bitter cold with thin layer of useless crunchy snow outside?

Making Valentines

2007-02-04T15:03:00.000-05:00

With 20 children in her preschool class, and a list from the teacher with names for Valentines, we thought today would be a good day to get started writing them out. The cards are simple red and pink construction paper with an aluminum foil heart glued to the front. Olivia wrote each kid's name in the card with minimal help from Mom. If I could just get her to hold her pencil correctly...

Ice Skating Take 2

2007-01-25T18:42:00.000-05:00

We met Lauren and Becky for ice skating today. Olivia's skating improved dramatically since last time, and we were able to skate around the rink holding hands. She fell a few times because she was more interested in the other skaters than herself. Next time we will try the bike helmet and see if she can take a few strides on her own.

Move Over Martha Stewart

2007-01-25T11:40:00.000-05:00

Olivia and Juliette love to "cook" with soap and water in Mimi's kitchen. This past weekend, the girls enjoyed playing together.

Snow

2007-01-19T13:05:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that today, January 19, was maybe the third or fourth dusting of snow we have had all winter. Olivia took advantage of the sticky white stuff and decided to do some shoveling after we threw snowballs at the garage door.

www.craigslist.org

2007-01-18T17:32:00.000-05:00

Tom is in the process of selling old musical equipment that he is no longer using from his former band days. Enter craigslist. If you haven't seen this website, you should really check it out. It is, essentially, an on-line classified (with other things thrown in). Plain jane appearance, no ads, no gimmicks.

It is the best way to buy and sell things in the local community (we use craigslist Albany). And it is FREE. You can include up to 4 photos of the item you are selling. We've been receiving tons of emails and phone calls from prospective buyers and items can move quickly. It's better than eBay because there is no shipping and it's usually cash on the barrel head. Olivia loves to answer the door and watch people come into the house and "get down to business" so to speak. It's really a lot of fun.

People who use craigslist often comment how great it is. Maybe you can get in on it too.

Ice Skating

2007-01-10T04:55:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera in the rush to get to the rink, but Olivia had her first experience on ice skates yesterday. She loved it! Of course, my back is aching after having been hunched over gripping her waist while she scooted along. However, she literally pulled me along on the ice a couple of times around the rink. She took one hard fall on her rump from which tears errupted and demands to go home, but we managed to calm her down and get back to having fun.

Great Escape Lodge & Water Themepark

2007-01-07T15:17:00.000-05:00

We took advantage of a mid-week special overnight stay and tried out the new indoor splash park in Lake George this week. It was a hit! The "Lodge" is decorated with the Adirondack motif. The water park itself has attractions geared for all ages. Olivia enjoyed the kiddie wading pool. Tom liked Glacier Run and Snow Shoe Falls which are curling, looping, tunnel-like tube slides with a 41 ft. drop. I was satisfied with just one try on that one - hurtling through the pitch black is not my idea of a thrill. My favorite was a leisurely float via an inner tube along a "river." The only irony is the weather outside was close to 60 degrees during this first week of January.

Christmas 2006

2007-01-07T14:36:00.000-05:00

Santa was very generous this season having provided Olivia with several "Princess" themed items.

L-R: One of the 12 Dancing Barbies, and posing with the new scooter.

A Blog is Born

2007-01-05T14:30:00.000-05:00

I am working on creating a family blog to replace our website. There is a learning curve, of course. I'm hoping it will be easier to manage and update than the website.