The Last Month Part 1: Charlotte’s Room

August has been a maelstrom of sorts, Lex at Yankee Stadium, 2 vacations for the kids (more on that in the next post), and most satisfying for me, Charlotte’s new bedroom. I (er, we…) painted (and varnished & stripped varnish & plastered & spackled & scrubbed & sanded & so on….) the 3rd floor attic guest bedroom, and Charlotte moved in (little by little) a couple weeks ago. She’s thrilled… and so is Lex.

Lex at Red Sox v Yankees

Lex and I went to the first of a 4-game series Thurs night. Lex’s first night game and first Red Sox game (he learned some new swear words.) We were both really pumped for the evening. Got there very early, in time to watch all of batting practice. Went to the outfield wall to try to catch a ball. Didn’t, altho a ball nearly caught us. Drank soda, ate Cracker Jack, Foot-Long Hot Dogs, Cotton Candy and Lemonade Sherbet. Priceless.

One problem, the Yankees never showed up: 7-0.

Waiting on \"The Short Porch\"

View from my seats THIS YEAR.

Christmas Card Hype

Just wanted to post a little retrospective of past NJ Falls’ Xmas cards.  I’ve got a new one coming, and really think y’all will like it, so I wanted to create a little “buzz” for the debut.

I figure I’ll post the new one Xmas Eve, unless the public outcry for a preview becomes overwhelming, in which case I might release the digital version early.

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Lots Been Happening

In the beginning of June, Shannon came to visit for a quick Friday overnight. We had a total blast, highlighted (I think) by a gin & tonic-fueled pickup wiffleball game. We have games every Friday night with the neighborhood kids, but there was a shower that night at the designated time, so no-one showed, but we squeezed in a few innings an hour later.

Shannon & kids

Speaking of baseball, both kids played organized ball this spring. Lex was in T-Ball and Char was in Coaches Pitch. I didn’t realize when I signed them up that there was a separate softball league for girls, so Charlotte and our next-door neighbor, Emily, were the only girls in the league. They loved it, tho! Charlotte was the best hitter on her team. She won their last game with a bases clearing, 2-out, true double to center (maybe the only “true” double the team had all season).

I don’t have a picture of Charlotte to offer (if I can get her to put her uniform on this weekend, I’ll try to add a shot), but I do of Lex. He and neighbor, Will, were the sluggers on their team. In hindsight, I wish I had lied about his age and put him in the Coaches Pitch league, he’s head-and-shoulders above all the others in T-Ball. But then again, it’s not a bad thing to let him have a season of total confidence.

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Lis was gone for a week in June. Her dad had surgery in Nashville and she went to help out. Jack’s doing quite well it seems, he’s home, has lots of help, and hopefully is well on the way to recovery. While she was gone, Charlotte had a playdate here with a friend, Riley. I was rearranging furniture in the house when they decided to put on makeup. They brought their little makeup kit outside where they encountered Lex. He wanted to join in and they all ended up applying Lis’ lipstick to Lex’s face.

Lex asked me to put the picture on the blog.

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For Father’s Day we went to Pete Seeger’s Hudson River Clearwater Festival.
(And in the chaos of leaving the house, I managed to slam into and dent my new Saturn…. que sera now…. had a cow then.)
Anyway… music, food, hair-wrapping, a new mini-conga drum, lemonade, boats, oh yeah…ecology…, and kayaking.

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June 21st was the last day of school.

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One last thing. Say a final goodbye to La Jeep. Junked after 21+ yrs.
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