No Impact Fam

I saw the documentary No Impact Man this weekend and it has definitely stuck with me. If you haven't heard of it, it follows a pretty typical NYC family trying to make a radical change in their lifestyle-to have no impact on the environment for a year. It was not at all preachy due to the wife and mom who is a perfect foil to No Impact Man, and a lot of self-reflection about the paradox and motives of the year. I recommend it for entertainment and for inspiration. I immediately said "no way" to a number of the changes. e.g. no toilet paper but many more made so much sense to me, and seemed easy to do.

Mostly what stuck with me was the ridiculous consumerism that has taken hold. It makes me want to run away from it all...run away to the Barn. It makes me admire all the more, the former Brooklyn residents, new ADK homesteadkers at Small Pines. I am struggling with how to bring this awareness to the boys, without making them feel like social freaks or that they are somehow deprived. How to incrementally live in a way that is rich and fulfilling without stuff. They already have a ridiculous idea of wealth from their schoolmates and such. Anyway this is what I am thinking about today. That and...Oscar's Birthday! Waiting to frost the Chocolate Stout Cake. 11 Years Old and a wise old soul

Park Slope Restaurant Tour

Yesterday, Oscar and I headed out to check out to the annual Park Slope Restaurant night. Great idea and great fun. During prime time, the crowds were sort of ridiculous but we had enough to still make it worth it. Oscar thought it indeed felt like trick or treating. We had corn chowder from Rosewater, of course free ice's from Uncle Louie G's, warm homemade pretzels and german beer from Bussaco, one of my very favorites. We had wonderful cider and popcorn and empanadas from Barrio. There really is a neighborhood vibe in Brooklyn that you can't find in Manhattan.

And So It Begins

Day 4 of school: Lost items, no friends, aerospace engineering class (?!), tears over homework not understood, sick teen, dinner dishes not yet done, grief about still having an afterschool babysitter ... errr...dudesitter. Good god, ya'll. Hoping this is first week transition or I may need to introduce family yoga, or family codeine. Clarke is at Brooklyn Tech, with 5,000 other kids. The place intimidates me, never mind a quiet 14 year old. Oh and yes, this is my Clarke, the musical free spirit attending a competitive math and science high school. Ahhh, the logic of the New York City Public School system. How many more days till Christmas break?

Speaking of holiday, in the past, I have rented my friend Spyder's cabin for spillover barn guests. because it's right down the street, (a beautiful walk on the dirt road toward Mckenzie Pond) and assumed I would again for my family coming up, but alas, Spyder decided not to winterize this year. Luckily, he sent me to Wendy and Tom Dupree who also have a place down the street. We are booked and ready for my siblings all!

Fall Easy Appetizer

Figs and Cheese. Halve figs (yes the co-op had 2 kinds!), mound goat cheese in the middle. Stovetop, put sprigs of lavender (or rosemary) in honey and warm until taste is infused. Drizzle over figs and goat cheese. Grind fresh black pepper over figs. Serve with crusty bread. Takes about 10 minutes. Voila.

So What's Shakin'?

Where do we catch up? Let's start with summer. Summer at the barn was fun + frustrating (funstrating?) I never had more than 3 days at a time there and I kept trying to cram in adventures and cooking and housework and visiting with neighbors...oh yeah and relaxing. First and foremost, I had dinner at Eat N Meet each and every time we were there. What amazing luck that such a fantastic place is right in Saranac Lake. The boys and I finally got some canoeing in, first on Lake Placid and then on Rainbow Lake, courtesy of our great friends Linnae, Angus and Sandy. Sandy even lent us his 1920's caned canoe chair. We hiked to Rainbow Falls, visited the Wild Center, ate a fair amount of Donnelly's (bien sur!), and went many many times to Wilmington Flumes for rock jumping. If you haven't been, what a magical place. We paid some visits to our great neighbors and played on their mini-farm. We already made our annual trek to the Great Corn Maze.

The boys spent a few additional weeks at the barn. The highlight being that they climbed Mt. Marcy with their dad (and survived a bear eating their breakfast.)

We lit a fire on Labor Day and started thinking about fall projects and fall hiking...and Skiing!! Next up is Oscar's 11th Birthday party.