Finally

Back to the barn tomorrow. So so excited. I am once again going to essentially ignore house tasks and relax and hike and canoe. At some point I really have to spend a work weekend to get the barn back in shipshape (as shipshape as the Barn can be). Scarily neglected lately. Must. Rectify. This. Summer.

So back to this weekend. We leave tomorrow in a minivan (woo woo) with 2 additional kids. Their parents are taking the train and meeting us up there. Saturday will be croquet and catch and bike rides and filming Clarke's jazz audition video ( anyone want to come over for the live shoot? We are renting helicopters and groupies). Then EatnMeet for dinner. Sunday, we are heading out to Floodwood Pond to canoe the streams and small ponds. This is our home turf for canoeing and I can't wait. We have a group of 8 so we have 2 16' canoes and 2 kayaks. We are going to set up day camp on one of the islands and let people explore from there. After that, cookout back at our place. Deciding between pork burgers with asian slaw and fennel or chocolate, stout marinated steak. Um, and quinoa, feta salad for PK. Vegetarians!

We'll see you inside the blue line!

Hey Canoe People!

Here's what I need: A way to transport 2-3 canoes and/or a kayak. Here's the problem: I don't own a car so it would have to easily attach to any rental car I happen to have. Does such a thing exist?

It's very frustrating. We have friends coming to the barn this weekend and again, we have enough boats for everyone but no way to transport them all. So we end up renting from St. Regis (On Floodwood Pond). They are a great outfit but I don't need the extra expense. Any ideas?

The Fest Is Done. Long Live the Fest

In some ways, this was just like every year. Sara, Oscar, and I drove up late Thursday, got lost in NJ (don't ask), were pulled over by troopers but released with no ticket (god, I like traveling with blondes!) and arrived around midnight. The rest of the crew had rolled in at various times throughout the evening. We all said hello, agreed we were all completely exhausted, and then....opened a fine bourbon and spent the next 3 HOURS catching up and story-telling. I knew I was going to regret but was just so glad to see those faces. You know we are getting old because we talked a lot about work. With most everyone somehow affiliated with media, there was a lot of talk of the future of journalism and hilariously, many strategy discussions about twitter. The next morning we (big shock) had a late start and then headed to Whiteface. I had a very low key day helping darling Maeve learn to ski before her mom and I went off to the main mountain for a bit. The airlines lost skis, so the cross country folks waited around until late afternoon for their skis and then headed to Dewey Mountain for some lit trails. We all convened for dinner and I threw together flank steak, mushroom risotto, and some salad. We all huddled around the kitchen, and then started old jokes, brutal personal assaults etc.. As I so clearly remember doing about 10 years ago, Mark and Carter spent much of the evening trying to get a revved up Maeve into her bed. Even Oscar and Erik took turns to no avail. Clarke and @PK arrived around 10pm in a ridiculous sports car. The rental agency had "upgraded" them from economy not into SUV or something ADK suitable but a two-seater. So funny to watch them drive up. After snow angels, we all collectively crashed. The next morning we had a breakfast that I think will be a new tradition: the Irish oatmeal bar. McCann's oats with serve yourself bowls of brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, pecans, almonds, mangoes, apples, berries, bananas, etc. Super delicious. We were at the hill at a reasonable hour and the boys skied their legs off. Jim, dad of Erik, led the boys and Clarke swears they skied the whole mountain. Where was I? Teaching @Pk how to ski. He promised he would try. And he was valiant. Next up, he's trying cross country. So then I ditched him, and joined the rest for a few runs before we headed home. Then the last of our people finally arrived from DC, "Big Air Spider Dan" and Jill. That night, we had early appetizers of cheese (did I mention they were all from Wisconsin?) and then went to a late dinner at...you guessed it, Eat N Meet. We literally took up the entire restaurant and spent almost 3 hours there eating, drinking, and talking. So fun. We now have 16 more Eat n Meet fans. Favorite dishes included meatloaf, crab beignets, sauteed squash. The next day was sort of anticlimactic as people started to file out. Everyone had different schedules and airports. On the last full day, Oscar and I went to Cascade to ski with Sara, Clarke stayed home to study, Jim and Erik skied Whiteface with Dan and....the lawyers went to Starbucks to work. Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be lawyers. I really loved the few hours of cross country and the lodge after is such a treat. Finally, our day to return to reality arrived but I decided we'd stop at Gore and downhill ski a half day before heading to NYC. I hadn't really felt I had gotten my proper skiing in and it was a fantastic half day. So warm that I was wearing no hat, absolutely no crowds and great conditions. So worth it. So it was a typical trip in that we laughed a lot and skied a lot. It was atypical because I think, frankly, we are getting older. We cared less about the food and less about the booze, though don't get me wrong, much of all was consumed. I think everyone feels these weekends are something special and we treasure it. I know I do. I think people are definitely have fallen for the Adirondacks too. It's such a good match for the go get 'em Wisconsin mentality. There is talk of trying a summer canoe retreat, an extra weekend for Tom and Katrina to do the Loppet and extending the weekend to a week+ next year and adding on Mont Tremblant. Even if we can't pull these things off, we are going to all damn try.

Look Out Adirondacks

Sixteen friends, all united by their love of Wisconsin, snow, and good food and drink, will be descending upon the barn in T-minus 24 hrs. This is our 15th annual I believe. I am so glad it is back at the barn and can't wait to see my oldest and dearest ones. As the years have progressed, there is a gentle migration from "all downhill, all the time" to cross country, napping, reading and that's ok by me. In a few more years, I am sure there will be snow-shoeing and communal BenGay ( that sounds far naughtier than intended). We don't stay up nearly as late as we used to, but we still do some damage. Or else why would I have kept the dining room trapeze installed?! Past years have included mango rum snow cones, a communal ladle, an overflowing dishwasher scene worthy of the Brady Bunch, a medical snowcat trip down the mountain, outings to a bar/taxidermy store, and a run-in with homeland security. Like I said, look out ADK.

Um...About Perfect

So 8 hrs later, we arrived in Saranac Lake from NYC last Wednesdsay. I sort of relish the hellacious city traffic because it makes that first relaxing day so obviously antithetical to our citylife. I gainly stayed awake till around 1am finishing wrapping which is a Williams First. No more Christmas Eve wrapping hell. Christmas Eve, Oscar and I woke up and set a world shopping record at Price Chopper. Oy. Then, we all took naps, and went to Christmas Eve mass at St. Bernard. As I tweeted, the priest literally stopped in the middle of the communion line to ask Clarke if he was a skateboarder. I think Clarke's hair freaked him out. His hair freaks me out. (Note to self, keep repeating "Pick Your Battles.")
Then we had some boy-friendly appetizers and treats. I made Clarke the classic Spanish shrimp dish with sherry, garlic, red pepper and olive oil. We had lamb balls (quick made-up recipe: ground lamb, rosemary, garlic, lemon zest, bread crumbs, egg, salt. Mush, make a ball, bake..till done), baked potatoes with fixins', and good bread and cheese (thank you Park Slope Coop). We played board games and read our two Christmas books. Hilariously, the tradition continues to evolve, as Clarke started "Twas the Night Before Christmas" in the voice of Gogol Bordello, an eastern European, folk-punk (?) band. Oscar then asked that I take over and do my french accent. Bizarre and hilarious. I once again, cried at Polar Express- not sure why. The boys opened their one present from me, not Santa. Always pajamas. They love it and it makes me ridiculously happy.

Christmas was super low key. Oscar slept until 7am. Another Williams First. Hooray for Civility. We decided not to ski and were very happy to play outside and read etc. The boys were so gracious and happy with everything they received. They still love reading the Christmas tags and the various characters who dropped off presents. Clarke started downloading free books for his Iphone and is into old sci-fi and horror. He's already read about 4 Edgar Allen Poe (in lieu of his 55 geometry proofs he needs to complete this week).

We skied on Saturday - slushy, warm and no crowds. Yesterday we laid low and then went to see Sherlock Holmes. I was "eh", boys loved. My classic chic review is that I hated the violence - Sherlock Holmes a thug?- but love love loved Robert Downey and Jude Law - and the acting was good too....(thank you. I'll be here all week. Tip your waiters.) Today, Oscar and I skied our brains out. Clarke stayed in to sleep and finish homework and rightfully was pretty mad at himself for missing today. Crazy snow fall, crazy crowds and my legs are still wobbly.

I am in the process of hauling all the firewood that was dropped in a heap on our lawn into our wood shed. Bad timing and late. We are clearly not locals. Duh.

Our only issue so far is this pesky carbon monoxide poisoning threat. We had a new chimney built for our woodstove and ever since, each fire triggers the alarm. NOT. GOOD. I've tried messing with the type of wood, the settings of the woodstove, keeping door open/closed, to no avail. So tomorrow, with temps in the zeros, we will have no fire. Bill our trusty neighbor and caretaker will be over in the afternoon to check it out, but right now, i'm feeeeling sorta sleeeeepy. OK, Not funny. Sorry. No one feels sick. Fire extinguished. Minor issue I am sure. Anyone have ideas? Mr. Small Pines? MR. SMALL PINES?!

That's a few highlights so far. Tomorrow, my guests begin to arrive. The wonderful Juli (seriously, check out her organization -web still in beta- and prepare to be amazed) and Mike from Milwaukee are traveling both to see us and for their 10th wedding anniversary. Therefore, although the boys are very good at harmonizing romantic tunes, they will be staying at the Porcupine Lodge. I must say, I've never stayed and don't know well but looks lovely. Anyone have an opinion?

New Year's Eve we are having a wee get-together. Mostly a few neighbors. I will try to post some pix of the debauchery. I keep taking pictures, but it's the same thing: pretty trees, snow covered boys, fires, wine. That sums it up.

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

I keep saying "once I get through this insane, hectic day, tomorrow will ease up and I can start to enjoy the holidays." Midnight on Dec. 22 and I've decided I am going to scale back on some to-dos or I will end up on Jan. 3rd, exhausted and regretful. So who cares if i scrimp on some cooking and maybe the presents won't be wrapped with matching ribbons. I may not get to the co-op for fancy cheese, and I may just bring my dirty laundry to the barn with me. I do have some work to do for my new job but I can handle in the days after Christmas. I have 10 rare straight days with my wonderful boys and a few days with dear friends at my favorite place in the world.

And that, my friends, is the beauty of turning 40. A little perspective.

Short, Sweet

Barn this weekend was fantastic. Friday, we didn't get out of the city until almost 7pm, the boys were packed in an economy car with about 850,000 loads of laundry, and they lived to tell, although things got a bit hairy. They had managed not to kill each other for most of the drive but when we got off the highway at exit 30, a huge fight erupted. They went back and forth for 10 minutes until I employed what I have now trademarked as "Open Window Conflict Resolution". (note: I will be hosting a $500 per hour workshop for parents in spring). After starting to lose it myself, I cranked down all four windows. Imagine the bracing ADK air at midnight. The boys sort of shrieked and then I screamed, and I quote. "I am cranky enough and crazy enough to drive with these down until we get home, unless, I hear two boys apologizing and yelling 'I love my brother.' They could barely do it because they were laughing so hard. Finally, victory and the rest of the 45 minutes, they were back to best friends, united in their conviction that their mother was the craziest of all mothers. We arrived around 12:30am. Saturday morning, I let the boys sleep and went to get early breakfast and pick up a few groceries. After pancakes, we bundled up and went to Moody Tree Farm. Ten minutes later, we had found a gorgeous 7 ft. Frasier Fir at a good price. Usually, I'm pretty picky and take my time but the great guy helping us showed us a tree he was going to get but it was too big for his ceiling. Who could argue with the personal pick of the tree farm dude? I picked up some boughs and wreaths... and a few homemade cookies. Then, the boys found the Texas Longhorns, some pretty intimidating looking cattle on the premises. We ran about, grabbed a few more cookies and were back home in half an hour. A new record.

After that, it was football, hot chocolate, homework, and some house-organizing and furniture re-arranging. Of course, we also visited our neighbors at Soaring Hawk farm, saying hello to the fantastic chickens and adorable ducks and noting the mysterious absence of the turkeys :-) Before we knew it, the day was done and EatNMeet was calling. The restaurant was busy (yay!) so we waited a bit more than usual but we had some wine and soda and just chatted. Secretly, I like the wait. Then, it was steamed shrimp, sausage, burgers, and sweet potato fries, and rice and peas, and risotto, and.... Delicious.

After dinner, we put up the tree, the ornaments, the music, the candles and the boys ASKED if they could go to bed. Reason #776 that I love the Adirondacks.

Next day, the boys took on leaf clean-up (just in time), DVD/Cd organization and I finished the ridiculous amount of laundry I had hauled. We took out our ski boots and clothes and did assessment of what fit. Why must they grow so aggressively?! Then, it was decorating finishing touches: a wreath outside, some roping, candles everywhere and we were on our way back. We stopped at Cedar Run in Keene for sandwiches and made it back to Brooklyn in 5 hours flat! Always worth it, even for the short weekend. Our next trip will probably be for our 10 day Christmas retreat!

Tweet tweet

I have to say, getting Adirondack tweets is even better than reading the blogs. All day long, little reminders, bits of history and news - heaven. Here's the list from @tourpro if anyone is interested http://twitter.com/tourpro/adirondacks. I was so inspired that I called the Adirondack Daily Enterprise and tried to talk the publisher into letting me consult for her on how to bring all this great local content into the website, (and more local revenue) but um, not so much. I guess the web strategy is handled in West Virginia?! Lame. Anyone want to conspire? My friend Linnae and I also want to do a podcast with John from Eat N Meet. "The Adirondack Chef" but that would require him to actually take a day off and me to be there more regularly. Neat idea though, right?

The boys will be at the barn with their dad for Thanksgiving (boo). I H.A.T.E. sharing holidays. I do hope they get a little skiing in? Maybe? Their season passes are ordered and waiting! And then it's my turn to get up to that old barn.

Hell Yes!

Just sent the official email for Holidays at the Barn! All my siblings will be coming inside the blue line the week after Christmas to celebrate (early) my 40th Birthday. Planning a New Year's Bash (with food by Eat n Meet), Whiteface, full moon cross country ski at Cascade, and general fun. That would be 16 people including 8 children ages 4-18! Holy crap. I've booked "spillover housing" at http://adkoutback.com/ right down the street on Passino. (which I always thought was Pu zee' no, but it's Pass' in o) Who knew. Anyone know of other fun and frivolity we should plan that week?

Let's say a prayer to the Gods of the Yandon Well and Septic, shall we? And while we are at it. Dear St. AlGore, Please send us lots and lots of snow, even though the earth is melting. Amen.

Addendum...

Flaming Leaves Festival? Yes please! I'm adding to the agenda. These kids better be well-rested.

T-Minus 48 Hours

...Till OscarFest 2009! RSVP's in, menu planned, mountain selected (sort of). I marked a few mountains I thought would work from my ADK Mountain Club Book, "High Peaks Region." One, Catamount Mountain seemed great and then my choice was confirmed by TourPro! (Mr. Adirondack Base Camp to you). I love the internets!

Oscar is worried his friends won't be able to handle it and is suggesting Owl's Head but, yawn, so we'll see. I will appeal to their 11 year old macho male egos. Other than that, I imagine it will be hide and seek, whiffle ball, some sort of soldiering game, zipline, and maybe a trip to the bowling alley. We have movies and board games at the ready. Clarke is thrilled that his friend Angus will be up also, so he'll have some escape hatch if the middle school dudes start to drive him crazy.

See you soon Barn!

Arrghg

I was trying to get to the barn this weekend but it's not going to happen. First, I need a lower cost solution for weekend transportation. Car rentals in NYC are about $300-500 and it quickly becomes prohibitive. Then, I need more hours in each day - don't we all. Next weekend is OscarFest 3.0. We are planning a short hike with Oscar's city slicker friends and then some general frivolity. I can't wait. I'm looking for about 3-4 miles round trip with a good view, but not Mt. Baker. Anyone? Anyone?

Now, for the real news. It's snowing?! That makes me incredibly happy. Ski!

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.