Big summer for our hero

First, Clarke will be a Counselor-in-Training at Floodwood - his dad's beloved Floodwood where he worked for 10 years and eventually ran the place. No pressure there, kid. Then, there is his first sleepaway adventure in dorms at a college. National Jazz Workshop in Virginia. Lots of talent. Lots to learn. No pressure there, kid. But I'm happy that he has this. He should know how capable he really is. And then, of course, there will be some fun and frivolity. Here's one of Clarke's audition tapes.

Not summer yet

A list of randomness:

1. Make this school year end. NOW. NYC is nuts. See this insanity. Of course I had to add my two cents in the comments.
   
2. For those that remember, on the last day of school, I always plan a crazy surprise for the boys. This one is finally finished and is slated for Friday. Not my most outlandish but should be a fun time. Years past have included: weekend cruise to Canada, beach, convertible car rental, water park, sailing trip. Can't write details on this year of course, because I'm certain the boys read my blog....right? I am loving slipping them hints and throwing them off the scent. Much harder now that they are old and cynical.
   
3. Very happy with quick dinner last night. Ready? Turkey burgers: mix ground turkey with salt, chopped cilantro, lime juice. Grill. Fancy relish: grated red cabbage and carrots, mixed with 2 TBL mayo, lime juice, dash of olive oil, cilantro, jalapeno. Sweet potato baked fries: Try to find the white sweet potatoes (are those yams?). The trick is heat the olive oil in a baking sheet in oven at high heat (450). When very hot, add the salted sweet potatoes. Bake till they are done. They crisp up nicely this way. Broccoli. Add sliced ginger to water/chicken stock before you steam/boil. Sliced melons: why are there so many delicious melons at the co-op right now? I thought melon season was late august. Anyway, delicious.
   
4. Barn: Nada. Can't afford rental cars to get up there on the weekends. Need a solution. Very sad. But we are going for July 4th!
5. To be honest, I am trying to remember that summer is supposed to be a time to relax and enjoy. Getting the boys scheduled into camps etc. to keep them occupied is expensive and time-consuming. I don't have a lot of time off work and I feel the whole summer is scheduled and budgeted down to the wire. Le sigh. Check back next week and hopefully I will shake this BS and start having some fun.
   
6. I biked here last weekend and it was amazing. 12 miles from the urban jungle and you have pristine beach and wildlife. Wowza.
   

Notice anything?

First, I know I was at the barn last weekend and yes I took some photos, but I can't find the darn cord that exports my camera so you'll have to take my word for it, that it was great. I really need to take pictures of EatnMeet next time I am there. Expect photos and details soon.

Meanwhile on the way up to the barn, I heard this great lyric. "If you hear any noise, it's just me and the boys." Made me laugh and made me happy. The storm blowing the roof off the barn thing was pretty powerful for me, for a time ( I don't think I ever blogged this but literally a piece of paper blew into my hand with that saying on it, during a pretty rough time. How. Weird. Is. That?) But now it doesn't quite reflect, so voila, a new blog tagline.

Sunday Morning

Ahhh. The boys spent last week skiing at the barn with their dad for winter break. I missed Winter Carnival again but did fulfill some wanderlust, used my free miles and scooted out of town for the weekend to Bermuda (!) with @Pk. Bermuda would require its own post but summarized by "hmmmm". The British colonial thing was freaky. But it IS beautiful and 1.5 hr flight from NYC. Not on my "must return" list. I then worked and worked and worked until the boys arrived home.

But this weekend. This weekend! Boys are home, windows open, pancakes, cooking, board games, chatting for hours with the boys. Just heaven.

Oscar and i are at the kitchen table now. He's catching up on his various communication devices and we are listening to Langhorne Slim. Great Sunday music.

Trying to make soundcloud work with streampad on blogger to share some music, but not not working...

Hibernation

So the excitement and travel and fun of Christmas and New Year and my birthday and the ski trip and Clarke's birthday (last Wed.) are now over. Thank. God. Now this is winter! Cold and dark and monotonous. Just the right timing. We are all ready to settle in a bit. Let's work hard and organize and get back to our routine. I (really @pk has been driving this and I am gratefully letting him) am in the middle of changing the boys room into two separate sleeping spaces and a common area. Tuesday, our friends Linnae and Sandy arrive with some tools and then the boys should have curtain panels which they can pull back when they want to be alone. Even this week with the rooms arranged with the wardrobes dividing the area, there has been a vast difference in their peace of mind. Oscar's room? Pristine, bien sur. Clarke's room looked like a mental patient lived there but it was his own mess in his own private small area, and finally even he had enough and cleaned up.... a bit. It's just the sort of January project for which winter is meant.

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.

Holidays and City

A few quick things that were great about this weekend.

1. Unsilent Night: A symphonic walk through the Village with 200 (?) strangers, carrying boom boxes. It's becoming quite popular; this was the first year there was a police escort. Look for it in your city. This year, it was made more hilarious because it fell on the same day as Santacon, guaranteeing we'd run into the requisite "Drunk Santa" "Chain-Smoking Santa" "Lecherous Santa" etc. etc.
2. British Cooking: That's riiiight. Boys and I went to annual party of friends from England and she always makes this really amazing dessert. I've just emailed her because I've decided it has to be put into the repertoire and it's perfect for the holidays. Count this as a teaser because I will post whole recipe, if given permission. It's a meringue with some sort of chestnut cream. (She also serves loads of fantastic champagne on a Sunday afternoon.)
   
3. Babies! Once per month, I work at a shelter for homeless, pregnant/newly mom'd teens and there is not an altruistic thing about it. All day I snuggle with these adorable little bundles. If you are looking for a worthy charitable donation for the holidays, this is definitely one I can endorse. These women/girls are given a furnished studio from their third trimester till the baby is one year old. They are given support, training, and resources to get them back on their feet and they are given many rules and responsibilities too. They are expected to get their GED and the staff helps place them in work. It's such a warm environment and such a change from the typical shelter scenario for these women and their babies. You can see that they have a chance.
   

So there you have it: Symphonies, champagne, and babies. A Christmas Trifecta!

Live from Brooklyn

He is open for weddings, baptisms, and bar mitvahs.