Note To Self

If I ever start ruminating about expanding OscarFest to the size of previous years, remind me how lovely this weekend was...or kick me. Three guests + Oscar and Clarke + Angus (almost family) were the perfect amount of boys for the weekend. They had enough for teams but small enough to move en masse from activity to activity. There were no outliers but there was enough for The Pack to make behavior corrections if needed. (a la Dog Whisperer) At one point, a statement was made, and the whole group descended upon the misguided soul. "you are so intolerant." "that is messed up." "what are you talking about?" Hilarious. No parenting needed...almost. The amount of food that was consumed was fairly alarming, of course, but as usual, the Adirondacks were really all that was needed for entertainment.

Catamount Mountain was great. Definitely more challenging than I anticipated for the city dudes and due to a later start and high winds we stopped short of the summit (it hurts just typing that) but made it to a bluff with a fantastic view. The guys loved the rock climbing and the picnic and felt pretty proud. Clarke and Angus wanted to continue but we wanted to descend in time to make a Whiteface Gondola ride.

During the birthday cupcake/presents celebration, Oscar cut to the chase by ordering, "Praise me!" There were late night gossip sessions, and hot cider by the gallon, and movies and gameboy talk, and most importantly, no car vomiting this year. Praise me!

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!

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!