Will taking a water break at soccer camp.
Will has soccer camp at 9 on Saturday mornings. That means getting going a little earlier than we are used to on Saturdays. Waking up is never the problem – even when the boys sleep in they are up by 7 (a normal morning is up at 6).
We were having a great morning until Will decided he wanted to go to the toy store and buy some plastic toy after soccer camp. It is frustrating when the media and popular culture teach our children to want want want. Our kids get way too much pressure to consume and consume. Toys are cheap and disposable. Our kids cry when they aren’t allowed to go buy junk – but if they are – they cry when they have no money left when they find something they really want.
Why spend money on a cheap plastic toy gun when you can head into the workshop and make one from scrap wood (that would have gone in the fire pit anyway – and just decomposes when lost in the woods)?
Oh well, just venting. I can’t change society – just do the best I can with Will and Ben.
Anyway, I hope 90 minutes of soccer will allow him to focus on things other than acquiring new toys.
It’s not fine woodworking, but does count as a finished home improvement project. And I finished the project the day I started it. Of course actually keeping the garage clean is itself a never-ending project…
Completed bike rack
I’m just happy that I had time to do a project today. The morning was spent with me rushing to get Will to soccer camp (somehow I was thinking it started at 9:30 when it started at 9 – makes for an interesting morning) and Susanna taking Ben to a birthday party.
After Will’s soccer camp, we swung by the Sawyer family farm to pick up our supply of fresh eggs and home for lunch.
I have been trying to find a way to keep our bicycles organized in the garage. Susanna had cleaned all the toys and junk out of the garage earlier this year, but still the bikes cluttered the space.
I made the bike rack from lumber I had sitting around. The top and bottom is made from a 10-foot long 2×4. The two ends are separated by 29-inch long 3×3 posts that I had been planning to burn if I couldn’t find a use for them. The boys and I found four pieces of 2×4 lumber that I was able to cut to 32-inch long sections to make the posts to support the bike tires. I ripped the 2×4 posts to 1 1/2-inch wide and then attached them to the front of the bike rack (a little over 6-inch space between the posts for each bike, and about 12 inches between bikes). Note to self: pre-drill the holes for the screws when drilling though a narrow piece of lumber before attempting to attach the first post to the frame and splitting the wood. But on a good note, I did learn after only two screws split the wood (so I’m getting closer).
The cleaned out garage bay (at least for now)
I was able to get the garage bay cleaned out and the bikes put back in time for a homemade pizza dinner and movie. There is room to put at least one additional bicycle on the rack if I cleaned out the stuff on the back left wall of the garage – maybe another day.
Total cost for bike rack: $0
Overall thoughts about the project: a quick 1 hour construction project – not the fanciest, but it is in the back of the garage, so not too visible – and with the condition of the garage, no reason to build a fancy bike rack from the hardwood I have in the woodshop.
The movie tonight was “Despicable Me.” The boys had never seen the movie and loved it; I must have seen it on a flight at one time and loved it the second time around.
The boys taking a break on the bridgeThe boys had the day off from school today. The first day of spring break for them.
It started out crazy last night. Will wanted his friend, Shane to visit this weekend. Of course, he called later in the evening, and the only time he could visit was last night (for a sleepover). He got here last night at about 8pm, and left at 7pm today.
We also had the neighbor, Justin, over for the afternoon, Ben’s friend, Anthony, and the 6 year old girl from across the street (Amanda). In all, there were 6 kids from the ages of 6 to 9 here for several hours today. It is fun to have friends over, but we all agreed that it is also nice to have them leave…
The boys (and girl) spent the day running around outside – they built two forts in the woods behind the house, went on many missions to kill zombies, skeletons, giants, and other monsters (as well as rescue missions). We built wood swords in the morning (to give a full day of playing). I did change the sway bar links in the Jeep, but gave up on the rear shocks (just too much effort to herd the cats so to speak).
So I’m pretty tired. Susanna was at work this evening – she should be home shortly – and I’m sure she will be quite exhausted as well.
So here is hoping the boys will sleep in tomorrow.
Will doing homework on the patio while Targa keepswatch (earlier in the year). I had to cut myself out of the picture - I had way too goofy of a look on my face to publish it.
I finally downloaded pictures from the camera. Last week wasn’t nice enough to do homework outside. But the week before was.
I am making progress on the workshop – I posted about that over the weekend. It is also time to start working on the yard. I ordered strawberry plants a couple of months ago – they arrived today. Tonight I picked up some hay and planted 2/3 of the new plants. I’ll pick up some more compost this week and plant the rest. Hopefully I’ll do better with the raised beds than I did last year. It is easy to plan too big of a garden and let the weeds take over. Anyway, here are some pictures of the projects in progress:
Corner of the workshop - reorganized. Just don't look at the rest of the shop.The raised beds. The middle bed will have the strawberries. Not 100% sure about the other two.
Ben getting ready to pick up a crab at science night at PVMS
We started the weekend off with a Friday night event at the boys’ school. It was science night. There were lots of activities for the boys to do, and lots of exhibits to see. Of course, the most popular event of the night was the soda rockets (drop a couple of Mentos in a 2 liter bottle of Diet Coke… and watch the mess – and yes it was done outside).
The weather Saturday was not very nice. Cold and rainy. But with a little coaxing (and some help), the boys cleaned their rooms. And no surprise, the neighbor, Justin, came over to play for most of the afternoon (after rooms were cleaned). Surprisingly there wasn’t too much conflict…
We also fixed Will’s bicycle on Saturday. He had gotten the derailleur wrapped up in the rear wheel a week or so ago, and the new one arrived in the mail on Thursday. It only took one trip to the bike store (we messed up the cable when we were trying to install the new derailleur) – but now seems to be working. I’m sure it will need adjusting after a day of riding or so.
Today I had hoped to spend time and try to straighten out the barn. I have borrowed a come-along and chains from a friend – but the weather threatened rain all day – so I didn’t feel like I should start that big of a project (which requires some outside work – I think – though now I mention it, maybe I can get it to work from the inside…. nah.. probably not).
I tried to get the tractor mower started (maybe get some mowing done before the rain). Nope… battery dead. So put it on the charger (note to self – take off charger before bedtime – it should be charged). Couldn’t get the push mower running either. So changed the spark plug, still didn’t work – next will try draining the gas and refilling. I’m pretty sure it was a good plan to not try a big project today. I was a bit frustrated by lunch time by the lawn equipment. So instead of being frustrated about not working on the barn, I focused on smaller projects (the never-ending joy of owning an old house).
I did successfully vent the dryer outside (the old vent had gone out the same window the new furnace power vent now occupies). That project went pretty smoothly. I replaced a pane of glass in one of the other basement windows with a piece of plywood (with a 4″ hole for the vent). I even painted the plywood to match the house.
Earlier this week I was going to replace the concrete pad for the front post of the barn. I got the concrete and post support earlier this week. Then I started digging to try to dig out the concrete pad. It is apparently a pretty big pad, and I didn’t feel like digging it out (nor did I have enough concrete to replace it once I dug it out). So today, I added a 5th slab to support another post for the barn. This one is pretty close to the front of the barn. I think the ground is relatively soft near the front of the barn, and the posts have been sinking over time – so I’ll share the weight on an additional post.
The rest of the afternoon was spent working on the workshop. It is getting closer. I move some shelves and cleaned out the corner that the new stairs will occupy. Now to try to straighten the barn. Maybe that will wait until next weekend.
Will: “Last night strange things happened. Water got on the stairs and no one did it. I locked my self in the bathroom and didn’t remember doing it (my dad told me but I don’t believe him)….” (25 March)
Ben: “We forgot are dog’s name so we called are dog Thomas Jefferson we have a boat when my dog was on the ramp I pushed him off the ramp and he said I am flying he said then Boom! He hit his head OW! That hurt he Said.” (24 March)
Will: “I finished a fort(that is made into….) (….a bush on…)…(…on a hill) and named it Fort de namesha. I so want to relax.” (23 March)
Ben: “my brother and i made up a new fort called fort de namesha we have two secret exits and my brother and i made are secret exit that has thorns so if they follow my brother and i they’ll get stuck because my bother and i are small so my brother and i can slip right past the thorns.” (24 March)
It is pretty funny to go back and read over what they write.
The boys meeting the baby goats (kids) at Beltane Farm
I took Thursday afternoon and Friday off of work. and the weather was beautiful this weekend, so I had a chance to get a lot done.
I was able to complete a lot of house projects this weekend:
I installed the new support post in the workshop.
I installed shelves in the second floor of the workshop.
I cleaned the second floor of the workshop.
I removed shelves on the first floor of the workshop – and cleared out the right side of the shop (where I’m going to add a new set of stairs to the second floor).
I finished a new set of shelves on the first floor of the workshop (they turned out pretty nice – cut from two 2×6 boards, with dadoes for the shelves). They fit between the window and the dust collector.
I’m sure I did more… but the weekend seems so far in the past… and it is only Monday.
The workshop is making real progress. I can walk around the center island on both sides, and I have all the major equipment where I think it will wind up.
Saturday was a busy day. In the morning, the boys and I drove to Beltane Farm in Lebanon CT to get some goat milk and cheese. I thought we would try something different as I work with Ben on trying to discover foods that don’t bother his allergies (cow and goat milk seems to bother him – but yogurt doesn’t seem to). If you think gasoline is expensive, you should try goat milk. The boys were patient while I purchased the milk and cheese, but totally fell in love with the baby goats. They agreed that they should get a farm when they grow up – and discussed if they were going to get a horse or goat first (I think they agreed they would share a farm, and Will would get the horse first and Ben get a goat first). I would work for them and do the garden and make the stables for them. Susanna would work as a preschool teacher. They figured that having a goat would be easier than planting a garden…
Saturday afternoon the boys went to a birthday party… they spent over 4 hours at the party. I wound up having the afternoon free to clean out the workshop (which is why I got so much done).
This week I plan on replacing the support post under the workshop that is closest to the road. After that post is replaced, I will make an attempt to straighten the barn (on side now leans towards the road). After straightening the barn, the next step is building a new set of stairs to the second floor (with a wall/door so I can more easily heat the barn in the winter).
Sunday night was date night. Out for Indian food and a movie (“The Hunger Games”). The movie was good, but I shouldn’t have believed Mark when he told me that the lead actress, Jennifer Lawrence, is the same one that played Susan in the Narnia movies (Anna Popplewell – thanks to IMDb). Oh well, but not really disappointing at all.
We have had a couple of very nice days here. The weather has been perfect – even warm enough in the evening to eat dinner on the patio (note to self – pay attention when grilling the veggie burgers – Will doesn’t like his burger blackened – I was hoping to hide it under the cheese – there is no fooling Ben with his non-cheese burger).
Will and Ben spent the good part of the afternoon/evening yesterday building a fort/hiding spot in one of the bushes in the side yard. They started trimming back the bush so they could easily get in. Not quite a professional landscaping crew, but hey… they are free… who cares if the bushes have carved paths underneath them.
They aren’t quite the best hiding places yet. But it should be pretty good once the leaves come in (and the thorn bushes start growing back).
I spent this afternoon building shelves for the workshop. The sides are built – now I need to pick up a couple of pieces of plywood to finish the shelves. Will spent the afternoon taking apart and reassembling a toy tank. According to his blog post, “It had a pain lot of screws….” Speaking of blog posts – both boys are keeping up on their postings – and it is pretty interesting to read about the day from their veiw.
Tomorrow is another day off of work. I have a long list of chores to finish before guests come over for dinner…. hopefully I’ll actually finish some of them.
Okay, I know I have been posting a lot here recently. The good thing is no one is forced to read it (ok, except Susanna). And my life isn’t really that exciting (posting three times in one day is a good sign of how unexciting my life is). In reality, I am am inspired by the booklet I printed from this blog earlier this year. It is a scrapbook of sorts of what I did for 2011. And since I don’t have the patience to sit down once a year and make a scrapbook (or the memory to remember everything I did) – I will turn this into my scrapbook.
Will and Ben were reading though the stories I wrote last year – it reinforces my belief that they should write their own blogs – they are fun to reflect on. I have been encouraging Will and Ben to post once or twice a week.
Hmm.. this really doesn’t have much to do with spring… or spring projects yet.
Workshop step/landing completed
I did complete the two projects I had planned for the day. I finished the footing this morning, and this afternoon I finished the step/landing in front of the workshop. It turned out pretty nice, and will hopefully keep shoes from getting muddy when going to the workshop. I only had to do one extra trip to Home Depot (to get more sand). The lumber was picked up off Craigslist a couple of weeks ago (with the wood I used for the lumber storage rack), and the pavers were left over from the patio.
As you can see from the first picture, I wasn’t the only busy person today. Susanna cleaned out the garage (or at least the bay with the kids toys/bikes) and got the patio furniture out and set up. It was nice to take a break and sit out on the patio for the first time this year. Now she is filling up the bookshelves I finished this morning… It’s nice to not store all our books on the floor.
The weather should be nice this week – though still a little cool in the evening to eat dinner on the patio. I did clean off the bicycle – ready to ride into work tomorrow if it isn’t too cold.
Article published Mar 17, 2012 Preston, Mohegans go back in time
By Claire Bessette Day Staff Writer Officials re-enact signing of deed that created town in 1687 Preston – Mohegan Tribal Chairman Bruce “Two Dogs” Bozsum greeted students at the Preston Veterans Memorial School Friday afternoon wearing a deerskin vest and pants topped off by a beaded and feathered headdress.
About a dozen students quickly abandoned their lunches and surrounded Bozsum as he waved a fan of turkey feathers in their direction.
“Are you a real Indian?” one boy asked.
“Is he a real Indian?” another, who hadn’t heard, asked a schoolmate.
“What are you wearing?”
“Where did you get the feathers?”
The questions came faster than Bozsum could answer: He made the outfit himself, with feathers that he found or that were given to him by friends. Someone else made the soft, deerskin medicine pouch he wore.
“It holds all my medicines,” he said, showing bits of natural items in the pouch.
In addition to being tribal chairman, Bozsum is the Mohegan Tribe’s ceremonial pipe carrier, an important position in the social culture of the tribe.
Bozsum wasn’t the only visitor to the school for the celebration of the town’s 325th anniversary – one day early. Several town officials joined him on stage to re-enact the signing of the deed, when Mohegan Indian Owanaco – son of Uncas – turned over a 5-mile stretch of his land to the settlers who wanted to form the 36th town in the Connecticut Colony.
First Selectman Robert Congdon donned a long, black coat and tall, black Puritan hat to portray town founder Capt. James Fitch.
Selectman Timothy Bowles wore a wool vest with pants tucked into his high socks to play John Stanton.
Veterans Memorial School teacher Dan Rearick – who received the loudest ovation from the partisan crowd – wore a beret cap to represent founder Samuel Mason.
Former First Selectman Parke Spicer was the veteran actor of the bunch. He donned the white wig, spectacles and blue breaches he had worn 25 years ago to portray John Morgan.
“I had a jacket to go with this,” Spicer said. “It fit me 25 years ago, but not today.”
The Rev. David Cannon read a narration describing the founding of the town as the deed-signing participants surrounded a small desk, complete with feather pen and ink set for the signing.
“It was signed with the mark of Owanaco,” Cannon said, “which was the shape of a turkey. That is why the symbol of a turkey is so important to the people of Preston. This deed was signed on March 17, 1687.”
After the brief signing ceremony, Bozsum used the Mohegan language to address the students and the more than a dozen senior citizens who join the students once a month for a shared lunch.
“Greetings. Thank you all for coming today,” he translated. “The Mohegan people are proud to be friends with you. The Creator is good.”
Costumed participants then joined the audience as third-graders formed dance circles in front of the stage to perform the dance “Gathering Peas cods,” which dates back to the early 1600s. Fifth-graders followed with a localized rendition of a North Carolina dance game, “Sally Down the Alley.”
“Here comes Sally down the alley. Here comes Sally down the alley. Here comes Sally down the ally, down to Poqetanuck.”
Students took turns running between lines of classmates singing their names as they came “down the alley.”
Preston is hosting numerous events throughout the spring and summer to celebrate the town’s 325th anniversary. Students also are making town quilts that will be displayed and possibly sold later in the year.
“You’re going to be actually a part of history, as well as watching history,” Principal Kathy Walsh told the students at the start of Friday’s ceremony.
c.bessette@theday.com
