Real tree please

Ah the pleasures of a natural tree. This year we followed tradition and bought ours at the same lot on Camp Horne road as previous years. They even held prices. Twenty-seven dollars buys any tree.

As you can see this one has all the characteristic asymmetrical charm of a live tree. It even has an abandoned bird's nest in it.

But as always there is the challenge of keeping the tree up. Two years ago we bought yet another tree stand. It is a great idea. The tree goes into a gimbal-like mount that fits into a stand at any angle.

Once you have the tree right, simply lock the mount into the base and there you have it.

There's only one thing they got wrong- securing the tree into the mount. Here they use four old-fashioned bolts that have a lot of play in them. As a result the mount is secure in the base, but the tree shifts in the mount and veers menacingly.

This year it happened within the first 24 hours and we got it fixed fairly well. Last year it happened when Santa came to the circle. I watched the tree as it toddled to the side. So I left the crowd and came in right away. As Bobbie came in the door she asked what happened to me and finding me on the floor with my head under the tree, had her answer in a glance.

Perhaps the tree falling over is now a Christmas tradition as well.

This year's big gift...

...was the Snuggie! All three got one and as you can see, they love them.

Christmas was subdued this year because a stomach virus was going through the household. Hence we had chicken broth and noodles for Christmas dinner instead of the traditional roast beef and yorkshire pudding. I think the kids appreciated the Snuggies even more to fend off the chill.

We are now all recovered and working our way back into eating what we want again. One can eat just BRAT (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast) for only so long.

Sledding

John really loves amusement parks and roller coasters in particular. Here he is narrating his own ride in our backyard. Monday afternoon John, Janine and several kids in the neighborhood had a great time sledding.

Christmas Pageant

The church Christmas Pageant was this past Sunday. Janine was a last minute addition as an angel. She couldn't make most of the rehearsals because of ballet, but she helped the younger kids along anyway. In the top photo she is trying to stay on pointe.

After the performance we had to remind her that it was bad form to ham it up too much, especially in church. Nonetheless everyone else didn't seem to mind. She received many compliments on her composure. Surely the Nutcracker performance was good training.

Santa in the circle

Every year Santa Claus comes to the circle riding a fire truck to pass out gifts to the neighborhood kids. When we first moved in we had no children and viewed it as a nice diversion. When our kids were infants they did not participate or sat in the stroller until we went back inside. During the toddler years Santa was a big event. Bobbie and I couldn't let on that Santa was coming lest the kids would burst from excitement.


Last night when Santa arrived, I looked around and realized that we had the oldest child participating. And there she was sharing it with little Julia from two doors down.

I shouldn't say this, but I will anyway. I find it so encouraging that Sarah, John and Janine are passing on the excitement and wonder to the younger kids in the neighborhood. Yesterday afternoon our backyard was swarming with kids riding sleds down the hill.

I know that every parent of growing children thinks the same thing. What happened? Time passes so quickly, so you have to savor the times like these. I am thankful that I able.

Take a bow!

At the end of the Nutcracker there is a lengthy piece that concludes the ballet and allows the dancers from the second act to perform a short dance in character and get a round of applause. As you can hear, this is the crescendo and conclusion.

Dance with the Nutcracker

Well the big performance came and went, but we now have video to share! This is the dance in the party scene where Clara receives the Nutcracker as a gift. (Please note that this is a Victorian Variation on the Nutcracker. The music for Act One was particular to the 1890s, while Act Two was all Tchaikovsky.)

Janine did a fine job Sunday afternoon. She was on stage for almost the entire performance, dancing in five scenes.

Her only complaint was that she had only one performance. In fact throughout the past few days she continues to dance her part in the kitchen and around the house. She has been dealing quite well with the usual post-performance moods varying from "I'm glad that it's done" to "I miss all the attention."

Let's not forget everyone else. Sarah ran the lights. John helped with the sound and Mommy was one of the maids in the party scene.

Sunday night to celebrate the fine job everyone did, we had dinner at LuLu's Noodles in Oakland. Nothing like a bowl of Hot and Sour soup to warm you up on a cold evening. Besides, it's one of the kids' favorite places. Sarah likes the college scene and the spicy food, John likes the twice cooked pork and Janine is always up for a bowl of good soup.

Sunday Nutcracker

Yesterday Sarah got Janine's hair ready for the performance. This morning she did the same thing, only it goes much faster the second time.

Janine was a very good party girl last night and is looking forward to her role as Clara this afternoon.

Sarah ran the lights last night and will do the same this afternoon. Sarah's friend Joey was a big help too. He was fearless climbing the scaffolding to hang back drops and refill the tarp that drops snow.

John was to run the sound, but the process is so simple, just starting and stopping the music, the job moved backstage.

Mommy plays her maid role well adding a little of her own to the role.

This morning we had a scare with icy roads. In fact, much of the entire freeway system was shut down until 11 AM. The roads were filled with accidents on the slick roads. Thankfully that is all behind us, so it's on with the show!

Nutcracker Preformance Prep

This is the big weekend for the Nutcracker. Here she is in arabesque at last night's rehearsal.

Janine will dance a secondary role tonight, and the main role of Clara tomorrow afternoon. There is still a lot to prepare. The dancers will rehearse again this afternoon and warm up after that for a 7 PM performance.

In the meantime there are a lot of support things that need to happen. Everything from folding the programs to paint and lighting. Kudos to Kaitlin and Jim who were at the auditorium until the wee hours of this morning making sure the sound and lighting were not only workable, but just right.

Right now Sarah is setting Janine's hair. Today's tasks are underway! Now if the camera batteries would just charge up faster.

Light up night - 2009

Last night was Light-Up Night in Sewickley. All the shops in the village were open and there was music all around. At the shop in the old post office we found one of the kids' friend Olivia. She was there with her mother. Even though Mrs. B is a professional singer she asked for John's help with Jingle Bells. I think John enjoyed the attention.

We got there later than we wanted so we had to park a few blocks from the activity, but the walk did us good. If you recall from this post, I really enjoyed last year's event because it was in the 20s and reminded me of Minnesota.

This year it was warmer. As a result it was the place to be seen if you are a teen. Sarah caught up with Olivia and some other friends. John and I got coffee at Crazy Mocha and Mom enjoyed the shops. Janine has been under the weather, so she stayed at home to recouperate by watching TV.

Hash browns done right

Since it's Thanksgiving Day, this morning I made bacon, eggs and hash browns just like I do on most Saturdays. This morning somehow I used the right combination of potatoes, heat and bacon fat to create the properly done hash browns pictured here.

Sorry to brag, but I was so pleased with my efforts I had to take a picture and post it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Skating has begun

The outdoor ice skating season has begun at North Park. Here's Sarah helping her friend Joey teach a class of seven year-olds. Well actually they were just taking a break.

The rink is refrigerated so it was about 60 degrees when this photo was taken. Of course it's much colder on the ice. Too bad the class wasn't earlier in the day. It was a spectacular sunny afternoon. The rink is surrounded by forested hills that have only a few leaves left. Still, it's quite a view.

The skating season lasts from now until March with a three week hiatus for Christmas and New Year's. Now if Dad will ever learn to skate...

Saltworks - John

John performed a monologue from Cheaper by the Dozen at last Thursday's Saltworks Fall Workshop performance. (While I stood by the PA speaker, the microphone on my camera is still lacking, so you may need to turn up the volume.)

John learned some good pointers that will help him with the next Shakespeare competition. He moved around, and he varied his voice in both volume and pitch. As always, he thrives on memorization. When he puts his mind to it, he can have a full minute memorized in only a few tries. Next time he says that he will do two monologues. We will look forward to that.

Saltworks - Sarah

This past Thursday was the workshop performance for the fall Saltworks classes. While John did monologues, Sarah did Greek theatre.

Both performed Thursday, but this post is about Sarah. Look for one later for John.

Her class and she learned a lot.

• All the ancient Greek plays that exist are by only four playwrights written over only 78 years.
• The role of the chorus is much greater than they imagined.
• All of the ancient Greek plays were performed outdoors.
• While the nature of the stories could be quite bloody, all dying took place offstage.
  
• Naturally, there are a lot of contemporary words, such as scene, traceable to ancient Greek theatre.
• All roles were performed by men in masks.
  

Sarah was in a scene from the play Agamemnon. (Agamemnon is the first play of Aeschylus’ trilogy, the Oresteia.) Once again she plays the "other woman" as Cassandra, Agamemnon's mistress. In the scene both are killed (offstage) by Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's wife, who then returns with a bloody battle axe.

Hmm, first Ophelia, now Cassandra. Maybe someday Ado Annie?

Pumpkin time

Janine and Sarah chose the last minute pumpkins this year. We were able to buy this large one at a local farm market for a reduced price because it was October 30 this was the last one and we asked.

"Gee, do you have anything bigger than all these six inch pumpkins?"

"Sure, we have this one."

"Hmm, it seems a bit too big."

"What's the price? Fifteen dollars? I'll give it to you for 10."

"Well, OK."

Not wanting to waste my time or the people at the farm market, we paid and packed it in the car quickly. Soon thereafter we saw some friends from church drive up, and then leave soon thereafter.

Sarah recognized them. "You guys got the last one!" her friend yelled out the window as they pulled back out onto the road.

Yes...we did.

Trunk or treat

This past Wednesday our church held a Trunk or Treat party. While John and Sarah were lukewarm on the prospect, Janine took to it with her usual gusto. Here she is at Greg's car. Greg is in Senior High youth group with Sarah. Pretty nice decorations. I bet he even vacuumed beforehand.

The idea is that folks at the church dress up, decorate their cars and the kids come around the parking lot. Thankfully the rain stopped for most of the event.

Here's some of the costume prize winners below. Carolyn, the lady in the photo, won best adult costume for her Homecoming Queen in the convertible. The boy was dressed as a jar of Jif peanut butter and won the best kid's costume prize. Afterward we all went inside for hot dogs in the Fellowship Hall.

Janine's Birthday Party

Now that Janine had her birthday pie, she now gets her birthday cake and what a dandy. Schorr's bakery in West View came through again with balloons, raised letters and everything.

This is the cake from her birthday party this past Sunday afternoon. It was quite an event with eight little girls all sitting around the dining room table.

As Bobbie said, it was a success because no one threw up or got hurt. Overall the girls were very good, but we were thankful it was a nice day, so they all got to burn off some energy outside beforehand.

Finally, here's the big moment with the cake. Drat! Those candles!

Replacement time

Take a look at the date on the inside of the upstairs smoke detector- January 1996! I showed it to John and he remarked that it was older than him.

The safety experts say to change the batteries in your smoke detectors when daylight savings ends in the fall. The battery was new in our downstairs smoke detector but the unit itself was quite old. In fact it started to peep intermittently with both new and old batteries. Replacing it prompted me to replace both.

Glad I did.

Janine's Birthday

Yesterday was Janine's birthday and we all celebrated with our traditional birthday pie. Her request was peach/blueberry and it tasted great. I think partly because we ate the pie about two hours after it came out of the oven. It was just enough time to cool, but still taste fresh.

As you can see from the video Janine wanted to make a separate wish for each candle. Then all decorum broke down. Sarah as the oldest is the rule keeper saying, "you can't do that!" John as the brother in between started blowing out the other candles! But it was all in fun and we all dug in after that.

Traveling with Han Solo

In all of his intergalatic travels, I don't think Han Solo ever dove into a dozen oysters until now. Well a few weeks ago that is. Here's Han at the Red Drum in Nag's Head, NC.

The oysters were interesting. They were a variety found in Chesapeake Bay with a tiny crab inside. At first we weren't too sure about them. After we checked with the waitress, Sarah, Bobbie and I dug in with gusto, tiny crab and all.

Back to Han for a moment. Sarah has brought Han Solo along on all trips she has taken in the past few years. We have photos of Han in Washington, DC and New York more recently. So finally, here's Sarah setting up a shot of Han when we were at lunch in Manteo, NC at an outdoor cafe. I guess Han likes good food.

Sarah Surfing...sort of

Here's some more vacation posts.

Sarah went out one day to surf and found it a bit difficult. I think the waves were not high enough. She got out past the sandbar and tried to catch the waves as they broke, but as you can see the waves would wash over her without much propulsion forward.

The sound gives you an idea why the Wright Brothers made their first flight just a few miles away. The wind is almost constant so it's a great place to fly a kite, or try out a new contraption that just might fly like a bird.

Elizabethan Gardens

In Manteo, NC there is a special place called the Elizabethan Gardens. Bobbie and I first visited it in 1991 while staying at an Inn in Manteo. Later, we returned in 2002 as part of our history lesson for the Lost Colony of Roanoke.

This year we just went back to enjoy the gardens. It is primarily a shade garden featuring many statues and walking paths. The girls particularly enjoyed walking around, but John was bored. So the two of us each got a bottle of soda and sat at the tables near the entrance.

My favorite part was the live oak that had lasted since the days of early exploration in the 1610s. It's mainly held together with cables now, but still has most of its branches and leaves.

300th Post

This is the 300th post to Little House. But I have to remember my heritage and pay homage to another 300th milestone passed this Saturday in my hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska.

This is a record unsurpassed in college football. Notre Dame is the only one close at just over 200 consecutive sellouts.

It started on November 3, 1962 when Memorial Stadium on the University of Nebraska campus sold out for a 7 to 6 loss to Missouri. Most sources say there were about 39,000 at that game.

My dad took me to my first NU game soon thereafter. I remember loosing my prized blue St. Louis Cardinals cap in between the seats and under the bleachers on the near end of the field. I soon recovered when they won the 1964 World Series. Since then the old stadium has been expanded many times and now seats more than 80,000. Like Wrigley Field, Memorial Stadium now has lights.

The football culture is strong throughout Nebraska and the Husker Nation. There is a Californians for Nebraska group, Texans for Nebraska and just about every other state. But keep it all in perspective. Nebraska has a lot of land and not a lot of people. Since Memorial Stadium was expanded in the late 1960s, it has been the third largest city in the state on game day, only Omaha and Lincoln are bigger.

One of the recent traditions has been the tunnel walk video that runs on the Jumbotrons just before the team hits the field. (Somehow that is missing from my childhood memories.) Here's the one that ran on Saturday.



Then, there's this one. Oh let me tell you about it! Listen to how he says Bob Devaney.

There are many other good videos. More to come later.

John at the beach

Here's John getting ready to go into the surf on Monday. He actually did later, but I had already gone back to our spot on the beach.

The weather this year has been great. Sunny every day with rain predicted for tomorrow, our last full day here.

I will admit that I had hoped I would get to the beach more than I have, but that's the point of a vacation, doing what you like, when you like.

Last night's dinner

Here's Janine with last night's dinner, a baker's dozen of blue crabs.

That's right, we are at the beach and having a great time if Janine's hair is any indication.

We love coming to Duck, NC at this time of year. The ocean is at its warmest. The rents are at their lowest and there are no crowds. In other words, it's possible to relax and enjoy each other, and that's exactly what we are doing.

We have had sunny weather all week long. It's been in the 70s for the most part, so we have not used the pool at the house at all. That is until last night right before dinner when Janine took a bracing dip.

Sunny day in Oakland

This past Sunday Sarah got together with some of her Wizard Rock friends. They met at their favorite spot, on the Schenley green in Oakland. There is a nice open space between the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie-Mellon University campuses. Because I like that area too I like to go to a nearby coffee shop or restaurant to read or write.

But because Bobbie had a full afternoon of yoga and a tea party, I took John and Janine with me as well.

They were great, but we spent more time at Wendy's instead of some of the more interesting spots. Next time no Wendy's. In fact no burgers at all. Next time it's the Original Hot Dog shop. We also need to take the tour of historic Oakland and visit the last remaining part of the outfield wall of Forbes Field.

A final thought. A friend of mine of a certain age tells a funny story about Elroy Face, a pitcher for the Pirates in the '50s and '60s. According to the story, when Face came up to the majors, he parked his car at a gas station near Forbes Field. The owner charged him a dollar to park but told him his parking was free if he won the game. I don't know if Elroy Face was a cheapskate at heart, but he lost only about three games that season.

Early fall

This morning John and I took a walk on the nature trail behind our house. On the way we spotted this tree at the neighbor's. It is only mid September and this tree is well on its way to peak color. Before too long it will be bare, perhaps before all the surrounding trees.

As you can see the pin oak on the right is beginning to look peaked and wan. That is if one can use those words to describe a tree. Here we are in the last days of summer. Everything is overgrown and looking a little brown around the edges like these trees.

We will return to this tree later this fall to find out how it's head start turns out.

A fine evening

Here's a photo of our front yard on this beautiful evening. It's about 70 degrees, clear and fairly dry. Finding all three together is unusual in these parts, except at this time of year. This was a perfect evening to sit out on the front porch and take in the sunset.

Please excuse the state of the garden. Bobbie has a perfect combination of perennials that bloom from April to July. August and September are what annuals are for. (The dahlias are out of the photo on the far left next to the driveway.)

Indeed the best time to visit Pittsburgh is in May, September, and October. Perhaps that's why Bobbie and I got married 20 years ago on October seventh.

I would love to place the weather for a day like today in a bottle to break out on a rainy November day or a dank one in July. But not being able to do that makes one better appreciate days like today.

Mad Men Yourself

You find the craziest things on the internet and here's one of them. I created this avatar here. As a former ad man myself, this probably best captures what I would have been if I worked at an agency in the '60s rather than the '80s.

So it's 1962 and here I am, although I'm not sure what the missus is up to. Either I have a cold and will quaff a TheraFlu instead of a Martini, or I am about to be scalded for the rampant adultery depicted in the program.

Mad Men is an interesting show, but I find it a bit pessimistic. In fact I find it very pessimistic. Every time someone does something nice, the ulterior motive is revealed in the next scene or two. While it is very well written and researched, I also think the writers like to play for a little shock value to our contemporary sensibilities.

For example, I would like to keep a scorecard for the number of times the now pregnant Betty Draper lights up a smoke or has a drink in her hand. I'm sure the scene in which the kids were rolling around in the back of the car when Betty stopped suddenly was a shock to many 20 somethings. Heck I remember opening up the back seat to look at the battery in our VW bug while my mother was winding through traffic struggling with the stick shift. Was it safe? No. But my mother was a safe driver with her children's and our family's best interests in mind.

Oh my! While I was setting up my Kennedy era domestic bliss, my oldest daughter created her avatar shown here. I'm beginning to worry...

Tea party

This past Friday evening Sarah had a tea party for a few friends. She went all out with a full range of fruit, tea sandwiches and homemade scones.

They all had a ball. They all started very properly, enjoying the tea and snacks. But they soon changed back into their jeans and t-shirts and started to roam the neighborhood.

In fact I had to go over to the nature trail park behind our house to tell them all to come in after dusk. I bribed them with the supreme currency of teens, pizza.

Sarah was great because she invited Janine and the girls next door. They came dressed for the occasion, but they were called home as Sarah and company moved into the yard. A good time had by all.

Tomato delight

This past Thursday Bobbie bought four bushels of tomatoes to cook down into sauce and can. After a lot of work and almost a week, the kitchen is back to normal. The benefit will be the great tasting sauce that we will be enjoying well into 2010.

The first step in the process is washing the crop. This is only the first of many in the sink.


The next step is to cook down the tomatoes using a specific sauce recipe. These are the first of a few pots of Summer Sauce. Later, Bobbie made simply reduced, cooked tomatoes. We will add the seasonings later.

A few years ago we found an Italian made food mill on a close-out table for about $25. It is a clever device that separates the tomato seeds and skins from the tasty pulp. Here's John cranking through the cooked mixture. Janine is monitoring the output of liquid and tomato paste on the other side.

At this point everything is far too diluted. So it all goes in to cook down to reduce the liquid content.

Finally, Bobbie adds a dash of white wine vinegar and cans everything. One by one you can hear the lids pop down as they cool.

I will print labels to keep them all in order. Finally we will put all in the basement pantry for storage. Look for an update this winter when we crack open a jar for spaghetti.

Neither borrower nor lender be...

Sarah played the fair Ophelia in the Saltworks production of Hamlet this past weekend. She did a good job at least measured by the discomfort her character's descent into madness and death caused her parents.

Here she is on the right reacting to Polonius' platitudes delivered to Laertes before he departs for England. Because the current Saltworks kids skew female, most of the male characters, even Hamlet, were played by girls. The director handled the issue very well avoiding awkward moments for both the actors and the audience.

They all enjoyed themselves but more importantly put on a fine show. The script is a 75 minute adaptation using the original language. They used a limited set, modern costume and music to set the scene.

John was on crew. He operated the sound system, cuing the music and opening the surface mikes on the stage to catch the nearest dialog.

It was all good, that is once Mom and Dad got over seeing their oldest daughter as a crazy woman and lying on a gurney!

The Earl Scheib of driveways

Please have patience with me on this one...

Late one afternoon last week I went outside to get the mail and there was a truck with a trailer full of tar behind it. The little man next to the truck asked me if I would like to have my driveway sealed. He added that he would give me a good price because he was sealing two of my neighbors driveways. (Most driveways in this part of the country are asphalt.)

"I don't know. Let me think about it. I have some work to finish."

"Well I can see that you recently resurfaced your driveway but look, here are some cracks. When did you have this done, two years ago?

"Why yes. But I have to get back to work. I have a conference call in 10 minutes." (True)

"Look, I will give you the same price as your neighbors, $X."

"Great, but I need to wait until the boss gets home. She's the one with the checkbook. Besides, I gotta get back to work."

"No problem! I can do it for you for $X-50."

"Fine, but..."

"When she gets home tell her $x-75. Can you call her?"

"No. (True, Sarah had her cell phone) I already have people waiting for me on the phone." (Partly true)

By this point I am beginning to think that if I stay at this long enough, he would eventually pay me to seal my driveway! The conference call went well and Bobbie came home about 45 minutes later. We agreed that the driveway DID need to be sealed and the price was good (estimated cost of materials plus $50-75).

When we told the guy we wanted him to seal the driveway, he asked me what price he quoted. I told him the truth then Bobbie asked if there was a cash discount. I was not suprised when he said yes and we got another $50 off. It was 5 PM.

That evening at 7PM there was a parents meeting about youth group at church. I went to it in Bobbie's stead while she cooked dinner and held forth with the drivewaymen.

When I returned the driveway cracks had been sealed, but the job was unfinished. Bobbie told me she gave them some of the cash in the understanding they would return tomorrow.

"YOU DID WHAT???"

"Well we do have the guy's card and they just ran out of sealer. They will be back at noon Friday."

"YOU DID?? Fair enough..."

They didn't show up until 2 PM Friday after Bobbie called him. But he finished and did a good job...on the driveway part.

Now you may wonder about the title of this post. But as I was dealing with him all I could think of were the old Earl Scheib ads featuring a photo of Earl with a voice ballon saying "I will paint your car for $29.95" (1974 prices) So this guy will seal my driveway for $x-175. (But you better keep asking.)

Those in the know said that if you left you windows down, Earl's crew would paint the interior of your car too. As you can see on the edge of the driveway, we got the grass, myrtle and daylilies for free.

Stamp Show

Here's Janine and Bobbie at the National Philatelic Society show this past Friday here in Pittsburgh. They are making their way through a pile of stamps looking for categories they like, mainly pictures of authors. John and Janine were looking for stamps from countries attending the G20 summit that will take place this September here in Pittsburgh in the same venue.

Dan, my business partner, is an avid stamp collector so we got a personal tour of his Vietnam collection. The collection is quite comprehensive following how Ho Chi Minh created a mail service to legitimize the nascent communist independence movement in the 1940s.

The collection contains US State Department correspondence from FDR's administration and continues though the fall of the French in the 1950s. It moves on with letters from both sides of the conflict, from early US military involvement through the Vietnam War. There are even letters home from Soviet and Chinese advisers whose existence was denied. It ends with a returned letter dated April 30, 1975, the fall of Saigon. It even contains a letter Dan wrote as a Marine lieutenant in 1967.

Dan worked with people both here in the US as well as Vietnam to create this collection.

While we all were impressed with Dan's collection, as an old time Pirates fan, Bobbie really liked the Roberto Clemente collection. There must have been 100 covers in that one!