Beautiful Fall Day

It has been a beautiful fall morning here at the little house, warm and sunny. Perfect for raking all of the neighbors' leaves that have blown into my front yard.

We are ready for Halloween and Janine has decorated the front door accordingly. While her sister and brother are doing their studies, she was busy yesterday making this part scarecrow, part skeleton. Also note the mini ghosts on each side of the door.

The kids are all looking forward to trick or treating this evening. They have their costumes picked out with care. Sarah will be a pink pirate, John will be General Grivious from Star Wars, and Janine will be a rock star.

So far the weather is cooperating with mild temperatures, but has been sprinkling for most of the afternoon. At least it's warm.

This morning it was sunny and dry. Knowing the forecast called for rain I made the most of it. Here's Janine and Sarah having a great time in the leaf pile. They pretended they were swimming and diving. Janine yelled "Cannonball!!!" and jumped in with a running start. Sarah liked to perform cartwheels into the pile. Poor John was inside working with Mommie at the time, but he got his turn on the final big leaf pile on the side of the front yard. For me it's great to have the opportunity to be part of all this.

The Big Dig

No, we haven't moved to Boston. Thankfully we haven't had to deal with that sort of debacle. But as Ronald Reagan once said, "Two of the most terrifying things to hear are, 'I am from the government, and I am here to help.'"

Last week there was a back hoe in our backyard for two and a half days. The local sewer authority was absorbed (perhaps aquired is a better word) by a larger regional suburban authority. As part of their agreement with the EPA, they have to make a specified number of repairs to the system they acquired.

Our neighbor's line was slightly damaged and a vent cap was missing. Thankfully there were no leaks, but there was a deep hole four inches wide in the yard where the vent cap should be. Over the years that hole got more than its fair share of balls, kid's shoes, etc. It even ate some of the lumber we tried to use to prevent things from dropping down its maw. Eventually all of these items damaged the line.

Now that the new sewer authority came to the rescue we faced a new set of problems.

The crew chief was reassuring. "We think we will only have to dig a five foot hole. When we do we will be very careful with your yards, and we will replace all the grass. Now we don't think we will go into your garden at all. What is growing back there anyway? Dill?"

"No! Asparagus!" Bobbie replied.

The final hole was 17 feet deep and we lost the entire asparagus patch. In the top photo the backhoe rests right on top of it! We dug up some of the roots saving them to transplant later.

But this loss also presents us with an opportunity. We intended to move the asparagus patch anyway and this event forced us to reconsider this garden plot that we had left fallow for almost 10 years.

The bottom photo shows the new vent before it was cut and capped at ground level. After driving the backhoe up the hill, the crew spread straw to hold down soil erosion. Next spring the authority will be back to finish the job. The former asparagus patch will now become part of the lawn when the crew returns in the spring to plant grass seed...and ASPARAGUS! 

Jack-O-Lanterns

Here's the family jack-o-lanterns we carved this afternoon. We were all invited to a friend's house to carve pumkins. They are empty-nesters whose children and grandchildren live in another city. They miss having kids around and enjoy Sarah, John and Janine.

We all arrived shortly after lunch armed with an impressive array of knives. Robert was nice enough to provide the pumpkins and the carving spot. We all got to work in the 150 year old log cabin next to their house. It is heated by a wood stove, but they made consessions to the modern world by using OSB for the new roof and floor as well as running an electrical line from the house.

They live on several acres (most vertical) in a semi-rural part of the suberbs and have a horse. Regan the horse is now too old to ride very much, but after the pumpkins the kids got to pet her while she grazed in the pasture.

Until Halloween we are storing the jack-o-lanterns on the deck behind the house lest we tempt smashed pumpkins from the neighborhood pranksters.

Birthday Cake

Our family tradition is to celebrate birthdays twice. First, we open gifts and cards on the birth day itself. Then at Sunday dinner following the birth day, we have sing and have cake.

Here's Janine with her seventh birthday cake from last night. (To be clear, this is the one cake with which we celebrated her seventh birthday. We didn't have seven cakes.) It's hard to see, but there is a small nutcracker soldier next to the letter "J."

We almost missed having the cake. The bakery had scheduled the cake to be picked up on Saturday at noon. As it turned out, Saturday was very busy with Nutcracker rehearsals and seasonal upkeep at Nana's house. So despite the fact that the bakery is 100 yards from the ballet studio, less than a mile from Nana's house, and we drove past it five times that day, both Bobbie and I forgot about it. That is until the bakery called and left a message at 3:00 to remind us. I called them back at 3:50 when we got home and hurried back over right away. The bakery ladies stayed at the store fifteen minutes past closing so I could pick up the cake. They are so good to us when we pick up doughnuts every Thursday, I guess this act of kindness should not suprise me. Either way I thanked them profusely. They kept us on track for a happy birthday Sunday dinner. 

In the Surf

This is one of my favorite photos from our trip to the Outer Banks last month. Bright and early on our first morning John took me down to the beach. When we got there he just ran right in and yelled "Come on in Dad!!!" He walked right up and challenged the waves. He got wet, didn't care and neither did I. We had no fear, just soggy shorts and sandy feet. I'm glad I got the photo, but this was one of those moments that I would remember even without one.

Janine's Birthday!

Today is Janine's seventh birthday! In her words, "This is the BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!!" The day started slowly with Janine sleeping in late. It wasn't long after she woke up that things started to hum around here in the Little House in the Suburbs.

Mommie got in a half day of school with Sarah and John. Janine got the day off but read from one of her readers anyway. At 11:30 we all left in separate cars to run errands, pick up Nana and meet at Janine's favorite restaurant for lunch - Eat 'n Park.

Janine ordered her favorite, the salad bar. She likes it because she can get a little bit of a lot of different things, especially blue cheese dressing.

Then she was off to the mall with Nana and Mommie to shop. But while she was shopping, Sarah, John and I went to the newest Target location in these parts which is just down the road from lunch. Because most of the Targets around here are new, it's not much different from the other locations.

It must have been a dull day at the Starbucks in front because the baristas were giving samples throughout the store. In fact the first one found us at the opposite end of the store in Sporting Goods! He was down to his last two mulled ciders. I don't expect to see anything like that come December.



John had the big gift idea, a grape scented Care Bear. (It's not really that bad, see top photo.) Style conscious Sarah got Janine a gold purse and the nice black t-shirt also in the top photo. I suggested a pink kick ball for which the barista rewarded us with mulled cider. She also got a fun camera, UNO, a clip-on hair fall, a light-up soap duck, and a birthday balloon.

On Sunday Janine will get to open the clothes she got with Nana and Mommie, and have birthday cake. Finally in a couple of weeks Janine, Sarah and Mommie shop again. We try to extend that BEST DAY for as long as we can.

Garden Party

The big day arrived on August 19 when the Ballet Ladies came over for the last stop on the summer garden tour. It all started back in June and each month two or three of the Ballet Ladies had their turn to show off their gardens. In the meantime we had two months to prepare the gardens and the house for the big day.

Wilma inspects the annuals in the top photo. Bobbie spent a lot of time preparing this bed. She planned and prepared it in early June soon after she learned of the August 19 date.

You see, late summer is a difficult time in our garden because most of the perennials have already bloomed and some are starting to look ragged. Bobbie wisely chose to plant most of the reworked beds with annuals so they looked good for the garden party, the rest of the summer and into the fall.

Click here for a better look: http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.blogspot.com/2006/09/garden-tour.html#links


While the gardens are nice, Ballet Ladies events always provide an elegant occasion for the ladies to wear hats, have a little wine and hors d'ouvres. In the bottom photo you can see not only the conviviality of the day, but also the refinished deck and new deck furniture.

My main contribution to the garden party was the refinished deck, railing and stairs. Between rain, surface prep and drying time between coats, it took almost a month to complete the job. But it was finished early and we hope will look good for years to come.

The food was delicious. Bobbie bought four distinct cheeses, and served lamb meatballs in a savory sauce. I served three different wines, but the homemade sangria was the biggest hit. All five of us worked hard, but Bobbie worked the hardest by far. We all were proud to present our house in the best way possible. 

Waffle House!!!

The sign says it all...a favorite of the Southeastern US and Johnny...Waffle House! This particular location is in Winchester, VA and we stopped there two weeks ago on our way back from vacation.

And we actually ordered waffles! John had two chocolate chip waffles but took half of the second one home. Nana and Janine also had waffles, but ordered more dainty portions.

I don't know why, but I always order a patty melt for lunch at the Waffle House. It was a proper one, served on rye bread with lots of onions. So many that the sandwich kept sliding apart.

Here's John getting started. Note that we sat in a booth next to the open cooking area. Well actually almost every table is next to the cooking area. Waffle Houses are pretty small and this location was no exception. There are only about 10 tables with another 8 seats at the counter.

This Winchester restaurant is just off I-81 on the southwestern edge of the city. It is a newer location so it lacks some of the charm and grime that we have seen in older locations in North Carolina and Georgia. The one thing that all locations seem to have other than an endless pot of grits is southern charm. Fittingly, most of the staff at the Waffle House south of Pittsburgh speaks with a southern accent.

Mommie's Birthday

Last week we celebrated Mommie's birthday with cake at Sunday dinner. Doesn't she look great?

John wanted to candles that told her age on the cake, but I told him that was not polite. Clever boy that he is, he suggested that we use a question mark instead.

Everyone loved the cake so much that it was largely consumed within two days. Naturally we forgot about it after that, so there was one stale piece left this afternoon, one week later.

Nana took Bobbie and me out on Friday night to a favorite restaurant noted for their wine list. A good time was had by all. 

Getting Ready for the Garden Party - 3

We are working backwards in these posts. Here is a very determined Bobbie digging out the crabapple stump from the front yard.

Digging out this stump was one of the major decisions in the redesign of the front gardens. We cut it down in the fall of 2004 but had left the surrounding planting of vinca minor, aka myrtle. It was beginning to grow suckers into nearby sections of the front yard.

Bobbie gave the myrtle to anyone who cared to dig it out. After it all was gone, out came the picks and shovels. Many people doubted that the stump could be dug out without professional help and equipment, but Bobbie proved them all wrong. She carefully dug around the stump and cut every root she found. Thankfully there was no 20 foot deep central tap root. After a lot of digging and probing in the afternoons and Advil in the evenings, the root was gone in three days. It still sits next to the house as a testament to Bobbie's determination and drive. 

Getting Ready for the Garden Party - 2

Bobbie cleared out the overgrown yew bushes in front of the house about four weeks prior to the garden party. She has wanted to create a new design for this area and the yews just weren't part of the plan.

Here she is digging out one of the stumps after she cut them down from their full height of over four feet. These were easy compared to the crabapple stump she removed in June.

She then planted this area with annuals to dress it up for the garden party. While it's nice to have the open area now, we will need to put in some new foundation plantings. But that is a question that does not need to be answered until next spring.

Getting Ready for the Garden Party - 1

Here are John and Janine helping out in the garden this past summer. These are film photos that I just picked up at Target this afternoon. They are helping Mommie plant some of the annuals about four weeks before the August 19th garden party.

They both loved to help out and digging in the dirt is probably their favorite part of the job.

While they planted annuals in most of this plot, Mommie wants to make it a full-sun herb garden. To that end she also planted Basil and Rosemary. The Basil really took off so we will be making some Pesto before the first frost. Ironically we will probably freeze the Pesto once it is made.
 

Five Years at the Beach

Here's another five year photo comparison. The top photo is from this year and the bottom from 2001.

In the lower photo we have just discovered ants in most of our bags as we were packing them in the car to go home. The ants were attracted by an open juice box that someone tried to save in their bag. Bobbie and I sat everyone down and then spent an hour repacking everything.

The top photo puts everyone on the same steps five years later. By the way, no ants this time, but someone did bring along 11 pairs of shoes.

More later...

Five Years On

Here are two photos taken five years apart. The top one was taken on September 14, 2001, the Friday just following the terrorist attacks. Like almost all Americans we were flying the flag for months after that awful day, proud of our country and angry at the attackers.

The bottom photo was taken this past Monday September 11, 2006. So much has changed. Sarah have grown, but we want all three of our children to know, understand and remember the heroism of so many that day. So when they asked why we were flying the flag that day I reminded all three of them.


September 11th is to our generation what December 7th was to our parents. An attack, a call to action, a day that all will remember who were there. I only pray that we will respond with the same dedication and spirit as our parents did.

(Now if we could only get right and left straight.)

Duplo Church

John made a church out of Duplos the other day. (Duplos are larger sized bricks made by Lego for younger children.) Even though he makes intricate and large creations using literally hundreds of Legos of all sized, he still enjoys coming back to the Duplos every once in a while.

Look in the lower left to see the pastor at the communion table. That's the organist in the upper right. Also please note that the Duplo congregation behaves just like a real one. The first row is empty!

The bottom photos is a detail shot of the organist. She's not really in a choir loft is she? Not enough room up there. John said specifically that she is playing a pipe organ, but did not say what hymn or piece of music she might be playing. That will be determined later, I'm sure. Seems to be a fairly informal crowd with Bob the Builder (center) in his overalls and an equistrian rider in the back row.

Look for more Lego creations, as they become available!