The Farm Report

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  • The Fly Boat

    The Fly Boat

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    Recently Neko has really been into the show “The Wonder Pets” which is all about these baby animals who live at a school and after hours they become superpets and hop in their “flyboat” and save other baby animals. It’s a total rip-off of the Little Einsteins animation, and all the characters talk in annoying baby voices. It drives me crazy, but she really loves it. It’s also done in operetta format, so suddenly Neko has begun singing her dialog.

    Right before bed (which is when all the best ideas seem to emerge), she decided that the laundry basket would make an excellent flyboat, knowing in her three-year-old head that I’m a sucker for anything that involves expressing her creativity. After we finished her creation, Tom was good enough to take her for a spin.

  • When the mom is away…

    When the mom is away…

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    While I was off negotiating with a car dealership, Tom took over the kiddos. When I arrived home and asked what they did that day, he replied, “Oh, I let the kids paint themselves.”

    Being the responsible parent that I am, my first words, of course, were, “Well, I certainly hope you took photos.”

  • Harvest Fest

    Harvest Fest

    Today we attended a farm festival. It was one that sounded exciting enough that I put it on the calendar months ago. Touting tractor rides, old-fashioned apple cider pressing, and wool spinning it sounded like it was up our alley.

    I should know by now that you never should attend these things early in the morning, but let’s face it, when your children wake up at 6:30am, 10am is really mid-day. As one of the first to arrive, it was clear that we wouldn’t stay for long. We did, however, greatly enjoy petting the horses and feeding the chickens. Neko loved the old machines that de-kerneled the corn, although we had a hard time convincing her to leave a few cobs for the other kids.

    Another highlight was the big barn of old machinery, where the kids particularly loved this beautiful old cash register, haphazardly displayed teetering on a chair. But the best moment was when we pulled the kids aside to make room for an antique car coming through. The old man stopped and invited us for a ride, so we sat on old milk crates that replaced the long-lost seats as he looped around the property. It wasn’t until after he parked that we realized it wasn’t a part of the festival, but just an act of kindness to a family that seemed interested in his rusty old vehicle. Perhaps the best part of the day.

    Although it was a good morning, the kids got antsy before any of the demos or tractor rides began. We soon found ourselves in the car, snacking on cheddar bunnies with a full day still ahead of us.

    I’m still on the hunt for the ultimate farm festival. One with pressed cider and donuts made fresh on the spot. Plenty of animals to pet and room for the kiddos to run. Keep me posted if you know of one.

  • Time flies

    Time flies

    We love days when we get together with Ben and Kate and their kids. Time always seems to zip by, and even though it seems like we just sat down for breakfast, it’s actually way past nap time. Neko and Irene orbit around each other for a while, but I’m always excited to see them actually playing together by the end. Shep and Ezra toddle around and make us giggle.

    On an unusually cool day, Tom caught a butterfly. We suspect the weather slowed it down, because it spent a good hour sitting on Neko’s hand, much to her delight. Unfortunately, it almost became Otto’s snack several times, but Tom managed to free it each time. When we finally left the butterfly, it wasn’t in the best shape (Neko was gentle, Otto was not). But I like to think that it rallied and is halfway to Mexico by now.

    By afternoon, we all tucked in for a cozy fall nap.

  • In Chicago

    In Chicago

    In Chicago with the Diennos for a last hurrah before Ga goes to Americorps.

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    Neko adored this toad we found. She didn’t want to let him go.

  • There are those moments in life when you witness something truly amazing

    There are those moments in life when you witness something truly amazing. The birth of a child. The Grand Canyon. An incredible artistic performance. Today I had one of those moments.

    My laptop was declared unfit for use by Tom after he grabbed it to quickly look something up and sat watching the little spinning globe for a few minutes. I suppose I had gotten used to its turtle pace. And the keyboard that sticks on about half the letters. And the big ding in the corner from where we dropped it. It has served us well, but I suppose it’s seen better days.

    So we got a new laptop. Now, when you start up a new Apple, it’s always a pleasant experience. It greets you with a whole welcome slideshow, and helps you get all your ducks in a row. “Welcome!” it said to me. And then it asked if I was a first-time Mac buyer, or if I was upgrading from an older machine. “Well, aren’t they curious?” I thought to myself, and clicked the upgrade option.

    “Would you like to transfer your information from your old computer?” it asked. What did this mean? I assumed it meant all my settings…my internet access, email passwords, keychain, etc. “Sure,” I thought. “That would save me some time.” Then comes the dialog box asking me what I’d like to transfer. I can hardly believe my eyes. All of a sudden I realize it’s going to transfer everything from one laptop to another…preferencences, settings, mail, files, and even my applications! EVERYTHING.

    This seemed too good to be true. Transferring to a new machine is always a week-long process. First, you have to painstakingly copy files from one machine to a portable drive, and then place them on the new laptop in exactly the right place. Then you have to reinstall all your applications. And fonts. And set your preferences. And then there are the inevitable files you forgot, but realize you don’t have when something goes haywire.

    I wasn’t going to believe it until I saw it with my own eyes.

    I connected my firewire cable, rebooted, and watched the copying begin. It told me in three and a half hours, I’d be done. But in a little over an hour, it declared itself finished. And there I was, staring at a carbon copy of my old machine, but on a shiny, new, zippy machine.

    I am dumbfounded. And speechless. This is quite possibly the greatest thing Apple has ever done. Kudos to you, Steve Jobs. It’s gonna be hard to top this.