Adventurey day

The Chopper and I (and Sarah and Zhora) had an adventurey day today.  So, of course, Emmett had to start by fueling up!  Some pears and prunes to get the ole engine going, today.

He and Jonas and I then headed down to Johnson City to meet up with a guy about a boat.  I've had an eye out for a solo canoe for quite awhile now.  I missed out on a couple that I was eager for, but finally found this one down in PA.  The guy who was selling agreed to meet us half way.  I have this vision of camping with the family and some friends on the banks of a great Adirondack lake.  To be able to do that, at least one of us has to be able to carry gear.

It was great fun to tie the canoe onto the roof rack and go full Subaru.  Emmett and I just wish that it wasn't going to be so long til we can get out on the water.  Still, that gives him some time to learn to swim.

We hadn't been home too long when it was time to go back out on our next adventure.  The girls (Sarah, Zhora, and Eva) had been hanging out and making lasagna, and were eager to go hunt a Christmas tree.

We'd looked around at a bunch of different farms and settled on Moore's.  There is a barn and wreaths and cider and Santa, and lots and lots of trees.  No horse drawn sleigh or anything.  For the price we paid to bring a dead tree into our house, I think a sleigh ride wouldn't be to much to ask.  Still, we had a good time searching for the just right one.

The kid just loves being outside!  We're so lucky.

He definitely recognizes and is infatuated with Zhora at this point.  It's hard to get a picture of him with her around because he's always looking at her.  It's obvious that she's going to be his "big sister".



A successful hunt!

The tree is only about 6 ft tall, but it's pretty and should be fun to decorate.  We had a good time getting it.  It was fun to strap stuff to the car today, too.  Looking forward to a nice christmas season in the near future, and some awesome canoe camping in the spring/summer.

The girls went out to the Ice Festival and to see a movie.  The boys (plus Eva) went home and chilled.  It was wonderful.  Emmett and I ate and played and read lots of books.  He played with Jonas for awhile, too.  It was very sweet.  All in all, a good day.  We're looking forward to getting the tree up and to getting the canoe in the water.  The timing on those two events is gonna be a little different.

"Winter" break

Before Christmas, Sarah and I were super busy trying to get all of our projects done.  It was a lot of work, but we had a blast and supported each other, gave advice, and said "Wow, that looks really great!" and "Well, I wish I'd done a little better here." and things like that.  This is a shot of a rig that I set up to compensate for my poor mitering.  Always learning.

Cabins almost done in background, modern art coming together in the foreground, what a mess from the ground up!

This is Hubbard Valley.  Sarah and I have gone for many walks here, and I consider it one of the important places in our life.  Jonas and Eva seemed to remember it, though years have passed since our last hike.

My buddies.  We all enjoyed hanging out at Veneta's.  It was lovely, quiet, and calm, and the conversations and food were great.  Veneta made an amazing breakfast quiche for us with Gouda cheese and bacon in it.  Delicious.

One evening, Sarah had a hankerin' for a hamburger, so we went to check out a place called the Rail.  I was a little disappointed that it was attached to Summit Mall.  Sarah was a little disappointed that the wait was like 45 minutes.  None of us were disappointed with our dinners, and I was pretty happy with the beer.

After dinner, we went back to Veneta's, but nobody stayed up too late.

The adversaries measure each other up.

Coffee ceremony at Grandma Cressman's.  We had a lovely chat and snack with Grandma.

The peripatetic equestrian.  She didn't stop moving long enough to get a shot of her!  What a blast!

Headin' home!  I think she would have sat on the hood like a Nanny on the Cutty Sark and guided us back to port in good time.

Home.

Jonas and I are trying harder than ever to enjoy every moment.  I'm really pleased with this photo.  We've had impressive atmospheric phenomena this "winter".  Not much snow, but great fog!

After wandering around the house for a few minutes looking for AND calling for her, I found Eva happily snuggled into my clean clothes.

Veneta followed us up to New York for a second Christmas with Zhora, Jenn, and Bob, so Sarah and I got back to work on the gifts that we hadn't completed before we left.  With Sarah's input and purchases, I built Zhora a toolbox.  It was great to get to use my brand new bandsaw!  The design completely changed because I was able to do things that would have been too difficult and taken too long without the saw.  I was truly happy with the process and the outcome.

There's a wooden sheath for a saw glued into the bottom of the box and slots for screwdrivers, pencils, and the like on the side.

I used a thin piece of wood from a clementine box to make a spot to clip a tape measure on.

Here it is all done.  We also cut out a birdhouse, but didn't build it.  We gave the slabs of wood to Z and she got to build and paint the house with her mom and dad.  We had a lovely evening and dinner at Zhora's house and enjoyed opening all our gifts and sharing food and laughs and drinks!

It was a lovely break, and we felt so lucky and thrilled to get to spend it with people and animals that we love!  Thanks for all the gifts, and thanks a hundred fold for all the laughs, love, and memories.  Looking forward to seeing you all in this new year!

June in Christmas

Although it seems everyone has a little bit of the sniffles, we're persevering and managing to have what feels like a lovely spring holiday. I took Indy out this morning in my t-shirt and flip flops. (For the literalists out there, I was also wearing pants). All three of my regular readers have been on our minds a lot this season.  We miss you all and have thought of you often. Hopefully you are enjoying yourselves, too.

I actually got started pretty early on the forging, but still managed to not get much done.  Most of you will be receiving little trinkets, do dads, and burnt pieces of iron in the upcoming weeks and months... As Ian so elegantly said, "winter season" gifts.  Anyway, I'm having fun playing around.  The horseshoe fish are coming out pretty nicely. 

In spite of our best efforts, several people have given us wedding gifts (thank you, that is very thoughtful and it feels good to be loved and wished well). This was without a doubt the most interesting... Pat got us a 4 tonne wench. The Leatherman is there for perspective. The thing weighs 40lbs. Anyway, we're looking forward to not having to mess with the chainsaws this season, we'll just pull the trees out of the ground. 

Life is good. 21st Amendment's winter offering has been a favorite this season.  And, despite the weather, we've gotten to run the stove pretty regularly in the evenings.

Adam gave me a challenge in rehanging his Yosemite hammer. It was quite complex, but I enjoyed using the new portable drill press dad gave me and using my metal working skills to peen rivet the brass rod that secures the head. Hopefully it holds up to a bit of abuse. Send it back if it needs repaired, and I'd suggest wearing safety glasses... and probably a helmet as well. 

On Tuesday, Sarah and I both took the day off and headed to Allegany to spend the day with Adam, Leanna, Gina, and Tony. Originally we'd planned to go skiing, but as there was almost no snow, we opted for a hike instead. It maybe wasn't as exciting, but it provided a nice atmosphere to chat and cost us about $400 less.  We walked on a skimobile path, that was blessedly free of skimobiles, up to an area called Thunder Rock. Jonas came too and managed to get us all there and back as a group. We headed into Ellicottville afterward for some dinner and window shopping. As usual, Ellicottville Brewing Co. was fantastic.  Sarah's favorite story from the trip is about walking into an upscale outfitter and looking at a display on there wall of brown pants, a flannel shirt with a Carhart vest and a Stormy Kromer hat. She says it looked like somebody had deflated me and hung me on the wall.  Anyway, we all got caught up talking about our jobs and dogs and misadventures of various kinds, and must have been having so much fun that we all forgot to take any pictures... So the day will remain as a memory. 

I stopped at Erik's the other day to get some paperwork run by him and found Sebastian and dad working on a gingerbread house. I am always surprised at what a romantic this curmudgeon can be around Christmas time. 

I'd say they did a nice job. 

Sarah and I had a quiet Christmas morning at home. Jonas was like the little kid, interested in the presents and encouraging us to tear in. I was beginning to wonder if one of the ohio crew sent beef jerky or something, but I think he was just remembering everyone. 

Sarah got a sewing machine from mom and dad H!  Although, I'd say the machine will hardly need her.  I'm surprised it didn't come with a robot to feed the fabric in. At any rate, the instructions and possibilities will keep her busy for awhile. 

"Wow! There are A LOT of stitches and patterns and options!"

Jonas got into the holiday spirit...

And so did Eva... Kind of. 

We lounged and chatted on the phone with some of you for most of the rest of the day, then packed up and headed to Jenn and Bob's for the evening. Zhora was in full Christmas glory, running around trying to show us all of her loot at once. She got a scooter with a water bottle. She also got an awesome runner sled from Veneta. Hopefully we get some snow so I... I mean she... Can try it out. Z

I think this watch belongs to Zhora, but Bob was pretty stoked to try it out. 

Now he can call in the princesses whenever he's in danger. 

My favorite shot of the night. Set up and execution by yours truly. 

Gangy helped Zhora try on her new leggings and scarf from Grandma Karen

We sat down for some nice family photos. S

And wrapped up the night with an interesting card game... The best you could say for it was that Veneta learned some new words from her daughters. Meeeeerry Christmas!