Trip Report: Father's Day on Mt. Kearsarge

My dad was with us and it was a beautiful Sunday—what better to do than go for a hike? We considered a return to local favorite Oak Hill, which B had enjoyed in the fall, but I proposed trying Mount Kearsarge, and after learning that there was a fire tower at the top of that peak too, Brynna acquiesced.

Mount Kearsarge is about 40 minutes from us, up I-89, and can be reached by auto road and then a very short trail (which, even with a four year old, seemed like cheating) or from the Warner side via a steep-ish, just over mile-long trail. It is one of the New Hampshire mountains known as "52 With A View" and is thus very popular, so we knew we'd have plenty of company.

Here we are at the trailhead:

Brynna was very determined from the start. We had told her that it would be steep, but she kept saying that even if her legs were tired or she fell down, she would just keep on going. It took us a little more than an hour to get to the top, and we stopped about halfway up for a sit-down drink and a snack, and drank and nibbled on the go a few other times. The steep sections actually didn't bother B too much as they tended to be ledgy, and she proved to be quite the little scrambler!

Here she is getting a supporting hand from Alex, with Jasper keeping an eye on her as usual:

Planning her path:

Heading up, up, up with Jasper waiting his turn:

On the ledges toward the top:

We had a lovely rest at the breezy summit, which has panoramic views. Brynna was so busy exploring that we forgot to take any photos right at the top. She climbed the fire tower twice! We all ate lots of Alex's super-gorp (which instead of just Good Old Raisins and Peanuts, usually includes Cheerios, dried cranberries, peanuts, and chocolate chips), and Jasper enjoyed a handful of doggie treats.

We decided to head down via a slightly longer and more gradual trail, thinking it would be easier on the grown-ups' knees and on B's smaller legs. She initially protested, having enjoyed the scrambling on the way up, but was pleased to encounter plenty of ledges on the top part of our exit route as well.

Here's an oddly-shaped tree trunk:

Leading the way off the summit:

And onward:

Brynna did wonderfully until we had about half a mile to go. The trail became less interesting (i.e. the big rocks went away) and she was quite tired. I think that on future hikes I will bring some special treats for this last portion of the walk out, like chocolate kisses or other little candies.

Here she is taking a break with M:

Overall, a big success. B carried her little backpack throughout (with a small water bottle and a small bag of gorp). She seemed comfortable in her LL Bean hiking shoes, a pair of Patagonia trail pants (though she and I both discovered that we need to procure belts for our hiking pants), and a T-shirt. I carried her warm stuff and additional water. She expended some extra energy by climbing over big rocks in the trail instead of walking around, but that's half the fun for her! She showed a lot of pluck and we are so very proud of her for climbing her first real mountain. I recently read a book about hiking the 52 With A View list, and though some of those trails are definitely too long or difficult for B for a few years yet, it had some great suggestions of short-ish, scrambly hikes with excellent view pay-offs, so I think we'll target some of those next.

Jasper, of course, had a great time as well. We often put his doggie backpack on for hikes so that he can carry his own water and treats, but it was a short enough hike that I did that for him on this particular day. He's been doing some occasional limping over the last month or two (we're wondering about arthritis — he's seven or eight now!) but handled this hike without any trouble and didn't seem sore the next day.

All in all, an excellent day, and Brynna's strong legs bode well for a fun summer of hiking!

Welcome Mat

For anyone who has ever visited our house, your arrival has probably been announced by our burglar alarm, which happens to have four legs, a waggly tail, black fuzz, and answers (sometimes) to the name of 'Jasper'. My aunt, bless her, has seen fit to recognize Jasper's tireless devotion to our security with this new welcome mat, which will have a place of honor in our entryway:
 

A Springtime Update

Things are proceeding apace here in Concord (a fairly rapid pace, actually).

Brynna becomes taller, chattier, and more sophisticated by the day. She is riding a bike (yes, two wheels, no training wheels), sliding confidently down tall firemen's poles, and is starting to recognize a few written words and even sort of sound out very short words. She is currently VERY curious about planets and outer space and keeps asking why helicopters can just go straight up into the air but airplanes need a runway (I leave these explanations to Alex). We've also been swimming a lot at the Y, and B has progressed to swimming with only one "bubble" on her back, as well as jumping into the water on her own, and (with parental assistance for sinking) diving under the water to retrieve weighted objects from the bottom of the pool. Pink and princesses are IN for that of spring, so apparently my attempts to avoid that part of little girl-dom entirely have not been successful.

Here are a few recent photos:

I haven't written much about work this year, because I spend enough time there (and thinking about being there) that I don't usually have much extra energy for it once home. The quick update: my in-hospital call is OVER, which is delightful! I still have phone calls to take from home, and babies to catch, but it's still quite a milestone. Over the next few months, I will finish up the family medicine part of my training, and move toward full time preventive medicine--a little bit of clinic still, but mostly public health classes and work on my long-term project, which will be on smoking cessation in pregnancy. I'm taking one class up at Dartmouth right now, which means I get to go to the Co-op twice a week and bring home Red Hen ciabatta! In July, I will massively cut back the number of patients I'm responsible for, from about 550 to 100 or 150, and this will come with a big cut back in the amount of paperwork that I have to handle. (Paperwork, as all doctors will tell you, is the bane of our existence. The face-to-face with patients part, I absolutely love.)

Alex and I have also signed up for our first Olympic distance triathlon: 1500 meter swim (just under a mile), 40 K (25 mile) bike, and 10 K (6.2 mile) run. It's in July in Fairlee (yes, we thought this would be a great way to celebrate our wedding anniversary). This is twice the distance of our previous sprint triathlons, so it has us inspired (scared) to train hard! There is lots of swimming, biking, and running going on these days. This is going to be our fourth triathlon season, and it seems like we're in this crazy sport for the long haul, so we've joined the ranks of hard-core triathletes and purchased aero bikes. Here's mine (a Trek):

And Alex's (a Cervelo):

We have NOT purchased funny teardrop-shaped aero helmets, so there is an element of silliness that we are holding in reserve. Nonetheless, the bikes are AWESOME. And I feel like I have to train even harder to be deserving of such a cool set of wheels! Today, I even did some intervals on the track. It's a little sad, because when I get on the track I remember that I used to be able to run pretty fast, and now I'm just galumphing along.

Jasper is doing well. He's shorn for spring, and enjoying romping along as B rides her bike, or warming up/cooling down with us on our training runs. We all went for a hike at Oak Hill this past weekend, which left both Brynna and Jasper happily exhausted, though we had to turn around about a quarter mile short of the fire tower due to the late hour and B's fatigue.

So, that's a little recap of what's been going on. Coming up: a trip to the Cape, a midwestern swing to visit friends in Chicago and Wisconsin, the start of tri season, and then residency graduation at the end of June!

The Girls Were All Right

Here's the 10-point update on what B and I were up to while Alex was off gallivanting in Europe. We sure are glad to have him home!

1. Doggies, doggies everywhere
Cee Lo the dog joined us for an overnight shortly after Alex left. Cee Lo belongs to one of my classmates, who was on call. The most remarkable thing about this dog is that even though I had never met him before, he let me waltz into his apartment and take him home with me! The pups had a great time together, but Jasper did spend much of the night humping Cee Lo. Brynna kept running over to me and saying, "Mommy, Jasper's on top of our new friend again!"

Jasper unfortunately celebrated his visitor by having an episode of gastrointestinal distress during the night. On the carpet. (WHY always on the carpet???) And yes, I know it was him. Because the fun continued after Cee Lo left the next day.

2. This is NOT an emergency room!
The day Alex left, I sent two patients from the clinic to the emergency room. In a row. Both via ambulance (which is a little funny since the ER is right on the other side of the hospital campus). It was the same EMT crew both times! And they were from the firehouse right behind our house. As they were wheeling the second patient out, one of them called back, "see you in five minutes, doc!" I still owe them some cookies.

3. Good friends are priceless
Two weekend mornings in a row, P and N from down the street knocked on the door and whisked B away to play with her friend C, allowing me a couple of hours of rest. Well, sort-of-rest...I spent most of that time triaging patient phone calls for the clinic, earning a little extra money.

4. One-trick cooking
Our garden was very busy producing tomatoes and basil, and I was too tired to do much complex cooking, so mostly Brynna and I ate tomatoes and basil and mozzarella on varying carbs: sometimes with noodles, sometimes with rice (she LOVES risotto), sometimes just on bread. Adorably, B refers to mozzarella cheese as "gorilla cheese." I would like to proudly announce that we only ordered out ONCE in the twelve days that Alex was gone.

5. Mini-reunions
My dear friend Sara came to stay for five days. This was awesome in many ways—I got to hang out with her, Brynna got to hang out with her, and the day that Brynna slept until 1 PM (yes, really, 1 PM...I didn't realize she'd suddenly become a teenager!) Sara was able to keep an eye on her at home so that I could see my clinic patients. In the end, we decided that she was super-over-tired rather than actually sick.

Kristin also came up to visit while Sara was in town, and she brought her Great Dane Poe. He walked into the kitchen and immediately swung his head over to the center of the island, sniffing out the stick of butter I'd laid out. Yikes! Great Danes apparently require an entirely new level of dog-proofing. Here's a photo of him drinking from the kitchen sink. Amazing!

Jasper was in awe—though he eventually ventured out for some tentative sniffs.

And finally, our friend Katie came to visit while Sara was in town, too. These fabulous college reunions are going to continue shortly, as we're all headed to a wedding this weekend!

6. Good times on a Saturday morning
Brynna and I had a lovely, chill time doing our regular Saturday morning thing. We biked downtown and left our bike and trailer with the farmers' market bike valet parking (yes, seriously). We went to the coffee store, the bagel store, and did our sweep through the market. Brynna enjoyed one of the first apples of the season:

And then played in the wonderful climbing tree on the State House lawn:

We ended the morning with a library trip, where we found some Madeline and Frances books that we didn't already have at home. Sadly, the copy of Toy Story that we checked out had scratches all over it, so I still haven't seen the movie.

7. Swimming and biking and running, oh my!
Our YMCA puts on a triathlon every year, and though it was a bit lonely to race without Alex, there were a bunch of people there from our tri club. And even more people from the hospital—I was walking over to the sign-in area with one of the ER guys, when we heard someone shout for a doctor. We both ran over, and then a few seconds later I looked over my shoulder to see one of the ER docs joining the crowd, and a couple minutes later another ER provider showed up. I left to sign in for the race at that point!

This has not been a great summer for training, but the race was lots of fun anyway. I left right afterward to take Brynna to her swim lesson (which was awesome!), and while we were in the locker room a nice lady came up to me to tell me that I had finished third in my age group...turns out she was the wife of one of my team members, who had called her from the race and asked her to let me know about the results. Concord really does function like a small town!

8. Doctors have to go to the dentist too
Finally got to the dentist for a checkup. Was told that "it looks like you're one of those people who needs to floss twice a day." Once I stopped laughing, I vowed to try to floss ONCE a day. So far, so good.

9. Ice cream!
There was one night that Brynna and I were having so much fun that I let her stay up late and we ended up going for ice cream around 9:00. Here's a photo I took of Brynna with her ice-cream moustache:

And one that she took of me:

10. Party time

I had forgotten that when you take a toddler to a party, there's very little grown-up time. I also hadn't realized that there was a pool, so Brynna ended up swimming in her underpants, and then running around the yard naked to dry off. The hammock was a particular hit. 

Finally, my favorite Brynna quotes:

"I wish we lived in the ice cream store!" (So do I, kid, so do I.)

"Am I still wearing pants?" (She was wearing a tutu over leggings, and I took the tutu off so she could ride her bike.)

Boating Brynna

Fabulous fun today: we rented a kayak and took B out for her first paddle!

She was extremely excited, since we've been talking about it for awhile. As you can see, she climbed right in on dry land for a little boating safety discussion.

Then a nice lady took a family photo for us before we set off:

On our first round of the pond, Brynna sat in the middle, in between the seats of our tandem kayak. Then we came back to the put-in and re-configured with Brynna in the bow. She thought she'd try out a bit of paddling before Mama joined her in the stern:

One of the reasons we are thinking about getting a kayak is to do boat support for each other during training swims. So B and I escorted Alex on a loop to see how the tandem handled with just one grown-up. It went just fine, and after chanting "go Daddy, go Daddy, go Daddy!" as Alex set off, Brynna was very glad to check in with him mid-swim:

She was using one of our salad tong spoons, which Alex obligingly drilled a hole in and tied up with some cord, as her own miniature kayak paddle. Later in the afternoon, she sat in my lap at one point and "helped" me with my grown-up paddle.

This is my new favorite photo, taken when we were out on the water.

After I took a turn swimming (Brynna, very attentive from the bow, calling out "do you need help?" every time I paused for a few seconds), Brynna had a chance to do some swimming of her own. She can dog-paddle quite happily in her life vest, though she likes a grownup very close...and we are happy to oblige.

Especially now that we're doing some boating, we're trying to teach her to float calmly on her back in case we capsize. She's not enthusiastic about that position yet, but here she is doing a great job with a steadying hand from Dada:

We went out for a second time after Brynna's nap, to see if we could fit Jasper in the kayak as well. We tried with Brynna sitting with me in the bow and Jasper between the seats. Jasper bore up nobly, as he does with all our crazy ideas. B was not super happy squashed in my lap in the bow, and it made me paddle funny to keep from hitting her in the head, so we may need to keep working on our seating assignments. The tandem that we rented was 13 1/2 feet, another foot might let us put dog and daughter both in the center. We'd also like to trial a lighter boat, as there's no way I could get this one up onto the top of the car on my own.

All in all, a delightful day.

Good Times Ahead (and a few today)

Work is busy, busy, busy. My class is running a bit short-handed at the moment (no one's fault, just happenstance), so despite being off on Monday, I still worked 88 hours last week. Ick! This has not been great for family time, sleep time, or workout time.

However, I got a boost of energy at the end of the workday today, because I printed out the call schedules for July, August, and September, right after I magically become a third year resident. I'm doing several overnight calls in July, but there are very few otherwise. Woohoo! There may be a chance for an actual life!

So, with inspiration from the-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel, we decided to get in a triathlon workout. We packed up the car with toddler, dog, and lots of gear, and Brynna, Jasper and I set off driving for the local state park, with Alex zooming along behind on his bike. B and I paused about halfway there to rescue a turtle trying to cross the road. She was a bit alarmed at first and didn't want to get too close, but once I had carefully carried it across the road and put it down on the grassy verge, she was very interested in checking it out. We watched it poke its head out, look around, and eventually walk away (luckily, further into the woods). After a few more minutes of turtle-stalking, Alex came whizzing up, having made spectacular time on his bike.

Once at the park, I wetsuited up and then went for a short swim. It was a gorgeous, 80-degree day and the local lakes and ponds are warming up accordingly. Other than the nice "refreshing" feeling of the water creeping up my spine inside my suit, it was actually quite pleasant. No trouble at all with the swim, though I still get a bit anxious in open water. Since I was swimming alone, I paralleled the shore so I could just stand up if I needed to. Alex, Brynna (in her own little wetsuit) and Jasper frolicked at the water's edge. That dog sure loves the water! I'm hoping to get in several more open-water practice sessions before our next tri two weeks from now.

Then I switched into bike clothes and biked back home, while Alex/Brynna/Jasper drove. It was a late night for little B--we didn't get home until 8:45 and she still needed to eat and have a shower--but much fun was had by all. (A note to parental types who are reading this and worrying: it was still quite light out at that hour, and I had all of my bike lights on (front and rear) and a bright yellow shirt to boot. Alex would like to point out that he saw my tail light blinking from more than half a mile away.)

Snow Dog

We have a whole slew of blog posts to catch you up on, dear reader. And you might think that the Christmas holiday would be a perfect time to do that. I can make no promises that our lives will becomes less crazed enough in the coming weeks to get everything out to you, but we do have a few regarding Christmas. And, just because, we'll start at the present moment and work our way back.

We're currently in Connecticut with Hilary's folks. We were supposed to be back in New Hampshire by now. But, as with much of the East Coast, we got snowed in last night. An enforced, Act of God extension to the weekend isn't so terrible, particularly when it includes grandparents to watch after Brynna while Hilary and I get a much-needed lie-in.

And although Jasper might shy away from the door at first, he genuinely, truly, unabashedly loves the snow.

Say What?

Brynna, to Jasper during supper this evening:

"Come here puppy, I give you peanut half."

Seriously. She's going to be reciting the Gettysburg Address pretty soon.

(Unfortunately, Jasper does not yet understand Brynna-speak. Just the food that gets dropped on the floor for him. He doesn't like peanuts, actually.)

Then, I had this conversation with her:

Me: Brynna, would you like to take a shower with Mama or a bath with Mama?

B: Shower! (pause) Mama pick up!

Me: Yes, Mama can pick you up now.

B: Boo-boo better.

Me: Yes, Mama's boo-boos are much better.

Then she pulled up my shirt for an up-close inspection.

Puppy Big Mess

Jasper, being a dog, is capable of doing some really gross things. This isn’t a dig against dogs – people do some pretty gross things, too. However, I had to deal with some particular foulness last weekend, and thought I’d share. Aren’t you lucky?

Last Sunday Hilary went off with her parents and Brynna for two days in Burlington for some obstetrics training her residency class was doing. Jasper and I were looking forward to at least two nights of being bachelors. I spend Sunday evening planning, purchasing for, and starting construction on some shelving for my workshop area in the basement.

Monday, as I was coming home from work, I was looking forward to another evening spent building stuff, without distractions or other conflicts. That ended about two seconds after I walked through the door, and caught the unmistakable odor that Jasper had had an accident. Our house is nearly all tile and hardwood-floored, save for an area rug in the living room, carpeting that remains in the guest room, and the foam tiles that line Brynna's floor. Guess where Jasper most enjoys making a mess? If it is vomiting, it'll be the area rug in the living room, bypassing the adjacent tiled kitchen and hardwood dining room. If it is the other end, it is almost certain to be Brynna's room. There must be something about those foam tiles that he really likes (or dislikes, who can say?).

So, fearing the worst, I went up to Brynna's room, and must have let out a tremendous Wilhelm scream when I saw what had happened. In multiple places, in multiple streaks and splatters, all but two tiles' worth of the floor was covered to some extend in excrement.

Let us just say that the next three hours were not pleasant. It involved the tub, and lots of scrubbing, and lots of bleach, which my hands a week later still smell of. It resulted in this fine pile of tiles set up to dry. I did pat myself on the back a little for my cleverness in the arrangement.


So, Monday evening was shot. Twice in the night, when I heard Jasper padding about with some rapidity, I let him out into the yard. I had the presence of mind Tuesday morning to close the doors to all the bedrooms before I left for work. Unfortunately, when I walked through the door Tuesday evening, my nose told me that his troubles (and my troubles) were not over yet. He had made another substantial mess, but at least this time it was along the second floor corridor. The hardwood floor was a lot easier to clean up. And just in time, too, because Hilary and the crew pulled in not long after I finished.

I heard Jasper wandering around with a quick step around 3 wednesday morning, and so went downstairs to let him out - just in case. Well, it didn't seem to work, because when I woke up at 5 he had managed yet another mess in the hallway I had scrubbed not twelve hours earlier. Poor puppy, poor me!

We did have a phone consult with the vet that morning, and some labs done to check for parasites, etc. It all came back clear, leaving us to guess what might have happened to him. Thankfully, Wednesday morning's mess appears to have been the parting shot, and we've been in the clear since then. We still keep him shut out of our rooms during the day, though.

[the title of this post comes to us courtesy of B. She got freaked out a few weeks back when she witnessed Jasper vomiting in the driveway. To this day, when I bring her home from daycare, she will invariably comment, with some trepidation, on “puppy big mess.” We scrupulously avoided explaining Jasper’s recent difficulties to her, particularly the part about him shitting all over her floor, or we’d never hear the end of it]

Hazing

Tonight was the first night for our new babysitter.

In an attempt to simultaneously train for our upcoming triathlons and enjoy some nice Together Time, we hired a college student to come over and watch Brynna a couple nights a week so we can go to the gym.

Eventually, we're planning to have her come a few minutes before B goes to bed, and just hold the fort while B snoozes away. But tonight we asked her to come a bit earlier so she and B could get to know each other.

Brynna certainly does love playing to an audience, and chatted to E at great length. E came upstairs with us for bedtime, and after B carefully selected three books to read and plunked herself down in my lap, we asked her which book E could read.

B looked again at her options—Goodnight Moon, Doggies by Sandra Boynton (A Counting and Barking Book), and Fox in Socks—and pointed straight to Fox in Socks. Is it possible for a not-yet-two-year-old to engage in a hazing ritual?


For those of you not familiar, Fox in Socks is a 50-page tome of Dr. Seuss tongue-twisters. It has taken me months to learn how to read it properly. (I like the tweetle beetles best, for all of you Seuss connoisseurs out there.) Tonight was poor E's first exposure to Fox in Socks, but she dove in gamely, and in fact triumphed. Brynna chuckled along, giggling particularly hard when E got tripped up.

Once we finally got B to bed, Alex and I headed off for the YMCA, only to arrive as they were turning off the lights—they are on their summer schedule now, and my carefully constructed plan of late night swimming and weightlifting is now most decidedly off. Arrgh! So, we walked back home and took Jasper out for a run instead.

B woke up once while we were away and apparently dropped right off again with some back-stroking and a little reassurance. Anyone who can read Fox in Socks is apparently in the Brynna-approved club.

So, I think E is going to work out fine. Though we did provide hazard pay for the Fox In Socks-induced numb tongue.

What's For Dinner?

The weather has just been gorgeous the last two days, with warm sunny evenings that I am actually home in time to enjoy, thanks to the springing forward of the clocks. The combination of two idyllic evenings playing outside with my family and the knowledge that this horrid Medicine rotation ends on Sunday has really given me a lift.

Tonight, we were heading home from the park in the just-gathering chill of dusk, with a muddy Jasper and laughing Brynna, when I said to little B, "are you hungry?"

"Yes!"

"What do you want for dinner?"

"RAISIN!"

"OK, what else do you want for dinner?"

"CHEERIO!"

"OK, what else?"

"DONUT!"

Oh, you and me both, kid.

Mount Major Trip Report

I have had this weekend off, and the weather has been spectacular—low to mid 30s and bright sun. So we decided to take advantage and go for a hike! At first, we were planning to go up north to Franconia Notch, but when I checked the weather, I realized that the White Mountains were covered in cloud, so instead we headed northeast to Mount Major on the shore of Lake Winnepesaukee.

Mount Major is one of the most popular summertime hikes in New Hampshire, and it turns out quite popular yesterday as well, though we got a later start than most! We arrived at the trailhead around 2 but then waited out the rest of Brynna's nap with the newspaper and a pile of magazines, before hitting the trail after 3:00. Brynna was initially not sure that this whole walking-in-the-cold thing was a very good idea, but Jasper's enthusiasm was contagious, so we set off up the trail.



A few minutes later we were able to remove the Nuk for awhile and sing some songs. I need to work on my Beatles lyrics. On the other hand, does "Love Me Do" really have lyrics?

The trail headed gently upwards for awhile, and then we came to some much steeper sections leading up onto the ledges. It was a good thing we'd brought poles along, as four-legged Jasper had a much easier time than his two-legged counterparts on the icy slopes.

Then, after a quick detour through the woods to avoid an ice-fall, we came out onto a big open ledge with a stunning view north and northeast across the lake. Alex turned to look, and Brynna caught a glimpse as well, bringing a whispered "woooowwww" to her lips. It warmed the cockles of our hiking-loving hearts.



The wind picked up a little at that point because we were more exposed, but every time we asked Brynna if she wanted to go up or down, she commanded "up!" with an imperious wave of the arm.

So up we went, picking our way carefully along the slippery trail, until we were treated to an even better view from the summit.

There's a foundation at the top that served as a very useful windbreak for a snack. Brynna proved very adept at eating gorp out of our palms like a little bird—we didn't want to un-mitten her and expose her hands to the wind.



Here's our mountain dog at the summit:


The first ten minutes of the descent were the roughest part of the trip—the wind picked up full-force and was whipping against Brynna's face, and she did not like it. We pulled her neck-wrap up over her face and jogged our way (our downward trail was not initially as steep) off the ledges and back into the cover of the woods. It was a brisk trip down, as we were racing dusk all the way, and we came back to the parking lot to find my Subaru looking quite forlorn in the midst of the deserted parking lot.

We were very happy to discover that Brynna's hands and body stayed very warm—she was wearing her big snowsuit over her Patagonia capilene baselayer, with active heaters in her mittens. However, we felt very bad when we found that her feet had become quite chilly. She cuddled up in the car with her toes on Alex's stomach, drinking juice and eating gorp, while I packed up the car.

So—next time, toe-warmers in addition to hand warmers. At least until she's hiking on her own two feet—which I'm sure will happen sooner than we expect!

A Christmas Gathering

So, last week I decided that we should get our tree over the weekend...Sunday, to be exact, since I was on call Saturday. And then I thought that it would be fun to invite my fellow residents and their families over for a tree-trimming party.

Which is how we found ourselves zooming off toward the Christmas tree farm, half an hour away, exactly one hour and twenty minutes before the start of said party. Oops! May have cut things just a little too close there.

Despite being in a rush, it was a beautiful drive. It snowed on Saturday night, and the trees were still decorated with a layer of white frosting. We went through a state forest and up, up, up to the peak of a hill with spectacular views of the surrounding terrain. Then we jumped out of the car, strapped Brynna into her carrier, and set off into the fields with...oh...just about fifteen minutes to find the perfect tree!

There was a collection of already-cut trees leaning against a fence, and one of the farm workers told us that since we were looking for a 7 or 8-footer, we'd probably have more luck with one of those. But we hadn't driven all that way to pick up an already-cut tree, even if that would be a bit faster! So we took our saw and headed down the hill in the snow. The worker was right...there were many small trees, and many very tall trees, but not much in our ideal range.

So we huffed our way back up the hill, feeling very pressed for time, and resigned ourselves to taking one of the pre-cut trees. Then, just as we crested the hill, we realized that there was quite an attractive tree growing right next to the path! We circled it several times, squinting at it from various angles, before deciding that it was indeed a winner.



Alex the mountain man:


I was so impressed...I got all set to help Alex drag the tree up to the car, and he just picked it up and wandered off!


While Alex and a couple of the farm guys got the tree onto the roof of the car, Brynna and I took a look at the available wreaths. We settled on two basic ones, added two big red bows from another pile, and then we all buckled ourselves back into the car and zoomed back down the mountain, racing the clock so as not to be late for our own party!

Luckily, no one showed up at 4:30, as we arrived home at 4:34. Brynna and I went into the house to do some final tidying up (known in other cultures as "moving piles of stuff into rooms that are not going to be holding guests") while Alex wrangled the tree into the stand out on the porch. We did put our first guests to work chopping up veggies, and the hot cider wasn't quite hot until a few more folks had arrived, but no one seemed to mind.

Since I had only given people a few days' notice, we had no idea how many guests we would have. I originally scattered our food, with some in the kitchen and some in the living room. However, we turned out to have a large kiddie turnout, so the living room floor became the center of the action!


It was such a delight to watch all the kids playing together! Brynna was actually the second youngest, and she did a great job. She shared all her toys, including her wooden blocks...though she did run over and sit on her little ladybug chair a few times when it seemed like one of the other little girls had some interest in it.

And, yes, that is Jasper in the middle of the action! We could hardly believe our eyes. We were sure that we'd eventually have to put him upstairs, but after a little initial barking and lots of hiding under the table, he ventured out to explore the world of toddler-and-dog-level-food, and ended up quite happily receiving pats from the guests, particularly the kids. Never in a million years, even last Christmas, would I have thought that Jasper would be brave enough to do that!

With the help of some extra hands, we also got the tree decorated! We have a mixture of white lights and colored lights, because that's what I could find in the boxes. We put all the soft and unbreakable ornaments at the bottom, and Brynna has been having a blast playing with them.


All in all, a lovely time. We're looking forward to our first New Hampshire Christmas!

Double Fetch

Labs and poodles are both retrieving breeds. Jasper, however, has shown a decided disinclination toward the game of Fetch.

When we first brought him home, tossing a ball would send him running scared in the other direction. By the time we left Minnesota, perhaps inspired by watching the crazy fetching Border Collies on the other side of the backyard fence, he would often chase a stick or ball and pounce on it, but he didn't understand the bringing-it-back concept.

But, rather suddenly in the last few weeks, he seems to have gotten it—more or less. He and Brynna have both been enjoying romping in our new neighborhood park. And now we have a very efficient way to tire them both out! It's a little game we call "Double Fetch."

Here's how it goes. I use the tennis-ball-atlatl to toss the ball for Jasper. He goes bounding after it:


Then I hand the claw to Brynna, who starts toddling in his direction.



Jasper comes sprinting back toward us, usually dropping the ball somewhere in a 50-foot radius. I ask Brynna "where's the ball?" and she heads in that direction as fast as her little legs can carry her. Sometimes she uses the claw to push Jasper out of the way. Then I have to coax Jasper to "drop it" and then cajole Brynna to give me the atlatl so we can start the whole process over again.



Pretty soon, both Brynna and Jasper are tuckered out and we head for home.

Tonight, I was using treats to help train Jasper to actually bring the ball all the way back to me...though maybe I will have to rethink this strategy, as it results in less exercise for little B.

Vacation Hiking-Day #2

So, on Tuesday of my vacation (yes, that was two weeks ago, but better late than never!) we picked another shortish-hike-with-a-view and took ourselves off to Belknap Mountain in the the lovely town of Gilford, near the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee. We wound our way up a dirt road, past a gate that warned us in large print that it would be locked at 6 PM, and parked in a mostly-deserted parking lot.

While Jasper gallivanted around, thrilled at the prospect of a hike without being made to wear his backpack, we got Brynna all situated in her backpack.


Then we hiked up through the forest, eventually catching sight of the fire tower after about an hour of walking. We climbed carefully up the very steep stairs (Jasper was not interested in this part of the hike, so we tethered him at the bottom) and were treated to a breathtaking view that encompassed parts of four states. The most beautiful part was looking out across the lake to the White Mountains.


We brought my Scudder's White Mountain Viewing Guide and were able to identify the whole stretch of mountains, including Mount Moosilauke and Mount Washington, plus peaks in Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine.

Brynna was most vexed by the determination of her mother and grandfather to hold onto at least one, and preferably two, of her limbs at all times while she was trying to explore the only-loosely-fenced-in pod atop the tower. Miss Cranky-Face did agree to pose briefly for a photo:


She returned to her usual, cheerful, whirlwind self once we returned to the parking lot and she was set free. She and Jasper ran all over the place, checking out lots of rocks and dirt.


As usual, the electronics drew the most notice. She definitely understands about the camera now—she will turn and flash a big smile when she sees it pointed in her direction!


B zonked right out in the car on the way home, and we were able to escape before the gate locked us up on the mountain. We stopped for our traditional post-walk snack of Peach Snapple and Cape Cod Potato Chips before heading home for our first night in our new house!