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February
8, 2010: Corina and I saw an enthralling Felice Brothers concert
at Fairfield Theatre Company on Friday night, and I posted a
review.
Here's some fun video of Nathan walking the beam.
January 30, 2010: Melody requested photos of the 26 pets, so I posted some stinking photos. Brrrr day today, 11 units of degree.
January 28, 2010: The total number of pets in our household has risen considerably. Before Christmas, we had 4, including a cat and 3 lovebirds. Now we have 26, including 16 ants in a gel ant farm, and our newest pets, 6 White Cloud Mountain Minnows (Tanichthys albonubes) in a large vase in the kitchen. The fish are very active and fun to watch, I highly recommend them so far. They can live in a bowl or vase without a pump or filter, and they like company, as opposed to beta fish, that eat each other. Put some plants in there, like java moss, exchange 4 cups of water for fresh every day, and they seem to thrive.
January 7, 2010: Happy New Year from the unit14 information service! Melody sent 3 photos taken in December on her Oregon property with a night vision motion sensor camera that she has. I posted them in the photos section. The first is of a bobcat and the 2nd and 3rd are of a mountain lion.
December 30, 2009: Thanks to Mom, by way of Jenny, for this group photo. Christmastime was spent with the Havard family down in Williamsburg this year. There was lots of great food, trespassing through the yards at the top of Sugar Bush to get to the school field, gift opening, and great times. The day after Christmas we all headed north to D.C. to celebrate Jim and Jackie's wedding at the Mansion at O street. The mansion is a huge, wacky house with over 100 rooms, secret passageways behind bookcases and mirrors, eclectic art, artist-signed guitars, and much more. Our shower had many settings, including an overhead rainfall. We again enjoyed great food, we played tunes, were entertained by Mac's baseball memorabilia, and explored the house. Thanks Jim and Jackie for an incredible event, and thanks again Mom and Dad for having us in Virginia. I posted a few photos.
December 6, 2009: Quinn is taking over the posting for today. Here's Quinn. We went to the pancake breakfast. We went to the puppet show. We went to the candy store. We got hooks for our ornaments. I played with my leapster and I finished my game. Oh, we went to the train show and we saw lots of trains. Merry Christmas to everyone, and to all a good night. Thanks, Quinn. I posted photos.
October 4, 2009: Quinn's 6th birthday party was today at the Discovery Museum in Bridgeport with 12 of his friends. The theme of the party was "things that fly" and the boys built and decorated planes, twirly helicopters, hoopsters, and rockets. I posted a couple of pictures.
October 3, 2009: Despite a forecast of rain, Quinn's soccer team, the Golden Tigers, played their 3rd game of the season today. It was a great team effort, and the Tigers played their best game yet. Here is Quinn (#19) scoring a great goal early in the game. Although no one kept score, the tigers romped. I neglected to mention on here that Corina celebrated her 40th birthday 2 days ago.
September 19, 2009: Rock and Roll Saturday Night. I hadn't posted photos in too long, so I just put a bunch from June to present in the photos section. I left out leg wounds and bloody mouths.
September 3, 2009: Summer passed, with little action on this site, but a lot went on. Sometimes I just have to move on and let things go unreported. Quinn starts first grade today; he seems happy about it. Nathan starts his preschool next week. Quinn lost his first tooth last night, and Nathan is happy to have company.
The current "fastest horse in the world", Rachel Alexandra, runs in the Woodward at Saratoga this weekend. A 3 year old filly running against older males in a Grade 1 race like this is pretty much unheard of, and this filly will very likely win. Todd and I will probably be there, despite an angry wife.
August 1, 2009: This is funny. Find out where Todd sat all summer long.
July
2, 2009: Purchase Day Camp has begun, and Quinn is enjoying his
time in the Sunnies group. He is quite skilled at stretching a single
into a home run in wiffle ball and kickball, a useful talent to have
at the PDC. This summer, we have the added pleasure of hosting Jonah
at our house. Jonah is a counselor for the Eels and commutes with us
to and from camp. Both Quinn and Nate are thrilled to have him around,
as are his aunt and uncle. At right is a picture of Quinn and Jonah
taken today. Looks like I have to clean my office.
May 30, 2009: I posted some new pictures in the photos section today. Last time Nana visited, she brought up two fun, beautiful, matching gecko quilts for Quinn and Nate's beds that she made herself. I guess we'll have to publish Pieced Together, volume 2 someday. Quinn also had his 3rd soccer practice this morning, and I took a picture at that. Also, Emma placed 2nd in the 100m and 3rd in the 200m at her track sectionals as an 8th grader, running against varsity high schoolers!
May 23, 2009: Columbine flowers are blooming in our backyard. Quinn has started a Saturday soccer class with the town and seems to really like it. Hopefully he will join a first grade town league in the fall. Nathan has learned to pump the swing all by himself, and is very proud. As he should be.
I forgot to mention the BWBB get together at the end of April. Mikey P. did a superb job hosting for the first time at his new home outside of Philadelphia.
Forget what I said about traffic easing on the Merritt. Although I think traffic eased considerably in the winter and early spring compared to previous years, it is currently brutal. I don't know if it's college students home, families don't vacation in May, or what, but this time of year is just terrible on the CT highways.
May 18, 2009: Quinn has provided an extensive video review of some of the LEGO Power Miners that he has built.
April 19, 2009: We returned yesterday from our first trip to Oregon in over 2 years. We had a wonderful time, and appreciate all the hospitality from Melody, Kim, and the whole Ferguson family. Activities were many, so I will make a list. Memorable events included ATV rides, trip to the Lego store, several Great Grandma visits, Easter visit from John, Michele and family, egg hunt, late-night tunes at Kim's office, carrot to horse presentations, lawn mower rides, tractor rides, cat hunts, stop go Jack game, pet treats, indoor swinging, Elianus the bionicle coming to life, great seats and great times at the final Trailblazers game of the season, coffee station break, visits to and from Max, Nicole and family, Kim's birthday, Abiqua Wind winery tour, Kenni prom dress shopping, hula hoop rolling, library trips, passing showers with occasional hail, and fine meals. See more photos in the photos section.
April 3, 2009: Jim and Jackie recently posted some photos from their Panama trip. Looks like a great place to spend some time. Mom and Dad also returned recently from Sedona, Arizona, which also looked like a worthy trip.
I've noticed that rush hour traffic on the Merritt Parkway in the morning and evening has eased significantly. A trip that used to consistently take an hour or much more can now be completed consistently in 45 minutes or less. I wish I had kept better records, but I'd say the change became noticeable during the middle of the autumn of 2008, if not earlier. As for the reason for the change, I can only guess. Unemployment, more Metro-North commuters, a rise (and subsequent fall) in fuel prices, telecommuting and ridesharing might all be factors. The CT unemployment rate was 4.4% in April of 2007, and 2 years later it is at 7.9%. So unemployment alone may have removed 3.5% of the rush hour cars from CT highways, which might be all it takes to keep traffic moving. I'm not praising unemployment, of course, it's just an observation and a guess. And May and June are coming up, which tend to be TERRIBLE months for traffic. So we'll see what happens. Has anybody else noticed a change? Let me know at havard14@optonline.net.
Update: This morning I wrote to CT DOT to ask if they had any data verifying an ease in traffic on the Merritt, and I got this quick reponse from Kevin Nursick of the CT DOT:
Hi Tom -
I
don't have any recent data that can be used to verify this. That being
said, folks still are turning to mass transit options, despite the fact
that gas prices have come down from record highs. We have seen a reduction
in the number of cars on the road over the last few years - maybe 5
percent or so in some locations in the state if I had to guess, but
that's probably not enough to make up the scenario that you
describe. With the economy turning sour, there is the potential that
fewer people are commuting to NY and back to CT - that may be what you
are observing.
Hope this helps.
Kevin
April 1, 2009: Nathan celebrated his third birthday with a morning party on a grey day. Here's some video, and I also posted a few photos.
March
23, 2009: I'm way behind. I did want to mention that Nathan visited
the preschool he will be attending this coming fall. This was back on
March 10th, and he appeared to have a wonderful time. And since I might
not get to it, happy birthday Dad, and happy birthday Jim, in Panama,
or wherever you are. Whatever happened to visiting the Poconos or a
place like Sturbridge Village?
February 22, 2009: Malum now has a friend. Grandma sent Toa Tahu on Friday, and Quinn built him immediately. We're off to see the Sound Tigers today, I won some tickets.
February 14, 2009: Happy Valentine's Day! Quinn built his first bionicle today, a guy named Malum.
February 4, 2009: Not too much news here. The boys are asleep. Corina is tired of the cold weather, but I think it's fine. We are looking forward to a visit from Nana later this month via Amtrak, and also a trip to Oregon in April. I won't disclose the exact dates, for security reasons.
January 18, 2009: With all the cold weather we've been having, the pond in our neighborhood, Butkus Pond, has frozen solid. Yesterday and today, we shoveled the snow off and got in some great skating. Quinn has now been on skates 3 times in his life, and has improved tremendously each time. He is doing extremely well. Snow started falling AGAIN this afternoon as we skated, and is still coming down.
I find this plane crash in the Hudson River event very fascinating. That the pilot had the ability to take such a dangerous situation and land the plane on the water so smoothly on such a short notice amazes me. And the way all the people involved appeared to pull together, including the passengers, ferry crews, and responders is very impressive to me. Not typical unit14 news, and not news at all to anyone by now, but it is a great true story.
January 8, 2009: My Mom and Dad celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last Saturday, January 3rd, with a surprise party at the Park Lane Reserve clubhouse, a.k.a. Lake Street School. Many family members and friends were in attendance, and I believe the couple of honor was surprised and pleased with the celebration. Congratulations Mom and Dad!
The
day after that party, on January 4th, the family headed to a different
old schoolhouse, this time in Wilton, CT, to celebrate the zeroth anniversary
of Jim and Jackie. Thanks, J&J, for that delicious brunch.
January 1, 2009: The goose is still alive and still fat. Happy New Year! And - Happy Birthday to Jackie! We hope 2009 is a good year for most individuals.
December 18, 2008: The goose is getting fat. We are very much looking forward to Christmas this year. This past weekend, the boys had 2 meetings with adequate Santas, one for breakfast on Saturday, and one at a Fairfield Theatre Company cheesy yet fun Christmas show on Sunday. Nate is very intrigued with Santa and likes him from a distance. Quinn will sit on his lap no problem. I'll post more photos, I only have this one here at work.
November 21, 2008: Mom visited for 4 days and just left on Wednesday. No photos, but it was great to see Mom, and the boys loved spending some time with their Nana. Aunt Linda and Uncle Al visited on Tuesday but I was working. Kathy also stopped by on Tuesday night for some good times and Nauti Dolphin pizza.
November 20, 2008: Jim and Jackie sent some beautiful pictures from their wedding in St. Lucia. I posted a few, but there are many more to see here.
October 30, 2008: Update from Mom today: Jim and Jackie called last night. They are Married. The ceremony took place yesterday late afternoon on the beach. The weather was spotty yesterday but it did clear and they even had a rainbow. They have had beautiful weather for the most part and have been scuba diving, jungle biking, lunching on the beach and more. They hope to go snorkeling before they leave on Saturday morning. So, congratulations go out to those honeymooners!
October
27, 2008: Jim and Jackie flew off to St. Lucia this past Saturday.
When they return to U.S. soil, they will be married! The wedding is
scheduled to take place on Wednesday, October 29th.
Last night we attended the first annual jack-o-lantern spectacular at the Maritime Aquarium. Hundreds of lit pumpkins displayed along the shores of the Norwalk River made for a spectacular sight. After the event, we hit the Brewhouse for dinner. I enjoyed a pint of New England Amber, recalling they days when the beer was actually brewed there.
Melody visited in mid-October and brought her motion sensor night vision camera with her. We digitally captured some of suburban Fairfield's nocturnal wildlife, like a raccoon, a deer, and Odie.
October 4, 2008: Quinn had his 5th birthday party today at the house, a super hero party with 10 children, complete with agility and accuracy training, an obstacle course, sack races, mask design, cake, and more. Corina did a superb job planning and directing the whole event, and the young heroes appeared to have a great time. I added some photos from today and also the past month. There are shots from the mets last win ever at shea, and Quinn's official school portrait is also included.
I recently finished a good book called Devotion, by Howard Norman. I haven't been reading much lately, but I always like his books.
August
29, 2008: Quinn started Kindergarten at Osborn Hill School yesterday,
and apparently really liked it and had a great day. Nathan gave him
a hug goodbye before he entered the classroom.
August
25, 2008: This August, at least so far, has been the most comfortable,
weatherwise, that I can remember. Sort of like September a month early,
and I have no complaints about that. This weekend Quinn helped me harvest
the cascade hops. No batches of beverages are forecasted, but it's nice
to have the hops anyway. I'll freeze them, just like last year. The
4 of us attended a Bridgeport Bluefish game on Saturday night, complete
with fireworks show after the game. Nathan was obsessed with the bluefish
mascot, as long as the big bluefish didn't get too close. I haven't
posted since the beginning of the summer. I'm putting up a few photos,
but not many, considering all that went on. Quinn spent his second Purchase
Day Camp summer as a turtle, while Nathan started a class at little
gym in Fairfield. All the Havards went to Massanutten, VA at the end
of July. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for those accomodations. It was great
to get everybody together, and very nice to meet Jackie. The BWBB tradition
continued in mid-August, this year for the first time at the Gernert-Dott
residence. Thanks, Pete! These are some of the things that made up a
memorable summer. Quinn starts Kindergarten on August 28th.
June 29, 2008: I decided to remove the unit14 forum, mostly because it wasn't getting any action. It has been replaced with a page of links. The links page can take you to other pages run by members of the unit14 information service, including band pages, photo galleries, blogs, and information service pages such as this one. Membership is free, open to anyone, and requires no registration. If you are reading this, you are a member. If you've got a link that you would like to be included, just email me with it and I'll take a look. One place I suggest you check out is Todd's blog that shows, among other things, my niece, Emma, running some very impressive 100 meter races. Also, happy 70th birthday to Uncle Al!
June 18, 2008: Congratulations are in order to the 2 happy citizens who used to exist in the picture at right. Jim and Jackie the mystery babe are officially engaged to marry each other. Can't wait to meet her!
May 23, 2008: The weather around here was very odd yesterday, going from sunny to dark and dry to rainy in minutes and in random intervals. Corina captured this double rainbow shot from our front yard.
May 15 , 2008: Tomorrow is the Family Fun Fair at the PCH. The forecast is for rain, which is unfortunate, as the "fun" part of the fair disappears indoors. Quinn got a razor scooter today after trying one out at his classmate Caleb's house. He just loves it, went to sleep talking about it, and wants to ride it tomorrow right after breakfast. Nate will probably pull the wagon around the driveway during that time. Odie likes to catch small mammals like short-tailed shrews and chipmunks. We recently put a bell on his collar which doesn't seem to curtail his hunting success. Quinn extracted pterosaur bones from a brick.
May
1 , 2008: Welcome to May. Richard Shindell started a blog
a few days ago, and the first topic is called "busking - part one".
It's pretty interesting. He talks about digital music, "illegal"
downloads, and how the music business has changed. He doesn't feel the
way to go is to prosecute or threaten the music stealers, but instead
appeal to their good side by asking for donations. He's asking for money
to finance his upcoming record, and there's a spot on his website
called the "open guitar case" where he's flat out asking for
money. Sort of strange, seeing a guy this talented resort to opening
his guitar case, but he sounds upbeat about it as the best way to go.
April 24, 2008: I noticed today that Jim posted more old slides at his photo site. So here's an updated link to the home page for all of his galleries. It appears from his recent photos that cousin Christine visited Jim at some point, and a ballgame was attended with Jackie also in attendance. But you can draw your own conclusions, including who that funky-looking car belongs to.
April 13, 2008: Quinn and I hunted down our most challenging geocache yet today, in Brett Woods Conservation Area. Quinn also attended his friend Caleb's birthday party yesterday. I posted photos from both. The new R.E.M. album, Accelerate, sounds great. A review might be posted soon. Jim recently posted some photos scanned from his parents' (and mine) old slides here.
April 8, 2008: I posted some photos today. Some go back to before Easter. The boys are asleep, but the birds are not. Time to put the cover on. Nathan celebrated his 2nd birthday like a 2 year old should back on April 1st. He is becoming such an independent little boy, with his climbing, sliding and building. He's very proud to show off his skills. With the (slightly) warmer weather that's arrived, Quinn has been riding his bike again. He crashed it yesterday and suffered some bumps and bruises, but he's determined to get back in action soon.
February 23, 2008: The biggest snowstorm of the season arrived on Friday, February 22, 2008. CD's birthday? Maybe 9 inches of snow fell. Quinn did the first sledding of his young life at Osborn Hill School, in a debut described with phrases such as "that kid is flying!" and "that boy moves like a bullet" by onlooking strangers. We returned to the hill today for more of the same, in icier, even faster, conditions.
February 10, 2008: Word is that Elena got home from the hospital last night at 8pm. Jim went to a couple of great concerts in January and sent me some very entertaining reviews, complete with photos! Check out these reviews of Richard Shindell and Lori McKenna in the music reviews section.