No rain on our parade

We might have stayed longer in the Finger Lakes, only the Girl had an appointment this morning - to march in the Memorial Day parade with her Girl Scout friends. Somehow I ended up accompanying her. It was a glorious day for it.

The parade was big this year. There were so many people marching that it looked for a moment as if the whole town was taking part. Luckily a few decided just to watch and wave and pick up all the candy that was getting thrown about.

Ah, the candy. The Girl twigged pretty quickly that being in the parade was a distinct disadvantage when it came to collecting candy. But she put a brave face on it and marched anyway and had a lot of fun I think. We were somewhere in the middle, and when we reached the end of the mile-long route we doubled back to rejoin the rest of the family and some Exiles (Exile #2 was also in the parade). The Girl did a good job of road-sweeping for stray candies as we went, so she didn't completely miss out after all.

And I didn't miss out on waving at the shiny fire trucks or the fife and drum bands near the back of the parade.

The sun shone, the crowds were happy, a good time was had by all. Summer has (unofficially) begun.

Soar-away success

Our adventures today began (after obligatory telly-watching and use of the indoor and outdoor hotel pools) at the National Museum of Soaring. Soaring being gliding by another name. At the top of a hill in Elmira there's a small air-strip, and we had fun watching the sail-planes (gliders) being launched. The Man and Boy investigated the small but apparently very interesting museum. They were the first visitors of the day (perhaps the week?) and the curator had to switch the lights on for them.

From there we went in search of more gorges and waterfalls. We found a lovely gorge in the Robert H. Treman State Park and had a good hike there through shady forest.

Then further down in the park we found a natural swimming pool at the foot of a beautiful waterfall. We were just ahead of its official summer opening, so there were several "No swimming" notices up which (in the usual fashion) everyone was ignoring. We spent a long time happily paddling in the cool stream and the kids shifted stones about and made their own small waterfall. Then a Park Ranger turned up and threw everyone out of the water.

Despite being in the Finger Lakes region, we barely caught a glimpse of any of the famous lakes - we only made a whistle-stop visit to Cayuga Lake in Ithaca before we began our homeward journey.

We may just have to go back...

Gorge-ous day

We set off this fine morning on one of our occasional mini-break-type trips. We've come to the Finger Lakes region of New York state, west of Albany.

It was quite a long drive (about three hours) though we broke up the journey with a stop in Greene, which is a lovely little town. Then on to Watkins Glen, where there's an impressive gorge. We had a good hike there. The Man found it a bit too tamed for his preference (the walking wasn't challenging, being all on built paths) but it was still an attractive setting, and the Girl especially enjoyed it very much.

On from there to the last available hotel in the Finger Lakes this Memorial Day weekend, the Holiday Inn in Elmira. It is somewhat under reconstruction, but actually it's ok. It has two pools and a working TV so the kids certainly aren't complaining.

Passage to India

Today was Show of Work day for the Boy and his classmates - a highpoint in the school year.

The children started by excelling themselves in assembly with an Indian dance routine. Girls and boys (including our one) were all equally enthusiastic and threw themselves into some joyful hopping, jumping and whirling. Awesome!


Then we were invited into one of their classrooms which they'd converted into a Hindu temple, complete with colourful "altar" and "statues" of gods and goddesses. Very impressive.

In the hallway we read entertaining essays about the gods, and admired this model of the Taj Mahal made by our Boy and his buddy. In a second classroom we were invited to play "Indian Jeopardy", a general (Indian) knowledge quiz devised by the kids.

Everything we saw today was excellent - all the children had worked hard and really done their best. The Boy, who in the past has sometimes been diffident about his school achievements, clearly felt proud of all his work.

We, of course, felt very proud of him.

Elephantastic

I dutifully went into school after lunch with my bag of cardboard cut-outs and helped eighteen children make elephant masks. After the basic assembling, the decorating side of it was down to them. It was interesting to see all their different approaches. There were some who knew exactly how they wanted to arrange each sequin, others who went for more of a random bling effect (squirt the mask with glue then tip sequins on top). Most of the boys were fairly minimalist, but were very keen to give their elephants tusks, which they crafted from aluminium foil.

The masks are now up on the wall where they make a great display.

Soon after sweeping up the sequins it was time for the sewing class. Noisy today - some kids just don't seem to come with any volume control. We made book jackets.

Chipmunks: 3

You guessed it. Another day, another entrance hole, and those three pesky little chippies were back on the patio this morning. Maybe it's time to get the traps out.

That's what my colleagues at Five Rivers suggested, anyway, when I went there to teach this morning. I had Kindergartners again, and of course they were hungry. Thirsty, too - it has been an incredibly hot day, with midsummer temperatures and high humidity. Really quite uncomfortable.

This afternoon I've been cutting out cardboard shapes. Remember the elephant mask? Well, I didn't design it just completely randomly: I'll be helping make them in school tomorrow as part of the India unit in the Boy's class.

Chipmunks: the Squeaquel

First thing this morning: there they were again, my cute chipmunk pals, hanging out on the patio. They'd dug themselves a new front door.

BUT I haven't seen them at all this evening. Earlier I stuffed ammonia-soaked rags as far as I could into their tunnels. It has been an extremely hot day - in the 90s - so those tunnels must be pretty stinky now. If they've any sense Alvin and friends have packed their cheeks and gone far away.

Here's another little creature, not found near our house but in Moreau Lake on Sunday.

Albaniana and the Chipmunks

A couple of days ago I noticed a chipmunk skipping around at the back of the house. Now, you have to hand it to chipmunks, they really are adorable with their stripes and their chubby cheeks. Cute, cute, cute. But you don't want them tunneling under your patio slabs.

This morning I realised that was what our chipmunk was doing, also that he was not alone - there were at least three of them. Oh dear.

I've tried in the past to keep rodents off my crocuses using garlic juice, so I went out and stuffed peeled garlic cloves down the holes I'd identified. "Thank you!" said the chipmunks, "That's just what we fancied for breakfast!"

Off to the internet, then, to do a little research on chipmunk eviction. Someone suggested tying plastic bags to sticks near the holes - they would flutter in the breeze and be scary. So I tried that, but there was no breeze, and the chipmunks just popped right out next to the bags, not bothered at all.

The next trick: ammonia-soaked paper stuffed in the holes. I stuffed every hole I could find, though I was worried that with their garlic-breath they'd hardly notice the smell. But I've since watched a chipmunk come out of the burrow, and he seemed reluctant to return - so maybe they'll be on their way now.

I'll let you know tomorrow...

To Moreau today

Today we made a trip up to Moreau Lake State Park, just north of Saratoga Springs. It was a great day for the beach and we weren't the only ones there, though it certainly wasn't crowded. That may be different next weekend, when it officially opens for business. Meanwhile today everyone was cheerfully ignoring the signs prohibiting any sort of amusing beach activity, and no-one seemed to mind.

Vermiculture

The Boy spent the afternoon at his Buddy's house (or as we've come to think of it, his weekend home). The rest of us took ourselves off to Five Rivers where there was a special programme on worms and composting. We all now feel very well-informed on the subject, and can tell our nightcrawlers from our red wigglers.

After the talk we spent a while watching the bird feeders, visited today by many squirrels and chipmunks, and yes, even a few birds.

Then on round the Beaver Tree trail, where the Girl and I spotted an actual beaver! It was busily taking supplies to its lodge. We also found a turtle digging a hole by the side of the path, presumably to lay eggs in, so that was pretty cool too.

Good morning

Five Rivers was looking particularly lovely today.

I wasn't there teaching, just enjoying the scenery and the perfect weather alongside Exile #2 and this little person.

What a happy way to spend a morning.

Project night

Everyone was at school again tonight, visiting classrooms to view some of the work that has been going on recently - in the Girl's class, studies of the Mayans, Aztecs and Incas; in the Boy's, India (this is his sketch of the Taj Mahal).

It was a particularly big night for the 8th Graders who were presenting their "theses" - twenty-page essays that have taken many weeks of research and writing up. They get to choose their own topics, and this year these ranged from Evolution to Chicken Rearing, via Marilyn Monroe and Baseball Salaries (to mention only a few). The students didn't read out their full projects, but gave a synopsis plus an analysis of what they'd learnt from the process. They all did a great job. Next task, to prepare their graduation speeches - scarily, the end of the school year is almost in sight.

I'd been in school earlier too, of course, because it's Thursday. Today the sewing group project celebrated the recent changeable weather (it was rainy and cold yesterday, today sunny and hot):

Silly Fadz

So, have Silly Bandz hit the UK yet? I expect they have but if not, don't worry, they will.

I first came across them just a couple of days ago somewhere on the internet - a mom was asking for info on where she could get hold of them because her kids were suddenly crazy for them. CVS Pharmacy seems to be the main retailer round here. Silly Bandz are like brightly coloured rubber bands, but moulded into shapes like animals or baseball players. Impossible to imagine why you wouldn't want some of those, isn't it?

Anyway, the children arrived off the bus this afternoon and the first thing they said was, "Have you got the car today? We need to go to CVS to get some..."

"Silly Bandz?"

Oh yes, the fad has well and truly hit their school. Somehow they'd managed to obtain a couple each from their friends, but the idea is to entirely cover your arms with them. I didn't happen to have the car, and we had to wait for the Man to get home, but after a necessary (fine-averting) trip to the library we did call in on our nearest CVS.

The Girl asked the woman on the till, "I was wondering if you had any..."

"Silly Bandz? No, not until Monday."

Completely sold out. Wow, kids' fads, eh? Don't you wish you could think of one?

"You've been flocked"

...or at any rate, our neighbours have. These flamingos appeared on their front lawn a couple of days ago. Apparently there's a pair of women who go around "planting" them as a way of raising money for Cancer Research. You contact them, give them some money and your friends' address and round they come with their purple flock. According to a small sign, the birds should be on their way again soon. The Boy rather wishes they'd come and roost in our yard.

I'm not sure this fundraiser would work so well in the UK - not so many unfenced front lawns to go at. If anyone tried to plant flamingos outside our Linton house they'd have to hammer them into asphalt.

Tonight the kids have been playing a very argumentative and almost violent game of miniature carpet bowls. Where do they get this aggressively competitive streak from? I can't imagine.

Police state

This evening we all went up to school to watch the Girl and her friends doing a presentation on recycling for the Board of Governors. The Girl had been involved in creating a video puppet show - only she wasn't actually in the video, not having been available on the day of filming (yesterday). It was entertaining, in a slightly mystifying way. It featured a couple of characters called the Eco Police who kept turning up and arresting other characters for failures to recycle - not an unbelievable vision of the future, to be honest.

The weather continues fine, and I'm enjoying some flowers in the front yard that my parents helped me choose and plant last time they were here. Good choices, they are flourishing.

Memoirs of a soap star

It's been a lovely day here. The Girl spent the afternoon at a Girl Scout event, learning "outdoor skills". From what she's told us about it, this mostly seemed to involve learning to carve soap into different shapes using a lolly stick. How that's supposed to help you survive in the wild I couldn't tell you. Anyway, she had a great time and wishes I would buy in some more soap to whittle.

Meanwhile the rest of us decided to go swimming at the YMCA. With it being such a nice day, the place was pretty quiet. We had fun.

This evening we've been going through old photo albums and generally taking a trip down memory lane. This is all in aid of the Girl's school project, which is to write her autobiography. She was particularly amused to find this photo of herself, aged two.

Grecian 10,000

It certainly seemd like there were at least 10,000 people, Greek and otherwise, in the St Sophia Orthodox Church this evening. We were there for the annual Greek Festival - and so was everyone else in Albany. It was like the Tulip Festival all over again.

Shoulder to shoulder we shuffled round the building - like Greek dancing, almost - and out into the huge marquee at the back, which was equally heaving with people. Although the festival also featured music, dancing and crafts, it's mostly about food: spanakopita, souvlaki, baklava... There were stalls selling everything, and great long queues waiting at each and every stall.

The kids, being the adventurous eaters they aren't, were not remotely interested in any of this. In the end we didn't linger, but came home and made dinner, probably more quickly than it would have taken to wait in line and buy something to eat.

Although with it being so crowded it wasn't really our thing, that was just us being a bunch of no-funsters. It looked like everyone else was having a great time at what is clearly a much-anticipated and popular local event.

Your turn

I've been fairly busy all day - a meeting in the morning, driving around making deliveries to various places, that sort of thing. But with no amusing anecdotes or instances of cross-cultural confusion or anything like that to share, I can't seem to eke out an interesting blog entry.

So - over to you. What have you been up to today?

Live cricket report

This morning's Five Rivers lesson was fun and went well. One topic we are asked to focus on is "the three needs" for survival: water, food and shelter. Today's kids had no trouble focusing on at least one of these needs - I swear they were talking about lunch from the moment they got off the bus until they actually got to sit down and eat it two hours later.

It being Thursday, I had more teaching lined up in the afternoon as I met with my sewing class. A lot of them are studying India in school at the moment, so I thought we'd go with that theme. This was quite a fiddly project, but they managed well. It helped that we used wired ribbon for the saris so that they'd stay in place easily.

I was tickled today by a story another instructor shared about a class she took out at 5R the other day. They found a cricket, and one child was very excited. "Is it real? A real, live cricket? A non-fiction cricket?!"

You betcha!

Air show

This morning I had another Five Rivers teaching assignment - a two hour Animal Signs class - and waking up to a chilly, drizzly day, I wasn't really looking forward to it.

Of course it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable lessons I've led. The third graders in the group were enthusiastic and didn't complain at all about being cold, damp or hungry, and we saw some really cool stuff together: geese, a deer, a chipmunk, vole holes - and an amazing aeronautical display by some swallows.

The birds were catching insects over one of the ponds, so intent upon the task that they were totally oblivious to us - even though the kids were all clapping and cheering them. They flew so close over our heads that we could feel their wings flapping. Awesome! We could have stood watching them all day.

I'm due to teach the same lesson tomorrow, except it won't be the same lesson: younger students (first graders), different conditions, different signs and animals to spot. The complete unpredictablity makes these nature classes a challenge - but it's also why they're so much fun.

Blue and Yellow makes...?

It has been a fresh, bright sort of day. This morning I took a large group of kindergartners exploring at Five Rivers. Towards the end of our hour and half together most of the kids were getting hungry (they hadn't had a snack) and it was hard to focus their attention on nature and away from thoughts of lunch. But just as I was losing heart and thinking the lesson wasn't a success, one small girl sidled up to me and told me it was the best field trip she'd ever been on. Being only six she may not have had very many others to compare it with, but still that made me feel a bit better.

It has turned into quite a momentous day in British politics, hasn't it? I'd love to think a coalition government will work, but I'm a little doubtful. Anything's worth a shot though - it'll be an interesting experiment... How do you feel about being guinea-pigs?

A propos of nothing, the Boy has a joke to share with you:

Angry neighbour: I'll teach you to throw stones at my greenhouse!
Naughty kid: I already know how.

Owls of laughter

Well, I've had quite a sociable day of it, one way and another.

In the morning my favourite toddler, E5N1, came round to play. We built a wooden train track, which I haven't been asked to do for a very long time, so that was fun. Then there was the chance for a quick catch-up with Exile #2 when she came to collect him, and that was good too.

After lunch another friend and I met up with one of our local elected officials for some fair trade conversation, which was enjoyable and also worthwhile I think. On the way home from that meeting I dropped in on yet another friend and spent a few minutes laughing with her and assessing the joys of karaoke, which set me up for the rest of my walk home.

And this evening, as promised, I was out discussing Fall Festival plans - it was great to meet up with the old team (plus at least one new face) and start batting about ideas for the activities we'll run. Toilet roll owls, anyone?

Next fest

The Boy was whisked away by his buddy's family this afternoon, but we had one of the Girl's friends over to keep up our own quota of kids. We took them out to play mini-golf.

Luckily, given how cold and windy it was today, we chose the golf place which also has an indoor glow-in-the-dark course. So the two girls got busy going round that (Tiger was there to give them some advice), while the Man braved the outdoors and the driving range.

Meanwhile I sat inside with my little notebook and started jotting down ideas for the next Five Rivers Fall Festival. Yes, it's only May, but our first planning meeting is tomorrow night. And anyway, it doesn't do not to have a festival to think about.

I hope bookfest friends in Linton had a wonderful weekend - I can't wait to hear all about it.

WFTD

We've had strange weather all day. Pouring rain one minute, then cloudless blue skies, followed by violent hail, then fierce winds. We didn't have snow, but just about everything else.

I spent some hours at a table in Ten Thousand Villages (fair trade craft shop) this afternoon, where the rain was very good for business. Supposedly I was talking to shoppers about Fair Trade Towns, but as there was a group of drummers performing in the store at the same time I was mostly just smiling and nodding at people. But it was all good fun, and a happy way to celebrate World Fair Trade Day 2010.

Changing tack, some sewing project fans have been wondering what my class has been up to recently. This was the latest creation:

Oh, to be in Linton...

Last year for my birthday my brother gave me a book called Sum by David Eagleman. It only recently rose to the top of my "to read" pile. It's a great little book - forty short essays imagining a range of possible afterlives. Really they are all musings on modern life and preoccupations - very well written, amusing and thought-provoking.

Anyway, one of the afterlife scenarios involves being able to sit in front of a bank of TV monitors and watch the world continuing. You naturally focus on those projects you were once involved in during your lifetime, and see how they progress without you...

Just now I'm kind of doing exactly this - from my "other" life, rather than my afterlife - following the events of Linton Children's Bookfest, ever dear to my heart, via the website, and Facebook and Flickr. It's all looking wonderful so far (the garden storytimes! the incredibly cool Art Bus!) and there's so much more excitement to come. I am full of wistful longing to be there, also total admiration for the team that has put this thing together - and for one remarkable woman in particular. Lintonites, how lucky you are!

Late late show

The Girl has been on a long-haul field trip with school today - all the way to Boston and back in a day, with fun on an Aquaducks tour and at the New England Aquarium while she was there. Sounds like it was all great. She got home in time to be late for bed.

It'll be an even later night for the Man, as he stays up watching the UK election results care of the BBC online. Election night - especially when it's an unpredictable election like this - is his favourite sort of TV, more exciting than a major sporting fixture. I'd like to see it through too, but don't think I'll stay the course. As I write I don't know what you'll all be waking up to over there. Let me know what you make of the outcome...

Swing to the left

It has been a fine and beautiful day, and I walked to the library for no particular reason except to enjoy the weather and the predictably empty sidewalks.

This evening I gave a short presentation to a local group, mainly retired businessmen, which went ok I think. And that should be the end of my public speaking engagements for the time being.

I guess there'll be a few people in Britain stepping back from public engagements as of tomorrow - perhaps not as willingly as I am. Unable to vote in elections here, we're fortunate to have proxy voters (they know who they are - thank you!) standing by so we can at least cast our ballot over there. UK readers, make sure you vote! Of course it's not for me to tell you how, and you must decide for yourself if you're going to be influenced by the title-writing Man's attempt at subliminal messaging.

Love it or hate it?

We had quite a storm today. It didn't last very long, but it was vicious and featured the full works - wind, rain, hail, lightning. There have been power outages around the place, and the top half of a tree in our neighbour's yard is now leaning at a dangerous angle. Meanwhile the Man, at work, reported watching the sky turn purple before a mighty wind visibly rolled in across the car park. You have to hand it to the weather here, there's always something happening.

While the worst of it was going on I was safely inside Hannafords supermarket, feeling rather pleased with life as I'd managed to track down some nice looking mango chutney. There's still a town-wide absence of Marmite though, sad to say.

School quilt

With one thing and another, I was too busy to attend the school's fundraising auction which took place yesterday. However, my quilt went along and got itself raffled off. I don't think it raised as much as last year's, but apparently it has a very appreciative new owner - another quilter - so that's a happy outcome.

Chocolate Sunday

So, our fair trade chocolate event is over. It went well. There was quite a good turnout, especially considering what a wiltingly hot day we had.

A glowering sky at set-up time meant we ended up inside. Although the threatened storm never actually broke, it wasn't such a bad choice to be indoors as it was quite a bit cooler there - I think the stall-holders would have expired if we'd put them outside for the whole afternoon. We did park our Ben & Jerry's ice-cream server out there, though, and he did a brisk trade in free scoops of that company's fair trade finest.

We had free chocolate to give away, but we made visitors earn it by answering a few simple questions and taking part in activities - designing a chocolate wrapper, learning about Ghanaian culture (Ghana's a major cocoa-producing country) and various other types of hands-on fun. Kids from the local middle school were in charge of most of these activities, and they did a great job.

It took a lot of preparation, and a certain amount of worry, but ultimately I enjoyed it. And I am quite glad it's done with now.

Driving to distraction

It has been crazily hot today, in the high 80sF. It may be just as hot for tomorrow's event, so we'll have to keep the chocolate on ice. And there are still threats of showers, and possibly thunderstorms with gusty winds - not what I want at all. Still, there's not much I can do about it.

While I've fretted, the Man has been in training for his midlife crisis.