The Leaves of Brown Come Tumbling Down.....

Well, it's only been six months since my last post. Summer came and went far too quickly. The season here in Lewes is marked by increased traffic, full restaurants, and many visitors to the Little House in Pawpaw's Forest. The traffic and the full restaurants we could do without, but we love to have visitors. Our guest room was always booked and housekeeping was always kept busy getting it ready for the next guests.

The boat was a great escape from the blistering heat this summer. we would often go out and anchor in the bay, jump on the Pirate Couch, and just hangout with our feet in the water and a Manhattan or Bloody Mary in hand.

The Pirate Couch for the uninitiated is this Towable that we pull behind the boat. The Benjamonkey coined the name last year and it stuck.

Late summer saw me getting ready for the Osher class I taught this fall. It was a 5 session course that required me to put together about 7 hours of lecture. It was entitled "The Civil War Through the Eyes of One Family," and it was based on 4 letters that my 3Xgreat uncle wrote to his parents and brother. I can't tell you the amount of time it took to prepare, but it was hours and hours. I ended up with 50 pages of lecture and 212 Powerpoint slides. The course was well attended with an average of 33 students each week,  and it seemed to be well received by those who kept coming back. In a moment of insanity, I offered to reprise it in the spring at both Osher campuses here in Lower Slower Delaware. At least I won't have to prepare it from scratch!

This was my title slide that I used to open each session. It was accompanied by Ashokan Farewell, the song that Ken Burns used as a theme for his "Civil War" documentary.

Tomorrow, Jill and I will be presenting at one of the Lewes Historical Society's "Lunch and Learns."
Our topic is Three Loves of Lewes. I will be talking about a love triangle, murder, and attempted murder that took place back in 1799 for our first Love Story. The second will be the failed romance of Betsy Patterson and Jerome Bonaparte in 1804. Jill will then take over and talk about her first novel, Bay Avenue, and why Lewes is the perfect setting for romance. We are really excited about doing this, but having it come right on the heals of the Osher class was just a bit nerve wracking.  I think we have pulled it off and by this time tomorrow it will be all over but the shouting.

 

And this brings us to Fall. The leaves are starting to collect in Pawpaw's Forest, the Pine needles are collecting on the roof, and the temps are only getting into the high 60s. Thoughts of pulling the boat for the season are creeping their way to the forefront of our minds and conversations. 

The guests are slowing down, and trips up to babysit the Benjamonkey and Even Evan are on the calendar, and that's okay with me......

Flights of Fancy

Flights of Fancy

Well another year has passed by since my last blog entry. The Road to Hell is now a multi-laned expressway. How do these things happen? I really intended to make regular entries in this blog. Since my last entry, last May, so much has happened in our lives. We still love living here in Slower Lower Delaware. Retirement is still the best gig ever. As you can see from the above pictures, the birds still come to the feeders in Pawpaw's Forest.
Last summer flew by in a succession of days on the boat or days on the beach. We are so blessed to have the option of how we will spend our days. Most of the time we would just go out on the bay, drop the anchor and read, fish, or have a cocktail. Those times give credence to one of my favorite quotes from Wind in the Willows - "It's the only thing," said the Water Rat Solemnly, as he leaned forward for his stroke. "Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” - by Kenneth Grahame
The Water Rat speaks the truth here. We love just being on the water.

The Fall found us involved in The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, a branch of the University of Delaware. For $225 we can sign up for a number of courses dealing with everything from Basketweaving to Mahjong ....... So far we have taken courses on Art Theft and Forgery, Delaware in the 20th Century, Birding, Chili Sampling, Philosophy, Chorus, and The Weather. I will be teaching an Osher course this fall on "The Civil War Through the Eyes of One Family." Using my genealogical research on my ancestors, documents and letters they wrote, and a lot of research on the Civil War, I will look at how members of my 3XGreat grandfather participated and were affected by the battles in which they were involved. Primarily I will be looking at The Battle of Balls Bluff, McClellan's Peninsula Campaign, and The Battle of Fredricksburg. I am really excited and looking forward to it.

Osher is also responsible for my new found hobby of Birding. The Birding course I took in the Fall and the new camera I got for my birthday, got me fired up about our feathered friends. Since October, I have taken thousands of pictures of birds. Most of them are posted on my Facebook page in a couple different albums Bill Hicks. every morning I sit and have my coffee looking out into the 150 acres of woods that abuts our property and take pictures of the birds, and squirrels, that come into my feeders. The pictures above are from this morning and are pretty representative of a typical day.

This winter found me Volunteering with the Lewes Historical Society and becoming one of their Interpreters of Living History. My "character"is Gilbert McCracken, a Delaware Bay and River Pilot of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was born in 1766 and died in 1839. He fought in the war of 1812, participated in the Defense of Lewes during the Bombardment of April 6th and 7th, 1813, and was injured when a cannon exploded as he as loading it. He and his son Henry, also a Pilot, made the first attempt, in 1805, at recovering the treasure from the HMS DeBraak, which sank off of Cape Henlopen in 1799.

                       Here I am dressed in my 18th Century garb as Gilbert McCracken

We took our annual Florida Trip the first two weeks of January, and took our bikes. We logged 58 bike miles on the trip, much of it in Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge and Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. It was a great chance for us to catch up with family and friends and enjoy a little warm weather while we were at it!

Also this winter saw the arrival of Evan Gideon Copeland, our second grandson, on February 11th. He was such a little peanut at 6lbs 8 oz, compared to Benjamonkey's 8lbs 6 oz. They are both growing so fast I can't stand it.

That brings us to Spring. The garden is in, the birds are migrating back, the boat is in the water and the promise of Summer is just around the corner. The political campaigns are beginning to really heat up now and settle in to the two probable candidates, Hillary Clinton for the Democrats and Donald Trump for the Republicans. I have followed the debates, and Town Hall meetings since the beginning and look forward to these two meeting head to head. I will reserve any comment for a future blog.
Again, like I said last year, I will really try to be a better blogger and post something more often. My intentions are good, but as we know..... the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

In the meantime, I'll enjoy my birds, boat and babies ... and I am more than okay with that.

Out of the Night, When the Full Moon is Bright

After setting up feeders and waiting for days for the birds to discover a new place to dine, we finally had success. The Hummingbird feeder was humming, the Finch feeder was serving 5 star Nyger Thistle seed, and the regular feeders were drawing a varied list of clientele, from Bluejays to Indigo Buntings to Tufted Titmice... (or is it Titmouses?????)  Sitting at the table in the sunroom every morning was a joy as we watched our avian friends chow down. Then tragedy struck.
One morning I discovered the Hummingbird feeder lying on the ground. Thinking it may have blown down, I hung it back in the tree, but wired it to prevent a repeat of the previous night's calamity. The next morning the feeder was twisted upside down, still wired to the tree but empty. Not ones to be deterred, we moved the feeder to a crook and put a baffle on the pole. Again the next morning the feeder was drained dry. We decided to set up a game camera to see exactly what was draining our feeder.
Having a bit of fun, since I needed to get the cam set, I told Jill we had caught the perp.

  

Needless to say, she had more fun posting this on her Facebook page. 

That night we did catch the perp, as the first photo at the top of the page shows. Now, to devise a plan to foil his nightly raids. We suspended the feeder on a 10 foot wire from a branch high in the tree where we previously had hung the feeder. It was about 6 feet off the ground and 5 feet out from the trunk. Far enough to discourage any jumpers. It worked. This morning when I came out the feeder was full, and the "Hummy Cam" took no photos. But.....

Lying about 20 feet into the woods was one of our regular seed feeders. Pulled down from its crook stand and discarded like a schoolboy's lunch pail on the playground. 

Obviously we were the victims of Raccoon Revenge. So tonight, I will point the 'Hummy Cam" in a different direction to catch the villain that comes like a thief in the night. Not that I can do much about it, but more for the thrill of the chase........ and I am okay with that.

I'll See You in the Forest

I’ll see you in the forest
And I’ll meet you in the forest
Come to the forest with me
Where things are always happening
There’s plenty of things to see
So don’t go far away
Come back, come back every day
Back into the forest with me

If you are of a certain age, then you should have immediately recognized the lyrics above. If you are slightly younger, you probably said to yourself, "Eeeewwwwww, these are just a bit creepy."
They are the lyrics to the theme song of, a children's show from the 60s, "Pixanne." Broadcast weekday mornings on channel 10, WCAU here in the Philadelphia are, it was not a mainstay at our house when I wa growing up. We were a WFIL, Wee Willie Webber household, on Channel 6.
Nevertheless, this song comes to mind every morning as I sit down with my breakfast, of a cup of coffee and a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich.

The above view is my PBJ panorama and is filled with a cast of characters that Pixanne could never match. There are usually no less than 4 squirrels plundering and pillaging the bird feeder. A half dozen Goldfinches work out their rotations on the finch feeder. A Ruby Throated Hummingbird flits around his bottle of nectar. These regulars are joined by Black Capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice (Titmouses?????), a pair of Northern Cardinals, Sparrows, a raucous Blue Jay, Downey Woodpeckers, and an elusive Pileated Woodpecker. 

A few weeks ago we put out our feeders and were disappointed for several days when they remained untouched. Then the squirrels discovered a never ending food source. Climbing poles, leaping from trees, and providing us with plenty of laughs at their antics.  Finally the birds started to discover the feeders and began to come in. The Titmice were first, followed by the Sparrows, then the rest of the cast assembled.  With camera at the ready we can usually get some pictures of all of our breakfast buddies.

  All except for the Pileated. His laughing call followed by his drumming on a convenient dead tree announces his arrival. I grab the camera and try to get a picture of him. He usually chooses the back side of trees and occasionally pokes his head around the trunk just long enough for me to see him but not photograph him. I think he mocks me. 

Our latest mystery is finding out what is draining our hummingbird feeder overnight. Every morning we come out and it is empty. A couple of times it was on the ground. Another time it was twisted up into the tree it was hanging from. Yesterday we put it on a pole with a squirrel baffle on it, but once again, it was empty this morning.  I've ordered a game camera that I will set up and try and get some pictures of the perpetrator. Stay tuned.... film at 11. 

In the meantime, I'll watch the crazy squirrels plunder and pillage, the Blue Jay try to take over, the Goldfinches systematically take turns, and I will continue to stalk the elusive Woody the Woodpecker. It's a great way to spend the morning.... and I am more than okay with that.

I Want to Ride My Bicycle

Retiring to Lewes has opened up a slew of opportunities that we didn't have when we lived in The Mushroom Capital of the World. One of them is the ability to ride a bike  for miles and not encounter a hill. Those of you that follow me on Facebook will see my almost daily Endomondo posts of our bike rides. 3 miles is our minimum distance that we have to ride. We call it "Doing Bay Avenue."

Starting at the beach house we ride Cedar Street to its end at Roosevelt Inlet. Then turning around we ride back Bay Avenue, since it is one way going east. 3 miles. 210 calories. Boom.

When going on a longer ride we almost always "do Bay Avenue" first, then head off to where ever we are headed for the day. Today for example, after Bay Ave. We headed up and over the Drawbridge, down Pilottown Road to where it ends at Roosevelt Inlet. Pilottown parallels Cedar on the other side of the canal. From there we go out through the new park, past the wind turbine on UD's campus, then we head into town.

Since today's loop was about 9 miles and we were in town, we decided to Reward ourselves with a late lunch and a margarita at Agave, which is one of the many restaurants in Lewes. Agave at dinnertime is usually packed out with an hour and a half to two hour wait. Going in for a late lunch or very early dinner around 2 or 3 will usually get you a table without any wait. That was our fortune today.
We were seated right away. We both ordered one of their signature Margaritas and then got serious about lunch. The Wise and Wonderful Jillo ordered Chicken Enchiladas and I had Fish Tacos.  Both were excellent and we had great service.  After lunch we had a mile to go to get back to the beach house. Throwing our bikes on the rack we headed for home.

On Gordon's Pond Trail

On other days we will do the 18 mile Lewes to Rehoboth Loop utilizing both the Gordon's Pond Trail and the Junction and Breakwater Trail. This is another great ride that is nice and flat. The nearly 20 miles takes very little toll on our old retired bodies. The Jill and Bill Biking Rewards Plan allows for lunch at The Greene Turtle whenever we make the trek into Rehoboth.

The Junction Breakwater Trail

I am tempted to ride from home to the beach house a distance of only 8 miles. The problem with this ride is we have a couple of miles of back roads with no shoulders, a gazillion construction sites, and crossing Route 1 to get to the beach side. Maybe someday. But for now, it's easy to throw the bikes on the car and drive over there.... and probably safer too.... and I am okay with that.

The Boardwalk in Rehoboth

Today's lunch at Agave. Fish Tacos and Chicken Enchiladas

Whose Woods These Are?

In the 8 months that have passed since I last posted (the highway to hell is now several lanes wide) our lives have changed dramatically. Jessie and Garrett decided to put the Benjamonkey into daycare for the 2014-2015 school year. While we would surely miss him it was really a good move for many reasons. One of them being it allowed us to stay at the beach for the fall. The school year started and we changed our location to Lewes. We choose to stay in the little back house and decided to have new flooring put into the dining room and bedroom. We also decided to paint the walls, since they were paneled  back in the 70s and untouched since then.

The first of our many trips to Lowe's found us sorting through hundreds of paint chips, while Jill agonized over the correct shade of yellow or blue that would go into each room. Let me say here, that I hate to paint. Always have. Always will. So I am not an agonizer. I can be happy with white walls.
Needless to say we found the right colors, plunged into the task and realized that 40 year old paneling is as thirsty as a man lost in the desert. The second lesson we learned was to use a good primer.

As September and October passed, we painted and floored and fished our way through the fall. Then, as we approached November we realized that we really didn't want to go home. So we contacted a realtor and began our search for a house close to the beach that could become our retirement home. Since we share the beach house with my sisters moving there was not a possibility. We found that the further you were from the beach the less expensive the houses were. We also learned that if you were east of Route 1, the main highway here in Lower Slower Delaware, houses were $200,000 more expensive than for a comparable house west of the highway. We settled on west of the highway.

Thanksgiving weekend found us traveling to Lewes, meeting with a realtor and looking at 10 houses on that Friday. The list was narrowed to two houses, that coincidentally had the same floor plan. One had a sunroom and a deck. The other had hardwood floors and granite counters in the kitchen. Decisions, decisions. We had dinner at the Rose and Crown in Lewes and mulled over our options.

Saturday morning found us going back to look at our choices in a different light. After a slight detour from the plan, (we almost built in a new construction development) we chose the house with the sunroom, deck, and 150 acres of woods behind it. And after living here for 3 months, we have no regrets.

So whose woods these are? I think I know. I looked it up on the Sussex County Tax maps, and the 150 acres are divided between two large parcels. We have seen deer, foxes, wild turkeys, squirrels, and birds. My quest is to get a picture of the Pileated Woodpecker that frequents these woods, but is quite elusive. So while we are living near the beach, it is just 7 miles away, we love our little house in the big woods. Oh yeah, and I own the first 50 feet into them .... And I am okay with that.

Who Knows Where the Time Goes

     It is July 1st and a steamy 85 degrees at 9:54 PM....... my last entry was on New Year's Eve....... Where have the last seven months gone? When I started this blog it was my good intention to post every week, but it looks like I paved the road to Hell instead. Nevertheless, I am posting again and ready to catch you up on the past seven months.

     January found us traveling to Florida and South Carolina.  We left January 2nd believing that traffic would be a little lighter. Boy, did we get that wrong. Interstate 95 was bumper to bumper with a bumper crop of crazies. It took us until the second rest area to figure out what was happening. As we walked to the restrooms we looked around and Jill commented that we were the youngest people there. Yep.... we were caught smack dab in the middle of the Snowbird migration. Bald heads and blue hair in Winnebagos and Mercury Marquis. We stopped at Pedro's, because he told us to, and made it to Santee, SC the first night.
     The next evening found us rolling into Boca Raton, Florida where our good friends Harry and Carol have a home. The next three days were good.  Good times with good friends. A visit to Gumbo Limbo Nature Preserve is a must if you are ever in Boca.

     Out next Port of Call was Fort Myers Beach and the condo of more good friends, Gary and Nancy. Nancy made a wonderful dinner the first night, and we stayed up way too late drinking wine and laughing, reminiscing over the last 40 years of our friendship. Walks along the canal and restaurants figured largely in this portion of our itinerary.

     Third stop was Clearwater Beach and Jill's sister Judy's home. We only spent one night in Clearwater but we had a marvelous time with Judy and her husband Jack. Dinner at the Brown Boxer on the beach was memorable. Breakfast the next morning at the diner across the street was just as good. We left knowing that we don't see Judy and Jack enough.
    
      The fourth Florida waypoint was the town of Wachula in the center of the state. My cousin and her husband spend the winter here. Our two days with them went by way to quickly. The highlight of our visit was a trip to the Jacaranda Hotel in nearby Avon Park. A relic from the Roaring Twenties this grand dame of hospitality seemed out of place in the tiny Florida town. Built by citrus magnets before the Stock Market Crash, it never really reached it's intended glory. The ensuing decades saw it used as military housing, a retirement home, and now it is owned by the University of Central Florida and used for dorms and a training ground for their Hotel and Hospitality majors. They offer a buffet for $10.00 per person and it was great! No wine or liquor can be served, but the meal was a bargain.

     From Wachula we headed to Charleston, SC for my nephew's wedding and some extended sightseeing time.  We hit Ft. Sumter, the USS Yorktown, a couple of plantations, the Confederate submarine the CSS Hunley, The Battery, The Calhoun Mansion and some great restaurant meals.  A side trip to Savannah was just okay. I think if we had gone to Savannah first, we would have been more impressed by the city. As it was, Charleston far outshone its neighbor to the south. The wedding was as fun and crazy as a Farrell wedding could be, and Seth and his bride Ashley were both just beaming.

    We returned to Kennett Square to 7 degrees and snow and longed to head back to the sunny south once again. I'll deal with February and our trip to Cape May in my next post. Until then, I will sit on the deck tonight and enjoy this summery weather for I all to well remember how brutal the past winter was. 85 degrees? I'll take it, and I am okay with that.

Happy New Year

      As 2013 comes to a close and we are just hours away from rolling into 2014, I find that a little introspection is cathartic and good for the soul. Yep....... 2013 was a year. Now that I have the introspection out of the way I can write what I want......

      2013 was truly a banner year for us. We started out the year finding out that Jessie and Garrett were expecting a baby. What exciting news it was, since he is our first grandchild. In January, I also decided that I would retire at the end of the school year. With that decision made, the rest of the year flew by. So many times. I would think, "This is the last time I will......." and while I wasn't sad about it, it certainly made me recognize that the end of a season in my life was coming fast upon me.

     As we moved through the Spring, I would constantly badger Jill that she should retire with me. My line was "C'mon Jill, grow old along with me." It took until Memorial Day for her to make the decision to jump off of the employment train, but I am so glad she did. The past six months have been truly wonderful as we have played hard and not driven each other crazy.

     June saw the end of my teaching career and a trip of a life time. We left on June 14th for a one month tour of the National Parks in the west. Up to this time I had only been west of the Mississippi twice. Once 40 years ago when I flew to Hawaii, and again in the late 90s when the girls and I were in Memphis. We crossed over the Mississippi into Arkansas, drove up to the next bridge and drove back into Tennessee, just to say that we had been in Arkansas.

    Driving across the country to Breckenridge, CO in 3 days was a push, but we needed to get out there. Once there, we slowed down and visited:
  Moab Utah, and Arches National Park.
  Mancos, CO and Mesa Verde National Park
  Four Corners
  The Painted Desert
  The Petrified Forest
  Route 66 in Holbrook, AZ
  The South Rim of the Grand Canyon
  The North Rim of the Grand Canyon
   Zion National Park
  Bryce Canyon National Park
  Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake
  Yellowstone National Park
  Cody, WY
  Little Bighorn National Battlefield
  Colstrip, MT
  Trails End Mansion, Sheridan, WY
  Devils Tower, WY
  Mount Rushmore, SD
  Custer State Park, Custer SD
  Wind Cave National Park, Custer, SD
  The Lincoln Home, Springfield, IL
  4 days driving home.
We traveled with Jill's sister and her husband, whom we vacation with frequently, and the four of us had a truly phenomenal time. To be gone that long traveling with another couple and still be friends says a lot about how great the Nivens are!  We got home on July 12 and left for five weeks at the beach on July 13th.

     While we were away Jill released her second novel, Will Power II: The Courtship.
On August 18th we celebrated 35 years of marriage AND the birth of Benjamin Randall Copeland.  We cut our beach trip short and came home to welcome Benji.

     August saw some not so happy events as well. On August, 4th, we went to Irish Eyes Restaurant in Lewes, with Jane and Mike,  with  after eating a half dozen really tasty raw oysters and a really delicious soft shell crab, I went into anaphylaxis and left the restaurant in an ambulance. They determined it was a shellfish allergy, and my days of clams, crabs, oysters, shrimp, scallops, and lobster are now behind me........ sigh.......

    On August 17th, Jill's mom broke her leg. After a stay in Chester County Hospital, and Bryn Mawr Rehab, she came home, and Jill and I moved in with her until she was on her feet again. Literally on her feet.  We found ourselves keeping the roads between Unionville and West Chester hot as we cooked dinners and helped Jessie and Garrett out with a newborn at home, and stayed with Mom as she convalesced.

    October came along and Jill found out she had food allergy issues that we are still dealing with.
October also found us reclaiming the yard from landscaping that had gotten out of control. 1000 pounds of brush, weeds, branches, and bushes were taken to the dump, and we were able to claim a partial victory! Spring will see us cleaning up and starting over as far as replacing plantings go.

     November and December were a blur as we moved in a blink from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Jill released her third novel, The Long Climb Back and had a book signing the 22nd of December in Rehoboth. This third book, while not a part of her Will Power series, is her best story to date.

     We got home and Christmas was upon us. It was a warm happy Christmas season that was spent with family.

    That brings us to tonight, New Year's Eve. Jill had another allergic reaction to something, so we spent 4 hours in the ER, and another hour in the pharmacy. So it has been quite the exciting time all the way around.

     I have enjoyed this year and retirement immensely. I tell everyone that asks that it is the best gig ever. I highly recommend it to all. I also realize that having Jill by my side in this adventure helps make it so exciting, and I am so happy she decided to retire as well.

     We are starting 2014 by driving to Florida to visit friends for a couple of weeks and attend the wedding of my nephew in Charleston, SC.  I am looking forward to the warm weather and the fellowship of good friends and family.
I wish you all a  happy, healthy and blessed,  2014, I pray that it will be as exciting as this year was for us.

So there is my 2013 in review. It really was a very good year, and I am okay with that.

Stopping by Traffic on a Snowy Day

Stopping by Traffic on a Snowy Day

(with apologies to Robert Frost) 

Whose cars these are, I have no clue

I could have stopped right next to you.

You would not see me stopping though

As the road filled up with snow.

The crazies drove without a thought,

Of possible mayhem they could have wrought.

While speeding on their icy way

This slippery cold December day.

I gave the horn a little toot

To let them know their speed's not cute.

They did not pause, they did not linger

So I waved goodby with my middle finger.

The snow was lovely, but there's a rub

I've joined the Snow-stopped Traffic Club,
With miles to go to to my hot tub

    With miles to go to my hot hot tub
 

          We drove up from the beach on Sunday with Jill's sister Jane and her husband Mike. What should have taken us an hour and forty-five minutes turned into a four hour ride.  It was a fitting ending to a weekend of unfortunate events.  Between the snow that quickly covered the highway, the crazy drivers who drove with wild abandon, and the overly cautious drivers that were barely driving, we were constantly entertained on this long ride home. The only good thing was Mike was driving, and I was not.

         A few weeks ago as we were closing up the beach houses for the winter, Jill and I saw an advertisement for the Lewes Christmas House Tour sponsored by The Lewes Historical Society.  We thought that it would be a lot of fun to come down and see some of the fine old houses of Lewes all decorated to the teeth. It would be a great way to fill us with Christmas Spirit and Holiday joy. We asked Jane and Mike, our constant traveling companions, if they wanted to go, and they said they were in. We made reservations at the Rehoboth Boardwalk Plaza, bought tickets for the tour, and let the anticipation build.

         We left early Saturday morning and decided to just take one car. Mike volunteered to be chauffeur.  With coffees in hand we made it from Unionville to the beach in what seemed like record time. Since the tour didn't start until 10:00, I asked Mike to stop by the houses so I could check to see if the plumber had gotten the water turned off and the pipes winterized. He was supposed to have taken care of it on November 11th.  We pulled up to the house, and all looked well. I unlocked the front door and saw that the check I had left for the plumber was still on the table. Moving quickly to the kitchen, I turned on the faucet and water came out. This was not good.  I immediately put in a call to the plumber and asked him to get back to me as soon as he got my message. With temps in the low 40s and a stiff breeze blowing, thoughts of frozen pipes danced through my head.

         Not being able to do any more, we left, me with a slight feeling of unease, to start our Christmas House Tour. Picking up the tickets, we found a parking spot and noticed long lines forming outside some of the houses on the tour.  People were bundled up against the cold wind that was sweeping down the street. We hustled over to the Historical Society's complex at Shipcarpenter Square and thought that we would start out tours in their collection of historical buildings and homes, which were all open and staffed for the day. As we walked down the street, the plumber called and apologetically let me know he dropped the ball, but would take care of the houses that afternoon.

        We chose the Doctor's office first, and we were greeted by a very knowledgeable gentleman who told us more than we would ever want to know about amputations in the 18th century. Other than saws, scalpels, and other implements of destruction, there were no decorations in the doctor's office.  We braced ourselves against the cold and moved to the next building and, you guessed it. No decorations. Hmmmmmm........ is this a Christmas House Tour, or a house tour at Christmas?

         Our next stop was a few blocks away. The line wrapped around a relatively new home. As you approached the front porch, you had to put booties on over your shoes. As we approached the Booty Box, they ran out. The smiling docent told us our other option was to take our shoes off.  The home had some Christmas decorations, but it was not decorated in an Over the Top /In Your Face way that we were expecting. It was however an interior decorator's dream. With architectural accents and furnishings that screamed of form and function combining seamlessly. It was beautiful, artistic, but not real Christmasy. 

          
          With our shoes back on we bundled up and headed back into the cold. Long lines greeted us at every house. Some longer than others. Most of the houses were more than a few blocks apart so we did get a good amount of exercise in. They were close enough to walk to and not worth the effort of trying to find parking each time. By 11:45 we were ready to find some lunch and warmth. A Touch of Italy, on the corner of Savannah Road and 2nd Street became our haven from the cold.

         Lunch was very good. Jill and I shared a Caesar Salad, bowl of Escarole/Bean soup, and an Eggplant Tower. They were all delicious and none had any shellfish or cilantro. We asked. But.... there was parsley, which is in the cilantro family. Jill noticed that the roof of her mouth was a bit itchy. She could feel some swelling in her throat, so she popped a Benedryl, and that took care of things. We need to be more complete when asking about ingredients. 

         We finished the tour and found it to be consistent. High on interior decorations, light on Christmas. Stopping by the beach house to see if the plumber had stopped by, I saw that his check was gone, but the water was still on....... Oy. We headed for the hotel and had a great dinner, and stay. The evening ended without incident. 

       Sunday morning greeted us with some cloud cover and the promise of a dusting of

The view from our room at The Rehoboth Boardwalk Plaza

snow.  Could there be a better way to get us in the Christmas Spirit? We did Cracker Barrel for breakfast and watched the flakes begin to lightly fall. It was beautiful.  We left at 11 and headed for home. The snow began to worsen around Dover and we slowed to a crawl. Although, there were some crazies that felt they could travel at 40 mph and weave in and out of traffic. We passed no less than 3 BMWs that were just stuck in their lane spinning their wheels. Once made it to Limestone Road, traffic was almost at a stop. With some clever navigating we wound our way through neighborhoods and back roads avoiding the heavily traveled routes. 

         For those of you familiar with the Kennett Square area, Kaolin Road presented the greatest challenge with cars stuck coming both up and down the hills. This caused people to go around into the oncoming lane of traffic and then try to get back to the correct  side all while their wheels were spinning merrily and the back end of their cars were weaving from side to side. It was the stereotypical snowy windy back country road. 

      We finally pulled into our drive shortly after 3:00.  Mike was slightly frazzled after such a long and stressful drive, and still had to drive home another 12 miles to East Fallowfield along more snowy and windy back country roads, but he did a masterful job of piloting us safely home. We sent them off with grateful goodbyes, and I set out to put the plow on my tractor and remove the 7 inches of snow that were in the driveway.... and since I didn't have to drive through it, I was okay with that.

For those of you not familiar with Robert Frost's stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, here it is reprinted below.
        

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.   

His house is in the village though;   

He will not see me stopping here   

To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   

To stop without a farmhouse near   

Between the woods and frozen lake   

The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   

To ask if there is some mistake.   

The only other sound’s the sweep   

Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.   

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.    - By Robert Frost

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

     Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
My very favorite of all Advent songs. 

     Today was the first Sunday of Advent. For Christians this is the beginning of the ramp up to Christmas. As many of you may know my faith runs pretty deep. What you may not know, is that my theology, like my politics lies slightly left of center. I sort of lean to the Christian Left. Have no fear, this post is not a discourse on cardinal doctrine or a platform for my espousing my thoughts on whether we are pre-millennial, millennial, or post-millennial. It's about music.

     We currently go to Willowdale Chapel near Kennett Square. About a 1000 people attend the two services each Sunday. We have been attending since 2006 and really love the church. It is very contemporary in its worship music, sermon delivery, and hospitality. Which appeals to my worship style.  The dress code is casual, and jeans, or shorts in the summer,  are the norm. I don't know if I have ever seen the Senior Pastor in a tie.  Coming in the front door you are greeted warmly. A cafe with several different flavors of coffee lies just off the lobby, which is big and bright and airy, and the Worship Center is furnished with comfortable cloth covered chairs. It is just a warm, friendly, loving, non-judgmental come as you are church.

      I love Willowdale. I love the message, the music, and the people. If you are looking for a church, and are in Southern Chester County, I can't recommend it enough, and encourage you to stop by and check us out. If you are a little uncomfortable give me a call or shoot me an email, and I'll meet you at the door at either the 9 o'clock or the 11 o'clock service.

     All that being said, me, being me, I can get my knickers in a twist over stupid trivial things. It is who I am and something I need to get over. And really, they aren't all that twisted. Just a little. So the thing that poked me a little today was the fact that today WAS the first Sunday in Advent, and we didn't sing one Advent song. I love contemporary Christian music equally as much as the venerable old hymns.  The Praise Band is a group of people who are worshippers that happen to be top notch musicians. They strive for excellence while serving as a conduit for worship to flow between the congregation and God. And they are really, really good. Always.

     Today they did 5 songs, "Let the Praises Ring," "Loves Come Down," "To the Cross," that old classic, "Great is Thy Faithfulness," and 'My Hope is You." All of them are great worship songs. All of them were nailed by the band. The first and the last really rocked. BUT none of them are advent songs.

      Maybe because I was brought up in the Episcopal Church, and there was a certain amount of ritual and ceremony, especially when the big holidays were coming up, I have certain expectations.  Jill and I attended a Methodist Church for awhile since she was brought up Methodist. Later, when we moved back to PA, we became Presbyterians. Then, after 16 years at Kennett Pres, we came to Willowdale. As my faith evolved I found I really enjoyed contemporary worship, not to the exclusion of more traditional styles, but it is my preference. Except for when it comes to Christmas and Easter. Then, I am a "dyed in the wool" traditionalist. Why? I don't know. I just know that I want the traditional stuff twice a year.

     So today, this beginning of the church's period of expectation, I was expecting at least one song that spoke of that expectation, traditionalist that I am at this time of year, and I didn't get it.  No "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, " no "Immanuel, " no "Comfort, Comfort You My People," nor my favorite, "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus." (It is the link at the top of the page if you want to listen to it.) Did it detract from my worship experience?  No, worship was great today, as usual.  Did I get all lathered up about it and fire off an angry email to the Worship Leader? No, although I let myself have a bit of a rant here.  Did my boxers get in a bit of a bunch? Well......... maybe..... but I am learning to get over this kind of stuff. I know they didn't do it just to annoy me. I know it's not about me ....... most of the time..... Will there be Advent or Christmas music next week?  I am pretty sure there will be. At least one song. I hope. ..... but it's not about me..... and if there isn't, the music they do have will be great, and  I can always listen to some traditional stuff at home..... and I am okay with that......


   

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

     Traditions are the things that make memories. Families are the things that make traditions.  Yesterday was Black Friday, and Jill and Jessie were up at 4, and out of the house by 4:30. They met up with Jill's sister Jane, Jane's daughters, Katie and Kelly, and Jane's daughter -in-law, Jamie. They were in the store's by 5:30  and shopped til they dropped, finishing up around noon. Much money was saved. Many bargains were obtained, and a good time was had by all. The non-shopping spouses all descended on Jane and Mike's house after the shoppers returned home for a lunch of Sloppy Joes.

        Once lunch was finished, each of the couples decorated a gingerbread house. Jane baked all the gingerbread and assembled the houses for us last week. Way too much candy was supplied, and the laughs were in good supply.  This is a long standing tradition that goes back to when our girls were little. We would always go to Jane and Mike's, and the kids would decorate gingerbread houses. As they grew up, Jane baked more houses and the adults got involved too.

     It is interesting to see how each house is decorated.  Jill and I do adjacent sides and are pretty much traditionalists. (See above picture)  My niece Kelly always puts on the most candy per square inch. Katie tends to go for the artistic. Last year she made a church with stained glass windows, achieved by melting gummy bears to get the translucent panels.

     Garrett did most of the work on his and Jessie's house since Jess's time was being preempted by Benji. So, since Garrett is a Kansas City Chiefs fan, his house had a KC flavor to it, complete with a snowman being punted though goal posts. Andy Reid featured largely in this artistic endeavor as well. 

     As we decorated, Christmas music was playing in the background.  As a "crowd favorite" Christmas carol or song came on the conversation stilled. As personal dislikes were played comments and laughter increased. Jill was lucky (?) enough to have two of her dislikes play back to back. All of us were scarred forever with the broadcast of that 1960s favorite "Dominic the Christmas Donkey." Jessie, poor girl, still has it stuck in her head today.
      Hey! Chingedy ching,
     (hee-haw, hee-haw)
     It's Dominick the donkey.
     Chingedy ching,
    (hee-haw, hee-haw)
    The Italian Christmas donkey.
    (la la la-la la-la la la la la)
    (la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)

    A dinner of  Pizza and salad finished out the day and we went home around 7:30 or so. The shoppers were tired. Benji was out of sync because his routine was altered. Dash was glad to see us since he spent a long time in his crate. Jess and Jill hauled in their spoils from a successful day of shopping, regaled us with their shopping prowess, and told us again how much they saved.

     To me this is what Christmas is all about. Those things that we do every year with family and friends. The laughter shared, the remembrances of "Gingerbread Houses of Christmases Past", comparisons of past shopping trips (it amazes me how they can remember in detail how much they saved and where they went in previous years.) and the more subdued dinner as tiredness sets in and begins to take it's toll.

     Today, we will begin to put up Christmas decorations and get ready for Christmas 2013, and while this is a new Christmas, and Benji's first, attached to it will be connections to Christmases all the way back to 1952, as we carry on the  traditions that in some cases started many years ago and those that have been added down through the years.

     As Benji celebrates his first Christmas and I celebrate my 62nd, I have to wonder what traditions he will keep for his children and what ones will he add? What will his favorite Christmas songs be? Who knows, maybe it will be "Dominic the Donkey, " since Jess has been singing it to him all day.
If it is, it will be okay because we will all remember it started on his first Christmas.... and I am okay with that......

Over the River and Through the Woods

    

   
      With Thanksgiving coming on Thursday, we will be going over the Brandywine and through the woods to Grandmother's house in East Bradford, to pick her up, and then go to Marshalton to have dinner with Jill's sister, Dr. Joan. So we aren't too far off from the song. Joan has hosted several times in the past few years and always has a wonderful meal prepared. This year there will be about 13 of us there.

     Back in the late 80s and into the 2000s we would host and typically have anywhere from 20 to 28 people for dinner. It involved 30 lb turkey, borrowed tables and chairs, lots of Manhattans, and the general mayhem that ensues whenever you get a big crowd together. Football on the TV, 20 people hanging out in the kitchen, a couple of dogs, and loads of laughs. As stressful as it was, I looked forward to those big dinners. I also looked forward to making a humongous batch of turkey soup the next day. I freeze it, and there is nothing like enjoying a steaming bowl of it on a snowy day in February.

     Growing up, Thanksgiving was never a really big event. It usually just involved our immediate family, my grandparents on my mother's side, and the occasional boyfriend of one of my sisters. I would get up and help my mother get the turkey ready. The smell of celery, sage and thyme, still takes me back to my earliest memories. Once in and roasting, it would fill the house with the heavenly aroma and promise of the feast to come.  On one particular Thanksgiving, We had just taken the turkey out of the oven when my sister's boyfriend drove up the driveway. She was still in a bathrobe and went flying through the kitchen. The robe caught the turkey and down it went. I think she and my mother wrestled it to the floor with both of them only saving a drumstick each. The turkey was scooped up, 5 second rule applied, and returned to it's platter, legless, but only a little worse for the wear.

     Once Jill and I started hosting our big family feasts, Jamie and Jessie followed in my footsteps, and would get up early and help make the stuffing and get that 30 pound turkey into the oven.  As we prepared it and watched the Parade, we would fill the kitchen, and the house, with the perfume of Sage, Thyme, and Turkey.  Once this task was complete, we would shift our focus to getting the house ready for the onslaught of family and friends. Guests would begin to arrive around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, the noise levels would rise to jet engine decibels, the Manhattans would flow liberally, and the combination of too many bodies, a roaster and the oven would raise the temperature in the house to 200 degrees. While it wasn't the Norman Rockwell version of Thanksgiving, it was a warm, wonderful gathering that I so enjoyed.

      The very first year we hosted, linen tableclothes, china, silverware, crystal were all the order of the day. Jill and I were still doing dishes and clean up at 11:00 that night long after the last guests had left. We made a decision then and there, that "Next year, everything is disposable." and it was. And no one minded that they were eating on paper plates (The expensive Chinet ones) or that their "glass" was plastic. We were freed up to enjoy our company and not spend the entire evening cleaning up.

    So here we are in 2013. We won't be home for Thanksgiving. We will be going over the river and through the woods. No extra tables or chairs needed here in Unionville. No 30 pound turkey in the oven waiting for it's big reveal. No crowds. No clean up. All of that will be over in Marshalton. But....
The smell of Sage, Thyme and Turkey will fill the house on Thanksgiving Day. It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it. Every year that we eat somewhere else, I put a turkey breast in the oven. It smells the same, it is easier to prepare, we have turkey for sandwiches and casseroles, and I can still make my Turkey Soup..... and I am more than okay with that.

The Little Things Mean A Lot

          
When I arrived at Greenwood Elementary back in 1990, I was introduced to an event that had been started by two teachers a few years before, Friday Night Live. This was an elementary school sleepover. While it was presented as a reading activity, it really was a cover for the best elementary school event EV.ER. We had two alternating themes; Read for the Gold, an Olympic theme we used in Olympic years; and Read in the USA. With both events, as the students read, their pages translated into miles, and they traveled around the world or the United States. It was a premier event that kids looked forward to for most of their elementary years.

     In 1990, there were 2 Fourth grade classes and 2 Fifth Grade classes in the school consisting of a little over 100 kids, and almost all of them would participate. As the years went by, the number of classes increased as did the number of kids. Around 1994 or 95, it became just a 5th grade event because we had 3 classes of each grade and close to 140 kids, with 4th graders getting their own Friday Alive.  The activities and timeline morphed and changed over the years as we streamlined the program, but the basic premises were always the same. Come back to school, read, play games, eat, and sleepover.

     A typical schedule was something like this:
  

     6:15 - 6:30          Register

     6:30 – 6:50         Opening Ceremonies

     6:50 - 7:25          Read 1

     7:30 - 7:55          Game 1

     8:00 - 8:25          Read 2

     8:30 - 8:55          KickBoxing

     


      9:00 - 9:25          SNACK 1

     9:30 – 9:55         Game 2

     10:00 - 10:25      Read 3

     10:30 - 10:55      Game 3

     11:00 - 11:10      SNACK 2

     11:15 - 12:00      Storyteller

     12:00 - 12:15      Ready for Bed

     12:30                  Pillow Fight

 

Saturday

     6:45AM - 7:00 AM  Wake Up & Pack up

     7:00 - 7:30          Breakfast

     7:30 - 8:00          Closing Ceremonies

With a schedule like this, who could not have fun?

     
     It takes about 50 volunteers to pull this thing off, and every year, there is a great group of parents that rise to the occasion.  During the off times, parents and staff get a chance to get to know each other a little better in a very informal setting. This does a lot in building a Parent/Teacher relationship.
It also takes a great deal of time and effort from the Fifth Grade Team. Having participated for 23 years, I know of this first hand. The planning begins in September and gets more involved as the weeks go by. My hat is off to the team as it is rare to find teachers willing to come back to school on a Friday and spend the night with 100+ 5th graders. 
     
    The biggest payback is the memories it creates for the kids that participate. 24 years later, I still have former students, now in their 20s and 30s, tell me how much fun Friday Night Live was. They may not remember I taught them long division and how to multiply and divide fractions (Just flip the divisor and multiply!) but they do remember FNL. 

     I am not sure when we added the pillow fight, but it has to be the most anticipated activity we do. It is also the scariest for the teachers. If someone is going to get hurt, this is when it will happen.  We try to monitor it as much as possible, and give them lots of ground rules, like no hitting above the neck or below the knees, but 100 kids with pillows is insane, and lots and lots of fun. 
     
      This year, I am only going to stop by for a visit.  As much as my team wanted me to be involved, and as much as I would like to be involved, I think it's best that I let them have their moment in the sun. There is a season for everything, and I into the next one.  But after 23 years, I do have to stop by....... and I am okay with that.