Wayne on VPR

Wayne was invited by Music-Comp and Vermont Public Radio to be October's Student Composer Showcase.  

 I picked Wayne up from school early today and we drove down to the studio in Colchester. Kari Anderson gave us a tour of the historic building, explaining that it was once the veterinary hospital of old Fort Ethan Allen.  She showed us where they would bring the horses in (now the front door) and take them out the back.   She showed us the mug wall, where all the fund drive mugs are on display along with the framed original artwork  that eventually becomes the mug. She showed us the newsroom studio where a live broadcast was taking place. She even showed us the kitchen area and invited us to make ourselves at home and make a cup of coffee or tea if we wanted to. VPR is a very friendly and laid back place.

Wayne let me take just a couple of photos before kicking me out of the studio, so you will hear the interview as soon as I do!  He was in there for about 1/2 hour, but I know they edit the interview down to 6 or 7 minutes. It will air sometime in early October. I'll keep you posted!

Happy Birthday Wayne!

Today is Wayne's 14th birthday. We celebrated yesterday, Labor Day, with Grammie, Joanie, and Wayne's friend Ben. We had hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill, corn on the cob, and Joanie's famous fruit salad.  Wayne asked me to make this raspberry cake roll as his birthday cake. It was a stifling hot and humid day so we went to the lake for a swim. While there, we briefly saw Peter and Katie who were just leaving as we arrived.  Then Cedric came by the camp for his own birthday swim, so we were able to wish him a Happy Birthday as well.

 I'm glad we had such a nice day to celebrate yesterday. Today will be very busy with school all day (Wayne is taking popsicles to school to share with his class) and a soccer game in the afternoon for Wayne, then soccer practice for Cole and Heather.We will be busy until well into the evening. We saved his gifts to open today, so we will find some time for that for sure!

Apples and Cider

It's a good year for apples. The trees are loaded.

Heather did a lot of climbing and eating.

 We filled this tub and then some.

 Heather was a great help washing the apples. We washed them in a very diluted bleach solution and then gave them a good rinse with plain water.

 Joanie gave me a beautiful cider press for my birthday last month. We've been looking forward to using it.

The first step is to smash up and grind up all the apples. Wayne's friend, Ben, was around to help out.

We had invited Joanie over to see her gift in action, but she was busy all day with the cemetery walk. Sounds like it was very successful!

I think we made a little more than 3 gallons. We let Ben take home a gallon. He was a good help. It's a lot of work to make apple cider. He never complained even though it took almost all afternoon.

 Everybody had a taste. It tasted really good and was refreshing after all that hard work.

Thank you so much for such a beautiful gift Joanie. There are still plenty of apples on the trees so I'm sure we'll get to make a lot more cider this fall.

First Day of the 2015-2016 School Year

Here's the crew on the first day of school this morning. Cole is happy about school, just not about having to have his picture taken. And not happy about me making him change his shirt after he spilled his breakfast smoothie all over the first one.

It should be an interesting year with a new principle, new guidance counselor (who happens to be a professional musician and gives guitar lessons), and a new math/science teacher. Also new this year for middle school students - electives, with choices in computer coding, drama, nature and environment, and building design. Not to mention that Wayne will be travelling by bus every morning to Lake Region to take a high school level math class, and Cole's 6th grade class will be taking a 5 day trip to Nature's Classroom - his first time away from home without a family member!

It's a little sad to think that this is Wayne's last first day at Glover School. Next year at this time, he will be starting high school.

Wayne 8th grade, Cole 6th grade, Heather 3rd grade

Wayne on his first day of kindergarten.

Road Trip

On Sunday, Heather and I took a road trip to Maine to visit Gramma.

On the way, we stopped at Santa's Village in Jefferson, NH.

Here we are, waiting to board the Skyway Sleigh. The snowman tells us the magic words to start the sleigh ride.

The Skyway Sleigh glides up high around the park on a monorail. It's a fun way to scope out the layout of the park.

Then we went to the reindeer barn where the reindeer were hungry for snacks.

A ride on the ferris wheel.

On the back of each "cart" the words "Merry Christmas" are printed in languages from around the world.

A beautiful view from up high.

Santa's Village has plenty of shady, grassy areas. We found a picnic area to have our lunch.

Heather took me for a ride in the old time cars.

She drove us straight through a swamp.

Then we had to go thru the car wash. See all the bubbles from the rear window?

The Ho Ho H2O waterpark has become a main attraction. It's a must-see on a hot summer day.

The next day, the main reason for our trip - Gramma turned 85 years old!

After spending the day with Gramma, we took a stroll on the rocky beach.

And visited the cemetery.  Heather brought the teddy bear Gramma had given her (she won it in a bingo game)

We stayed at Gramma's house in Liberty and did a lot of swimming at Stevens Pond, a stone's throw from the house. The house was very hot and not great for sleeping. We went for an early morning swim both days. It was quiet, peaceful, and refreshing. We also went on the 2 evenings, when it was more populated, not as peaceful, but still refreshing.

Back in Vermont, a splash in the backyard pool with Daddy, Estelle, Lena, Aunt Julie, and Aunt Joanie!

It was a good trip, but good to be home.

Lisa, Estelle, and Heather in WCAX

Here is the story that ran on the news this morning. You can also read the story by going to their website.

WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-