Day 1.068: Dr Foster country

Well Exile #3 went pretty much up to her middle in it anyway. This was on Saturday and when we went inside she created another puddle by taking her boots off - it turns out they were full of water. Contrary to appearances, Exile #4 managed to stay basically dry.

It was two years ago give-or-take a week when Exile #2 and I came to visit the area together for the first time - it was grey and dreary then too, but they'd had little snow - so this melt-water surface flooding was not serious. It looks likely to get worse before it gets better with a significant storm coming in tonight - maybe even bringing a coating of snow before it turns to rain - either way they'll be more opportunities for splashing around.

Day 1.067: Look before you leap

This was the largest pile of snow on our property this morning - there was one other. It's there because I cleared the snow of the deck a week or so ago and this is is a shady spot day-round. Quite a different story from last year. Some things are the same however - I still think it's funny that the colloquial name for the saint of the moment is pronounced the same on both sides of the Atlantic despite generally being spelled like a field for growing rice in the UK and like a burger in the US.

In looking up last year's St Patrick's Day post I was disturbed to see that it was Day 66 - and today is Day 67 + 1 year...had I lost count and missed a number out? No of course it was just that we had an extra day in the first quarter of this year.

OK - obviously a whole day of meetings at work today has not done anything for my ability to string thoughts together in a coherent way.

Grapefruit. Orangutan. Ordinarily. Drainpipe. Nocturnal. Ibex. Grapple. Health. Triumphant.

Day 1.066: Subterranean home improves

Yesterday Exile #4 was eager to help me with my project in the basement (it wasn't mixing medicine). It went fine, but in the end she was so delighted to find where the outdoor toys had been hiding all winter that she didn't really contribute to the shelving assembly all that much as you can see. If you have sharp eyes you may be able to see her verdict at the end though.

This afternoon the girls had a playdate here with one of Exile #3's classmates. Her Dad who is something of an expert with trees and wood told us about the trees in the yard and tried to estimate the age of the hickory tree that was such a hit with the squirrels in the Fall. This evening Exile #2 was with the kids at church talking about Palm Sunday - when she asked what we might wave if someone important was in a parade here Exile #4, thinking no doubt about palm leaves, suggested 'pine cones'. Now there's a thought.

They're coming thick and fast at the moment - pop pun 49 for title watchers (I can't believe no-one's getting any of these): twenty years of schooling and they put you on the day shift.

Day 1.065: Sapped!

I think it's fair to say we've all been a bit tired today. Obviously we all know why Exile #2 and I had failed to get enough sleep, but it's less clear why the kids have been off their best form. It hasn't stopped us filling the day. Exile #2 had a breakfast meeting (while the rest of us had breakfast). Then, when she got home we did some chores around the house. After lunch, we went to Five Rivers to see how maple syrup is made.

The girls drilled holes to put a tap in (admittedly to a small piece of long-dead pine rather than a live maple tree). Then we saw some real taps in action - the moving pictures show how quickly the sap is flowing - just as well since the process of getting from sap to syrup reportedly involves a 40:1 volume reduction.

We saw the evaporation process in action and (all-importantly for some) sampled the finished article. As we were finishing the maple tour we ran into friends of the girls from school and hung out with them for a while threading in some adult conversation amongst the childhood angst and trying to prevent E5N1 from eating random things picked up from the ground inside and out.

We picked up Japanese take-out on the way home - Exile #4 tried some sushi and claimed to like it (her tastes are definitely more cosmopolitan than her sister's at the moment) but she refused a second helping. We were happy to eat the rest of it while they had tempura and teryaki instead.

Day 1.064: Rock and Pi Baby!

It was Pi Day today - March 14th (3.14). I understand that they had a special assembly at school at 1.59 (3.14159). We sent Exile #3 with a copy of Kate Bush's song Pi (from the much-loved-by-us album Aerial) the lyrics in the choruses are the first hundred digits or so of the famous irrational number.

This evening, Exile #2 and I congratulated ourselves on a week over and a weekend beginning by attempting the "Endless Setlist" on Rock Band - Electric of Nouns took to the stage in glory and played the gig of their lives. The crowd loved it.

Here's the band (including my alter-ego on the left playing bass):

And here is Exile #2's drumming persona Donna:

As you can see we kept polishing the songs off with ease:
Finally it came to this:
It happened three times and on the third we decided that we needed sleep more than another attempt to attain our nearly-earned Legendary Status, so we have absolutely nothing to show for all our efforts except some aching muscles.

Oh well - said Exile #2 as we were switching off - think of it as a workout. Quite right and we needed one to make up for all the pi earlier in the day. Sorry.