George Washington Bridge

In an effort to avoid the crowds created by the festivities in our neighborhood today, we took off in a Northerly direction today. Our destination: New Jersey!

(We do not discriminate, we avoid all parades when possible!)

Last summer, Mike and I circumnavigated the lower Hudson using the path on the north side of the George Washington Bridge. We determined that this route was not kid friendly and so the squidlings had to wait until the southern path was reopened to "do" the bridge. This summer Mike and I will investigate the northern routes in Jersey and see if they are more child friendly.

Today we rode up to the Little Red Lighthouse and started up the Big Hill. Halfway up I found Papa grumpily staring at his chain -- which had broken. This is one of those times when knowing the theory and having the tools paid off. He managed to remove the broken links and reattach the chain. Riding was then possible despite the constant skipping due to the too short chain.

We finished mounting the hill and found our way to the bridge pretty easily.
Little Squid became temporarily stupid and forgot to use his gears so he wound up walking up the ramp to the bridge but he did get there ...
The G.W. bridge is essentially flat once you reach the road bed and personally I find it a much easier bridge then either the Brooklyn or Manhattan bridges. Look, they made it to New Jersey under their own power!

And, after pedaling past kayakers, and ruins (?)
and wonderful views (this photograph attests to my refound confidence as I took the camera out of my bag and snapped this photo while riding)there was a cooling dunk in the fountain.
21.6 miles with no real rest stops except for the chain repair. (A few quickies while the lead team waited for Little Squid and his accompanying parent but those were less then a minute each).

Overly Productive Day

I went on a major activity kick this morning. The kind of bender that usually starts right after school ends. It started early this year.

After lifting weights and riding on the trainer (am I sounding sickeningly virtuous?) where I spun many yards of wool on my spindle (yes, I spin while I spin) I went on a cleaning binge. The binge was predicated by our recent loss of a set of ramikens and the kitchen scale. My binge did not uncover them but did serve to remind me of all the lovely crystal bowls we got for our wedding. They have now been degreased and put back into a freshly scrubbed cabinet to sit and collect more kitchen grease. Maybe we should hold a party?

Then I pressed Squidette's new top (finished last night) and started in on my first pair of the Summer of Socks. These are for Squidette who, after being given all the yarn you saw two days ago to choose from chose the Regia Silk. Figures. (Yes, I bought it for myself but far be it from me to begrudge silk socks for my daughter.)

Since most of today was spent at friends for their daughter's birthday, I managed to almost finish the first sock -- and got a lot of silk spun to boot!
It is now kitchenered and sitting on my lap. I will cast on the mate and then work on something else for the remainder of the evening.
Oh, and somewhere in there I finished plying the last of the current batch of silk singles. I'll let you know how much it is when I skein it. Right now I am estimating between 300 and 600 yards on the bobbin. It was two spindle fulls. (No, I didn't do it all today -- I did most of it last weekend.)

Cobweb Silk

Dave and I have had a few email conversations since he got his new Journey Wheel. He has discovered just how good this wheel is at spinning laceweight yarn. I have never tried it. My Journey Wheel is primarily a plying wheel due to it's fantastic orifacelessness. This makes it easy to stop in the middle of a plying project and detatch the bobbin to start another project if desired or to just pack up the wheel if needed. I've actually only done this once or twice but that is primarily why I got it as a second wheel -- that and the fact that is travels well should I choose to take it on the road. The only time I have actually spun on my JW was last summer when I had the Kromski packed away.

For laceweight, I can spin a pretty thin yarn on my Kromski Minstrel but I can get even finer on one of my spindles. My preferences in spindles is decidedly Bosworth. I have another work horse, my Emily and have just not found another spindle that I like as well as those produced by these two artists. (And I have tried many.)

Pictured below is the cobweb singles that I am Navajo plying into cobweb three-ply for my shawl.Single3-ply

My photography is no where as good as some bloggers for items this small, but I try.

All of the singles were spun on my mini-bossie spindle during odd bits of time. Today I got about 15 yards of single spun while waiting for my lunch (5 minutes or so). That will translate into roughly 5 yards of finished yarn once plyed. Every week I take my spindle to the laundry room while the clothes dry and knock of uncountable yards of singles. On the rare occasions that we get to the playground these days, my silk spindle accompanies me though if I don't feel like having a conversation with random kids, I take out my knitting instead -- it attracts less attention. So far I have spun over an ounce of these singles with much of it spun over the last few months. (This project mouldered for about a year until settled on the final shape / pattern for the shawl. )

Yes, with practice I could probably get as fine a product on my big wheel -- and can do so in cotton on my charka but I like my spindle and I like producing ultra fine yarn on it. There is something very satisfying and meditative about taking my spindle out of my small purse and producing something so thin that it is difficult to see. The satisfaction of quickly turning out thicker yarns on my wheel is also a factor -- my "thick" yarns are still sport weight so it is all a matter of perspective. I seem incapable of spinning thick though I did work hard at it last summer to some success.

During the school year, I take out my wheels only on the weekends and then not every weekend. The weekday evenings are too short to separate myself from my family behind the wheel, so I knit instead (besides, I have to knit up all the yarn I am spinning). Summer time is for balcony spinning in the late afternoon sun. And maybe weaving.
The current state of the shawl. It's a bit windy -- I'll try to get a better picture tomorrow.

What to Do ...

Decisions, decisions. Summer of Socks began yesterday and I have yet to cast on. Cookie suggested that I knit socks for Squidette. That works since her feet are adult size so she qualifies for SOS. But what yarn to use? And what pattern?
Meanwhile, I did make this for the same woman-child but have to find a crochet hook to finish up.
From yesterday's birthday celebrations, proof that growing up does not mean for going presents!
Little Squid went out and bought the cat house with 5 cats for her. They then spent the evening playing with the cats. (If you got here by googling cat house and are sorely disappointed then I am sorry. Try googling bunny ranch instead.)
Birthday Souffle! No candle -- it would have made the souffle fall. Yummy!

Growing Up

What do you say about your eldest child on their 12th birthday?

Obviously, I think she is the smartest, cutest, most wonderful kid in the world. Others concur, but they are mostly relatives.

Honestly, she is a bright, sensitive, caring young lady and I am proud to be her mother.
What a difference 5 years makes.

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

All About Me (a poem by Squidette)

All About Me

I like to read
Fantasy, fiction

I have one brother
Younger, shorter

I have a pet
A turtle girl

I have two parents
Mom, dad

I wear earrings
One per ear

I can swim
Frontstroke or back

I love music
I play two instruments

I like to draw
People and places

I am tall
Five feet

I love to write
Poetry and fantasy

I can run
Fast and slow

I can knit
Sew, spin, weave

I like my school
I love my family

I am myself

How Did He Know?

Every night, as I am heading into my own room, I give Little Squid a quick kiss and sometimes have profound discussions with him.

Last night I gave him a peck on the forehead and then stealthily bent over to examine his "bite" mark.

And he hit me!

Why?

Because he thought I was going to bite him.

Now why would he think that? I don't usually bite him. It's been years since I pretended to munch on him but, that said ...

I was going to (pretend) bite him.

How did he know?

(His father is very proud of him this morning for being able to detect a duplicitous mommy. The "hit" by the way was also in fun, we do not tolerate real parental (or child) battering in this house. We also do not really bite.)

A Slow Kind of Weekend

Little Squid was the only one who was not wiped out by the frantic pace of last week. I think the vampire/werewolf bite had something to do with it.

Yesterday was spent hanging around in the morning and movie going in the afternoon. Little Squid saw the new Fantastic Four movie as part of a birthday party and the rest of us saw the new Shrek movie. Good stuff! Since the party included pizza and such afterwards, and was no where near home, the rest of us wandered about the neighborhood and did some book shopping.

Today we are still wiped out but I got everyone on their bikes and we did a light ride down to the Lower East Side and got ...
ice cream! Squidette has decided that as much as last summer was all about the chocolate, this summer will be all about the ice cream. Yum!
Flavors sampled -- chocolate malt, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla and ginger. Mmmm.

(Notice my new hairstyle? The braids are lighter and cooler then a single one down my back. I may look like I'm eight years old but I'm comfortable.)
Look! This really is a knitting blog!

This afternoon Squidette and I went off to the big NDI performance at Laguardia High School. Several of her friends were in it so we were there for more than just the great performances.

Laguardia High School is what the High School of Performing Arts became when it merged with the High School of Music and Art in 1984. Performing Arts was the school on which the movie Fame was based.



















Across the street stands the building that was formerly Martin Luther King Jr. High School. (High school, not Junior High School) The two schools were as different as apples and oranges. Laguardia served (and still serves) a select population and King drew from the nearby housing projects. King closed in 2005 and the building now houses six smaller schools, none bearing the name of the great man whose name graces the building. I've always found the contrast to be quite sad.



















The article that I linked to, by the way, is wrong. One of the first schools closed for low performance in NYC was Benjamin Franklin High School in 1982. Founded in 1935, Ben Franklin was an amazing place, an integrated school in a time of de facto segregation. I've met many of the graduates over the years and those from the earlier days -- even as late as the 70's have nothing but good things to say about Franklin. The grand edifice that was Ben Franklin High School now houses Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics High School (est. 1982) and Isaac Newton Middle School for Science and Mathematics. Yup, where I work.

The End is In Sight

You know the end of the school year is approaching when:

• You look at the last set of concert tickets after your babysitter has canceled and don't start looking for a replacement sitter. Just too tired.
• Camp packets arrive (one with sheet music, one without)
• Religious school report cards arrive ("It's been a pleasure getting to know her not only as a student but as as committed musician and cyclist." and "I will truly miss him.")
• A certain Squidling starts thinking about the decorations on her birthday cake.

and our number one reason ...

• You can now use your fingers to count down to the end! 10 more days for me and 8 for the rest of them!

Saga of the Squirrel Bird

The new windows in school are great! They have more glass per square inch and less sashing overall. They are also relatively clean. It is this vast expanse of clean glass that led to a recent problem in the library.

***

Happily, I was minding my own business, and harassing young people about dress code, when I was hailed by a student. "Mrs. Squid, Ms. X needs you right now. There's a bird in the library."

I glance at the kid and think to myself "what am I supposed to do about it?"

Entering the library, I look around and see no sign of a bird. From past experience I know that they do tend to leave signs once trapped in a room. No such items greeted me here.

Having located Ms. X, I am guided to the bird. It is hovering at the top of a window, trying to get out.

At this point I must interrupt this tale to explain that the Library is an open space two stories in height with windows that start about 6 feet off the ground and go all the way up the the ceiling 20 or more feet above their start. They are big. And, they do not open from the top but rather open in the middle. This leaves the bottom and top rows of window panes solidly in place and immovable.


Not 2 feet below the bird is an open window. He cannot, however, seem to find it.

I calmly assess the situation and reach for a window pole. What I intend to do with this item is beyond me. Poking the bird seems to be a good idea. If I poke it, maybe it will fly elsewhere and discover the half dozen open windows in the room.

Hmm ... it's too high. Let's climb on a desk. Ah, much better. Poke. Poke.

At this point you must imagine the bird getting annoyed and flying off. To the top of another window. Across the room.

Off I traipse after it with a few young people in tow. Up on another table I repeat the poking.

Flit -- off to another window he goes. All of a sudden the bird sees a passing flock of ... you guessed it ... birds. He tries to join them but the window glass gets in the way. Poor bird.

Move another desk.

Poke. Poke.

Flit.

Wait! Is there another window pole in the room? Yes? If one person pokes the bird, the other can try to direct it to an open window.

Sounds good to us.

Poke. Poke.

Stupid bird flies to the one window in the room that lacks the ability to open.

Move another desk.

Poke. Poke.

The bird falls. Awww ...

Young man hoists himself up on to the window ledge and grabs the bird. Umm ... how is he going to get down with a bird in his hands?

Second young man hops up on the table and grabs the bird, first young man lowers himself to the floor and takes the bird from the second young man shouting "close all the windows."

Um ... 90 degree day ... nope, not going to happen.

First young man shows the bird around and makes a hasty exit from the back door to the sidewalk below. He looks around a bit and decides that it is too close to the school. Running off, he finally releases the bird into a nearby city park.

You can't make this stuff up.

Vampire?

We are debating whether or not Little Squid is going to turn into a Vampire. It seems apparent that he was bitten by a vampire while on a camping trip last week. There are two small scabs on the edge of his jaw very close to his neck. Obviously a vampire bite.

He, respectfully, disagrees. Seems that he can still see himself in the mirror and the sunlight did not kill him.

Hmm ...

Can Vampires go out in daylight if they are wearing sunblock?

And on into Testing

What do you get when you take two stressed out Assistant Principals and attempt to do simple math? A brief panic and a lot of laughter.

After my, relatively, minor issues with the advanced placement exams, I made sure to double and triple check our orders for the Regents exams. Every AP confirmed that I had, indeed, over ordered for every exam. So, why was it that the head of one department and I had a brief moment of panic yesterday?

Follow this conversation and watch where we went wrong ...

"How many rooms do I have for this afternoon's exam?"

A quick check (I have not memorized this data) reveals 19 rooms, each with the appropriate proctor assigned. "Phew" is the response,"it was looking like we needed more rooms."

"Well," I shot back in a sudden burst of fear "lets double check the exam numbers, just in case. I know there are 24 packets of exams in the boxes in the vault -- I doubled checked them just a few minutes ago.

You have 19 rooms. 19 rooms at 25 exams per packet is 475 exams. How many kids are registered?"

"498"

Gulp. "Can you double check that? How many kids per room?"

"About 28."

"Let's see, 475 divided by 28 gives us 17 rooms ..."

Yes, dear reader, you can see that I was very much impaired at this point. My counter part and I panicked for a while and prayed for absentees.

About half an hour later my brain finally kicked me in the rear and shot out "Idiot. 24 packets of exams times 25 exams per packet is 600 exams." Oops. More than enough for our 498 students plus some to spare for another school that did under order.

Only 11 more exam periods to panic over ...

Tired but Happy

My feet hurt. Has something to do with last days at school and constant patrols / events. Yes, even at 6 a.m., my feet and legs are still aching. And today is *really* the last day.

What makes a school administrator happy on the first of two *last* days of school? Rain at dismissal!!! Yea!!! No chance for last minute, well intentioned, hijinx when you are dodging raindrops the size of tea cups. Now if it will only do that again today at about 11:44 when we finally dismiss for the year. (Exams start this afternoon.)

I discovered that I have power in my gaze. Just a glance will get a kid to: take off a hat, cover a too skimpy top and put away a forbidden device. Makes me smile to be able to do that -- then they get confused as to why I am smiling at them.

You know what else makes me smile? My two most loyal knitters showing up for one last gabfest yesterday afternoon. Love those kids!

All this smiling makes half my face ache. Just the real, full face smiles. The fake smiles just invoke stiffness -- stiff smiles, stiff face, makes sense.

You know what else makes me smile? The fact that I have two great kids of my own -- who will never have to be told to put away their cell phones and who will hopefully never get so drunk that they pass out in the park on the last day of school. That just makes me cry.

Goodies!

Look at all these goodies from Isabelle! Yummy teas, pretty yarn and lots of Maine goodies. Thank you!!!

Messing With Their Minds

I'm messing with the minds of my staff today.

There was no intention of doing so when I chose what to wear this morning, but the result will be the same.

You see, a few weeks ago my Principal announced that she was taking another job, a promotion. The very next day, her position was posted on the DOE website and tonight the in-school committee interviews her possible successors. The identities of the candidates are secret.

Last week I had the privilege of giving each candidate a tour of the building. While I did so, the curious poked their heads out of classrooms and made snap appraisals. It got kind of silly from my perspective and I was tempted to parade random people around the building just for the mind-mess. (I didn't.) Today's suit, however is another story.

I am not one of the candidates. By choice. Didn't even open the on-line application -- just checked to make sure it was really there. Today, however, I am wearing my "cute" suit. How many people are going to think that I've been lying to them, that I really am interviewing tonight?

The suit, by the way, is because I am presiding over an induction ceremony tonight and want to look professional for the parents. I will not even be in the building when the committee convenes.

Time to start the week.

Prom NIght!

In 1984 the Senior Prom was not even a blip on my radar. I disliked parties and had no intention of going. It helped that I was not invited and did not hang out with the "prom crowd."

I discovered last night that my high school, now at least, does not have a "prom crowd" per se. 600 kids from a graduating class of 750 is a HUGE number of kids to have at a prom. At least from my limited prom going experience. There were 62 tables and only 3 of them held staff and spouses.

***

To kick off the evening, Mike first called my parents to ask permission. After throughly interrogating him as to his intentions, they granted it.

We primped (or at least I did, Mike forgot to shave) and had our oldest child take a photo since there was no parent available to do it.We then hopped aboard our limo and rode in airconditioned comfort to the Prom.Stuyvesant High School, as the elite school that it is, insists on having the Prom at the Waldorf=Astoria (yes, the equal sign is correct).
The Waldorf=Astoria is directly across the street and in direct juxtaposition with the slightly less expensive Intercontinental -- the site of our nuptual celebration many years ago.Once inside we were given our instructions (Mike was working, after all) and posed for yet another picture.


There are plenty of pictures of lovely looking, tastefully dress students but I cannot post them. I'm sure you understand. When one of the kids puts the pictures up on the school website, I will link to it.

I did stalk our babysitter a bit. She was lovely and her date was adorable. I even caught her on the dance floor once or twice.

Mike and I danced and one of his colleagues did a credible Michael Jackson imitation of the dance floor. We posed for a formal portrait (got to give it to the folks!) and finally left around midnight. Our limo home was of the more conventional yellow variety.

After sending our backup babysitter home, we tumbled into bed where ... oh, get your minds out of the gutter! It was late and we are married, we went to sleep! He did kiss me on the dance floor, however.
And there you have it. My first Prom. We are thinking that Mike may try to get invited again since we did have fun. I might even start attending my own school's Prom -- tho not this year, my date has to be elsewhere.

So Tired

It's been a long week. No, actually, this week is the same length as every other week, I am just wiped out. All the running around that occurs in June and all the things that have to be done, combined with some other stuff at work has all combined to rob me of my brain tonight.

Fortunately, I have a really good read, courtesy of Mary.Thanks Mary!

***

Looking for a contest? Hop on over to Jessica Z's and tell her why the owners of the apartment she wants are so eager to sell quickly. Make it funny for more points!

***

Little Squid suffered two migraines this week (they tend to come in clumps) and one of them was a "middle of the nighter" which is the only thing that causes him to take refuge in our bed. While he is suffering, he is a good snuggler. Once he finally falls asleep, however, he is a true squid, spreading his tentacles all over the place and using my back as a pillow. Little wonder that I am tired. The next night, Squidette needed some late night snuggle action against a scary movie that she saw. Then Little Squid woke up early suffering from something he ate the night before. Phew!

Next week doesn't look any better with an obligation for 3 of the 5 work nights and a promise to go to the UWS Knitters on a 4th night. When I promised that, I was not remembering the Scholar's Induction on Monday, Freshman Orientation on Tuesday and the end-of-term party on Friday. I'm still going, tho. Squidette will be out of town and Papa and Little Squid can monster without me for the evening.

***

Victoria asked if there was a pattern for the Sock Puppets. Here you go, in brief. (This makes more sense if you are well acquainted with sock and mitten knitting. If more detailed instructions are needed, let me know and I will try to reconstruct.

Knitting the big sock from the toe up:

Knit your favorite toe-up toe (I like the figure-8 cast on). The toe should be wide enough to span your four fingers.

Change colors and knit the "foot" until it reaches the base of your thumb.

Knit waste yarn into eight or so stitches on either side of the "foot" and then knit into the waste yarn for an "afterthought" "thumb"

Continue knitting the foot until it reaches your wrist.

Change colors and knit a short row (or your favorite) heel.

Change colors again and knit "leg" until it is long enough for your tastes.

Add in contrasting stripes if you wish. (I like the look it gives.)

Bind off.

Carefully remove waste yarn from one thumb, picking up the stitches. Knit the thumb round and round until it is long enough for your thumb. Knit 2 together, round and round, until reduced to 4 stitches. Break yarn and run yarn through remaining stitches.

Repeat for other thumb.

Embroider on face of your choice. Glasses are optional. I used picture wire and sewed them on where the earpieces would be.

The puppet's puppet is knit in the same manner but sized by "trying it on" the big puppet. It goes MUCH faster. The Puppet's puppet's puppet follows the same instructions again.

And, for some comic relief, a picture of my office.It is actually almost as bad as it looks here. I took this picture to show the contractor how, once again, their good intentions (installing my air conditioner) were accompanied by silly missteps -- not returning my furniture to its' proper locations. And the air conditioner, it had the wrong voltage for my power supply! So, now I have lost the use of one window and still have no cooling. I do not mind the lack of cooling but do mind the lack of openable window. (The bottoms are impossible to open and just serve as Squirrel doors anyway.)

***

Remind me to share my latest Squirrel story this weekend. It is, actually, a bird-in-the-library story.

Recursives in Squidland

Remember when I teased you with this picture?

No? Really?

How about when I kept mentioning a mystery project and promising to reveal it any day?

Not that either, huh?

Well that's because I was asked to make a very special, secret project that Papa Squid would then reveal in his classes. Unfortunately he never got around to it, despite my nagging.

So, after all that, I am finally revealing the secret project. Current Stuyvesant High School students are asked to swear an oath of secrecy and state that you will never reveal what you are about to see to any student in Z's classes next year. Let them mine this blog all by themselves or rather, be surprised when the items below are finally revealed.

And so, after putting enough words to fill in the space so that the secret has to be scrolled down to ... I give you ...

A sock puppet.
And the sock puppet's sock puppet.

And the sock puppet's puppet's puppet.
Rear view. Yes, they have heels.Have I mentioned how much I love my husband. That I would do this for him? True love, I tell you, true, everlasting love!

Prom Season

I was asked to the Prom! My dearest boyfriend called me at work and stuttered and stammered his way through an invitation. It seems that the dear boy never invited anyone to a prom before and that is fitting, because I've never been invited to one. Asked if I was going, yes, invited? no.

Seems dear Papa Squid was asked to chaperone his school's prom. Since his school is our high school alma mater, I can now honestly say that I was invited to my high school prom. And I'm going.

Childcare was briefly a problem since our main evening babysitter is the one who submitted Mike's name as a chaperone -- which means that she is going to the prom. We solved it, however, without resorting to her younger sister.

I am looking forward to this. His responsibilities are fairly simple and so for the cost of one prom ticket, this Saturday night I finally get to the Prom!

***

I have nothing against Proms but I was not in the "prom going" crowd as a teen and so I did not go. As a teacher, I have never been asked to chaperone.

***

Squidette's science fair was very nice. I found the "lessons learned" section of some of the boards to be hilarious. One of them was "don't let your younger sister care for the plants, she'll rip the leaves off." Another, "this experiment was interrupted when rats ate the plants." And my favorite line (paraphrased) from an experiment testing bacteria levels in subway stations (truly a NYC experiment), "we expected the station in the Bronx to have the highest levels of bacteria since the Bronx is the foulest of the boroughs." (or something like that) (All subway stations had the same levels of bacteria -- no, I did not actually read how they tested it. I skipped right to the conclusions on most of the boards to get a sense of what they learned -- always the teacher!)

Lace on a Balcony

Look! I have been knitting!The colors are better in the blurry picture but the clear one gives a better sense of the lace. I am nearing the end of the first ball of silk which means that I have about 3 or 4 weeks before I have to have the third ball plyed and ready to go. The piece now measures 14 cm (5.5 inches) and I expect to make absolutely no progress on it again until Thursday.

On the "let's keep June" hectic front, it turns out the Squidette's group qualified for the Science Fair, which is tonight, overlapping my own Senior Awards ceremony. I've figured out how to do this -- it involves making sure that I am put on late on the list of presenters at my school (for Health, Phys. Ed and my Scholars program). Then I can run down to Squidette's school, ooh and ahh over the projects, grab the kid and scurry back to my own school for the last 1.5 hours of awards. Yup, I expect to only miss half an hour of it. If I keep this up for the entire month, just how hard am I going to crash on June 30?

Tour de Brooklyn

Go Brooklyn! As a New Yorker, I have a natural affinity for Brooklyn even though I was mostly raised in Queens. Queens is very large and every neighborhood is very different so it does have it's charms but Brooklyn is ... well, Brooklyn. Home to the Cyclone and Coney Island. The Brooklyn Dodgers and U Bet Syrup. Junior's Cheesecake and Ebingers Blackout Cake. Prospect Park and Green-Wood Cemetery.

Last year we rode in the 2nd annual Tour de Brooklyn and it was good. Not, however, as good as this year. In 2006 we were in the early stages of becoming Team Squid. Now we are a fully formed cycling squad and have our routines down pat. Schmeared with sunblock and donning sunglasses (and regular glasses that darken in the sun) we loaded the bikes. We now allways ride with a small first aid kit (our umbrella against minor wounds) and my knitting (the umbrella against major wounds). Four out of seven water bottles hold Accelerade on long rides (the other three hold water), and we have muffins, banana bread and granola bars in a panier (saddle bag). The only thing we lacked this time was toilet paper. Note to self -- toss a partial roll into the panier.

How does a properly equipped team of Squid get to the 3rd annual Tour de Brooklyn? They ride, of course! Thus upping the total mileage for the day to ... 35 miles.
Riding newly minted bike paths in Manhattan, we headed over the Brooklyn Bridge to Grand Army Plaza where we signed in and waited to ride. The wait was pleasant as we chatted with other bikers and compared bikes and sob stories about the 5 Boro Bike Tour. In the warm, balmy air we got rolling around 9:30 or so and after 10 miles, rolled into the rest stop around 10:30. We stopped once for about 10 minutes while the police cleared the streets ahead of us. No walking of the bikes, just solid riding. Sweet! After a brief rest and some bananas and PB and J, we rolled again and were in the saddle pretty consistently until we returned to Prospect Park.

Since we were rolling for almost the entire time, there is a paucity of photographs. What there is can be found here.

All in all, a very good day.

Quiet Morning

It is quiet here this morning. Papa is not working out, so the whirr of the trainer didn't wake us all up. I got up a regular school time leaving a sleeping Papa in bed. Little Squid wandered out as I was getting my tea and set himself up on the couch -- and promptly fell back to sleep. Squidette is still asleep. Just came out.

All that is about to change. Papa is up now and fussing around the kitchen. It is only a matter of time before the news goes on and we all get ready for the Tour de Brooklyn. See you all when we return!

3 Concerts, a Dance Perfomance and a Present!

It has been a busy week here at Chez Squid. On Wednesday, Squidette made her debut as first clarinet/concert mistress for the grade 6 A band. On Thursday, Little Squid made his concert debut on the flute in the 4th grade band and Squidette helped to beef up the 6 B band (it's smaller then the 6 A band and needed a few more players). Friday saw Little Squid strutting his stuff in this school's annual NDI performance. The dance totally suited Little Squid's frentic nature. Pre and post dance events also allayed any concerns I had about him being too introverted. As soon as we got to venue he took off after his friends in a manner that I can only describe as "totally boy." Today we caught him emailing a girl! My mother-in-law would be happy -- the girl is Jewish. *g* Hey, he's known her since age 4. Think this could go somewhere?

After returning from our late evening -- had to get dinner with friends after the performance -- I found a huge box on my doorstep. Inside were all these goodies from Sprite!
Yummy fudge and chocolate covered pretzels and candy and fuzzies and girly stuff and ... lots and lots of stuff. Some of it has been distributed to the shorter Squid ...
and some has been set aside for me! Thank you Sprite!!!