Work and explanation

Sorry for the quality of the pics. They are taken on my phone camera.

We worked in Massachusetts at the myopia hunting club. There are five courts all in the same area side by side. We scratched and scraped the surface and removed the material along with lots of debris. Then it got rolled and power raked, in preparation for spreading new material on top. After we spread that it was power raked and rolled again. That was it for today. It doesn't sound like a lot but it was hard work. Power rake is what they call a piece of chain link fence being dragged behind a little lawn tractor.

The explanation is for my last post. I was just being selfish. I start feeling like no one reads the blog when there are no comments but I should write this for the enjoyment of writing, not for the feed back I get from it. So you can ignore my childish moment.

I can't get Brielle interested in writing in the blog any more. I am not sure if she will write anytime soon....Sorry. Maybe someone else should suggest it or maybe I should just leave it alone.

NO COMMENT

NO COMMENT






NO COMMENT

NO COMMENT
NO COMMENT
NO COMMENT

Monday

Today was the first day working for Tennis Courts Of NH. We worked on a baseball field. We were weeding, edging, rototilling, raking, and adding stone dust to raise the grade where necessary. I guess after that is completed we are going to top it with the same red clay material that is used on tennis courts. This job is going to wear on my back and arms and I don't know what else yet.

Since the seafood chowder was a great "hit" I thought I would post another recipe that I like to make. Pizza dough. I got this from my friend Geoff Howe and I am not sure where he got it from.

Pizza Dough Recipe

1 1/4 c warm water

2 envelopes active yeast

2 tsp red wine vinegar ( you may want to play with this I was thinking of using less next time)

3 tbsp olive oil (plus some for greasing the bowl for rising)

4 c flour

2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp salt

Mix water, sugar, yeast let sit 5-10 min

Mix in rest of ingredients kneed and add flour till you have manageable dough

Place in an oiled bowl let rise 1/2 hour

Punch down and separate into 6 pieces(fewer for larger pizzas)

Let rest before using or freeze immediately for later use

We use corn meal on a cookie sheet, a pizza stone is supposed to be the best

Don't use too much sauce and put whatever toppings you like

Brielle does a no sauce mushroom and cheese, Cassandra likes mushroom and onion, While I lean toward Garlic and any of the meats and feta cheese plus mozzarella

Last few days

We went skiing at Gunstock on Sunday, there last day. It was warm out but very windy. The snow was too soft and it had not been groomed the night before. I think it would have been difficult skiing anyways because we got there kind of late in the day so the trails were really rough. We put in a total of two runs but it was nice to get out one last time, even though it hurts a little to go back to what I left.

Saturday Brielle and I hiked up Red Hill to the tower. It was a cloudy day but not to cold out, until we got to the top. We went up the tower and Brielle got chilled by the wind and never really recovered until we got home. All in all it was a fun hike albeit a little longer than Brielle remembered it.

Before we went hiking we started seed inside and out. Yes we are probably jumping the gun a little(see the snow behind Brielle) but we will see. The raised beds warm up earlier so hopefully we will get something. We started snow peas, broccoli, and radishes. I think we might (I might) be dreaming. We have to put the fencing over the bed to discourage the cats from using the fresh turned soil.



On Friday Brielle had A Disco themed dance. Even at this age hardly anyone danced unless it was the macarena, electric slide, cotton eyed Joe, or the hustle If you enlarge the dance pic a couple of the kids have scary red eye that I did not try to fix.

I built a couple of book shelves, here is one installed. The other one has to wait until we move our bed because the bed posts are too tall. I used a recycled pine board and some scrap red wood decking (for the braces) that has been here since the last owners had the house.

Here is Brielle dancing part of the Macarena song.

More of the common ground fair

There is an incredible array of artisans at the fair. I love the woodwork whimsy of the bird houses. This man does felting, it looks so simple but I have yet to try it. I would love to make some felt hats. There are felting classes at the fair that I will have to try. There are whole tents of artists who work with clothing, pottery, stone work, paint, etc, etc. Last year we went to the Youth Enterprise Zone tent. Wow what creativity and talent. We didn't realise it was only going to be there for part of the fair so when we went back it was empty. Next year we are going to buy some things from them and support their work!!

There are lots of animals and a lot of interest in spinning yarn from a large variety of animals. There is a large tent where you can buy big bags of wool and I think next to that tents is the Wednesday Spinners where you can watch 15-20 people spinning yarn. For some reason I really enjoy watching them work. It seems like it takes a delicate touch.
Face painting is one of the things Brielle has done every year. They have an incredible number of volunteers for the fair. There is info on the website if you are interested in doing so. Ken volunteered as an EMT last year. The face painting is done by volunteers and is free, like most things in the children's area. Sometimes there is a fee for craft lessons but not generally.

As I have said before, this is not a typical fair. This fair encourages hands on learning and participation. There is a tent dedicated to everything Native American, from arts and crafts to drumming (see picture).The other picture is, (I believe) the International folk dance and Baltic womans choir. They where fun to watch and obviously loved performing. Brielle is playing in a bucket of seeds, probably at the Fedco tent or maybe Johnny's Select Seed. You might wonder if she should be, but there are a couple of bushels set out every year just for that purpose.

You see a lot, and hear a lot, about recycling. They actually are not going to sell bottled water at the fair this year. Instead they have set up water stations all around the fair to get people to refill instead of dealing with all the waste generated by the bottles. Great idea!! Every time I go to the fair it makes me want to eat better and work at being "greener" in lots of ways. I don't necessarily succeed but it is important to keep thinking about it and working at it. The picture of brielle on the recycled tires got me going on this tangent. You can also see the compost tumbler in the background.

The first year that I went the guy with the owl gave a presentation. Unfortunately I have not seen him since. There are presentations for a wide variety of subjects so it would really be worth your time to check their web site.http://mofga.org/ The man with the owl also had some hawks and other owls. It was very interesting and informative. The picture of the white bird is a carrier pigeon. Soon after the man gave his talk and let anyone who wanted to pet his bird, he released it. I don't recall what part of Maine he was from but the pigeon had a ways to fly to get home.

Sunday-Tuesday

Brielle went out on a rainy day to see her cat and make sure he wasn't getting too wet. He is sitting in one of the flower boxes outside of our kitchen.

On Sunday we brought the Rotary Harley down to Concord for a motorcycle swap meet. We set it up and expected to sell raffle tickets until 12 but two Rotarians showed up to work so we got to leave early!! That night we went to Portsmouth to see Cherryholmes with Dad, Uncle Ralph, Aunt Ruth, Aunt Louise, and Sam. Here is a link to one of their songs on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7LzqvN2M5A

Today I went hiking up Mount Major while Cassandra went to several meetings. It was a beautiful day. The trail was a mix of snow, ice spots, and ledge. It was a fairly short hike that I would like to take Brielle on when the snow is gone. The view at the summit was great, a very nice panorama of Lake Winnipesaukee. I took the picture of the tree because as soon as I saw it I started thinking about how I could turn it into a chair or some other rustic creation. I also am constantly amazed by the little intricacies nature creates, must be why I like being in the woods so much.

Here is a video of Brielle performing a partial rendition of the heat miser cold miser song that she and her friend Corrine put together. Sorry it is so dark, our house doesn't have the best lighting.

We went north today do our taxes with Ken's tax program. While Cassandra did the taxes Mom and I went to donate blood...Unfortunately Mom's iron was too low so only I was able to donate. After I finished giving blood, it was one of the quickest process' I have been through, we went to Sam and Debbie's. I wanted to give them one of the friendship bread starters and to say hello. They are right into spring yard work, getting rid of snow to give their plants a head start on the season. Their Grandchildren were there visiting. Sabrina has the slime coming out of her nose and alleaya( had to guess on spelling), is riding the bicycle. Then it was back to Mom and Ken's to watch Mom and Brielle play with the big exercise ball. We just hung out till it was time for us to leave and pick up the Rotary trailer, with the Harley in it. We have to deliver it, set it up, and sell tickets at a swap meet in Concord tomorrow. I almost forgot about the picture of the chair that I made yesterday. This is the one that I made in the woods. I need to put more pieces on the seat and then find a cushion that will look good on it. Tomorrow after taking care of the motorcycle we are heading towards Portsmouth, maybe to a children's museum. At 7:00 we are going to Cherryholmes at The Music Hall with Dad, Grammy Bradley and some other family. Don't forget to leave comments PLEASE...