Pooped?

One of my blogging friends has a wonderful singing voice and I'm always delighted when she posts a song! She sang herself happy birthday last year and I got permission to save her recording and send it to another friend of the same name when her birthday rolled around (I don't sing very well but would sing anyway, so that worked out well for all ears nearby).

OMSH has posted another song and, if you have ever had a child, are thinking of getting one someday, or if you know someone who has one, you should listen.

Chocolate: A Theme for All Days

Getting through a day is ever so much nicer if you have an assortment of chocolate to sustain you. I am incredibly lucky right now to have been surprised with an exciting selection by my friends, so that I'm currently prepared with a little something for any occasion. Details below, so you can all be a little envious of my (rapidly disappearing) stash:

Bibliofilly brought Red Velvet Smidgens over when she came to watch the All-Star Game. She hoped it was ok that they are filled with a cherry creme - it's MORE than OK! They were delicious while watching hockey and are now perfect for minor celebrations (I changed the laundry, yay me!), soothing irritation (wedging one into my mouth at the end of a phone call when I might otherwise spout an expletive or three), or a quick pick-me-up (What? It's only 2pm? It feels like midnight already!).

A tin of the new dark chocolate covered peppermint Altoids arrived in the mail from Wisa Wisa. WOW! They are like crunchy Junior Mints...tasty and great for aggravation management - you can crunch your frustrations away (What made you think carving on a book cover would be a good idea? [crunch-crunch]). They also provide a bit of comic relief for those around me because I tend to sneeze a lot when I crunch up Altoids.




Finally, Fraukow (frequent sender of fantastic things), sent my V-day present early because she just couldn't wait and neither could I. Chocolate Tea with Rosebuds might sound a little weird but it is quite wonderful when brewed. The tea is fragrant and mild, with just a hint of chocolate as an afterthought. Perfect for a cold day, which we are suddenly having quite a few of. Also, she got it from Lana's The Little House, so it reminds me of the afternoon we took tea in the fairy-tale house and good memories are always nice to think of!

Bonus Movie from Morning Skate

Grandmoo commented that she couldn't find Lars in either of the movies and it turns out that I didn't upload the clip he was in - oops! So, bonus movie:

Movies from Morning Skate

Two snippits of the morning skate today. In the team drill, the kids are learning explosive starts by lifting their feet over the sticks (rather than starting from a sort of shuffle along the ice). Ross is obvious; Lars is wearing a red jersey with his name and 20 on the back.

Famous Goalie Saves

The entire team was excited this morning to find they have a Real Goalie! Most kids want to skate out, so finding anyone to play in goal (or even to play defence) is a challenge and finding someone who's waited his entire short life to man the crease is unheard of. Several parents were awake enough to marvel at the miniature pads and to chuckle knowingly, figuring that Ross would get on the ice, find himself stranded like a toddler in a snowsuit, and give up the goalie idea ten minutes later.

Getting on the ice is usually a mob affair with all the kids rushing the single-file door in a clump so that nobody can actually fit through the door, so I was amazed when Ross lumbered up and they magically parted to allow their goalie to lead them onto the ice. Goalie leading the line is a hockey tradition but I wasn't expecting it from new Mites at their first practice!


As Ross hit the ice and glided off confidently toward the crease, jaws dropped as people saw how easily he maneuvers in the gear. The team started off with a few passing drills and a goal coach started working with Ross, who can't yet make a solid stick-save but can surprisingly do fantastic kick-saves and puck-dives (he's been imitating NHL Famous Goalie Saves for five years...). After a while, the drills were combined, with the team skating up to a goal attempt on Ross at the end of each turn. All in all, I'd say Ross took about 200 shots today and stopped an impressive number of them. He came off the ice at least as excited (if not more excited) about goaltending than he was to begin with.


After practice, Ross saw a third-grader from his school who plays goal for a travel team. On spotting Ross toting a goalie stick, the boy came over to investigate. Seconds later, Ross whipped out his new goalie helmet. The other boy got all excited - he has THE SAME GOALIE HELMET! As if there would be more than one choice in a product with a total sale potential of 16 pieces, worldwide... He ran to get his so Ross could see the custom paint job - stitches, done with white-out, in the style of Gerry Cheevers. As Ross was admiring the decoration, the other boy asked, "Were you really excited when you got your helmet?"

Eyes shining, Ross smiled and breathed, "Oh, yes!"

"Me, too," the older boy replied with a grin, "Me, too."

4,327 Good Parent Points

It's official - both boys were offered spots on the new Mites club team at the arena! Here's a clip of Lars from this morning's skills session (he's #14 in white):

[AMATEUR VIDEOGRAPHER: TIP HEAD LEFT OR FLIP MONITOR RIGHT]

Ross was tapped to play in goal, something he's been dreaming about since he was three. I thought (hoped?) that maybe he'd out grow it but he hasn't yet and so we went out to get his own set of goalie pads today. There's a kit to borrow at the arena but the stuff is all a little bit bigger than big on Ross and we figure if he's going to play the position, we'd rather he have the right protection. We did a full fitting tonight after dinner, to get all the straps set right and make sure we understood how the whole package goes together. We get SO much time to prepare...first practice is tomorrow morning, Sunday, at 7:30am. We win at least 4,327 Good Parent Points for agreeing to do this!

Here he is in the goaltender chest & arm protector. The thing is ballistic and it seems like he'll barely be able to bend in it yet, miraculously, he seems to bend just fine. The leg pads are actually not the smallest possible size, either, so somewhere in the world there are goalies even smaller! I taped his new goalie stick red, per instruction, for the "heat" in Heaton (the stick brand). Here's Ross in the whole get-up, wearing a practice jersey. Jury is still out on whether he'll be able to get up once he goes down. Place your bets now, then show up at the arena tomorrow morning by 7:35am (current guess about the latest possible time he will choose to try making a Famous Goalie Save) to be present to claim your prize!

I'll leave you now with this serene image of The Goalie At Home; an image that should be cherished because he will be instantly throttled if his goalie gear ever shows up in the living room again!

Field Trip

The second grade classes went on a trip to Duke Farms today, a 2,700 acre estate created by James Buchanen Duke in 1893. It has been preserved by the Doris Duke estate as an environmental model property with eleven greenhouse display gardens that the public may tour. Ross was impressed and excited by the glass houses and talked a lot about the beautiful flowers, statues, and temporaries that he saw inside. Temporaries? Temporaries. You know, when they make the shrub grow around a wire and it gets the shape of a brachiosaurous.

Opening Myself Up For An "I Told You So"

Something my mother often said (that her mother often said...) while I was growing up: "Always wear clean underwear! You never knew when you'll wind up at the hospital and you'd be embarrassed to show up wearing something dirty."

I have generally obeyed this edict except for once, on December 30th, 2000, when I made an exception. The underwear I took out on that day was clean, but had a small hole in the fabric at the front. There was a state-of-emergency snowstorm going on, we still had a houseful of guests leftover from the holidays and I felt like I was getting the flu, so I ignored the hole figuring I'd be stuck in the house and nobody would care. Well! Some of you will already know that I didn't wind up stuck in the house (although we were stuck in the driveway for a while); I wound up showing my holey underwear to half the state in the maternity ward because I wasn't getting the flu - I was in labor. You can bet that I won't be caught out with an extra hole in my underwear again...and I suggest you go give your own a check, too.

Sharkboys and Sunsets

Ross got his first grown-up teeth in the summer of 2005, before I started blogging. The new teeth grew in behind his baby teeth - they were halfway installed before the baby teeth even got loose. We called him "Sharkboy" and took pictures to preserve the weirdness. Who knows? Someday, we might need proof.

Lars recently discovered his own First Loose Tooth! Upon discovery, he called everyone he knew, leaving mystery messages on answering machines around the USA (he's really unintelligible with his finger in his mouth to wiggle a tooth). Chris and I both inspected Lars for signs of extra teeth coming in ahead of schedule but didn't find any. A few days later, though, the wiggle update was dire; the previously loose tooth had firmed right back up and was no longer able to be wiggled! Then, today, we discovered that Lars is also a Sharkboy. The baby tooth is a bit wiggly again, but it probably won't come out before that new tooth is pretty well settled in!

P.S. His black eye is progressing nicely, don't you think? By tomorrow, it should have much nicer green tones and should look even more like a polluted sunset. It doesn't bother Lars a bit, but I think he regrets that it's not a hockey-related bruise.

Nuts: Genetically Predetermined?

My mother adores cashews, particularly roasted salted ones that are only available in snack-size containers costing twice as much as an average family of four would ordinarily spend on milk for a week. She claims to be ecumenical about her cashew consumption when presented with a dish of mixed nuts but I have my doubts about her ratio...I'm pretty sure 1 cashew:1 anyothernut is not exactly evenhanded.

I can't cast stones, though, as my own cashew preference is strongly stated. One teen-aged summer, my best friend and I walked a few miles to an upscale department store and spent the contents of our Pappagallo purses on cashews from the candy-counter to sustain us for the walk home. I don't remember anything else about the shopping - I think it might have taken us so long to get there that we had to turn right around. I enjoy the memory of those cashews much better than any lipgloss we might otherwise have purchased.

So, I was really not surprised when Lars plopped into my lap recently and carefully selected three cashews from my little dish of mixed nuts. He relished the cashews, one by one, then reached in for a few more. As he was choosing his fifth nut, I picked a macadamia and dropped it into his waiting palm beside the cashews. He regarded me warily, as if the macadamia nut might be toxic. "Mama," he said, "I like this kind (indicating a cashew), the curly ones what are fat on this end and skinny over here." I urged him to try the other kind, using my best 'if you don't, you'll find yourself without any more cashews' intonation. Lars wisely popped the macadamia into his mouth without argument. As he chewed, his eyes lit up and he looked a little shocked. "Those are good!" he declared, then proceeded to give each of the other kinds of nut a try. Pecans, macadamias, and almonds won approval. Hazelnuts were determined to be too crunchy and he didn't like the Brazil nuts much at all. I can't say much against that, though, except I was hoping he'd like them so I wouldn't have to feel guilty for not eating them...

Weekend Update

Lars skated just fine on Saturday and, aside from an amusing tendency to look at his own reflection as often as possible and say, "Wow, my eye looks awful!" he seems unaffected by the injury.

My hockey team skated to a win last night, 1-0 and a loss this morning, 1-3. I got the assist today, feeding the puck to my linemate for her first ever goal! Much fun. We've got another game tonight, our annual outdoor contest at a local country club. The weather has been so warm lately that some thought we might not be able to play on the outdoor rink but nature has caught up to the calendar and the forecast tonight predicts it will be 24°...plenty cold to keep ice. The home team always hosts us for beer and pizza in their clubhouse after, which is nice to look forward to if you get cold on the bench. I'm not sure there will be much getting cold tonight, though - it seems like not many of my team can make the game, so those of us who do play will probably be on the ice a lot. Good for keeping warm and I'll surely sleep well tonight after so much skating!

Goalie Kit

Ross got to skate in a goalie kit this week! Chris captured a bit of a movie with his cell phone:



Who'd have thought we'd be carrying video cameras around in our pockets, just in case of a video-worthy moment?

...You Should See the Other Guy

This is what happens when you collide with your friend's forehead while playing tag at full-speed in gym, if he's about six inches shorter than you are.

Update 20.Jan 07: I asked at dinner if anyone had asked Lars who the president is but it's probably best they didn't, as he doesn't seem to know. He was, however, able to name all the Buffalo Sabres (occasionally with number and position), so we think he'll be fine. We are headed for the rinks now; the idea of not skating doesn't seem to have entered his reality. I hope his face will fit into his helmet!

Goal for Self: Mobile Blogging

I've set a goal for myself: by the end of next week, I will have figured out how to blog by e-mail. I've finally managed to fix (by no fault of my own) my iPAQ so I'm carrying it around again (it wasn't keeping my calendar, so was often little more than a paperweight) and it would be nice if I knew how to mobile blog so I could send in snippets from the road now and then. I know...who really cares if I'm stuck next to a smelly guy on the train? Probably nobody but figuring out how to blog about him might just distract me enough to make the trip bearable. Remember, this is my blog - as much as I might sometimes pretend it's about my kids, when you come right down to it, it's really all about me. *grin*

It's Here!

The shipping confirmation said 3-Day UPS and gave a delivery date of the 19th but Chris discovered a pile of boxes the approximate size of a Fiat on our front porch and messaged me that my cubbies had arrived! This picture shows four (of five - the last one appeared later on) of the shipping cartons. The odd thing is that although the cartons are huge (50" x 20" x 20") and heavy (lightest is about 60lbs), we didn't hear the delivery guy at all. Not a sound, not a thump, not a porch rattle. Nothing. We live in a wooden house that shakes when our kids walk around, so it's sort of curious that we managed to miss someone making a 240 pound delivery on our porch. Maybe they were teleported in? After dinner and before I left for hockey practice, we uncrated and set it up. Pixie approves of the new cubbies! She hopped right in to inspect our work and has staked out a favorite cubby. Look for a fleece blanket and a catnip mouse to be stored in that one. I decided to be nice and *not* block up the door - we'll have to squeeze by it in our den entry way for a while until the weather warms and we can start construction to move the door. We can't do it now, because the wall where we will put the new door has heating pipe on both sides and to alter that, we'll have to have the heat off and be able to empty the pipes. Not something we'd be wise to start in January...it's been warm lately, but we're still prefering to have the heat on. I'll be able to work from home tomorrow, so will get some actual items stored in the cubbies. Look for a follow-up photo soon!

Bedtime

Pajamas are on, teeth are brushed and everyone is tucked in his favorite way. Kisses are given, lights are out, good nights are said in all the languages we like and it seems that tonight will be a quiet one. I put away a few things from the hall shelf and head downstairs. I've just reached the den when I hear a soft thump from upstairs. There's a slight pause, then another thump and a shuffling noise. I go quietly back upstairs and hear muffled whispers.

"this one's yours...and here, these."

"thanks."

There's a pause in which I detect faint clicking. Then, a whisper I can't make out, followed by the quiet sound of bed covers being shifted; small someones nestling in. Ahhhh...bingo. They have the Gameboys and the last whisper was a warning to get under the covers for better concealment.

As I head to their room, I'm impressed - usually a nighttime raid such as this would have required a lot more noise and carrying on. Plus, they were cooperating and being polite - any mother would be proud! They've learned to whisper and probably made some arrangements ahead as far as who would do what, to minimize conversation. Too bad they haven't realized that their being under the covers will also render them less aware of what's going on outside of their tents! I snap on the light, my hand out. Two tow-heads appear with wide, guilty eyes and Gameboys are dropped into my hand without a word. Heads hanging, the extra cartridges are also handed over. For a moment, I feel awful. I want to dive under the covers and get up a game with them! Then I remember it's a school night and I'm the mom and the morning will be awful if they don't get to sleep. Sometimes, responsibility sucks rocks.

Polished Rocks!

The first batch of rocks Ross polished is done and wonderful! (You can catch up on earlier parts of the process here and here.) He got some really interesting colors and textures. We're all curious to see how future batches will come out!

LOVE. IT.

Fraukow rocks! She sent me a Buffalo Sabre guy for my car, so it wouldn't feel left out next to Chris' car in our driveway. :)

Death and Thank You Notes

Cuddled on the couch watching very bad TV, the subject of writing thank-you notes for our Christmas gifts came up. Usually, I either write them myself or provide all the required tools (notepaper, pens, stamps, addresses, legible handwriting for envelopes, etc...) and then stare at Chris while he cranks one out. This year, however, he said, "I already sent mine." He already sent his. He ALREADY SENT HIS?!? Moreover, he didn't put in any thanks from me, his loving wife who has spent over a decade writing thank-you notes on his behalf. His reaction? He didn't put any of my thanks in because he didn't know what to say for me. I told him to put,

"Karen died from shock when she learned that I wrote my own thank-you notes this year, so she's unable to send her own. Before her untimely death, she enjoyed her Christmas presents very much."

For the record, I don't really like pina coladas, although I gave them a very fair try.

Craptonite?

While I was out playing hockey, the boys played Star Wars. Chris reported his favorite moment as Ross, instructing Lars, "Tonight you're going to get frozen in the Craptonite but don't worry because when you unfreeze from the Craptonite you'll be blind but the blindness wears off."

Lightsabre Dreams

Despite never having seen Star Wars (we think it's not for very young kids, which may be provincial but after Star Wars, how could you go back to Bob the Builder?), Ross has been enamoured of the whole concept for years. He plays Star Wars (with and without actual Star Wars toys). He idolizes Yoda. He checks out every book the library has on the subject, over and over, memorizing the contents. He plays Lego Star Wars on xBox whenever he's allowed to turn the game console on. His Halloween costumes have been assorted SW characters the last two years and he has a line-up of several more planned. His writer's workshop stories are frequently about new droid adventures.

We figure Ross has been ready to see the movie for about a year now but Lars is still a bit young and, since what one watches at home the other sees also, Ross had not been able to see Star Wars. Enter our friend Rob, who has an amazing entertainment setup in his living room. Yesterday, Rob hosted a three-episode Star Wars marathon for Ross, complete with snacks, drinks, and some darned good Chinese take-out (I adore cold sesame noodles in Brooklyn. They're just not the same anywhere else). We watched Episodes IV (original version), V, and VI. Amusingly, Ross gave most of Episode IV a detailed play-by-play, "Next he's going to...!" and, "This is where they...". He was mildly confused at the beginning of Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, when Darth Vader did not come down the ramp from the ship couging, as he does in the Lego game movie clip, and after that settled in to watching more than narrating. Ross pressed for another episode but Rob and I agreed three was enough for one sitting and we'll go back for the remaining parts on a different day. Ross voiced a bit more disappointment about not getting to see another episode on the way to the car but was asleep before we hit Manhattan and my guess is there were Lightsabres in his dreams.

A Perfect Sale

The den in our house is small (about 7' x 14') but has a very high ceiling (nearly 10') and large windows, so it doesn't feel closed in. It took me a while to find desks that fit the space and were suitable for what we do. When I found them, I was mortified by the cost but no matter how much searching we did, we couldn't find anything we liked better or that would work and cost less so we bit the bullet and bought them. They were mail order and despite 43 measurement checks, I was nervous that they wouldn't fit...but they did and they are PERFECT. They exactly fit side by side. They also look great and are well made. We forgot about the money almost as soon as the desks were in and nearly two years later, we still love the desks. I get to work from home quite often and I've amassed quite a collection here of materials and equipment so that, even when I have to go in to the city, I rarely have to trek all the way out to the office. The time savings is great...but it means I constantly have stacks of cardboard boxes filled with catalogs or demo equipment hanging around. Sometimes when I'm dreaming of having a heck of a lot more money than I have, I peruse catalogs in search of better storage methods. I've had my eye on a cubby set that would be PERFECT, if it wasn't forty-six million dollars (ok, not quite that much but it's all the same, really, if you haven't got it). Each time the catalog arrives I find the picture, affirm that I still think it would be perfect and sigh as I realize that my measly savings just won't cover it. And then, a January miracle - IT'S ON SALE. It's on huge sale, 70% off. I checked my savings account - I have the money! I measured twice. I measured three times. Heck, I measured seven times because I wanted to make sure it would fit...and it will fit! In my den! Where it will make my cluttery gack look reasonable! When you come over to gawk in admiration, please try not to make fun of me for buying perfect furniture that blocks a door. The door WILL MOVE! We plan to renovate that bit of the house...just as soon as we recover from doing the kitchen.

It's Tricky

Lars likes tricky things. He likes the letter 'C' because it was tricky and asked to borrow sounds from letters 'S' and 'K'. He likes matching an expected result in an unexpected way. For example, it's tricky to make harmonica notes by sucking the air out the back end rather than employing the standard blowing-in method to produce the same notes. He also enjoys explaining something when it's too tricky for you to figure out on your own. Such explanations are especially satisfying when the trickiness in question is Lars, himself. Smug glee just glows off him whenever he gets to announce, "I was being tricky!" If you don't look totally impressed, he'll wiggle his eyebrows and nod confirmingly while saying, "You don't believe it!"

Q & A with Karen

Q. Why hasn't Karen written in days and days?

A. She has been wandering NYC amid Tibetan Monks and Confused Engineers, returning home too dazed (those monks wear *really* bright robes) and frustrated to do much but crank out required documents for her continued professional survival.

Q. What's with the new "College Bound" sidebar bit?

A. While I swear my two wonderful sons were JUST BORN, they claim to be ALREADY SIX and NEARLY EIGHT. By their time measurement scale, they will begin college TOMORROW and I am really not financially prepared for that to happen. An honest look at my financial skills reveals the following:

• I am not very good at saving money
• I am pretty good at earning money
• I am extremely good at spending money

My strongest skill has proven to be a rather surprising way to improve my weakest skill, thanks to UPromise (a program every parent should check out). In three years, our normal spending, with a minimum of extra thought, has produced over $1000 in college savings for the kids! Granted, it's a tiny amount compared to what they'll need in total but it's amazing that companies have given us that money for education based largely on our capacity for buying Kleenex and Triscuits. Pottery Barn, LLBeans, and Land's End also participate - very beneficial to us as I spend money at those websites anyhow and, through UPromise, I get a rebate in our 529 college funds each time I do. [Note: If you are not a parent and would like to sponsor my kids, PLEASE let me know - I'll send you an invitation so you can link your own purchases to my kids' accounts!]

With UPromise in mind, I started researching other ways to benefit from my shopping proclivity and discovered affiliate programs. Because of this, Reason Enough will now feature links to places we like to spend our money. Since we'll buy from these stores anyhow, we may as well get a bit back for it - all of which will go into the kids' 529 accounts. If you're also a fan of the stuff I post about or link to, please consider buying it by clicking through my blog! In recognition of your help in sending my kids to college without putting me in a box under a bridge, you will be repaid with gratitude and warm hospitality whenever possible!
[Note: You'll probably get the warm hospitality anyhow...we're nutty like that.]

Q. Oh no...advertising will be next!

A. Please state your answer in question format.

Q. Oh no...will advertising be next?

A. NO! I am only putting up sidebar click-throughs to places I will buy from, so that I can benefit from my own purchases, and links in my posts will be to items I use and enjoy, just like always.

For Colleen, with Compliments to Mr. Boston

With compliments to the Mr. Boston: Official Bartender's and Party Guide, and in response to Colleen's query, I offer the following bit of evening salvation:

Hot Brick Toddy
Into punch cup, put:

• 1 tsp. Butter
• 1 tsp. Powdered Sugar
• 3 pinches Cinnamon
• 1 oz. Hot Water

Dissolve thoroughly. Then, add 1-1/2oz Blended Whiskey. Fill with boiling water and stir.

Note: We prefer mugs to punch cups, as they are better for wrapping cold hands around to warm up. Also, more fits in a mug. This is not a dainty sort of drink, more one to prop yourself up with - a sort of portable winter fortification.

Taste a Rainbow

I can't figure out how to get jigglers out of cookie cutters to save my life, so I distract everyone's attention from the unevenly cut blobs with 32-bit color:

Take 2

Ok...please try the video again? I've changed the upload settings - maybe it will make a difference. Sorry for the late revision but I was in the city all day and then made a six-layer Jello Jiggler cake for Lars' school birthday book reading tomorrow and then enjoyed a movie while indulging in chocolate and a hot brick toddy with Chris. All's well that ends well!

video test

Fraukow learned a new blog thing this week and inspired me to figure out a new blog thing, too. So here, for your amusement, a badly filmed bit of an impromptu, post-dinner show at our house:



If you can figure out on your end how to view the clip using MediaPlayer, you should be able to adjust the brightness and get a better view of what's going on. Ross has clearly paid careful attention to the Broadway shows we've seen and I'm wondering when we'll be called in to explain about Tom Lehrer to the folks at his school.

Rock Tumbler Update

The first stage of the maiden run of Ross' rock tumbler is complete. The rocks, once dull and rough, are now smooth and showing more interesting colors:

Bambi's Mother is ...dead?

With two interstates, three state highways, and a major shopping center within a two mile radius of our house, we are not really in the country...but sometimes it's hard to tell. This morning, a limping doe was sighted at the school bus stop - she'd probably been clipped by a car. A neighbor reported her to the town and a cop was sent around to investigate. We heard two shots and then confirmed with our neighbor that the doe was down, in plain sight, at the bus stop and the cop had left! Chris called the township to ask if they'd come to collect her and was told they usually send a truck around at the end of the day. Chris mentioned that this particular carcass was left in the middle of the elementary school bus stop, and the same five kids who'd been traumatized by Bambi's mother's painful limping that morning would return at 3pm to find her dead at their feet. The lady in dispatch agreed it would be better to send someone over sooner, so we were thankfully spared a round of afternoon drama.

New York, New York!

My morning meeting ran much longer than I expected it to so I was rushing up Seventh Avenue from 29th, wondering if there was any possible way for me to make it to 117th and Broadway on time for my next appointment when suddenly, before me, there were FUZZY COW CABS. Despite my hurry, I stopped dead and whipped out my phone to grab a picture. FUZZY COW CABS! FUZZY! COWS!


Only in New York, I tell you, and right on time for a much needed smile. As I was snapping the pic, a woman about my size asked if I would like a ride in one of the "bull taxis," compliments of the Professional Bull Riders' Association. They are promoting their triumphant return to Madison Square Garden this month by dressing five NYC taxis up as bulls (you can't really see the horns in the picture, but there are horns as wide as the cab where the "on duty" light usually is) and ferrying folks around, free of charge, anywhere in Manhattan. Free! My associate and I quickly decided we were game and hopped in for a very nice (and speedy) ride uptown. It made my day!

Great Start

2007 started out with great friends, great food, and great fun...hopefully an indication of how the rest of the year will play out. Every NYE, one of our kids makes it to midnight and the other falls asleep. The last few years, they've traded off...if Ross makes it one year, Lars stays up the next. The kids at Chez Stoll also split the shift (Lindsay is snoozing upstairs).


The grown-ups hung out in the dining room, with the Emergency Back-up NYE Ball ready in case the Times Square version should encounter trouble.

Chris asserted that you should never drink champagne before midnight on New Year's Eve and here's proof that he's probably right - I would ordinarily know better than to let a consultant do his own rigging and wiring:

I hope your celebrations were as merry!