Fresh Faces to Eat
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A Day Out with Declan
Anne and I spent the day with Declan. Daycare was closed today, for a professional development day. I really think that the nice Chinese ladies who run the place, really just wanted to swill green beer. 😉 Dave had to work, even so, he took care of Wyatt, while we all went to the zoo. Stone zoo, the small private zoo that is located nearby. We got there right when it opened. Declan was the first one through the gate. Not too surprising, it being a very cold St. Pat’s Day.
Plus, there was last night. Oh, how the wind did howl! I have been sleeping on the couch in the living room, mainly because the foldout bed in the basement is not particularly comfortable to sleep in and while you cannot hear the wee one wakeup in the middle of the night down there, their couch is normally quite comfortable. But because of last night’s windstorm, I hardly slept a wink. There wasn’t much rain, but oh the wind. Even Dave commented on it in the morning.
Maren and David’s home is located atop a rocky promontory, three miles from Massachusetts Bay, with little between their house and the sea. Gale force winds were forecasted, causing all of the trees to sway wildly and some of them to brush the house. I kept expecting one to come crashing into the building. None did, but in the morning, we had to detour around a fallen tree around the corner.
The zoo was fun. A pair of flamingoes were noisily fighting, and we had to quickly move on, because they were frightening Declan. All of the big cats were out, none hiding. Even the gibbons were out, swing around. The St. Louis zoo’s gibbons would not be outside on a day like today. These New England folk are a hardy lot, none so as much as our grandson. It was hard to keep up with him, when we took him across the road from the zoo to a park with a playground.
Next up was lunch at the Melrose Diner, a real greasy spoon. Located next to a T-stop, our corner window table was perfect for entertaining Declan. Four purple commuter trains passed by while we dined. By the time the fourth one did, Declan had lined up all of the grape jelly packets at the table on the windowsill. For dinner tonight, Dave made Shepards pie to celebrate the Irish in him.
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day
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Jellies
The Monterey Aquarium has probably the best collection of jellyfish around. Pictured are two examples, on the right you have the wispy strands of a purple-lipped jelly and on the left is a stopped-motion animation of a microscopic umbrella jelly. An aquarium technician captured it on his workstation’s display screen and helped me to get this shot. Other jellies include the classic sea nettles and a whole new wing of deep, deep-sea creatures, the kind that sport their own running lights. I was able to capture picture of many of these creatures and plan on rationing them out over time. That was in Monterey, but now I am in Boston.
I left living the lifestyle of the rich and fabulous for that of grandpa. Today is a daycare day. I still had to get up at six AM, but once the wee ones were shoveled off to school, I could fall back to sleep. I slept to almost noon this way. I guess after only two days, I needed the break. With the kids away, Maren can travel to San Francisco and Dave can actually work from home. Tomorrow is a daycare holiday. They call it a professional development day. It is also St. Patrick’s Day, which is a big deal in Boston. It looks like we will take Declan to the zoo, if the weather is nice enough, or the library if it is not. Stay tuned.
Zhenjiang Boats
Baby’s First Waterboarding
Beware the Ides of March! Today was not a good day for grandchildren. First mommy (Maren) left on her business trip. This caused Declan to begin crying as she drove away. Later, he ended up face planting, after falling down the front steps. He and Anne were holding onto Puck’s leash, when Puck bolted, like she always does, while going down the steps. Cuts and abrasions accompanied some more Declan tears. Not to be left out, Wyatt entered today’s tale of tragedy and woe when Anne and I took him to very his first swimming lesson at the YMCA. Declan had taken these classes when he was Wyatt’s age. He has graduated to gymnastics, albeit at another YMCA. While we took Wyatt to swim lessons, Declan had fun with David jumping up-and-down on the trampoline.
Somehow, I drew the short straw and was chosen to get into the pool with Wyatt. In the family locker-room, Anne changed him, while I put my swimsuit on. We were late, class had already begun, when we got into the pool. Wyatt was holding onto me for dear life, like I might drop him into the water, as if. Anytime I tried to pull him off me, he would begin crying. So, I let him hug me, while we walked around the pool. This worked for a while, but his patience with this torture eventually grew short and we had to bail. Getting out of the pool, Anne was nowhere to be seen and she had the towels. Wyatt and I were getting colder on the deck in our wet swimwear.
Eventually, she returned from the bathroom, and we could towel him off. Back in the locker-room, we changed back into our dry clothes and left. Across the street we got a snack, some coffee and a bottle for Wyatt. He fell asleep on the drive home. I hope that this gets easier, else this will be a long visit. We’ll try swimming again next weekend, hopefully with more success.
