Top Chef

Finn of County Middlesex snuck out of his crib last week and caught his mother and I being naughty--he found us watching the finale of Top Chef!

The show had an effect on the lad, and we've signed him up for Top Chef 2025 when he'll be 18 and ready to compete.

Return of the Young Gruffalo

Belated, yes. But all present and accounted for.

We give you one Gruffalo's Halloween in Witch Country.

All materials chosen, assembled, and fitted to the Gruffalo by his mother.

Rainbow week at Somes Sound, Maine

Liam, Lucy, and Paul invited us to share a week with them in Maine. We stayed at a cottage Lucy's family's been going to for decades, so it felt like home through that connection. Somes Sound was right at the bottom of our driveway, and the property owner--a second-generation lobsterman--had "live wells" of lobster on his dock--$3.75/lb. Wow!

Liam and Finn were perfect buddies--They're so close in age and temperament so we pretty much kicked back and watched them build pillow forts, read books, push the "wheel barrow," snack, bathe, and generally hang out together. It was brilliant.

Thanks for a great week guys!

Prelude to a Gruffalo

Finn and his dad are spotted atop the highest peak on the Eastern Seaboard shortly before Halloween. They share an oxygen-deprived, euphoria-based howl together.

Nothing from Nothing at Sand Beach

Between friends, something can come from Nothing. Especially at Sand Beach, Mount Desert Island.

See for yourself!

Festina Lente

Finn visited Poppy in Newport, RI last week for an overnight on the boat, Festina Lente.

Festina is a Sabre 48 sloop, and even a big boy like Finn can get lost below decks.

We took a ride in the dinghy over to Fort Adams.

After lunch Finn took a nip-nap in the aft cabin.

When he woke up, Finn took the helm for a while and we had a sunset dinner prepared by Poppy down in the galley.

It was a day to remember and dream about for Finny-boy.

Back in the saddle

While we were at the dump this week, Finn spotted a collection of gently used bicycles which he urged me to drive by and inspect on his behalf.

We looked at them out there in the rain and he spotted one that caught his imagination, and so he further pressed me to inspect it more closely.

As I groped around the muddy pools surrounding the bicycles, Finn called, "That one, that one!" from the car.

"This one?" I asked from the downpour, pointing at a purple two-wheeler with rickety trainers and a sticker on it's side that read, "Puddin'."

"Yes, that one! Get it. Put it in the car!"

Later at home, after the rain, we worked on the bike--new trainers, new handle grips, new bell.

A little while after that, Finn learned how to ride...

Tall Ships

Finn of County Norfolk (formerly of County Santa Cruz and soon-to-be-of County Middlesex) and his kin boarded the Libertad--a 356' full-rigged ship out of Buenos Aries--over the weekend in Boston Harbor.

With a beam of 45'3" she is as wide across as some boats are from tip to transom! The Libertad is a big, Tall Ship!

Finn was most interested in the Bridge, which is the ship's command center.

He also showed interest in the craftsmanship of the wood decking.

On the car ride home that night, the young lad dreamt of stowing away and becoming a seaman.

Finn was joined by Susi, Jerry, Chase, Willy, and his mom and dad. Aunt Barb, Jack, and Kyle were missed, and they all risk Naval Court-Martial and/or keel hauling for their transgressions :)

Driving driving

Finn's cousin, Oliver, from Ottawa visited for Canada Day last week and the boys had a good ol' time driving fire engines and tractors.

What was he thinking?

When you look at a Warhol, especially if you place yourself at the center of it, as this young lad has done, you have to wonder:

What was he thinking?

Maybe it was this:

"Something I'm not doing these days that I should be doing is meeting more science people. I think that the best dinner party would be where each guest was required to bring a new piece of science news to the dinner table with him. Afterwards, you wouldn't feel you'd wasted any time feeding your machinery with just pieces of food. Nothing about diseases, though. Just pure science news.

People send me so many presents in the mail, but I wish that instead of all the presents and art mailers I would get science mailers in language I could understand. That would make me want to open my mail again".

Andy Warhol, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol, 1975 (Penguin)

(Photo: Shot with MacBook Photo Booth.)

Ticks, pools, beds, and bells

Today was a day of firsts for Finn of County Middlesex (formerly of County Santa Cruz).

While changing Finn's diaper before breakfast, daddy noticed a small, seed-sized adhesion on his right hip, just below the diaper line. We immediately realized what it was after all the hype here in New England: a nice new deer tick. We're becoming seasoned New Englanders and the presence of this little sucker (literally) didn't alarm us the way the previous one did a few months back (back of the neck, just inside the hairline, and deeply embedded, requiring laborious torturous removal techniques). Today, we simply called the doctor for an appointment, drove over there with little-to-no celebration, and had the tick removed.

A lolly-pop later we were back in the car heading toward Sleepy's on a mission for a new bed. We were briefly sidetracked by Sports Authority, where we purchased a 2-to-4 year-old's pool inner tube--complete with thick rubber tubing and Schrader valve. It's rained a lot here during the past few weeks, but we're completely ready for the sun and a few afternoons over at Susi's pool now!

Once back on track, we met Gerry, who is the salesman over at Sleepy's. He sold us a firm twin best-seller for just over $300 all-in (mattress only). Finn talked about his new bed all day, each time swelling up with a really big-boy smile of confidence and excitement and pride.

Later, mom and Finn went shopping for sheets and a protective barrier for the new mattress, and they also found a new bicycle bell and old-fashioned horn. Daddy installed the bell when they got home but Finn said he didn't want the horn installed just yet. Then the three of us rode bikes and rang bells for a good half-hour. Awesome stuff.

Finally, after a good hog-down on some tasty tandoori lamb chops from the BarBQ plus some ice cold wedges of watermelon eaten al fresca, we put on the new sheets and settled into Finn's first night in his the bed.

It's 930 and the lad's been up there, silent as a mouse for fifteen minutes. The night is young. We'll see what happens :)

Pre-Father's Day

Pre-Father's Day shenanigans with Finn and his father.

Midnight snack

A few nights ago, Finn of County Middlesex awoke with tears cries from a bad dream. He was inconsolable until he caught a whiff of his father's bowl of popcorn. After that, things improved. 

Out of gas

Our hero ran out of gas today while watching a movie on his mom's MacBook. 

We are in Santa Cruz, and we believe he got overstimulated with Bongos, Beaches, Basketballs, and Being.

Wild Kingdom

While on safari in the outer reaches of the ensuite bathroom today we captured a young giraffe roaming the travertine terraces. Apparently the young beast had been bathing in a warm-water pool characteristic of that region.

oh finn dee-la

How many times in your life have you said your own name?

Can you remember when you could count the number of times on one hand?

Whale Music

Each man named Finn comes to learn the root of his knowledge derived from monsters of the sea by direct and indirect experience. Here, our lad, Finn of County Middlesex (formerly of County Santa Cruz) communes with the leviathans in the safety of his wind-chimes.

Double-Double

The scene:

One dog (black). One woman ("mama"). One Finn (himself). Bubbles.

And, Action!  

Finn James meets Shan Casey

Former St Louis, Missouri Salon owner, Shan Casey, is an artist. Currently a hired gun in Boston's South End district, he styles the Personalities of Tremont Street while belting out David Bowie hits. Pictured here with Finn of County Middlesex (formerly of County Santa Cruz), Shan does his thing while Finn does his. 

How a lad acquires Drunken Sailor in 2009

Gone are the days when the only available means of enjoying a good tune was to head down to the Pub and sing with the gang. Today, if a young lad longs for a sailor's tune, here's how he goes about it: 

1. Search YouTube or iTunes for the version of the tune you like. 
   
2. Download the tune to your iPhone. 
   
3. Plug your iPhone into your SoundDock.
   

Here is Step 1 in action: 

"Made where?" Part 2 of 5

Study 2: Wash Your Hands 

"Context"image 

"Its very modularity" image

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"Made where?"

A Modular Series in Five (Or Maybe More) Parts

Toddlers are small-scale people who are in the throes of learning to walk. This developmental stage is sometimes referred to as the "terrible twos" after the tantrums for which they are famous.

The next five days of this blog will focus on a toddler and a narrow aspect of his socialization: His interaction with, and deconstruction of modular entities otherwise considered to be "well designed" household items.

The little hands and fingers and fingernails of a toddler are akin to the unconsciously inquiring tongue of an eight-year-old during the week preceding the loss of his first tooth: The merciless lingual probing responsible for both soothing and irritating the inflamed gum area around the proverbial "loose tooth" is strikingly similar to the often unconscious, yet dogged workings of the hand and digits--turning, twisting, picking, rubbing, knocking, and banging at any object close enough, smooth enough, warm enough, cold enough, interesting enough, uninteresting enough to turn, twist, pick, rub, knock, and bang.

Here we challenge you to first consider the "context" image, and to imagine where a toddler might find weakness, movement, the potential of movement, indeed "the very modularity" within the context of the serenity of the otherwise well-designed situation. Then click to find the magic that only little hands can find!

Study 1: The Woodpile

"Context" image
"Its very modularity" image

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Twisted strap

The following content may offend some viewers. You may want to turn away. This blog should be viewed "with" the captions in the slide presentation (use the controls below to view the captions with each picture).

Front Loaders in the Morning

A quiet morning at the Dila place in Medway: Finn James sips OJ, sucks the left thumb, and learns the finer points of moving the white stuff in Canada's capital (dvd courtesy of his cousin, Oliver).

Hemingway and other fishes

Finn chose a Siamese Fighting Fish to bring home from the local tropical fish store on the weekend.

Bettas are quite interesting in the fishy world because they have a "labyrinth organ" in their heads that allows them to take oxygen directly from the atmosphere in addition to the oxygen taken from water via their gills. Bettas that cannot reach the surface may drown (from Wikipedia).

Finn's Betta's name is Hemingway.

Places when you are small

Which small places do you remember from when you were this age?