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by Matthew | Jun 24, 2013 | Weekly Roundup
Monday, I ran.
From there things went downhill. Tuesday began a week of being sick. First, Robbi got the blight and then I followed. The kids seem unaffected. So far.
In spite of the sniffles, I packed them all in the car last Wednesday and drove north for the financial bloodletting known as Costco. I challenge you to go there and spend less than $300. Perhaps you are a better man than I.
On the plus side, one can basically eat a seven-course banquet by merely strolling the aisle and making small talk with the folks handing out samples.
Unless one is sitting next to a bigger, stronger, meaner older sister with quicker reflexes and faster hands.
August is still at the age at which he can be sated by mere affection.
Costco also has the advantage of offering cheap (and huge) hot dogs, pizza slices, and soft serve ice cream sundaes.
On Thursday, I woke early and drove north.
Robbi and Kato wished me a warm farewell.
Morning was still in process as I drove to the Delaware House rest station (cue angelic organ music) and met my colleagues.
My destination: the nation’s fifth-largest city, the one and only Philadelphia, the nation’s first capital, home of the Liberty Bell and the cheese steak, home of the University of Pennsylvania and it’s famous “Split Button” statue.
On Friday, we wrangled bottles of milk.
And made our voices heard.
And grew suddenly introspective.
Before heading out for a leisurely walk with a borrowed dog.
On Saturday we paid a visit to our favorite shop in town, Twigs and Teacups (sometimes whereabouts of the lovely and wonderful Jenifer Emley, pictured here)
Our good friends Neil and Brian were in town for the day, so we took them on a comprehensive tour of Chestertown.
Fifteen minutes later we were done. But they tell us that they had a lovely visit. I forget how beautiful and rare this place is until I see it through the eyes of the uninitiated.
Yesterday, Sunday, I finally felt my sinuses clear and my head begin to emerge from the fog. Tossing caution aside, I took to the roads.
And was rewarded by blue skies.
And sparkling sunshine on the river.
The one good thing about being sick was the time to read, a thing I just don’t do enough of these days. Next up, a recommendation from my dear friend Joshua Wolf Shenk, a text that I really should have read a long time ago, James’ classic, The Varieties of the Religious Experience. I’ll let you know how it goes.
And now, a bit of news we’ve hinted at before. On Saturday morning, we will pack up the kids and the dog and coolers full of produce and will head for the wilds of Alaska for three weeks of sockeye salmon fishing. We won’t be blogging while we’re gone because sufficient bandwidth has yet to come to that part of Alaska. And to tell the truth, that’s a lot of what we love about it, the rough edges, clear skies, the gridlessness of it all.
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by Matthew | Jun 17, 2013 | Weekly Roundup
It was a good week. A hot week. A week for filling up the pool and getting our splash on.
A week for distracting Robbi. First with wholesome good cheer.
And then with harder-to-resist antics.
It’s as if they have been professionally trained to quash all attempts at productivity.
It was a week of dramatic weather. Here is the view at 9:30am last Thursday morning.
It rained like the End Times for about fifteen minutes. And then it cleared up until 5:00, when it rained like the second coming of the End Times for fifteen more minutes.
Alden was unaffected by the weather. She spent the week cultivating her patented blend of style…
…and sass.
Today was Father’s Day. I posted some scans of my cards from Robbi and the kids over on the Bobbledy Blog.
After breakfast, we took a ride across town.
Our destination: The Finishing Touch, where they have samples of every kind of frame in the world. Or so it seems.
Our mission: to get a frame for my favorite new drawing/painting from Robbi.
Please don’t ask me what it means. I love it because of how I feel when I look at it. Those perpendicular lines, those many shades of blue, those wonky lines, those inky blobs. It’s a picture of what it looks like inside of me. And somehow, Robbi knew how to get it down on paper.
We did other things this week, of course. And we’ll tell you more stories in days to come. But it’s funny how often the very best moments always seem rather ordinary.
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by Robbi | Jun 11, 2013 | Alden, August, Bobbledy Books, Kato, Kids, Life, Weekly Roundup
Last week was mostly wasted on me trying to file things away and deal with our overdue taxes (see here for some good misery). Though my desk is still a disaster:
I am happy to report that at least the flat table is clear:
(That’s actually a lie. I had to clear off a small stack of papers before taking that photo – evidence on the stool to the right of the flat table).
Almost all of the things that were causing me anxiety were finally taken care of, and I’m generally feeling a lot better, in spite of the fact that I got almost nothing else done last week. I did finally tear down our yearly calendar from last year…
…after being told that it was bad chi to have it hanging there, reminding us of all the things that we didn’t do.
Begone, bad chi!
The baddest chi about it was that the calendar was titled “2012: A Year of Productivity,” and we bought it thinking it would help us be more organized with the onset of Bobbledy. Notice just how long it took for us to fall of the bandwagon:
Also notice the 11 months of neglect following our fall:
Well, at least we’re done with THAT. Though, I’d like to point out that we did, indeed, have quite a year of productivity. It’s just that we didn’t keep track of it and had no idea what was coming down the pike until the night before it was due and we were in a full-on panic. Next year I’m getting a calendar called “2014: A Year of Effortless Serenity.” I’m sure we’ll be over that by the end of January too.
Last week Bobbledy renewals began to trickle in. We realized that a good number of the subscriptions were gift subscriptions, and that we really ought to inform the giftees #1: that they had been re-upped, and #2: from whom. After hand-writing a few notes saying as much, it quickly became evident that this was not the way to go. So, we designed a simple postcard with an image from “The Imaginary Dragon” on the front and a fill-in-the-blank note on the back. I did a bunch of different versions, but the basic idea was this:
I sent off the design to our favorite low-budget but decent quality and fast turnaround online printer PsPrint (they are perpetually running a “sale” on postcards of 50%-60% off). And in 5 short days, we received our new baby, swaddled in brown paper:
As always, they weren’t perfect. The “writeable” uncoated back surface was still a little too slick for my favorite kind of pen (uniball vision elite 05mm, if you must know) so I had to do some experimenting to come up with the right kind of pen (warning: profanity):
What can I say? A week of taxes will put me in a mood.
I also ruined a drawing that I liked very much by trying to be too artsy when I painted it.
It was a bunch of power line/oil derricky-type things, and they looked SO much better in black and white. It was going to be an auction item, but now it’s headed for the bottom of the recycling bin (though Matthew tends to dig those and and put them in a file of failures, which he’ll surely whip out someday to taunt me with).
One good thing that happened is that I managed to fix a mysterious website problem. I will not bore you with the details. Suffice it to say, I owe myself about $300. Come to think of it, I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.
In family news, I sent Matthew to the store to get some vegetables for a stir fry, and got a series of photos like this one, with accompanying text that said, “What about this?”
Alden and Kato spent a rainy afternoon making kites:
Kato was not satisfied:
Though he had taped a pencil in the bottom to act as a tail/handle, it kept wobbling around. It turns out, the solution was just more tape.
LOTS more tape.
Also: we ate strawberry shortcake for dinner.
And Alden, when forced to be separated from Kato for nap time, built herself a comfortable nest and promptly fell asleep.
If only we had known about this sooner.
Also: it rained like crazy.
This happened on First Friday, which is the day in Chestertown when stuff is actually going on – art openings, stores open late, people out and about. Our desire to be sociable was somewhat hampered by the rain, but the kids INSISTED that we go out.
There is a grating next the bank where Miss Lizzie works, below which water has collected in a mucky pool. A couple years ago, Miss Lizzie told us that there is a frog that lives down there, and so we check on it every time we walk by.
Legend has it, the bank employees once tried to free the frog, but it returned a few days later and has been down there ever since. Over the winter, the frog was not in evidence, much to the dismay of the kids. But the warm and dreary downpour must have brought him out to do some moisturizing. The kids demanded we take a picture to send to Baba. Apparently, they are under the impression that she cares for this frog.
We stopped in the Massoni Gallery to check out the latest Marc Castelli exhibition, which the kids discovered was the ideal spot for an impromptu game of peek-a-boo.
I bet Marc had no idea how fun his show was.
And then we swung by Doug the Baker’s to have a listen to the Pam Ortiz band.
Happening indeed.
And so, this week of not getting much done actually turns out to be a week quite full of things. I suppose being productive and being busy are two different things, but they don’t really need to be.
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by Matthew | May 27, 2013 | Books, Weekly Roundup
We have been absent here for a few days, but as is sometimes the case, we were too busy living our lives to report on them.
But here on this holiday morning, we have a moment to catch our breaths and tell you of the week that was, and more, the weekend that was. As anyone knows, Memorial Day weekend in Chestertown is the one and only Tea Party Festival.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
For the first part of the week, Kato brooded. We did not know why.
And then we suddenly figured it out. He had suddenly become an artist. A photographer, to be exact. He took Robbi’s camera and proceeded to practice his craft.
Apparently, his specialty is portraiture.
And high-energy drumming shots.
And slightly risque, “knee and lower thigh” shots.
And this moody piece he calls “still life with legs of stool.”
Not to be forgotten is “blurry sad dog.”
I could show you much more evidence of Kato’s burgeoning inner Ansel Adams. Much, much more. But I’m pretty sure you get the idea. And so I’ll move on.
To August, who spent some time perfecting his spiral staircase ascent.
At first, he was cautious.
But the possibilities were so great, that he pushed on, inspired.
With every step, his confidence grew.
It must be fun to be so small and have every discovery be so profound. His world is expanding, and I’m just so glad to be here with a front-row seat.
He has been coming with me when I drop Alden off at school.
He has taken to doing “works,” as practical activities are called in the Montessori parlance.
Kato, too, got a glimpse into his future by visiting Alden’s “primary” classroom (Kato spends most of his time in pre-primary). Primary has exciting challenges, such as screwing in various sizes of bolts with a screwdriver.
Or putting various sizes of styrofoam balls into tumblers.
While the boys did their works, Alden used an eyedropper to place tiny beads of green fluid into tiny suction cups.
Before.
And after. Builds fine motor skills and creates a thing of beauty.
Who says there’s no room for aesthetics in learning?
At Friendship Montessori, learning is fun. As shown.
But really, I have been stalling. This week was all about Tea Party, Chestertown’s yearly show of colonial merriment. Drawn by the lure of such festivity, my stepsister Gina, her husband King, and their little boy Whalen came down from Brooklyn.
On Friday afternoon, all of us headed up to the Washington College lacrosse stadium for the Sneaker Creeper, the annual track meet for kids that is one of the Tea Party kickoff events.
Alden was a rookie last year and has been talking ever since about her triumphant return to the track.
At her side was BFF Mary Jane.
The day was crisp and cool. Perfect running weather. Nothing could be sweeter.
The seasoned athletes that they are, Alden and Mary Jane went through a battery of stretches while August looked on in wonder (or was it silent scorn?).
Toe touches.
Torso twists.
High knee kicks.
Her fans looked on approvingly.
The Chestertown crowd.
And the Brooklyn contingent.
The first race was the 11-year-olds running the mile. Then the two-year-olds got their turn. Then the three-year-olds (Kato opted not to run this year) and four-year-olds. When the time came for five-year-old girls, Alden and Mary Jane lined up. The starting gun fired. And they were off.
This is what pure joy looks like.
She was a determined little blur.
And a winner!
Just like Mary Jane.
And cousin Whalen, too.
Saturday morning was the Tea Party parade. Living a block from High Street, we don’t have far to go for front-row seats .
Around here, people take their colonial merriment seriously.
Very seriously.
Especially the crab.
He dishes out hugs like it was 1776.
Of course, our beloved Chestertown Marching Band was at its finest.
Baby August looked on with the steely-eyed glare of one who has recently learned how to climb a spiral staircase.
“All this,” he seemed to say, “is but a trifle in the face of my magnificent accomplishments.”
His brooding was cut short as the Redcoats arrived.
But they were quickly chased off by the lion.
The king of the jungle broke August from his funk. Suddenly, he had a new mountain to climb.
He asked me if he could please ride on the lion.
It was difficult to deny him. Eventually, he had to be jailed, if briefly.
Tea Party continued, with lemonade.
And posing on barrels. You know, just like they did in revolutionary times.
After a few hours in the sun, we took a long, long nap. After which we reconvened for snacks on the deck.
Robbi grilled salmon with little confidence.
Spoiler alert: it was delicious.
On Sunday, we walked by the Chester in Wilmer Park.
Until it was time for goodbyes.
The pains of which were softened by the pleasures of grilled meat.
And lovely views of the river.
And a latenight bike ride through the neighborhood.
It was a very good weekend, capping off a very good week. In case you missed it, this is the week in which a box arrived from Chronicle…
…containing our advance copies of Ten Thousand Stories.
In the excitement of posting about that grand happening, I forgot to attend to some basic housekeeping.
Which is to say that, if you are so inclined, Ten Thousand Stories is now available for pre-order. Order today and get an only-somewhat-unexpected treat in the mail come November.
Also, we have just created a Facebook page for Ten Thousand Stories.Not blessed with the same huge marketing budgets as the “big six” publishers, Chronicle depends on social media and word-of-mouth to help promote its titles. If you are willing and have a minute to drop by and “like” the page, it will help our efforts to get the word out. Thanks in advance if you’re able to do it.
And that’s it. The week is behind us, but because of this holiday Monday, seemingly with us still. I’ll take it. I need a little time to recover from so much fun and to pretend for just a bit longer that real life will not return tomorrow morning.
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by Matthew | May 20, 2013 | Alden, August, Kato, Kids, Life, Weekly Roundup
Another week has come and gone. It’s startling how little time it seems to take to move from Sunday to Sunday. Part of the motivation behind our recent weekend roundup posts is an attempt to be more deliberate in taking note of the contents of our lives, hoping that looking back on recent happenings might help them find a sturdier place in our memories.
So then:
As some of you know, Robbi and Alden have both gotten serious lately about Tang Soo Do, a Korean martial arts form practiced by Robbi’s Dancing With the Stars partner Mark Pagano. Saturday was the big end of year picnic and promotion ceremony. We were to eat some hot dogs in the sunshine and Robbi was to be presented with her yellow belt in recognition of her promotion to the rank of 9th gup.
When we got to the picnic, the Tang Soo Do-ers were practicing their forms.
August was stunned.
All his life, has known is mother as a loving, gentle giver of life.
Suddenly she was a nimble ninja who could break your wrist with a casual glance. The contrast was so jarring that he needed a change of scenery. So we wandered down to the water to give him some time to process.
In no time, he found a fishing pole.
And proceeded to use it.
When Alden finished practicing her forms, she came down to join us by the water.
Eventually the aforementioned hot dogs happened.
As well as some badminton. In our actual game play, the BAD was emphasized, and so I will limit the photographic illustration of this sad stretch of the day’s events to this shot of Robbi posing alluringly with her racquet. Which matches her shirt, if you hadn’t noticed.
After hot dogs, Alden conned some older kids in to giving her a tour of the swimming pool while pretending to be a queen.
Good work, if you can get it.
Later that night, to quench a sudden craving, August helped me shop for seltzer.
This is a recap of our week. I didn’t say that all of it was exciting.
On Sunday, we got up early and headed to the Baltimore Zoo. The occasion was Iris’s birthday party. Iris is now five. This, too, is startling. The last five years of Iris’s life have passed about as quickly as this week has passed, which is to say, without my even noticing.
August spent the entire party climbing up this yellow ladder. By Robbi’s count, he scaled it 31 times.
Kato spent the entire time consulting his zoo map. His goal was to see the polar bears, and yet, all he could find was the playground. It was galling. He grew increasingly agitated.
But then the cake was served, and the agitation evaporated. Cake is amazing in this way.
After the cake, we were off. To explore the zoo in style. Alden and the birthday girl set off in search of adventure.
The first stop was the tram that took us to the far end of the zoo.
Before we got to the polar bears, we took a detour into the petting zoo.
The petting was a big hit, especially with August, who almost never meets anyone shorter than he is.
He begged us to let him bring the baby goat home.
But when we said no, he contented himself with whispering sweet nothings into the ear of any goat that would listen. Apparently, goats have very low standards, so August made a lot of new friends.
Like cake, goats are awesome.
As are polar bears.
The zoo has a train. It takes you on a short loop through the trees.
Kato loves the train. I almost wished that I had made him choose between eating cake and riding on the train. It would have been fun to see the internal conflict play itself out.
As it was, he got to ride on the train and eat his cake, too.
It was that kind of day.
As I was saying, trains are great. But, apparently, I make an even better conveyance.
But perhaps not quite as good as a lion? the kids loved sitting on the lion.
I said, the kids loved sitting on the lion.
Much better.
Here’s my advice. If at first the claim you want to make is refuted by the photograph, simply take more photographs. Eventually (as with the infinite monkey theorem, which states that if you give a monkey sufficient time, he will eventually write Hamlet), the exact photo you desire will come along.
It just might take a while.
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by Matthew | May 14, 2013 | Weekly Roundup
Last week was a good one in the studio. Robbi spent most of her time painting in the black and white sketches for our upcoming Bobbledy Book The Imaginary Dragon. There are 40 illustrations in the book, so this took a while.
But luckily, she had plenty of time to work. The skies conspired to keep us all indoors.
She even found time to create this painting for this week’s Bobbledy drawing prompt.
But we had another big project in mind for the week.
For a long time, we’ve been meaning to write a letter to the various folks who have been our subscribers in the past but whose subscriptions have lapsed for one reason or another. Just to remind them that we’re still here, still making books, and still in need (or is it just want?) of their love and support.
I wrote a very nice letter filled with heartfelt sentiment and well-constructed sentences. As is her usual tendency, Robbi took my words and scribbled all over them, crossing out the ones that didn’t suit her and adding her (usually derisive) commentary.
Here’s what we came up with. Click the thumbnail below to see a larger version. Warning: if you read this letter, you are almost guaranteed to subscribe to Idiots’Books, so powerful and moving are the words and images contained therein.
Once the letters were complete and printed, we had to put them in envelopes.
And apply mailing labels.
Fortunately, we had some help. Suddenly, and without warning, Alden developed the useful skills of gathering…
…and stacking.
We were elated. Finally, and at long last, the pains and trials of parenthood were starting to bear fruit. No longer just a consumer of resources, Alden was giving back to the family industry.
Unfortunately, at some point, Alden stopped to inspect the contents of the envelopes she was so dutifully organizing.
What she found was not to her liking.
I was informed that I was not, under any circumstances, to throw Robbi in a volcano. I asked her why and she replied, “Because it isn’t nice.”
She has a point.
Alden stormed off in protest, but it turned out we had a backup helper. He was enthusiastic, if slightly less skilled.
The following afternoon, I put stamps on envelopes while watching The Walking Dead.
Nothing pairs quite so exquisitely with postage as zombie slaughter. Kind of like chocolate and peanut butter.
After the mailing was done, Robbi went back to her Imaginary Dragon paintings. She realized that she had forgotten to ink one of the finals, so she printed out her sketch on what she thought was a blank piece of paper.
Alas, we still had the label paper in the printer from the day before.
Such are the inefficiencies and wasted materials that keep Idiots’Books from making a leap into the Fortune 500.
Though we may not have shareholders, dividends, and a proper CEO, we do have a king.
