Monday Morning Blues...School Again

Selleck Woods Park in Darien

Mitch's Longboard Jamboree

Pieris Japonica

It's about 6:15, the coffee is made, and the house is quiet for the moment.  Overcast out side so we may have some rain today.  Actually, Evie's up now, starting to make breakfast and lunches for the kids and Ramiro's up as well, happy to have his coffee ready and made.  He has a new device as well, a milk frother, so all you do is pour cold milk in it, turn it on and you have hot, frothy milk for a version of a latte.  I use a micro wave and a whisk in Chautauqua.

Marisa at Selleck Woods

Lots going on yesterday though when I look back, I  draw a blank, for the moment.  O, yea, Beth, Marisa, Evie, Cody, and I took a morning walk in the Selleck Woods, about ten minutes away, just around the corner from Trader Joe's.  It's a neat 100 acre plot of woods, with various stations, trees marked, and a lake.  We were here last time and enjoyed walking it with Marisa.  It was not very busy on a Sunday morning, surprising, as it was a sunny day.  While we walked, Rami took a 50 mile bike ride with a buddy.  Mitch, meanwhile, had a three to four hour volleyball practice on a Sunday morning, starting at 8:00.  A serious coach and team, they have a game tonight against Danbury, about forty five minutes from Darien.

Mitch returned home around 11:30 and headed straight off to a neighboring street, Peach Hill, where he and a group of buddies were having a Longboard Rally.   Peach Hill has a great quarter mile down hill, perfect for riding, one where kids can gain amazing speeds and do all kinds of turns and tricks.  We walked over to watch for a half an hour and were surprised at the turnout, with kids from NY, NJ as well as CT.  Mitch said they advertised it on Facebook.  I would estimate there were thirty to forty kids there, taking turns, then walking up the hill.  They organized this with the acquiesces of the neighbors, which is great.  When a car drove up, they would yell out to each other, clapping hands, making sure no boarder got in the way.  In other words, they were very conscious of being good citizens.  They even had awards, and various Longboard companies donated prizes for the winners.  This was all organized by Mitch and a couple of his buddies which was neat.  They had done it once before when we were here just after Thanksgiving.

Be Aggressive

We decided on one of our favorite dinners, teriyaki steak, rice, and salad, so we took our annual trip to Costco to buy food for the week.  We picked out a five pound rib roast (which I later carved into 1/4 inch slices an put in the teriyaki marinade) and filled up a cart with lots of good things for the week.  Costco on a Sunday is a mad house, parking lot filled, lines long, people scrambling to get a deal.  It is an amazing store, with great prices, and you can return anything, no questions asked. For dessert,  Rami picked out a Caramel, tres leches cake.

Chasing the Ball

We got home, unpacked and went off to the nearby park for Marisa's soccer game.  It was sunny but a bit chilly, still fleece weather. They played Norwalk, the next town, and the game ended up in a tie.  Marisa played goalie the second half and must have had 20 or 30 saves.  Without her, they would have lost as her team managed only one shot on goal the entire second half.  She seems unfazed out there, just doing her job. We got home and Rami fired up the grill for the steaks.  Marisa and I played some volleyball outside, in their front yard, where they have a net set up.  As we were playing, we saw this commotion in the trees, as a huge hawk flew on to a branch.  We ran over and looked, and it was a foot tall hawk, with a squirrel hanging from its mouth.   Marisa ran to tell her Dad and Evie; both came out with cameras and took pictures of it.

Hawk with Squirrel

We had margaritas and guacamole and chips as appetizers before dinner, then sat down around 7:00 for our steaks and rice.  This meal takes me back to our days in Hawaii when we were first introduced to teriyaki by our neighbors Mary and Henry, Hawaiian/Portuguese locals.  And we have made it ever since, in Istanbul, in Hudson, in Chautauqua and it's our kids and grand kids favorite.  We were not through with dinner till 8:00 and by then, it was time for the boys to do their homework, Marisa to head up to bed.  Rami and Beth watched their shows in the TV room, but Evie and I decided to go up to bed around 10:00, just as the boys were finished studying.