Brief Summer Update

Wow. So, so sorry about the lay-off - I really can't explain myself. Other than the fact that when I have acres and acres of time stretching out before me, and an able steed beneath me, all I really do is climb down and curl up in the clover and take a nap. Which is a very odd metaphorical way of saying that when I have an open schedule, I somehow get a hell of a lot less done than when my time is restricted somehow. By, oh, I don't know, a job, say. And since in summer I don't have one, the whole day is over before I know it and I haven't accomplished much of anything.

Except a lot of recreating. Janneke and I have made it out to the tennis courts at least three or four times (very good, for us), the kids and we have been swimming a number of times, which has taken up entire afternoons, either out at Windsor Lake in North Adams, up at Margaret Lindley Park in Williamstown, or over at the Sand Springs Pool - the only "public" pool in town, which isn't public, but rather private, and which requires either an exorbitant membership fee or an exorbitant daily pass. We've caved in on the passes a few times, because the pool is wonderful, the poolside amenities are great, and the days have been haaawwt.

So haawwt that we spent several of the last few nights downstairs in the guest rooms, where Q still prefers to sleep - though last night T went down there too, and they shared a bed, out of habit (usually we're all down there, and there are only two furnished rooms), but he came back up after an hour or so because T was snoring. And it had cooled down a lot upstairs by then anyway.

And we've been watching the world cup a lot. Here were the get-ups for the final:



(The Dutch also call themselves "cheese heads".) We were disappointed in the outcome, and in the US' showing in the tournament, but all in all, thrilled by the whole spectacle, and inspired, by our friend Magnus and his son Benni, to make plans for the future. Magnus and Benni, four years ago, decided that they would go to South Africa and watch the WC four years hence, and by crackee, they did it, saving up the money over the four years and going the hell over there. So Q and I have done the same thing, and here's the evidence:





Every day I don't buy myself any junk food, I put $5 in there. And every time Q cleans his room top to bottom, he still gets the $5 pocket money he ordinarily used to get, but we also put $5 in the envelope. (If we made him forego having pocket money to save it for an event four years from now, it would probably actually disincentivize him to save anything at all. So we came up with the "matching funds" program.) And he put about 60% of his birthday money in there. So we should have a tidy sum by the time 2014 comes around - and soon, I think I'm going to start learning Portuguese. With Q. Should be fun.

Dude - T beckons. I'm home alone with her this afternoon. More soon - including the big news of the summer: Gettin' a dog!!