A Clean Sweep

Eric was playing with a toy broom at the farm and continued to carry it with him, as he visited the animals in the farm.

He was a big hit with the women! Women love seeing a domesticated man. Women would see him carrying his broom and would stop and flirt with him.

So if you are reading this blog and you are a single male, go get yourself a broom and get ready to party!

Can You Hear Me

Yes, this is a real car in the shape of a telephone. I have heard of a phone-card but not a phone-car.

This is a new concept car that allows you to legally talk and drive at the same time.

Since the car is always on the move, it would appear that all of your costs would be for "roaming" charges.

Check out the Car Link, for a lesson in Marketing: http://thephonecar.com/

Lunch With A Princess

I had lunch with a princess today. She crawled and walked over to me. Then she looked up at me then she lifted up her arms. I bent down to pick her up and she wrapped her little arms around my neck and gave me a hug.

It does something to you to have a little child reach up and give you a hug. I melted.

Chips Ahoy

I had to bring in an excavating company to remove all of chips and debris from all of the trees I had cut down.

Ethan had a front row seat to see a real backhoe, a front end loader and a dump truck.

I told Ethan that the front end loader can reach from the backyard all the way to Grampy's wallet.

Hi-Fi to Hi-Tech

How to you keep a little girl occupied in the mall? Why you take her to the cosmetics counter at the store!

Janelle had fun riding the escalators up and down and looking at herself in the mirror.

Ponder

How does a little boy make up his mind? He has to carefully consider his options, weigh the possibilities, and determine the consequences. He will ponder awhile while he mulls everything over.

But from Grampy's observation, generally his hand will follow whatever his eyes are looking at.

What Generation Gap?

There is no generation gap when it comes to see-saws. Ethan and his great-grandmother were all smiles and laughs as they played on the see-saw.

Even though my mother had to have one hand on a cane and one foot on the see-saw she had a great time.

No matter our age, we all feel like little kids at the playground.

Intense

After coloring Easter eggs, a break is required.

Grandchildren get to play in pop up tents in the family room.

Kids get to run in and out of these pop up tents. Jump on them and have them collapse on anyone still inside.

Great fun!

Easter Eggs

The grandchildren came over to dye Easter eggs.

Times may have changed, but the time honored process of vinegar, eggs and coloring haven't changed.

Even the tin egg holder hasn't changed at all. It still has the same shape and handle length.

The handle length is shorter than the height of any cup so you are assured of coloring your fingers.

Stone Ground

There are those who like to have their coffee freshly ground. They might be able to appreciate fresh stone ground wheat.

This is part of the New England experience where the past is forever kept alive for future generations to enjoy.

In The Groove

At the gristmill, the mill operator is chiesling new grooves on a mill stone.

He is using a special tool that looks like a hand held pick axe. He rests his elbow on a towel as he chiesels away. It is very slow and exacting work, as he has to use short strokes.

Ethan loved watching the mill operator hitting the rock with his special axe.

It was a "Manly" moment.

Grinding Away

There is a science to the making of wheat. It is amazing what is involved in the transportation and movement of the grain. Grain elevators were invented to quickly move the grain up, down and between floors. There is also a sophisticated transportation system to move the grain around any particular floor.

The result is a gristmill that can function with only a few people.

Springtime At The Old Mill

After a nasty winter, the Mill is open again. Ethan wanted to check out the waterfall, while I wanted to check out the mill.

Once we stepped inside the mill, we stepped back in time to the Mechanical Age.

The Digital Age is very transparent, but the Mechanical Age is filled with awe and amazement. A little boy can see how a wheel can grind a stone and make wheat.

The Mechanical Age is the romantic age of science.

Storytime

A three year old is perpetual motion. His hands, feet and body are always moving.

But when it was storytime at church, he was perfectly still so that he could hear the story.

Giving Back

A charity had placed a coin funnel in the mall. Ethan was dropping coins and watching them spin their way down. After he dropped his last bit of change, he asked for more.

When he was told that there was no more change, his hand shot out with blinding speed to catch the coin before it dropped. You could hear the loud slap of his hand above the noise of the mall.

Not only is he faster than a speeding quarter, but his hand is faster than mine ever was!

The Crayon Box

It doesn't matter that you color with one crayon at a time. The entire contents of the crayon box has to be emptied onto the table.

Every single crayon must be removed before a serious artist can even contemplate which color to use.

I am convinced that impressionist art began with a three year old with a brush or a crayon.

House Garden

Grammy has Ethan sitting in a chair and Janelle sitting on the table, so that they can each use playdoh. Grammy then tells them a story that brings their art works to life.

It isn't a kitchen. It's a House Garden where little minds are growing.

The Process of Growing

It is almost impossible to observe growth as it occurs. It is by comparing where we have been to where we are that we really notice the change.

Thankfully, we have pictures to refer to that help us to document and record these changes.

All I did was turn around and in a blink of an eye, she turned from a baby to a little girl.

Talk To The Hand

What kind of parents allow children to sit on kitchen tables? Why Grandparents of course!

But as everyone knows, back when grandparents were parents, it was a much different story.

Time adds the "grand" to Grandparents, by allowing us to see things so much clearer from a childs perspective.