Strawberry picking = jam making

When we lived in Bucks County PA Terry and I discovered a fabulous pick your own place, called Penn-Vermont after the native states of the couple that owns the place. They have the best peaches and blackberries you've ever had, and are probably the only place anywhere to pick black raspberries. So, as we're finally into strawberry season and our kids don't handle hanging out at home very well, we went to pick berries.

We left the camera in the car so no photos of Alex's red hands or Zoltan's Little Sal-like performance (kerplink, kerplank, kerplunk). However, I can report that we picked 5 quarts of berries, which turned into 2 batches of jam and enough leftover berries for snacking for the next day or two.

The other highlight was our quick pit stop at Bolton's Farm, home of all-good-stuff chickens and turkey products - anything you'd see as a processed pig product they will do with turkey. The best turkey bacon I've ever had. They even get their milk from a farm in the next town and uses glass containers, discount when you bring them back when you buy the next gallon.

More than any other thing ever has, today made me nostalgic for our Pennsylvania life pre-FS. 

It's not all bad

Some of the highlights of our new home, as I fear I'm focusing too much on the negative:
1. Lots of kids in the neighborhood, and at least a few friendly neighbors.
2. Alex's school will be walking distance for when I am not yet working.
3. The local civic center is walkable and seems geared for children, with youth orchestras and art shows, a really nice playground on its grounds, and for the adults (well kids too, but not our kids yet), community tennis courts.
4. The yard, where we can plant stuff. Especially now that the trees are gone, thus allowing sunlight to penetrate.
5. The deck, where we will grill at least every other day. Once we buy a grill as the previous one went to the cabin.
6. The ton of shops, restaurants and metro that are all within a mile. We walked to the library today and got our library cards. Right in front of it is a great little splash park 

The work begins

Today Alex and I spent the day at the house. Promptly 1 minute after I arrived at the house (and 15 minutes early!) the crew came to remove the 2 large trees in the back yard that were too close to the house, endangering the foundation and for all I know being the route the termites took to get in. Alex was fascinated watching them, actually I was too but I was also quite busy. The house had been what my mom would call filthy, what other people would call a bit dirty, so I cleaned bathrooms and swept. I had gotten those Windex wipes so Alex could help with windows and mirrors, and she really enjoyed it for about 15 minutes. When I realized that we had no drinking vessels, we ran to the nearest grocery store for provisions. During the day I also fielded 3 electricians for their estimates. This was actually my most critical task, however I got to the tree stuff first because they didn't need a person to let them into the house to see what the work would look like.

I had also completely forgotten to call the utilities to set up accounts in our names. And apparently the sellers got right on having the gas shut off when I didn't take care of that detail on Day 1, so they have to come turn the gas back on and of course they can't get to it for a few days. At least now I know the heating system isn't broken, it just isn't getting any fuel.  It was chilly inside the house, even Alex happily changed from shorts into the pants and socks I brought for her. Tomorrow is supposed to get close to 90F so it will be interesting to see how well the house stays cool without a little help.

Now I'm trying to contact the selected electrician and get him in ASAP to fix the bad and allegedly dangerous wiring. Tomorrow we get to go to Lowes and buy a hot water heater. If my bank account didn't take a hit every time I accomplished a task, I would probably find this way more fun than I am :-)

Here's an important question to anyone who might be reading: the bathtub has those anti-slip decals, I even remember them being marketed in the 1980s, they look like flowers. I need to remove them. Comet didn't even touch them, any suggestions??

Update from America

Alex and I have been in America for a week now. From Philly, we came down to my brother's house outside DC for a visit with them and coinciding with a visit from my mom. It turns out Ben's confirmation was this week too, so it's actually been pretty busy between that, Mother's Day on Sunday, and a lot of time on the phone and computer getting things ready for the closing.

Turns out the house has/had termites, so that added some excitement to the week, between ordering the termite inspection because that fell between the cracks, to the diagnosis of termites, to the treatment. All before Thursday. Crazy stuff. I am pretty sure the termite guy wanted to warn me not to buy the place. Let's hope it's all fine now.

Also, turns out all of Alex's blood tests came back fine. Her vitamin D is low but not low enough to be the obvious culprit for her broken bones, according to the very static-y message I listened to from the doctor. So I guess it's a good thing we didn't cancel the appointment with the orthopedist on Friday, and I expect he'll order a bone density scan as it was the next step after checking Alex's vitamin D.

We bought a dump!

Yes, friends, we are now 3 for 3 in our home buying ventures. Each abode we have purchased has led to a first weekend wander and "Why did you let me buy this dump?" "No, why did YOU let ME buy this dump?" conversation.

Of course, this is by far the most expensive dump. For the few of you who remember the Fanshawe blog, we'll definitely be documenting this renovation as we go along. You may even get to weigh in on paint colors or other fun things.

But, hey, it has a yard. And Alex can't get enough of walking out the front door and being in "green green grass".

Troubleshooting

The latch on our dryer broke and it's a long holiday weekend here so I have 2 thick strips of masking tape keeping the dryer door shut so the wet stuff doesn't get moldy. At one point the tape stopped sticking and it turns out the dryer is happy to operate while the door is wide open. I learn something new every day.

A home for our weary heads...

... or not.

Twice in the last few weeks we told our realtor to get a contract ready for us to sign, then learned in the middle of that process that the house had just gone under contract to some other lucky buyer.  This time, at least, we managed to actually complete a bid and successfully transmit it to the seller's broker.

We wait until Monday to find out our bid is rejected (we're not too hopeful, it isn't the strongest bid in the world). And then back to the drawing board. But, hey, this is farther than we've gotten so that has to count for something!

CABIN

[note: this was written soon after the actual trip to the cabin, but I  had to wait until the photos were edited so that Terry would allow them onto the blog. Hence, the timing will seem off. Yes we are now back in Russia and yes the trip to the cabin was more than a month ago]

As usual, we got a whopping few days at the cabin during this 6 week R and R trip. But we got an important milestone accomplished, and I am so in love with my father in law for making it happen.

The steps to the "front door" used to be a mangled, topply mess of forest with a wooden frame around each "step". In the last year he's leveled and cemented them, except for the topmost step. Here's Zoltan standing in what will be the filled-in last step.

 Here's the kids helping Pop-pop with the cement ...

 and then, most momentously, leaving their handprints forevermore.

I warned Terry when he wrote "9/6/2012" that with as much time as we spend everywhere else in the world we wouldn't remember if it was June 9 or September 6 but he didn't care. So here's the reminder.

It was also nice to be 4 days without internet or TV, and see how much Alex loves going on "adventures" up the hill and how 2 of the 25 1-year-whip apple trees we bought from the PA Game Commission (or something like that) are still alive and how huge the plum tree is (just needs a mate so it can start producing!)

We also found an orchard, Brace Orchard in Dallas, that sells its apples and peaches and makes fresh apple cider 3 times a week. The peaches were tasty but nothing special, apples a bit better than that, but the cider ... we decided it was worth the hour's round trip to get more although in the end we didn't make the trek. Next year we're definitely getting a gallon and finding a way to fit it in the fridge!

Sniff, sniff, he's heading home...

...and we still have 8 days left. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. because if the kids have been monsters on the diet of new places and faces for 5 weeks straight, how much worse will it be coupled with "daddy's gone"?  I think the prospect of Terry at the other side of that wall after baggage claim will be the only thing that keeps me sane through the nightmare that will be our journey home.

Mommy, why did that lady come over here?

This was asked by Alex, when our waitress came to check on us. She wasn't bringing any food or drink, we hadn't motioned to her to come over, and she wasn't bringing the check. One more way the USA is not like everywhere else in the world.

Oh, and booster seats.

Gramercy at Pentagon City

Unlike just about every other FS family, we have never, ever stayed at an Oakwood. In fact, every time we have stayed in VA/DC we have been in a different building. This time we went with Executive Apartments, Inc. and one of their Pentagon City locations.

There's a Dunkin Donuts in the building. Gold Star #1. Helpful front desk and plenty for the kids to do in the lobby area - things to look at, a pool table & TV, the business center ... OK not all exactly in the lobby but close enough I could hear them while checking in. Gold star #2. We asked for an air mattress for the 2 year old who still falls out of bed, they gave us a foldout bed. Strike #1. The kitchen has real pots and pans, even Pyrex casserole dishes with covers and a few Tupperware containers. The fridge dispenses filtered water. Gold star #3 and 4. The largest pot is too small to cook enough pasta to feed the entire family. Strike #2. Gas stove. Gold Star #5.The same useless window blinds as every other corporate apartment ever ... not cool when one kid requires darkness to sleep. Probably not fair to give a strike as everyone does this. 5 minute walk to a park with an entirely shaded playground, also only 5 minutes to Pentagon City mall and metro. Gold Star #6. They even provide beach towels for use at the pool (GS #7) but only 2 when there's 4 of us (S #3). As should be eident by now, we're pretty pleased overall. I just wish I had thought of this beforehand, now I can barely remember much about all the previous places.

The last time we stayed around here we were at AKA. They advised us we could place a Peapod order and they would have it in our apartment (yes fridge stuff in the fridge). As that time we flew straight from post to VA it was a gold star that outnumbered any other possible factor.

We still haven't really explored the building or much of the neighborhood so there will probably be updates.

Our first day in the USA

We decided there's no point just sitting around waiting for jet lag to attack us, so on our first day back we went to Penn Vermont Fruit Farm, a pick your own place we used to love when we lived in the area. We picked our own string beans - Zoltan loved them straight from the plant as we thought/hoped he would - then went over to the blackberries. Funny enough, he refused to eat the black ones and insisted on sucking on red ones, even eating a few. Ick! Alex however got the hang of things early on, as you can see by her fruit stained clothes, face and hands.

We made it!

This flight gave me hope for the future. The 3 hours to Germany was nothing, between snack and some of their toys and coloring the kids flew through that one. Frankfurt airport is so much better now that the construction is over (yes, that's how long it's been) but still not recommended. The good/bad thing is they have a pretty decent play area (good) but it's out past security (bad) and in a different terminal so we had to ride the tram (good - Z loved it; bad - adds time). We were at least able to give the kids 45 minutes of running around burning energy and we got something that approximated a meal.

The long haul flight started off awfully enough. Waiting, waiting, someone checked luggage and never got on the plane so that bag had to come off, then there was a medical emergency so first the medics came, then it was decided that person and travel companion had to get off and their luggage found. However, when we knew we were delayed one more time and I got up to get Z to the potty, we met the flight attendants. Awesome group of people. I love all of them. When explaining to one pair of attendants about Alex's need for darkness and the challenge of an all day flight, one lady handed me eye shades (the kind given away in first class) and wished me good luck. Wonder of wonders, it worked! Zoltan fell asleep pretty early on sucking on the lollypop we give the kids for their ears during takeoff and landing. T was able to ease the pop out but that may have been the downfall, as Z was awake only 20 minutes later. Alex, who we never thought would get any shuteye, slept for more than 2 hours! It was heaven.

Then it was time for snacks and TV. We'd been building Zoltan's tolerance for sitting and watching TV during the course of the summer and it was well worth it. Between the variety of movies offered on the plane and the fact we had 2 tablets loaded with their favorite shows, the kids were pretty happy for most of the flight. They did a little coloring and we read a few books, we pulled out the Leapster gameboy thingie and they each got a turn with it ... but most of our 8 hours in the air was consumed with TV, and I'm cool with that.

The next bit of heaven - our agreement was I would stay here an extra week after Terry went back, but on condition we flew in and out of Philly as my sanity and the kids' ability to not completely melt down only last for 2 planes, not 3. So we were met immediately outside customs by a nice man who had a luggage cart, loaded our stuff in it and whisked it away to the vehicle and met us around the other side, with a cooler of water and rented car seats so we didn't have to lug ours on the plane. The same nice man will bring me and the kids to the airport in a few weeks.

Zoltan did manage to fall asleep in the car. The one time I actually wished for a teensy bit of traffic, to keep the nap going, but of course we sailed through. So here are the stats: we woke the kids at 4am for the flight, between then and when the kids went to sleep again (at 3am Piter time) Alex slept 2h and Zoltan slept about 1.5h. The good news is they seem to be making up for it, taking their naps and going to bed on time. Terry and I don't even mind them waking around 6am as we're up then too!