Category: Grandparenting

A Maine Week: Granddaughter Fun & Books

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FUN WITH GRANDDAUGHTERS 

Eating at Home

Coming to Maine is a summer tradition for our granddaughters, and they eagerly anticipate the visit.  This year was no exception.  Certain activities are a given for the week.  One is making blueberry pancakes with Grandma.  Each year, they are more adept in the kitchen, and my role is now more that of an advisor.  The pancakes this year were especially delicious!

A newer tradition is one dinner of clams with linguini; chef for that is our son with the clams from a local purveyor. Note, these girls also love oysters so their dad got some local ones and shucked them himself.

Linguini a la vongole

Out and About

Also on the agenda is a visit to Boothbay Railway Village.   There is a schoolhouse and a house and other 19thcentury buildings to explore, plus the train ride around the village loop, and, of course, some time looking at the extensive model railroad exhibit.  At ages 6 and 10, they still loved it.

In past years, they played miniature golf with their dad.  This time, the Chief Penguin and I joined them.  Dolphin Mini Golf was created thirty-odd years ago and is a fun course to play.  Each hole is somehow sea-related with one shaped like a dolphin and another a whale.  An ice cream hut and a small shell museum round out the offerings.  The donated shell collections include shells from around the world as well as from this region. 

Then there’s the annual wander through Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens stopping to play the metal drums and pipes, sitting and rowing in the canoe, and bouncing on the string bridge. We spent the most time (probably an hour total of our couple hours) in the Fairy House Village.  The girls were creative and exercised their imaginations, each building a house of sticks, leaves, stones, shells, and woodland materials.

Readers All!

Both E and F, are now avid readers—such a joy to see!  F is immersed in the Ivy and Bean books, while older sister E is a fan of historical novels and fantasy and is currently finishing up Chris Colfer’s Land of Stories series.  I had borrowed a stack of books from the little library here and brought with me a few books for them.  In addition, we all enjoyed browsing and buying at Sherman’s in Boothbay Harbor. 

Other hits were a book of Little Women paper dolls, a Lego Friends set, and swimming in the cove.  

We ate several meals out including two dinners at Cozy’s Dockside where the girls enthusiastically ordered cones from the ice cream treats menu. 

MAINE BOOK OF THE WEEK

Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark

Alice E. Dark (amazon.com)

This is a leisurely novel about two octogenarian women, lifelong friends.  It’s meant to be savored and read slowly.  Polly and Agnes are women of an earlier generation, and the book takes place from 2000 to 2008. Societal expectations for women then related mostly to marriage and children.  Polly Wister, is the traditional woman, married to Dick, a Penn philosophy professor, and a mother of four sons. Her friend Alice Lee is single, author of a series of children’s books that made her reputation, but secretly also the author of adult novels written under a nom de plume.  

These friends winter in Haverford and Philadelphia but spend summers on the Maine coast in a family compound dating back more than 100 years founded by Alice’s great grandfather.  Alice wants to preserve the open land beyond the homes as a bird sanctuary.  Other owners and sons want to develop the land. 

Over the years, there are secrets and conflicts, marital tension, and issues over how much one likes or doesn’t like how one’s offspring have turned out.  This all plus an unjust accusation against a neighbor of the so-called “servant class” churn beneath the surface and sometimes erupt.   

Add into this mix Quaker values, old money, an unrequited love, and a new friendship, and you have the ebb and flow of the enduring relationship between Alice and Polly.  They are very different people and yet they share almost everything, emphasis on almost.

Both for the wonderful writing and its thoughtful exploration of the meaning of life and what kind of legacy we leave behind, it’s one of the best books I’ve read this year! (~JWFarrington)

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved). Header photo taken at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.

Granddaughters, Fun & Food

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GOOD TIMES WITH OUR GRANDDAUGHTERS

Our granddaughters, Eleanor and Frances, had not been to Florida since February 2020 just before Covid. That year we celebrated Frances’ March birthday (she would turn 4) super early with a heart-shaped, pink-frosted cake.  The Chief Penguin, aka Grandpa, is the resident baker and works his wonders to create memorable birthday desserts.

This year, the weather was lovely and sunny all but one day, and the girls frolicked for hours, and hours, in the pool. They became quite good swimmers last summer and refreshed their water skills while having oodles of fun.  F dove for rings and swam underwater. Using a pink (what other color is there!) noodle, she created a mini zipline effect on the pool stairs railing.  E jumped in the deep end, swam across the pool, and had timed races with her dad to see how fast she could swim.  

Besides the appeal of the water, there was the matter of food.  F loves strawberries and cherry tomatoes!  She devoured a couple of pints of each.  E, an increasingly accomplished baker and cook, loves all kinds of cheese, and helped with meal preparations and making pancakes, all with the occasional assist from Frances.  It not being Maine, these pancakes were made special with the addition of mini chocolate chips.  

The entire family likes pasta, so noodles and penne were featured in several dinners along with turkey chili, Italian Sunday sauce, and sauteed shrimp.  Going to Tide Tables Restaurant, a cozy spot on the water with inside and outside dining, is a tradition so, one day we braved the crowds to arrive for an early dinner.  Despite what was a packed parking lot, the elapsed time between arriving there, parking, waiting with drinks, and being escorted to a table was just 30 minutes!  The staff deserve credit for efficiently organizing the whole process.  

This is a family all of whom love clams.  Lunch at the Cortez Clam Factory on Saturday fit the bill.  A cousin visiting from Colorado joined us, and we were able to sit outside on the patio.  While only one person ordered clams, the brisket Reuben, Cuban sandwich, shrimp, and fried haddock were very tasty.  A true success!

On the home front, there were several opportunities for tennis, the girls and I kicked around a soccer ball, we did a fish puzzle, and we read books together and silently.  The girls also played with a favorite dollhouse plus blocks, Legos, and Calico Critters.  And we made time for going to Sarasota with a look at the boats in the marina and visits to two shops.

Reading on the stairs
Enjoying a book of jokes!

For the finale, we celebrated Frances’ upcoming 6th birthday with a unicorn-themed cake and cupcakes made by you know who.  It was a magical visit, full of fun for all of us!

Special birthday cake and cupcakes

SARASOTA TREATS

Most of my regular readers know that I am passionate about two stores in downtown Sarasota.  One is Artisan Cheese Company located in the Rosemary District and source of an array of cheddar, Swiss, Camembert, and other delectable cheeses from here and abroad.  The shop also sells distinctive butters and crackers, chocolates, Rancho Gordo beans, and unusual condiments plus homemade soups and delicate feta from Lesbos, Greece.  

My other favorite is Bookstore1Sarasota, a marvelous independent bookstore with a great selection and a very helpful staff.  They are now in a new location on Pineapple St. in The Mark, a new condominium building.  The shop is spacious and attractive with big windows and a colorful tropical flower graphic naming the sections.  From Staff Picks to the latest in fiction and nonfiction plus classics and books for kids, it’s fun to browse.  I always find at least one new title to buy!  There’s also have an upstairs area for events which might include a café at some point.  Both stores are worth the trip!

SOPHISTICATED DINING IN BRADENTON

Chateau 13

Chateau 13, in our opinion, still serves the best, most sophisticated cuisine in the area.  At a recent dinner there, the Chief Penguin and I were re-impressed with the caliber of service (the bread plates even came with a bread-and-butter knife, almost unheard of these days!) and the food.  We indulged in historic Champagne cocktails followed by the charcuterie cheese plate for the Chief Penguin and the French Caesar salad for me.  He then had the salmon rillette salad and the stuffed piquillo pepper appetizer while I savored the salmon en croute.  To top it off, we shared an order of truffle fries, but no dessert.  Everything was delicious!    

Note: Photos ©JWFarrington. Header graphic courtesy localjaw.com

Newagen Harbor

Maine Time: Reading & Granddaughters

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SUMMER READING

The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow

Anyone who’s read Austen’s Pride and Prejudice may recall Mary, the youngest Bennet girl and the one who gets the least positive attention.  She is smart, but she’s plain and outspoken, and she wears glasses.  In this novel, Hadlow takes up Mary’s cause and projects a life for her after the death of her father and the marriages of her four sisters. Part I mostly sets the stage by recapping the events leading up to sister Jane’s marriage to Bingley, and her sister Elizabeth’s bumpy road to becoming Mr. Darcy’s wife and the lady of Pemberley.   In a little like Goldilocks looking for the perfect resting place, Mary spends time on lengthy visits to Jane, then to family friend Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins, and then to her aunt Gardiner.  

This aunt takes Mary under her wing, sees that she has the proper attire for evening affairs and dinners, and oversees her developing friendships with two young men.  In time, Mary comes into her own, blossoming into an assured and self-confident individual who has much to offer and the opportunity for a more fulfilling life. 

I found this novel both successful and satisfying.  Hadlow remains mostly true to the mores of the day, and Mary’s transformation from ugly duckling to poised woman is convincing.  I might quibble that the third and fourth parts are longer than they need to be, but the expedition to the Scottish Lake Country is finely wrought and moves the story forward in the right way.  I found myself rooting for Mary from the get-go. Recommended! (~JWFarrington)

Secrets in Summer by Nancy Thayer

Nancy Thayer is not as popular an author as Elin Hilderbrand, but she too sets her novels in Nantucket and has written a slew of them.  Darcy is a fulltime resident living in the house she grew up in and inherited from her grandmother.  A children’s librarian, she has a dream job which she loves, but is distressed when her ex-husband and family rent the house next to hers for the summer.  The houses are close together, and she becomes entangled in the affairs and secrets of his teenaged stepdaughter, Willow. Add to this, Darcy’s attraction to both carpenter Noah, working on house repairs for her, and musicologist Clive, in town to work on a book, and you have a stew of romance, misunderstandings, and miscommunication.  The Nantucket details are fun, and the story is perfect beach reading—even if you’re reading from home!  

Lone seagull on a rock

GRANDDAUGHTER DIVERSIONS

The Chief Penguin and I are fortunate that we are in Maine (very low Covid-19 numbers and no cases in this county) and lucky that our granddaughters, 4 and 8, are here for a long visit.  Equipped with laptops and borrowed card tables, their parents can work while Grandpa and Grandma are on duty. We have done a lot of the obvious things with the girls.  Exploring the rocks and sandy coast for shells and sea glass, taking walks out and about, reading books together, baking and icing cupcakes, and assembling blueberry pancakes, an annual tradition.  

Besides the drawing and coloring they can do on their own, two purchases I made are providing hours of fun and diversion.  I don’t usually tout brand name products, but the tablecloth map of the United States from Uncommon Goods is simply fabulous!  Every state is labeled with its name and state capital and its state bird, state flower, and state animal are there to be colored in.  The cloth comes with a set of washable markers and can be decorated and then washed and colored all over again.  I printed out a list of state birds and flowers as a reference.  We talked about the states we live in and have visited, the best route to get from one place to another and so on.  That then led to a discussion of other countries and how far away they might be.

The next day we talked about Norway and the other Scandinavian countries and found them on a map on the computer, but how much more fun it would be for them to color all the countries of the world!  The U.S. tablecloth is so popular that I will definitely order the world map version. 

My other smart purchase for their visit was a handy travel case of Classic Legos.  Included are the small Legos in a variety of colors and shapes along with a booklet of ideas to make.  Between the suggestions and their imaginations, the girls have stayed occupied for long stretches.  They also had fun spreading out the U.S. tablecloth on the floor and then inventing scenarios with their Lego creations—car, castle, house, lighthouse—and placing somewhere on the map.

READING IN PROGRESS

When not engaged with my granddaughters, I’ve been poking my way through a quirky biography from 1970 and have just started a memoir about the biographer’s art that was published three years ago.  I expect to have a few thoughts about these two works in my next blog, at which point I will identify them.  Curious, yet?

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).

Maine Time: Mostly Granddaughters

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GRANDDAUGHTER TIME 

Even since she could say, ‘”grandma,” our younger granddaughter F, now almost two and a half, has called both me and the Chief Penguin that name.  This visit, she finally got it right and for a few days, he was “GrandPA” and then became just Grandpa.  We are now differentiated and she always wants to know “Where’s Grandpa?” if he isn’t right there with us.  F’s language continued to explode over the five days here with more sentences, more new words, questions like what’s that, and statements such as “I’m hungry” or “water dancing” in reference to the slightly shifting water in the cove. She likes books and being read to, can happily play by herself with her baby doll—changing her and carrying on a steady conversation or singing to her—and is a great builder with blocks, magnetic tiles and even small Legos.  She almost always has a ready smile, is fearless and physically bold (too much so) but being two, also a bit stubborn and wanting to do things herself.

Her older sister, E, is six and excited about starting first grade. She is reading a lot, both simple books and shorter chapter books.  A current favorite is the Ivy and Bean series.  E is very creative and likes art projects that involve drawing and cutting out objects and paper dolls.  She and I made a paper doll family, mother, father, big sister and little sister, and then drew and cut out suitcases, beach towels, and food items for them to take on vacation.  Earlier we did all the trappings of a birthday party—birthday cake, cups of lemonade, and goodie bags as well as pizza, cupcakes and doughnuts for refreshments–using just paper, crayons, and tape.  I’m the least artistic of my sisters, and both of them who are more so, would enjoy these draw, cut and color exercises!

When not engaged in art or books, we all visited the local alpaca farm (a hit), spent several hours at the botanical garden in their children’s area (fabulous!), shopped at the bookstore, walked the footbridge and ate ice cream in town, collected rocks and shells on the rocky shore, and watched while the girls and their dad braved Maine’s cold waters in a small cove and then romped in a nearby swimming pool. 

Meals were mostly at home and planned (not seriously planned) to be rustled together quickly.  E. was a good helper at mealtime and loved what she called, “make your own lunch,” basically a buffet of choices on the kitchen island. It also re-appeared as make your own breakfast and even make your own dinner.  One can perform culinary “miracles” with frozen meatballs and jarred tomato basil sauce with some cheese ravioli on the side!

Grandchildren wake up early; fortunately, the C. P. and I are early to rise also.  The little feet came pattering downstairs by 6:00 am, if not before, and I could guarantee that there would be voices greeting me as soon as I emerged to see about breakfast.  Lively, fun, and a real treat to have them here!  I think we stored up lots of good memories.

 

READING UPDATE

#19 Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou

Smart and blond with big blue eyes and a manufactured husky voice, Elizabeth Holmes’ idea for a finger stick blood testing device intrigued her Stanford professor mentor.  Dropping out of college at 19, she founded her own company, modeled herself on Steve Jobs, and wielding charm and charisma, convinced a number of wealthy, older prominent men to invest in Theranos and join its board.  None of these board members (all seemed to be male) had any medical or scientific background and hence didn’t possess the knowledge to evaluate her product. A detailed account of how Holmes cajoled, lied and hoodwinked investors and company staff, it is unputdownable and reads like a novel!

Elizabeth and her number two, Sunny, who was also her boyfriend, ruled with an iron hand creating a very toxic work environment.   She frequently fired individuals who raised doubts or asked questions; he bullied and harassed the staff and was often the one carrying out the dismissals.  Security was extreme, there was no cross communication between departments, and Elizabeth was routinely misleading in presentations to possible vendors such as Walgreens and Safeway.  Not only was she marketing a device that gave false and misleading results to patients, she also deceived her board.

A sad case is that of George Schultz and his grandson Tyler.  Tyler briefly worked for Theranos and had issues about the device and the company which he shared with his grandfather.  His grandfather sided with Elizabeth and became estranged from Tyler. It took a long time, but ultimately, thanks to this author, a Wall Street Journal  reporter, who gained access to a number of brave individuals and then wrote the first articles for his newspaper, the truth was revealed.

 

Note:  All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved)