Raining irony, and not much else.

Isn't that just the way it goes.  This morning we set out to tackle five errands, all at local vendors, on one round trip in the car, expecting thunderstorms and rain in the late afternoon and evening.  Our first stop, to the Dexter Farmers' Market, was fun and successful.  Our second stop, to the Dexter bike shop, produced only bad service (and no tire pump, since we finally got frustrated and walked out).  The early arrival of rain on our way to Turner's Garden Center to buy a rain barrel rendered that stop a bit disappointing, but at least the service was friendly and prompt.  The rain slowed in time for stops number four, to my parents' for transplant plants, and five, to the pumpkin field at Wing Farms to load our car up with free rocks (we can't wait to show you what we've been doing with those), and had stopped by the time we reached home at noon.  Still expecting storms and showers all evening I immediately set to the job of installing the new rain barrel, working straight through lunch, lest the threatening storm clouds should decide to produce a deluge with the downspout in pieces.  The installation was more involved than we had envisioned (meaning it required more tools) but was not difficult at all, the hardest part being the leveling of the the blocks we put the barrel on, and as I stepped back to take in my hard work, the sky cleared to a brilliant blue and the sun came out of hiding to reward us for our hard work and conservationism.  Not another cloud dotted the sky all day, let alone a drop of rain fall to test our new barrel, and ten days of forcasting don't predict any, either.  Mother Nature is truly a scornful omniscient.

All our frustrations aside, we are very excited about our new rain barrel.  Want to know more about them?  Try here.

Friday means music. And ice cream.

Friday's in Dexter mean live music in the park downtown, so that's where we headed tonight, on foot, with our picnic packed and stowed on the bottom of the stroller.  The music was rockabilly and enjoyable, and there was a pig to boot.  Really, a pig.  You can see for yourself.  We had a great picnic in the shade, then danced for a while, then chased the pig for a while, and lastly we headed for the Dairy Queen for the quintessential ice cream cones.  And, of course, the quintessential mess.  You can see that for yourselves, too.  We can't say that it's the same as The Top of the Park, but in many ways we can say we enjoyed it more - far fewer people, the band wasn't as loud, the park was far more comfortable, and the ice cream more reasonably priced - and we wonder if that's a sign that we are starting to become Dexterites.  That would really be fine with us.

More pictures in the July 2008 abum.

The Milkman Cometh

Tuesday is now officially delivery day at the Ophoff household.  For well over a year now we've been enjoying fresh, organic, mostly local fruits and vegetables delivered right to our door every Tuesday afternoon.  The produce has always been phenomenal and comes in at prices far less than what we would be paying at places like Whole Paycheck Foods (if your curiosity has been triggered you can look up Door to Door Organics to see if they have a hub in your area).  Now Tuesdays will be seeing a second delivery man at our door - the milkman.  I've always gotten a kick out of my father sometimes talking about the milkman coming to his house when he was just a boy, but now Calvin will be able to do the same.  Far from being a milkman, of course, he will bring with him, according to our order, a wide variety of dairy products, all of which are organic, Michigan made (visit Calder Dairy for info), and, again, at a price below what we would pay in the store.  The milk is even delivered in glass jars and a wire basket, and to top it all off, the milkman is very friendly.

It rainbowed on our picnic

Well, it wasn't really a picnic, just dinner on the deck, which is where we eat most nights, but it did rainbow on us - twice.  We were sitting there having a relaxing dinner and out of nowhere - wham! - a rainbow.  And then, as if one wasn't enough, there was suddenly a second one, much lighter than the first, but just as much a rainbow if you please.  Calvin was probably a mixture of bewildered and excited, and after it faded, and for the rest of the night, we were privy to his continual chorus of "rainbow all gone."  It's kind of hard to explain wonder and majesty to someone who is yet innocent enough to see the whole world as wonder and majesty and who has not yet been disillusioned by reality, but we'd take innocence over disillusionment any day.

 

To Calvin, who is two today,

Is it even possible to sum up an entire year of a young life in just a few paragraphs?  And yet, looking at you today, just today, we would be at a loss trying to describe what that year of changes entailed.  As the time passes, each day melts into the next, and sometimes whole weeks, even months, will blend together in our memories.  But in sitting down to reminisce about the past year, and looking at those pictures and videos from a year ago, we are reminded of just how far you really have come over the past 366 days:  from toddling to running, climbing stairs, turning somersaults, and even to full blown jumping; from a baby of few words, a handful at best, to a toddler with over 600 of them, and a growing grasp of phrases and sentences; from a shy introvert, to a full participant in dance, music, and library classes, and in Sunday School play room as well;  from a face stuffing, floor decorating eater, to a boy who uses his silverware and his napkin (most of the time), drinks from a glass, and will even set and clear the table and help load the dishwasher.  

We are coming to know you as a calm, gentle, and sensitive little boy who spends as much time thinking as acting, watching as doing, and listening as talking.  If we worried a year ago about your development without the daily exposure so many kids get in daycare, our fears have been set aside as we have seen you grow.  You love to share (even down to the very last fish cracker in your bowl or the only toy giraffe in the library), you are patient with others (always waiting your turn in line, never afraid to be last), and you have begun to fully take part in cooperative play (building towers or playing house with other kids in Sunday School).We absolutely love to hear you talk, especially to hear you practice your good manners with words and phrases like please, thank you, and excuse me, and we are so very proud of your happy and friendly demeanor, even when speaking with strangers (as long as your parents are near). 

You can sing your ABCs (mostly correctly), count to ten (though you sometimes forget "5"), and most days remember to do your chores (feeding the pets and setting the table), but perhaps one of our favorite developments has been that of imaginative play.  It was around Thanksgiving that you got your first play food set, and from then on there has been no stopping you.  You were so in love with that first set of food, pretending to cook all sorts of things, that it was soon followed by more food, then a set of pots and pans, plates and silverware, the kitchen itself, and now even condiments.  You can spend an uninterrupted hour playing by yourself in your kitchen, and we love to listen to you as you talk to yourself about your play.  But your imagination is far more active than even that.  The funniest example is the way you use one of your Maracas to vacuum the floor (when it isn't busy being an instrument, that is), and our favorite is probably the way you run around the house on all fours, roaring like a lion, barking like a dog, or meowing like a cat, and demand to be pet or fed.

If we had to sum up the past year in just a word or phrase it would be difficult to choose between a year of physical growth, intellectual achievements, or social advancements, but more likely than not we'd just have to say that the past year has been just plain fun.