Hike-a to the Ike-a

Shirra's store came with a few included items, like a counter for her cash register, but we've had to provide for pretty much everything else. So today we took a that long but necessary trip to Ikea.

To make matters worse, the nearer of the two Ikeas (both in New Jersey) was out of some of the shelving units that she wanted. Ikea Paramus also didn't have a bunk bed that we'd planned to get for our house, but Ikea Elizabeth did. Luckily Maeve fell asleep for the entire ride there, so we got to listen to a funny podcast of "This American Life." That was pretty much our only entertainment for the next six hours. It didn't help that we had to drive there thru pouring rain.

Once there, we knew exactly what we wanted, but because Ikea Elizabeth is smaller than its Paramus counterpart, we were slowed down by nearly an hour. At this Ikea, you have to place orders for their warehouse for certain items, and then those items are summoned forth from the unknown depths of the store. We were further delayed because we'd promised to take Maeve to the Ball Pit, but at least she got to have some fun at the store, and she was quite relaxed for the trip home, having gotten some exercise at the store.

The next step was to pack up the car, which was made more challenging by the fact that we'd forgotten to empty the car of certain items, like Emmett's unnecessary car seat and a boxful of books that Shirra was planning to take to the library at some point. In the end, it just made for a better photo. Had any of the boxes been an inch longer, it's doubtful we'd have been able to fit them into the minivan; we'd have had to place them on top of the car instead, something I was really glad we avoided. Back in New Paltz, we unloaded the boxes and pretty much had to go right into get-ready-for-bed mode. It doesn't feel like I've had a Saturday. Someone owes me a Saturday!

Opening a Store in New Paltz

Shirra is opening a knitting store in a week!

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
First there was getting a store. Initially Shirra looked at the place next to the bookstore on Chuch Street. That's a great location, but the shop is literally twice as large (and about twice the price) as what she needed, so she decided to look into the former antique store just down the block. It's a great spot that just needed a little touching up. The kids made signs to announce the impending opening.

MOLD, MOLD, MOLD
One of the touch-ups involved dealing with mold in the store. We still don't know the source of the water, but her landlord was great about trying to deal with the situation, volunteering to rip out the old (and stained) ceiling tiles and to take other measures. At this point, it appears that the mold has been taken care of, tho there may still be moisture. We'll see how it goes in the next few days.

YARN, YARN, YARN
Shirra had to place a few orders, naturally, and our house is now crammed with about 6 cubic yards of wool and a few wicker chairs that she found locally. When the moisture problem is under control, we'll move those things in, but for the last few days we've been living the old joke about the man who tells the rabbi that his house is too cramped and noisy and the rabbi tells him to bring in the chickens. Right now we're past the chickens and goats and are about to invite in the horse. Still, the kids and I don't mind -- we've lived like this before.

PINS and NEEDLES
Well, she really doesn't need pins (this isn't a quilting store), but she is about to order needles as well as some tchotchkes. Let's hope those don't have to stay in our house, too. Those might be the horse. I have a feeling that when we can finally move everything out of our house, it'll be just as the good rabbi said: really spacious.

The name of her store: Knit and Be Happy

Diversity Day in the Noop

Today was Diversity Day in New Paltz, so naturally Emmett and Maeve were wearing hula skirts and cut-out cardboard stars while shouting lines from a Doctor Seuss book.

The hula skirts were a close approximation of the Sneetch fur, but the director/costumer/stage manager Rachel had correctly surmised that the audience would not pick nits about any aspect of the production. The actors ranged in age from 3 (Maeve) to 11 (one of Fiona's classmates from last year), and amazingly, some of the kids had actually studied their lines ahead of time. More impressive still was that the cast actually listened to me when I suggested during our 'dress rehearsal' that they speak loudly and slowly.

The audience seemed miniscule until just moments till the proverbial curtain went up, but all of a sudden there were a hundred spectators. The narrator, older brother of one of Maeve's classmates, did a superb job, enunciating loud and clear and, for a reason I have yet to learn, using a mid-Atlantic accent he does not normally speak with.

Still, my two had their most fun at the Bouncy Castle, the inflatable tent that, if positioned correctly in Manhattan, would be a $2 million studio in today's market. The three of us -- Fiona and Shirra were at a sheep & wool show, not buying some rabbits -- watched the inflation and Maeve and Emmett, always courageous in the face of strangers if those strangers have stuff they want, asked if they could start bouncing even tho the tent wasn't officially (who are these officials?) supposed to be open for over an hour. Instead, they were greenlighted for the castle, moments later a few other kids joined in the fun. All together I'd estimate that they bounced for over 40 minutes, explaining why Maeve fell asleep so easily when it was nap time an hour later.

I should point out that there was more to Diversity Day than Sneetches and an inflated rubber room. All around the 'stage' were tables featuring local groups who represented many aspects of faith and philosophy. I spoke with a representative from the Ulster County Humanists who was seated between a gang of Pagans and a coterie of bible thumpers. Not far away was an ROTC table situated near a group asking for Bush's impeachment. It was lovely to see everyone getting along so well, tho not surprising for New Paltz. We did have our reasons for moving here, after all, and diversity was one of them.

New Post "Up"

Check out my most recent NPFD blog to read all about fire prevention week and how to scare large numbers of toddlers.