Night of a Thousand Spills

Today's Japanese excursion via the internet took us first aboard a 500 Series Shinkansen bullet train. Both Holden and I were astonished at how fast things flew by our window. It was 8 minutes of pulse-racing, nail-biting fun. For added good measure, we also watched a little report on the new maglev train they are developing. The Japanese seem to have a thirst for speed... imagine a train going over 580km/hour... hovering on air. After that, we went to Kyoto, the city of temples. We took a rickshaw ride (this is where they were invented), got to spend an evening with a Geisha (she JUST played something akin to a guitar for us), and saw the Golden Pavillion (a temple). After our lessons, we left the virtual world and walked out into the real world. That could lead us to only one place... Beaver Meadow. It was a beautiful day for a walk. Holden found the last raspberries of the season! Sydney found two tiny mushrooms growing in the fairy tree, and an amazing pattern of foam in the creek by the bridge... it looked like someone had drawn it. On the way home, Sydney grabbed a few "owl feathers" (some kind of grass with a whispy top) that she wants to use to make a pillow. I see a sewing project in your future. After a quick lunch, it was off to Oliver Kelly Farm. This program had to do with "Putting things by" for winter. We got to help dig a root cellar (a shovel wide and a shovel deep), we saw how sauerkraut was made by mushing up cabbage with a tool called a beetle (side note: The salt added to the cabbage came from a little pitcher they called a "jill"), and we helped thresh some oats. Holden and I even peeled a few and ate them. Very time consuming. In addition, Holden and I spent a great deal of time playing "Secret Agent," which entailed going down into the cellar and up through the house without being seen. I also witnessed Holden's sheep-calling technique, which involves him humming Mozart to them. Sydney and Ada roamed the premises helping with everything from unseeding the citron to coralling the calves that were roaming the grounds. They also spent an inordinate amount of time taking care of some barn kittens and finally had to be booted out of the barn by the Historical Interpreters who wanted to go home. Oh yes, and what Oliver Kelly adventure would be complete without Gary flouting "the Man" and trying to dispose of his refuse in the pig pen. His carrot was rejected by Mrs. Pig, but his banana peel was slurped up like spaghetti. Finally, we headed for home and what I assumed would be a quiet little dinner. The kids were fantastic. Holden was the chief chef and cooked the meal. Sydney set the table and sorted out the napkins so we could choose the one we wanted. Then, she took our drink order. After everyone had gotten their drink, she embarked on pouring her own. Gush! Milk everywhere. Probably a good quart or two. Took a long time to clean that up, as it was on the table, under the table, inbetween the table, by the sink, etc... Sydney goes and takes a bath. We reassemble and finish up. Holden was just waiting to eat his corn... really drawing it out. He decides he needs some water to go with it. So, he grabs his cup and goes to the fridge. He puts his cup under the spout and decides he needs to pull it out a bit... turns out he pulls it out a bit too far. SPLOOSH! Waterfall of epic proportions. I thought the milk was bad... there was water all in the fridge, under the fridge, racing toward the bookcase, fanning out toward the garbage. I nearly slipped and fell. Every last towel we had was used to mop it up. But the story has a happy ending. Sydney jumps in and really helps clean it all up. And... Holden ate his corn! Cue swelling music and Holden's inevitable punch line... "okay, so now can I have dessert?" How about we just all tip toe upstairs to bed and pull the covers up to our chins and say good night.