Chick Sitting

Things keep getting more and more farm-like 'round here. The Frednardi's are chick sitting for the Gaven family while they are vacationing. Sara (our dog) has been in heaven, what with the gerbils and the guinea pig and the chickens. Her herding instincts are in high gear as she roams from one cage to the next. We are looking forward to a share of the eggs (hint), which should start appearing in 3 months or so. Until then, they are just cute. FYI: The city of SoPo recently went through the process of allowing suburbanites to keep up to 6 laying hens (no roosters) on their property.

Frednardis Hit Beantown

So Fun! We love Boston. We had an overnight (in a hotel with a pool, of course) during April vacation. Squeezing a lot into two days, we started off with a matinee at the Charles Theatre and saw Blue Man Group perform. It's loads of insane fun and music with lots of t.p. and twinkies. If you ever get a chance to go, GO! Don't be afraid. Blue Men can smell fear. We also did some window shopping at Quincy Market and caught a street performer doing physical comedy with bowling pins and ladders - a tough way to make a living. Ethan tipped him big-time. It was such a nice day to take a walk through the North End and visit the Old North Church and Paul Revere Park (see Ethan as a fountain head), lunched on pasta & gelato and visited Mike's Pastry for treats to take home. On our way out of the city we visited Bunker Hill Monument, which is really on Breed's Hill, not Bunker Hill. Odd. By the way, there are 292 steps. All in a tight spiral up and then down. As you can see by the photo, it was a gorgeous spring day and we were soaking up every minute of it. 

Living with the Beach

When you live next to the beach, you live with the beach. Sand clings to sneakers, seaweed stuck in the dog's fur, and the occasional dead fish dropped by a distracted seagull (yes, it really happened) all find their way to your house. These bits spread on the kitchen table are some of my favorite gifts from the beach. Jim finds the best stuff when he walks Sara in the early morning. Broken and tumbled, each shard has a story to tell and now we are part of its history. 

Ethan's New Friend

Meet Stormy, the latest member of the Frednardi clan. Ethan became the proud owner of this very cute critter in March. It's a bit like living on a mini farm, what with the hay and the feedings and the waterings, but he's not a bad little guy and he makes the funniest squeaks and rumbly sounds. During the first few weeks we couldn't tell if he was making happy or angry sounds. Once again technology saved the day and we were able to "google" happy guinea sounds and angry guinea sounds. Anyway, he's adjusted well and aunt Pat can't wait to critter-sit when we go on vacation this summer! I'm sure they'll be fast friends.

Caucus much?

The Frednardis spent much of yesterday at the Democaratic Caucus in a line, on a bench, standing around, or being shuffled from line to bench to standing around. Ahhh, the democratic process. I loved it. There are still many "civilized" countries that transfer power through violence and bloodshed, while Americans get to show up on a sunday afternoon, chat with neighbors, cheer for their favorite candidate, be counted and go home. It's brilliant! We're lucky. _laurie

In case you were wondering. I caucused for Senator Barak Obama. fmi: www.barakobama.com/issues/

NEWS UPDATE - Youngest Frederick Declares End to Mid-Life Crisis, Will Sell Motorcycle

SOUTH PORTLAND, MAINE  February 7, 2008 - Jim Frederick, youngest, smartest and best behaved of the legendary Frederick family, today officially declared an end to his mid-life crisis and will sell his motorcycle, a bright red 2005 Suzuki V-Strom 650, for $6500. 

"I feel I ran the best campaign I could under the circumstances, but the smokin' hot, 20-year-old babes flocking to me never really materialized like I had planned," said Frederick, 40 1/2 years old, at a hastily arranged press conference outside his small, poorly lit, beige cubicle. "Therefore my mid-life crisis couldn't gather the momentum it needed to sustain itself. And so, after much prayer and deliberation, I've decided to sell the motorcycle in order to spend quality time with my family planning a second bathroom, so that I may one day sit on the can in uninterrupted peace. That's more important to me right now."

In an exclusive interview following the press conference, Frederick opened up about the moment when he knew his mid-life crisis was in trouble. "It was on the strip in Old Orchard Beach last summer, when a comely young woman asked me to put my shirt back on because my alabaster skin - well, I think she might have used the term 'pasty' - was burning her Chihuahua's retinas. But it wasn't what she said, exactly, that got to me. It was the fact that she called me 'sir.' " Frederick's eyes moistened. " 'Sir.' I knew right then and there I had no chance of pulling in any more delegates. Plus there was a cash crunch. My wife cut off my gas money allowance."

Frederick declined to declare his support of any of his relatives mid-life crises, although he said, "I'm going to keep an eye on Andrew. I suspect that in a few years, he may rebel and get a corporate job and vote Republican. Could really shake up the establishment."

As far as the future of his beloved Suzuki, or "crotch rocket" as he insisted on calling it (much to the distress of his saintly, long-suffering wife Laurie), Frederick says he is not worried. "I have a feeling it may not go too far. In fact, right now, my brother Pete is reading this thinking, 'Hey, that is a pretty nice bike, and the price is reasonable, and I've got room in the garage.' "

After all he has been through, Frederick remains optimistic. "I still believe strongly in the mid-life crisis process. It may be ugly at times, but it's necessary for the institution of manhood. I will definitely be there helping my friends' mid-life crises, you know, doing my part by telling them that pony tails look great on guys, goatees are still in style, that sort of thing."

Tea at the Blaine House

Wednesday we got to hobnob with movers and shakers in Augusta thanks to Isabella's Maine Recycles Calendar Art (see recent blog entry). Jim's cousin Pat Norton (Director of the Office of Policy and Legal Analysis) gave us a tour of the capital building. It was an absolute treat to get an inside view of the legislature. If you ever get the chance, take it. Then it was off to the Blaine House for a ceremony and tea with Mrs. Baldacci and her dogs Mia and Sam. It was a great day.

love,  Laurie

p.s. Naturally we stopped in Gardiner for a trip into Reny's and the Isamax whoopie pie shop!

MLKjr weekend in NYC

The Frednardis go to New York City for the weekend. Here's how it went in pictures...

1) are we there yet? by the smiles on our faces, it's still early in the car ride

2) room with a view. we heart craig's list (unless it's a defective cloning machine) 

3) isabella silently considers her plan to take over manhattan

4) freds rock "the rock." yes, ethan it is solid gold!

5) out with the kids for some late night fun in time square

6) a sad day to recall, infinitely harder to explain to your children why it happened

7) donut + pub = good

what didn't make the photo list: 

-the museum of natural history: 4 fred thumbs up!

-chilly subways and cozy cab rides

-dim sum in chinatown... turns out steaming mystery food does not make it look or taste better. 

Happy Year of the Rat!

love,

the frednardis

Isabella gets November!

The Frednardis are very proud to announce that Isabella's artwork has been chosen for the Maine Recycles 2008 Calendar. She gets the month of November! We'll be off to The Blaine House to shake hands with Mrs. Baldacci in late January. If you would like your own calendar (they're free) go to: www.maine.gov/spo/recycle/

Thanks for being there. -L

Remote

So apparently I can sit here eating lunch at my wife's studio and blog about it on my Blackberry. The world will be fascinated, I'm sure.

cloning gone bad

Hi there. Mother Frednardi here. We had some upsetting events in the last couple of days. In my attempt to clone Jim, you know, so I could check off some stuff on the the "honey-do" list growing yellow on the fridge, Ethan inadvertently got caught in the cloning machine's leaking radiation rays (it was free on craig's list, now we know why). Sadly, you can see the results here. Jim.1 turned out great. He is very useful around the bungalow and loves to stack wood. I'm thinking of renting him out for odd jobs to raise funds for Ethan's therapy. email me about hourly rates. Anyhoo, welcome to our blog. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for being there. -L

moe.

Let me try adding a link to the best band in the world.

Uh, hello?

Is this thing on?