Play Time

The faithful, long-time companion of the Northerns has completed its service.

 

After fourteen years of highway travel, commuter duty, and NorthernDaddy beating on it like a stolen pony  hauling some unusual items, the trusy Prizm is being put out to pasture.

 

It was comfortable, fuel-efficient, and dependable. It earned more than its keep. It required very little maintenance and went surprisingly well in the snow. It was a Very Useful Car.

 

Unfortunately, it had no soul. No character.

 

NorthernDaddy's "new" ride has tons of character. Hopefully, it will turn out to be as dependable and useful as the Prizm.

 

NorthernDaddy cannot bear the thought of selling the old car. (It probably wouldn't be ethical, what with all of the repairs needed for it to pass inspection.) NorthernMommy had the good idea of donating the car to the local high school's tech program - that's the route that NorthernDaddy is leaning toward. (The tax deduction would be more than an outright sale.)

 

LittleNortherner has a totally different idea as to what to do with the car.

 

 

He wants to make it his own personal jungle gym.

 

 

 

 

 

A Little Learnin'

LittleNortherner is working his way through First Grade and, judging by his school work, he's got this learning thing on lock - his facts are straight (even if his spelling needs a little work)!

 

"A Human is Living"

"A Toilet is Non-Living"

 

NorthernDaddy thinks that the illustrations are what really sell these concepts.

 

(Note to non-parents: Have a child, they'll keep you laughing!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

VROOOOM!

Guess what? It's time for Street Rods again!

 

That's right, LittleNortherner and NorthernDaddy continued their tradition of scoping out the cars and trucks at the Northeast Street Rod Nationals. There were a whole lot of cars to see, and many photographs were taken. NorthernDaddy will spare his readers the monotony of seeing every picture and only post up the really unusual or eye-catching.

 

How are you supposed to make a right turn in this thing? Can't see past the supercharger...

Totally classy.

This little scoot was for sale. For $3000. That's a little steep for a death-trap wagon with more motor than brake...

Awe-inducing motorhome.

Clean VW.

This guy's trailer was a replica of his car.

LittleNortherner's all-show favorite. Modded truck with a military motif. There were mini-gatling guns mounted in the front bumper, 20mm shells as housings for the cab lights, and gauges all over the dash making it look like the cabin of a Blackhawk helicopter. Little Man was all about this ride, and when he found out it was for sale, he begged and pleaded for Daddy to buy it. (Yeah, sure kid - right after Daddy sells a kidney.)




 

Crazy Monkey-Boy

LittleNortherner has to take a bath every night. NorthernDaddy supervises bath time, making sure that the little one scrubs his face and remembers to use soap (dude, the dirt doesn't just fall off when you hop in a tub of water).  When it's time to pull the stopper out of the tub and get out to dry off, that's the end of Daddy's tour of duty. LittleNortherner is left on his own to towel off, get his pajamas on, and brush his teeth.

 

Most of the time, this daily task is simply a boring (but necessary) routine.

 

Other times,....

 

...other times, insane things happen.

 

Apparently, LittleNortherner got bored with his towel hook located on the back of the bathroom door. He decided it was too "ordinary" and didn't require imagination or adventure to use that hook. He decided to use the other hook. The one eight feet off the ground that usually holds a hanging flower basket. Getting all 'CSI' on the crime scene, NorthernMommy and Daddy determined that LittleNortherner had to climb onto the seat of the toilet, then step up onto the toilet tank, and then - because he just couldn't stretch all the way - ease his way up onto the window sill in order to hook his towel up there.

 

Experts say that eighty percent of household accidents occur in the bathroom. (The other twenty percent involve NorthernDaddy, bacon grease, and kitchens, but those incidences are for other blog posts - not this one!) Looking at the crazy monkey-boy's stunts, it's not hard to see why...

 

 

 

 

 

It's a Frog

 

LittleNortherner drew this:

 

 

...and claims it is a frog.

 

 

NorthernDaddy doesn't think it looks like a frog.

 

Whatever it is, NorthernDaddy is being sure to take a flashlight with him during evening chores - just in case one of these things is running around out in the woods....

 

 

 



So Very Vermont

 

This showed up in NorthernDaddy's refrigerator no so long ago...

 

 

Maple-flavored milk. Let it be said again... M A P L E flavored milk. NorthernDaddy had never seen this stuff until he found it parked in his fridge. Seemed kind of weird, but then again, NorthernDaddy should not have been too surprised that in the land of maple syrup, maple candy, maple ice cream, maple granola, maple applesauce, and even maple vodka, that there would be maple-flavored milk.

 

In true Vermont fashion, this milk was organic (from grass-grazed cows) and flavored by organic maple syrup (one might argue that all maple syrup is organic).

 

Gotta love Vermont.

 

Thinking about it, with all of the dairy farms and sugar houses in the state, the only thing that could be more "Vermont-y" than maple milk would be a grizzled old flannel-wearing farmer using his rusty tractor to pull a stuck Subaru out of a rutted dirt road during Mud Season.

 

NorthernDaddy just hopes that the farmer is enjoying a glass of maple-flavored milk while he does it....