Last monday (nearly two weeks ago now), our new Cedarworks playset arrived in 18 large boxes, 1 slide, 1 pole, and 1 large bucket of bolts and other hardware. I had just cleaned the garage out so we could fit the delivery. The weather had been iffy and it wasn't clear when we'd be able to start building. The following Sunday looked promising so I put out the call for help and Ann and I paced around the yard trying to figure out where the best spot would be. The problem is that our yard slopes down towards the house and you need these things to be level so they don't... well... fall over.

Sunday came and only one person was available to help. Thankfully, Jay is, among other things, a contractor. With his help (who am I kidding -- with Jay doing much of the work) we got the basic structure of the gazebo standing along with the first level floor done by Sunday evening. This included digging under the uphill side so that the structure stands level on the hill that is our yard.

Monday, Ann and I hurt and took the day off.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Ann and I worked solo and managed to get the second level deck up, the chin bar and rope and pole up, the side walls, and the trap door and inside ladder together. We also added the long structure support on the gazebo on the swing side (to keep it from tipping when swinging is happening). This also involved digging to make sure the support lies flat.

On Thursday, I got the slide up and discovered that in order for it to sit flat on the upper deck, the end has to be about 4 feet in the air. While Jack loved the idea of launching off the end of the slide, I did not like the thought of broken legs and angry neighbor parents. Luckily, Jay was able to come by to lend his expertise and he figured out that if we remove the large block under the top of the slide and move it to the bottom of the slide, it won't be unreasonably high yet still be secure. Ann and I will also be putting in a nice pile of wood chips at the base to provide a softer landing spot (in fact, we'll be putting wood chips all around the structure when we do our landscaping work, the next big yard project). Jay also helped us get the swing side up and attached.

Friday, Ann and I finished it -- adding all the remaining structure supports (more digging!), the front booster step, handles, the crow's nest, steering wheel, bucket and rope, telescope, roof, and flag (yes! it has a flag!).

Needless to say, Jack is over the moon about this. He has been having so much fun with this set that he has been falling asleep during the nightly bedtime story which, at the moment, is Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander, a book he is deeply into.

You can see more pictures during and after construction here.

Got kids? Come on over and have some margaritas and let the kids play!

Tags: construction, handyman, home improvement, DIY, playtime, yardwork, Cedarworks

The other day, as I was driving home from somewhere with Jack in the back of the car, we spotted the neighbors at the end of the street outside with their son, two years younger than Jack, but one of his favorite people to play with all the same. I stopped and rolled down the window to speak to the Mom and Jack rolled down his to speak to his friend. Before I knew it, he was out of the car and running across the yard laughing. She said it was fine and I said I'd be back after I put the groceries away.

As I lifted the bags into the house I marveled at how strange it was that I was not with Jack. I completely trust the neighbors, it's not that. It's just that we've never really done that. We have arranged playdates where we drop him off and come back later, but never anything ad hoc like that.

It got me to thinking about how at his age, 7 going on 8, I was always out by myself. I would wake in the morning and get on my bike and go up and down our street looking for people to come out and play with me. I would come home at lunch and dinner but otherwise filled my days out on my own or with friends. Sometimes we would sneak into the nearby golf course. Sometimes we crawled through the storm drain pipes that lead down to the river. But we never strayed far. I wondered when society changed so much. When did we stop letting our kids out of our sights? When did we become so protective?

If I tell Jack to go outside and play in the back yard (something we rarely did before installing The Fence) he invariably sulks and says that he'd be bored and couldn't we come outside and play with him? Even indoors, if he isn't watching TV, he wants us to play with him.

Today, Ann sent me a link to an article in the Boston Globe which talks to all of this directly. "Sheltered Lives: When did kids stop playing outdoors?" by Jenna Russell talks about the research by Roger Hart, a brit who went and spoke to children back in the day and again today. He is producing a movie about this and I eagerly await its release.

I wish there was a way to give Jack much more freedom yet retain our sense of his safety. Maybe the answer is to let go and allow the greater (possibly perceived?) risk. But then again, knowing what we know about the world around us, I don't think we could do that. I don't really know the answers but this is something I want to raise with our neighbors with kids. Maybe we can come up with something together that benefits all of our children.

Tags: Childhood, playtime

I am feeling all handy-man right now. Our kitchen sink disposal tried to eat a tchotchke Google LED pen and choked on one of the batteries and was summarily destoyed. Water leaked out of the bottom of it and it shorted out.

So, I went out and bought a new one and... I installed it all by myself. And nothing leaked. And it works. I know, I know... many of you out there are thinking, "So what? Big deal," in your best Buckaroo Banzai quoting voices but this is a big deal to me. To date, where I am proficient at all things computer, my skills with the more mechanical have not been tested. I usually avoid dealing with anything plumbing or electric related and call in the experts.

I'm very happy at the few hundred dollars I just saved by doing it myself.

Tags: DIY, handyman, plumbing

Ann and I are participating in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk as "Team Affleck" and invite people to donate to the cause! While no one in our families have had breast cancer, we feel that this is an important cause and looking forward to this walk. It's a 4-mile walk around Roger Williams Park Zoo on October 14th and ask any and all readers to donate what they can via our team website.

Thanks!

Tags: American Cancer Society, Charities, Walking, Fundraising

Apparently, Jack wanted to watch TV in bed but having no TV in his bedroom, he improvised. He got out his inflatable travel bed and blew it up using the battery-operated pump and snuggled in for some quality tv time. School starts one week from today and camp is over. This is his last lazy time before fall insanity hits. I wish I could get away with that!

It's been a nice, quiet summer. Jack attended Zoo, Cub Scout, Farm, and Aquarium camps. He had a blast at all of them.

And now, before and after pictures of the other new garden Ann put together after she and I tore out the weeds that had taken over the space... (taken with the iPhone)

Tags: gardening, Weeding, yardwork

In our backyard is a Rose of Sharon tree with lovely white flowers. Underneath it is a blue Hydrangea, a ugly statue (inherited from the previous owner and never removed by us as we had other things to deal with), and a viney plant which was slowly choking the tree to death and taking over that section of the yard. After two years of ignoring it, we finally decided to get in there and take care of the mess. We spent about a week digging out the viney plant, removing it from the tree, and digging up clods of grass, shaking the dirt out of them and throwing them away in yard waste bags (though I used a few to fill in some divits in our yard). The work was back breakingly hard. Nearly a week after finishing, my back is still killing me. But it's done now and looks amazing. Ann picked out and planted all of the perennials.

Tags: gardening, yardwork

Crowded House released their first CD in nearly a decade a few weeks back and it has been in heavy rotation at our house since. I thought it would be fun to take Ann to see them in concert and found out last week that they were playing at Foxwoods in just a week's time. That sealed it. I got on the phone, got tickets and made reservations to stay overnight in the Great Cedars hotel (I figured we wouldn't want to drive back so late after the concert was over).

We had a complete blast. Crowded House is absolutely wonderful live and lead singer Neil Finn is quite funny as well. Somehow he got on the subject of bassist Nick Seymour being hungry and needing fish and chips as well as how all of the band could use mojitos or, at the very least, tequila. Shortly after, tequila shots and limes were delivered to the front of the stage and at least Neil and Nick partook. A few songs later, a nicely dressed room service cart with fish and chips was rolled out on stage and Nick ate the fish and had a few chips. Neil then took the plate, had a few himself and then began walking along the front of the stage passing out chips to whoever wanted them.

I managed this picture with my iPhone during the concert:


All in all, the concert was wonderful and it ended far too soon. And while they played a nice mix of old and new favorites (and a few songs I never remembered having heard before), they didn't play Into Temptation, my all time favorite song. Ah well, as Ann pointed out, they could have played for four hours and have left us not having heard all of our favorites.

It was also our first visit to Foxwoods itself. That was a trip. We ended up not bothering to play any games in any of the casinos. It was just too smoky. Cigarettes were everywhere and smoke was everywere. It got pretty gross. But this morning we went to the Grand Spa and Ann got a massage while I “read” (listened to an audio book) and then took a dip in the whirlpool and swimming pool. I even sat in the steam room for a bit. By the end I didn't want to leave the spa and have become addicted to the whole idea of the place. I haven't been that relaxed in I don't know how long.

Alas, we had to head home again and I am dog-tired now. But it was a wonderful way to start the weekend.

Tags: Crowded House, Foxwoods

When my father died, it was like an entire library burned to the ground.

—Laurie Anderson

My father-in-law, John, died last night. Ann and I sat with him and held his hand and talked to him for hours. He was very out of it but he did react as we spoke. His eyes and head moved, he squeezed our hands, and we could see his heart rate react on the monitor. At about 9:30PM he finally let go and died peacefully.

His obituary is as follows (reprinted from what we submitted to the local news:

John F. Affleck, 84, of Garden Hills Drive, Cranston, died Saturday, June 23, 2007 at Kent County Memorial Hospital in Warwick. He was the beloved husband for 58 years of Harriet A. (Vucci) Affleck.

Born in Providence, a son of the late John A. and Ann L. (O’Dea) Affleck, he resided in Cranston since 1935.

Mr. Affleck was a mechanical engineer and worked at Leesona Corporation in Warwick for 29 years, and later at Gulton Industries in East Greenwich before retiring.

He was a Staff Sergeant in the Army Air Force during WW-II, serving in the 37th Air Depot Group.

An avid golfer, he was a member of Sun Valley Country Club and Cranston Country Club.

Besides his wife, he was the devoted father of Ann Affleck and her husband Andrew of Cranston, and loving grandfather of Jack Affleck.

Funeral from the NARDOLILLO FUNERAL HOME, 1278 Park Ave., Cranston on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m., followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in Immaculate Conception Church, Oaklawn Ave., Cranston at 10:00 a.m. Burial will be private. VISITING HOURS Tuesday 4-8 p.m.

Jack and I went with his cub scout den on a tour of our local NBC affiliate. We got to meet one of the anchors and got a complete tour of the entire place. It was utterly fascinating. I love this kind of thing so I think I got more excited by it than Jack. Then again, the whole way home he went on about what an amazing time he had and how cool it was. Of course, I think the fact that he got a water bottle for free was a large part of that...

Tags: Cub Scouts, WJAR, Scouts

Thanks to iTunes, I now know what my wife has been doing when she's been out and about. I'm shocked and, frankly, disappointed. (It's the third item in the four below.)