Living in Holyoke For Real

We rode out the winter all cozied up in our new abode, working on endless projects and making our place feel like ours. I enjoyed staying home with the sweet bambina and getting to hang out with my family and friends all winter. Juliet has been riding around on our backs throughout every season and is getting to know the outdoors, whether we be plodding around on snowshoes or hiking the many amazing trails that we are so lucky to have access to up here in Western MA. I am rediscovering some of the wonderful places around here that I had taken for granted when I lived out this way before and had since forgotten, and Damien has been doing quite a bit of whitewater kayaking on the rivers that meander through the nooks and crannies of the topography of good ol' Hampden and Hampshire Counties, along with the Berkshire region. Strangely Spring was warmer than the Summer has been so far (rain, rain, rain- we got a rain barrel to collect water from our gutter and it was full in the first night), and we have been totally fascinated watching the various phases of our garden progress- the people who lived here before us were avid, talented gardeners and we can't believe our good luck in terms of yard-splendor.

Juliet has been growing so much and she delights us constantly. Watching her personality develop as she experiences the world's curiosities for the first time has provided us with the most refreshing and captivating moments; we are totally enchanted by her. She is 11 months old now- a walking, babbling, beautiful child.

Some of the most memorable events of the last few months include: the birth of Everest Mooers (and working in the art store!) and all of the following times we have gotten to spend with that sweet pea and his parents, enjoying a fun-filled weekend in the Berkshires at the Petrangelo's cabin celebrating Danielle & Kristin's birthday with friends (I even had enough baby sitters to go snowboarding myself!), my parents throwing Damien a lovely birthday party, hanging out in Boston w/ the Johnsons and looking at a lot of art, going out to Buffalo at Easter and eating the most rockin Polish Easter Dinner of all time courtesy of Patty & meeting baby Huey and seeing all the wonderful people there, spending a beautiful weekend camping in Cape Cod with the Worgesses, relaxing in comfort and style in Mystic, CT with Dianne & Andy (falling in love with the Beluga Whales), turning a shocking 31 years old and celebrating our birthdays (my dad and I share the same birthday) more than once (Max Downtown mmmmmm and a "gahden pahty" where we played florida hockey aka Croquet), watching little Abby Brown turn one, traveling up to NH for a dreamy weekend with my folks and auntie full of hiking, waterfall-gazing, kayaking & canoeing (paddling against the wind as a single canoeist (canoer?) proved hilariously difficult and I think I'd still be out there if my parents didn't flank their kayaks on either side of the canoe to form a rescue flotilla), watching the girl take her first steps, eating countless meals, home-cooked and out, with family and friends, visiting Damien's classroom with the baby to make an appearance for Juliet's adoring teen fanbase, having visitors including David & Patty & my 2nd cousin Janine, reconnecting with old friends and making new ones, being surprised at all the various plants and blooms in our backyard, celebrating our first Mother's Day and first Father's Day, and watching the overall transformation of our house (mad props to the hubby).

As I write this a little sun light is actually making a Summer debut, so I must go and get out there. Oh and Damien had a successful school year and has only one day left until he is officially on summer vacation! He had perfect attendance...what a trooper.

Sorry so long...

I've been ignoring my blog probably because, although I'm hesitant to admit, I've become an avid facebooker. My on-line social life is really impressive and I network while in my slippers. I have found people who I haven't heard from in 13 years! But in the grand scope of things it turns out to be a bunch of random comments, pokes, and pictures of all my buddies partying as if they were still in college rather than a narrative, and as Damien pointed out, this blog has been a log of the last few years and I shouldn't neglect it especially during this huge new chapter of our lives. Furthermore, I've spent too much time looking at Persian rugs on ebay without ever bidding on one, and after I've looked at say, a million little thumbnail photos of Iranian craftmanship, I'm totally wiped. So, without further adieu, I present to you November, December, and January of the Schlaffer/Johnson household.

Juliet is more amazing than ever; I just cannot believe how profound and how beautiful it is to have her, and as I watch her two bottom teeth poking through, I realize how fast this precious time is passing. She turned 6 months old this month! I've been lucky to be able to stay home with her this first year, and I'm savoring every new development. Needless to say, I'm madly, hopelessly in love and that's paired with a mama bear instinct of epic proportions. This has allowed me to gladly give up all levels of coolness and suction a "Baby on Board"" sign on the back of my car in hopes of deterring the slightly sympathetic tailgater. It suffices as a warning that if you don't get off my ass this mama will, if not kill you, harm you without mercy because my girl is in the backseat. Oh I can truly feel the love rushing through my veins.

Having Juliet has made Damien and I especially excited for some dear friends who are also having babies...it's like baby mania! Kara & Mike just had a new baby boy Grant, I held a 5 day-old Wes Holdaway, son of Heather, Chris Storms and Julianna just had baby Huey, and Ed & Juliette patiently await their baby as she is now totally, absolutely 3 days overdue!

We now officially live in our new house after crashing at my parents' for months, moving in, moving back out, crashing at Di & Andy's for weeks, and moving back in again. This was all because fixing up a house turned out to be quite a toxic endeavor, and a new baby, toxins, and paranoid parents don't mix well. But after a lot lot lot of hours of labor, our new house is beautiful and about 3/4ths done. Damien would go straight to the house after work, work until 10pm, drive back, sleep, and then leave at 6 am to do it all over again for months. Our families and friends helped us so much we can't even fathom how to thank them enough. We absolutely couldn't do it without my cleaning, pruning, wallpaper peeling, wall demolishing parents, Aunt Di who is the queen of clean and the best babysitter to boot- she gets mad stuff done, Uncle Andy the awesome painter, will do anything you ask, is always there to lift, clean, move and drywall who had a hand in every room in the house, Uncle Jay the expert electrician, plumber, drywaller, whatever you need man of the hour, even Gregory helped(!); picture Ed Mooers holding up drywall to reach 9 foot ceilings, Marc Guillemette, the mad kitchen beautifer, tiling like the pro he is and hanging cabinets!, Patty the painter of the highest quality painting, Tim Ratkeiwitz sand blasting and powder coating our radiators, David & Tully the strong men drywalling a ceiling in like an hour, Luke carrying all kinds of heavy crap, and the list goes on and on. We love you.
This is our dining room. We hung these portraits Josh Bienko made us for our wedding (prized possession) and now have a light fixture too...
My mother hosted Thanksgiving which was absolutley wonderful- festivities galore. I think there were 40 people who I adore there. We certainly missed my grandparents a lot and thought of them while we ate like royalty and enjoyed one another.


December brought that good old New England snow we missed in Virginia, and Juliet appears to be a fan of the cold weather. Then we headed to Buffalo for a wild holiday week. We saw the whole Johnson clan for the holidays and got to introduce the bambina to a lot of wonderful friends too. I got a massage from Tara (gift from Patty), checked out Storms's new digs, got a spectacular tour of the Birchfield Penny museum by Tully, rung in the new year with Chris, Dana, Klug, Heather, Wes, Heath, Tara, Darren, Bill, Pete, Tully, Luke, Tim and some crazy good lasagnas, went out to eat with Kortni and Kristie, watched a documentary about black eagles at Heath's apartment, and relaxed at David & Patty's house.


January has been cold cold cold and Damien is a chaperone for the ski club at his school so they have been bravely facing the frigid nights and having an absolute ball at Jiminey Peak. In the meantime we continue to work on the house and be with the baby. Solid food has never been so fun! She just started eating the stuff and has so far tried rice & barley cereal, avocado (not the hit I had hoped- it puts a little kink in my plan to emigrate to Mexico), carrots, banana, and butternut squash. We have been seeing a lot of our wonderful old friends here in MA too and have been to a lot of great get-togethers. Halloween was a ball at Danielle's, Tracy and Abby hosted a fun evening and we celebrated the snow at Becky & Mark's party too.

So I think I better stop now and take care of my child. Until next time... see you on facebook! hahaha

Photo Story

Juliet loved hiking in Nash Stream State Forest, NH.

Her connection with nature allows her to have long conversations with little strawberry men

and even sleep through entire hikes up Skinner Mountain, MA.

She was happy when she woke up because we told her we bought her a house...that needed a LOT of work.

And we luckily have had a LOT of help. Thank you Mom, Dad, Jay, Dianne & Andy!

All that work sure musters up some serious appetites. Juliet is our centerpiece.

Our days are set to a pretty amazing soundtrack. Juliet listens intently to Grandpa Joe play guitar and Grandma Kay sing songs.

We took a break in the Adirondacks and cuddled.

Sometimes you need to admire the view (see the Adirondack story below).

Peace.

3 months old

Uncle Tully & Juliet hanging out in a cabin on Rainbow Lake, NY (Adirondaks)

Juliet's Great Aunt Liz came from Colorado to kayak to this spot to take this photo

Juliet listens to Grandpa David play some funky tunes on the clarinet

Juliet snuggles with Grandma Patty

Hikers enjoying Autumn in the Adirondaks

Juliet discovers boardwalks, northern forests, tamarac trees

The whole leaf-peeping crew poses

Big tree-hugger and baby tree-hugger tree hug

Check out our new pad

Our first house! We live in Massachusetts

Becoming Northerners Again

It was a hectic move from Richmond to Massachusetts with a new baby and all, but thank god for David, Tully, and Bob who flew from Buffalo to help Damien load our entire apartment into a Penske truck and drive it and one of our cars to Mass. I was entirely useless and they took good care of me, and I thank those guys with all of my heart, muscles, and sanity. So here we are staying with my folks during this transition period of our lives in Agawam, and the new grandparents are certainly enjoying the little sweet pea while we are grateful to have a wonderful place to stay as we get situated. A week after we got here we drove up to Canada where a three-week old Juliet got to meet the Johnson side of her family for the annual family reunion on Wolfe (aka Mud) island. We had a beautiful few days with the Johnsons, Lisowskis, Skorges, and Wus. I did a lot of relaxing, eating, and mothering while everyone else was fishing, sailing, swimming, kayaking, cooking, biking, and adoring the baby all around me. It was a great time.
The Mud Island crew this year. What a bunch!

The boat builders: Norm, Ozzie, & David

Who you'll find in my arms.

Juliet meets her great grandmother.

Our blissful little triad.

Happy baby.
4 weeks old and all clean.

5 weeks old and thinking about things in the world.

Damien found class 3 whitewater here in MA...this is him paddling Zoar Gap on the Deerfield River! He starts his new job in a week as a freshman English teacher at West Springfield High School...

Juliet: The Love of Our Lives