Well, Christmas happened. Edward and Ruby got more stuff than they could ever need, as usual, and they have been happily playing with it all ever since. And after Christmas morning we went up to my mother-in-law’s for more presents. We did have a nice day off on Friday, but then on Saturday it was […]
Category Archives: Family
Things Just Got a Little More Epic – CESH 2014
Four years ago we modified a long-standing family tradition in an effort to include the younger children and spice things up a bit. Instead of the annual shop-n-swap, in which each family member would go off and buy a small gift for each other player (with time and dollar limits), we changed it into a […]
Some Thanksgiving Pre-Gaming Advice That You’ll Want To Read
It has been over a year now since my cousin lost his battle with brain cancer, but there are still so many moments that recall him to my mind, and Thanksgiving is definitely one of them. He had some great advice for getting yourself ready for the big meal that has served me well all […]
Edward Learns to Drive
If you ever want to get Edward a present, just make sure it has wheels on it. Planes, trains, cars, motorcycles, fire trucks, bulldozers, and bicycles are all fair game. And if you want to sweeten the pot, you could make sure the thing actually moves on its own. Pull it backward and let it […]
Epic Selfie Contest – You Be the Judge!
This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending a family reunion, where I got to hang out with all of my aunts and uncles and cousins and second cousins and first cousins once removed and second cousins twice removed and nieces and nephews and mothers and children and adopted half step siblings. And that […]
A Year Without Opera
Well, it’s official. Today is the last day of 2013, so unless there are any surprise contracts coming my way with rehearsals starting this afternoon, I have spent the entire year without any opera gigs. And it’s not like I didn’t do a lot of singing, and tons of other cool stuff, but it is […]
So Many Fall Festivals
It is now autumn in Vermont. This means that every weekend there is some sort of harvest festival, apple-fest, fall-fest, or solstestival. These things include apple everything, maple everything, and hay everything. And we, like everyone else in the state, go to all of them. Last weekend we went to an orchard in Shelburne, VT […]
Make Time For the Living
When my mother called me in July and told me that my cousin was not responding to the treatment for his brain cancer, and that his time left with us had switched from years to weeks, I was horrified. And when she asked me if I was planning on going down to visit him in […]
Surprise Tenth Anniversary Vow Renewal
For our fifth anniversary, I surprised my wife by flying her to Las Vegas and staging a vow renewal ceremony at an Elvis wedding chapel. It was our thought at that time that every five years seemed like a good opportunity to recommit to each other, and so we started thinking about our tenth anniversary. […]
A Difference Made
When I was growing up, I often felt out of place amongst my extended family. Whether it was real, or all in my own mind, the reason was very clear to me. My uncles and cousins (like many uncles and cousins I suppose) were very into sports. It seemed to me that the value one […]