stinging criticism

Apparently a hive of yellow jackets didn't like the way I was weeding and trimming around the apple trees. They let me know in no uncertain terms. The first one made his "point" loud and clear inside my right ear lobe. While I was trying to rebuke him, I realized that my arms, shoulder and neck were receiving the same message. I started to utter a few profanities as I swatted and backpeddled, and then decided opening my mouth might not be the best idea. Running and yanking off my shirt seemed like a smarter choice (as the dead bee inside my "Bee"tles t-shirt proved). Julie heard the commotion from inside the house and asked the obvious question -"Bee's?" So thinking of Jamies need for the epi-pen, I grabbed some Benadryl and water and waited to see if my breathing or swallowing was going to get difficult. I assumed I would be able to at least whisper to julie "911" if necessary - which it wasn't. About an hour later I decided it was safe to call Sue (at the Marshfield fair Rabbit Show") and let her know of my mis-adventure.

Uncle Corey says Happy Birthday to Mary

me: my baby Mary turns 24 today

MEIGGSCRM: happy birthday to her....damn it wasn't that long ago i was holding her..when she was a baby..well that was my snap shot of her the last time i was up there

Mary's Anniversary Gift to us

Mary planned and organized a days worth of activity in honor of Sue's and mine approaching 25th Anniversay. The kids all managed to keep the plan a secret. We only knew that there WAS a plan and that it started with us all leaving the house at 9:30am and we were to be dressed nicely and in shades of blue. Sue quickly concluded that this meant a professional family photo (she was right). We assumed that part of the plan would include a lunch somewhere. We were also instructed to bring play clothes to change into (assuming some sort of outdoor adventure). Mary is totally proving to be her mothers own child. So we left the house right on time - to arrive at (stop #1) C & J's photo studio about 10 minutes early. Sue is ALWAYS early - never "fashionably" late (or any other excuse for late). Carol at the studio (the same studio that my parents brought us to 50 years ago for our family photos) was very impressed - first at the size of the family, and then at the efficiency that everybody fell into line and positioned and repositioned to get the optimal shots. We finished so quickly that we had close to an hour before our (stop #2) 11:30 lunch reservation at The Hitching Post. So where do we go when we have time to kill??? Of course - a cemetary. Fern Hill is the final resting place of many McClellan, Annis, and Everson ancestors - and it was a beautiful morning for head(stone) hunting. After burying ourselves in this pursuit, we headed for lunch - except we discovered that the Hitching Post serves only breakfast until 1:30 on Sundays, so we ate a hearty late breakfast. Mary then presented everybody with team T-Shirts that said BLAUSS 25 on the back, and off we went to (stop #3) my old Softball Team stomping grounds for a game of whiffleball. We broke into two teams and played 4 inning. Naturally the Blauss Team won, so according to an old tradition we went to (stop #4) DQ for a victory ice cream.

Nicely done, Mary!

http://picasaweb.google.com/don.sueblauss/25th

(I think I can say "nicely done, Sue & Donnie!" Our kids made us proud today!)

((PS: technically, the "25th" is on the 27th))

Green Harbor scientific research

Laurie is leading an effort to restore tidal flow into the Green Harbor River (site of our family island where we spend much of our childhoos summer vacations).
http://30phillipsst.blogspot.com/2007/02/island-games-by-eric-wes.html

http://web.whrsd.org/faculty/bianchi_laurie/River%20Project/ixRiver.htm

Much of the study has to do with catching fish on each side of the dyke and see how it changes when a limited amount of tide is allowed back into the river. Julie is using it as an opportunity to accumulate the required hours of community service she needs for school. Lots of other family members have also been pitching in. Today I got to help out for the first time.

Green Harbor Fish Pier

After leaving the Beach we circled around by the pier at Green Harbor - a true working pier. Jamie and Joe explored up and down the docks and checked out the boats and then a fisherman mentioned a boat was coming in with an 800 pound tuna. Despite Tim's impatience, we decided to stick around to see how big an 800lb tuna
really was. As we waited, word must have been spreading because more and more people started arriving to see the fish that had not yet arrived. After 45 minutes the boat tied up to the dock, with one very large fish laying on it's deck. With about 50 spectators leaning over railing for a better look, the 5ft long fish was winched up (officially weighed in at only 650lb) and into the waiting refrigerated fish market truck.

Brant Rock at low tide

For Corey Meiggs - if you can't get back to visit Brant Rock, I'll just have to send Brant Rock to you!

PS: Suzie says "Hi".

Julie's back from her big adventure

Julie spent the week with her favorite ex-teacher at Martha's Vineyard teaching art to 4-9 year olds. The perfect dream job (except for the no pay part) for her.

Manny being Manny (as of 7/31/08 4:00pm many miles from Boston)

(sung to the tune of Dock Of The Bay)

Hittin’ is what Manny’s done
He’ll be hittin’ though he won't even run
the rest of his stunts I won’t miss
In the Dodgers wall there’s no place to piss, yeah yeah
I'm waiting now to see Jason Bay
Hoping the tide will turn our way
Ooo, I just hope that gettin’ Jason Bay
is not Wastin' time
I lost my love of Manny
Let him and go and play in LA
'Cause I've a new guy to root for
look like Jason's gonna come save the day
So I'm just gonna root for my team at Fenway
a bit sad that Brandon and Craig went away
Ooo, I just hope that gettin’ Jason Bay
will ease all our minds

nothing was ever gonna change
Manny would still be sitting out games
He wouldn't do what $20 million tells him to do
So I guess he'll remain the same, yes

Jason’s here to hit our guys home
And I bet he’ll leave McCormack alone
From Pittsburgh and last place he’s roamed
Just to make the Green Monster his own
Now, I'm gonna sit and root for Jason Bay
Watching for homers flying away
Oooo-wee, thankful we got Jason Bay
just in time, yeah yeah

I'm Proud of my wife!

Following in my daughters footsteps – or – Why Erastus?

Why Erastus indeed. The simple answer is “I’m not exactly sure why he intrigues me – he just does”.

“Uncle Erastus” lived from 1837 to 1897 and once owned a piece of property that my family now owns. Our only direct knowledge of this long forgotten person was a reproduction of an old blue plate photo of him in front of a hunting shack with two dogs – allegedly on our mutually owned island in Green Harbor - and that he had served in the Civil War. Mary had done some research on Uncle Erastus and discovered some of his war history and that he served with the Freedman’s Bureau in South Carolina during the Reconstruction period following the war. Mary “chases dead people” – first as a hobby for her pure love of genealogy and old graveyards, now as a full-time job with her Masters degree. With the NEGHS she has access to all sorts of resources that the average hobby genealogist can’t get at. But I’ve been amazed at what I have been able to stumble across through google searches and such. Aside from the differences in returns based on if you search through Google or Yahoo or MSN, you get different results by using quotations and by putting his last name first or adding his middle initial. So discovering the mechanics of researching somebody has it’s own level of mystery and challenge and satisfaction. But back to the initial question – why Erastus? My ancestor was Barnabus (or Barnabas – depending on who wrote the record in question). Barnabus’ father and Erastus’ grandfather were brothers. Erastus married after the war but had no children to one day research his legacy. What Mary and I have stumbled across so far leads me to believe he was a very interesting person and deserves to be known. Now I suppose that any ancestor I picked would have been likewise a fascinating project, but since childhood there existed an interest in the original owner of our island. After Mary shared the info she had uncovered, my interest was elevated and I discovered the excitement of not only finding more info but also trying to decipher what it means. It’s as if I am writing a mystery book and attempting to figure out how the story goes, assuring that the facts make sense and fit correctly. Maybe more accurately, it’s like somebody already wrote the book but hid each chapter in different places – leaving clues as to where you can find them. No wonder Mary loves her job – she gets paid to solve the mysteries of people’s ancestors. So in a way, I am following in my daughter’s footsteps – chasing dead people. In my case though, I imagine it is only one dead person (although of course many other peoples lives play into his and must be known to some degree if I am to reconstruct Erastus properly. They hold many of the clues.). Other direct ancestors have been somewhat reconstructed already by others, and Erastus is the only one who has caught my interest enough to chase him. Besides, he apparently left behind a rather extensive paper trail – unlike most of our predecessors so my chances of success are greatly increased. I already acquired a letter he sent to an undetermined female cousin “Joe”. Mary got one from a library in California. The Boston Public Library has a collection with 188 items of his. The South Carolina Historical Society has an apparently large collection of his letters, military records, and even some family photographs. I am captivated by the concept of reconstructing this Reconstructionist. How much effort should I exert, at what cost (for considerable money I could acquire copies of almost everything), and for what ultimate purpose? What will happen if am able to reconstruct him - if I can “catch” him? Maybe I’ll have to ask Wiley Coyote for some advice.

Don't Even Ask

suffice to say it was one of those things. You try to teach your kids that you're supposed to think things through before you do it, but I didn't heed my own advice.

MAN it hurts!

It's Bearly Pawsible

The bear problem in New Hampshire is getting worse. Not only are they raiding dumpsters at restaurants and wandering through peoples backyards, they are loitering outside of Zeb's - hitting people up for money, bullying young boys, and getting frisky with the ladies.

Why does Joe look so sad?

Because Joe forgot to bring "essential item #9" camping with him. It is what he always wanted, and he got one for his birthday in May - but when it came time to go camping (the ideal place and the exact reason you want to own one) he could not find it. Let me tell you how many times in 5 days he wished he had it with him!

Saco River Rope Swing

One of the favorite activities when we camp in NH is the rope swing across from the campground beach on the Saco. At about 100 feet wide, the river is knee-to-waist deep for about 80 feet and then drops off to over my head right up to the far shore. Note that Jamie (in the water) is clinging to the river bank roots but not actually touching bottom. Corey (superwhite - if he was friendlier we could call him Casper!) swings out a good distance, but....

at one point I was out there helping Nikki as a group of 20-something kayakers were also giving it a go.
After all the boyfriends had finished showing off to their girlfriends I heard one of the young ladies say "but the old guy was the best at it". I will gladly dismiss the "old guy" crack because I get to say "I've STILL GOT IT! Take THAT you young hotshots!"

and just for the record - Sue also took a swing off of it and did so much more gracefully than the 20ish girl who went ahead of her.

As Paul Simon sang "Still crazy after all these years"

((more pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/don.sueblauss/Camping08 )

come camping with us in New Hampshire

Camping

North Conway here we come.
(funny - the camp ground is in Conway, not North Conway, but we always refer to it that way because that's where we go to shop at Zeb's and the 5 & dime and expolore town)
So Eastern Slope Camping Area on the Saco River near Dianna's Bath and Swift River Lower Basin and swimming, rafting/kayaking, shopping, eating, playing softball & whiffleball at the camp field - same old routine that we love so well year after year and the kids can't wait to go!

http://www.easternslopecamping.com/index.html

Unexpected scavenger hunt

We got an invitation to attend "Lizard Bowling" at 6:45 in Hanson - so off I went with Jamie and Joe, having no idea what "lizard" bowling actually is. When we got to the bowladrome at 6:30 the only person there was the attendant at the desk. The old man assured I he also had no idea what Lizard Bowling was but because they never do that sort of stuff here, we must be mistaken and we want to try the Hanover Alley's. 15 minutes drive later, we still did not find what we were looking for - only another virtually deserted facility. Dissapointed, yes - but determined to salvage something positive I decided we are close to Building 19-1/3 and I need new sandals. I found my new footwear, and a couple of those collapsable camping chairs (although we call them "bunny show chairs") - one a rocker and one a recliner! Joe and Jamie also found a couple of cheap prizes, and away we went. While cutting through Bryantville on our way back, I recalled that we would be going by the Mt Pleasant Cemetary where many Everson ancestors are buried - including the elusive Erastus Everson. Having never been there before we decided to try to find some ancestoral gravestones so we could let Mary know. I promised a dollar to whoever found my ancient uncle. After finding everybody BUT Erastus (and I knew he was there because brother-in-law Scott told me he's seen the stone there) it occurred to me that we should be looking for American Flags because of course Major Erastus W. Everson was a Civil War veteran and would be marked with a flag. Now the boys could run from flag to flag until Jamie yelled "FOUND HIM!".

The Garden - 2008

Our garden is of course a living growing entity, but it seems that our patio is also growing. Scott noticed it right away when he arrived for our annual "Friends of Youth Ministry" cookout, but in case you are not in a position to view it up close and personal I'll gladly show you.


This is circa 2005


















this is circa 2007



















this is 2008

Just in case you want to get jealous

usually we want summer to stay as long as possible, but this year I (we) can't wait for November! Eat your heart out!

http://www.sandals.com/main/lucia/lu-home.cfm

But I found out today that the resort is about 60% full as of now, which means there are openings if anyone wants to meet us there.

Ya.

You will be getting the ol' "My friends went to St Lucia and all I got was this lousy T-shirt" tee shirt.

CELTIC'S PRIDE - My Kind'a Team

Most kids develop a love of sports early and forever bond to their favorite teams from their childhood. I was born in the perfect time and place. The Patriots came into existence when I was 5. They were never the favorites, always the underdogs, but had colorful personnel (offensive lineman Lenny St. Jean owned a seedy bar in Hanson back in the day). The Sox had the Impossible Dream team when I was 12 and went from lovable losers to colorful lovable underdog World Series losers. The Big Bad Bruins - always underdogs to les Canadiens - had Orr and Espo and a working-class team of lesser known under-rated players in my prime teen years. But it was the Celtic's who taught Boston how to be winners. They were built to win, expected to win, and they did - in historic fashion. Red Auerbach mastered the concept of "role players" blending with stars who didn't act or think like stars. Everyone knew their role and knew that success depended on them accepting and fulfilling their roles. And succeed they did - when I was 2,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11, 13 & 14 (and more again later). "THEY" (the opponents) always had the nationally recognized prima dona superstar. They liked Wilt better than Russell, Magic better than Bird, Anyone better than Havlicek (heck - he wasn't even a starter half the time but invented the "6th Player" concept and turned it into an annual award) We always had the "defense first, just doin' my part" stars who understood that the guy coming off the bench and doing his job was equally important as the starter doing his job. The 2007-2008 Celtics "got it". They had the stars who didn't care about being "stars" and they had the role players who played their roles with pride and tenacity. Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen and House and Posey et al became champions last night. Paul Pierce became a series MVP and a "Celtic Legend" last night while being his teams 4th highest scorer of the game. He was happy with the points he scored but was proud of how he minimized Kobe's impact -totally not the thoughts of a typical superstar, but totally the thoughts of a "Celtic Champion". Garnett and Allen will someday be "Hall-of-Famers" and be forever associated with a great Celtic's championship. Pierce became "rafter-worthy", earning an undeniable place alongside Russell & Cousey & Havlicek & Bird & all the others.

Congratulations to the Celtic's on becoming Champ's (again).

Congratulations to Paul Pierce on becoming one of the "All Time Celtic Greats".