Babysitting Oliver Tomorrow – Is it Back to the Sheep Farm Again?

So tomorrow it’s back to babysitting Oliver solo, well at least for the morning, Through July and August both my wife and I have been babysitting Oliver on Wednesdays, with the reserves Elizabeth and Nick coming in the afternoon. But my wife started back to work today and Elizabeth started working at her new school job (her last year in her Masters program working a year in a school) last week, so all that’s left is me in the morning and Nick and I in the afternoon. I am sure everything will go fine, a lot of times he is better when there are fewer people around, i.e. there is less to get him stimulated when it’s just DA!

As I thought about this tonight I remembered that I hadn’t written about last weeks babysitting the highlight of which was another trip to the Stratton Hall Herd Sheep Farm. Oliver loves his baas and was excited when we told him we were going to visit them again. When we got there though someone forgot to tell the sheep that we were coming!! They were not in the portion of the pasture where we could see them or feed them, rather they were way on the far side of the field. The owner was at the main gate though and asked me if there was anything we needed, i.e eggs or such. I told him no – we had just brought our grandson to see the sheep. He said ok and that he would go and get them. So he went over to the pear trees and then off to the sheep and soon the Pied Piper of Stratton Hall farm was coming across the pasture throwing pears and with a herd of sheep behind him!!

As we watched the sheep come across the field towards us I saw that one sheep was coming along the outside of the fence alone and soon was at the main gate and staying in the driveway – baaing at us!!

We were concerned that she was out, but the owner said that her name was Helen and she was really bossy so they didn’t keep her with the other sheep. (Well everything about that is true except the Helen part – Helen was my mother’s and her nickname in high school was Impossible and well nothing much changed through the years-enough said!) He also said that she wouldn’t leave the farm. Anyway Oliver got a kick out of seeing her!!

The Farm has three main breeds of sheep: the Dorset Horn sheep, the Leicester and the Jacob Sheep. The sheep in the driveway must be a Leicester sheep Here is a Dorset Horn sheep….

and here’s a Jacob Sheep that we first thought was a goat!!

Here’s a little about the Jacob sheep from Wikipedia:

The Jacob sheep is a rare breed of small, piebald (colored with white spots), polycerate (multi-horned) sheep. Jacobs may have from two to six horns, but most commonly have four. The most common color is black and white. Jacobs are usually raised for their wool, meat, and hides. They are also kept as pets and ornamental animals, and have been used as guard animals to protect farm property from theft or vandalism and defend other livestock against predators

Generally referred to as an unimproved or heirloom breed (one that has survived with little human selection), the Jacob is descended from an ancient Old World breed of sheep, although its exact origins remain unclear. Spotted polycerate sheep were documented in England by the mid–17th century, and were widespread a century later. Unlike most other old world breeds, the Jacobs of North America have not undergone extensive cross-breeding and selective breeding; their body habitus resembles that of a goat. Relative to their American counterparts, British Jacobs tend to be larger and heavier, and have lost many of their original characteristics Read More

I told my wife the other day I think that the unicorn came from the Jacob Sheep. What do you think?

All in all it was a fun short trip to the farm and the more I think about it the more I think we may take another trip there tomorrow!!! Who could resist a grandchild look like this!

The post Oliver Visits the Sheep Farm Again!! appeared first on .

Today we are babysitting our grandson, Oliver and so far so good. He has been in a good mood, ate his breakfast and we just went for a long walk at the end of which he fell asleep!!

This morning, I decided that I was going to listen to some music when we went on our walk and for the soundtrack I thought about making it some jazz, possibly someone new whose birthday is today!!

Many times when I review the jazz birthdays I look for musicians who play an instrument that I love and today the instrument that was prevalent was the vibraphone with three musician’s sharing today as the day of their birth. The first was Eldad Tarmu, then Patricia Franceschy and finally Peter Appleyard. I chose to listen to Eldad Tarmu

. When I went to Spotify to check out Eldad’s music the first album that popped up was Songs for the Queen of Bohemia. Okay. I said to myself, I  have listened to this album before and liked it. When I went to Eldad’s website I immediately remembered the picture of him. I thought maybe I have previously written a post about him, so I searched my posts and with no results!

I guess he is one of the many musicians, I have listened to and never written about! So let’s do it now…..

About Eldad Tarmu

from his website biography……

Eldad Tarmu was born in Los Angeles, California, (August 26, 1960) where he started studying drums and percussion. After graduating from Tel Aviv University in Israel, he returned to the US and started touring and holding jazz clinics with various jazz ensembles, mainly in Europe and Asia.

In 2005 he got his Master’s degree in Afro-Latin Music, from California State University Los Angeles. The same year he was appointed Head of the Jazz Department at “Richard Oschanitzky” Jazz School of Tibiscus University in Timisoara, Romania, following a fruitful collaboration with Romanian bassist and violinist Johnny Bota, one of the school founders.

In 2009 he relocated to the US again, in order to continue his education at Stony Brook University, where he got a second Master’s degree, in Classical Composition. He is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Performance from the same school, degree pursued under the guidance of Ray Anderson.

He is a professor of World Music Studies, Intro to Music and African-American Music at Hudson County Community College in Jersey City. He has recently developed a Latin American Music Studies course for the College. He has also been teaching summer music classes (MUS101, MUS308) at SUNY Stony Brook Manhattan, as well as MUS568 Jazz Combo and MUS309 Music After 1900, as a teaching assistant at Stony Brook University. Read More

About Songs for the Queen of Bohemia

Songs for the Queen of Bohemia was recorded by the Eldad Tarmu Jazz Chamber Ensemble. Here’s some information about the Ensemble….From Sonicbids

The Eldad Tarmu Chamber Ensemble began as a septet formed in 2006 in Timisoara, Romania, where the band leader, American vibraphonist and composer Eldad Tarmu, taught Jazz Studies for four years.

The initial members of the septet were Romanian bass player Johnny Bota, Israeli drummer Yoni Halevy and Tabac String Quartet. In September 2006, after their first tour, they recorded Tarmu’s compositions under the album name Songs for the Queen of Bohemia, which was released in March 2007 in Romania and in June 2009 in the US.
This rare formation, comprised of vibraphone, bass and drums in the rhythm section, augmented by a string quartet (two violins, viola and cello), create the ideal palette for the musical styles blended in Tarmu’s compositions. Middle-Eastern melodies and grooves mix with jazz and classical harmonies to make a distinctive cutting edge world jazz chamber sound. Read More

Final Thoughts

Songs for the Queen of Bohemia was the perfect album for a leisurely stroller walk around the streets of the Billingsport section of Paulsboro this morning. I enjoyed both Oliver and Eldad on the walk. So Happy Birthday Eldad – Hope you have a great day!

Links for the Further Explorations of the Music of Eldad Tarmu…..

Website
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Wikipedia.

Here is the Eldad Tarmu Jazz Ensemble performing the Improvisation parts and ending of “Traveling Alone”. Composition: Eldad Tarmu John Lenis – bass, Michael Winnicki – drums

The post An Am Walk with Oliver and the Music of Eldad Tarmu! appeared first on .

So yesterday was an interesting day of babysitting with our grandson, Oliver. The morning was rough because it rained most of the time. While the rain didn’t bother Oliver, granddad was not amused. The first walk which was shortened, because of the rain, was the better of the two, because the rain was lighter. On the second walk the rain was heavier, and I tried to push the stroller and hold the umbrella , which didn’t work out too well. The later walk would have been the one on which he should have fallen asleep, but as he was screaming, not in a bad way, when we were walking back up his street, I knew that was not to be!! He held out until almost noon, when he couldn’t go anymore and he rocked to sleep to “Uptown Funk”, but when I put him in his crib, he popped back up and I had to lay him on my chest until he fell more deeply asleep!!!

Oliver slept for about two hours. After he ate lunch, we were off on another walk. We passed all his favorite spots, Lillian and Gizmo the two little dogs, the house with the elephant statue, and the two dog statues. Then I got the idea in my head that we would go on Beacon Avenue and find the lighthouse at the north end of the street. What we first found out was the Beacon is a VERY LONG street. The second thing was that there is a house near the end of the street that will probably be a frequent stopping place in the future. Why, you ask, because this is what the front yard looks like……

Oliver was awestruck!! We didn’t have time to even look at all the stuff, so another trip is certainly warranted!! Soon after we encountered the house of wonders, we discovered the Paulsboro Lighthouse……

From Wikipedia: The lighthouse is The Tinicum Island Rear Range Light……

is a lighthouse located in the Billingsport section of Paulsboro, Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States,^[2] the rear of a pair of range lights marking a section of the channel in the Delaware River south ofPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania. The lighthouse, surrounded by ball fields next to the new marine terminal for the Port of Paulsboro, is still active for navigation on the Delaware River. It works in conjunction with the Tinicum Front Range Light, known as the Billingsport Front Light, situated on the banks of the Delaware River at the front of Fort Billings Park next to the Paulsboro Refinery.Front and rear range lighthouses guide sailors who, by aligning the two lights and keeping one light on top of the other, stay in its center and avoid Little Tinicum Island as they travel upstream Read More

Considering how close the tower is to the right field fence of the ball field, I wonder if you get any extra rums if you hit it!!

When we finally finished our walk, after 55 plus minutes,we had covered almost 2 and a half miles!! The best part was that there was no rain!!!

My son, Nick had stopped by and he had gone for the walk with us, then daughter Elizabeth visited after her workday was over. While Elizabeth and her mom were busy Oliver and I were in his playroom. I started to build with his Legos to keep him busy. Oliver had other ideas about keeping busy and Nick caught it all on his phone……..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIOmPURN20M

Evidently, riding in a stroller for an hour does not tire one out nearly as much as it does the old guy pushing the stroller!!! All in all, it was another Adventurous day with Oliver! Can’t wait for the next one…….well exactly I can my body needs the rest!!

The post More Walking Adventures of Oliver and Granddad! appeared first on .

Actually, Oliver Rides and Granddad walks and walks and walks……..

So, I pretty much think that when they say that you should walk 3 times a week for thirty minutes a walk,that they don’t mean do it all in one day!!  That’s what I did yesterday as grandson Oliver and I took five, count them, five walks around his Paulsboro neighborhood!

When the day started  Oliver seemed tired, and we made it all the way until about 8:30 before he wanted to go for a walk. My wife and I arrived at 8 by the way! So off, Oliver and I went. The walk lasted about thirty minutes and we visited the dogs both real and statues on Greenwich Ave, along with the house with the elephant statue in the front yard!

After breakfast and some reading etc Oliver appeared increasingly tired. So around 9:45 so we went out again thinking he surely will fall asleep in the stroller this time!! Wrong!! We did get to see the train on this walk though, so that was exciting.

The third walk, which was taken around 12:00,  was another 30 minute plus walk. Oliver finally feel asleep on this walk!. The only problem was, that I was about 10 minutes away from his house when he fell asleep, so by the time we reached home, made our way up to his room and laid him down, he popped right up!! He laid down, then popped up again and apparently that power nap worked wonders, because it got him through lunch and on in to the afternoon!! The fourth walk was a shorter walk, The walk included a street with no sites, specifically chosen for that reason, with hopes that the boredom would lull him to sleep, which it did. Luckily for me and him, he stayed asleep!! The fifth and final walk was taken because I had left the stroller up ater quickly bringing it in the house when a brief rainstorm came just after the end of the sleep induced walk! Once he saw the stroller, when he woke up from his nap, there was no way he was not going on his last walk!!

So here are two of the highlights of our walks

This is the house with the elephant statue, that is now right about where the pumpkin is on the right side of the lawn!

He also loves these two dog statues! Typically when we leave them Oliver is not amused and often screams to go back!! Sometimes I give in and other times I say “let’s go find the elephant!!! What’s that elephant say?”

Needless, to say after all that walking, granddad was just a ;little tuckered out last night, but there’s bad tired and good tired and I bet you can guess which one last night was, eh??

Featured Image: Oliver prepares for a walk – note the family cat Zack in the netted basket in the bottom of the stroller trying to be a stowaway!

The post Oliver and Granddad Walk Around Paulsboro…. appeared first on .

Isn’t Everyday with a Grandchild?

So today started off a little shaky, I woke up at a 3 minutes before 6 o’clock, which is about 27 minutes later than I usually get up on a morning that I am babysitting Oliver. As a result, I had to run around feed the cats, make my lunch and gather my stuff, which meant I didn’t have time for a short yoga routine. I was looking forward to yoga, because last week it seemed to do a good job getting me in the mood for a fairly strenuous day with my grandson. The picture at the top of this post gives you all an idea of what babysitting Oliver may be like.His mother posted on my Facebook timeline the other day……Asking: Does this remind you of anyone??

Well,  Spidey Oliver was in good form today, climbing on the back of the loveseat to turn the air conditioner on and off, as well as on the coffee table to drive granddad crazy!! And taking him off either of those things was not an easy thing,,because it is hard to hold on to a 15 month old baby, as they are throwing themselves backwards and arching their back!   I was going to text my wife the above, but my phone died! (because I was running around this AM and I forget the charging cable!!)  Anyway, all of that climbing got Mr Man three walks around his neighborhood in the stroller, which he enjoys and I do, too!

We also played a lot with the wooden house-shaped shape sorter that my daughter bought for him. He can get two of the shapes in the house (if granddad lines up the right one on the roof) He gets so proud himself for getting them in! I think he’s pretty amazing manipulating them, also! We also read a lot,. I am trying to get him to interact more with the stories instead of just listening. We sit with the books and I have him point out certain animals, etc. He enjoys it, and it makes the sitting time last a little longer!!

All and All while it’s a long day, full of lots of walking around, both in the house, (well sometimes it’s running if he makes it to the coffee table before me), and around the neighborhood, it still beats working at Lippincott or anywhere else for that matter!!

“Und You vill Do Everything I Want You to Do……..you will not resist” …….. could you? I can’t!

The post A Somewhat Trying, Long……but still great day with Oliver! appeared first on .