Now that I am a parent I definitely enjoy different activities. I don't I would have looked forward to a town celebration before Henry, but now that I have him I looked forward all week to our town's fall celebration. A whole weekend of free activities ... all within walking distance! On Saturday morning Henry and I checked out some scarecrows, the historical society (for me) and the firehouse. Later that day after his nap we had planned on seeing a hot air balloon, but we missed it somehow even though we were at the right place, at the right time. The next day he and I checked out a petting zoo (it wasn't see up on time, however) and with Meg we went to the town's parade which was down the street. Henry fared better than last year, but got a bit freaked out by a person in a gorilla costume. After that we went home.





Today I stayed at home. Meg and I were both sick and knew it was going to take both of us to care for Henry. Fortunately he was pretty easy today and I think we're on the mend.

This weekend's halves didn't go so well. 8,000 of them turned up two 90% silver halves (2 x 1964), eleven 40% silver halves (3 x 1966, 2 x 1967, 4 x 1968D, 2 x 1969D) and four mint set halves (2002P, 2002D, 2 x 2004D). I also found a Barack Obama half in the mix. It's some sort of after market painting that was applied to a 1973 half dollar.



Found: 12 pennies (3 around our town, 9 at work)

Pipe Fixed

Yesterday our pipe was fixed and today we had showers at home ... sure glad that is resolved! It was expensive, but I'm trying to ignore that and just be thankful it wasn't more, didn't destroy anything and was fixed pretty quickly.

Last night Meg had yoga. It sounded fun. She's taking classes across the street. They are given by the town. They have quite a few classes available, someday I might even take a golf class from them or join Henry for a fishing class. I hope she continues with it and the cooking classes she's been enjoying.

I searched a whole lot of pennies last night and did pretty well. 12,900 pennies turned up seventy Wheats, ninety-five Canadians, thirteen US dimes, one Bermuda 1¢, one Bahamas 1¢ and one UK penny. One of the US dimes was a silver Rosie, a 1964D! That's the second time I've found a silver dime in a penny roll. I also found two pennies I don't find very often, the 1909 VDB and the 1940D. I've found some good ones recently, but no new ones. I feel close. The Wheats were:

1909 VDB, 1935, 1937(2), 1939, 1940(3), 1940D, 1941, 1942(3), 1944(5), 1945(2), 1946(7), 1947D, 1949, 1950, 1950S, 1951(2), 1951D, 1952(3), 1952D, 1953(2), 1953D(2), 1953S(2), 1955(3), 1956(4), 1956D(5), 1957(2), 1957D(5), 1958D(4)

A Leak!

This morning while Meg was taking a shower I heard a lot of water pouring. I looked everywhere; I even looked outside. Then I looked in the basement. Yikes! There was water flowing from our main drainage pipe! Ugh. The plumber says he can fix it today. It isn't what we were hoping to start our day with at all. At least the basement isn't finished and the pipe is totaly exposed and easy to work on.

Last nights coins did me pretty well.

6,200 quarters turned up two silver Washingtons (1963, 1964D), seven Canadians, one Bahamas 25¢, one Bermuda 25¢, one US dime, four US nickels and two US pennies. In the mix I also found a new quarter, 2009P Guam. I was getting bummed, thent towards the end of this batch I found the two silvers.

6,000 dimes yielded four silver Rosies (1962D, 2 x 1964, 1964D), nine Canadians, one UK 5 pence and three US pennies.

3,560 nickels had fourteen Canadians (9 Ni), two US dimes, eight US pennies and one proof nickel (1970S). In 1970S was also minted as a circulation piece, but this one is definitely a proof coin. I also found a key date Jefferson, the 1955.

Last night's coins were kind of lousy.

4,480 quarters produced nothing.

1,400 dimes turned up one silver Rosie (1946), six Canadians and one Bermuda 10¢.

1,280 nickels had one Canadian.

3,300 pennies yielded fourteen Wheats, twenty-nine Canadians and one US dime. The Wheats were:

1939, 1940(2), 1942, 1945, 1946, 1948, 1951D, 1952D(2), 1955, 1957(2), 1957D

This weekend went pretty well for Meg, Henry and I. It got off to a bad start when Meg burned her wrist badly by spilling tea, but things improved from there. (It still is painful, but hasn't slowed Meg down at all.) We had Indian take-out on Friday. Afterwards Henry buried himself in some clothes. It reminded me a bit of how his aunt likes to bury herself in sand.



On Saturday Henry and I watched his cousin Evan's first soccer game. Evan did excellent. He scored the first goal of the game! He's now scored more soccer goals than his mother and uncle. They had a good setup at the fields. Small kids, like him, played a no score keeping, three on three game for about 1/2 hour. So much of their town was there that a plane was flying overhead with an advertisement.





On Sunday we had a pretty relaxing day of church, going to the playground and walking around our neighborhood. Henry was a bit cranky, but I'm trying to forget about that right now. ;)

I did pretty well with the half dollars I searched. 8,000 half dollars produced eleven 90% silver halves (10 x 1964, 1964D), sixty-four 40% silver half dollars (2 x 1965, 5 x 1966, 24 x 1967, 20 x 1968D, 13 x 1969D), four proof halves (1973S, 1976S, 2002S, 2005S) and three mint set halves (2004P, 2005P, 2006P).



Recently I became aware of a new book, Through a Land of Extremes: The Littledales of Central Asia. I got it right away and finished it pretty quickly. It's written by Nicholas and Elizabeth Clinch and is about a Victorian couple, The Littledales, who explored Central Asia together. St. George and Theresa Littledale were well known in their day for their travels, especially their three Central Asian trips, but have largely been forgotten. They never wrote a book and up until now no book has been written solely about them. The authors spent some twenty years researching the couple. Most of the Littledales' journeys were for the purpose of collecting museum specimens (although really this might just have been an excuse to hunt large game and get the proper permits). Their wealth allowed them to travel in style with large caravans of guides, translators and animal handlers, but the trips still took a lot of fortitude. I found their exploration of Tibet to be the most interesting part of the book.

Found: 1 dime (at the soccer field)

Redeemed: $23.60

Sentences

Lately Henry has begun to string a couple of words together. This morning Meg told me that while she was checking her e-mail Henry came up to her, handed her the remote and said, "Thomas, please" (or more accurately, "Tteh, pwease"). His manners are appreciated, but it wasn't time for TV.

Last night the way home, in the evening and on my way to work I searched some coin.

4,000 nickels turned up three War Times (2 x 1943P, 1943S), fifteen Canadians (3 Ni), two Bermuda 5¢ and one Bahamas 5¢. That breaks me out of my little War Time nickel slump.

9,000 pennies were pretty good to me. I them was sixty-one Wheats and forty Canadians. In the Wheats were three mint marked 1930's pennies. That's a good run for me, usually I'm doing well if I find one of those. I also found a new penny for my album, the 2009D Rail Splitting. The Wheats were:

1918, 1919, 1927, 1935, 1935S, 1936, 1936S, 1939S, 1940(4), 1941(2), 1942(3), 1944(5), 1944D, 1944S, 1945(4), 1946(2), 1947(2), 1948, 1949, 1950D, 1951, 1951D, 1951S, 1952(2), 1952D, 1953(2), 1953D(4), 1955, 1955D, 1956, 1956D(4), 1957(4), 1957D(2), 1958D(2)

Found: 1 quarter (at BJ's)

Fall?

It seems that Fall is coming. Yesterday I noticed more trees changing color on the ride home and when I got home Henry was dressed in his fall clothes (a flannel shirt and socks!). He was eager to get outside and try his new shoes out while Meg got ready for her MNO (moms' night out). We took a little walk, with him walking, and played outside a bit. He was really good for me throughout the evening. There was a tiny bit of worry about Mom being gone, but it wasn't too bad and he amused himself very well while I did the dishes.



Last night's coins were fairly good.

2,000 quarters produced three Canadians and one US nickel.

4,000 dimes turned up two silver Rosies (1962D, 1964), thirteen Canadians, three Cayman Islands 1¢, one Bermuda 10¢ and one old NH highway token. The NH token is a new type for me. I've found the newer ones before, but not a small one like this. It's slightly smaller than a dime, silver-ish and stamped with an "A." It was worth 10¢ and the type was used 1955-1977.



2,000 nickels rounded up fourteen Canadians (5 Ni) and one Bermuda 5¢ Bummer, no silver nickel, again!

11,000 pennies had one Indian Head (1896), sixty-two Wheats, eighty-two Canadians, five US dimes, one Euro 1¢ and one washer. The Indian Head is pretty beat-up, but it was fun to find. The Wheats were:

1926, 1934, 1935(2), 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1944(5), 1944D, 1945, 1946(2), 1946D, 1947(2), 1949S, 1950, 1951D, 1952(4), 1952D(2), 1952S, 1953D, 1955, 1955D, 1956(7), 1956D(6), 1957(2), 1957D(4), 1958, 1958D(2)




Found: 3 pennies (at work)

Our Little Sculptor

When I got home yesterday Henry came running to the door with some Play-doh in his hand. Meg had just made some for him out of flour, water and salt. She added food coloring to make him white, blue and green. He was a bit freaked out by it at first she said, but warmed up to it once she made him a bunch of balls. He also enjoyed us making him snakes. Later during and after supper he was in a really good mood for us. It's amazing to watch him play quietly for 20 minutes with his little cars. You can almost see his mind working as he drives them around on the table.



Last night's coins were OK.

142 small dollars, 3 half dollars and 200 quarters didn't turn up anything.

4,650 dimes produced three silver Rosies (1951, 1964, 1964D), twelve Canadians, two UK 5 pence, one Bermuda 10¢ and three US pennies.

2,480 nickels had four Canadians (1 Ni), one UK penny and one US dime. I was bummed not to find one War Time or Buffalo in that batch.

1,800 pennies yielded ten Wheats and thirteen Canadians. The Wheats were:

1937, 1941, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1957(2)

Last night I just searched a wee bit of coin.

2,040 quarters turned up one silver Washington (1963D), three Canadians and one US nickel.

440 nickels rounded up just one Canadian (1 Ni).

Vacation!

Last week Meg and Henry and I went on vacation. We rented a small house on Cape Cod and were there for four nights. We had a really good time, especially because for most of our time their Henry slept great. We got to the beach five times. Henry did really well there. He was initially a bit scared of the waves (they weren't big most days), but then got really into the experience and had a great time running about at the waters edge and checking out the shells and rocks. Meg had fun spinning him in the air a bit, in and out of the water. We only ate out once, but we enjoyed some good meals at the cabin, including one when we got lobsters to cook up. (Henry was put to bed before we enjoyed that meal.)



Our car was completely stuffed. Henry had to sit between two piles. He amused himself on the way down by taking a few items out of their bags.











After dinner out Henry wanted to see the ocean again even though he didn't have his swimsuit on. Most of the above pictures/video are of that experience. He sure likes slippery rocks!



Henry liked this chair a lot in our cottage. Several times he grabbed my hand as if to lead me to something he wanted me to see only to get me out of the chair so he could use it himself.





Henry at the Zooquarium.







Henry at the Children's Museum.



Henry playing with our lobsters.





I completed reading one book while we were gone, Humboldt's Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Epic Journey of Discovery that Changed the Way We See the World, by Gerard Helferich. Alexander Humboldt (1769-1859) was born in Berlin. He was an academic and from an early age sought to explore the world. He tried to join many expeditions, but eventually sponsored his own expedition of two (he and a friend, perhaps lover) to South and Central America. His journey lasted about four years. During that time he traveled down insect infested swamps, climbed numerous mountains and inspected mining operations in Mexico. Upon returning to Europe he wrote numerous books and was quite influential in the study of climates, plants, volcanoes and American cultures. I enjoyed the book and learning about Humboldt. The book quoted Humboldt's narrative a lot (which I like in such a book). Humboldt has a great way of describing things and is oddly very personal in his description of what he sees, but not so in his description his traveling companions. It's hard for one to get a sense of his partner, Bopland. My only complaint about the author is that it seemed to me like he depended too much on Humbodlt's descriptions of the environment rather than his own, modern experiences. Most similar works I've read lately do a good job at expanding upon older source material with more recent observations of the environment. I didn't get the sense that the author had been to many of the places himself. I'll have to read another biography of Humboldt in the future. It be good to compare another to this one.

The one bit of coin searching I did last week didn't go so hot.

Three large dollars didn't have anything.

8,000 halves turned up just two 90% silver halves (2 x 1964), fourteen 40% silver halves (2 x 1965, 2 x 1966, 5 x 1967, 3 x 1968D, 2 x 1969D), one proof (1971S), eight mint set halves (2005P, 2 x 2005D, 2 x 2006P, 3 x 2006D) and one US quarter.

Found: 10 pennies (1 at the beach, 1 at Shaw's, 1 at Stop & Shop, 7 at the cottage), 2 quarters (1 at Stop & Shop, 1 at the cottage)

Peaches

So far this Labor Day weekend has been pretty good for us.

Yesterday Henry and I went peach picking with my sister and her two boys. We went to this great place near us. They have animals there to pet, a big playground and different U-Pick foods throughout the year. This time we picked peaches. Last time we picked strawberries. An added bonus was that we got two rides in a hay-wagon back and forth to the picking area. Most of the picking was done by Evan, my five-year-old nephew, he's got a good eye for this sort of work.







Today after church we went over to my sister's for a Labor Day breakfast. It was very good. We had special, crunchy french toast, sausage and peach muffins (made by Meg).

The coin hunting was so-so.

8,000 half dollars turned up three 90% silver halves (1951, 2 x 1964), nine 40% silver halves (1966, 5 x 1967, 2 x 1968D, 1969D), seven proofs (1974S, 1981S, 1987S, 2 x 1993S, 2003S, 2004S) and six mint set halves (2002D, 2004P, 2005P, 2 x 2005D, 2006D).

4,420 quarters had one very discolored silver Washington (1964), five Canadians, five US nickels and one Dominican Republic 25 Centavos.

950 dimes produced one silver Rosie (1964) and one Canadian.

1,320 nickels had two Canadians and one key date Jefferson (1955).

5,500 pennies rounded up twenty-six Wheats, thirteen Canadians and one US dime. The Wheats were:

1925, 1930(2), 1939, 1942(2), 1944(2), 1945, 1946(4), 1947, 1950(2), 1951(2), 1954D, 1955, 1956D, 1957(2), 1957D(3)

Found: 3 pennies (2 at Shaw's, 1 on our walk)

Golf 4

Yesterday was my company's annual golf outing. It was a great time. The weather was perfect. My team wasn't rushed at all and still finished early (we got to play three extra holes). We came in 4th place (out of 8 teams of four). Yesterday was also Henry's 18th month birthday. To "celebrate" I took him to get a haircut in the morning. It wasn't as bad as the last time, but it was still a pretty tramatic four minutes for him. He looks a lot less fuzzy now, however, and he got three cars afterwards as a reward. Today he's getting a special visit from his grandparents.

Because Meg's car is still in the shop I haven't been searching too many coins this week. She's been using my car while I get a ride into work. I did search some coins over the past few days, however, and did OK.

4,720 quarters produced two silver Washingtons (1944, 1958D), ten Canadians, one US nickel and one US dime. That's my best silver quarter showing in some time and so after that I was feeling good about my chances with the dimes.

6,450 dimes turned up just fourteen Canadians and one Bermuda 10¢. Unfortunately the good luck didn't continue from the quarters. That's actually a new record in futility for me. It's the most dimes I've searched in one sitting and not found one silver dime.

3,600 nickels yielded seven Canadians (2 Ni), two US dimes and four US pennies. That's a pretty poor result too.

11,700 pennies had thirty-one Wheats, one hundred four Canadians, four US dimes, three plastic pennies, two UK pennies, one Euro 2¢ (Italy, 2002) and an old Boston subway token. The Boston subway token is labeled "Metropolitan Transit Authority" and "One Fare" on both sides. I had a hard time researching, but I think the style was made from 1951 to 1964. I'm fairly certain it is still worth $1.25. The Wheats were:

1919, 1936, 1937, 1941, 1942(2), 1944(4), 1946(3), 1947D, 1950, 1951D, 1952D, 1953, 1953S, 1954, 1955(3), 1955D, 1956(4), 1957, 1957D(2)



Found: 2 pennies (in the club house)