Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Kayaking with Ian

Last year for Ian's birthday, Jamie asked if I would accompany him on a hot air balloon ride.  It sounded like fun, so we took off at 4 AM to drive an hour to the site where we loaded into the balloon and took off.  Best time to go is in the early morning, thus the early hour.  It was the most fun and fantastic experience and a great thing to share with my son on his 38th birthday.

This year he told me not to get him anything - "just take me out to dinner, Mom".  Well, fine, if that's what you want.  But I happened to pick up this little magazine called "The Ramble" that described all these hiking, canoeing, kayaking, etc. adventures you could take in our area.  I found a sunset kayak tour on the Hudson that was a 3 hour trip.  I have only kayaked once, but really liked it.  Ian had been kayaking across the Hudson with his friend James this summer.  Bingo - perfect gift!  So I signed us up.

Last Saturday afternoon was our appointed time so we drove about an hour south of here to a little town called Cornwall-on-Hudson to Storm King Adventures.  We met our guide, Mike, who showed us how to put on our life vests, use our paddles, and adjust our seats and foot rests in our kayaks.  There were only 7 of us, so it was a good sized group.

We loaded into our kayaks, Mike pushed us all off, and we were on the move.  The water was muddy and lots of debris floating in it - most from the heavy rains and Hurricane Irene.  But it was calm and easy paddling.  

We stayed on the water for about 3 hours.  We saw two bald eagles as well as one of their nests.  We also saw a great blue heron and several white egrets.  But the eagles were the highlight.  It was overcast when we took off but by the time the sun was setting, it had cleared some along the horizon and it was great to sit there calmly and watch the sun set. 

After we finished, we had dinner at "the best restaurant in Orange County" - at least that's what the sign said!  Good dinner, fun evening, great kayaking, and a happy 39th birthday to Ian!  

What should we do next birthday???  He suggested skydiving!  I don't think so...






Saturday, August 20, 2011

Road Trip to Vermont

We only had about a two hour drive from Sharon to North Bennington, VT which is where our B&B was located (southwest corner of Vermont).  First time ever for each of us to be in Vermont!

Our home for two nights was the Eddington House.  It has three guest rooms and we were upstairs.  The owner, Patti, was very welcoming and made us a wonderful breakfast each morning.  She is from Bennington so was a great help in getting about and around.

In 2005 they had a contest and artists from the area decorated moose figures.  We saw them everywhere around Bennington - even on top of buildings!  This one is Benn and he is outside our B&B.  Local citizens got together and purchased him so he would always stay in Bennington.


This is the Paper Mill covered bridge.  It was really beautiful and in amazing condition.  There are two other covered bridges within a mile of this one.  You can drive through it and walk down a little path in the woods to stand beside the river.

Grandma Moses is from the area and the Bennington Museum has a large collection of her paintings.  She went to school in this one room schoolhouse and they have since moved it right beside the museum. She did not start painting until she was in her 70's but was very prolific once she got going.  She was born in 1860 and died in 1961.  Her real name was Anna Mary Robertson Moses.  She completed over 3600 canvasses in 30 years - sold small ones for $2 and large ones for $3!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Hanging with Casey and Elliott


Dave had to go to NYC for the week for work, so Casey asked if I'd come spend some time with her and the little guy.  Of course, I said yeah!  Dave is gone all week, but I can only stay until Wednesday.  But it's fun being able to spend time with my daughter and her baby - just the 3 of us.  It rained all day here today, but we still got out and about.  Went to my favorite Concord antique store, Thoreauly Antiques and found a new place in Concord called Nesting on Main which was really great - old stuff, new stuff, interesting stuff - could have spent a good hour in there just looking around.  The off to take Wee Wee to the vet.  Poor Wee Wee, she's having to wear a lampshade on her head cause of an eye infection so she's not a happy kitty.  But we survived.  Tomorrow we are off to Dedham for shopping and some good eats.  Rain or no rain, we shall prevail!  Love spending time with my kids and my grandkids.  

Monday, August 8, 2011

Casey's birthday dinner in Sharon

Casey, Dave, Elliott, Ian and Emmett came to Sharon on Sunday for a belated family birthday dinner for Casey's 30th birthday.  Jamie was committed to a baby shower so she didn't get to join us, and we missed her!  Before we ate, Dave took Elliott in the pool for his first ever swim, and Elliott seemed to like it.  Emmett, Dave and Ian then went swimming and apparently Emmett took a header into the pool while trying to push his Dad in, but all was well.

 Emmett showed up with shorts, a t shirt, and a bow tie!  I'd watch him and he would look down at it every so often to make sure it was still on straight!  He wanted to ride his tricycle, so we went out to the drive and he told me we were to race and when I was racing I had to put on a "mean" face.  We had about 5 or 6 races, and if he didn't beat me every time!
 Emmett decided he wanted to hold Elliott, and he was so good with him!  The first time they met Emmett did not seem too impressed with Elliott, but he really got into it this time.  When Elliott was making some fussy noises, Emmett patted his belly and said "It's all right!"  And it was cute to hear Emmett call him "Baby Elliott".
 Group shot!!  Ian took this of the 5 of us.
 Casey helps to cook the roasted red pepper risotto for our dinner.  I roasted 3 red peppers - my first time to try that, and she is the old hand at making risotto so took over and stirred and added broth and stirred some more and it turned out fantastic.
 Sharing birthday dinner.  Roasted red pepper risotto, roasted asparagus, salad with Martha Stewart's favorite viniagrette dressing, ciabatta bread, steak for David, and peach crisp with ice cream for dessert.
 Blowing out the candles on her birthday peach crisp!  She had cake and cupcakes last weekend, so it was time for something different.
 The two cousins get to spend some time together.  Elliott will be passing Emmett up in height and weight before you know it at the rate he is growing!
Elliott's first swim!  We just need to make sure that when it comes time for him to learn to do a handstand underwater, that his father does not teach him how!!
 Cute baby award!  Laughing, sticking out his tongue, trying to roll over - cute, cute, and cuter!
 Roasted asparagus
Peach crisp with fresh organic peaches - yum!  Casey had the leftovers for breakfast this morning!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Uncle Tyler meets Elliott for the first time!

During Tyler's recent visit, we drove to Maynard to visit Casey and Dave and so Tyler could meet Elliott for the first time.  We spent the night and had a great visit.  Elliott smiled and laughed for us - Tyler asked "does he ever cry?"  Hoping they will get to meet again at Christmas time???





Scrabble every night with Ty!

Tyler's recent Connecticut Visit - We go canoeing

Tyler came to the east for a visit arriving last Tuesday and staying until this morning when we took him to Albany for his long trek back to Oregon.  He spent the first two days with Jamie, Ian and Emmett in Saugerties, and we got him on Thursday evening until he departed today.  We decided it would be fun to take a boat out on the Housatonic River.  We wanted to raft, but the water is too low for rafting, so we opted for canoeing.  We rented a canoe and were driven to a spot where we dropped off our car then rode in a van with a canoe on top to the drop off point.  The trip was six miles total.  It was wicked hot that day but out on the river, we had a breeze most of the time and it was actually pleasant.  We were told the trip would take us about 2 hours, and that was just about how long it took us.  


Our driver takes the canoe off the top of his van.



Off we go for our 6 mile canoe ride along the Housatonic River - Tyler works the front paddle, I work the back paddle, and David sits in the middle being a backseat driver



At about the 3 mile plus mark, we stop for a break.  No, that is not a beer I'm drinking - it's a Diet Coke!


Happy canoers!


Tyler being our lead man for the whole 6 miles.


                                    We see a great blue heron fishing along the side of the river.

It was a really, really great trip and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.  There is also a 13 mile trip you can take, and I might be up for a longer ride one day.  I will, however, leave Dave Davis at home.  He is such a nervous Nelly when he gets on water, despite the fact we were never far from shore, could often see the bottom of the river, and he was wearing a life jacket.  He was terrified we were going to tip over and shouted out orders when Tyler and I failed to paddle in an exact straight line right down the middle of the river.  Jeez!  Buzz kill!  So Ty and I just laughed and ignored most of what he said.  Next time, if Ty isn't here, I'll take Ian.  If he can canoe across the Hudson River, this would be a piece of cake for him!!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Latest Ginger/Laurie Project


My friend Ginger and I decided a month or so ago that we would make shadowboxes as our next project.  I was coming to Indy for a visit in July, so we set that as the date for them to be completed.  Ginger had purchased a chipboard shadowbox at a craft store, but I had purchased this old wooden one at one of the craft shows I went to last year and had not done anything with it.

Here is the finished project.  I backed each little cubby with a different paper then glued in various new and vintage elements.  There is really no particular theme, but I just tried to keep the overall composition harmonious.

We going to start working on a Halloween themed shadowbox, so I've been trolling the internet looking for vintage letterpress trays.

Please get me out of here!!!!!!!!


This is my gate at the Washington DC airport where I spent most of yesterday trying to get home from my Indiana visit.  Here's how it went down:

1.  Original flight leaving Indy at 9:34 AM - canceled at 7:30 AM
2.  Rebooked flight through Washington DC leaving Indy at 11:10 AM
3.  Flight out of DC to leave for Albany at 3:05 PM, then 3:30 PM, then 4:00 PM, then 4:30 PM and finally pulled away from the gate about 4:45.
4.  Plane taxis to the runway then stops.  Pilot says we can't go because of weather in our flight path.  We sit on the airplane for 2 hours 30 minutes.
5.  Plane taxies back to gate as they can't keep us on any longer than 3 hours or have to pay a fine of $75,000 per person.  On the way back to the gate, flight is canceled.
6.  Rebook another flight to Albany leaving at 10:00 PM.
7.  Eat dinner at the same restaurant where I had lunch.  Drank a BIG glass of wine.
8.  At 9:40 we board plane for Albany.  Plane leaves gate at 10:20 and taxies what seems like miles.  I'm thinking now we are just going to drive to Albany.
9.  Pilot stops plane and says we have to wait - weather again.  So we taxi back towards terminal.  I look out the window and see gate 38 go by - that's where we started.
10.  Finally get clearance to go and take off at 10:50 PM.
11.  Arrive in Albany at midnight.  Luggage has made it - eureka!
12.  Take shuttle bus to economy parking lot, get in my car, drive 1 hour 45 minutes to Sharon.
13.  Arrive Sharon at 2 AM.
14.  Lesson:  I should have driven home.  I would have gotten here faster and with lower blood pressure.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Sense of wonder and whimsy




When does it happen?  Where does it go?  Why do we lose our imagination, our sense of adventure and play, our ability to "pretend" and "make believe"?

I love to watch Emmett play.  He has no inhibitions and no fear to express himself however he wants.  When we went to visit Casey and Baby Elliott a couple of weeks ago, I gave him a twenty dollar bill to go in the toy store and pick something out.  He came out with this knight's set - helmet, sword and scabbard, and breastplate armor.  He could not wait to put it on, and when he had it on, and his visor was lowered on his helmet (of course he couldn't see!), he WAS a knight.

And before we left to drive over to the Boston area, he got out of the car at our house with his rubber boots, his owl backpack, and his magnifying glass.  He came inside and told me he needed a map. Then with his map in hand, he was off "exploring".

It's sad that we can't get this back, but maybe that is why we love to be with our grandchildren so much - we can relive those feelings and moments through them.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Stonington and Lobster Dinner

Stonington Harbor

The Inn at Stonington


Abbott's Lobster Restaurant


Line up to order your lobster dinner


The menu


View from the beach where you eat your lobster on picnic tables



Foggy Stonington Harbor this morning


Last month we took a road trip for a few days to the southeast corner of Connecticut where we discovered a small coastal town we fell in love with - Stonington.

So last weekend, we decided we would revisit and spend the night.  I made a reservation for Tuesday night at the Inn and Stonington, and we set off Tuesday morning for the 2+ hour drive down to Stonington.  We checked into the Inn and got upgraded to a 2nd floor room, which was a nice surprise.  The innkeepers were friendly and most helpful and our room was perfect.  We had lunch on the pier - lobster roll for David and fish sandwich for me.  Then a walk around town.

At dinner time we asked where a good place to eat might be, and they suggested Abbott's Lobster in the Rough in Noank, CT.  That is pronounced - "no - anc".  Had never heard of it and it won't come up on your GPS either.  But we found it.  This place is only open Memorial Day to Labor Day and has quite the reputation far and wide for their lobster.  We stood in line for 45 minutes just to order - a hot lobster sandwich for me and full lobster dinner for David.  Getting our food took another 30 minutes.  Once you pick up your food, you find a place at a picnic table on the beach, put on your lobster bib, and dig in.  Fun place and David loved his lobster dinner.  I'm not the big lobster fan that he is, but mine was good as well.  They serve your meal with slaw and a bag of potato chips - nothing fancy.  They don't serve liquor but encourage you to BYOB.

We left early this morning to drive back to Sharon, and there was a light fog over the water which was really beautiful and very quiet.  We are already talking about when we might go back again next month and maybe stay for 2 nights - golf and casino for David and just walking and relaxing for me!

Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy July 4th




On July 2nd, at the Lime Rock Racetrack, which is about 8 miles from us, they had scheduled a fireworks display sponsored by the local Rotary Club.  We had talked about going, but when the day came, I had just driven home in heavy holiday traffic from visiting Casey, Dave and Elliott, so it seemed like the easiest thing to just forget it.  We got cleaned up to go out to eat, and then decided we would go see the fireworks after all.  So we packed up our cooler:  peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, watermelon, grapes, yoghurt, diet cokes and some red wine and headed out to the race track about 7 PM.  It was a beautiful evening - cool but not too cool - and clear.  We spread my yoga mat (forgot to bring a blanket to sit on) and sat on it and munched on our picnic and enjoyed watching the people around us.  Fireworks started about 9:15 and were worth the wait.  A glorious display we ooh'ed and ahh'ed over like the rest of the spectators, then back home to Great Elm.

Next year, all we need are Emmett and Elliott along with us!