Freezing Time

Do you ever wish you could just freeze time?  I think every parent and grandparent has that wish and I remember many times from my kids' younger days I never want to forget.  Thank goodness I always took a lot of pictures!

Now Anthony and Lucy's everyday play time tugs on my heart.  Anthony has always been a big 'pretender', able to get into character and stay there all day.  The other day he was being 'Feisty', Grammie's cat.  He drew and cut out whiskers, taped them on and chased a little ball around, having a blast.  Lucy is an able sidekick, taking on secondary characters and playing along.

Here's Lucy at her gymnastics class last week.  She just loves it.  After class we went to Libby's Blue Line Diner for a milkshake.  A fun girly morning.

A Quick Trip to Maine

We took a quick trip to Maine over the weekend.  My Aunt Claire and Uncle Jim have sold their house and are moving to California, so they asked Ed to drive some excess furniture to my cousin Bill in Gouldsboro, Maine (about 30 miles east, along the coast from Bangor).

We haven't seen Bill, except for a couple of very brief meetings, and we'd never seen his cozy farmhouse, so were were happy to venture out.  We and the furniture arrived safely, including a beautiful chair and ottoman they'd had reupholstered for him - look, Jim, no scratches!

On Sunday Bill took us around his turf - my requirement was to see some crashing waves, which we found on the Schoodic Peninsula, part of Acadia National Park.  He said they were kind of tame that day, but to sea-starved Vermonters, it looked great.  The weather was just right - cool and cloudy for a while, then sunny and still cool with a nice breeze.  I thought my grandson Anthony would like to see the streaks of petrified lava on the shore - he's so interested in volcanoes.

After lunch we hiked (for Bill it was a stroll, for us a hike) through woods, brush, blueberry bushes and bogs to another great point - Petit Manan - part of the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuges.  We arrived at low tide and basked in the sun on warm rocks (yes, even I basked).  Bill is a mushroom hunter, so he and Ed were looking down a lot on the walk back to the car.  Alas, we had to turn around the next day and head home - about 7 hours - but we had a wonderful time, enjoyed hanging out with Bill and got a sea-fix.  It makes me want to head out to Star Island later in the summer, or early fall - any takers?

Shopping!

 I recently got to go wedding dress shopping with Megan and her mother Sue and Aunt Deb.  After a delicious lunch at the Farmhouse Tap and Grill in Burlington, we walked up Church Street to Once Upon A Bride where Megan tried on about nine beautiful dresses.

Yes, we had to take off our shoes, put on gloves and no photos of the dresses - this was hard on me and also Sue, who is a professional photographer, too, but we survived.  Megan did pick a lovely dress (it's a surprise, of course), but let me say she looked like she stepped out of a dream.

Then off to Matt Taylor's to check on the ring design.  It was a wonderful afternoon. 








 Here's a photo of Anthony and Megan taken the next day at their friends' wedding in Shelburne:

Lucy Comes to Play

Lucy came over early this morning and after breakfast we played - putting pennies in the hippo bank, building with Legos and cooking, pretty much her favorite game.  She baked lots of cakes and muffins, then when we went outside, it was soup for me and the dogs.  "Chocolate milk soup".

Here's to old friends

 We had a great time tonight with our friends Maggi and Katharine.  We've know Maggi for many years, but Katharine and I have been friends since junior high school!  She lives in Reno and teaches at the University of Nevada, so we don't get together often, but when we do it's always a fun event.

Maggi and Katharine are of to camp in Yosemite National Park tomorrow, then spend time with friends our west.  Wish we could come with you!

Gillian chillin'

 Wheee-yew, it's HOT here is the North Country! Fortunately we could cool off in Bonnie's pool where 80 degrees felt nippy. Thanks for the fun photo, Joyce.  A big thank you, too, to Shelburne Kitchens for a fabulous sweet potato/black bean salad I didn't have to cook!

Groton 2010

Well, it's been over a week since we got back from our camping vacation at Ricker Pond in Groton State Forest on the border of Vermont and New Hampshire and I am finally getting photos organized!  I just love my little Canon G11 - so tiny and takes pretty good pitchas.  I've started using it for arm's length self-portraits, thanks for that idea, Elizabeth.  And I'll admit it now, I did drive to The P&H Truck Stop every day for the newspaper!  I'm on VACATION and I like to sit, drink tea and read the BFP, so sue me!

Thanks to our friends Ann & Bob Jenks and Donna Goodhue, we 'discovered' Ricker Pond and have spent many happy days in this beautiful spot, walking, eating, resting, eating, kayaking, eating, fishing, eating, playing Liverpool, eating...you get the picture.  The food component is always fabulous at Groton - sort of a pot luck affair.  Bob and Kristine made shrimps kabobs, Donna and Brad made their famous Jim Beam kielbasa among other tasty dishes, Ed cooked a turkey on the Weber, Jen Roggi provided endless bacon (no, we don't eat it at home, but on vacation...) and, yes, Bernie Littlefield from Maine brought 20 LOBSTERS!

This year we decided to take just Arlo, not both dogs.  He's pretty laid-back and Rufus, while he loves the woods, is more anxious over a whole week.  Thanks to Megan for taking such great care of Rufus while we were gone and to Donna Marcotte for all the long walks for Arlo at the park.  Yes, we walked him, too, but Donna is a very regular walker, so he got a LOT of exercise and slept for about three days after we got home!

Elizabeth brought Anthony and Lucy up for one day and we all had such fun climbing, running, and jumping, playing pirates, shucking corn-on-the-cob.  Those kids can turn any place into a playground.  Then Anthony Santoro visited several times and tried Ed's little boat (it looks like a water bug) and my kayak - he lives pretty close to Groton.

My brother Rob and his girlfriend Sarah visited, too, and set up a tent on our site.  It was great to see them and get to know Sarah better.

We'd like to send a big thank you to all our friends who make the week at Groton such a blast: Jen, Dan, Caleb & Curtis Roggi, all the Zembas, Ann Jenks, Bob & Brandt, Bernie & friends, Tom, Rick, Vladimir, the Marcottes, Bob & Kris Lizzari, Kristine Struminksy, the Goodhales and Jelani, Diane Miller and family, Piper and Mike Sailer and their kids, Ed & Linda Pedi who stopped by for a night...have I forgotten anyone?

I really enjoyed the evening kayak trips - the lake is just gorgeous at that time of day, and you know me - conniving to stay out of the sun is my life's work.  My kids accuse me of experiencing life through a camera lens and I think they are right.  I swiped a few of these images from Donna Goodhue's Facebook page - thank you!  Here's a little photo show of some of the highlights: