A Thank You

What a surprise to be reading the Letters to the Editor in this morning's paper and come across this letter. Paul and I may not be "a teen",but my friend Anne says we are teens at heart.

My New Favorite Sandwich

This is my new favorite summertime sandwich. A sandwich that I will wish I could eat all year, but cannot. A sandwich that my husband will make for me because he knows how much I love it. A sandwich I think everyone should eat. A sandwich that tastes of summer.

• Homemade bread
• Homemade pesto
• Homegrown Brandywine tomatoes
• Locally made Fresh Mozzarella cheese

A New School Year

On our way back from the gym early this morning Paul and I drove to our neighborhood elementary school. Armed with sidewalk chalk we were on a secret mission. Our mission: to write encouraging messages to the students who would be heading off to school today for their first day.

We continued the messages all the way to our house where two additional children would be heading off to school today for one class. Alix and Chance will be going in to school for (specials)Music, Art, Chorus, Gym, and Musical Instrument lessons. They are thrilled to be doing this. The classes are 45 minutes long each day of the week at 8:40. I was able to choose the time of day and we decided the first slot of the day would work best with our homeschool schedule.

Alix chose to wear a skirt that I once wore back in 5th grade. I was so surprised with her choice. It was just so cool!

Alix and Chance loved finding each message along our walk. Although they did start rolling their eyes after reading "You are special" one too many times.

We had the best dinner conversation we'd had in a long time. A&C talked about their time at school for Chorus and while listening to them excitedly give us the details, I realized Hey there was actually a part of their day (albeit very small) that I didn't know about. How refreshing!

Out with the old, in with the new

Good-bye old, drafty, no screened window. Hello new, energy-efficient window. We are so happy to have you in our bathroom/laundry room. The Sheetrock is also nearly complete. Time for me to start thinking of a paint color - possible a light grey.

Lunch from the Garden

Late Summer Garden Update

• Tomatoes are coming in fast and furious. This is our first year of planting Sun-golds and I cannot believe we have not tried this before. Plants have grown taller than Paul. Planting in front of the house appears to have worked well.
• Basil plants have turned into basil bushes
• We planted hot peppers this year and they are too hot to eat. Paul's been bringing them to work.
• Wildflowers that were planted out front are also doing well. Although next year I will make sure to plant the wildflowers in the bed in front of the tomatoes so they can be seen from the street.
• Hyacinth Beans are not as full as past years.
• Corn - not much luck again this year.
• Potatoes did well - we could have planted more.
• Carrots appear to be doing well. I haven't pulled up any to see for sure.
• Rainbow Chard crop was pathetic this year. Putting them in a different location this year was not a good idea.
• It's time to do another planting of spinach and chard, in a bed with more sun this time.

Summer Fun with Cousins

An afternoon off from work for Grammie prompted a visit to her house. Because the forecast was for temps in the 90's we brought along the KidWash. Abby also joined in on the fun. I love seeing the cousins being so goofy together. It does a heart good.

Vermont Weekend

On our way home from Umbagog yesterday we dropped Alix and Chance off with my Mom and John in Jefferson, NH. They were going to spend the weekend camping and hooting it up at Six Gun City and Fort Splash Water Park. We made these arrangement so Paul and I could travel to Vermont for the weekend. A weekend that were really looking forward to.



After a quick night at home, Paul and I left for our first stop - The Farmers Diner in Quechee, VT. I've been wanting to eat here for a couple of years. Their mission statement is simple: To increase the economic vitality of local agrarian communities. The Farmers Diner creates great traditional food using ingredients from farmers and producers who are as local as possible.








Following a very delicious and filling breakfast (I had the Breakfast Burrito and Paul had the Farmer's Breakfast), we strolled through the shops that make up the Quechee Gorge Village. The shops featured antiques and artisan goods.


Next up was a walk across the street to take in the spectacular views of the Quechee Gorge from the road. The Gorge is 165 feet deep and over a mile in length. We followed the trail down to the river below.





























Continuing on Rte 4 we drove into Woodstock, VT. The village was celebrating a Taste of Woodstock. Paul and I meandered through the village. Our stomachs were still full from breakfast but we did make room for a shared ice-cream.



From Woodstock on to our final destination, Rutland, VT. The reason for coming to Rutland was to see The Machine, America's top Pink Floyd show, at the Paramount Theatre. The show was fabulous. Paul and I stood and danced from the first song till the last. It was such a fun night.





(photo from The Machine website)


The next morning had us up early. We were both moving a little slow. My legs felt like lead and they would for the next few days. Paul and I realized we are not as young as we used to be.

Individual Highlights of Vacation

Chance

• Rock Climbing
• Big fish he caught
• Making bow and arrow

Alix

• Catching six fish on Thursday
• Rock climbing
• Camp fires
• Jumping of rock into lake
• Family adventure
• Seeing Loons

Paul

• Hike to Rapid River
• Sleeping in kayak
• Just camping

Mom

• Finding lost socks
• Catching pickerel
• Success of the Mad Libs
• Watching Paul take A&C out in the kayak to ride the big waves.

Day Five

• Gorgeous morning - blue sky-puffy clouds-lake is still
• By 10:00 it starts to cloud in. We decide to fish here in the cove.

• As we make lunch I realize we have packed more than enough food again this year.
• After lunch A&C take out canoe together to go fishing. Paul and I take the kayaks out and follow them for a distance. Paul drifts and sleeps
• After A&C's adventure out in the canoe they come back for rock climbing.
• I can't believe it's our last night.