July 4th weekend

I know I’m a little behind with this post, but better late than never. Last week we were able to spend the holiday weekend in Fulton with family. On Saturday, Sheila had a great cookout and we also celebrated Kelly’s soon-to-be 5th birthday.

 

Sheila’s house has a great view of the river. It’s very relaxing to watch the ducks and boats as they travel up and down it.

Our boys especially enjoyed the time they got to spend on the Whitaker Road. Derek even had fun playing with his nieces. It’s nice to see him slow down a little and relax.

 

 

I enjoyed getting to spend some chatting time with Paula, my sister-in-law.

Sunday we headed back east to MA. This Fulton time was a rare event in that all of us were together, something I will always treasure.

 

On Monday, the 5th, our town had its annual 4th of July parade. It’s a small event made up primarily of old cars, kids on decorated bikes and lots of fire engines from surrounding communities. Its very quaint and I was glad that Greg I and were able to attend it this year.

Another Fulton Trip

Some of you know that I was in Fulton for a week helping my parents while dad was recovering from some surgery. During the week Emily was scheduled for her college orientation. I drove to North Adams and met her and Greg. I was thankful

that I was able to join them. Above left is a view of the Berkshire Mountains that will greet Emily every day. The building to the right will be her dorm. On Thursday Greg and I headed back to Fulton in separate cars.

While I was in Fulton on my own I did some bike riding. I’ve become an avid rider so my bike made the trip with me. I did some riding around memory lane. To the left is where we went to high school. It’s gotten bigger then when we were there.

 

 

This used to be a sandy beach where my mother took us every summer. I took my first swimming lessons here. Below is a skating rink where Greg and I used to go.

Greg and I decided to go to Oswego on Friday. The weather was beautiful. Our kids were driving in later in the day so we could all spend the 4th together.

The photos above are from The Loop. We couldn’t resist taking a rock or two. They are very unique to the area. After the Loop we decided to go to Fort Ontario. The photos below are of the fort and the view around. We couldn’t ask for a better weather day.

At first I thought this fireplace may have been from an old house but it is a monument to America. The granite above the opening says: “From The Hearth of America Comes the Heart of America.”

Hopefully over the weekend I can share some more photos.

Happenings Around The House

As some of you know I’m in Fulton right now helping out while my dad is in the hospital. I’ve been meaning to do some posting but when I’m home there are so many other things that need to get done. Now that I don’t have those distractions maybe I can blog more.

Once again I’m trying to have a garden. The above photo on the left is of 3 tomato plants. These photos are about a few weeks old. They look much better this year because we didn’t have the amount of rain in June that we did last year.

On the right are my hibiscus that I bring out every summer and some Japanese Maples that Mark brought home from work.

Above are some zucchini and more tomatoes that I planted. They look much bigger now and I even have some baby squash.

The above photos are of our wildlife. Joseph, the cranky rabbit is on the left and Felix the baby mouse is on the right. Mark found him on one of the trailers at work all alone and brought him home (thanks a lot Mark) anyway he lasted almost a week. We gave it a valiant effort but we couldn’t get him to eat. He was way too young to be away from his mother. I think either way the outcome would have been the same.

The above photos are my science project. In the front corner of the porch I noticed a bees nest starting. The picture to the right gives you a better idea of scale. It’s grown quite a bit, unfortunately I haven’t taken an updated photo. I’m thinking while I’m gone it’s going to be dealt with. I suppose it’s not wise to leave it where it is but it is fascinating to watch it being built.

Update Time

Last Saturday, June 12th was the annual Strawberry Festival in Topsfield. This was the first time in I can’t remember how long that I have been able to attend. I used to work that weekend but I’m working the other weekend now so this falls on my Saturday off. Basically it’s a craft fair set up on the common in the center of town. I went with Emily because Greg and Mark went to Maine Friday night so they could 4-wheel on Saturday (more on that later).

The Parson Capen House is a historical house that the town has maintained. It’s in the background in the photo on the right. The house was built in the 1600’s. For info about it please click on this: Parson Capen

The above tractors were on display on the front lawn. Guess who they made us think of?

 

There was a small petting zoo with some chickens, baby goats and lambs along with these alpacas. Emily wanted to bring them home but she decided the necklace I bought here would be better in the long run.

The above barn is also historical and was lovingly restored by the town awhile back.

There were a few small displays inside with tools etc. I think the barn can be rented out for functions.

Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside the house but I did take pictures of the herb garden outside.

Unfortunately Mark and Greg’s weekend adventure was short  lived. On Saturday they picked out a trail and were about .5 miles into it when Greg’s ATV started making strange sounds. Long story short they scrubbed their fun and took it to a repair shop in NH and came home early Saturday afternoon.

Graduation 2010

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Yesterday was a big day for Emily and us. She graduated from high school. Her class was the largest one to date with 360 kids. The ceremony took about 2 hours in the high school field house. It was extremely hot inside but always a possibility at this time of year. Several of the kids delivered wonderful inspirational speeches. The principal gave a very moving talk about her feelings of Em’s class. Back in the fall I did a blog post about the loss of one of their classmates. The principal talked at length about how this impacted the class and how they rallied and raised money for a scholarship fund in the young boy’s honor. His parents were in the audience and when his name would have been called to receive a diploma they gave an honorary one to his parents and a yearbook which had been dedicated to him. It was very moving and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

Last night ended one journey for Em and for us as well. The last 20 something years of all of our lives have revolved around a school calendar. In September we will embark on another journey and another school calendar, this time it will be college.

Thirty Years

Yesterday marked a major milestone for Greg. He has worked for GE for 30 years. A few weeks ago he received a beautiful set of luggage. On the actual anniversary this wonderful fruit basket came. Too bad Greg is not a fruit eater. I know I’ll be enjoying it, especially the chocolate covered strawberries.