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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whirlwind Weekend

A week ago today Greg and I headed to Fulton to celebrate my brother-in-law’s 50th birthday. This is the delicious cake that Sheila made. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above is Gary, Greg’s youngest brother, his mother, Sheila and Greg. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I tend to be very camera shy but they got me on the above photo. Paula, my sister-in-law (Gary’s wife) on the left is holding her youngest daughter, Kelly. I’m in the middle with my other sister-in-law, Amanda (Eric’s wife and party planner) on the right. Our niece, Laura (Paula’s oldest daughter) is next to us. Above is the birthday boy making a wish with some help from his nieces.

 

On this trip Greg and I stayed with his mom. She has a beautiful view of the Oswego river. 

Sunday morning we got up early so we went to breakfast at Mimi’s. We took some pictures of the downtown area. I love this mural on the side of a building and we both enjoyed the beautiful views of the canals.

I found the clock fascinating and the above building is the public library. I have many a fond memory of borrowing books. I read the whole Walter Farley (Black Stallion Series) and many more books and I believe my love of reading started with this library.

Mother’s Day 2010

Things change as kids get older on Mother’s Day. Derek stayed at school this weekend because he’s in the pit band for the play Footloose. Mark helped a friend do some tree work for extra money and just Em was home. Greg really has been the one to always make the day special for me. He gave my ole Caravan a wash and wax today. She’s 13 years old with over 111,000 miles. She got some new front brakes last week. We started looking at new cars thinking maybe it’s time but after looking and test driving I decided I like what I have versus any of the newer, more plasticy, expensive things on the market sooo, we’ll keep on chugging along for as long as we can. 

Greg stood back and admired his work. The Caravan didn’t look half bad.

Above is a memory of a long ago Mother’s Day. I don’t remember how old Mark was but he was the only child at the time when Greg took him to buy this Azalea bush. He was very excited when they brought it home. Both he and the bush were much smaller. It looked beautiful today. I couldn’t help but think back to a simpler time…

Accepted Student Day

Friday was accepted student day at Em’s college, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) in North Adams, MA. It took a little under 3 hours to get there. The day was very pleasant with bright, blue skies. I took a lot of pictures on the way out because we were traveling through the Berkshire Mountains, you can see them in the background in the photo of Emily. We look forward to seeing them in the fall.

MCLA is pretty small college with under 2000 students. This was our second visit.

Below is the ceremonial gate. I think I mentioned this when I posted about our visit in the fall. The students walk through the gate on their first day as freshmen and at graduation. There is a superstition that if you walk through it at any other time you won’t graduate. Our guide told us that you will see everyone walking around it.

Below is one of the dorms that houses freshmen. There are 3 dorms, two are for freshmen and upper classmen. There is an apartment housing that is for upper classmen only.

Below is one of the main buildings. I didn’t take a lot of photos of buildings because they kept us on the move. We enjoyed our time there and it reinforced to Emily that this was the place for her. The college president is a very dynamic woman who is also an alumni. She made it a point to circulate and came over and introduced herself to us. Our student guide told us she will know everyone’s name in no time.

The route we traveled followed the Mohawk Trail and is really beautiful. The roads can be very twisty as you make your way through the mountains. One of the professors we met at the school recommended taking the turnpike in the winter, probably a good idea.