On Saturday, nearly a week ago, we went to the airport to pick up Grandma and Grandpa. Since then, we’ve been playing tour guide. We’ve taken lots of pictures, but, unfortunately, we haven’t been blogging to keep up with the pictures we’ve taken. Here’s a sampling.
The fall foliage at Old Sturbridge Village.
The New England Aquarium. If you look closely, you’ll see L doing his best imitation of the penguin swim.
A lighthouse on Cape Ann.
A beach near Ipswich, MA.
How’s this for some personal information. When Pam has bad dreams, they usually involve a bull. It chases her around and she can never run fast enough. When I have bad dreams, they usually involve great big grizzly bears. I am planting trees by myself in some far corner of the block or I’m camping alone in the woods or I’m hiking with Pam and L and a bear shows up. You can imagine the rest of the dream: running…running…nooooo…running…etc. (I’d be interested to hear a dream expert’s take on these dreams.)
Given the nature of my bad dreams, this guy is now my hero. I will try to emulate him the next time I have a bad dream. Wow!
I was listening to the radio today, and I heard something I thought I would pass on.
Apparently, Hemingway was once challenged to write a story using only six words. Here’s what he came up with: “For sale: baby shoes, never used.”
The Three-County Fair was in Northampton over the Labor Day weekend. In the time we’ve lived here, we’ve never gone to the fair, so, with Pam putting in her first night-shift yesterday, L and I decided to go have a look. I happened upon some young 4Hers partaking in a showmanship class. I was immediately transported to my childhood, and I couldn’t resist taking a picture of the moment.
At our place, our anniversary and birthdays are all lumped together. So we often celebrate them all at once. Yesterday, we had sushi and wine for supper. L enjoyed the tuna and even had a go at the chopsticks.
After the meal, we brought out the “happy cake”. L admired the cake throughout the day, and when I got home from the office, he could hardly sit down for supper–Mom had told him that we would eat the cake when Dad got home. L is only 20 months old and already happy cakes are something to get excited about.
Today we took a trip north to Vermont–we wanted to take some time out before the pace quickens dramatically on Tuesday. We spent the early afternoon at Sugarbush Farm. They make their own cheese and maple syrup. After tasting some of their cheeses, including a sharp cheddar that was aged for 6 years, we bought some for lunch and some to enjoy in the coming weeks. We also toured their sugar shack, where the sap from the trees is boiled down to syrup.
After spending a few hours at the farm, we drove down the road to see some glass blowers at work. Very cool. We watched them make some wine glasses and vases. It would have been nice to buy a souvenir, but the prices were a bit on the steep side.
We’re back in Massachusetts. We arrived late last night after an uneventful two days of driving. L traveled well and is reacquainting himself with his old toys. The portable DVD player we bought for the trip was a hit.
L has really enjoyed his summer. He has spent lots of time with his cousins, his uncles and aunts, and his grandparents. I think his life is going to feel pretty empty to him when he finds himself back in Massachusetts next week. On Wednesday, he again enjoyed the company of his cousins, this time at Kilcona Park. Aunt K even managed to get everyone to cooperate for a picture.
Yesterday, the real date of Grandpa’s birthday, we had another “party” for Grandpa. This party came complete with a little bit of outdoor fun with water. It took L a while to warm up to the idea of playing in the water, but eventually he was having as much fun as his cousins were.
At dusk, everyone went for a walk. L was in heaven. Nowhere are there more small stones to pick up and play with than on a gravel road. And nowhere are there more small wildflowers to smell than at the side of a gravel road.
L keeps on changing every day. The latest change in his behaviour showed up while we were in Calgary; when he noticed a camera pointed in his direction, he would turn, smile, and give the camera a big wave. While this is cute and all, it makes the “natural” shot much harder to get.
Today, we had family over to celebrate Grandpa’s 60th birthday.
