Pumpkins and Halloween

Just some pictures from Evelyn helping carve her pumpkins. She had a little trouble getting into it and wanted a spoon to scoop out the pulp, but eventually she got her hands dirty and had fun. Though it turns out the pumpkin goop is really cold when it's been 30 some degrees for the last 2 weeks.

She told me she wanted her pumpkin to have a scary face so a scary face he was given. She even got to help Daddy carve a little. I think they turned out pretty well!

Evelyn also went Trick-or-Treating for the first time this year! We recycled her costume from last year since it still fit. She was really excited about it and had been talking about it for a week. She wore her costume all day and was not deterred by the rainy weather.

We were lucky to have a break in the rain and only slight drizzles while we walked/rode around. She insisted on taking her new wagon. The crazy downpour started after 8pm. She was a bit timid and shy at first but after a few houses she was leaving saying "get more chocolate!" After an hour of Trick-or-Treating we called it quits and headed home to look through the bounty. Evelyn couldn't wait to dig in and got to have a few pieces of candy before going to bed.



I think she got the hang of Halloween and will definitely be looking forward to it next year. I should probably start brainstorming her costume now!

Camping in Maine - Sept 2013

So we headed south out of Quebec to reach Baxter State Park on Saturday 9/7, driving 16 miles from the nearest town, Millinocket, to the park entrance, and then 8 miles on a dirt road to our camp area. The forest was fragrant - lots of pines and birch. We got our tent and picnic table awning up and decided to not bother cooking so we'd have time to take a short hike to a nearby pond - they say the moose often show up at dusk - no moose. It rained that night, but the new tent worked like a charm - nice and dry. Unfortunately the rain kept up all the next day. We hiked anyway in rain gear up to Chimney pond under the cirque of Mt Katahdin's Baxter Peak. Ir was cold and wet, with quite a bit of cloud cover blowing by the mountain, interspersed with clear blue skies - go figure. We were tired after that, so even though it went down into the 30's Sunday night, we slept warm and peacefully. The next day was clear and warmed up into the 70's. We went up a peak north of Katahdin and got a spectacular view of all of the various peaks. Tuesday we pulled up stakes and headed for Wiscasset, Maine along the coast to stay at the Snow Squall Inn B&B. It's a great place, centrally located and providing perfect access for gorging on lobster, fish chowders, and every other form of seafood imaginable. We've been slipping off the non-dairy diet a bit, but it's been worth it! The small towns are picturesque and the rugged coastline is pristine, Fog shrouded the shoreline until about noon today, but then temperatures went into the 80's - very pleasant.

2013 Sept Quebec-Maine

We've been in Quebec a day and a half and seem to have walked miles - around the Citadel, through Bas Ancien Quebec down by the St Lawrence River, across the Fields of Abraham (the old battlefield),

The Frontenac

Bas Ancien Quebec

Le Marche

and up and down most of the narrow winding streets. Our B&B, Maison James Thompson, is right in Old Quebec, so we've been able to just park the car in the tiny courtyard and walk everywhere. The Marche is impressive with the care vendors take displaying their fresh produce, and such produce! Fortunately we had eaten a big breakfast and so weren't tempted. Meals out in the evening have been outstanding, from poached salmon in hollandaise sauce to lobster pizza, though it's been necessary to indulge the French cuisine and go off our vegan track. So, if we were going to deviate, we decided we might as well have tiramisu and creme brulee for dessert last night! Mmmmm....

Tomorrow we'll drive out to the big waterfall northeast of the city and probably explore the broader area a bit, and then Friday we head for Baxter State Park. It'll be quite a contrast going from our B&B to a campsite, and we heard it'll be pretty cold, but our new tent should keep us toasty - we hope.

Blue Ridge and Charlottesville VA

Blue Ridge Overlook

We're back from a week in western Virginia touring presidential homes and the Blue Ridge Skyline Drive. Great weather for the most part, and we seemed to mostly avoid the one big storm that blew through with high winds and heavy rains. We stayed in one of a variety of small cabins sprinkled across the wooded property at Shenandoah Crossing, an RCI resort in Gordonsville VA. There are horse pastures on the grounds with plenty of horses to ride, lots of family activities, a lake, a golf course, etc. It was very nice, though we were roaming around western VA most of the time. We visited Monticello (Jefferson), Montpelier (Madison), Michey Tavern, and Ash Lawn-Highland (Monroe), several vineyards for some tastings, and explored some Civil War Battle sites near Fredericksburg. We also went into Charlottesville to see the University of VA and the Rotunda and Academic Village designed by Jefferson. Fall was just beginning to set in so it wasn't until we were on our way home in PA that we saw some Fall colors.



Jefferson's Monticello




Fall Harvest ready to pick



Carter Mt Winery over Charlottesville

To tour these restored homes was instructive and you not only got a better sense of what life was like 200 years ago, but also developed an impression of the personalities of these men. Jefferson, for example, while brilliant in many ways, must have driven his employees, family, and slaves nuts with the constant make-overs he imposed on his property, always ready to try the next new thing. None of these Presidents died wealthy and in fact generally had to sell off their estates after they passed. It has only been through amazing detective and archeological work and some good luck, that recovery of many original artifacts and restorations to the 1800 period have been possible. It was also interesting to note the expanded acknowledgment and reconstruction of "enslaved" people. It used to be that no one would talk about slavery, but now it's part of the historical narrative.

Skyline Drive was beautiful with great views toward both east and west, but for hiking you needed to remember that you're already on the top. Almost all trails go down to various water falls and view points from which you then have to come back up. This is the same catch as at the Grand Canyon, where visitors plunge down the trails with great energy and then die a slow thirsty death trying to get back up! Nevertheless, the views are spectacular.

We walked through several battle sites and were able to follow along with the progression of the troop movements leading up to the battles. It was reconstructed and laid out very well for visitors, but chilling to visualize the horrific slaughters that were experienced. The soldiers lined up and marched toward cannon and musket, and as the front line fell a new line would move into the fusillade. Yikes.

She Walks

I finally got it on camera and it is the furthest she has walked yet!

I also caught her snuggling her giant bear, it's pretty cute...

Evelyn stands!

She's changing so fast!

8 months and mobile!

Lots of new things have happened in the past month. Evelyn got her first tooth on June 10th (much to our relief). She was miserable for about a week and a half before it finally came through, but she seems to be back to (nearly) normal again. 

Mike is in Germany collecting data for his dissertation and will be gone for 5 weeks total so Aunt Caity, Grandma and Grandpa B and Uncle Ben are pitching in to help us out as I still have to work. Evelyn had a blast with Aunt Caity and I think she is missing having music played for her all the time. She really seemed to love listening to the her play the ukelele and trying to play her own. Now she is hanging out with Grandma B and have lots of fun getting into mischief and taking dips in the backyard. 

On Monday, Mom went to get Evelyn from her crib after a nap and found her standing at the crib side! Having just lowered the crib because she was sitting up, I was not expecting to have to lower it again so soon. She's determined to be as mobile as possible!

Today, while making dinner Evelyn managed to crawl over to Sabbath's water dish and tip it over. Yes, I said crawl! Watch out, she's mobile! I'm going to have my hands full keeping her out of everything. Who knows, by the time Mike gets home, maybe she'll be walking.