Getting Away...again

Well, so much for getting stuff done around the house this summer. My brother found a cottage for rent so we all went to Plymouth earlier this month with a few friends. Aside from the usual stress over leaving the animals, we had an incredible week. Fortunately, we have some great friends who were willing to stay with the little beasts at our house- that made things much easier. Anyhow, we were a little worried at first about renting a house because we'd never done this before, and on top of that, it was in Plymouth! What is there to do in Plymouth? Turns out, quite a bit. First of all, even if we hadn't left the cottage, we would have been totally content. There was a beautiful sun porch where we all spent a lot of time reading and playing games. I set up a little studio in the corner. There was a great beach, even though there were no waves. My niece Madalyn enjoyed having her toes dipped in the water. When the tide came in, the beach disappeared, but there were some nice rocks to sit on and read.
And in town, we found plenty to keep us interested. We visited the Mayflower II...

And Erin found a cute little stained glass shop where the owner taught classes. She could only take four of us, so there was a little fighting over who would get to go. That really surprised us. We had planned it to be a girls' day, but it so happened that the boys were pretty interested, too. Troy won. On the way to the class we went shopping for sweatshirts because it was a little cold and very rainy. There was a really big puddle on the side of the road that splashed up when cars went through it. I saw it happen once and warned everyone. But not everyone heard me.One of my favorite things was the "Dead of Night Ghost Tour". We picked up our tickets and lanterns from a hearse parked out in front of Plymouth Rock. Then the tour guides took us around the town and told us about the past residents of certain buildings. When it got really dark, they lead us into Burial Hill Cemetery.So while we were on the tour, we were told to take pictures... LOTS of pictures. And use the flash. We might capture an image of an orb which we were told was actually a ghost. Hee!! Totally silly, but tons of fun! The tour guides took this very seriously. Ryan got the best orb shot.
One of the days we drove out to Provincetown. We went up to the top of the Pilgrim Monument to see the view..
Then we checked out the museum. Here is the creepiest doll in the world.
Here is the second creepiest doll in the world.
So that's IT for the vacations this summer. Now I'm painting and making art. I am trying to get brave and post some of it, as this is a studio blog!

My Flickr Self Portrait

This was a blast- you have to try it. I found this on Claudia's blog. I will copy the instructions for you.
Type your answers to the questions below into Flickr search. Using only the first page choose an image and copy and paste the URL's into the mosaic maker (3 columns, 4 rows).
1.What is your first name?
2.What is your favorite food?
3.What high school did you attend?
4.What is your favorite color?
5.Who is your celebrity crush?
6.Favorite drink?
7.Dream vacation?
8.Favorite dessert?
9.What do you want to be when you grow up?
10.What do you love most in life?
11.One word to describe you.
12.Your Flickr name.

Returning to the gardens

With all the trips up north and the family get-togethers and the storms we've been having, I haven't been in the gardens in about 2 weeks. I can't believe how fast weeds grow. I started weeding the Maple Tree Garden today because it's the easiest and maybe I would feel a sense of accomplishment if I could finish it. Then this butterfly stopped by to tell me that he still enjoys the garden even if it's not perfectly weeded or beautifully edged. This made me feel a lot better because as we were enjoying each other's company, another storm cloud was rolling in from the west and needless to say, the weeds will live to see another day. Or maybe another week. Or longer.

Can't get enough

We headed up to the Adirondacks again this past weekend for our annual camping trip with Dan's family. This is something I look forward to every year- I think this is my favorite piece of summer. We did some hiking, reading, swimming and took a few canoe rides.
When Dan and I were first married and we went camping, we ate things like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or hot dogs- you know, typical camp food. That got old fast. It was a part of camping that I really didn't like, but he kept telling me that was all you could bring with you when you went out in the woods. Then we started camping with his family. Imagine my surprise when his mom served fettuccine alfredo with asparagus for dinner. And then the shock of waking up to blueberry pancakes and hash browns. Granted, this woman could out-cook Martha Stewart, but I learned quickly how to improve the campfire menu. That was the end of PB&J on the camping trips, much to Dan's dismay. He claims to find this kind of camping ridiculous and would rather just pack some granola and be done with it. But I didn't hear him complaining over his steamed vegetable quesadilla, or the brown rice and beans with mango salsa.

10 Year Anniversary

Dan and I celebrated our tenth anniversary at the end of June this year. We went to a beautiful lodge in the Adirondacks and spent three days canoing, swimming, reading and being completely lazy. The weather was perfect. I need some lessons in learning how to relax, though. I would read for a little bit and then think, "Oh, I should be painting!" and then "Hmmm, maybe we should take the canoe out again!". Unwinding is hard work.

Happy Mother's Day!

We celebrated Mother's Day a day early this year with a brunch at our house. It was a beautiful day and the tulips were still in bloom, though they have seen better days. Bandit really enjoys having Grandma come to visit. As soon as everyone gathers at the table, he heads over to her chair and plops himself down right next to her.

Nothing says "high class" at a Mother's Day brunch like a dog licking yogurt parfait out of a crystal goblet.

Spring has arrived. I've already started buying new flowers to put in the gardens even though the last frost date is probably several weeks away.
My nephew turns four this month. Dan and I gave him an inflatable basketball hoop. It's a little big- I keep forgetting to check the age levels on the toy packages, but it was a hit with the "older children".
My sister made the mistake of asking Ben what kind of cake he wanted (in our family, "what kind of cake" usually does not refer to flavor- it means how do you want it decorated). He's really into crocodiles, but apparently he is also developing an interest in ants. Never one to back down from a creative challenge, my sister incorporated both in her cake design. I'm thinking of asking her to make my birthday cake next year. So Dawn, I'd like Johnny Depp on a pirate ship in the middle of the ocean. Oh, and see if you can work in a gardening theme, too- I'm really into perennials.