A Day in Vermont

As I said last week, we were going to our cabin in the Adirondacks for the weekend, then into VT for the day to pick up a new snowmobile trailer. This first picture is of the bridge crossing over Lake Champlain into VT from NY.



This is Lake Champlain from the bridge.



Vermont, here we come!



This is as close as we got to the state capital.




The Green Mountains, which were south of where we were. It looks alot like the Adirondacks! Actually the whole place looked alot like upstate NY. The farms, the mountains, the fields.




I have to thank Laurie and Chris for the suggestion to go to Ben and Jerry's! I don't know why I didn't think of it. But that is exactly what we did. Of course being the ice cream lover that I am, I enjoyed it very much, so did Glen. We went on the tour that tells the history and shows how they make their ice cream then got an ample free sample! I bought a really cool T-shirt and a frig. magnet and Glen got a to-go coffee mug.



I thought this was cute. It is in the back of their factory by the parking.



Even the bathrooms were cute! Everything was painted bright colors. Very pretty and clean!




This is the delivery bus that they used in the beginning.



This is the flavor graveyard. Every year they retire some of their flavors making room for new and exciting flavors. We walked through and read all the "gravestones".



Some of them I can understand why they were retired - "Oh Pear"??? really, pear flavored ice cream??? ewww.



Now this is some ice cream I would have liked! I can totally imagine having a cup of ice cream in the morning in the summer! What do you think?



This one is for my daughter (she'll know why).





On the way home we drove down Lake George in the Eastern Adirondacks. This the far East Adirondacks seen over Lk. George.


Knitting - My friend Pat gave me a kit to make a felted purse for my birthday. I had made a felted purse before and it turned out great. So this was a great present. While we were at the cabin I knitted the purse. Now all I have to do is sew it together and felt it.
I am also working on a pair of socks,

Books I have read - "A Claim of Her Own" by Stephanie Grace Whitson, visit her website here. This is a Christian Historical Fiction by one of my very favorite Authors! I have read almost all her books (there are lots) and once again she did not disappoint me. I give this book 5 stars. Very pleasant to read, happy, romantic, and suspenseful.
It is about 20 yr. old Mattie who travels to SD to find her brother who went there looking for gold. His letters say he has struck it rich. But when she gets there, she finds out her brother is dead and no gold. She decides to keep the claim and do some mining on her own, this was very surprising for a woman back then. She wants to find out what happened to her brither and the gold. This is about her struggles and the wonderful, (and bad) people she meets there. Great story! I recommend it!

Contests - My friend Dar at, Peeking between the pages is giving away books again, I don't know how she does it! She is always giving away something. She is giving away 3 copies of "The Castaways" by Elin Hilderbrand. You are not gonna win if you don't sign up! Also - Happy Belated Birthday, Dar!!! Amendment - Dar is also giving away a "book Buddy" check it out they are cute! - Here!
Also, Toni at A circle of books, is giving away 5!!!! copies of "Soul Survivor", written by Carol Bowman. So check in and sign up with her.
Another blog I just recently found is Chick loves lit and she is giving away lots of books, just scroll down to find all of them.

Top 5 - favorite flavors of ice cream (I haven't done this one yet have I?)
1. Vanilla
2. Coffee
3. Mocha Almond Fudge
4. Cherry Vanilla
5. Black Raspberry

Happy 4th!!!!

OOOOOPS!!!!! My mom made these canisters for me years ago. She couldn't even believe I still had them. Guess what mom! I'm getting new canisters :-(


These are the socks I was knitting with the yarn my friend Pat gave me from Turkey. I absolutely love them! I love everything about them, The color, the look, the feel, the fit. They are perfect. I am working on another pair of socks with yarn I bought at "Fingerlakes Fibers" in Watkins Glen when my mom was here. It is gorgeous yarn! I will have pictures next week.


I almost stepped on this little guy! I was at Pat's house walking around the yard taking pictures and I stepped just within a foot of him. He was just sitting there looking up at me. If you can't tell - he is a baby blue jay.


A beautiful rose at Pat's house.



Humming bird at Pat's feeder. I kept telling Pat I wanted to come to her house just to take pictures. She lives in the country and has a beautiful country setting.

What's happening - No more kids!!!! At least for 2 1/2 weeks. Then I am watching just a couple for 2 weeks while their "summer babysitter" is on vacation. I feel so free, what shall I do? I do have plans actually. Some fun, some work.

My husband and I went to a cherry festival this weekend. We went to it last year and enjoyed ourselves, so we thought we would go again this year. It was at The Cobblestone Farm Winery (click to visit the website). They had bands, we got to listen to a couple that were pretty good. They had lots of crafts for sale. Lots of food. We had some ice cream. And of course wine tasting and wine for sale. We bought a bottle of wine and a jar of Cherry Jam. They also had cherry wine that was actually pretty good, (very sweet though) I don't think I could have drank a whole glass of it.

On our "Barn property" up the road from us, we have lots of cherry trees. So we did our own cherry picking this weekend. We have both tart red cherries and black sweet cherries. When we got home I made a cherry sauce for ice cream. Remember my top 5 from last week - well cherries are good on top of ice cream!

Fourth of July weekend my hubby and I are going to our cabin in the Adirondacks. AND... We are going to drive over to VT! My husband bought a new snowmobile trailer (remember he crashed the other one) it is in VT, so we are going to go get it. I am going to look up "things to do" in that area so we can make a fun day of it. It is pretty much right in the middle of the state - a small town called Washington. So if anyone knows this area please comment!

Books I have read - Prep, by Curtis Sittenfeld. This was a good book, I give it about 3 1/2 to 4 stars. At first when I started reading it I thought it was probably a YA book, up until the last third! It got very sexual (graphically) then I knew it was probably NOT a Young Adult book after all. I still liked the book even though I do not like graphic sex in my books (I like to imagine my own, thank you). This book was about Lee, a high school student from a lower middle class family in Indianna who gets a scholarship into a very prestigious Prep school in MA. Lee quickly learns that she is an outsider, and goes to the extreme to fit in. By the time she is a Senior she has created a place for herself, but is this what she really wants?

Contests - "A Sea of Books" is giving away 5 copies of "Off Season" by Anne Rivers Siddon
"Chick loves Lit" is giving away a copy of "Dead Until Dark" by Charlaine Harris
Dar at "Peeking Between the Pages" is having a few giveaways, check out her blog and scroll down to find them all.

Reading through the states -
Alabama- Florabama Ladies Auxiliary and Sewing Circle, by Lois Battle (14)
Alaska- Building from Within, Joan Koponan (15)
Arizona – Whispers, by Erin Grady (13)
Arkansas – Sweet Baby, by Sharon Sala (18)
California – Echoes, by Erin Grady (1)
Colorado- Tomboy Bride, by Harriet Fish Backus (16)
Connecticut –
Delaware-
Florida - In her Shoes, by Jennifer Weiner (2)
Georgia – Wild Card Quilt, by Janisse Ray (25)
Hawaii - Flip Flopped by Jill Smolinski (22)
Idaho – Indian Creek Chrinicles, by Pete Fromm (11)
Illinois - The Perfect Match, by Kimberly Cates (20)
Indiana- Prep, Curtis Sittenfeld(26)
Iowa – The Learning, Love Beyond A Lifetime I , by Ruthann Weaver (3)
Kansas – Waiting for Summer’s Return, by Kim Vogel Sawyer (10)
Kentucky – The Believers, By Janice Holt Giles (6)
Louisiana –
Maine-
Maryland-
Massachusetts – A Year by the Sea, by Joan Anderson (4)
Michigan-
Minnesota – Hit by a Farm, by Catherine Friend (7)
Mississippi-
Missouri-
Montana – My Hutterite Life, by Lisa Marie Stahl (9)
Nebraska-
Nevada-
New Hampshire – Handle With Care, by Jodi Picoult (23)
New Jersey-
New Mexico-
New York - The Lives they Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic, by Darby Penney and Peter Stastny (12)
North Carolina – Scrambled Eggs at Midnight, by Brad Barkley & Heather Hepler (8)
North Dakota-
Ohio-
Oklahoma-
Oregon-
Pennsylvania-
Rhode Island-
South Carolina - Bastard out of Carolina, by Dorothy Allison (5)
South Dakota-
Tennessee - The Ballad of Frankie Silver, by Sharyn McCrumb (24)
Texas-
Utah-
Vermont-
Virginia -
Washington - North of Beautiful, by Justina Chen Headley (19)
West Virginia –Once there was a Farm, by Virginia Bell Dabnay
Wisconsin – Tyler: Whirlwind, by Nancy Martin (17)
Wyoming – Letters of a Woman Homesteader, by Elinore Pruitt Stewart (21)



Top 5 - Plans for the 4th
1. Go to our cabin
2. Watch fireworks over Piseco Lake
3. Go to Vermont
4. Relax
5. Probably get bitten by mosquitoes!

SURPRISE!!!!

We had a little surprise party for my daughter. She graduated college and got a promotion at work! It was really hard to plan this as a surprise, I was tempted to just tell her. We tell each other everything so she just wanted to know things and I had to lie to her several times. But it was a surprise and it was fun, she seemed to love it. She got some nice gifts - coffee maker, coffee bean grinder, coffee, cookbooks, money, you know- all the important things in life! At the table she said to "You lied to me!". I said "I know, I had to, I won't lie to you anymore, unless I have to". And yes, I made the cake! I did the palm tree and sun freehand with frosting. This is a great accomplishment for me since I hate to bake.
This song is for my daughter!










Contests - My friend, Dar, at Peeking between the pages is giving away 5 copies of "Off Season" by Anne Rivers Siddons. She is a great Author so you will want to enter this one!
Amendment!!! - Dar is also giving away 5 copies of "The Walking People" by Mary Beth Keane, so be sure to enter both!

I won a book!!! It is from Toni at "A circle of books". The book is - The Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand. It sounds like a great steamy book, can't wait to get it.


Top 5 - With summer coming and all the fruit coming out now - favorite fruits
1. Peaches - love homegrown fresh peaches. especially on icecream.
2. Strawberries - Especially strawberry shortcake, or strawberries on icecream.
3. Blueberries - Blueberry coffeecake!!! and on icecream!
4. Raspberries - They are expensive here, but I do love them... on icecream.
5. Cherries - Yum! haven't tried them on icecream but I bet it would be good!

There are places around here where you can pick peaches, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and cherries! You can pick them your self, its a little cheaper that way.

Bamboo shoots

Pictures -
#1- I got some live bamboo for my fish tank. I love it so much I'm thinking of pulling all the artificial plants and buying more bamboo! What do you think?
#2, 3, &4- My precious Martina

What's happening - This past weekend my hubby and I went to Auburn. My in-laws gave me a gift card from "Bass pro shop" (for those of you who don't know - it's like Cabela's) I bought a pair of real cool capris. Seriously, like these are the best. They are so thin they are almost weightless and they are waterproof! How cool is that? I thought they would be great for summer.
I still have some money left on the card so I thought I would go back in a couple weeks and get a top. We also went to Petco and I bought that awesome bamboo for the fish tank! I just love it. We also got cat food and kitty litter (the necessities). We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant called Aviccoli's in Waterloo. It was great! They give you so much food we both had enough left for dinner the next night. On they way home we stopped at a friends house to visit. I had not seen her new kitties yet. What cuties!

Only two more weeks of school!!!!! Then I am off for the summer. I love my children but I am also looking forward to not having them for a while! They are all coming back next year. I am not really surprised, they all seem to love it here.

Knitting - Ahhh! I can't stop! I already have two projects started and I just started another! My friend Pat gave me some real nice cotton yarn from Turkey (her son and daughter-in-law) live there) it is beautiful yarn and so soft! So you see why I just couldn't wait to start using it. I am making a pair of ankle socks. I will show pictures next week.

Books I have read - Since I am at the half way point I went off my states list and started reading a book my husband gave me called "Adirondack Cabin Country" by Paul Schaefer. It is kind of a memoir type of thing. It is good but I feel like alot is missing. It could be more descriptive in my oppinion. It is still good and interesting though. Like I did not find out that he was married and had 4 children till 3/4 way through. He never mentioned them! I did find out that his wife also wrote a book! So I will look that one up (women describe more! LOL).

Contests - Tina is having a giveaway at "A Circle of Books", she is giving away a copy of "Stand the Storm" by Breena Clark. The book sounds good!
Bookroom Reviews is giving away a copy of "Confessions of a Shopaholic" on DVD!!!!! Yes, you read it right, go there right now and enter! Hurry!

Top 5 - first names of your best friends (weird! 4 out of 5 start with "A")
1. Donya
2. Angel
3. April
4. Anne
5. Ashley

Dogwoods and Eggs

Pictures -
1 & 2- This Robin's nest is literally right outside my front door! There is a bush just to the left of my front stairs and this nest sits nicely inside.
3 - purple flowers in my garden (can't remember the name of them).
4, 5, & 6- My dogwood (just outside my side door. Isn't is beautiful? I love dogwoods!

What's happening -Not much!
My husband came home for the weekend. We got our usual pizza on Fri. night and our daughter came over. On Sat. we went up to Waterloo to take his truck up to work and go to breakfast.
On Sun. we drove down to Watkins Glen and walked out on the pier (sorry no pics. forgot the camera!) went to Dunkin Donuts for coffee and went to Walmart. Sunday night I helped him pack up and he was gone again by 6:00am Monday. He is running drilling equipment and huge water tanks (like the size of a big camper) from WV to PA.

I just started watching this new show on "History Channel" called Expedition Africa (it is on Sun. nights at 10:00 just after Ice road truckers) It is about 4 people who are on an expedition following the same route that the early explorers "Stanley and Livingstone" took when they were exploring Africa for the first time. I just watched the second show, it is really good. Another show I just started watching is "Mental" it is on right after House on Tues. Love it! The star is a guy who used to play "Whistler" on Prison Break. And... I can't wait for "Glee" to start in the fall, I watched the premier and it was great! Also now watching "So you Think you can Dance" another great show, this is the third season I am watching. Let me know if you are watching any of these great shows and what you think.

Knitting - I just started on the back to my summer tank.
My friend Pat gave me some real nice cotton yarn from Turkey. It is a pretty pink and purple variegated (my favorite colors). I think I will make some sock out of it.

Books I have read - Wild Card Quilt: Taking a Chance on Home, by Janisse Ray. It was OK but not great. It was good in spots and boring in spots. It was a memoir about a woman (Janisse) and her son moving back to GA to her Grandmothers old homestead. It fulfilled my GA quota. I am now at the half way point on my "Reading through the states" this book was #25!

Contests -Toni at A Circle of Books is giving away " The Summer Affair" by Elin Hilderbrand, ooo sounds steamy.
My friend Dar at Peeking Between the Pages is giving away 3 copies of "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer. She is also giving away 5 copies of "The Night Gardener" by George Pelecanos - here.
Jenn at Jenn's Bookshelf is giving away 2 copies of "The Sitting Swing" by Irene Watson
AND, Tina at Bookshipper is giving away a copy of "Nothing in Particular" by Lurlene McDaniel (A great author!!!!)


Top 5 - Funny or strange places you leave you phone (either cell or cordless).
1. Laundry room on the dryer
2. Clothespin basket (I take it with me when I hang up laundry)
3. Upstairs on the bed
4. In the bathroom (YES, alright! I take it to the bathroom with me!)
5. In my coat pocket (I take it with me when I pick up the kids)

Celebrating "almost" summer!

Salmon River Reservoir



Me, rescuing a turtle that was in the middle of the road.



Martina in a bag! she just loves getting into things!





What's happening - Saturday was spent getting stuff done around the house. My hubby worked up at the barn property burning stuff and mowing.
On Sunday we took a drive up to "Tug Hill" For those of you who are not from around here The Tug Hill Plateau is west of the Adirondacks. What makes it special is all the rivers, creeks and lakes. You go from small town to small town. In the winter, what makes is special is the snow!!! It is the snowmobiling capital of NY! They get feet and feet of snow. Like it is not unheard of for them to get 12 feet of snow! The snowmobile trails up there are like three lane highways. So we had fun just driving around. We stopped at the Salmon River Reservoir. Which is a very big lake in Redfield. We ate our lunch at a little park there. Does anyone know the difference between a lake and a reservoir?

I just found out that my husband has to go to West Virginia on Tues.! They have to haul equip. back and forth between WV and PA. So he will be gone for a good many days. He thinks about 6 days. I am making him a good dinner tonight then I will help him pack. I know some of you would hate this life style. but I really don't mind it! I encouraged him to take the job and told him I would be supportive and not complain. I cherish the time we spend together (like this weekend) but I also am very independent and I do like being alone! So for me this is the best of both worlds.

Knitting - I am knitting myself a summer tank! I love the colors,it is a cotton year and is really soft. It is a real simple 4 row repeat. So far, I like it!


Books I have read - The Ballad of Frankie Silver" by Sharyn McCrumb. I liked this book (but didn't love it). It was two mysteries in one. One took place in 1831. An 18 yr. old girl was hung for killing her husband. This part was suppose to be true, I haven't looked it up yet. I really liked this part of the book mostly because I love historical books and I also fell in love the Frankie (Francis). The other part was present time double murder on the Appalachian Trail. This part was OK but I didn't think it was as interesting as the historical part. This took place in TN.

Contests - Dar at Peeking through the pages, is having a few giveaways! Scroll down on her site to find them!

My mom won two books this week! So congrats. to her! go mom, go mom!

Reading through the states -
1. California - Echoes, by Erin Grady
2. Florida - In Her Shoes, by Jennifer Weiner
3. Iowa - The Learning, by Ruthann Weaver
4. Massachusetts (Cape Cod) - A Year by the Sea, by Joan Anderson
5. South Carolina - Bastard out of Carolina, by Dorothy Allison
6. Kentucky - The Believers, by Janice Holt Giles
7. Minnesota - Hit By a Farm, by Catherine Friend
8. North Carolina - Scrambled Eggs at Midnight, by Brad Barkley & Heather Hepler
9. Montana - My Hutterite Life, by Lisa M. Stahl
10. Kansas - Waiting for Summer's Return, by Kim Vogel Sawyer
11. Idaho - Indian Creek Chronicles, by Pete Fromm
12. New York - The Lives they Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic, by Darby Penney and Peter Stastny
13. Arizona - Whispers, by Erin Grady
14. Alabama - The Florabama Ladies' Auxiliary Sewing Circle, by Lois Battle
15. Alaska - Building from Within: Alaskans Who Build Their Own, by Joan Koponen
16. Colorado - Tomboy Bride, by Harriet Fish Backus
17. Wisconsin - Welcome to Tyler: Whirlwind, by Nancy Martin
18. Arkansas - Sweet Baby, Sharon Sala
19. Washington - North of Beautiful, by Justina Chen Headley
20. Illinois - The Perfect Match, by Kimberly Cates
21. Wyoming - Letters of a Woman Homesteader, by Elinore Pruitt Stewart
22. Hawaii - Flip Flopped, by Jill Smolinski
23. New Hampshire – Handle With Care, by Jodi Picoult
24. Tennessee - The Ballad of Frankie Silver, by Sharyn McCrumb


Top 5 - Favorite movies (PLEASE keep the categories, just type in your answers)

1. Chick Flick - "Sleepless in Seattle"
2. Classic - "Gone with the Wind"
3. Book turned into movie - "Message in a Bottle"
4. Action Movie - "Die Hard"
5. Favorite all time Movie - "Dances with Wolves"

Come with me to the Adirondacks!

We went to our cabin in the Adirondacks over Memorial Weekend. We left Saturday morning and came back Monday. We had good weather except for a couple of small showers. These are some of the flowers that grow every year in our yard up there. Until my hubby mows them down, He saves a few small patches for me, isn't that nice?



One of our projects for this weekend was to tear down the old chimney and patch the roof. This is my husband on the roof. A few years ago we put up a new stovepipe and moved the woodstove. He said it was a good thing that we did because he found out as he was tearing it down that it was in terrible condition! He was surprised we had never had a chimney fire! Great, now he tells me!


On Sunday we drove to Speculator, about 30 min. from our cabin. We went on this walk that we have never done before. It is called "The Sacandaga Pathway" It is a trail that goes along the Sacandaga river. It was kind of confusing, paths going every which way,we ended up not even seeing the last half because we circled around by mistake! But... just our luck, it was a good thing because just as soon as we got in the car it started raining! It stopped as soon as we got to the next town and the sun came out again.

There are these boardwalks and pathways all along the river.

A lookout of the Sacandaga River.

Calla Lillies along the walk.

Now that's a woodpecker tree!




Then we drove up to one of my favorite places in the Adirondacks, the village of Long Lake. Actually they call them Hamlets up there (anyone know the difference?) One picture is the lake going one way and one of the lake the other way. I would LOVE a cabin on this lake! but it is soooo expensive1 I guess they know they have a good thing going. It is a very nice town, very "New Englandish" It does get crowded in the summer.


This is one of the best kept secrets of Long Lake. There used to be a restaurant called the Island restaurant. You could get the best breakfast there. It has been closed now for a few years. There is a Realtor in the building now. Behind the building is this pathway to an island! You are allowed to walk out to the island up to the "posted" signs. No one really knows about this, as you can see - no people! My hubby and I walk out there every time we are in Long Lk.


This is a Bar and Grill that had burned down. Were these "Hell's Angels" not happy with the service they received there?


My husband in front of a sea plane on Long Lake.


Along the lake there are sea plane rides. We took one on our honeymoon years ago! This a plane taking off.





This is Hoss's Corner Store. You can't visit Long Lake without going to Hoss's! To say that it is a great gift shop is an understatement. It is really an all round Adirondack store. It has books, jewelry, clothes, stuffed animals, blankets, maps, camping supplies, oh yeah and gifts! Do you notice something kinda different about the store? It has a tree growing up through and out the top!




This is in the back of Hoss's store, there are little shops, gift shops, pizza, etc.


Then on to home and normal life again.


Top 5 - things you take on vacation (except clothes of course, we all take those don't we?)

1. Books
2. Knitting
3. Camera
4. Binoculars
5. Money