My b'day / Water damage to home / Visit to Manchester, Vermont

Another Trip with Doug and Sharon

After dealing with ice damage at our cabin and water damage to the 

back room of our house, which entailed months and months of clean-up, 

demolition and repair, we thought we finally had a respite from stress.  

Not so!

After spending a wonderful, relaxing afternoon out and about, Gary 

and I arrived back home, opened the door, greeted our dog, Jake, who 

approached us with his tail between his legs and a sad face and wondered,

"what's up." We soon knew why. After a few steps into the kitchen we 

felt water sloshing over our ankles and the sound of a tsunami from the 

bathroom. Jake had the sideways eye look..."I didn't do it. I didn't touch 

a thing." Well, you can imagine what a house with 6000 gal of water 

pouring from a broken hose creates in terms of destruction. Our entire 

remodeled basement (which included my art studio and Gary's workshop) 

had to be gutted and our entire flooring of wood floors on the first floor. 

A lot of contents got destroyed too.

What would any sane person do to stay sane, after dealing with the initial 

agenda of twenty huge air blowers and heaters drying out the house, 

having insurance company assess damage, coordinating contractors and 

watching movers take all our furniture to storage, except our bed.

LEAVE for a little vacation!!

So, we met Doug and Sharon for a long weekend in Vermont. My birthday

was on the 26th, so it was a great time to take a break and enjoy life. 

We stayed at the Manchester View. Fall colors were in full splendor. We had 

the most incredible dinners at Ye Olde Tavern and Up for Breakfast. I bought 

a few cabinets for my art studio at antique shops to replace damaged ones.  

One of the highlights was visiting the oldest quarries in the U.S. 

Gary and I at Up for Breakfast

Doug and sharon across from us

On the deck of Manchester View Hotel

View from the deck

Marble Quarry abandoned

Gary and Doug wondering if there are any fish

Engraved into the quarry rock...1929 was the oldest date we found

Info on the quarry

At the quarry...Sharon gave me this beautiful scarf for my B'day

This is what we left....damaged contents and gutted rooms!

Ogunquit, Maine

Vacation in Ogunquit, Maine Sept 7-13, 2014

First time visiting Doug and Sharon at their home in Ellington, Conn.  

What beautiful country! We then all went to Ogunquit to enjoy some 

time together.  Doug and Sharon have gone there often since it is only

a few hours away, but this was our first visit. 

Ogunquit has breathtaking views, especially dramatic along the Marginal Way. 

This walking trail is high on the cliffs and runs along the entire waterfront from 

Ogunquit Beach area to Perkins Cove. 

Of course we ate lobster and enjoyed other local cuisine.  Sharon and I went 

to see The Witches of Eastwick, staring Sally Struthers as Felicia Gabriel at the 

Ogunquit Playhouse which has an impressive summer stock history since its 

founding in1933. We all enjoyed breakfast at Cafe Amore, above and beyond 

delicious! Gary and Doug were always on the lookout for old fishing lures and 

found some great ones at local antique shops to add to their collections.  

We packed in a lot during the three days we were there, including a visit to the 

Ogunquit Museum of Art, basking in the sun on Ogunquit Beach, and enjoying 

a visit to the Ogunquit Memorial Library. We will definitely all be back!

View along the Marginal Way

Another view heading towards Perkins Cove

The charm of Perkins Cove

Sharon on the beach

View from Art Museum

Lighthouse in Maine - we stopped on way back to Conn.

Another view in Ogunquit

We'll be back!

Alessandro and Sue

It was great to see my son, Sandy and Sue. He was here from
Long Island for a week. Sandy works for HBO in NYC and
is a dedicated artist and musician.  I invite you to visit his website.

At dinner with Alessandro "Sandy" and Sue

Family Reunion

How did I get to be my mother's age?
I'm now in the 70's and 80's crowd!
Age is only a surface image. When I'm
with my cousins all I see is their spirit.
None of our personalities have changed
since childhood. There is something
comforting about that.

We have an ancestry album in the works...
thanks to Mary Lou.

From left to right:  First cousins (father's side) Mary Lou, Marilyn, Me, Kathy

Jake

Our Lab, Jake, is keeping us active!  He is now a year old and
gratefully past basic training, teething, 24/7 attention and wild
zoomies.  We survived the first year!  But, it's great that he has
calmed down a bit.  It took him awhile to make that first splash
into our pool ( even though he will eagerly dash into any natural
water source...lake, ocean, pond, river) but now he loves the pool.
His favorite toy to retrieve is "chicken."

Jake at the Macedon Butterfly Garden Canal Park

Jake watching the ducks

Grandkids Visit July 2013

Following this post are the highlights of their visit in June 2014.  It is always a fun packed week. Some changes when comparing the two years.  Anna has matured a lot.  She will start Middle School this year.  Ty turned four and can now swim.  He had to be careful last year because of the tubes inserted because of constant ear infections.  Taylor is still caught in the middle!

The highlights of 2013 were tubing at our cabin, visiting Strong's Museum of Play, creating art work, swimming, and learning how to "candle" fresh eggs at our friend's Rhonda and Eric's "farm."

Ready for tubing on Keuka Lake

Em and the kids at the farm

Erik and Ty

Watching the chickens

Creating collages

Me and my grandkids

I'm going to get you!

Anna

Chickens at the farm

What are you looking at?

Erik fishing at the farm pond

Grandpa and Ty

Michele and Taylor

Holding the rabbit

Celebrating Taylor's B'day

Taylor on tractor

Learning how to candle

Play Doh Time

Enjoying a Summer Treat

Grandkids Visit June 2014

We were on the go, go, go for a full week!  The weather was great, so the kids did a lot of swimming in our pool.  Ty amazed us with his swimming skills, especially his butterfly stroke.  We went to the museum (RMSC), the zoo, went boating at our cabin, saw fireworks, celebrated Anna's and Taylor's b'days coming in July and August, and our dog Jake's July 4th b'day. Emily and I went to the movies to see "Tammy" which was a hoot.  Erik and Emily visited friends and Gary got a lot of time fishing with Erik.

Me and the grandkids / Keuka Lake

Canadaigua Lake with friend, Sharon

Fossil Dig at RMSC

Inventor's Center at RMSC / Creating fast transport vehicle

Ready for Air Fighter Simulator Ride at RMSC

Matching objects with pictures / Me and grandson, Ty

Successful fishing trip Honeoye Lake

Gary and Erik showing their catch to the kids

Anna encouraging Ty to jump

Ready for a boat excursion on Keuka

Jake eyeing his b'day cupcake / b'day July 4th / one year old

Celebrating Taylor's B'day (7/14/05)

Celebrating Anna's B'day (8/18/03)