Backtrack c. Guy Fawkes Night

Last year we never got around to celebrating Guy Fawkes (or Bonfire) night, but we were determined to do so this year. Dylan built a beautiful effigy and even planted some firecrackers in so that when we lit him on fire there were quite a lot of pops, screams and bangs. I don't know all the details, but Guy Fawkes tried to blow up parliament. He obviously didn't succeed, and I don't know when it was they started celebrating Guy Fawkes night in England, but it's been a long time.

Backtrack b. Election night.

This was a very exciting night for all of us, especially Dylan, as it was his first Presidential vote. We all went to the Smithville Flats town hall, which is a beautiful old building - they still have old-fashioned voting booths too. Katie was very excited about what was going on as well, and she was allowed to go into the booth with Dylan. Then we all bought some snacks and went to the library to watch everything on the computers (as we don't have TV channels at home). We had a wonderful time and were all very happy at the election results.

Backtrack a. Jack-O-Lanterns

These are the jack-o-lanterns that Dylan, Katie & I carved for Halloween. The bottom picture shows a pumpkin painted by Dylan (the other side of which is in the 2nd picture - the black skull with halo and wings).

A New Post: Katie's Birthday & the Play

These pictures are shown out of order, but oh well. Katie was in the play "Alice in Wonderland" and opening night was on her birthday. So in the later pictures she still has her stage makeup on. She got some very nice gifts: a rasp (?) to trim her horses hooves, and a lovely troxel helmet, among other things. In Alice in Wonderland she played a flower.

Decemberists Concert!

I just remembered that we ALL went to this amazing, smashing Decemberists concert in Ithaca. They are big Obama fans, and they made great comments about the current pres., and about Obama. The crowd got into an excited frenzy when he instructed us that when anyone says "Yes we can" we can say "Yes we did!" and he'd shout "Yes we can" and we'd shout back "Yes we did!" Dylan put one of the videos on youtube. See if this link works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDMfZzug1pI

A new post: no pics

Hello everyone. I'm still alive, and I thought I had new pictures with me today at the library, but alas, I do not. I will hopefully be able to update soon - since I am WAY behind - and get everything up to date before Christmas! (at least I can use school as an excuse now, eh?)

I hope everyone had a jolly Thanksgiving.

Yay!!!

I'm very happy and excited that Obama won the election. I just wanted to say it was a rare and historic election and I'm glad that I was part of it.

Corn Dollie!!!

My good friend Sarah Lee, for a late birthday gift, sent me a hand-made corn dollie! Don't think American sweet corn, folks, think European grain (wheat, straw, etc.) These are relics of pagan days, and were made at harvest time. At the end of the harvest there was one corn dollie made in the shape of a woman. This would be kept, sometimes above the barn door, to protect against evil spirits. This woman corn dollie would be ploughed into next years earth as they were sowing.

Halloween Decorations!

I've had a few requests for pictures of our Halloween decorations (a lot of which are mine). In the 4th photo are alot of old decorations I grew up with. Note also my mini Dia de los Muertos shrine, and my Dia de los Muertos devil skeleton (the latter of which I found in a gift shop in Canada). I just can't resist those skeletons!

Niagara Falls!

On our way home we stopped by Niagara Falls. A first time for me. I didn't know what to expect, as one hears about Niagara Falls all one's life (I thought of how it used to be a favorite honeymoon place in the 1920's ala THE CROWD). But it really was a breathtaking scene. Powerful and beautiful.

Canada!

Late again!!! For Canadian Thanksgiving we all drove up to visit Matthew & Colin in Hamilton, where they recently moved. It was a really lovely visit. The weather was perfect, and the area where they live is really nice. Most of these pictures were taken in a park where you can feed chickadees, black squirrels, and chipmunks. It was a peaceful, picturesque place. I really enjoyed having a few days off. A wonderful trip.

Soccer in the Mist!

Katie has had a wonderful soccer season this year (soccer is Katie's favorite sport). We haven't made it to all her games, but we've tried to see most of them. This one was an early Saturday morning, before the sun had burned off the mist.

Our Beautiful New Dalmation: Rooster!

Also last month we got a new dog: a five year old Dalmation named Rooster. His former owners christened him, as we wouldn't name a dog such a thing (especially since we have roosters!). But we call him "Roo" for short, and it seems to suit him. He's extremely affectionate and sweet, and when we come home he wags his tail and his whole body, it's the cutest thing. He's very clever too: he knows how to close doors! We're all very happy with Roo.

Tasha Tudor Memorial Service

Last month Heather and I drove to Vermont to attend the Tasha Tudor memorial. We drove with a combination of anticipation and trepidation, as we have not been as close to the Tudors as we once were. Everyone looked very well, and Winslow, out of everyone, was the nicest to us. I certainly approached the whole thing with many childhood memories and misconceptions.
As to the service itself (not held on Tudor property, but on an historic farm nearby), it seemed to have very little to do with Tasha herself, and it rained most of the time, which put a stop to floating candles on a small lake. After coming back from the lake they had hot cider and a lovely bonfire. All in all, however, I'm glad we went.

My Birthday: August 2nd

I had a very nice birthday. I worked for a few hours, and Jill, one of the people who rents out space in the shop (she sells used books, clothes, jewelry, etc.) told me I could take anything from her area for my birthday, which was very sweet of her. So I chose a lovely white skirt with brown designs.

After work we all (Heather, Michael, Katie & self) to a lovely restaurant in Cortland (about a half hour drive) that serves Greek & Middle Eastern food: hummus, falafel, stuffed grape leaves...

Of course, after coming home I opened gifts, and I had a lovely icecream cake. And in the evening, we watched PRISONER OF ZENDA (with lovely Ronald Colman, of course!). It was a very nice day.

I forgot to mention that on my birthday some boxes from Aunt Laura came (stuff she was getting rid of), which had an interesting assortment of a cat figurine collection, clothes, jewelry and the like, and there was this AMAZING, exotic dress in there that fit me (I was happy to find out) and I wore it to church the next day. I had to include a picture of it, as the dress is so stunning.