One Final West End Creamery Picture

My iPad is limited in what it will allow me to do. Here is one more picture from our trip that it refused to add to my last post.
All three girls in the rocking chair.

Trip to Boston

My son is living in Boston for the year. He is now a part of City Year. I'm sure he will be learning a lot. It's hard with him being so far away. He's growing up! Meanwhile, my daughter Audra is a senior this year and has expressed interest in visiting Gordon College, in Wenham, Massachusetts. So, what were we to do but plan a road trip?
Friday morning we had a lovely tour of the campus. I wish I had a more impressive photo to show you. I also wish that we could have brought Allen along, but he had to work .

Later that evening, we went to Allen's apartment and took him out to dinner in the city of Boston. We ended up at an Irish pub where the food was outstanding. I ordered Guinness stew. I did not take a picture of it. (I said that for the benefit of my sisters)
The next day we met up with Allen in central Boston and explored the city. We visited Captain Jackson's Historical Chocolate Shop, which I highly recommend. I took lousy pictures all day because I didn't think to remember to and also because it was sunny and I really couldn't see the display all that well.
Here is a really bad one of Allen at Quincy Market.

Our visit ended all too soon and we headed back to Rochester around noon on Sunday, but we didn't leave Massachusetts without stopping and visiting The West End Creamery and Family Farm. I grew up with Becky, who owns it with her husband Greg. We had not seen one another in about 30 years or more.  It was fun to see her and catch up. If you are ever in the area, I would definitely plan a visit there. They have done a wonderful job establishing a business and the ice cream is delicious.

Here is Becky and me on the rocking chair.

Audra and Sarah (we brought her along to visit Gordon too), enjoy ice cream.

I loved our trip

Here is the lovely view from little whiteface last week.

Stag Brook Falls at the bottom of Whiteface Mountain.

Martha and I at the top of Mount Jo.

At a coffee shop in Lake Placid that overlooks Mirror Lake.

Lago de Papallacta

I wanted something beautiful to look at when I opened my blog page. (Not me...but the scenery) Here I am with my Spanish tutor, Franklin in Ecuador. We are sitting in front of el Lago de Papallacta. I am up and awake at 2:30 AM and thinking about Spanish and how I have not really spoken it since Ecuador. How am I ever to become fluent without practice?

An Ecuadorian Delicacy

Do you remember those furry little pets called guinea pigs that either you or your friends had growing up? Forget that image and enter the world of fine dining in Ecuador. Cuy! (There are plenty of images to browse on google of this fine feast) Above is my friend, Patty. She and I got into a discussion about these little animals after I saw a pen of them in the yard of a home in Paluga. She was surprised and amused to find out that in America we keep these animals as pets. They are commonly kept in pens in the yards of many homes in South America...just like you might find a pen of chickens in some yards in America. We don't think anything of someone going out and getting a chicken to make into a feast, do we? The same is true for the cuy in Ecuador. They are not named, talked to or cuddled. They are simply fed and eaten when the time is right. This has been going on in Ecuador for thousands of years. The Incas ate cuy. When the Spaniards conquered them in the 1500's, the tradition of fine dining didn't end there. Many of the indigenous people were converted to Catholicism. Early traditions die hard as shown in a painting of the last supper in a cathedral in Cuzco.

Nothing but the best for Jesus and his disciples at this last supper. It is interesting to note that there are other items at this feast that are native to the Andes Region of South America.
(I did not actually see this painting but had heard about it. Cuzco is actually in Peru. I found the painting with the help of the internet)
I had been warned about cuy before I left on my trip. It is a delicacy. It can be expensive and is often reserved for guests or special occasion only. Every year the mission team has been served this. This year was the first year that it was not served. I was actually a little disappointed. I wanted to be able to say that I had experienced this!

Sharp Thinking

Today's post will be short since I have been too busy and it is now 10:00 at night. Tomorrow I will tell you about the school at El Tambo!One of the interesting things I saw again and again in Ecuador were these security walls that were all over. They would build a wall around a piece of property. The wall might be anywhere from 6' to 7' tall or so, and on top of that they would stick shards of broken glass into cement in order to deter intruders. I really wanted to get a picture of one of these walls, but never got the chance. Luckily Rich took a picture and has graciously allowed me to borrow it for this post. Click on the picture for a closer look.

Didn't Your Mother Read to You?

Another fun thing we did in Boston was to go over to the Public Garden and find the sculpture of the ducks that honors Robert McCloskey. His book, Make Way for Ducklings, won the Caldecott Medal in 1942.

I've been disappointed by a few people who have told me that they have never heard of this book! (including my husband!) Luckily all three of my children knew exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned the book. In fact, it was Allen who insisted that we go find the sculpture. Makes a librarian proud!

The Old State House

This is the Old State House in Boston. Right in front of it is where the Boston Massacre took place in March 5, 1770.
Here is Alicia standing next to a model of it. I should have thought these posts out better. I would have put the picture of me with John Hancock's outfit here because it was taken inside of this building.
This is Priscilla Melvill. She was married to Thomas Melvill, a participant in the Boston Tea party. He was present during the Boston Massacre.

Following the Freedom Trail

We went on a trip to Boston a few weeks ago. I highly recommend you visit the city if you haven't before. They have this really cool freedom trail that you follow through the city. It takes you to several places of significant U.S. history.
Here I am looking at an outfit that was once owned by John Hancock. He was quite a nice dresser I think!
This is Paul Revere's house. It is the oldest residence in Boston. It was slated for demolition in the early 1900's, but luckily a group of people worked to save it.
This is the Old North Church. It is the church where lanterns were lit from the church's steeple to warn the people of Boston that the British were coming.
A statue of Paul Revere.
Audra and Allen encounter a minute man.
More to come!

Rolling!

Here are my children rolling down Bunker Hill in Boston!

Had a wild time...

Got many cool pictures of the animals at the African Lion Safari. One of my favorites was the dancing camel! He moved at the very second I snapped the picture and this is how it turned out! LOL!






And then there was this strange animal that we saw towards the end of our tour! She was friendly, so we took her with us when we left!

Water for Elephants

On the way through Ontario, Canada we stopped by the African Lion Safari. I had gone there once when I was about 13. It has really come a long way since then! One of my favorite events of this visit was watching the elephants parade down to the lake for a swim.
I think there were about 6 or 7 elephants. When they saw the water, they ran into it! You could tell that they were filled with joy at the prospect of swimming. They reminded me a little of the way Sherman acts when I take him swimming somewhere.
The lake is deep enough that they actually do swim. They are very social animals and several came over to where the crowd was standing to say hello.

On our way

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line...which is why we cut through Canada on our way to Michigan. This naturally calls for a stop at Niagara Falls.
It never ceases to amaze me that although I only live 2 hours away from this marvel, I have come here only a few times.

Been Away!

On Thursday morning, the girls and I took off with Jamie's sister Laurie and her husband Kevin to go to Michigan for a family wedding. (Allen was scheduled to go to Beaver Camp so Jamie stayed home to take him there.) We had a wonderful time! I will post more about our trip soon. Here we are on the way home from Michigan today when we stopped in Ohio for some eats. We brought home an extra kid. Paige, one of the girls' cousins who lives in Maryland came home with us. She is staying at our house tonight. Tomorrow, my girls, Paige and two other girl cousins who were not able to make it to the wedding, are gathering together at Laurie's house for "Camp Butler"-a girl cousin camp for a good share of the week!

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush

At the Shaker village in Canterbury, NH there was mulberry tree. It was pointed out to us by one of the workers. She encouraged us to pick some and eat them.

I will say that they were absolutely delicious, although a little messy. I had never seen a mulberry tree before and wonder if they don't grow in NY state. I think they definitely should! I would like one in my yard. I ate several of them before moving on to the rest of the museum.

I also wonder why in the nursery rhyme, it is called a mulberry bush. It was definitely a tree.

Went to New Hampshire

Hello! Just got home last night from our New England trip. On the first day, we visited a Shaker Village in Canterbury, NH. It was very interesting...although I am fairly certain I would not want to be a Shaker. There was this gigantic tree there. The girls are demonstrating just how big it was in the picture. I don't think their hands could touch on the other side.
New Hampshire was beautiful. I saw a few "Moose Crossing" signs and intended to get a picture of a sign...but did not succeed at that. Did not see any moose at all, but did see a porcupine. We stayed in a hotel in Tilton, NH because Jamie had accumulated many points so we could get a pretty amazing deal.
Grad school officially starts again this week. I'll write more about our trip in a couple of days.

Weekend on Long Island

This past weekend Jamie and I went to our nephew's wedding (J's brother's son) on Long Island. The bride's parents are very wealthy and put on one of the biggest, splashiest weddings I have ever seen in my life. It took place at this castle pictured here. There are no words to even describe it for you...so I'm not going to try very hard. Suffice it to say that it seemed like something out of a movie. Just when I thought I had seen it all, there was even more to be oohed and ahhed by.

Our children stayed at my sister Martha's house. When I arrived there tonight to pick them up, my sister and brother-in-law asked, "Well...how was it?" They were curious to find out (who wouldn't be curious about a place that charges $300 a plate?) I tried my best to describe the vast array of fine foods, the floral arrangement, the cake, the wait staff...how our napkins were refolded for us everytime we walked away from our table...about the bathroom attendent who's full time job it seemed was to mop up any water spots on the counter around the sinks...and on and on and on!!! I said, "I've never attended any wedding like it before and probably never will again." This is when my brother-in-law said, "No...but you will someday go to a wedding that's much fancier and nicer." I looked at him curiously...and he said, "The marriage feast of the Lamb!" I gasped! Wow, I had never thought of that!

This is just a totally amazing concept for me now! During the wedding this past weekend, I felt strangely out of place. I knew that I really wasn't dressed appropriately for the wedding...but I wore what I had in my closet. I don't have the money to go out and buy an expensive gown. I knew I would need to make do with what I had. I will say that I was not treated poorly because of how I was dressed. The service was excellent in spite of my obvious lower economical stature. But I got to thinking about this upcoming marriage feast...the one I hope you'll be at too. You will if you know Jesus Christ as your savior. Anyway...I will be clothed with garments of righteousness! Whiter than snow! Even better...I will not be just attending...as part of the church, I will be his bride!

Hope to see you there!