On our way home from Chicago, we met our friends for our annual weekend in Niagara-on-the-Lake for a Shaw Festival show (this year a fabulous production of "Caberet,") and a visit to a few of our favorite wineries. It was a chilly, gray day, but the expected rain didn't appear so we felt very fortunate.
You can find Helena's beautiful reflections right here, as well as the other ZIZO pairings for Week 43.
We had a great trip, but I'm glad to be home and settling into our usual routines. It was raining most of the time we were in Chicago, but we did manage to get an hour or so in at the wonderful playground in Deerfield one day. When I asked Caleb what he'd like to do with us when we got to Chicago, "go to the playground" was the first request. This time it was the swings that were the big hit.
It's amazing how long it takes to get through things like mail when you've been gone nearly two weeks. I worked on my Sketchbook Skool assignments a little bit while we were away, but I have catching up to do there as well as the Online Card Class on Copic markers. The to-do list is long, and the hours seems to fly by! Hopefully, I'll get back to regular blogging by the end of the week.
Check here for more ZIZO pairings at Helena's blog.
We were on the road for four days, and arrrived at Sarah and Adam's last night. I have lots of glorious fall photos to share once we get home (a week from today), but I wanted to share these ZIZO pairs from our first night in Muskegon, Michigan. Muskegon sits on the shore of Lake Michigan, and after dinner we thought we try to catch the sunset at the local lighthouse at Grand Haven.
This is exactly how it looked; no photo edits except to crop and resize. What we didn't expect was to turn around and see this:
Early the next morning there was a lunar eclipse. When we left our hotel, the eclipse was total, and we were able to watch it recede for about half an hour as we drove north before it disappeared from our view.
Skylar turned three a week ago, and Matt and Betsy hosted a party for friends and family at their new house. Here's Miss Skylar just before the company arrived.
Tracy and Matt finished the swing set in plenty of time, and Matt and Betsy rented a bounce house as well.
We've had just wonderful fall weather here, but the morning of the party it rained for a couple of hours. Fortunately, just as the party began, the rain ended and within the hour the sun had come out. It took quite a few towels, however, to get all the equipment dry enough for the kids to use. Some of the kids were eager to help as well.
Here's another Zoom Out view of the finished swing set. The area under the set is filled with rubber mulch. It looks like crushed Oreo cookies, but it's shredded automobile tires.
And a Zoom In on the birthday girl enjoying the double swing.
And a couple Zoom In photos of kids in the bounce house.
The amazing twelve year old:
By the end of the afternoon some of the little girls were ready for some quiet time. We found them all settled in a corner "reading" books.
All in all, it was a huge success. The kids definitely had a great time, and it seemed like the adults did as well.
I had another post planned for this week's Zoom In, Zoom Out, but I'm glad I didn't get it written. We've had a week of absolutely fabulous weather for late September, lows in the mid-50's and highs in the mid-70's. Yesterday afternoon I just couldn't find much enthusiasm for any of the long list of projects on my list, so I suggested we take advantage of the wonderful weather and drive up to Charlotte Beach on Lake Ontario. One of our prime motivations was a last chance for a chocolate almond ice cream cone from Abbott's.
A photo of the ice cream cones would have been more appropriate, but I was so intent on enjoying mine it didn't occur to me to take a picture! As we walked to the car to come home, I did at least capture the shop.
As we ate, we walked across the street to the park, and walked along the board walk.
The beach itself was pretty empty, but this was one of several sailboats out for a spin.
One last shot for a summery Zoom In, Zoom Out! You can find others right here on Helena's blog.
Tracy and I spent a lovely weekend (Saturday-Monday) in the Adirondacks with our good friends, Bob and Cathy. Tracy and Bob traditionally do a two-night packback hiking trip to one or more of the 46 High Peaks. This year, however, they did two peaks in a day trip. That turned out to be fortuitous since Saturday was cold and rainy. We made the best of it, building a fire in the Great Room of The Ledgerock Motel, and having dinner at our favorite restaurant, Caffe Rustica.
Sunday dawned bright and cold, and we all took off to the Adirondack Loj. Tracy and Bob took one trail, and this year Cathy and I decided to hike as well. We made the nearly 5 mile round trip to Marcy Dam and back. It was lovely and peaceful. As you'll see in the photos only a few of the trees have begun to turn color.
Marcy Dam---on the way to Mt. Marcy, the Adirondack's highest peak
We were on the trail by 8 am so the clouds hadn't "burned off" yet.
Looking up the creek at the waterfall at the dam. Another one for Rinda's Scavenger Hunt!
And the Zoomed-In view
One of the few trees on the trail that had turned color.
This one's on its way to orange. I loved the green and orange together.
Cathy and I were back from our hike by 10:30 and took off to Keene Valley. We discovered a wonderful Farmer's Market/Craft Show on the way. We each bought a scarf, and some pastries for the guys when they came off the mountain. The produce was wonderful, and I picked up some late peaches that are delicious.
I've never seen such skinny little eggplants. I'm not sure I'd know how to cook them.
After cleaning up at the motel, having a late lunch in Lake Placid, and walking through our favorite shops (but not finding much), we returned to the Adirondack Loj to wait for the guys. While we waited we walked down to the lake, and I found another Zoom In, Zoom Out offering.
I always love to find a cairn along the way.
And one final view of the lake.
It was great to get away for a weekend, and Cathy and I purchased a book at the Adirondack Loj Information Center on short hikes, so I think we'll try to make our little hike a tradition in the future. Tracy has conquered 39 of the 46 High Peaks, so he's thinking it's going to take a couple trips a year to finish up while he's still in good hiking condition. I'm happy to tag along anytime.
More Zoom In, Zoom Out offering for this week are here.
I'm combining two favorite memes: Abi's One Photo & Twenty Words, and Helena's Zoom In, Zoom Out.
They knew it would be a big project,
but they didn’t realize quite how many parts this swing set had!
And now, a little update:
These photos were taken on Sunday night. By Tuesday it was beginning to come together, but it's still not done. There are only a couple of hours of daylight left by the time Matt gets home from work, and it takes two to decipher the directions. The goal is to have it done in time for Skylar's birthday party. That wouldn't be a problem, except we'll be in the Adirondacks for three days this weekend.
This one can't wait. Last night she was able to go down the slide for the first time. She has her own tool set and is out there "helping" every minute.
Friday we spent the day on Owasco Lake. It's one of the smaller Finger Lakes, closer to Syracuse than Rochester. Our friends had rented a cottage there for a month, and we finally managed to get down there right at the end of their time at the lake. It was a cooler day than most, unless you were in the sun where it was plenty warm. The cottage sits at the top of a hill, and there are several sets of stairs down from the lake. The photos were taken from the first lower yard; the cottage is up still another set of stairs.
It was so cool when we left home, I didn't take a swimsuit with me. Probably a mistake, but I wasn't the least bit unhappy soaking up the sun sitting on the deck. Tina and Tracy enjoyed floating on the rafts, and Sue took out the little kayak.
All in all, it was a lovely way to spend one of the last days of summer. Although, I must admit, the forecast for tomorrow is for one of the highest temperatures of the summer. Saturday, when we're off on a little road trip to Canada, is expected to be in the mid-60's and rainy. Such is weather at the end of the season in western New York!
You can check out the other ZIZO pairings at Helena's blog.
Another week has flown by, and it's time for Week 35 of Helena's meme, "Zoom In, Zoom Out." Our church is one of ten churches within the city limits of Rochester. Most of these urban churches are struggling with finances, decreasing congregations, and buildings that need serious repair. Several years ago, the ten churches joined forces to help one another and to see how we might be able to coordinate our resources and collaborate for change. Although there are certainly still churches that are struggling, there have been some remarkable transformations and successes. We celebrated those with a picnic at Charlotte Beach on Sunday, and while I was there I took time to capture my ZIZO photos for the week.
You can see from the photos that we had a glorious day for the picnic! We're trying hard to celebrate every last good day of the summer!
Early in July, we purchased a new fountain for our shade garden at the Corn Hill Arts Festival. It's now been functional for awhile, and as much as I like the way it looks, the calming sound of it is the very best part. It's just off our patio, so as soon as we sit down we can here the water trickling from leaf to leaf. (Sadly, the bugs seem to have been having a feast on our hostas, so the photographs aren't as pleasing as I'd like.)
You can find more ZIZO pairings at Helena's blog.
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