July is off with a bang

Last weekend I made a second attempt to get to the Blue Hills for some nearby hiking with a friend from work. Tim couldn't come, but that was probably best since without a car (and we didn't think to bring bikes), public transportation there was really spotty and we ended up walking an additional 3.5 miles along a small highway after our 6 mile trail in the reservation to get back to the subway. Yes, it's nice not to have a car, but last weekend it sure would have been convenient.

Then I worked 20 hours in 2 days so we could take Wed-Fri to travel to New Jersey to see Trip and Kira Campbell for Trip's birthday. Here's an example of public transportation being pretty dang convenient, although a car would have surely gotten us there faster. Still, pretty nice and pretty cheap.
We left early Wednesday morning on the BOLTBus to NYC ($15 with WiFi!). We explored Greenwich Village for the first time and went on a mad hunt for Bob Dylan's old home playing grounds, the Gaslight Cafe. We ended up finding its original location although, it's now a club.

This club is across the street from the old Gaslight

On the way we found the Pinkberry frozen yogurt chain that's such a fad in California - and WE SEE WHY! Oh my that yogurt was soooo yummmy. Especially with fresh raspberries and coconut on top! We also took up a friend's recommendation for Johnny's pizza. It was pretty good, but I don't think we're that big of fans of good 'ol New York pizza.

We traveled another 1.5 hours to the small town of Phillipsburg, located among rolling hills and farmland near the PA border. Very green and very beautiful. It was nice to be hanging out with a real family with real kids and real pets and a real backyard.

Asher being silly with his berries

One of Anya's many 4-yr old faces

We played tons of fun games, including the old 80's Hotels game which
Tim was longing to revisit.

We explored the vineyard where Kira works, tasting lots of great wine.

We grilled brats and sat around a backyard fire late into the night and talked about good food and books. It was a relaxing trip and we're thankful to our friends for having us!
Happy birthday, Trip!

Since Tim had to work on the 4th, I explored Boston solo on my bike. I heard the Declaration of Independence read from the old State House downtown.

Then I followed crowds to Fenuil Hall and on to Long Wharf where I happened upon the USS Constitution taking its annual voyage around Boston Harbor, pulled by tugboats.

Built I think in 1812, it's still manned by an active Navy crew (mostly for tours, but hey). Unfortunately it's under 'renovation' so sails were down and the top wooden deck was covered in black plastic. Nice.
I then headed to Fort Independence on Castle Island in South Boston.
And there are beaches down there! Only a couple of miles from us. We finished the day with a picnic on the Esplanade (Charles River area) listening to the Pops and Neil Diamond briefly in the distance before heading to Whitney's nearby rooftop to view the fireworks with 40 other strangers. But it was all in all a festive and fun day. And the first day without any sort of water falling from the sky in we can't remember how long! Finally, much belated, but finally.

This week I start back in to summer classes, and we await the visits of my sister Becka and friend Meag. Bring it on!

Muddy Maine

Last weekend my Maine friend Megan offered to take me, Tim and our friend Andrea from Switzerland up to her parent's new dream house in Mid-coastal Maine to go kayaking.

YES PLEASE!

We were lucky enough to have a semi-break in this crazy rain (but not in the clouds) we've been having, just long enough for us to take the boats out for a few hours on Saturday morning. Her house is on a hidden cove on an Island in Harpswell. Pretty dang awesome. We scoped out a route around two islands south of the cove, and the currents were pretty calm. We saw some wildlife and some huge houses along the rocky coast. And lots of lobster traps!

The adventure peaked when we returned to her shore at the end of the trip. We hadn't realized the tide was going out relatively quickly, and we got bogged in the muddy shore a ways out from the house, but within dragging distance. As we all stepped out of our boats to begin pulling into shore, we all sank. It was like quicksand clay. We all lost our sandals and were totally stuck and sunk in this muddy ocean floor. I ripped and pulled my Chacos from the mess and took a second approach barefoot, but amidst squishy bubble plants and snails and oysters between my toes. Whoa was that an experience - adrenaline kicked in and I (relatively) booked it back to shore, dragging my kayack as best I could, and trying not to notice the swarms of gnats covering my arms and legs almost like a blanket. Whoa. Shore. Shore. Shore. Shore.

We made it, caked in mud, and being eaten alive by bugs hungry after so many rainy days. Megan and Tim were kind enough to let Andrea and I take the paddles up to the house to wash off (and escape the mayhem area) while they labored to stack muddy, slippery kayaks on racks. Never did a hose off feel so needed, and a shower feel so good back in the house. Totally worth it!!

We even had energy that afternoon to explore some nature research center trails near Bowdoin College.


We also enjoyed a fabulous dinner at the Farmer's Table restaurant in quaint Portland, and super rich hot chocolate at the Chocolate Bar for dessert. Thanks Megan for a great trip! We are so blessed.

Big O and Big I

Dads! They are the best! They work hard to feed you, buy you things you need, they make sure you're getting good grades, they usually say yes when mom says no.

They take you to the dump on Saturdays and for donuts and chocolate milk at the corner store afterward. They let you sit on their lap and drive on back roads when you are 9.

Big O

They take you to work on 'Bring your daughter to work day'; they take care of the house and let you ride the riding lawnmower and teach you to play golf and to like sports. They help you buy a good car, drive it, and they keep fixing it.

They convince you they're paying your friends to come over and play with you. They take you on family vacations. They tell you you are smart and talented. They are men of prayer and integrity; they study and know God's word and model it.

They are generous with their hard work, resources and love. They call, write and come visit you when you live far away. They are patient, strong and long-suffering. They love their wives and have their priorities straight. They protect their families, with God's help, from distress and division.

Big I (aka Jim)

Our dads are the best! They have done these things for us and many many more. We miss our dads and wish them much love, hoping they know how awesome they are and how much they've shaped their kids into pretty dang amazing people (if you ask us).

Happy Father's day!
We love you Big O and Big I!
We our proud to always bear Ormsbee and Isaacson.
Love, your oldest kids (not bad with your first try!)

da b-day girl

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOANIE!!

We love and miss you and are celebrating you all day by working on a little present. Unfortunately it's still in Boston so you will really have a birthday week!

It's also Bunker Hill Day in Boston, so much of the city is taking the day off just for you...you are much MIGHTIER than a battle I have to say. YOU DOMINATE THE BATTLE!

more Boston life

Last weekend we hungout with some new friends - from CO, MA, Vienna, Poland, Africa, all over - that I randomly met on the plane home for Becka's graduation. They invited us for a tour of Lexington and Concord and for dinner, so we said yes! She's into public health and he's implementing water systems in developing countries and doing research at MIT. Whoa!

First stop was Walden Pond, where Thoreau spent a couple years in solitude writing great poetry. Tim was all smiles.

He got a little too comfortable perhaps.

Sure, he'll clean a house in the woods...

Then we were introduced to a NATIONAL PARK in MA! Minuteman Park is a small, peaceful preserve of the start of the revolution "shot heard 'round the world."

We'll definitely have to make another visit, probably on our bikes so we can travel through the fields and homes of war heroes and along stone walls that shout out the history of America.

On a less cool note I've started a window container garden and am growing salad fixins, so I have been practicing with ingredients and new recipes for kicks:

mmm this salad reminds me of Roxie.
I wish I could grow cranberries and goat cheese too (well, practically)

goat cheese asparagus tomato and lemon pasta

dessert! homemade frozen yogurt.

Some other experiments haven't turned out so well, but I'll keep trying! I still have yet to master the bread maker (gotta start small)!

AHOY!

We did it! We made it to Lake Winnipesaukee. Part birthday part anniversary celebration, we had just under 24 hours to enjoy the miles of New Hampshire lakeshore and 267 islands two hours north of Boston. We drove all the way around it in our nifty little zipcar. Here we are at our awesome B&B run by Barb and Bob B.

First stop, YumYum bakery...

...with gingerbread man wind compass.Second stop, soft serve twist and the park. We didn't have any trouble meeting locals right away.

The view from downtown Wolfeboro

Next stop a private beach (aka home of the local high school swimming team)

Extremely attractive! Not so bad looking out though.

After dinner at The Restaurant (that was its name, very good!) we conked out in our crazy huge King-sized bed and enjoyed a 5 star breakfast in the morning. By 10 we were off on a coastal search for Leo and Fay Marvin's home. We never found it, probably because it blew up at the end. But we did find an Abenaki (local Native tribe) view tower and a Castle in the Clouds (mostly just a stone house).

As we drove to the other side of the lake, we stopped in Meredith to explore the waterfront and, at Tim's insistence, the business district. We found a very nice bakery there that sold CANNOLI's!! Yeah! This time dipped in pastachios. mmm. Good idea.

We sat beneath threatening storm clouds and in front of the tourist train route for awhile at our last stop, Weirs Beach, the carnival-arcade beachtown. We watched loons dance and dip for fish in the water beneath us. And that was it. Lake Winnipesaukee.

Just for kicks we finished the trip by stopping at a Shaker Village. Quite interesting stuff, but not sure if worth the $17 to get in (we just peeked from the outside). Simplicity is always a good reminder. So is God's grace. Thanks to Him, we can take a permanent vacation from our problems!

The 30th Birthday Boston Crawl

Here are some pics of the birthday dude on his 30-themed birthday date night crawl around Boston (kind of progressive dinner-like). I spent awhile researching things that have to do with 30 in Boston (thanks for your help, Becks!) - there aren't a whole lot - and came up with the following schedule:

(The plan was to set a timer for 30 minutes at each place - right)

1. 3 for 10$ appetizers at a nearby restaurant we've been wanting to try called Sage. Tim's face expresses our final opinion of the place (and mine of his plate of mushrooms! HIS birthday!)

aranciti (mystery balls), buffalo mozzerella, too many wild mushrooms

2. Drink - a new bar with no menu and stylish artistic bartenders. Give a theme (30, of course) and they make you a drink! Tim's turned out to be a Pisco Sour originating from Argentina and Brazil: pineapple juice, simple syrup, egg whites (his new spunky favorite frothy addition) and vodka topped with bitters. Not bad and very fun to watch all the drinks being made and severely shaken.

(3.) 30 Germania Street - The Sam Adams Brewery - where they offer free tours and tasting, but CLOSED after 3:00 pm. Oh well, another 30th birthday!

4. Uno Grille - a Chicago-style pizzeria (Tim was born in Chicago) celebrating it's 30th year in Boston, located in the BackBay neighborhood, which is officially landfill in Boston that took 30 years to fill! Score! And we watched the Red Sox play for 30 minutes (or so) while Tim enjoyed his ultimate favorite restaurant meal: hamburger and fries.

5. 30 Massachusetts Avenue - The Wine Cellar - for chocolate fondue dessert (was this his birthday or mine?).
I also made him homemade brownies swirled with a cream cheese number 30 swirl. Next time I might stick with the box...

The weather was Tim's favorite misty rainy overcast grey day, and it perfectly fit his present from me: his first rain coat! It only took 30 years! Now he's a true Northwest(east?)erner. He literally never took it off or unzipped it the whole night. Granted it was cold and we could see our breath all day.
What a hot hunk! Happy birthday, babe! Thanks for letting me drag you all over town.

And happy birthday to Alexis in Paris today!!!