Uuughh! Sorry!

Hi, everybun! It's been quite a while. I hope all our blog friends are doing well out there, bun and bean alike. We are still working on bonding Jensen and Buttercup, but getting closer (fingers crossed). Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes. I really appreciated them.

Sorry about leaving you hanging with the last three pictures that I posted. Didn't mean to, but "stuff", as they say, happens. So, now I'll tell you what that was all about.

Some of you who have been reading this blog for awhile may remember that on my last birthday, I went zip lining. This year, I decided on a more tame adventure. I went to visit a place that bills itself as America's Stonehenge. This is a tourist attraction left over from the early part of the last century and, as was typical of the time, it was romanticized and overstated. I knew that before  going, but I had wanted to visit for a long time, and figured it would be a good place to take pictures.

It was a beautiful morning to be out exploring the New England woods, and "Stonehenge" did not disappoint. Here are some more pictures.

 

The picture below shows a crew filming a "debunking" video. It was fun to watch the goings on, and listen to what they had to say.

 

You can walk into some of the tunnels and caves. I get a bit claustrophobic, and these are very small spaces. And I hate spiders. I know they are good. It's a visceral reaction. Can't help it. I went in to explore anyway. It's amazing how cool it stays in these spaces, even though they are very close to the surface of the ground.

 

 

Now, I am not an archaeologist. But over the years I have done a lot of reading about archeology, history, and geology. My conclusions? I think this started out as a natural geological formation. Maybe it was a tor-type thing or an area of karst topography,  or a combination. Then humans came along. First the Native Americans, then European settlers. I think people took advantage of the natural formations for shelter, and possibly for food storage. Over the years, they would alter the structures to suit their needs. The next group to come along would then rearrange things.

 

The stones are much, much smaller than the real Stonehenge, so would be more easily moved. The film crew was talking about the fact that no trash deposits have been found, but this is a very disturbed area. Farmers, and early "treasure hunters" might have destroyed or removed such areas, not realizing their value. Also, much is made by the owners of the fact that so many of the openings face the same way. They attribute this to (possibly) religious reasons. It seems more likely to me that openings were arranged to face away from the prevailing winter weather. And, the "doorways" are low enough to shelter the spaces from the summer sun. One of those traditional bits of building knowledge that has mostly been forgotten in these days of central heating and air conditioning!

 

Having said all that, this really is a great place to take pictures. And it certainly is much more romantic to imagine some larger purpose, some mysterious ancient civilization. What would you like to believe?

 

The trails through the site end near several alpaca that the owners have on-site, with wool and fleece for sale. They are such goofy-looking creatures! And so, we have reached The End.

 

 

Have a great weekend!

Fifty

Yesterday, I turned 50 years old. I decided to celebrate by doing something that I had never done before, but that I had been wanting to do for quite a while.

Yup, that's me!I went on a zip line canopy tour at Zoar, in Charlemont, Ma. I was pretty nervous, but I had an absolute blast! It was so much fun!

I was surprised when my husband, who is not fond of heights,  wanted to go, too.

The Curly One, who loves roller coasters, had to be talked into going along.  Bad Mom that I am, I volunteered her to go first. I knew that I wouldn't back down once she had done it. You can see that she had the biggest grin of all of us.

We had five other guests of all ages, and two guides along on the trip. The guides have the white helmets in the picture. They had us do a training zip at the lodge, where our feet were only a couple of feet off the ground. It was very reassuring to feel how secure the harnesses are. That actually got rid of a lot of the nervousness. After that, they gave us a jeep ride to the top of the mountain, and we began to work our way back down.

The course was 10 zip lines, 3 controlled lowerings (sort of like rappelling, with the guide in control), and 2 suspension bridges. Some of the lines were treetop to treetop, some went to the ground, and some started on the ground, ending in the trees. The scariest part for me turned out to be standing on the platform, heels over the edge, getting ready to start the controlled lowering! Maybe it was the fact that I was not the one in control....

The trip lasted several hours, and by the time we got down, all three of us had decided that we want to do this again. If you're thinking about trying it, I highly encourage you to go for it. It's am amazing experience. And definitely a great way to celebrate a fiftieth birthday. Now I'm just trying to figure out when I can do this again, and what other new adventures do I want to experience this year....Maybe whitewater rafting? What do you think?

Happy Birthday, Sunshine!

Hard to believe, but my Second Daughter turns seventeen today! She is definitely a ray of sunshine in our lives. Don't get me wrong, she can be a storm cloud, like any teenager. But, she has eyes sparkling with humor, a huge grin, and the biggest heart around. She can really light up a room.

I remember when she was 6 months old, telling her pediatrician that she was making jokes. I know the doctor thought I was nuts, but my girl was trying to make people smile, even then.

She asked me the other day why we had her, after having her sister (a little sibling dig there). I told her we just wanted to see what was behind door Number 2. For some reason, she found that hilarious, and has been going around the house repeating it to herself, and cracking up.

Who knew that behind door Number 2 was a soft-hearted, wise-cracking, music-loving, hockey stick wielding bundle of joy? Here she is playing her tuba.

Happy Birthday, Sweetie! Here's to another great year!

And now I'm off to get her and "The Boy" from school. They do grow up fast!

Happy Birthday, Dad

St. Patricks's Day is a very lucky day in our family, because it's my Dad's birthday. Last year I made this quilt for him based on his astrological symbol (Pisces). It showed him and his old dog Oreo, who had recently passed away.

Have a great birthday, Dad! Hope Ed cooks you a nice dinner, and Mom makes THE CAKE (send me a piece?).

Another Birthday

Miss Ginny turns 6 years old today. What better way to celebrate than with broccoli "cake" and carrot "candle"?

First remove cake from pan.

Next, pull out the candle.

Eat candle.

Yum!

Not much sewing going on here this week. It is school vacation week, and we are getting distracted. Today we practiced parrallel parking for next week's driving test. This is hard to do when the snow is covering the curbs. And makes me very thankful for parking lots!

Had to come back and add this. I meant to give you a link to Kristin's blog which is always beautiful, and fun to read. But today she has outdone herself by posting pictures of some of her lambs wearing her hand knit sweaters. Enjoy!

Twenty Two Years Ago Today

On another Monday morning, twenty two years ago, I was getting a ride to the hospital. In an ambulance. Across upstate New York to Burlington, Vermont. They held the ferry boat across Lake Champlain for us.

Sometime around mid-morning, it was decided that my baby had to be born, despite the best efforts of the doctors and nurses to prevent it from happening. One C-Section later, First Daughter came into the world. She was born at 25 weeks gestation, weighing about one and a half pounds, and would spend the next 100 days in the hospital. She was beautiful (still is).

She had her ups and downs, like all preemies, but she did amazingly well. There are lingering effects, mainly vision problems, but she is a smart, loving, wonderful human-being, and I am proud to be her mother.   

While she was in the hospital, I needed something to do to pass the time in waiting rooms, and in the comforting rooms of the local Ronald McDonald House. That was when I started quilting. I made her a baby quilt, from a panel I bought at a local fabric store. I had no idea what I was doing, but eventually it was done, she slept under it, and the rest is history.

When she was a little older, I made her a rail fence quilt for her big girl bed. These two quilts are now stored away for her in the attic. Then, for many years, all I made her was saddle pads! 

Starting at the bottom, a pad for Tanks-a-lot (formerly known as Fox in Socks), Ringo, Patriot, and a pad in Volo Farm colors. 

For several years, First Daughter rode a horse named Patriot, a black and white paint, with blue eyes. When my guild had a black and white plus one other color challenge, I made this for her.

For last year's birthday, the big 21, I made her this quilt which hangs in her dorm room.

No quilt this year, she just wanted a pie plate!

Happy Birthday, Sweetie! Here's to many more (Birthdays, and Quilts)! Thanks for getting me started down this path. 

(If you are wondering about the candle on the cake, I forgot to check the birthday candle supply, and I wasn't going to the store at 10:00 PM. Bad Mom!)