Saturday, July 28, 2012

Shakespeare in the Park

We took a break from the usual evening routine of harvesting and weeding after work to go to see Shakespeare in the Park, in Westerly.  We picked up a Mediterranean feat from Markos in Westerly and met Gene and Kathy who secured "front row" seats.  We enjoyed some music and munched on kebabs, gyros, hummus and salads while catching up on the summer before the show began.  We also compared garden activity and Gene and Kathy took first prize presenting us with homemade gazpacho, fresh tomatoes and a jar of black currant preserves!  It was a fine evening, and we almost made it to intermission before the thunder and lightning proved a bit too much for everyone to withstand.  The show was terrific to that point though, and we hope the cast gets another dry night before the show ends for the season.



Sunday, July 22, 2012

The perfect weekend!

Eating kale burgers on the deck as the sun goes down.



We had a perfect weekend playing in the garden and enjoying the sun!

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Celebrating Mimi

We are a bit behind on sharing some of our late June activities, including a visit to Keyser, West Virginia to celebrate the long and beautiful life of Mimi (aka Dorothy/Dot - Sheri's maternal grandmother).  We arrived in Keyser on a Friday afternoon along with Sheri's family, including siblings and spouses, cousins and Aunt from Texas and many friends. We were all able to stay at the Candlewyck Inn in the heart of Keyser.  The Candlewyck was a favorite place of Mimi's for lunch and dinner and we have enjoyed several dinners there with her over the years.  Fred Engel who is the owner and chef was a great host and we were not disappointed with dinners on both Friday and Saturday night.

The celebration began on Saturday with a gathering at the Keyser Presbyterian Church starting with the performance of Dorothy's Medley, a collection of her favorite songs, followed by a tribute from a few friends and relatives.  In particular a highlight was a recollection from Mimi's friend Kenny, who she met in the first grade, which told a tale of friendship and love that lasted nearly a century.  After singing together a favorite song of Mimi's by John Denver,  "Country Roads Take Me Home (to the place I belong, West Virginia)",  the celebration continued in the church annex.  There we enjoyed cupcakes (made by Fred of course) and a slide show of Mimi's life that captured her true spirit and that twinkle in her eye that everyone that knew her, loved so well.

The weather was spectacular and we enjoyed being in the mountains for the weekend.  It was fun to visit the local sites in Keyser, and just beyond It is a place that hasn't changed much in many years.

Our journey back to the airport took us from glorious blue ridge mountains, to rolling hills in Northern Maryland, and eventually to the coast.  We stopped at the Virginia State Arboretum to stretch our legs and were pleased to find a peaceful place to stroll and appreciate the local flora.







Gosh Gardens!

We have been busy keeping up with a vert prolific garden and very busy work schedules.  Overall things are doing well and we entered blueberries, potatoes (white and blue), fennel, mixed herbs, onions, lavender, cucumbers, lettuce and collards into the North Stonington Agricultural Fair produce competition.  The blueberries are enormous and we have potato crop like never before with white, red, purple, yukon gold and fingerlings.  Stay tuned on how we "faired" against the local gardeners.



Donavon Frankenreiter Plays Jonathon Edwards

We have been listening to Donavon Frankenreiter for several years and always keep an eye on his touring schedule.  Since he lives in Kauai, Hawaii, it is rare for him to play on the East coast.  To our delight he performed at an outdoor concert at Jonathan Edwards winery right here in our own backyard.  We packed a  picnic and walked up the hill to the vineyard.  

Donovan and band were gracious performers, and provide a fun and relaxing performance.  We had a preview of the next generation of Frankenreiter performers when his son Hendrix (Age 7) played drums on one tune, and his other son, Ozzy (Age 5), provided a little percussion on another. Yes his sons are named Hendrix and Ozzy, another reason to like Donavon.  We enjoyed a bottle of Chardonnay with a toast to staying local.






To see a  video clip of a the song "Free" click here.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Tune of the Month

it has been a while since we shared a favorite tune, but this one seems to be a popular ditty at HHR right now. it is by one of our favorite singer/songwriters and is from quite a few years ago. We hope that this tune gets stuck in your head much as it has with us! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_vTY67Wd9I&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Weekend in the White Mountains, New Hampshire

In celebration of Canada Day and in advance of the July 4th holiday we took a long weekend to go to New Hampshire to spend time in the White Mountains.  We camped at Crawford Notch in the Dry River Campground and hiked some local peaks.   The campsite was nicely appointed and we tested our new tent purchased along the way when we decided it was time to upgrade a 20 year old tent for a bit more space.  The tent held up in the rain and we appreciated the space to read and relax on the first morning when we awoke to a light rain.  No need to check in at the Mount Washington Hotel just down the road.  The rain soon stopped and we enjoyed mostly dry weather the rest of the weekend.



On Friday we hiked to the tops of Avalon and Field on the West side of the notch.   The hike was mostly below tree line, but we had a few nice views to the top of Mount Washington.  On Saturday we did a nice loop to Mts Webster and Jackson and back via the Mitzpah hut.  To Bruno's delight the Mitzpah hut was serving afternoon tea.  We had one rest day and explored other areas for future camping trips and hikes that would take us above tree line.

View from Mt Avalon towards Mt Washington

On Monday we did a great ridge hike to the peak of Mt Jefferson.  The hike started in lovely boreal forest and quickly opened to a rocky ridge that afforded views and some rock hopping.  Kokee had a great time scrambling; we continue to be amazed what she can climb.  We had some patchy weather with a short downpour just at the peak of Jefferson that lasted long enough to pull out the rain gear.  The sun soon returned and we had a quick lunch on a rocky spur before heading home to Connecticut.

Ridge trail to Mt Jefferson

Bruno just below the base of Mt Jefferson

A tired dog is a happy dog

Find more photos of our weekend in the White Mountains here

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Happy Canada Day!

Best wishes to all our Canadian friends on this beautiful sunny Canada Day.