Thanksgiving in Utah

Thanksgiving is best shared with family, and I had the privilege of sharing it this year with Steve and Julie as well as Julie's mother Joan in Park City, Utah.  The table was set beautifully, all ready for the arrival of guests, and the host and hostess were ready as well.

 As always, the food was excellent and we all ended up feeling as stuffed as the turkey!

On another day, Steve and I ventured over to Antelope Island State Park, which is situated in the Great Salt Lake and accessible by a long causeway.  The purpose of the trip was to find a life bird (one I had never seen), a chukar, and find it we did, although not until the very end of the day.  It's a pretty little bird, originally brought in as a game bird, but it escaped and went forth to multiply.

While we were cruising the island in search of this bird, we also saw pronghorns and bisons.  Bisons are huge and they own the road when the decide to use or cross it!

The most unusual thing we saw/heard, at least from my standpoint, was a couple of coyotes wading in the water and stalking ducks for dinner.  No joy for them there while we were watching, but we heard coyotes howling behind us and they were eventually joined by one of the ones in the water.  While I have seen coyotes before, I've never heard them howling.  No pictures of that scene though.  My new camera is good for some distance shots but not THAT good!  We did, however, chance upon a porcupine ambling up the road.  By the time I got to where he was heading off the road, he was somewhat hidden by grasses, so this is a "find the porcupine" shot.  He takes up most of the frame, but he shut his eyes!  If you look closely, you can see the quills (or click on the shot to enlarge it).

The sunset that afternoon was pretty, even with a cloud cover moving in.

Steve does beautiful photography work, and a neighbor asked him to take a picture of their little girl for their Christmas card.  Jasper and I went along for the ride.  I was hoping to pick up some pointers; Jasper was just hoping someone would throw something for him to fetch.  The photographer at work:

His subject is adorable and was very much into posing for the shot.  I couldn't resist taking a couple just for practice.

The subject decided SHE wanted a different background, so off they went up the road to find just the right spot while her mother, Jasper, and I watched from a distance.  

While Julie and Steve did other things, Joan and I got started decorating the Christmas tree.  It was up but not decorated when we arrived.  We had fun with it, but Steve's help (and a ladder) were needed to complete the job.  That's a tall tree!  Later Cosette (the cat) and Jasper (the dog) decided that under the tree needed some help, too.

It was hard to leave all that.  And besides, I don't get sunrises like this from my bedroom window at home!

How Dumb Can You Get?

Once in a while I do something that is so dumb I even surprise myself.  Today was one of those days.  A friend and I went to Catoctin Orchard north of Frederick. The object was to take photos of the pumpkin pyramid at the orchard and to try a restaurant my friends like.  When I got home and downloaded the photos, I discovered to my great disgust that I had inadvertently turned on the date/time stamp when I was looking for some other control in the new camera, and I have this orange honking date on every picture.  There's no turning it off.  Believe me, I tried, and I researched it.  The only way to deal with it is to crop it out or painstakingly clone it out!  Fortunately these shots are just for fun and not some vital record of a family function or part of a photo club challenge shoot.  All I can say is that one must be very careful playing with settings on a touch-sensitive camera like my new Canon.  Otherwise the camera may do things you REALLY don't want it to do.  On the first outing with this camera, it kept zooming in and out like a thing possessed.  I finally got exasperated and went into the "Tools" and other settings area and discovered it came pre-set with a desire to find and focus on a face.  I was taking scenery.  It was not amused.  That feature got turned off rather quickly and things got a lot less bizarre.

Here are a couple of shots that amused me enough to rescue them.  I have no idea who the children are.  They are from a school group that was touring the orchard.

Renaissance Festival in Maryland 2011

Since the Maryland Renaissance Festival lives only about five miles from my house, I try to make a trip there at least once a season.  The shows are often very entertaining, but for me the most fun is the people watching.  The characters are not the only ones dressed up!  Yesterday the weather and my schedule finally agreed that I had time to go and it wasn't raining, so I went.  One of the first performers inside the gate is the flea circus guy. 

Some of the costumes worn by just ordinary visitors were almost as interesting as the people wearing them.  This couple really got into the characters they were playing.

  I liked the colors in this gentleman's outfit.

I took this picture of the man doing the organ concert in his aerie, and didn't notice the spider and webs in the picture until I got it home and into the computer.

 Maggie Sansone was there with her group and her hammered dulcimer.  What you DON'T often see with her is clowning around.  I'm not sure what motivated the "hat drum", but she appeared to be having fun.  You may have to click on the picture to see that she is actually playing the drum.

 Sometimes the casual performers are as interesting as the professionals.  This young man seemed to be enjoying himself just sitting and drumming.

 

 One of the things I saw this time that I have only seen once before was a real wedding.  There is a little "chapel" where mock weddings are held, but they will also rent it out for the real thing.  The ceremony is out in the open with all the passersby in attendance. Of course the participants dress according to their interpretation of the dress of the period. 

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It was a nice way to spend a couple of hours.  There are a few more photos on Picasa at Renaissance Festival photos .

A Pennsylvania Birthday Weekend

Last weekend little Jake hit his third birthday, and family and friends gathered to help him celebrate.  As usual, old Auntie Em had fun joining the celebration and being with the family up there.  For a change, the weather cooperated.  We have had weeks and weeks of wet, weird weather.  The birthday weekend was gorgeous--sunny, fall-crisp but not cold, just right for active children to run around outside and delight in it.

Actually we celebrated twice--once at the grandparents place on Friday with just a small cake and candles and then the larger gathering at his home on Saturday.

The party had a western theme--hats for each child and a western theme on the cake.  The pinata was a big hit, and it took a number of hits before it shared the loot with the scrambling children!

 To my amazement, Jen managed to get nine children seated for a picture when you could see all the faces!  Just try to do that to a group of adults!

 Everyone seemed to have a great time!  If you have any interest in more shots from the weekend, you can check the Picasa album. https://picasaweb.google.com/ejoyce2

Over the Hills to Yellowstone NP

My friend Jill (from college days) and I do at least one trip together each year.  Often the trip is coordinated by Elderhostel, which now calls itself Road Scholar.  This year Yellowstone National Park migrated to the top of the list, so Labor Day weekend found us on our way there.

It was a very good trip.  The group was congenial, the weather crisp but nice, and the viewing was nothing short of spectacular.  Our wildlife list included bison, pronghorn, elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, mule deer, and wolves.  The wolves were exciting, because I hadn't expected to be able to see them.  We missed bears of any kind, moose, and coyote, but I've seen those before so it wasn't too disappointing.  This bison didn't seem to care that we were there and gawking at him (from the safety of the bus). The sheep were higher up and more aloof.  The wolves were seen with binoculars at dusk and at a distance--not a subject for photography under those conditions--but there were four young ones and adult.  A nice find, thanks to our leader.

The geothermal features were, of course, the big draw, and we saw all four varieties.  You expect to see geysers because of Old Faithful, but Clepsydra put on a bit of a show for us, too.

Mudpots were interesting.  They reminded me of similar features in New Zealand.  The mud appears to be boiling briskly as if it were on the eye of a stove turned on high.  In a way, I suppose that's fairly apt.

Fumaroles just spout steam.  You wouldn't want to stand too close!

Then there are hot springs, and the water from it can be very beautiful--but don't dare put your hand in it or you'll draw back a nub.  The only easily accessible place for hot spring bathing is not too far from the northern entrance, and the water, while hot, is not so hot you can't bath in it.  This pool is NOT one of the bathe-in types!  I believe it is called Turquoise Pool.

As the water spills over the edges from the hot springs, it can leave a coating of various kinds in varying colors according to composition.  One area has a series of terraces formed this way.  To get the terraced effect you may have to click on the photo.

It was a great trip.  To see other pictures, go to https://picasaweb.google.com/ejoyce2 and click on the Yellowstone album.

Riding out the Storm

Hurricane Irene is still making herself felt from NC to the Northeast.  Thousands of people in this area are still without power.  Children have gone back to school in most places in the state, but there are still schools scattered about the area that are closed with no power.  I was lucky to have weathered the storm with family in PA.  The initial reason for that trip was to celebrate little Abby's first birthday, but that got postponed, because many of the activities planned for the event were to be outdoors.  I was encouraged to come up anyway so I didn't have to ride out the storm solo.

Abby didn't seem to mind the birthday delay.  Quite honestly, I don't think she has a concept of birthdays yet.  She is a contented child with a sweet smile, and she has become very mobile in the last few weeks.

The older girls always want to do a "craft" when I come to visit.  This time we made picture frames decorated with stick-on additions.  Both Ava and Elizabeth did a very nice job of it.

Both Jake and Emily are very active two-year-olds, with Jake being the senior of the two.  Jake thinks Emily hung the moon and is never happier than when she is around and will play with him.

Jake surprised me at one point.  This not-yet-three little one was sitting with what we used to call an etch-a-sketch, and he was working away at it.  I thought I heard him say, "Now I'm going to draw an oval" and by golly he did!  I've known first graders who couldn't do as well!  

 Other than some flooding in one niece's basement and loss of power for their family for several days, we seemed to have weathered to storm well.  Actually, I think their area got more rain than we by at least an inch,  but my house lost power for almost a day.  There have been many times when outages here were considerably worse than that.  Perhaps all the preparation work BGE has been doing, upgrading lines and poles and trimming trees, has paid off.  I'll take it.

Jarring Experience

Wow!  That certainly got my attention!  About 20 minutes ago my house started shaking like a tree was going to fall right on top of the middle of it!  I ran into the hall, waiting for it to hit, while the dishes rattled and the house shook worse than it did when the biggest of trees in the area has fallen, but "the tree" never hit the ground.  Turns out it was an earthquake in VA that registered 5.9 and shook things up all the way up to NYC at least!  No damage here that I know of it, but it surely was exciting!

A Birthday Celebration in PA

Over the weekend the Haber clan celebrated Len's birthday.  There was a cake and a family dinner on Saturday at the senior Habers' abode, and an extended family party happened at Jen and Len's place on Sunday.  On Saturday the featured cake was created by Clays, cake bakers extraordinaire!  

Since Len is a Phillies fan, the cake had that motif.  Here his offspring help admire the cake (while they mug for the camera).

On Sunday there were gifts to be opened, and there are always volunteers to "help" open them--first Elizabeth, then Ava, followed by Emily K.  Len's dad Ken kept an eye on things.

It was hot, and the pool go a lot of activity.  Ava and Elizabeth are both swimming very well and have graduated from "floaties", but the younger children still required a lot of support and supervision.  Emily's suit surrounds her with floatation material.  Jake and Abby just enjoy life from the floating seats.

 Ava did a great cannonball!  Fortunately there was no one close enough to be affected by the big splash.

 Emily and her dad had a great time with the toss and catch game.  She apparently loved every minute of it!

 Abby thought the rest of them were a little nuts with all that splashing and bouncing.  She just grinned and showed her new teeth.l

 Jake thought splashing was fun, but he cautiously did it from the safety of the swimming tube.

As usual, Auntie Em took far too many pictures, some of which have been pulled into an album on Picasa.  If you want to see more of the busy weekend's activities check:  http://picasaweb.google.com/ejoyce2

Happiness Is...

Happiness is, among other things, ticking projects off the to-do list, especially when the projects have lingered on the list for a while.  Today's checked-off item:  a new ceiling fan in my living/dining area.  The one that was there was put up when the house was built in 1986 and has caused problems off and on since then.  It was literally falling apart, and I could neither find a true fix for it nor use it.   I've been in a fix-up-the-darned house mode this summer.  First things checked off the list were staining the outside of the house and getting about half the inside re-painted.  Today was new-fan day.  After agonizing over choices for several weeks, I found what I wanted on Amazon.  It had a good user rating, and it was shipped to my door.  The chore then morphed into find-an-electrician.  No one I asked had a recommendation, which is how I usually find workmen when I need them, so I did a bit of Yellow Pages and telephone research.  The company I chose had a good reputation; the workers came prepared to work and didn't mess around; they cleaned up after themselves and hauled away the old fan; and I got a senior discount.  If I need an electrician for something else, Weisman Electric in Annapolis will get the call.  Here's the new fan.  Photos of something up in the air are hard to do, but the idea is there.

Next up, carpet cleaning!

Family Fun on the Fourth

 Celebrating holidays with family is always fun.  Over the Fourth of July weekend, I celebrated with the Pennsylvania part of the clan.  As always there was good food and good fun.  The children kept us entertained and busy, too.  All of the children are growing so quickly.  It had only been about five weeks since I saw this crew, and already the previously toothless Abigail has several teeth.

Sister Emily wasn't feeling too chipper, but she seemed to enjoy arranging things in and around the doll's house.

 Elizabeth is our drama queen, and she plays all kinds of roles from comedy to that of a model.  (You should see the video of her descending stairs posing as a model.  I haven't mastered the best way to share videos yet, but take my word for it--she could have a career that way!)

Ava is our budding young lady and is so good with brother Jake--at least most of the time.  She is also good at swimming and bubble-blowing!

Jake is full of joy and energy, and he loves doing things with his daddy.

While Daddy Len entertained the troops with bubbles, the sisters had time for a chat.

At some point they decided to celebrate my birthday since I wouldn't be there on the actual date.  What a beautiful, delicious cake that was!  It should be illegal for anything so beautiful to taste that good.  There were even sugar-molded birds as part of the decorations on the cake.  And of course I had plenty of help with the candle.

It was a great way to celebrate the holiday.  For more pictures of the weekend, see: http://picasaweb.google.com/ejoyce2