the good, the bad and the funny

Suzanne and I could write about our vacation and it would be exactly the same. We went to the same places and pointed our cameras at the same points of interest. If you ever want to stay in the most beautiful bed and breakfast and be treated better than you've ever been treated and fed better than you've ever been fed, read Suzanne's post about the Ferry Point House .

Here is an overall summary of our trip:

Good things about the New England States:
#1 It is gorgeous. #2 So many things for tourists to do, you just cant get to it all. #3 Light rains and wisps of fog were beautiful.

#4 The lakes were breathtaking. This picture was taken just outside our hotel room. I could have just enjoyed the week from right here:

Or maybe just lounged in bed and enjoyed this view from the window:

#5 I learned a lot of our country's history that took place in this area. Fort Ticonderoga , Old Sturgridge Village , and the Canterbury Shaker Village . #6 Interesting local restaurants and markets .

#7 There are a lot of old, quaint church steeples, covered bridges, and barns.

#8 Very clean states, no litter or weeds along the roads or anywhere really.

#9 Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, Necco (New England Confection Co), and King Arthur Flour are based in this area.

#10 Fudge is sold at every counter and at every cash register in every store, gift shop and restaurant.

Bad things about the New England States:

#1 Fudge is sold everywhere!

#2 There were no garbage cans. Seriously, New Hampshire is devoid of garbage cans. Where do the people of this very clean state throw away their garbage? All I wanted to do was toss my milk carton and banana peel and it took all day to find a single garbage can. It really is a "Pack it in, Pack it out" state.

#3 Very few chain stores, chain restaurants or fast food stores in the rural towns. It took all day to spot a Walgreen's which you can find on any corner in AZ.

#4 Fog. It blocked our view from the top of Prospect Mountain where on a clear day, you should be able to see 5 states.

#6 The mileage information signs and speed limit signs were few and far between. (yet the mile markers were posted every 2/10ths of a mile. I have no idea why.)

#7 Numbered highways merge and overlap quite often making navigating from a map difficult.

#8 The Appalachian Trail is pretty darned tricky.

Funny things about New England:

#1 There are signs to warn drivers about moose and bears.

#2 Funny names:

#3 There are dead people EVERYWHERE! These old little cemeteries are along every road. #4 Specialized yogurt flavors. #5 Fall visitors are referred to as "Leaf Peepers" #6 Favorite saying on a T-shirt:

What happens in Vermont, stays in Vermont.

(But nothing ever really happens here.)

The worst thing about our vacation, it had to end . . . goodbye Boston. It was a great week.

we hiked the appalachian trail! (well, sort of . . . but not really)

Suzanne and I went on a fantastic trip to the New England states. It started with a conversation (while hiking in the Arizona desert) about how cool it would be to hike on the Appalachian trail. The trip evolved into much, much more because Suzanne is such an awesome trip planner.
Among the many activities, we planned two day hikes on the Appalachian trail. In case you don't know (because I didn't) the trail is 2025 miles long and stretches from Maine to Georgia. So we researched some day hikes in Vermont and New Hampshire. We parked the car and had to document the event with photos so here we are at the trailhead sign.We walked about 20 steps into the woods and there were 3 options to take. There was the north/south option and there was a path going west, but it was gated. The guide book we referenced said the trail headed in a southern direction and would lead us to a great swimming hole at a little over 2 miles down the trail. Obviously we weren't planning to swim in October, but that would be our turning around point. So we headed south down a very wide and smooth and well maintained path. Suzanne even mentioned how nice it was that the trail was so wide because we could walk side by side instead of one ahead of the other like we normally hike on most trails. Isn't it gorgeous?
We were down the trail a good 30 minutes before we had a small inkling that maybe we were not on the right path. We were not seeing the features we had read about. Finally after we had been hiking for well over an hour, we ran into another hiker. We asked if this was actually the right trail. "Oh no, the trail is WAY back by the parking lot and it is a small, thin trail that heads out diagonally and immediately uphill." (Well, . . . . . alrighty then.)
So . . . we walked several miles back to the car. Looked at the trail we had obviously missed, had a good laugh and decided we'd try again tomorrow.
DAY 2: New state, new trailhead. We again followed the directions in the guidebook and walked from the parking lot 1/10th of a mile to a footbridge over an absolutely beautiful gorge. Again we had to document ourselves on the trail because we knew FOR SURE that we were on the right path and the footbridge was absolutely part of the official trail. YAY! We were on our way! So we followed the path off the end of the bridge and along the river. Beautiful trees, beautiful river, beautiful trail, beautiful weather, beautiful everything. We hiked down the trail for over an hour and then it merged onto a service road which led into a hunting camp area, which lead to a dead end. What the heck?? Did we miss a turn??? It still had been a nice hike so we followed the trail back to the bridge and asked the next hiker we saw where the trail went. He showed us that the trail took a sharp right turn at the end of the bridge and up over the nearby hill. Then he said "I don't mean to be demeaning to you or anything, but the trail is marked quite clearly with these blazing marks in the trees." (Well, . . . . alrighty then.) We look up and there they are, clear white marks in the trees. Who would have thought? We had spent a year hiking in the desert where you get your clues from the ground. No trees for miles around. Who would have thought to look up in the trees?
As we were leaving we ran into this adorable girl. She looks like a serious hiker don't you think? She was hiking the entire 2025 mile trail! She told us she was covering about 9 to 15 miles a day. It was amazing visiting with her. We told her we needed to post our pictures side by side with hers - with our $19.99 discount tennis shoes, and our 16 oz. bottles of water.
So anyway - here's what we ended up with: two days, two states, five hours of hiking, and we were actually on the Appalachian trail for maybe all of 300 yards!

random list . . .

Suzanne tagged me: Name 7 things about myself that people might not know...Hmm

One: I was born in Las Vegas. There were no family connections to that city before my birth and no connections since then. My dad was working a management retail position there for a short period of time.
Two: Winslow had a truck that would drive around the streets spraying fog out the back to control the mosquito population in and around town. We followed behind it on our bikes each time we saw it coming down our street. Fortunately, none of my siblings, my neighborhood friends or myself have been diagnosed with cancer from this ridiculous activity.
Three: I am a list maker. But I don't always follow my list each day. Often I forget about it. Sometimes at the end of the day, I add all the things I actually did do, and then cross them off. Somehow, it makes me feel better.
Four: I was the pianist for my church youth activity night when I was a young teenager. I could only play 3 hymns and to this day when I hear them, they remind me of that period of time when we sang the same set of songs every three weeks for a year.
Five: Since Suzanne and Lezlee confessed their first kiss . . . There was a Christmas dance at our Junior High School and there was lots of mistletoe being passed around. Well you know there are mistletoe rules that have to be followed and I think I had my first, second, third and maybe fourth kiss that night. What I would like to know now is - where were the chaperones??? And why were they not stopping this very inappropriate 7th grade behavior??
Anyway, there was a long dry spell for me after that night.
Six: I have never broken a bone that required medical attention. However, I am sure that several bones in my toes have been broken or cracked as I have stubbed them on furniture around the house over the years.
Seven: I don't like to wear shoes around the house. Thus the problem listed as #6.

All right now . . . Lauri? Cindi? Curtis? Debie? Anyone else want to play?

i looked out the window and what did i see?

I was sitting at our computer this morning and out the window I am seeing this vine - practically growing before my eyes. I know good and well this was not visible out the window when I was working here at the desk this morning. How can this be? We have a garden out there, but it is a good 20 feet away from our view out the window at the desk.

Brady planted 3 pumpkin seeds near the end of July. For a while, they were healthy and cute little plants growing in the designated garden area. They have since taken over the garden, the yard and I'm afraid if we don't keep an eye on it, it might overtake our entire house! I don't know if this picture does it justice. It has become a monster . . . 25 feet wide and probably over 30 feet long. It's beautiful and healthy. Brady is fighting a battle with some aphids on the underside of the leaves, but he appears to be winning the war. He's hoping to have some enormous pumpkins in time for Halloween.

time capsule

He had a fun activity at the church the other day. Ten years ago, our ward buried a time capsule. An information plaque has been on the wall of the bishop's office all these years and the time had come to dig it up and open it.
Word spread far and wide, old friends gathered and the plaque was taken down from the wall with the digging directions and measurements listed on the back. Here's what has happened in the past 10 years - the stake boundaries were realigned and the Madison ward itself was dissolved. Luckily the new ward boundaries kept many of us together, but moved us to another building to meet. (Strike one - no more Madison ward!)
The instructions said,"from the SW door, move to the nearest tree on the south lawn. (The tree had been removed several years ago -- strike two!)
From the tree, measure 10 1/2 feet to the east. The measurement should line up with the expansion line of the sidewalk to the south. (The sidewalks had been torn out and replaced since then -- strike three!)
However, many people had somewhat vague memories of where this capsule had been buried and the digging commenced. Dave was the brave one to dig into the beautifully manicured lawn and as some time went by, many started wondering how large the hole would actually be before finding the capsule.

This picture looks like Dave was digging to the center of the earth:

Success! The capsule came up, it was still sealed tight. (I read about a time capsule that wasn't so successful a couple years ago.)
Our former bishop joined in and opened all the treasures inside. There were letters to and from many ward members, the primary classes had taken pictures and put in notes, there were letters from ward members who had long since moved and some that had passed on. We had to laugh at Roxanne's letter. She was 8 when she wrote this: I'm only posting this because of the embarrassment that will be caused over the "I love Pokemon" comment.

My letter to Dave began "I can't believe I'm married to a 48 year old man!"

Dave had written a letter predicting some events he had hoped for for our family. Among his predictions was the wish that he would own a tractor. (So shall it be written . . . so shall it be done!)

It was a fun evening catching up with old friends. We are thinking we might want to make a time capsule of our own.

happy birthday brady!

It was Brady's birthday yesterday and it's getting kind of hard to have a party around here.

Roxanne: "I have to work at 2:45."

Dave: "I've got a certification exam until 1:30."

Brady: "I might go camping all weekend."

Rachel: "I already have a lunch date I set up a long time ago."

Me: I just want to make a cake and not have it go stale before we can blow out the candles.

So, Brady didn't end up going camping and we decided on a 1:30 pm lunch time family party. At 1:15, as a beautiful hot lunch was coming out of the oven, presents ready to open, birthday candles are ready to light, I got 2 texts from the girls, "Sorry mom, I'm going to be running late". We finally got all 6 of us together and fit in a little party from 1:51 until 2:37.

My birthday is tomorrow and we've got the same problem. I wanted to go out to dinner with everyone:
"I don't get out of class until 4:45."

"I have to be in Scottsdale by 7:00."

etc

etc

I know one of these days, our family will be spread out all over the country and we won't have everyone home for birthdays anymore, so I suppose I am just grateful we can all be together, rushed or not.

Anyway, Brady is a year older and wiser. What do you get a boy who is about to go on a mission? I'll tell you what . . . . ties!

Although missionary supplies are not the most exciting gifts, they are needed and everyone was generous with him. The gift he was most excited about though was from Melanie. It was a space pen. The ink cartridge is pressurized at 50 psi and will write upside down, on oil surfaces and even underwater. The girls were baffled at when a person would need to write underwater. Brady assured them it didn't matter - he was just glad to be able to write underwater should the need arise.

I am posting a picture of our delicious lunch. Not only was is very yummy and made our whole house smell divine and is one of our family's favorite sandwiches, but it makes a pretty presentation on the table too. This is important today, because true to my past, I made very unattractive birthday cupcakes for Brady. The idea in my head was good, but not so on the execution.

So - Happy Birthday, favorite son! We'll miss you around here on your next birthday.

attic

We were working in the attic yesterday. It really makes no sense that we were working in the attic. It is August/September in Arizona . . . the hottest days of the year. Yet that is when we chose to insulate.

We've got a great walk-in attic room - space for lots of junk, which unfortunately we have a lot of. The bad part of working up there is that the roof slopes down dramatically, so even though there is a sense of having room to walk around, I find myself cracking my skull on the overhead beams if I walk a little too far to the right.

Yesterday, we took up all the floorboards so we could spray in some insullation between the first and second floor. The process entailed prying up nails and planks of wood, scooping out handfuls of 60 year old nasty, deteriorated insullation, sweeping, vacuuming, cleaning etc.

As the floorboards were being removed, we were walking around on the trusses. This process requires some balance and attention, because if you step between the studs, you could go right through the sheetrock to the living room below. Dave and I didn't worry about actually going through to the living room, because we certainly wouldn't fit between the studs. Melanie, however, would have crashed right through onto the couch below.We really didn't want to do any sheetrock repair in our living room so I prayed that we would be sure footed through this process. We were carrying around planks, buckets of tools, the shop vac, big hefty bags of the old insullation. We were prying wood, ducking around each others movements, all while balancing on the trusses. Eventually as the evening went on and we became more and more exhausted and nearing death because of the heat, and after many near misses with shoes and tools and buckets I realized it was inevitable. We had many close calls through the evening. I had to change my prayers to "Please don't let it be me that that puts my shoe through the sheetrock." I was looking down focusing on where I was putting my feet and smacking my head on the overhead slope more often than normal.

We had a company come and spray in some insulation this morning and Dave is like a little boy at Christmas, so excited and proud of the new and improved attic.

Sadly, this is only phase one of many phases of this project. We have to put down a new floor, insulate the ceiling of the attic, sheetrock, insulate a very wierd and hardly accessible space over one of the back bedrooms, insulate and seal around the walls of the loft upstairs, then tape and paint all the sheetrock. Oh, and Dave decided that since we have everything out of the attic and we're in the construction mode already, we might as well add those dormers on the roof that we've always wanted. So yeah, that too. I'm predicting by December, we should be finished and be able to put all our storage stuff away. (Just in time to pull a lot of it back out again to trim our Christmas tree!)