Blums Passin' Through

Keeping it short and sweet were the Blums on Friday evening. On their way home from seeing family, they stopped in to visit with us and have a country cookout and a chance to say Happy Second Birthday to Lily. Josh, Cherie and Lily finally were able to meet our newest additions - Tulip and Juniper. Mr. Henry showed how he has roots as a herding dog. He took right to herding the girls around and seemed to absolutely love it! The girls had a much different opinion of the whole frightening event. Lily took a tumble in the poison ivy hills and had to get a scrub down. After a delicious dessert of Carmen's Ice Cream, the Blums were off to Brooklyn. They were planning a weekend in Maine and had to leave early the next day. Even though it was for a couple of hours, it was really nice to see them - especially with Lily growing so quickly.


Cherie and Josh arrive

Asa introduces the little girls to Lily.

Notice Mr. Henry herding Tulip. He was good at it!

Where it's okay to hang out in the street. Usually.

A short fireworks show... Lily didn't like it one bit!

Friday is Farmer's Market Day

I love Fridays! In York there is a great Farmer's Market only open one day a week. Yes, that seems like tough luck, but it makes the buys all the sweeter and more appreciated. They pretty much have it all: fresh local honey, eggs, fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood, cheese, delicious fresh baked bread (real bread too - hand made by actual people!), desserts, candy, nuts, freshly made peanut butter, fresh-squeezed citrus juices, locally grown flowers and herbs. There are even a few tables that sell dime store junk (they kind of ruin the whole ambiance for me). My favorite stop is the cheese counter; they sell an excellent Danish Goat's Milk Gouda that reminds me of a Parmigiano-Reggiano with it's little flavor crystals throughout each bite. Today's buy included strawberries, canteloupe, blueberries, watermelon, sweet corn, a loaf of crusted herb bread, and last-but-not-least... the Danish Goat Gouda. Oh, yeah!!! Like I said, I love Fridays!

The Fitch Bros. stand is the one that I typically buy from. They always have such fresh looking produce, and everything always tastes just as delicious as it looks!

Asa isn't the only kid who loves the cheese counter. Asa always hopes to be offered a sample slice of the white American cheese. It didn't happen today.


It's so hard to decide which kind of cookie to eat. Asa goes with the pig shape, while Jake prefers the butterfly.

Latest Wehrly's Auction purchase

Two Dollars for this pair of lamps. I love Wehrly's Auction. This was the only thing that I was able to walk away with. During my "Mom's Nite Out" I did enjoy a hotdog with sauerkraut and mustard and an in-season strawberry sundae. It was a satisfying evening.


The matching lamps struck me as hideous at first glance. Then they became more and more interesting. Now they are funky. The only room in the house where they seem to fit; the bathroom!


a detail photo. The shades were obviously handmade looking at the stitching. Weird, yet interesting.

Tulip and Juniper enjoying a munch in the wet pasture. It's been raining off and on since our return from vacation. The girls haven't been able to spend very much time at all in their field.


Tulip and Jake exploring the remnants of the burn pile for possible hidden treasures.

Minnesota

We just returned from our annual pilgrimage to Longville, Minnesota. We had to fly from Baltimore to Atlanta, GA then from Atlanta to Minneapolis, MN. After spending the night in a hotel, we drove about five hours and finally arrived at Evergreen Lodge on Woman Lake in Longville, MN. My mother's family has vacationed there yearly since about 1960-ish. I am glad to be able to take my boys to have the same fun I had for years. There we vacationed with my older sister, Janice, her husband, Steve, and Janice's granddaughter, Natasha - age seven. We caught lots of fish, some of them keepers. Janice and Steve cleaned them for us and Janice fried them up for us for the traditional Friday Night Fish Fry. Janice helped John to clean his first fish - a nice sized large mouth bass. Asa and Jake caught the traditional Sunnies and Bluegill, I caught a bluegill (who thankfully let himself off of the hook inside the boat) and a perch (a Northern Pike attempted to eat it while I was reeling it in and was about 2 feet from the boat - we were not quick enough to net the two of them while we had the chance, and ended up with just the perch - which had bite marks from the Northern).
Asa got to experience his first "bloodsucker" or leech on his toe; Jake had one on his hand. With Asa, I was able to pass down the tradition of killing the leech with salt so that it'll fall right off of you. We netted our own turtle and went to the Turtle Races in town on Wednesday; Janice raced her first turtle ever. None of us advanced to the winner's round. We all played fetch with Harley, the resident Black Lab. She's the sweetest dog ever! Never a bark, never a pounce. The one thing about her is that she endlessly begs you to play fetch with her. We stopped in for a visit with my Aunt Mary (Uncle Dick was away on business), and on Friday afternoon Aunt Mary came to our cabins with my cousin Ann and one of her sons. We enjoyed two nights of fireworks and one night of 'Smores. We were able to go to the Lodge a couple of nights as well for some games of Foosball and pinball, some candy, and to listen to the jukebox. When Janice and Steve weren't doing nightfishing, we played card games together in their cabin. I'll miss our games of "Crummy Rummy". What fun. It was a great week and couldn't have been better. We look forward to our visit next year.

That's Aunt Mary in the middle. My mother's sister. This is at her home on Woman Lake.


Harley pleading with Asa to play fetch with her.


Asa holding Dad's delicious bass.


Asa watching Aunt Janice cleaning the fish. Asa was the champion eater on Fish night. Janice made fried fish, Johnnycake, and tomato salad. Yum!

Janice's first turtle race... ever!


Jake's turn to race "Shelby" - we all used Shelby in different heats.


Jake and Natasha in the kid's hoola hoop contest.


John participates in the Dad's hoola hoop contest. All the dad's hoops fell at the same time... immediately!

'Smore night Asa-style.


Natasha and Janice in Longville.


Cold Minnesota nights in front of the 'smores grill.


Natasha as a turtle.

John's Large-mouth Bass.


Jeanne enjoying the beauty of Woman Lake.


Janice offers John tips on cleaning his delicious bass.


John carefully filets as Janice watches.

Asa shows everyone his "Sunny"


The biggest freezer pops in the north.


Netted a turtle for the Wednesday Turtle Races.


Kids enjoying some quiet time together.

Jake, Natasha, Asa enjoying a Nilla wafer break.


Returning from another visit to the Lodge.


Toes in the bay; waiting to go fishing.


A friendly game of Life.

Asa, Harley, and John... off for more fishing.


Foosball at the Lodge.


Natasha at the Lodge.


John, Asa, and Jake fishing off of the bridge.

Jeanne in front of cabin #13


Asa feeding the ducks.


Jake and Natasha making plans.


Rabbit ears