Books

Sam and I got a few books, which shall come in handy on our next crazy adventure.

Details to come...
On an unrelated note, I also snabbed this from half price books. It's one of the classics any chef must own, Julia Child's Mastering the art of French Cooking. I'm so excited, I love it!

Tid Bits

A lot has been going on here lately.

We're getting into full wedding swing at the lodge.

Amy just came for a lovely visit

It was my Grandma's 90th birthday on June 14th, so sad I couldn't be there to celebrate.

Happy Father's Day a bit late!

We are going to embark on a new crazy adventure, details to come...

Meet Otis

Here is our black bear. I'm still on the search so I can get a closer shot. These pictures were snatched before he wandered back into the woods and they're zoomed in. But, you get an idea!

Flat Stanley is Here

Flat Stanley is here for a visit from my nephew Alex. We were pretty busy the last few days. It was sunny, so we had to make the most of it.Here we are on an adventure to check out the abandoned trailer behind our cabin. We had to fight our way through the blackberries. Flat Stanley was pretty brave. I offered him some hiking boots and some other clothes, but he insisted on wearing his tie (he's a pretty classy guy)
Sam was considering fixing this up if it had potential. All it took was one glance. Flat Stanley and I looked at eachother, then at Sam, we vetoed the idea immediately. Sam is allowed some craziness, but Flat Stanley convinced me that sometimes I just have to put my foot down!

Here he is helping Sam mow the lawn.

Sam and Flat Stanley got along pretty well.

Enjoying a picnic

He really likes watermelon.

Playing with Wally

He's helping Sam dig, we've had some septic issues.

Flat Stanley is such a good helper.
He got a little intimidated by our pile of laundry though. (Don't worry Stanley, it frightens me as well)

He had everyone laughing at the wedding, he gave a heartwarming speech and congratulated the couple. He also helped me garden. And we enjoyed sitting in the hot tub. He even hiked all the way to the waterfalls! Flat Stanley can't wait to get the pictures of our hike from Amy. We'll be so sad to see him go, he's been such a great helper.

Why I Need a Dress Form

I'm really realizing that I need to learn some photography skills and buy a dress form to model the stuff I make. But I was just too excited to care! I finished my first knitting project! Onto the next one.

On Bear Patrol

We have a huge black bear. Yes, we spotted him 2 days ago. The first evening, it was about 7:30 pm and Sam was on his phone and said, "There is a bear in our front yard." I sprang up to see and watched it wander through our parking lot. I was too shocked to think of taking a picture. Last night, we came back to the lodge at about 10 pm and saw it going through the garbage. We saw it stand on two feet and I'm pretty sure he's about as tall as me (I'm 6 feet tall by the way) I am on the hunt, I know I shouldn't be wishing for a 300 pound animal to ravage through our garbage, but I just can't help it. I want to get some good shots before it gets too dark!
Just in time for wedding season...

True Love

Sam hiking along Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park this last Sunday

So, as the saying goes... absence makes the heart grow fonder, or as my dear husband likes to say, you'll appreciate it more. After being apart from him for 10 days I can confirm how true the cliches are! I am reminded of how great my husband is and why I love him so much.

Confession: Usually I find it obnoxious when women gush about their husbands, although sometimes I find it endearing. I try not to rub it in too much because, after all, I know I have a great guy and many women would be jealous. Although, seeing as it was our anniversary and all, I figure I'm allowed to be a little sappy!

Sam is so great. He makes me coffee. Every morning I wake up to the sound of our coffee grinder. He knows I don't like to get up early, so he gets up early, especially when we have guests who would like to have breakfast extra early. When my friends or family come to visit, he goes out of his way to do things so I can spend more time with them. For example, he cooked shrimp scampi and roasted veggies for dinner when Jess was here. And he knew my mom and I wanted coffee one morning, but we were too busy talking to go upstairs and get it ourselves, so he brought it down to us. He spent hours searching for a flight for me to go on a vacation to New York to visit my friend and used his own frequent flyer miles for it. He stayed alone at the lodge and took care of it for 10 days! He had to clean all 10 bedrooms and then some! He had to clean up after an adolescent boys baseball team. I'm sure the lodge has never been so dirty. He always helps with cleaning, he does dishes all the time. Since I'm such a food snob, he'll run to the store to get a few missing ingredients. And he thinks nothing of it, he loves doing it all just knowing it makes me happy. Now that is love!

More of New York

So as you can tell, we spent a little time hiking in New York. I love the great outdoors! The John Boyd Thatcher state park is amazing! Check out this amazing panorama of the Hudson-Mohawk Valleys and the Adirondack and Green Mountains. Pictures just don't do it justice.

We hiked along the Indian Ladder trail which winds around a limestone cliff.

Elizabeth was brave and stepped right under a waterfall

I led us into a dark creepy little pitch black cave

New York

Lake Placid at sunset

So on our second day of hiking in Lake Placid we went to Cascade mountain. We summited! We were rewarded with an amazing 360 view of the whole area. There were others at the top who were bundled and ready to climb Everest complete with puffy, down parkas, hats, gloves, and gaiters. They whispered, "Do you see that girl there, she only has a sweatshirt on?" That's when Elizabeth turned, and we looked at each other and smiled, "It's alright, we're from the midwest."
I found this little store that I just knew Sam would love. It smelled so great in there, of course I picked up a few things for him!

And Lake Placid is home to the 1980 Olympics, where "Miracle" occurred and we won the gold! We even got to peek into the Herb Brooks arena!