...And We're Back

As Michael pointed out...I've been gone for a while. My apologies. Things have been rather busy around here between visitors, work, birthdays, and such. Before I get into my usual discussion of what's been going on, I have to give a quick little message to everyone in Ann Arbor...

For those of you who aren't aware, the first U of M football game is about to start (we're talking minutes from now) and I'm in Maine...no where near Ann Arbor...no where near the stadium...no where near the big yellow house...no where near the tailgates and screaming fans. It's weird. Very weird. I almost got a bit teary when they showed everyone on tv. But alas, life moves on. This is probably the first time it's really hit me that my time in Ann Arbor has ended. Sigh. But I'm surviving, as is everyone else who graduated and moved on. But I am still watching the game! Yay! Go Blue!

So with that out of the way...wait wait....it's kick off! OK OK...so now, with that out of the way, I'll get into the recapping. My parents came to visit immediately after Joe's, and thankfully we had some fantastic weather! We managed to do just about everything we had planned - kayaking, biking, sunset sailboat cruise, trip up Cadillac Mountain, and other such things. Here's my smattering of pictures to illustrate...















I even got them to go clam digging! My dad found the largest of the day...and as a reward, or in his case punishment, he got to/had to, eat it!



We had ourselves some great food throughout the week, fried clams, steamed mussels, lobster (of course), and some tasty ribs. And that's just what we cooked ourselves! Needless to say it was a good time. It was nice to have my parents out for a visit, although that always makes it a bit harder to say goodbye when they have to go. It was nice to show them where I live and give them a taste of life out here--which I do enjoy.

Now, sadly, I must run to work. I'll be livestreaming the game from my laptop in the gallery, let's hope that works. I'll leave you with a picture of the beautiful flowers Joe's Dad got from the farmer's market. They lived for about three weeks and all of the buds opened at one point or another :)

The Itsy Bitsy Spiders

The fog was incredible this morning! It just kept coming and coming, blanketing the whole town.

The air here is always so damp, your breath condenses like it would in the winter back in Michigan. With that dampness, I've noticed one thing, spiders. Or more specifically, their webs. Our yard alone contains somewhere upwards of 20 spiderwebs. They're laying on the grass or spun through the bushes and flowers, and when the morning dew is still on the ground, they stand out like patches of cotton thrown on the lawn. On stopped on my way to work to photograph this one hanging from the bushes of the retirement home down the street.

Whale Breath

Sorry for being so absent lately. I've been really busy between work and Joe's parents visiting. Luckily the weather has turned around a bit and we've been able to get outside and actually do some things. We've been hiking, biking, blueberry picking, and yesterday we took Joe's mom out whale watching. We went back in the spring when she came to visit, but we were a bit to early for the whales, so the company gave her a voucher to come back again.

This time we got on a newer, larger boat (still for free, since we work here! yay!). And we saw three whales. Two of them hung out by the boat for quite a while, providing us with some good photo ops. I learned a surprising amount about whales, and was pretty astounded at having actually seen them up close. We got so close we could hear them blowing air out of their blowholes and even smell their breath (a pretty unpleasant odor). The two humpbacks that hung around the boat were named Viper and Flyer. Apparently the whale research organization out here was the first group to discover that the markings on their tails are all unique and allow us to identify, name, and track the whales. It's really great how there's so much talk of environmental alliances out here. There's such an abundance of wildlife and a lack of pollution. I'm really just lucky to be out here, able to experience all of it...

OK, sentimentality aside, here are some pictures of the whales and the sunset on the return boat ride (we were 28 miles off shore and traveled at 30mph! woo)

Move Over Betty Crocker!

I baked a pie. That's right...I did it. And you know what, it tastes pretty darn good if I do say so myself. Aside from the fact that when I lifted out the first piece, the filling gushed into the whole to fill the space like some dark indigo pond, hungrily gobbling up extra land to add to its inky darkness, it turned out rather well. I'm pleased with my first attempt. Maybe I'll go pick some blueberries in the park today and make a second attempt with the help of Joe's mom. --Yes yes...the two and a half week marathon of visitors has begun! yay! --I have lots I'd like to share, but for now, I must run to the farmer's market (me too Michael!) I'll leave you with a picture of my pie :) Too bad I can't let you have a taste as well.

Family and Domestication

So I'm sitting here at work, with no one in the gallery, doing nothing--as you can tell--and I have two things running through my mind:

1. I can't wait for mine and Joe's parents to get here. Joe's parents arrive on Saturday and mine arrive the following Friday, followed by a visit from one of Joe's - and mine as well - friends. It's going to be a busy month, but I'm ready for a slice of home. I'm a family girl, and I've been away for quite a while. I talk to my mom rather frequently and I'm looking forward to actually seeing her. We're both pretty silly, and we tend to have a good time together (provided we're not being stubborn and arguing over something stupid). I think I'm mostly just excited to show them that their daughter is doing well, living happily in a really great place.

2. I've turned into a regular do-it-yourself, Betty Crocker. Joe and I canned pickles last week, have a large jar of strawberry cordial brewing in the basement, yesterday we made clam strips and mint brownies (which are a bit closer to fudge than a brownie) and now I'm about to take on a blueberry-raspberry pie. What is this? Does living on my own in a house turn me into Dotty Domestic? It's like a switch flipped and I'm all of a sudden the domestic girl from some old poster with a tray of muffins balanced in my oven-mit covered hands. I'm 21!?! What is this?

OK OK...It's probably more likely that I simply enjoy cooking and finally have time to do so instead of sitting down to some art history homework or something, but it's different.

We Made PIckles!

I think the title kinda gives this one away, but Joe and I made pickles the other day. I have a bunch of dill growing and the best possible use for it seemed to be making my own dill pickles. And luckily enough the jars all sealed! Now I just have to wait 8 weeks before I get them...grrrr.............