Thanksgiving in Utah

Anne and Ack joined Erin, Al and his folks Maria and Jim in Salt Lake for the holiday.  
Warm! Sunny! Delicious! Fun!  
The visit included...

...a hike up a canyon along a creek,

...a tailgate party and then a win at the Utah-Colorado game,

...and, a spectacular Christmas display in Temple Square. Thank you, Mormons.

Putting the Rowboat to Bed

Winter's coming; time to get the boats out while the water's still liquid.  Yesterday it was the rowboat's turn.

To protect the marsh, the city planted fields of American lotus a few years ago (foreground).

Muskrat lodge out of lotus in background.

Fun to have Ack row and me take photos.

Wind at our back - planned by the meteorologist.

East Coast Days

After a terrific AFS conference in Providence, I (Anne) Amtrack-ed down to Bridgeport to visit Dennis, Holly and Aidan in Easton, CT.  Maureen and Eileen joined me and then we drove south to Rye Brook for Mimi and Poppy, Stephen and Nancy. Even dipped my toes in Long Island Sound.  Great short visit.

Not enough wind to fly the kite but enough smarts to keep the curious goats from eating the tail.

Great Wisconsin Weekend

Saturday - Osseo for a launch party for a new WPT show: "Around the Farm Table." Met an old buddy from decades past and a friend we'd met in DC, as well as many other interesting folks from the area.

Sunday - from Reedsburg, biked half of the Farm Art DTour and drove the other half after having our butts kicked by killer hills. BEAUTIFUL and fascinating tour of a rural "cultureshed."  Installations included field notes, roadside poetry, vendors, art works, and spectacular views of fall colored hillsides and farms.

"Erin and Al's Wedding Day 07.13.13"

Enjoy this video Mike Ack made of the wonderful Erin and Al wedding:

https://vimeo.com/74042148

 

 

 

Christmas Gift 9 months later

Welcome to our new boat - a beautiful mahogany Lowell Atlantic rowing skiff.  Ack paddled us up into Cherokee Marsh and the wind sped us back downstream. 

September 6 - the 61st anniversary...

Welcome, September

What an amazing first day of September!

Opened the Northside Farmer's Market with Ack; harvested more from our deep wealth of zinnias (grown for Erin and Al's July wedding but peaking in August instead); sailed my little Expedition for the first time in a long time; Ack sold the dinghy a day after he posted on Craig's List; and Bob (stepson of good friend Jo Shuman) stayed with us on his route from Seattle to New York.

Forgot to ask his last name!  Vosper, perhaps?  Here's his journey blog on Track My Tour:
http://trackmytour.com/XMJXV#344875

Best part of the evening -- out on the pontoon with Margaret, Meg, Bob and me and Ack to watch the annual lighted boat parade but, as Bob put it, a lightening storm off in the distance stole the show.  Huge cloud over Lake Michigan (90 miles away!) that showed awesome flashes for hours. The stars on the way back were a close second - beautiful night. 

33 in 13

Moon over Lake Michigan

We celebrated our wedding anniversary with a roadtrip east.  Wandering through Wisconsin's small towns, we just missed the deadline to play in West Bend's Germanfest Sheepshead tournament but danced some polkas as consolation instead and enjoyed our first visit to the Museum of Wisconsin Art. 

Then, further east to the big lake for Port Washington's Maritime Festival. 

South to Glenview to finally try Kopp's frozen custard (it lives up to its reputation) and eye their cow installation.

Further south to Milwaukee for Mexican Fiesta, 



and a really nice stay at the Residence Inn on the Riverwalk. On Saturday, we viewed excellent exhibits at the Milwaukee Museum of Art, 

had a first visit to buddy Jose Chavez's newly opened (and delicious and beautiful) Cafe La Paloma in Milwaukee's Walker's Point neighborhood, 


went further south to Humboldt Park for Indiafest and a fabulous nap under a shady tree, then headed home sweet home.  

Fun little celebration.

Fireworks over Milwaukee

Travel to DC and MI

Anne and I had professional meetings in DC the beginning of the week, and so we went a bit early to tour DC a bit. We saw the MLK monument for the first time and Anne got to see the small girl scout exhibit in the National Museum of American History and the exhibit on Little Golden Books. Also saw a red fox run across the path while we were there. They are re-doing a part of the monument to fix a quote.

Anne also got to fly her kite by the Washington Monument, which is undergoing some fixing after the earthquake several months ago.

We then went to East Lansing MI, where Anne is working the Midwest Folklife Festival, which is embedded in the larger Great Lakes Folk Festival. We took the fast ferry across Lake Michigan, which made the trip very relaxing compared to driving around Chicago! We also stopped at the WI State Fair and picked up a cream puff before leaving to MI.

Some photos:

Anne flying her kite - can you see it in the cloud?

The MLK monument

Anne interviewing three traditional artists

Yum! Cream Puff and a Kringle!

First Photo from the Wedding posted on the web (Harmony Elizabeth)

Celebrating May 3rd on Cinco de Mayo

 Happy 85th Mimi!