Friday night highlights

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Tonight we are heading to NY to spend time with my mother-in-law, her mom and her brother’s family.  We are going to the Capital District Scottish games. This will mark my 10th year going to the Scottish Games with my husband’s family.  The games are okay.  We get there in plenty of time for the parade of tartans and then the massed bands.  We also walk around and look in the shop tents.  We like to watch the games.

Some very neat things have happened in conjunction with the Scottish Games.  In 2000, I went to my first games 3 months after we started dating.  I got to meet my husband’s family for the first time.  A couple years ago we got to meet Steve Caporizzo from WTEN. He took a picture with Gramma and then (after I emailed him) he sent her a really nice note.  But last year was the best.  We stayed in a hotel in the Berkshires on Sunday instead of going home.  40 weeks later we were 3 instead of 2.

My feet like parades too

My feet love a parade in 2008.

My feet at the Scottish Games in 2007.

My feet at the Scottish Games in 2007.

Standing at the Scottish games in 2005.

Standing at the Scottish games in 2005.

Monday and Tuesday on Star

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On the porch Monday included a lot of porch sitting, as usual. We took our places at the west end of the porch and staked our claim for the week.  I went to chapel to check out the minister of the week.  While there I worked on my dishcloths and a prayer shawl.

A storm blows inEarth, wind, and seaTechnicolor promiseRainbow and rays
Most of Monday afternoon included storm watching beginner basket making, and Happy Hour Fellowship Time.

In the well housePletziesCan you see him?Seagull perch

Monday evening we played a game with the youth conference.  They had to collect candy (in actuality, balloons) from four different spots around the front yard and then get it safely back to Brookfield.  Of course, also in the front yard were Oompa loompas (the youth leaders, several of the young adults and a hoard of little kids) hoping to pop these balloons before they were safe at Brookfield.  Tony and I stood out by the pier.  I made the kids answer Isles of Shoals trivia for balloons.  They do not know much about our islands.  Other than getting bug bitten, it was kind of fun.

Our evening activity was Trivial Pursuit in the snack bar.

Tuesday's schedule Relaxed Ocean Wave Tuesday brought blue skies and clouds.  It also brought Robby’s schedule.  We were invited to attend any or all the activities that Robby planned for his day.

I went to chapel Tuesday morning, so I had to scurry to catch up with the group as they left for the Billy Goat Walk.
I made that climbClimbing downRounding the bendBilly Goaters

Not having grown up on the island, I am not sure I have ever done a billy goat walk.  You must walk around the entire island without stepping on grass.  This means a lot of climbing up over, jumping across, and lowering oneself down. It took us about an hour to traverse the mile or so of rocky island, but it was worth it to say I had done it.

The afternoon included more crafty time.  I worked on a new dishcloth and two baskets.

Knittin' on the porchMaking a basketWine basketStart of a star

Tuesday evening was gorgeous, and I took pictures during the clam bake to prove it.

Spiritual glowParsonageNewton
Morning blushRosa rugosaRuby

Baseball boysPart of the fun of being out on the island is spending time with old friends (and their offspring).  This summer Robby and Kris were the only ones with kids, so those little boys had many “aunts” and “uncles” to keep them busy and safe. There was no end to the entertainment those boys (one big, two little) provided.

And of course, the evening ended, once again, with Trivial Pursuit in the snack bar.

Starting our vacation

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MississippiBefore we left  for the coast, we ran some errands around town.  I had Tony drive around a parking lot so I could get this picture.  I think I already have Mississippi, but I am pretty sure I don’t have this design.

Star Spirit

In the car, I finished my star dishcloth.  I am not very impressed with it in variegated colors, so I won’t do that again.  I like the coloring of the denim blue though.  I better, I have a whole cone of it.

The drive was quiet.  Both kids were occupied with cellphones and MP3s.  (No, we didn’t suddenly have two children, we drove 2 of the youth from our church).  It rained nearly the whole way, sometimes hard, sometimes sprinkly.  I hoped it didn’t bode badly for the week.  When we finally hit Rye it was so rainy and foggy we couldn’t see the islands off the coast the way we have been able to the last two years.

We got to the dock just after the first boat left and about an hour before our own.  It was rainy and muddy, but it smelled like the ocean and that was all I needed.  We saw several friends as we waited under a tent.  (Most of our group was on the first boat.)  Gameboy (who came in our car, since his family didn’t come this year) fit right in immediately.  He remembered kids from the last few years and they introduced him around.  How different from my first year in Youth when I didn’t know a soul other than Sarah.  I am so proud of him.  He started to change right before our eyes.

Cottage C We checked in and greeted people on the porch.  We were in one of the cottages for the first time.  I didn’t take any more pictures until we hit our room.  Second floor, decent sized room.  2 beds of course.  I took shots of the room and out the windows.  I laid down on my bed and fell almost immediately to sleep.

We were 30 minutes late for dinner and sat at a table of people who looked familiar and a green dot (new) and her daughter.  After dinner we talked to our friends for a while and then went to our room to use the bathroom and change clothes to something warmer.  I fell asleep again and at 9:00 decided I better just go to bed.  Whoo-hoo party animals. Not much really goes on the first night.  I am not even sure our friends did anything either.

So tired

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We got home around 5 yesterday.  I was asleep by 9.  I have slept nearly all day today.  Darn good thing I didn’t have to go to work.

I still haven’t even downloaded my pictures yet.  I think I took well over 400.  It was such a nice week.  We had good weather several days and some rain and fog other days.  We were just enough busy to feel like we were doing something, but had plenty of time for doing nothing.  I had planned to post day for day (so today I would have posted about last Monday), but I am not pulled together yet.  Hopefully, tomorrow.

My favorite Easter Candies

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  1. Brach’s Classic Jelly Beans – mostly the green, yellow, and whites ones
  2. Peeps – specifically yellow bunnies
  3. Reese’s Peanut Butter eggs– they taste better than cups
  4. Yummy sugary melty candies from a candy store in New York

Each Easter season, Americans buy more than 700 million Marshmallow Peeps, shaped like chicks, as well as Marshmallow Bunnies and Marshmallow Eggs, making them the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy.