It's DONE!!!!!

I found out very quickly that it takes a long time to put the binding on a king size quilt. But I was able to finish it last night! I put it on the bed this a.m. Here is the finished product.

Matching pillowcases

I am so excited that I will get my king sized quilt back tomorrow. This quilt is for Tim and I. I figured out how to make a matching pillowcase for this quilt.

I just need to put a binding on the quilt, and make 2 more cases, and we're all set to go.

YEAH!

Amanda's conflict

Amanda is now quite confused about who to vote for in the gubernatorial race. She has started journaling and this is what she wrote at the bowling alley. It is precious. She's saying now that she doesn't know what she will do. I didn't mean to confuse her by having her meet these people. You might need to blow this up to read it. :(

Meeting Rudy

After the Special Olympics games, we headed to downtown Derry because we heard that Rudy Guiliani would be there stomping for a republican candidate. We happened to arrive around the same time he did. When we got in the building, Amanda and Kristin were able to get pictures with him. Amanda reached out and showed him her medal from Special Olympics and he said, come here and get a picture with me and the republican candidate. He helped her get it out for the pictures.
Right after this, he asked Amanda where her mother was and made it a point to come over, shake my hand, and tell me, "good job with her mom".

Special Olympics Bowling

Amanda won her first gold medal in bowling today. She still granny bowls but would you believe that her last string was a 74?

She was given her medal by one of the Windham policeman, and reached out, grabbed, and hugged him. He was quite surprised by the hug and everyone laughed at her.

Amanda's quilt

I was able to finish the quilt top for one of Amanda's quilts. One down, one to go! It is called Lava Lamps.

Jen, the "cat" is missing!

Jen,
This one is for you as you were wondering why the"possum" is in your back yard. You need to get him back home immediately! Just sayin'.

Almost done!

I have been trying to finish up my quilt so I can get it to the long arm quilter. I am so excited with the way this quilt is turning out. I have 5 more rows to add because it is a king-sized quilt but it is beautiful. And very BLUE!

Sustainance!

This was the first year that we planted melons. I didn't think the growing season would be long enough but certainly it was hot enough and long enough! We had about 20 of these cantalopes growing when all of a sudden all the vines died. We didn't think they finished the process, but I decided to pick one, let it ripen for a day or so and then cut it. I couldn't wait any longer and cut into it. I gasped and Tim came running assuming I cut my hand on a knife. (because that is my response when I cut myself) I couldn't even speak but I just held it out and started laughing. It was GORGEOUS and delicious also. We totally enjoy the garden. Every night, I go out and pick vegetables for dinner. This week, we have already had spaghetti sauce made from tomatoes from the garden, beets, broccoli, and tonight, we had stuffed peppers from the beautiful peppers that came from the garden. It doesn't cost much to plant, just time and energy. We have also been eating potatoes this week that we planted. We figured we have enough potatoes to equal six 10lb bags. And we're not even done yet. God is good to us!

Kristin's Cake

I can't believe I have 2 kids in their 20's. Kristin turned 20 on August 21st and we celebrated by eating at La Carreta and we bought her a cake from Frederick's Bakery. Kristin loves cake and she loves to eat good cake. Yes, this is the daughter who watches the Food Network all day. Anyway, the cake was beautiful, and tasted good. But since I had to go all the way to Bedford and then wait for a couple of hours, and it cost alot... I mean you would have thought it was the Cake Boss' place. But it was beautiful! It was a white almond cake with strawberry and butter cream filling. Are you jealous?

Baxter State Park

We were done traveling in PEI, Cape Breton and Nova Scotia. We decided to see a part of Maine that we've wanted to see for quite a while. We stayed overnight in Fredericton, New Brunswick and crossed the border the next morning. Baxter State Park is in Millonocket, Maine and has quite a few mountains. Mt. Katahdin is the highest and it is the beginning or terminus of the Appalacian Trail that starts in Georgia. Most people start to hike the trail in Georgia around March so they can summit 2000 miles later at Mt. Katahdin in October before the park closes.

Driving through the park takes 4-6 hours so we only did half the park and then came back out. It was raining by the time we left and we saw a beautiful rainbow that was trying to be a double rainbow coming out. We also saw another moose.

We had a great vacation and now its time to head home.

Nova Scotia

We came across the Canso causeway from Cape Breton and decided to drive the Eastern shoreline. Although it is less than 2 hours by highway to Halifax, we decided to drive along the coast which took about 6 hours. The coast winds around many harbors and coves. It is beautiful, remote, and unspoiled. The villages along the coast and harbors usually had less than 100 people. We decided to stay in the Salsman Provincial Park which was situated in a picturesque place called Country Harbor. Country Harbor is an inlet and the campground was right on the water.
We finally got to Halifax the next day. We were trying to get to Peggy's Cove but I didn't have a good map to get us through Halifax so we stopped at the highest point in the city. The highest point in Halifax is the Citadel. The Citadel was built by the Loyalists that came to Nova Scotia from America. They were afraid that the Americans were going to try to take this area as well so they built a fort on the top of a mountain in the city. It is a place that you can tour now. I stopped to look at the map and then ask for directions. When I got out, there was a Royal Mounted Police Officer there dressed like they looked in the late 1700's. I told Amanda about the police and she wanted to see him of course. When she did see him, she was quite freaked out by his feathered hat. She still says, I've never seen someone who looks like that! The citadel area has a nice overview of the city harbor.

Cape Breton Sunset

When we were in Cape Breton, we saw the most gorgeous sunsets. Below are some pictures of God's creation!

Tides in the Bay of Fundy

We have heard that the Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world. The highest tides were actually recorded in Burncoat in the Minas Basin. We decided to stay at one of the provincial parks that overlooked the Basin in the north part of the island. We decided this because we were meeting up with a friend who lives near there for breakfast the next morning. The Blomdin Provincial Park was on a mountain cliff that overlooked the Basin.

We knew that the tides came in and receeded 40 feet. But you don't get a really good idea of this until you see these pictures. The people at the campground told me that when it is dead low tide, you have to walk for 20 minutes to get to the water. When it comes in, it comes fast and you have to run to get back or you will get caught. As we were driving in, it was low tide and we saw the evidence of how far these tides really come in.

The picture below is when the tide is 2 hours from being high.
We loved this area of Nova Scotia. It has alot of farms and vineyards. It is a really nice area. The next day, we met up with our friend from Camp Allen Meghan Dunham. Meghan worked with me at Camp Allen for at least 3 years. She lives in Kentville which is near the Basin. She has a baby named Layla that is 7 months old now. It was really good to see her.

Peggy's Cove

Nova Scotia has about 4600 miles of coast line. Peggy's Cove is a popular tourist stop south of Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia right on the coast. Peggy's Cove is also the place where Swiss Air 111 crashed in the late 90's. We drove down to the cove and the first thing we saw was the quaint fishing village shot with the boats and the lobster traps.
Also in the background was the lighthouse and the open rock that we scrambled over to watch the waves.
Peggy's Cove had a monument for the Swiss Air flight that killed everyone on it but I didn't see it. I did see the Fisherman's Monument that was quite impressive.

We thought Peggy's Cove was really nice although touristy. We ate a wonderful dinner at their restuarant the Sou'Wester before we travelled north.

Cape Breton... How much beautiful can one take?

Cape Breton is on the northwestern side of Nova Scotia. They call it Canada's best kept secret and I understand why. The Cabot trail encircles the northwest side of Cape Breton. The Cabot trail winds around the coast and mountains in the north and near Lake Bras d'Or (said Bra-dor) in the south. The lake is a massive salt water lake with very long channels that feed into it. The most famous picture of Cape Breton is the one pictured above.

We came from PEI and boarded a ferry to come over. It landed in Pictou, Nova Scotia and then we drove 4 hours to get to Che'ticamp where we stayed. The ferry was huge and held 250 cars.

The first night we were there, we set up camp in the National Park in Che'ticamp. Che'ticamp is Acadian and they have a thick French accent. What was weird was across the bridge, they sounded Scottish. We also didn't realize it but Che'ticamp also has alot of winds. We had a rain storm with high winds during the night and I thought our tent was going to fly away with us in it. Someone told us in the winter they can have 200 km/hr winds... translated ... that is 120 mph winds. (we have learned to do the conversions well since we've been here) Che'ticamp is on the western side of the island on the Cabot trail. That night, we went out and looked at our surroundings. We saw a bull moose in the swamp near the ocean. We have never seen a bull moose this large and we were able to see him 2 nights in a row.
The next day, we traveled the Cabot trail. We enjoyed the scenery very much. The rugged coastal cliffs that drop right into the ocean were beautiful.

The lake was around Baddeck at the south end of the trail. It is a cute little community and reminds me of Meredith, NH.

On our way back around, we came across another moose (female) that was only 10 feet from the car. Sure wish Ben and Carly could have been with us.
The Cabot trail took us 6 hours to travel with only a few stops. It was well worth the journey... WE LOVED CAPE BRETON!

Prince Edward Island

Well, I have to say that Prince Edward Island was very different than I imagined. We are staying in North Rustico right next to Cavendish (and a nudist colony as we found out tonight!). We weren't able to get into the Canadian national campgrounds but we found one just down the street. We are actually camping in a field right next to some people from Montreal who we have enjoyed very much. I have found that we have gotten our best travel tips from people that we meet while traveling and they have not disappointed us. Anyway, we decided to write down things that we discovered about PEI. This is the top five:

1. Agricultural Farm Land. We have never seen so many HUGE fields (I mean like 50 acres per field) of hay, barley, potatoes, and clover. PEI is known for its potatoes. One fourth of the island is agricultural. (2300 farmers)

2. Big Island needs a big bridge! It is 120 miles from tip to tip and I think at least 60 wide. Until 1997, the ferries brought people over but now, the Confederation Bridge does. The bridge is 9 miles long and it is free to come over, but $47 Canadian dollars to leave (right now American money is .97 to 1.00 Canadian). The ferry to Nova Scotia is alot more than that!
3. Cow's Ice Cream has made the list as the #1 ice cream in the world. The jury is still out because I thought Israeli ice cream was delish! But here is Tim enjoying it.

4. There are over 50 lighthouses on this island. We got to tour the West Point Lighthouse today and the stairs were straight up. But we could see the whole point as we stood up on the top right by the light. This is where the Northumberland Straight meets the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Number 4 deserves 2 pictures so this picture is of the lighthouse on Baie New London Bay.
5. The coasts are rugged with red rock cliffs! And the red dirt gets every where as evidenced by my car! (Many of the traveling roads are dirt roads here).





There were a few disappointments:

1. Very few places to eat and small portions for a big price. Example: scallop dinner was $17 for 6 scallops.

2. Cavendish. We are staying right next to where Anne of Green Gables was centered. Lucy Maud Montgomery is hailed as a hero here but Cavendish is a huge disappointment. There is Green Gables but very little else to do here. AND I found out from the visitors center this a.m. that alot of Anne of Green Gables was filmed in Ontario. But just for posterity... and Ryan... here is a picture of Green Gables.

Headed out on the Woods Island Ferry tomorrow to Pictau, Nova Scotia and then up to Cape Breton Island.