Ornaments for 2009

Buddah from Korea.
Washington Ferry From Vashon Island.

Olyve Oyl the octopus from the Seattle Aquarium.

For our last WV Christmas.

In memory of Peekaboo. Black, white, and pink.

Thanksgiving in Seattle

We spent the week of Thanksgiving in Seattle. I met with the UW program I am interested in, Dj made some dental job progress, and we looked at some condos while we were there. It was kind of a bummer of a trip for two major reasons-- did not get really great news from the school (the school is lacking in funds right now during this recession) and did not think rent would be so much (as in add a zero to the monthly rent we are paying now... 10x our rent....). However, it was good in a lot of ways. We stayed right in the thick of things in downtown. We got to explore that city like we were natives. We learned which streets to avoid walking up to avoid the major steep hills. We learned how reliable the bus system is, which will help us as we look for a place to live. We ate really amazing food. We got to spend Thanksgiving day with the best company- Julie and her family. Plus the trip really brought us back to reality. We realized we need to enjoy the good things of WV for just a little bit longer. And then the adventure of living in a HUGE city will begin, increased rent in all.
We took very few pictures while we were there. We did get to watch the Macy's parade on black Friday, and really enjoyed it.
Marching bands from all over. My secret dream is to be a parade judge.

Everybody was dressed in all types of costumes: dogs, cats, cowboys, flowers, elves, everything, etc.

Our favorite part was all the dog clubs. The clubs in the area each had a section for their dogs to march. It was adorable. The St. Bernards were so cute with little carts to pull.

It was fun to be there for the start of the holiday season. They had lighting ceremonies all over the down town area, with little carnivals and fun things. It was fun seeing the Christmas trees for sale at Pike's Market along with misletoe and amazing wreaths. The weather was very agreeable--it rained on Thanksgiving Day while we were inside anyway.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We'll be here:

Brothers Bloom

Dj and I watched a movie a couple of weeks ago, Brothers Bloom. It is one of those movies that turn out to be a little deeper than expected and kind of sticks with you. Rachel Weisz plays Penelope. When she was a kid she got tested for allergies and came back positive for everything. Her parents sheltered and protected her, never letting her experience life. When she was an adult she discovered she was not really allergic to everything, she was just allergic to the metal alloy in the needles used to test. She then spent years taking care of her invalid mother, again staying isolated. Her response to this is amazing:

"This was a story about a girl who could find infinite beauty in anything, any little thing, and even love the person she was being trapped with. And I told myself this story until it became true. Now, did doing this help me escape a wasted life? Or did it blind me so I didn't want to escape it? I don't know, but either way I was the one telling my own story..."

I really like this quote because so many uncontrollable things happen in life, really unavoidable crappy things. Take those things, find some beauty in them, and don't let them hold you down. So, here's to telling my own story.

All You Can Eat Chocolate

One of our favorite places in the world is located in a small Pittsburgh subburb called Trafford. Hidden on a one way street is the gem of all gems--the chocolate factory Sherm Edwards. We stumbled upon this place by accident a couple years ago. They offer free tours to anyone, anytime. And every November they hold the "All You Can Eat Tour", which is WAY better than it sounds. This year, possibly our last year of the tour, we decided to share it with Hannah and the kids--calling to claim the last 3 adult and 2 child tickets. Whew! The factory is very small, a main floor for selling and a basement for making. Everyone gets a hairnet.

Hannah, Caleb, and I enjoying the trays loaded with goodness--chocolate covered pretzels, meltaways, carmels, creams, cordials and jells in milk, dark, and white. My stomach is growling!

A table lined with almond, cashew, and pecan bark, again in milk, dark, and white.

Not only do you get to sample all of their goods, you can also watch them at work. This is the owner of Sherm Edwards-- he makes all the peanut brittle, carmel and toffee himself. In this picture he is cutting toffee for the almond butter crunch (kind of like an almond roca but much, much better).

Dj loves asking this guy all types of questions, trying to figure out the secret to his amazing skills. He answers them all.

After the toffee is cut, it gets loaded onto a conveyor belt. All of this is done by hand, each square lovingly placed.

Ready for the chocolate!

Once it leaves the other side, now covered in chocolate, an almond is placed in the center of each square, perfectly of course.

I could eat it right now!

But back they go, for another layer of chocolate.

The finished product, ready to be enjoyed.

My favorite fall treat is their carmel apples. The BEST thing ever. I order at least a half dozen every October, then buy more the day of the tour. The apples are always perfect and the carmel is perfection. I love these things!

They buy there chocolate elsewhere, melt it down, and use it for all of their treats. Two kinds of milk, two kinds of dark, and white. Samples for all.

We can not say enough positive things about this place. We spoil ourselves a couple times a year, driving up to Pittsburgh to pick out our favorites to enjoy. Check out their website--they deliver, too!

http://www.shermedwardscandies.com/

Travelzoo DC

Travelzoo is my favorite travel discount website. They send out a Top 20 list every week with the best travel deals around the world. This is how I found my Turkey trip, as well as pretty much every other trip I have been on in the last couple years. This month a featured deal was a weekend stay near Potomac, MD at the Bolger Center, a most unusual building that formerly served as the Post Office Training Center. We stayed in a nice room, with an amazing breakfast, shuttle to the metro, and other perks for a mere $49/night. Since reading The Lost Symbol, I thought it would be fun to do a tour of the sights in the book. Unfortunately, the weekend we choose to go, it poured down the rain. This led to a soaking wet visit (that really let us try out our new coats we bought the day before at the Hagerstown outlets). We managed to visit the art museum, the capitol (no one allowed inside!!), the botanical garden, and the white house museum. We then spent two hours-I joke not-looking for the Old Post Office so we could eat at our favorite gyro cafe. Despite the rain, we had a really fun visit, and even made it to Baltimore to visit with Anica, touring the amazing Walters Art Museum (I recommend this to everyone--it totally kicks the Smithsonian's butt). My only regret is not crashing the Bar Mitzvah being held in the hotel...

Reel Big Fish

A while back, and I mean a while back, I had a friend ask me if I wanted to go fishing. I said, "I would love to go,but you need to know one thing. I am bad luck when it come to fishing and most likely you won't catching anything." Matt, my friend, laughed a hearty chuckle in reply and said "That's because you have never been fishing with me before. " He told me to meet him at a place at a time and he'd show me how to catch a fish. I said "Great what are we fishing for?"
"Bass" came his reply. I have to admit at this point I start to get a little excited. "I have never caught a Bass before that will be exciting." Matt's jaw hit the floor "what was that? Did I hear you say that you have never caught a bass before?!?"
"Yep" I told you I was bad luck and most likely you won't catch one this time either. Matt shook his head in bewilderment. "You just leave that up to me. You meet me where I told you and I'll do the rest."
I gathered my gear at the appointed time and met him at the appointed location. "This is your secret location?" I asked
"Yup"
"Everyone knows about this place"
"But not every one knows there are fish here."
We proceeded to start our fishing adventure and after Matt had caught his tenth fish and I still hadn't caught one. Matt gave me a look and said. "Man, you weren't joking were you?"
"No" I said.
"Well no one makes a liar out of me! Come on I'll take you to my uber secret place." We proceeded to walk about a hundred yards up river. "This is it?" I ask. "Yea and don't tell anyone." I started to chuckle. OK genius, where do I cast my lure? Matt studied the river for a few seconds and pointed "Right there behind that rock."
I draw my rod back and cast....
The first bass I have ever caught. All I had on me was my cell phone and up until now I had no way of getting the pictures off of it. So all my stories of how big the fish was and how long it took me to reel it in can now be confirmed with the proof that you now see before you. If you look closely you can see a tear just under my sunglasses.
"Haaa haaa" came a shout from Matt. "See what'd I tell ya!" I was so choked up that all I could muster was a goofy grin.

Some time later on a different trip to the same location and after many months of tutelage.

I caught the biggest Bass I have ever caught in my life!!! The expression on my face I feel sums it up for you.

WVBG Kid's Day

When the Smiths came to town for a family reunion, we happened to have some free time to visit the West Virginia Botanical Garden's Kids Day. Audrey was unfortunately asleep at home (while the guys were also napping on the couches), so Hannah and I had Caleb all to ourselves. We had an awesome time! Caleb got to paint a pumpkin, create some leaf art, make a bird feeder, and snack on some yummy treats. All for free. My favorite thing ever was the new fairy garden they set up on part of the forest trail. Here anyone who wanted to could create their own little fairy house using any natural item from the forest floor. They even provided a little table full of accessories. Hannah had the idea to make an arched roof and found a curved piece of wood to be the main structure. We then covered the roof with red oak leaves and lined the inside with red bark and pieces of moss. We added a stick driveway, some pine cone bushes, nut shell chairs, and a feather bed for the finishing touches. We loved walking around the garden and admiring all the other fairy houses. So fun! I am already looking forward to making some fairy houses for the little creatures that live on the beach when we head to the OBX this Christmas.

Fashion Show

This is what happens when your sister comes back from a trip to the dollar store with fairy wings for her two year old. Mia was a rockstar. Boo not so enthused.

Rocky Gap

The first weekend in October, we met Hannah and the kids at Rocky Gap State Park, MD for the kid's first camping weekend. We drove down in rain, found a spot to set up in rain, tried to make some dinner in rain, and tried to help Dj as much as possible as he single handedly put up two tents and a tarp all by himself in RAIN. We fell asleep to rain and woke up to SUN. It turned out to be a beautiful Saturday and we enjoyed every last minute of it.

We were a short walk away from the lake. The kids loved throwing whatever they could find into the water to watch splashes of all sizes. The adults enjoyed setting up camping chairs right on the lake's edge, enjoying the sunshine while sipping on vanilla coke. Really, we just enjoyed the outdoors and the beauty of autumn.

We were able to take the kids on a couple of geocaches so they could find some buried treasure. This geocache was called "Troll under the Bridge" and held some fun goodies.

Dj and I were both very impressed with Caleb's fishing skills. He learned how to cast and reel like a pro with just a little help from Uncle Dj. It was such a lovely little place, and only an hour away from us. I left feeling very relaxed and happy. Anyone up for some winter camping?

Molasses

Every fall the Chapman family gathers together to harvest cane and turn it into molasses. Most people do not enjoy the taste of molasses, and I used to be one of those people. The molasses from stores is not purified and tastes BLAH. Homemade molasses is magical and makes the perfect gingersnap cookies. Since this will be our last year until who knows when, we decided to document the process. Unfortunately, we arrived when the cane was already cut down with the seed heads and leaves already removed.
This picture shows about half of the total grown cane. We then moved the stalks from the truck to the "juicer". This contraption has evolved over the years for maximum productivity. What started out as a mill driven around and around by mules has now become hooked up to a truck engine. The two wheels spin together and the cane stalks are pushed through. The spent stalks exit the other side and the juice falls to a container below. View from the back. You can see the complicated machine that was hand pieced together with spare parts and some ingenuity. This is the first filtering stage for the sugary juice.
Filter number two. It is hard to believe something so green can transform into dark, rich molasses. Goldie filters again with colanders and paper towels. She claims she enjoys this part because she can sit down and still work hard. The filtered juice finally makes it to the oven, another piece created through the years. A wood fire heats the pan. The pan's edge had been coated with clay collected the night before to prevent escaping smoke. When the juice is added and the fire is going, the next step is to wait until the perfect moment. Just the right amount of boiling has to occur to help some of the impurities rise to the top. This is the step that commercial molasses making ignores--all that foamy, gross stuff just gets stirred right back into the mix. But the Chapmans get rid of it! Here is Dj removing some of the impurities. He used a piece of wood with a door handle screwed on it. The wood just barely touches the liquid and impurities stick. And then everyone waits! And eats! And visits! Stir, scrape, stir, scrape. Eventually all the excess water boils off, and only about 1/4 of the original volume remains. This high quality molasses is then divided up. Clean up is eased by the help of the honey bees that suck up every remaining missed drop. We left before it was finished, so you will have to imagine the nice bottle of dark brown molasses that soon will be waiting in our fridge. Here is a shot of our almost empty jar from last year.