Judy and Julie in Palmyra

I met my friend and freshman roommate Julie Casuse Gagnon in Palmyra, New York today. She hasn't camped in years, but is still clever enough to help me figure out how to get the screen tent up. We're meeting halfway between her house in Maine and mine in Baltimore. Who would have guessed we'd both end up so far from the western United States?

We hadn't seen each other since graduating from college in 1976. She hasn't changed a bit. I think we look pretty good for a couple of old ladies in their 60's! I made a nice stew for dinner and we heated it up in a crockpot.

Julie brought the s'mores! They were just as good without a fire!

We went over to the Hill Cumorah pageant in the evening, where we got to mingle with the cast. The setting is pretty impressive! Much grander than it was in 1981!

We met wicked King Noah, but he was nice to us.

We enjoyed the pageant. It was a synopsis of the Book of Mormon, with fire, water and colored lights. My favorite was third Nephi, when Christ comes out of the sky. We might have to come back tomorrow night to see how they do that!

Coda and I, Alone in the Woods

Coda and I are on our own this week, so we decided to take a new route, and go down to the boat dock. We got to see a lot of geese that had the same idea.

It is amazing how tall the trees are as we walk along the fire road. It is so nice and cool in the shade.

The reservoir is so full that the narrow neck of land leading to the island/peninsula was overflowing on both sides. It's been a great, cool summer with lots of rain. Hopefully, that doesn't mean we're going to have a winter as long and cold as the last one!

Issac Stops By

Ed and I popped over to Gettysburg Saturday afternoon.

It was a beautiful day for a walk through the woods from the visitor's center to the cemetery. The wildflowers were spectacular!

And who should we run into, but our nephew, Isaac? It wasn't really a coincidence, as we had planned on meeting him there. He is doing an internship in DC this summer, and was in PA on a field trip with his fellow interns.

We took him out to dinner with us at Friendly Farm in Upperco, MD. It was pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but corn for miles! They specialize in unlimited side dishes, which is not a huge draw for someone on a diet!

It was fun having Isaac all to ourselves for a day. We took him back to DC Sunday after lunch. He's turned out to be a really nice, interesting and obliging young man. We're sorry he won't be here longer, as he leaves in August to spend a year in China!

Recording with the Pearl Strings

Jen was the first one to arrive at band yesterday.  She often uses her five boys as an excuse to run late, especially the youngest one, who will remain unnamed! Her prompt arrival at 9:30 was a picture-worthy event!

She must have been excited to record our new songs.

Reagan took this picture of me just after she told me she was scared of me! When I look at it I'm scared of me, too! Don't mess with the a woman and her guitar!

On a happy note, we recorded three songs. If you want to listen to a few of them, go to http://pearlstrings.whistlingprairie.com/?page_id=235!

Berry PIcking Walk

Coda asked if we could go for a walk this morning, please. We were happy to comply, and I packed a bag with some containers to pick raspberries along the way.;

We found lots of bushes along the fire road, and were brave enough to get our legs all scratched up just for a few berries.

Harper and Coda both spit out their berries. I'm glad we didn't have to share them with the dogs.

I plan to share mine with Ed, although he is generally averse to eating things he knows came out of nature! He prefers the grocery store variety. Let's not tell him I washed off a few ants when I got home!

Der Stammtisch wird Großer

Our little Stammtisch is growing a little this summer. We have 4 new members, which left us with 7 on Monday, even with several missing!

Our new members are a great addition and have helped raise the level of our speaking.

We had fun getting to know the new members and playing a German form of "What Were You Thinking." Frau Müller, who was just visiting was the winner, but we had enough good laughs that we all felt like winners!

S'More Fun

Ed and I wanted s'mores last night, but didn't think it would be worth the effort to build a fire for just the two of us. We were lucky the Dicksons were able to come help us eat them. It also made us feel like we were back in the good old days. Piper and Paisley filled in very well as substitute daughters.

Reagan and I had time to visit, which we don't get as often as we'd like, despite being in band and Primary together. She is very funny and entertaining!

It was also fun getting to know Allen better. It was his first time at our house, so it was fun telling him our remodeling stories.

Coda also enjoyed the kids coming over. Rockwell fed her most of his graham crackers and shared his water with her! They both loved it!