Our time “home” has been delightful. We’ve laughed hard and hugged many. We watched one of our “extra” daughters get married, and were present when our son proposed to his beloved Abigail. We experienced God’s handiwork at our cabin in Vermont, and we experienced the graciousness of God’s people as we parked in friends’ driveways (and used their electricity and bathrooms!). What a blessing it has been to be “home”, among dear friends and familiar sights.

Did I mention we also ate too much!!!!
Here we are with our dear friends Joe & Janet and Brian & Mary (after another dinner out and before the girls beat the guys at cards!). How blessed we are to have such good friends!

So, we’re packed up and ready to go. After dinner we head south. Well, not too far south – just to Kennett Square, PA. We’ll hang out at the Walmart there and then head into our September project (Sandy Cove) Friday morning. The remnants of Ernesto are headed this way, and we hope to be settled before the 6-9 inches of rain hit the Chesapeake Bay area.

Ta Ra, Ta Ra, it’s back to work we go!

I’ve had great fun with my camera this vacation. If you’d like to see the whole batch of my efforts at photography, click here for the slide show. It starts with a shot of the cabin in early spring and then goes from there. Watch for the same shot taken just yesterday. Otherwise, I think the order goes from Cabin, Owl’s Head Overlook (that’s Lynne and I on the bluff), a Vermont field,to the Dwinell Homestead and nearby cemetery, shots from Kettle Pond (from lichen to landscapes) and then back to the cabin.
A couple of my favorites…. (aside from the ones in the previous post)
Kettle Pond

Forest French Fries

Our path at Kettle Pond

Have fun!

Fresh Blueberry Pancakes with Vermont Maple Syrup at 10AM at the cabin. Must be the perfect breakfast.

It’s hard to believe that our two weeks here at the cabin are almost over. The weather has been very cooperative, giving us a rainy day when we needed to be lazy and sunshine when we needed to be productive. Actually, Gary (as usual) has been the most productive, but I try to be the support team. Today (Friday) he is trying to finish up all his outside work while I work on the inside. Tomorrow we hit the dump with all of our trash, set fire to the burn pit, and then just enjoy the rest of the day. ‘Cause on Sunday we head back to Doylestown and our dear Lizzie.

We’ve had company the last couple of days – my dear friend Lynne C. came for a mid-week weekend. Since hubby Roger was down with a bad back and couldn’t come, Gary sent Lynne & I off for a Girls Day Out on Wednesday. I must confess, we had a great time! It was back roads and hiking trails, factory tours and family history instead of spas and manicures, but oh what fun we had. We hiked up Owls Head Overlook (spectacular and well worth the short steep climb), took the Cabot Cheese Factory Tour (where we got to sample all of the varieties of their wonderful cheddar cheese (and call it lunch)), took the cross country (i.e. dirt) road to East Calais where my family has a homestead that was built by my great-great uncle and is now owned by an association of Dwinell descendants, visited the cemetery where my great-great parents, great grandparents, and miscellaneous other relatives rest in peach, stopped to see some friends of Lynne’s brother, and then scoped out another hike (Kettle Pond) that we decided to take the next day with Gary. Back to the cabin and then out to dinner (after all, we were too tired to cook after our mini-road trip!). It was a memorable day all around.

Thursday we did indeed head back to Kettle Pond for the 3 mile loop hike. It was a great hike – not too strenuous, but with great beauty all around. We took pictures of everything from the view of Owls Head to mushrooms along the path. It was a beautiful walk, until Gary got a very painful sting/bite by an unknown insect/spider. Fearing an adverse reaction to the bite (and knowing we weren’t going to be able to carry him!) we made a quick exit for the last mile of the loop. Although the sting was very painful, no other symptoms developed so we headed back to the cabin so Gary could prop up his injured foot. Lynne left for home and the rest of the day was quiet and uneventful.

Oh, the Cabin Berries? Yesterday I went blackberry picking. Yummmmmmmmm…..

How very blessed we are to have this quiet place to come and refresh ourselves.

I have a few minutes here at my sister’s internet connection, so here’s a quick hello from Vermont.
To some the “down” side of staying at the cabin for two weeks (no running water, outhouse, no communications w/outside world, etc.) may seem daunting. However, when this is the view as I lounge over my second cup of coffee….

none of those minor inconvienences seem to matter in the least.
Oh, and did I mention the view at the other end of the day?

Our time here has been great! We’ve started a couple of projects (well, Gary has started a couple of projects. I’ve actually only started a couple of books!), slept later than we have in a good long while, spent some time with family (more to come, I hope), and generally decompressed aftere the hectic days of pre-wedding activities.

Back to the cabin I go, tra la, tra la!

Some guys go for roses and expensive dinners – but Josiah chose a big crowd and a big sign. It worked for him!

Congratulations, Josiah and Abigail!!!

On other notes….the wedding was beautiful, but I was too busy being the slave to take many pictures. What an incredibly emotional weekend! We leave for our beloved cabin tomorrow AM.
Ahhhhhh.
and again I say
Ahhhhhhhhhh.