Happy Birthday to our little friend Thalia, who turns one today. Her blog is listed over in the sidebar.
July 30, 2008
Storyland 2008
Once again, we went to NH for our annual visit to Storyland.
Leo as the White Rabbit, Tiger, Babaji, and Alice
Leo finally got the idea of these things — what on earth are they called?
What are these guys on??? The Hilltop Theater at Storyland
Melissa swears that the actors had to be smoking something. Leo didn’t mind and got on stage to help out.
"Please don't jump, Humpty" "I'm sorry Leo, I have to"
Riding in the Pumpkin Coach: Leo, Sabine, Melissa, Violette, Ben
The Boys Club: Django, Ben, Leo, Dane
July 28, 2008
Robin’s Bread from “Home Baking”
Yumm! This bread turned out well. It’s another slow-rise bread from the book I’m enjoying, “Home Baking” by Duguid & Alford.
My dough tripled in size and escaped the very large bowl it was in after only six hours. I baked it then (it didn’t go the recommended 8-12 hours) and came out just fine.
A funny account of a similar dough explosion (and the recipe) can be found here.
Worth reading
Horrible news…
Yesterday, James Adkisson of Powell, Tennessee, went into the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church (TVUUC) and opened fire, killing two people and wounding six others. He left a letter saying he hated TVUUC for its liberal views, and for its support for gays and lesbians. And apparently his ex-wife, who had a restraining order out against him because of his violence, was affiliated with TVUUC as well.
“We’ve been touched by a horrible act of violence. We are in a process of healing and we ask everyone for your prayers,” said Rev. Chris Buice (pronounced “bice”), the minister at TVUUC. If you pray, here’s some people to pray for: the families and friends of the people who died; the families and friends of the people who were wounded; everyone who was in the church at the time of the shooting; especially the kids who were putting on a play when Adkisson started shooting; people who weren’t in the building yesterday but who are associated with the church; the entire GLBTQ community of the greater Knoxville area; anyone in the Knoxville area who has liberal views; and don’t forget to pray for the family of James Adkisson. And try to pray for Adkisson himself, because he has damaged his humanity by this act, and he will find it very difficult to fully redeem his humanity.’”
I don’t pray, but I have been thinking about all these people. I’m a minister, so I have been thinking in particular Rev. Chris Buice (more here)
July 27, 2008
Ellen Sluder Ellen Sluder Ellen Sluder!
Leo is actually asleep right now and can’t send birthday greetings, but if he was awake, I’m sure he’d look something like this. Hope you are feeling like him (and not like his cousin Audrey) on your birthday!
July 25, 2008
Fun with the Stevens kids
On the swing: Thomas, Sophia, Leo and Ben
Leo and Sophia make the dinosaurs ROAR
Ben sets a personal record, catching 21 fish in a day (he went on to catch one more!)
Thomas brings Lizzie the Gecko to Nicky the dog's birthday party
Nicky turns 13 and gets cake & ice cream for her birthday!
Vermont 2008 Part 2
Smaug the dragon from the Hobbit
This was an excellent show put on by the No Strings Marionette Company at Middlebury’s Festival on the Green.
Vermont folk art cows having lunch
Audrey’s camp has lots of cows. Turns out they get very hungry around midday. Don’t you?
Wildwood Taxidermy in Charlotte, Vermont
It turns out that Vermont is a great place for a nose job. If you’re a big horn sheep, that is. “Bucky”, pictured above, fell and broke his nose a few years ago. Don Carpenter at Wildwood Taxidermy did a fantastic job fixing him up.
July 22, 2008
Vermont 2008 Part 1
Below: Leo and Sophie and Katy’s camp, Nicky and Leo at Long Point, Leo showing his new love of drawing (mostly volcanoes), Leo and the bears at Shelburne Museum, Leo at the wheel of the “Ticonderoga” at Shelburne Museum
You can take a girl away from her horse…
…but you can’t take a girl away from her horse books! All from our favorite bookstore in Vermont, Bear Pond Books in Montpelier.
