Caleb's Saturday

So apparently an explanation is in order. No this is not Caleb dressed up riding a crazy tractor. He just took the picture at a pumpkin patch. The place had a big slide, punkin chunkin catapult, dried corn pit, donuts with cider, a train, and the tractor that blew bubbles out the front and fire out the top.

Boston--Day one

Our first day in Boston we spent the morning taking a boat ride out to the oldest still working lighthouse in the country. It is out on one of the tiny harbor islands.  It was quite a narrow climb up to the top with an amazing view. In the afternoon we drove down to Plymouth and saw the  Mayflower 2 and Plymouth Rock. We were surprised at how small the rock was. For dinner we went to Isaac's restaurant and then hunting for crabs on the shore.

     

Boston--Day Two

Saturday we headed into town. We drove to the the subway parking area and took the subway in. We started in Boston Common where we went on a guided tour of the first half of the Freedom Trail. Our guide was dressed in Revolutionary clothing and spoke in character as someone who lived then. He showed us many different places and told a lot of stories. After the tour we went through the farmers market and then headed over to Quincy market.

At the market there was a huge variety of food options and then there was some entertainment out front. We saw a couple of jugglers, a funny guy who did some balancing acts, and then a group of hip hop dancers. Next we continued on to finish the Freedom Trail. We saw the Old North Church and then headed across the river to see the USS Constitution.

We took the ferry back to where we started and headed up to the North End to get Italian food for dinner. Everywhere had at least an hour wait and so while we were walking around we happened upon Mike's Pastry (who we had heard rave reviews from many people). So we made it through the mob and got some canollis  to eat after dinner.

 

Boston--Day Three

Sunday we headed out to Lexington to the Minute Men National Park and learned about the start of the Revolutionary War. We went through a couple houses and saw a man shoot an old period rifle. We also went for a walk to  the North Bridge. Saw the graves of some famous authors--Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, Emerson, Hawthorne--in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. While Jerolyn took Todd to the Airport, we toured Orchard House, the home of Louisa May Alcott. Then on the drive back to the hotel we stopped at Walden Pond and the Boston Temple and took pictures.

 

Boston--Day Four

Monday we took the subway back into town and went on a tour of Harvard. We had a couple of enthusiastic undergrads give us an entertaining tour. It was neat to see the history of all the buildings (some of those dorms are really old) and also to see the "ugly period" from the buildings built in the 1970's. After the tour we headed out so we wouldn't get home too late. We had a great time and saw a lot of history. Trenton was such a happy little guy for the trip. He has done so much traveling already, maybe he will grow up to be a world traveler.

Planking Boston

Last weekend we had a fun trip to Boston where we met Camberly's parents, Isaac, Francie, and "T-nugget." More to come on the trip later but here is a preview. The above were at the Paul Revere Mall. Below are inside Old North Church and in Sleep Hollow cemetery.

Harvest Gold

This fall I decided it would be fun to can some fruit. I was inspired after a Relief Society activity about food preservation. Since the only thing I have ever eaten that was home canned is fruit, I decided to start from there. ( I have not yet gotten used to the idea of canned meat.) I went to the farmers market and got 8 quarts of peaches and pears. And I bought a lot of jars (but not enough--requiring a mid-canning run to get more).

Staci, the expert food preservationist, was kind enough to come over to my house to teach me and help me with the process. Fortunately it was a relatively cool day because the kitchen got pretty toasty. We washed, peeled, cored, and sliced fruit, made syrup, filled jars, and finally into they water bath they went. Out they came steaming hot to sit of the counter while we could hear the pop pop of the lids sealing. Every single can ended up sealing.

It was a lot of work but they sure look pretty. In fact I don't really want to open a jar and see how they turned out. (We did open a jar of pears and they were tasty.) We ended up with 18 1/2 pints each of peaches and pears in light syrup.

The jars are still sitting in neat little rows on the kitchen table while I try to figure out the best place to store them. Thanks Staci, I wouldn't and couldn't have done it without you. I may not be ready to try meat yet but I am definitely up for trying something else.