So just for the record, that paltry snow storm we got at the end of February does not count as snow. Any “storm” in which I can see my grass through the snowfall afterwards does not count. As far as I am concerned this whole winter is forfeit. The ground isn’t even cold enough for snow to stick, hence my brick path above. Massachusetts’ winter without snow is ridiculous. I am expecting either snow in July or next winter to provide significant snow to compensate for this oversight. Hmrph.

Last week, we revisited one of my favorite fall traditions, the Topsfield Fair. We went with Amy, Joe and their boys on a cool evening after work. It’s fun to see what Justin remembers from year to year. They of course rode the merry-go-round, the train and the cars. And this year Justin was ready for his first grown up ride – the ferris wheel. We also did our best to sample as many of the fair’s delicacies as our stomach’s could handle. Between the group of us we consumed a polish plate (featuring pierogis, potato pancakes, golabkis and kielbasa), corn dogs, cider donuts, clam chowder, a steak skewer with yucca, popcorn, chicken fingers and hot cider. We also saw a variety of animals – all sorts of chickens, geese, ducks, llamas, goats, sheep, cows, a clydesdale, alpacas and racing piglets. One of Justin and Brian’s favorite exhibits continues to be the model trains, so we spent some time checking out that display as well. By the end of the evening we were all bundled up in sweatshirts, jackets and hats – but we definitely all enjoyed ourselves.

Back in June, Amy and Joe invited Mom, Aaron and I to join their family for a day at The Museum of Science. Aaron and I hadn’t been there in ages, but it was great fun to go back and see it through Justin and Brian’s eyes. It was also interesting to see what has changed since we were kids – for example the T-Rex statue that I loved so much as a kid has been replaced by a new statue based on the updated idea of what this dinosaur looked like. They even had miniature versions comparing the two. After exploring most of the museum (it’s smaller than I remembered as well), we stopped at Fuddrucker’s, a burger place, on the way home and were lucky enough to be able to sit in the one and only car booth – much to the delight of Justin and Brian. It was a great ending to a fun day.

This past weekend, Rita came up for a visit. While she was here we went to an exhibit currently at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston: Chihuly – Through the Looking Glass. It’s an exhibit of blown glass. Many of the pieces are huge and very colorful – there were chandelier like pieces hanging from the ceiling, delicate glass bowls inspired by Navajo baskets, spheres of various sizes, pieces that looked like plants, trees, flowers – one piece Millie Fiori (thousand flowers) took up an entire room and was a little like Alice in Wonderland meets Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Beautiful, unusual, and bizarre. My favorite piece is the one pictured above, Neodymium Reeds on Logs.

For those of you who don’t live in our part of the state (or country), you may have heard to date we have had quite the snowy winter. I think our total accumulation so far is somewhere between 60 and 70 inches, and I would guess there’s somewhere between 30 and 40 inches on the ground at the moment. We have had a few sunny days as of late, so there has been a little melting, but at its peak, the snow piles on either side of our driveway were taller than we are. It is an odd phenomenon to have your front lawn be 3 feet higher than it normally is. This is a small album of my favorite snow photos that we have taken so far this winter. Yes, it has been cold and yes it has been a challenge to keep up with the snow, but it has been been beautiful.

Right after Christmas we finally got some real snow. It was the light dry kind that blew around creating huge drifts in some spots, while in other places there was so little snow you could see the frozen grass sticking through. It was beautiful. Here are some photos from shoveling out. As it turns out, this storm was nothing compared to the 22 inches that fell a few weeks later in early January.

Back in early June, after a particularly tough day at work, we decided to take a spontaneous drive up to Plum Island to spend some time by the ocean – the perfect remedy for a stressful day. We made a quick stop at home for flips flops, books, a blanket and a kite and headed for the beach. We spent a couple of hours just lounging – Aaron flew a kite – we watched local fishermen… We stayed until the sun went down and the bugs moved in. It was a lovely evening and reminder that our shore vacation was just around the corner.

Nothing fancy here – just some colorful photos from this past October. One autumn night I came out of the grocery store and the sky was orange and purple as the sun went down. Also, there is a tree in the middle of the cul de sac we live on and this past fall its leaves were beautiful, especially against the blue sky. Here’s a small album of fall photos.

About a week before Christmas we got our first big snow storm of the season, which I for one was excited about. We got just under a foot of snow and it made everything white and beautiful. It felt very festive. Here are just a few photos we took out in the neighborhood while we were out shoveling once the storm was over. I do love New England in the winter time.

So as many of you know, I’m not a gardener, but I am trying. Aaron’s mom has been a huge help since we bought the house and has put countless hours into developing our yard. I just try to keep up. Unfortunately Aaron’s mom broke her ankle earlier this fall, so I had to find a way to plant the fall bulbs on my own – without Rita’s help. Ugh. And then I heard about the Bulb Bopper. You see, when Rita and I work together in the yard, she works about 4 times faster than me – in the time it takes me to plant 3 things, she has planted 12. I’m not kidding. She’s a machine. I think this tool might help me to level the playing field a little bit. You see it’s a giant auger that you attach to a drill and it digs the holes for you. I could do their commercials. Anyway, I bought the tool and it definitely made the planting go quicker, although admittedly not as fast as when Rita does it by hand. I’ll take whatever advantage I can get.