This is why we are here...

Before and after pictures of the latest remodelings:

Organic Crop

The field next to our backyard is certified organic. This is what’s growing only a few yards away from our house:

Just as suspected...

A plumber came in yesterday to look at our leaking toilet and just as Cameron suspected, that toilet is so old that it will be very hard to get the parts to fix it. We are getting another toilet; this old one has given us many headaches!

On a brighter note, we came across a pair of butterflies during our after-lunch walk. They are so peaceful and beautiful:

Lighting Upgrades

Cameron was very busy this weekend. He’s been trying to fix our leaking toilet in the first floor for some time now, and every time he thinks he’s solved the problem, he needs a different tool/part. He also mowed the lawn and changed a couple light fixtures around the house. We bought a motion detector light for the front of the house and replaced the old one.

Before:

After:

Cameron also changed the light fixture in our eating area.

Before:

After:

Grocery Shopping: Wilson Farm

We decided to visit Wilson Farm to buy our weekly produce. It is such a neat setting and it seems to be very popular among New Englanders. The prices are a little more expensive than the local grocery store but the produce is very fresh and very tasty. They even have a nursery and we bought a small cayenne pepper plant (we’ll see if it survives our shaded yard).

Dinner: Lobster

Cameron usually cooks dinner on Fridays or we go out; however, last night Mary, our neighbor, surprised us by giving us two lobsters and a bottle of Port wine (aged over ten years). She got the live lobsters at the grocery store and asked them to cook them for her (in order to avoid cooking them at home and stink out the house).

The lobsters were delicious and eating them was a lot of fun. Cameron didn’t eat the little skinny legs; he gave them to me because he said the cost/benefit is not worth it. On the other hand, I enjoyed digging up the meat despite of the work.

This morning Cameron asked me to make him pancakes. I made him the blueberry-buttermilk pancakes and they came out really good! I think Cameron is a little spoiled but I enjoy cooking for him!

Bees & their captivating sound

We took our daily-after-lunch walk around the crop field when we stopped for a moment to listen to the thousands of bees flying around near us. The sound is captivating!

It is quite an experience to see these little creatures doing what they do best: pollination.

Summer Delight: Ice Cream

Once again, last Sunday we headed out for ice cream. Cameron made a new rule: we have to walk to the ice cream shop instead of driving (about 1.5 miles each way - the short way). We only have to buy a small cone because it is MORE than enough for the three of us. This time, we tried White Mountain Junction (vanilla, almonds, and caramel).

Atenas seems to enjoy the ice cream very much but she's only allowed a few licks.

She was begging for more as we shared the ice cream sitting on a bench. I couldn’t resist her pitiful eyes so I have her a little more. She’s a little stinker!

Boule

After several attempts and failures to make our own bread (dinner rolls/bolillos), Cameron asked me to try a recipe that was found on Mother Earth News magazine called The Master Recipe: Boule. This recipe is definitely a keeper! I have to admit that it was so easy to make (especially because I used my Kitchen Aid mixer) and the taste is perfect!

We had it for dinner along with frijoles con chorizo. Delicious!

Predestined?

While we were at Grampa’s house last weekend, we looked thru old photo albums and I found this picture of Cameron when he was a baby:

He was predestined to marry a Mexican girl!

Road Trip - Ohio

Last weekend we went on a 15 hour long road trip to Ohio. You might think we are crazy for attempting such a thing in a short amount of time, but since we were taking Atenas with us, it was cheaper to drive than to fly (her roundtrip flight would have cost $300). The main purpose of our trip was to celebrate Nancy’s birthday and spend time with our family. We did so much in such a short period of time and we enjoyed every bid of it.

Birthday girl (high school picture):

On Friday, Nancy and I pampered ourselves with pedicures and then we had lunch at Penn Station while the guys went to the golf range to test John’s new golf club. Later that day we all went shopping and ended up going to Jungle Jim’s to buy buffalo burgers for Sunday’s cookout.

Jungle Jim’s is a huge grocery store (over 6 acres of food) where you can find almost anything you can think of. Every time we go there we try to buy Mexican items that we can’t find in New England. There are interesting displays throughout the store that make shopping fun (especially for the little kids).

In front of Jungle Jim's (pictures taken with cell phone) :

Mexican section:

Old fire truck:

Seafood sectoin:

On Saturday, Cameron and I had breakfast with Grampa and aunt Jan and then we all joined Grampa in his daily 2-3 mile walk. We really enjoyed our time with them. Later that day, Nancy and I went shopping (again) and had lunch at a Japanese restaurant.

Nancy asked me to cook enchiladas for dinner on Saturday. We thought we could find all the ingredients at Wal Mart, however Wal Mart only had a large bag of red dried peppers and we didn’t need that many. Fortunately on our way home, we stopped by the Super Mercado (small store in the middle of town) and to my surprise they carried tons of authentic Mexican items! This is my new favorite store in Ohio!! The enchiladas came out very good and as a side dish we had home grown squash.

Sunday we all gathered at Grampa’s house and had the cookout in celebration of Nancy’s birthday. Uncle Mike grilled the burgers, Nancy made the side dishes and aunt Jan baked the cake. The food was excellent, the weather was perfect, and Atenas went crazy running in Grampa’s backyard (she even saw a deer).

John, Nancy and Cam:

With aunt Jan and Grampa:

Uncle Mike:

Father and Daughter:

Sisters:

Nancy and John

-this one is one of my favorites-:

Atenas and her abuelos:

Nancy spoiling her grand-dog:

Mom and I: