Family Mellmann

I'm rockin' my way through (one of) my grandmother's recipe boxes.  I received the box when she moved to a nursing home and no longer needed them.  There are many recipes and some of them are quite old.  My plan is to enter all the recipes into a recipe program I use and then print a cookbook that I can share with my cousins...and whoever else would like to have one. To further get into the spirit of this retro and historical project I brought out one of the teacups from her collection.  Cup and saucer sets were occasionally given as gifts "back in the day" and my grandmother had a hutch in the dining room specially equipped to hold them.  These duets were given to her by friends over the years, many whom I even knew from my summer visits to her house.  Unfortunately, I don't know which cup came from which friend, but I can still enjoy my tea while work on the recipes.

Patrick and I had the opportunity to join with more than 75 other adults and teens from our church to go to St. Croix (one of the three US Virgin Islands) to do hurricane repairs.  St. Croix was one of several islands (and states on mainland) hit hard by fall hurricanes.  Roofs were lost or severely damaged all over the island.  Homes were damaged, some wiped out completely.  And water damage was everywhere. Christ Memorial (our church) sent cash ahead of our arrival for the purchase of supplies, and a few guys made preparatory trips to plan projects, work out logistics, and plan and execute shopping.  Once we arrived, there were six projects at four locations.  Each project was staffed with leaders (adults) and teenagers, and most reports were that the students performed admirably.  In addition to the work crews there was a rotating group of students (a different crew each day) that would serve breakfast at a local homeless shelter and "work the str...

Christmas in Michigan with Oma and Opa Veeneman

I'm finally starting to see some good fall color.   This stand of trees greeted me on my walk this morning.

Today was a gorgeous day for a ride.  We rode into the Northeast Kingdom to check out a road that was reported to be quite scenic...it was very nice. We enjoyed a lovely lunch at the Kingdom Taproom and then finished our journey back to Williston with a stop at Still Smok'n BBQ.  It's an outdoor mobile food truck with some kickin' barbeque.  I love it when a small looks-like-nothin' place churns out don't-judge-a-book-by-its-cover awesome food.

Technically, the first day of school was Monday the 28th, but this picture was taken on Tuesday the 29th. You see, not every morning is a photo-friendly morning.  Sometimes we are disorganized, grumpy, and rushed (mostly disorganized and grumpy).  That was yesterday morning.  Everybody rushed out the door and by the time I realized I forgot to take THE pictur e, it was too late.  So I tried again this morning; things went much more smoothly this morning. Katherine is a newly minted eighth grader (yes, for those of you keeping track, she skipped the seventh grade). Patrick is on the downward slide towards graduation, entering his junior year.  And, yes, that's a motorcycle helmet hanging on his right arm and a tank bag in his left.  :)  There There   There are few cooler ways to get to school than on your motorcycle. I used to imagine what life would be like as an empty-nester with free time and fewer responsibilities. But as I commented ...

It's a good thing we have three cars in this family. :-) Well, technically it isn't a car, but when your favorite son leaves you stranded at home when you have a dentist appointment, it's better than nothing. 

I didn't do a very good job of documenting Patrick's solo trip on his motorcycle (neither did he).  He didn't send me too many pictures, but he did take this fun time-lapse video of him setting up his tent on the first night. His journey took him from home, through New York, up into Toronto Canada, and on into Michigan where he made a surprise visit to his grandparents in Grand Rapids.  He spent a few days enjoying the luxury of hanging out with Oma and Opa before getting back on the bike to head home.  His return trip took him down into Indiana, through Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, back into Vermont. It sounds like he had a really good time on this adventure, and learned that while he does enjoy riding on his own, he prefers sharing such experiences with others.  Perhaps his next adventure will be with a buddy (or his Mom). :)

It's not as if Patrick hasn't ventured from home on his own before.  Shoot, he had an epic summer travel schedule that put him on the soils of seven countries, some of which he experienced on his own...without parents.  He's even had a big summer motorcycle adventure...with parents.  But this is his first solo motorcycle adventure/road trip...without parents. He has a plan, a little money, a GPS (and a map), a sleeping bag, and all the motorcycle gear, and - of course - clean underwear.  We're only 'generally' aware of his travel plans, and we know roughly when he plans to be home (in time for our annual camping weekend with friends), but where he goes in between is part of the mystery and exploration that defines "road trip". He's not taking his own bike on this trip, but the slightly stronger (more powerful) bike that Joerg bought last fall.  It's a Yamaha SR 400, and it's got all the right stuff for this trip; a metal tank (perf...