Mama's Surprise Party

I'm so glad to have been a part of my mom's 60th birthday celebration. She had her children and Daddy, plus friends from Birmingham, my aunts, and hilarious Gadsden ladies who have been biting their tongue for weeks to keep it a surprise. We thought Mama knew something was happening but she really didn't. It worked out so well. The power outage at the Club made the atmosphere a little stickier but the tea lights were a good touch to the table. That part did throw her off a little since we walked down a dark hall to get to the party room :)

the Stegalls

Mama's sweet friend from Birmingham, all have daughters about my age

pictures of Mom through the years and delicious cake bites in caramel & turtle (yum!)

the Stegalls and spouses at dinner (we missed you Jen!)

me, Caroline, Mama & Mary Beth

Caroline & Aubrey Jane

Mama opening gifts with the girls

crowding around KC's video of the Rickwood Field Baseball Museum

Mom's Birthday dinner at Classic on Noble

When Mama heard that her daughters were coming in town for her birthday she planned a dinner party for herself at Classic on Noble in Anniston, AL. Amongst other surprises that day, Will was with us for dinner! The fried green tomato salad with goat cheese & blackeyed peas (above) was divine. We has so much fun (below). I can't wait to show you more from the rest of the day. I just flew in and it's late so they'll come another day. The weekend was more than I hoped for and just what Mama deserves.

Creamed Corn Recipe

6 medium ears fresh corn

1/4 c butter or margarine

1/4 c water

1/2 c milk or half-and-half

2 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp white pepper

Cut corn from cobs, scraping cobs well to remove all milk. 

Combine corn, butter, and water in a heavy saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until corn is done, stirring occasionally.

Combine remaining ingredients, beating with a whisk until cornstarch is blended; add to corn, stirring well. Cover and cook 3 minutes or until thickened and bubbly, stirring often. 

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

from Southern Living

Camera lover here

Remember when we were so frustrated about our cars being towed over July 4th holiday? I also lost my 55mm - 200mm zoom lens that week for the wonderful Nikon D40 camera Mark gave me 3 years ago. I'm still sad about it. Our pictures since July 4th have been missing a little something and it's the zoom capabilities and polarizing filter.

Do you have any great resources for a reasonably priced zoom lens for our Nikon? Is there a different lens we should consider than the one we lost? Should I get an all-in-one and sell the 18mm - 55mm I already have? I'm leaning in that direction (18mm - 200mm). Weigh in if you've got some experience. I'm itching to buy before the holidays and other photo-worthy events come our way.

Montreal

Our only picture together at the Biodome: an aquarium, zoo, rain forest and nature center in one. 

monkeys from Africa

endangered Lynx and his mate in the rocks from the Canadian climate

rain forest area

Olympic Stadium 

The 1976 Winter Olympic Games were played in Montreal.

interesting entrances to apartments 

We loved the parks and Mont Royal neighborhood especially. 

Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal

I usually take the photos so I'm rarely in them. . .not this time.

I would like to move in to this house. There were so many great stone buildings and homes that now rank as my favorite type of house. This one has a side porch, casement windows in the bedrooms upstairs, fireplaces, faces a great park and i love it. Montreal's French influence makes such a wonderful mark on the food, architecture, and even the way they dress is a little different. The city reminds us of many places in one interesting mix. We didn't make it to the underground city because the day was so nice. I'm sure it's a real lifesaver during the long, long winter. 

Camping in Quebec's Appalachian Mountains

Pictures near the campsite:

fall leaves are starting to change in Quebec

Will you leave a comment if you know what these flowers are called?

mighty dog

The barns are often blue here and I really like it!

vineyard view

vineyard-keepers house

Pictures from Au Diable Vert campsite:

morning mist over the fields

the field made we want to sing "The hills are alive. . ." like the Sound of Music *click here

Mark and I hiked the trails

the view from our sleeping bags

Like our upgraded tent? 

Mark and I have a little different version of our camping trip. I really enjoyed being outside, the crisp air, sleeping in the Taj Mahal of tents (especially after our Memorial Day trip!) and exploring the nearby trails. I decided against the air mattress after our previous experience and thought we'd "tough it" on our ground pads. Mark was wise enough to pack the air mattress and, boy, am I glad! 

Mark tried my idea of sleeping without the air mattress and it didn't work out very well. We went to sleep at 10pm, he was up at 1:30am and tried sleeping in our camping chairs, at 3:00am he tried the car to sleep in, and at 5:30am he hiked up to the shower house to fill the air mattress and drug it down the hill to sleep in the tent. I didn't know any of this was going on because I was totally zonked out in my sleeping bag on the ground mat in the tent :). He woke up at 7:30am a little sore, tight back, and scratchy throat from sleeping in the cold. We did discover better campsites on the meadow that we'd pick over our wooded lot. I think he had a good time, but you'll have to ask him about it. 

We really enjoyed the scenery. It felt like I was back in Schladming, Austria. The hill we were on could see layer upon layer of mountain ranges. The cows were wooly and cut out for alpine living. It was in the 40s at night and about 65 degrees during the day. The people were kind and said "Bonjour" as we passed by. Our hikes reminded me of hours spent on trails around Tauernhof. It made me realize, again, how fortunate I was to have spent time there. 

Fresh veggies make great meals

Luke & Carrie were out of town last week and let us have their weekly farm allowance from their CSA (Red Fire Farms). We used Mama's recipe for creamed corn and I realized then how much i'd missed it! We experimented with kale, which turned out to be tasty. Mark made peach ice cream. 

Amazing weekend ahead

Mark got a new tent for his birthday and wants to go camping again. I'm still dying to go to Montreal since we missed our trip over Thanksgiving last year. We're doing both. Yeah!!!

Check out this website link: www.audiablevert.com

We may have to come back again to stay in the tree house sites. Isn't that incredibly cool?! We'll be in a tent and Jackson will be with us. Stay tuned for our own pictures next week. . .

We're camping in Canada in the Appalachian Mountains. . .from the website: In the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, this huge property of 200 acres overviews the magnificent Missisquoi River Valley, between the Sutton Mountain range and the Green Mountains in the state of Vermont. Located at about an hour and a half from Montreal, an hour from Sherbrooke and just 2 minutes from the Vermont boarder.

Our 100-year old mountain lodge will take you back in time with bear rugs, antlers and alpine memorabilia. The fully licensed terrace overlooks the Missisquoi river valley with the spectacular backdrop of the Green Mountains of Vermont. 14km of private trails with log bridges and interpretation panels, provide direct access to the Sentiers-de-l’Estrie and the over 95km of trails in the Park Sutton and Green Mountain Nature Reserve trail networks. 

Not from 'round here

This guy's truck has a Rebel flag over the American flag and a Patriot sticker. Where did this guy come from? Do country boys exist in central Mass.? How can Patriots and Rebs mix on the same car?

In other news, it was 55 degrees at 6:20am and warmed up to a cool 75 degrees today. I think summer may have come and gone already. I drove from home to Leominster (pronounced Lemon-stir), Gardner, Fitchburg, Marlborough, Framingham and home today visiting small community hospitals in north-central Massachusetts. Much of that area is on the Johnny Appleseed Trail where he was born and grew up. They're ready for Fall apple season to start! I ate lunch at a cute roadside family farm stop and enjoyed the sunny cool breezes.