Upstate New York was our home base throughout September. We finished house sitting for my in-laws while they were in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Germany, then stayed a few extra weeks since Andrew is on parental leave. It’s great to have that flexibility right now!
Read
I read Taft by Ann Patchett, so I’ve now finished 6 of her 9 novels. It made me too uncomfortable to recommend wholeheartedly, but I still love her writing. I started a few other books I may mention in upcoming posts. Meanwhile, I think you should check out The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish, Opposite Surprise (a clever board book with fold-out pages), and Goose and Duck (an easy reader by the author of My Side of the Mountain).
Eat
One of my birthday presents was a Heath bar, which was so nostalgic — it tastes exactly like the Skor bites I used to devour. We also sampled some European chocolate in September, including Tony’s Chocolonely, Frey, and Migros.
Speaking of nostalgia, these raspberry jam bars are perfect when you want a non-chocolate square for a potluck, dessert, or snack.
I tried a new technique of roasting beds of potato slices with olive oil, garlic, and thyme, then laying a fish fillet on top for the last 15 minutes of cooking. I recommend!
Do
The kids started a scrapbook of family travels and they’ve already made several entries. First off, we spent a day and a half in Vermont:
- We crossed Lake Champlain on a ferry
- We visited the Ed Week Fish Culture Station
- I had a drink and garlic fries at Waterworks while Andrew took the kids exploring
- We stayed at an Airbnb in Winooski
- We toured the Vermont Teddy Bear factory
- We toured the Ben & Jerry’s factory
- We tried apple cider and doughnuts at Cold Hollow Cider Mill
- I bought everything bagel cheddar at Cabot Creamery
Another week Andrew and his dad took the kids to the Wild Center in Tupper Lake, NY. They watched otters and an albino wood turtle, played on a giant spider web, saw a video about wildlife, and more. Afterwards they went swimming and canoeing at Lake Eaton. It was a long day and it sure looked fun from the pictures!
One afternoon we took the kids to Ottawa:
- We used spending money from our next door neighbour to buy food at Byward Market: danish, beaver tail, crepe, poutine, gelato, all that good stuff!
- We spent a couple of hours in the National Gallery (free on Thursdays from 5pm to 8pm), where we admired some Group of Seven and Monet paintings and found a painting by Tintoretto (artist of the term) and the portrait of Joseph Brant that we read about last year; we even met up with an old friend and her family for a quick visit
Also in September, Malcolm got his cast off! He is doing very well.
Listen
The first hymn the kids and I learned this school year was “For All the Saints” — I love the words and music.
Meditate
“And [God] said to man,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
and to turn away from evil is understanding.'” – Job 28:28