Weekend Visit

We had a great visit to Cooperstown this past weekend.  Some of the highlights include:
A beautiful drive through Virginia, Maryland, & central Pennsylvania
A warm welcome and delicious meal of hamballs with George Washington pie for dessert
An enjoyable walk with Aunt Judy to visit the bridge under construction on Lake Creek Road
A beautiful evening on the porch watching the birds, frogs, bugs, and bats
A ride on Grandpa's tractor!

An array of delicious veggies fresh from the garden, including corn, squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes

An adventure with Matthew down the Allegheny river

A fun evening visiting Amber, Jeremy, and the adorable Hannah
A new experience making hobo pies for the first time...of course, in the rain!
A Sunday morning worship service at McDaniel's with Grandma & Grandpa
A delicious Sunday dinner with Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Judy, Uncle Ron, Aunt Darlene, and Matthew...baked ham, baked beans, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, tomatoes, homemade bread, cherry tomato & cucumber salad, dilly beans, and carrot cake for dessert
An afternoon of board games and conversation

A carload of goodies to take home on Monday morning...canned pears, tomato juice, tomatoes, zucchini, winter squash, onions, bell peppers, homemade bread, cookies, broccoli, and ham salad sandwiches!

A humorous note in our car along with a few "goodies" left behind by a mysterious friend

A strange sight to come back to in our driveway

A happy dog to come home to

A bunch of great memories to now enjoy!

Beach Cave!

We are excited about our upcoming trip to Ocean City, Maryland with Sarah and Jason this weekend. In preparation, Patrick found the perfect beach accessory for red-heads (and maybe all Shay children who happen to get irritable in the sun). The BEACH CAVE - or at least that's what we call it. Can't wait to use it again this weekend!

Christmas layaway

Before the days of plastic credit cards, some shoppers would place their Christmas gift purchases on "layaway" until their gift could be fully redeemed.  Jason and Sarah are hoping to redeem their gift this Christmas.

The dog days of summer . . .

While the attribution of the term “the dog days of summer” is to the belief that the star Sirius is responsible for hot weather, what is certain to anyone who spends time with a healthy dog in the middle of summer, summertime, for a dog, is a season of special delights. This post is an invitation to the Shay Clan, during these hot summer days, to share in images and words, the experience of observing their canines enjoy the season of the dog.




We’ll start with some history as we remember the several “Mr. Mugs” of years past (thanks to Judy for providing these images from the family photo archive)

Mugs #2

Mugs #1 with young Judith

Then on to the present day with Raya looking to entertain herself while bored at "summer camp" . . .

In Virginia, Penny spends her summer days scoping out the perfect sunning spot to work on her tan. Today she started out in the mulch, tried to eat some bugs, and then sprawled out on the back porch. At over 100 degrees for the next 3 days, these certainly are the dog days here in Richmond.

A day in the life . . .

Having suitable employment is a great blessing.  Having a pleasant workplace in scenic surroundings with friendly co-workers is an even greater blessing.  In past generations, it was more common for children to share in their parents' workday.  Today, that is much less common for most families.  The daily routine outside the home is not well well known to loved ones.  Here's what my routine looks like most days . . .

Up at 4:30 am.  Shower, shave, coffee, news/weather. Catch the VIA 606 bus at 5:45 and transfer to the VIA 91 southbound bus at the Medical Center Transit Center. 

Off the 91 bus at St. Marys and Villita with one block walk east along the Riverwalk

Up the steps to street level with a view of the building where I spend the workday. . .

In the office at 6:30 am.  Simple cubicle with the essential requirements for my assignments.  Computer, phone, comfortable chair.

Lunch time walk, in this case, the historic Presa bridge manufactured by the Berlin Bridge Co. in 1890.  After the railroad came to San Antonio, iron bridges were purchased by the city from manufacturers in the northeast to span the river and the city quickly realized a new prosperity from the resulting expansion of transportation and commerce. 

In the afternoon, after earning my keep for another day, I catch the VIA 91 north to the Medical Center and chalk up another blessed workday.

Fresh Veggies!

Patrick and I joined a local community supported agriculture group (or CSA) where we are able to pick up a batch of fresh and local veggies each Wednesday evening. We're now on week 3 and so far we've gotten two types of squash, beets, fennel, basil, parsley, new potatoes, zucchini, chives, swiss chard, lettuce, and two types of cucumbers. It's been really fun trying out new recipes and I think it's keeping us healthy, too! One of our favorite new dishes is a recipe called "French Peasant Beets" given to me by a coworker using beets, beet greens, and swiss chard. The best part is that it's served with a creamy goat cheese (Bucheron) and a crusty loaf of bread!

Today I also tried out a recipe for "refrigerator pickles", a simple method of making pickles without going through the whole canning process. We're supposed to let them marinate for a few days before opening them up, so we'll let you know they turn out. Also, notice how much basil we have in the glass beside the pickles! Hope you all have a great week.

Small things

Small things sometimes make a big difference in this world. For example, among our neighbors, we are thankful for a family of Bewick’s wrens [Thryomanes bewickii] (pronounced BYWE-icks, like the Buick car).

Last season, they nested in one of our hanging baskets. This year we placed a new ceramic wren house on our patio and these friends quickly found it and took up housekeeping there. The house has ventilation holes in the bottom and a door on the back for easy clean out when the nesting season is over.

Our friends entertain us with their songs and cute antics. They are busy most of the day foraging for insects and small worms. The Mrs. was a stay-at-home mom while she sat on the nest, but now both the Mr. and Mrs. are “bringing home the bacon”.

The links below have more information about these wonderful creatures, including recordings of their songs.

http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/135/overview/Bewicks_Wren.aspx
http://www.seattleaudubon.org/birdweb/bird_details.aspx?id=339

In a world where, most days, people value "bigger is better" and "super size me", we may be a bit contrarian to value "small is beautiful".  We grieve over the damage done to the Gulf coast habitat and the host of God's creatures and livelihoods damaged and lost because of our carelessness.  We don't have a "Drill, baby, drill" bumper sticker nor do we favor a policy of consumption at the cost of our little friends.  We can't fix the wrongs done, but we can take our place and do our part to value smallness and eschew a lifestyle that consumes more than we ourselves need as we responsibly tend the garden of God's creation.