Baltimore!

Last weekend I went to visit my cousins Greg and Liz.  We had a fantastic time! Starting with a barn trip and a ride on Bandit.

In the morning we went to the aquarium, which of course I love.

Greg and Liz in front of the Aquarium on the harbor.

I love the jellies!

We watched a dolphin training which was really fun.

And went into  their rain forest.  These flowers smelled REALLY good! The volunteer was confused, thinking this was the flower that smells like rotten meat, but nobody told the flower.

And teeny tiny frogs just hanging out near by in the open.  Someone could have stuck one in their pocket!

Submarine right outside the aquarium in the harbor...and dragon paddle boats!

 We took a water taxi across the harbor to Fells Point for lunch at Eat Bertha's Mussels, and got coffee and cookies at french bakeries on the water.

 I loved the cobble stone streets and row houses.

A pirate party ship that looked pretty fun.

Back across the harbor to go to a play - Dances with the Holy Ghost.

A memorial to 9/11. 

Apparently these lanterns are a big deal all over Baltimore.
We had dinner before the play and Greg and Liz introduced me to Natty Boh, the Maryland beer that you can't get anywhere else.  I loved it! It has a light pear after taste.

On Saturday we went out to St. Michaels on the East Shore.  I took on The Bomb burger.

Delicious! We went for a bike ride to work all that off...until we got to Justine's Ice Cream shop.  We found the ideal use of our bike's water bottle holders is actually for milkshakes!

Back at home we introduced Liz to Karate Kid - the original of course - for her first time ever!! And Louisa checked in on me.

On Sunday we went to the local farmer's market, and then to Greg and Liz's back yard market picking some of his pumpkins - nearly 20! They only picked 6 as Greg started getting separation anxiety.

Gracie hanging out in the garden with us.

Thank you Greg and Liz for a FANTASTIC trip!!





And to update on my world philanthropy, last month I gave away a bunch of bracelets for the Bangle it Program from Bead for Life.  The bracelets are made in Uganda by women learning job skills to break the cycle of poverty, so I can add Uganda to my list.  I also participated in the Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Walk, so I'll count that on behalf of Finland.


Cambodia
Ecudaor
Finland
India
Kenya
Pakistan
Peru
Romania
Senegal
Sweden
Uganda

Honey and the Hudson

This week in the photography challenge:

I had to take a picture of something I wore that day, but got home late, so here this was the best I had:

The next was of my favorite place.  This fairly sums it up, where I read, write, and hang with the girls.  Oh, and sleep.

From a high angle: (the harvest from my garden that day.)

Whatever I want:

From a low angle:

Something Close Up:

I'm missing a silhouette.  So instead, I played more in Hudson Gardens:

Mom, Connor and Corinne  and I went to Hudson Gardens to see Thomas and Percy the trains.  Connor LOVED them. They were on a really neat track, going around and around and Connor was running up and down with the trains.  He was very excited.  Corinne was a little less so, but she could still sing the Thomas song for me.

And Dad and I spent the morning together over a great breakfast at Terra Cotta Cafe, then two pots of tea (each) at In Tea with great discussions! And he brought me honey from his first harvest!

As for my countries, I went to a great improv comedy show this weekend benefiting Smile Train which means I can add Pakistan to the list.

Now: Cambodia
Ecuador
India
Kenya
Pakistan
Peru
Romania
Senegal
Sweden

Multi-Media Creative Day!

A little caffeine goes a long way for me! I visited a new and cute tea shop - In-Tea - in old Littleton today to do some writing, and when I got home I did some painting:

And made a purse:

Nikko wanted to help me with an earlier project that I had to put aside:

This morning I picked a bunch of tomatoes from my garden (even more than shown!) to take to the family.

And I'm starting a 30 day photography challenge.  Each day has an assignment and today's was to take a photo of myself. (I meant to do it that way, I swear.)

I figure this is a fun way to practice with my new camera.  Here are some other shots I've practiced on in the past few months:

And this month's philanthropic project is from Heifer International to help Senegal.

That brings my list up to:

Peru
Cambodia
India
Kenya
Ecuador
Romania
Sweden
Senegal

Cupcake Taste Test

Yesterday,  I finally got to do the ultimate cupcake taste test I've been wanting to do for a while, with help from a friend.
Jeff and I got cupcakes from The Shoppe, on East Colfax, and Happy Cakes in the Highlands.  We got a variety of flavors - Rainbow Sherbet, Chocolate Chip Butterscotch, Ginger Peach, Banana Split, Killa Bee, Boo Bear, Dirt Pie, Chocolate Salted Caramel, French Toast - and determined a very scientific criteria to judge the cupcakes.  Note - 6 of those were mini cupcakes (one bites) from The Shoppe, so we weren't total gluttons.  On a 10 point scale, we rated each cupcake based on presentation, flavor, ratio of cake to icing, cake, and creativity. 

When all was said and done - and eaten, 2 of our 3 favorites were from The Shoppe...but Happy Cakes gets extra points for awesomeness for sneaking the Dirt Pie into our box. 
I'm glad we did it, so I don't have to eat that many cupcakes ever again.  Or at least for a long while.