Happy New Year!

...

Read More

Coconut Quinoa Bars

Earlier this summer, I started a quest to transform myself; lose weight, live healthier and be happier. Using a diet called Ideal Protein I’m happy to report that since June 28, 2014, I'm down 44 lbs and more than 22 total inches. Much to my hubby’s chagrin, I’ve spent more than my allotted $10 per pound lost on new clothes, but he’s got the biggest smile in the room when I walk through the door in my size 4 jeans. But losing was the easy part....

Read More

A Picture is Worth... Two Cents?

One of the saddest things I do is wander antique stores and find boxes of discarded ancestors, those tintypes, dauerreotypes, cdv and cabinet card photos of the names relatives some genealogist will never know. These men, women and children, unnamed and unknown, languish and wait for some creative crafter to snap them up and use them as art. As a crafter who has done just that, they are a great resource; as a genealogical researcher, I...

Read More

This Onion's the Bomb!

I’m at the end of week three of my diet and I’m happy to report I’m down 14.5 pounds. I’ve definitely eaten more vegetables in the last three weeks than I probably have in the last 3 months, I don’t miss the carbs, and Jason and I are eating healthier overall. I will admit, I did long for a glass of wine while out with co-workers last week, but opted for water with lemon instead. So, in the category of eating healthier, I’ve found better...

Read More

An Ideal Diet?

July 6, 2014 I’ve wrestled with my weight most of my adult life, and the evils of menopause have only made a bad situation worse. For years, I’ve been telling people I’m still losing baby weight. Of course, my baby is 28. In my early 20’s, struggling with the stress of a less than optimal marriage and a small child, I faded to 105 lbs. which prompted both my mother the nurse and my Italian grandmother, each drawing on their own rationale...

Read More

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

June 25, 2014 Mother Nature giveth, and then she unceremoniously rips things right out of your hands. Tuesday was a gift. Despite prediction after prediction of a day fraught with thunderstorms, we had a beautiful, sunny day exploring Niagara Falls. I guess you can say we were lucky; other than the walking day in PEI, our days have been crisp, but rain-free. And then there was Wednesday. From the moment we left Niagara Falls, it was a race...

Read More

Falling for Niagara

June 24, 2014 Niagara Falls State Park is America’s oldest national park and at its centerpiece is one of the iconic wonders of the world – Niagara Falls. The majesty and mystery of the three thundering waterfalls – the Horseshoe, Bridal Veil and American Falls – have enticed millions to experience this environmental phenomenon more than 13,000 years in the making. The park was designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted,...

Read More

Barn-o-copia

June 23, 2014 We barreled across the farmlands of upstate New York on Monday, through Jefferson County, Oswego County and countless small map-dot towns on our way to Niagara Falls. It was an early start, but a perfect day for riding - blue skies, puffy white clouds, temperatures in the low sixties. Three states, 322 miles and one great lunch later, we arrived in Watertown, NY.Barns punctuate the landscape of rural America. They are one...

Read More

New York, New York

June 21, 2014 As planned, today began with breakfast at the Littleton Diner. Buckwheat pancakes and sausage for me; eggs, rye toast and corned beef hash for Jason. It definitely lived up to the hype. It was an early start, but a perfect day for riding - blue skies, puffy white clouds, temperatures in the low sixties. Three states, 322 miles and one great lunch later, we arrived in Watertown, NY. With such great scenery unfolding all...

Read More

A Ride Through the White Mountains

June 21, 2014 The skies were blue, the temperature peaked at more than 60 degrees (finally) and we readied ourselves for a sprint through the White Mountains to Littleton, New Hampshire. Scores of bikers rumble across the White Mountains, and why not. The road is amazing, the panoramic scenery spectacular and for the fearless, there's no helmet law. We rolled into Littleton, New Hampshire mid-afternoon. Located just north of Franconia Notch,...

Read More

Red, White and Blue Skies

June 20, 2014 We left New Brunswick under the bluest skies we’d seen on any morning of the ride. It was going home day – back to the United States – Eastern Standard Time zone, dollar bills not coins and road signs in English, not English and French. It was also the genealogy leg of the trip. We were headed to Buckfield, Maine, the birthplace of two of Jason’s Brock ancestors, via Lincoln, Maine, the final resting place of another. Most...

Read More

The Road to Fredericton

It was our last morning on Prince Edward Island and breakfast at Hillhurst Inn did not disappoint. In fact, Jason thought it was the best of the three. The yogurt parfait made a return, and clearly the mini muffins are a staple, but the feature today was delicious French toast (hhhmmm,,, maybe Canadian Toast?) topped with gently warmed, thinly sliced apples. The breakfast was sunny, but the skies over PEI were dismal and bleak. Thick...

Read More

Rain, Rain Go Away

Another wonderful breakfast was served this morning here at the Hillhurst Inn - a grapefruit half (already sectioned - who doesn't love that?!?!?) followed by a delicious spinach and cheese quiche, and another round of the mini muffins and sweet butter. It's been the only sunshine of the day. The weather forecast called for 100% chance of rain today on PEI, and sadly, they were 100% accurate. The good thing is we switched up our ride...

Read More

"Coasting" Around PEI

Oh Canada! We woke on Tuesday to the wonderful scents of home-baked goods wafting up the stairs, something you just don’t get at the Hampton Inn (although the late afternoon white chocolate chunk cookies are a definite plus). We headed down to the dining room, where we met the other house guests – a young couple from Quebec en route to Halifax for a wedding, and an older retired couple from Kingston, Ontario and shared “where-are-you-froms”...

Read More

Funday, Funday...So Good to Me

Oh Canada! New Brunswick’s Bay of Fundy is one of the Marine Wonders of the World. The tide rises as much as 53 vertical feet twice each day. We followed it, unknowing, for miles, until we spied a turnout for a scenic overview and stopped. Two aquamarine Adirondack chairs sit perched on a hill in the center of the parking lot, providing front row seats to a panoramic view of the Fundy, a long ocean bay that stretches between the provinces...

Read More

The Road to Prince Edward Island

I had intended to detail our ride to PEI when we got back to our B&B last night, but the lethal combination of total exhaustion (thanks to fighting crosswinds for most of the day), Jason's snoring and food coma (dinner was awesome), the only thing I could do was sleep. Monday morning was beyond blustery; the wind was fierce and the skies menacing. The only saving grace was the weather forecast - no rain and blue skies, literally,...

Read More