Great things I did on my summer "vacation"...

...and it's not even half over yet!

1) Went on a 3,008-mile road trip with Scott to visit friends, family, grandkids, and an old college buddy.

2) Had dinner in Andover with Kel.

3) Talked on the phone regularly with Robin in Canada.

4) Helped Laurel and Conrado (and Bumbers) move into their first new home!

5) Went surfing with Scottie and Mattie in Hull at the wonderful (and missed) Nantasket Beach...followed up by dinner at our favorite Indian restaurant, Punjab Cafe in Quincy.

6) Went kayaking on a beautiful mountain lake with Barb and Ted.

7) Planted flowers on Dad's pretend grave for Father's Day and introduced Scott to the Concord Beef & Seafood store. (And later, the quirky, strange and delicious Gas Lighter Restaurant, which has a Ms. Pac Man machine!!!...I am in heaven.)

8) Hiked up to the Canterbury Water Tower with Izzy and Tammy.

9) Doggie-sat for Dufus, our favorite canine neighbor.

10) Went to Beech Hill Farm (to visit our favorite goats and their new goat-lings, donkey, and ice cream barn), and to Dimond Hill Farm for incredibly fresh and delicious produce.

11) Started going weekly to the Concord Farmers' Market, and sometimes the Art Market and other local farm stands.

12) Went to the wonderful hidden treasure, the Mill Brook Gallery and Sculpture Garden.

13) Took photographic adventures with Scott, including Merrill Pond and Bear Brook State Park, to name a few.

14) Saw the hysterical musical, "A Year with Frog and Toad," and yes, I said Frog and Toad.

15) Had a great Fourth of July with Mom, Laurel and family, and Scott, including swimming at the pool AND Lake Winnisquam, and fireworks in downtown Laconia.

16) Swam in the Merrimack River with Mom and Scott on a lazy hot afternoon.

17) Went to warm and inviting gatherings with White Mountain Sangha.

18) Enjoyed backyard-neighbor barbecues and fellowshipping.

19) SWAM IN OUR NEW POOL!!!!

20) Just enjoyed a wonderful and too-fast weekend at Grape Island in Maine with Laurel & Co. and Laurel's family, including old summertime friends and Conrado's sister Shanti (whom we just love).

What am I missing? I'm sure I'll remember some other fun soon.

I am blessed and grateful.

~ Ally

(photo by Scott Snyder)

Opossum

I saw a possum tonight, right at our neighbor's porch, a mere fifteen feet from me. Judy went to investigate (though I told her not to). He stood there for a while, then ambled, wobbly, away. He ducked under the part of the fence that's bent up, which our cats use many times a day to explore the neighborhood behind our condo. He was beautiful. These photos are from the Web. My possum looked most like the first picture.

What a rare sight and a blessing to me.
~Ally

For Donna

I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid
and self-contain'd,
I stand and look at them long and long.

They do not sweat and whine about their condition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of
owning things,
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands
of years ago,
Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.

~Walt Whitman

(loon photo by Larry Cox)

What we've been up to

I processed some of my photos tonight and wanted to show you what Scott and I have been doing.

This is Bear Brook State Park, where we went in October. It's so beautiful there.


On the anniversary of our wedding, we went to the apple orchard in Canterbury, and saw these little chickens in the road~
At the orchard...

I saw this tree at Bear Brook and thought it was so stunning and comforting.
This is Sarge, my friend from Concord. We visited his sister's grave.

And you know this guy.
Here are a few great shots by Scott that you may have missed:

The spotted newt, New Hampshire's state amphibian~







Which was your favorite?

~Ally

Man Saves Ducks, Becomes Hero...

I'll Have a Cheezits, a Pepsi, and a Raccoon...What?

Just when you thought you'd seen it all...

Young Raccoons Saved from Pepsi Machine @ Yahoo! Video

Love this crazy wild World Wide Web!

Thanks and Dreams

Tip: Check out the great new painting "Woofstock" at Time with Tascha.

Hello friends~

Thought I'd do a brief gratefulness list:

1. Scott's daughter Hillary and her husband Dustie are doing well with the kids. But say a prayer for them, as they are grieving the loss of Dustie's brother who passed unexpectedly.

2. My friendship with the little old man is coming together nicely, and I think of the time spent as "volunteer work." Doing nice things for him is helping me as much as it helps him.

3. Mom and I plowed through two weeks of old moldy boxes - remnants of several previous cross country moves - and pitched about 80% of all of that stuff. Don't worry, Lauren, we kept all the memorabilia and great children's books. We cleaned and repacked everything to keep and we will be mold free very soon!

4. No hives from the mold. Yeehaw!

5. Despite uncovering MAJOR political and idealistic differences between me and my old friends reclaimed on Facebook, I have rekindled some old friendships. Bringing Past Allison and Present Allison together must be good for self-development. Right?

And a few dreams:

1. I would love to have a little curly-haired daughter with big green eyes someday; we will walk hand in hand through Autumn leaves in the park, chasing the dogs and kicking leaves wherever we go. We will tell secrets at night and sing every song we know in the dark, with a candle burning (just like Lauren and I did with our mom). She will probably be too smart for her own good and emotional like me (and Scott), but she will be irresistible because of those qualities.

2. We hope to find a big farm house with a mother-in-law cottage, on a few acres in NH or Vermont. Mom will live with us part of the year, and have enough money to go back and forth to Mexico and stay with Lauren and Co. We will have some dogs and maybe a llama or three, a few rascally goats, and a brown-eyed cow.

3. I want to have a burial plot for Dad at the Blossom Hill Cemetery (also called Calvary Cemetery) in Concord. I want to be able to stop there on the way home from work and say a few words to him, tend the flowers, and rest.

What's on your heart these days?

~Ally

Relaxxxxxxx

Looking for some good old R & R...

A cat relaxes in the morning sun on a terrace near Kiel, northern Germany, as temperatures reach 18 degrees Celsius (64.4 Fahrenheit) on Monday morning, June 1, 2009.

 (AP Photo/Heribert Proepper)

Piggie piggie

(this great photo by my friend Steven Johnson)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7941385@N05/sets/72157617619262711/

"We don't know nuthin 'bout no Swine Flu!"

Visiting the Llamas and Alpacas at Cicely Farm

Stoneham Zoo

On Presidents' Day, Scott and I went to the Stone Zoo, a delightful family zoo in nearby Stoneham, Massachusetts. As it was the dead of winter, we were pleased to see the animals and exhibits were very much alive at the zoo, and at least half of the regular features were available for viewing.

Scott took some beautiful pictures; mine did not come out very well, and of course all were shot through plastic or wire barriers. But if you love animals like I do, I think you will enjoy these pictures just the same. This is a brief sampling of some of the wonders to behold at Stone Zoo. You really must visit! It's a good size for taking children, and they have coupons on the website. There is an indoor learning center if you get chilly.

First we saw a habitat with two beautiful bears. I could have stayed and watched them all day.

Umm, sticks are delicious!
Here's Billy, some kind of mountain goat, hanging out on the edge.
Gorgeous cougar.
And a trying-to-nap coyote.
Flamingos, who are absolutely fascinating and silly and wicked smelly!

And there is Humanus Artistus - you never thought about it, did you? Somebody has to paint all those murals!
Lynx-y, before he got up and amused me with some beautiful yoga postures.
Though this picture does an injustice to the majestic set of antlers on this lovely Reindeer, I just loved the peaceful expression on his face. [I am reading Life of Pi right now and Pi would chastise me for anthropomorphizing animals. Maybe I should say looking at him makes me feel peaceful.]
Thought you might be interested in these fun facts about our national emblem, the eagle.
And one more beautiful bear. The bear is my totem animal, and I feel much love for them.
Hope you enjoyed your visit to the zoo!

~Ally