Fab Fall

 It is Fabulous fall and we have been enjoying the beautiful weather. The leaves changing here in New England have no comparison.

 Here, my little guy is sitting in a leave pile. It is always such a fun fall past time, but it is hard to bag those leaves with little ones tossing them about.

 My friend, knowing what a cup cake enthusiast I am brought a delightful variety of Georgetown cupcakes to my home.

 They were all really good. I especially enjoyed the carrot cake which was surprising because I am usually not much of a fan especially if there is chocolate or mocha available.

 We did a little Columbus Day sight seeing down in Sandwich Ma. Here is a church in the town center that celebrated it's 375 year history this summer.

 Here, is an old mill. A beautiful setting for wedding pictures. We saw a bunch of kids going to Home Coming dances getting there pictures taken.

 Here, is my son at Lookout Farm in Natick, MA.  The weather was ideal. The perfect Indian Summer day.

 Here my son is picking Asian pears, yum! Below the two little cousins are posing with some gigantic apples they just picked. It took only four apples to make a pie. Great time of year!

Farewell Summer 2014!

 Here, are few little snippets of the summer. Today, I officially realized that fall is closing in. It is time to put away the pastel cotton frocks of summer and drag out the jackets, sweaters, scarves and  ponchos from boxes in the attic  and shelves in closets. We had a wonderful summer.  It was off to a cool start, which was actually nice because we were able to take a lot of little field trips. Above, you can see one of my boys sitting on top of a fake bull at Sturbridge Village here in MA. The Villiage has a lot of turn of the century sites to see.

 Here, one of my sons is proudly sporting a top hat and a smart, tailed over coat. He looks for like a chimney sweep than a respectable militia man. I guess back in the day every citizen who could hold a gun had to be part of their local militia, here in New England.  The ridiculous part of it was, not only was the position required but each man had to purchase his own weapon and uniform. Pretty unfair for poor farmers and tradesmen.

 Here, the lads are looking at some heirloom sheep, just looked like regular sheep to me. Below the boys are being silly.

 There was a lot of outdoor adventuring and hiking. The cooler weather made it perfect for picnics and kept away the usual annoying mosquitoes and gnats.

 There were lazy days of squirt guns and playing in the little pools at home and at friends houses.

 There were a ton of tomatoes in the garden this year. The little cherry tomatoes were the most successful. My boys would just take them off the vine, rub them clean and pop them in their mouths, when they were playing outdoors.

 There were a lot of nice days at the beach, fishing and summer evening walks.

 We attended the Cape Cod Canal 100 Year Anniversary celebration which had great music and good food. We were also able to attend the festivities at the nearby MASS Maritime College where historical boats and free battle ship tours went on through out the day.

 Above, there was a somewhat scary/pretty bubble blowing fish walking around. It just added another element of fun to the celebration.

 There was metal detecting and swimming at the ocean in Marshfield and several frosty treats to be had at the Dairy Queen. My little guy fell asleep after a long day of fun.

 In July, another son took second place in Wrestling at the Bay State Games, in Boston. He lost by one point which the video later showed was a bad call by the referee. Sounds like I might be still feeling a little bitter about it.

 There were a lot of days at the park and visiting local historical monuments and tourist destinations.

 Here, we can see the oldest known chair in the country which is on display at the Dedham Historical Society.

 There was definitely a lot to be thankful for.  However, it is time to say goodbye to summer and flip flops and hello to my favorite time of the year. Autumn. I hope I will be able to find the time to add something interesting to this otherwise lack luster blog.Right now, I have got to get started on my closets.

I love Disney!

 I love Disney World! I especially love Vintage Disney World. Above I have a picture of one of my favorite Disney Books. It is all about Walt Disney's vision for the park and different attractions.  I especially love the photos with people dressed in their Sunday best to go enjoy themselves on the amusement rides.

 Here we see an adorable girl is an adorable frock meeting Snow White. What a magical moment! You can see her brother holding the Mickey balloon is a little apprehensive.

 Here we have tin container of one of my favorite sweets, salt water taffy. This Mickey figurine just put a smile on my face.

 Here are several Disney character cups.  My personal cup is the Pluto, I feel like he is a classic unsung hero in the Disney franchise and they should really do more with his character. It seem everyone loves dogs these days.

 Here is a picture of a Mickey hand oven mitt, a coaster and some more little plastic figurines. I got these by going to a few seminars they were having at the park. You could earn these little toys when you asked or answered a question. You can also see a Victorian box of soap from the hotel Grand Floridian. That is one of my favorite spots at the park. I stayed there during my Honeymoon. It was very pricey but the high tae was to die for.

 Above and below we can see a variety of really fun Japanese candies and some adorable mini Hello Kitty stickers. They have a really fun part of the Disney park where you can visit small attractions from around the world in an international country showcase. I really liked the German Beer Garden's "all you can eat" buffet and Japan. The people that work in these different sections of the park are from the actual country and there is usually some customary performances going on.

 I love the candy sushi! One got a little melted. I also collect charms from the park. Here are just a few. I love the blue wizard hat. Below we can some assorted Japanese tea and bubble tea Tapioca pearls. I love bubble tea and it is hard to come by in Boston but it isn't hard to make assorted flavors yourself at home if you have the tapioca pearls.

 Here are a few of my boys meeting Mickey, what a thrill! I would strongly advise any one to take a trip to Disney it has something for everyone and it doesn't have to be outrageously expensive.For example, staying at a cabin in camp wilderness is a great way to cut down on food costs with their own eat in kitchens and barbecue grills. They also have camp grounds for tents and trailers. You are guaranteed to have memories that will last a lifetime.

A trip up North

This is the beautiful Von Trapp resort in Vermont.  It is a bit of a hike from Boston but well worth it is you love nature and beautiful scenic views.  It was home to the famous Von Trapp family of Sound of Music fame. I have been to Switzerland and the scenery here is very similar. I could see why a European family would want to make it their home. They had nice little gift shops and film about the history of the resort and the family. The restaurants were a little pricey but the condo had a full, beautiful kitchen so we didn't eat out much.

Signs for moose, deer and turtle crossing was not unusual. We were fortunate to see some of the local wild life from a distance. Moose are much bigger than I ever knew. There were plenty of bike trails and hiking trails not to mention the resort had a pool and tennis court.

This is a view from the balcony in the bedroom. Really quite breath taking and so serene to be sitting there with a big cup of tea and listening to the birds.

My children enjoyed it as well. Here are a few of my boys sun bathing. They were covering their faces because they didn't want freckles. Who ever said boys weren't as vain as girls haven't met my guys. We even managed to finish a puzzle we found in the cabinet of the condo. The puzzle picture was little winter-y but still quite rewarding, and good family fun.

The last two photos are just the boys hiking and getting ready to swim in this creek. It was freezing cold by the way. It was a great getaway.  Vermont has everything and it is an environmentalists dream. The people of Vermont really seem to embrace a good, natural, healthy quality of life. They are the home of Ben and Jerry's ice cream, yum,and some really great chocolate and cheese shops.Their bumper sticker says, " I Lovermont".........I have to agree.

Flag Day and Fairs

 Summertime is here. A time for cook outs, carnivals, flea markets, parades and the beach. Such a wonderful time of the year.  I couldn't resist taking a snapshot of this fun, brightly colored novelty display. You really can't go wrong with an inflatable pink unicorn.  I didn't realize how much I needed or wanted half of these items until I saw them.

 This mini Ferris wheel was just my speed.  I wish I had one of these in my own backyard.

 Here a couple of the boys trying to figure out how to make the plane rise up...they got the hang of it eventually.

 It has many names but I will always think of this amusement ride as the classic Tilt a Whirl....It never did tilt, just spun around as well as using hand propelled motion like the tea cups in Disney World. Classic nausea and fun.

Look, who could this be? It is Elmo and Cookie Monster of course and upon further inspection it was nice to see both were sporting lovey manicures in nice summer nail polish colors. I don't think my little guys noticed.

 Here are a few picks from Dedham's Flag Day Parade. It is the biggest Flag Day Parade in America. There were classic cars, Boston style patriot as well as many fraternal order and high school marching bands. There were many veterans as well as fire trucks, and police marching in full uniform or on horseback.

 Politicians, organizations and businesses were there as well. They all threw assorted candies, mardi gras beads and handed out American flags and red, white and blue memorabilia. The kids love it.

 There were a couple of old timey jazz ensembles and barber shop quartets, as well as clowns costumes and vendors selling their wares. Hot pretzels, snow cones and party poppers are always a hit. Of course the highlight of the parade was the display of small town American pride and waving of the flag. Politics aside it is always great to see people come together for love of country, especially in such an ethnically diverse town like Dedham. A great time was had by all.

Some of my Closest Friends

 Maybe I do have a little problem. I am addicted to dolls. All kinds. I have literally hundreds. I have some over a hundred years old and some I just bought this year. Here are just a few different kinds of dolls I like. Starting with Barbie. Yes I love her...but it more about the fashion. I mean so many fashion designers collect Barbie.  I have several from Bob Mackie. I even heard Andy Warhol collected her. I am friends with many Barbie collectors around the world through Facebook. It is reassuring to know I am in such good, crazy company.

 Here are some of my Dawn Dolls. They are from 1970. She was like a mini Barbie doll and had just as many cute fashions and accessories. The great thing about Dawn is she could fit in the average size doll house. I remember giving her out at my seventh birthday as party favors. My friend recently gave me the two she and her sister got at my party. Imagine, their Mom saved them.  There are lots of advantages to being a hoarder.

 Next we have some antique German dolls. I have at least ten. They have beautiful glass eyes. They really freak out my husband and sons.

 Here was Mattel's Dawn-like knock off. The Rock Flowers. They were also sold in the U.K. but were nowhere as popular as Dawn.

 Heres a cute celluloid, mini walker from the forties. They were very sweet stringed dolls that could swing their legs and move their head from side to side by pushing them across the floor.

 I love when worlds collide. My father gave me this beautiful classic Ponytail Barbie giving gifts to snow babies. It was a very pricey gift and I really love it.

 Here is another Barbie knock off. At first I thought she might be from Japan but I think know she is from America. She is a tiny bit taller than the Barbies of that time.

 This is a Tressy Doll. Her hair used to grow and you could wash and style it. She came with a lot of cute outfits as well.

 This is a boudoir doll or a dresser doll by the Bradley doll company. I think every girl in the seventies had one. Some were even made into lamps.

 Here is an imitation Skipper doll. This is her original outfit.

 And of course I needed to add Liddle Kiddles. I have many of them. They have so many different kinds and themes, they are a pricey thing to collect. These are a few perfume Kiddles. Anyway, I thought I would share just a small part of my crazy obsession.  Have a great week!!!