Some Funnies from Marilyn

 Enjoy these while I take another mini break.

Updates

Reading Sue of Suffolk's blog this morning where she highlights books from the library, reminded me that I haven't added to my Books Read 2025 page since book #20.  I just finished book #46 so that's more than double the books first posted.

As I entered #21-#46 on the list, I could remember some of the plots but others escaped my memory.  I know I read them but they were not memorable in the long run.

Here are some that were: 

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes.  I have read quite a few of her books and really like her writing style.

Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn.  Mrs. Queen is Queen Elizabeth II and this is a charming story, a picture into life in a castle.

Memorial Days - A Memoir by Geraldine Brooks.  I have read lots of her books with Horse being the most recent.  This is a tribute to her husband Tony Horwitz, also an author who died suddenly on a book tour.

You will see several books by Cynthia Riggs.  She's an author of mysteries set in Martha's Vineyard, her home town, with the sleuth being a 92 year old woman.  I have read at least 6 or 7 of her books now but have realized that there is a formula she's using so will pause for now.

I just started a series by Archer Mayor recommended to me by a friend.  He's a Vermont author and settings are places familiar to me. His first was published in 1988 with the protaganist Joe Gunther being in his 40s.  His latest is 2022.  That would mean that Gunther is now in his 70s if he's keeping it in present day.  I guess I'll find out as I work through this series. It was quite a page turner.

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In other news it has been 5 years since we moved from the retirement community in Columbia, Maryland and nine years since we moved from The Lodge, the house we built in Baltimore County. How our lives have changed in that time.

Here's what I wrote about our move to Vantage House in 2016: Post

And here's one from when we settled in NH in July 2020: Post

Though living in a retirement community seemed like the best thing to do when we moved there, Covid and the move of daughter, Sarah, and her family from MD to Buffalo changed things a lot. We weighed moving to Buffalo vs. moving to NH, where Emily, our oldest lived.  NH was the best choice.  Even Sarah agreed as she attended college here just like Emily. 

We have been so fortunate in many regards but the principle benefit has been finding this house. Actually granddaughter #2 saw the For Sale sign, and can claim she found it for us. She was almost 4 at the time.  There have been so many things that I didn't know I missed doing at the retirement community that I now am doing again - chiefly gardening and cooking! And life being close to 2 of the 4 granddaughters is wonderful.  We wish the others lived closer too and maybe one day!

Our Trip to Quebec, Canada - Part 3B Gaspe

This is the very last post of this trip to Quebec and the Gaspe Peninsula.

Our first full day in the town of Gaspe we went exploring.  First stop was the museum devoted to the indigenous peoples of this area - the MicMac de Gespeg.  Though I didn't take any photographs in the museum buildiing I did capture these recreated lodgings made of birch poles and bark.

None of these structures when in use were permanent. Family units moved from place to place depending upon the season.  These structures were easily taken down and moved.

Our next stop was a beach in the Parc National Forillon where we had been told by a server at dinner the evening before that it was a good spot for spying whales.

Not one in sight so we headed to the parking area and trailhead for a walk to the End of the World.  Named such by the MicMac because it was the eastern most point of the Gaspe Peninsula. 

When we got there the parking was full and I realized there were no restrooms/latrines there.  We turned back and spied one sitting on a hill above this picnic table.

Feeling more comfortable for the hike of 2.5 miles one way we returned and were lucky to find someone leaving a very close parking spot.  We set off on our hike.

It was a very popular hike especially on a blue sky day on the Monday preceding Canada Day.

Though we put on bug spray we neglected to consider the need for sun screen as I discovered that evening with sunburned arms.

Here is the destination point.

We arrived just as the fog rolled in.

We had a clementine each but no water.  We did okay.

Below you can see the fog line.

It felt like we walked up hill both ways.

Another view of the fog line and a bird I caught by accident.

Five miles roundtrip was a lot for both of us but well worth the sore muscles.

After lunch we continued our exploring and visited Manoir Le Boutillier - the headquarters for the John Boutillier Company which was involved in drying fish and trading with the West Indies and England.

This was not his home but it was the residence for his employees.

Sorry no photos inside but I thought the outside was striking.

Canada Day, July 1st, was another beautiful day.  We took the walkway along the river to the Musee de la Gaspesie - Gaspe Museum.  The museum did an incredible job explaining the history of the area.  One of the best historical exhibits we've seen in our travels.  They even had virtual reality headgear to put on to experience being on a fishing boat.

I didn't take any photos in the museum but if you travel to Gaspe you must visit this venue.

Lunch was in a bakery and ended with this dessert that we shared.

I had hot cocoa too!

We thought we'd see fireworks the evening of the first but because of the cost the town of Gaspe did not have any to celebrate.  

We spent the afternoon enjoying the sun on the deck of the Auberge.

We departed on the 2nd with a brief stop in Perce where we finally found some Canada t-shirts for the granddaughters. We also stopped to view Perce Rock.  Fog was almost obscuring it.

Can you see the little opening on the water line?

 

Our final night in Quebec was in Carleton-sur-Mer where we stayed one night.  It was definitely a beach town but we were tired and ready to head home.  We got up very early on the 3rd and departed there at 5:30 not wanting to wait around for breakfast at 7:00.  We were in Bangor, Maine before noontime which was our planned overnight stop but we called them to say our plans had changed and could we get a credit since it was a non-refundable reservation.  They graciously canceled it instead since the charge had yet to be made.  Thank you Hampton Inn!

We just kept on driving and arrived home 12 hours after departing Quebec.  Traffic the day before our Independence Day holiday was fairly light southbound through Maine especially compared to northbound traffic.  All those folks headed to Maine beaches.

Glad to have made the trip to Quebec and Gaspe but nice to be home, too.