Five Years and Counting....

We got a tourist to take our picture.  He did a good job.

Boarding the Maid of the Mist V.

Bridal Veil Falls

Bridal Veil Falls

Bridle Veil Falls, the American side.  Incredible.  It loses a lot of it's credit because it's right next to one of the seven natural wonders of the world.  What isn't dwarfed next to Niagara's Horseshoe Falls?

It's difficult to see the falls through the mist that it produces.

Soaked from the "mist" of Horseshoe Falls.  It was more like a heavy rain than a mist.

We visited only 4 of the many wineries that dotted the route from Niagara Falls to Niagara-on-the-Lake.

If you've never had Ice Wine, look it up.  It's a dessert wine that's made from grapes that have been harvested after they've frozen in from the Canadian winter.  It's very sweet, but so smooth.

Dustin tasting, yet another, cluster of grapes.

Toronto, across Lake Ontario 

This is the point were my cavities began to scream.

The beginning of our hike

The beginning of the changing of the leaves.

I LOVE AUTUMN!!!!

The trail.

Glory.

It's hard to tell here, but the orange leaves against the blue-green water was just so beautiful.  I had to have my picture taken with a naturally occurring juxtaposition of my favorite color combination.  The picture doesn't do it justice.

Tell me that's not the bluest water you've ever seen flowing from a river.

Dustin climbed to the top of this huge boulder. 

His view from the top.

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.  This was the restaurant we had dinner at.  They have amazing hot apple cider. Mmmmmm! 

The last leg of our drive home.  

We were official Canucks for approximately 3 days.   Though I never really got the hang of the lingo, eh...ay?  I am hopelessly American.

We were in Ontario for the celebration of the 200th year anniversary of the War of 1812.  Though we didn't partake in the festivities, we were reminded by our host that we, the Americans, did lose that war.  Thank you Edwin, for the warm welcome.

Well, we are already brewing up ideas for the 10th anniversary, come 2017.  I am seeing visions of moss covered castles and enchanted moors our ancestors may have roamed.  Ireland, ya'll.  It's gonna happen.  We may have a kiddo or two by then, so grandma and grandpa, mark your calendars for October 2017.  The Tommeys will be heading east to the shores of the Emerald Isle.


Slán go fóill,

the rave

Road Trip + Lots of Mushrooms!

Consider this a photo dump, with a few captions for perspective.

First, I'll preface this mass of photos by saying that Dustin and I, plus Caleb and Amy and also Stan, took a road trip to camp in Western Maine at Rangely State Park in mid-September.

Frosty Delite.  Serving only Giffords Icecream, a Maine-based icecream company.
So, I was debating between Choc. Chip Cookie Dough and a Maple Walnut flavor because, you know, I'm in Maine, maple's yummy and the weather's autumn-esque.  Cookie Dough's my favorite and my go-to, sometimes boring, but always trusty to please.  Well, I asked the 15 year-old behind the counter what she thought about the Maple Walnut.  Her response, "I don't know.  It's an old person flavor.  I mean mostly old people get it".  My response,  "Give me the cookie dough".  Stat!

Dustin looking out over either Rangeley Lake or Mooslookmeguntic Lake.

It rained on us for a day and a half.  You can see the rain moving to the right in this picture.

The Easiest Thing You Could Ever Do

I'm not kidding.  This is so easy, it's hardly worth posting about.

As you may know, there are approximately 5,489,621 pins on Pinterest about making your own homemade laundry detergent.  I've pondered upon many of them for some time now.

Today, in demonstrating to all of you how to make your own LD (laundry detergent, duh) I will also be demonstrating, mostly to myself, the lost art of follow-through.

Follow-through, people.  Follow. Through.

May - Catch Up

It's been almost three months. These things happen.

I must say, I've been a busy little bee since May.

I don't know about you, but I love lists.  My days run more smoothly when I have a list.

So let me break it down for you, Rave-a-lave style...

Wine + Dine 2012

Who doesn't love a good chalkboard sign?!

Yes, I Eat Pie For Breakfast

Lemon Meringue Pie = Happy Birthday Dustin!

He's 27 years old today and Lemon Meringue Pie is still his favorite.  Bar. None.

His Nana and his mom have made it for him, with a graham cracker crust, for many, many years.

I have made it for him on his birthday for at least five years now. 

Four of those five years I have made it with a regular pie crust.  What's funny is that I ALWAYS go back and forth between which crust it's supposed to have.

Is it graham cracker or regular??  Graham cracker sounds great, but I don't think that's how his family makes it. Hmmm...Okay, regular it is.

It should have been graham cracker. It's ALWAYS graham cracker! Argh!

Life Is Happening...Pictures Mostly

The title says it all....Life is whirling by so this a "pictures mostly" post. No time for a lot of words.

I've been busy.  I'm still busy.  But I want to stay in touch, so bear with me please!


Erin Miller just moved in almost a month ago...I helped her re-finish a couple of her dressers.  They turned out so great!