Goodbye, Betsy!

After 6 years of owning and loving Betsy, the 1974 VW Beetle that Dan picked up in the Philippines, it was time to say goodbye. We paid our respects and took some last pics of the red beauty yesterday.


Dan gave her a good polishing, and then handed her off to her new owner, Adrian, who came all the way from Birmingham to pick her up.





We'll miss her. She gave us some great memories, but we know she'll be loved by a new family. Adios!

Birthday Girl

We spent last weekend in Nottingham to celebrate the 60th birthday of Dan's mum, Chris. It was nice for everyone to flock home and catch up with family and friends. On Saturday morning we got together for our first family picture, taken at a place called Venture Portraits. None of the regular posing or "turn your chin to the left" commands here. Instead the photographer asked us to jump, roll on the floor, run across the studio, and various other strenuous activities that had me longing for a nap afterwards. Or maybe that was the 9am photo call. Regardless, the end results must be amazing, because he got some really natural, spontaneous shots from us. We haven't actually seen the finished product yet, since they don't give out digital copies (I wonder why...), but when confronted with the final sleek and sassy selection of portraits I'm sure we'll all be torn.

Later that day we spent time admiring Dave's garden--or rather, full-fledged organic farm--where he is currently growing corn, squash, lettuce, rhubarb, cucumber, beans, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, sunflowers, enough food to feed a Mayflower colony. To think that this is all in one man's backyard!

Chris's birthday celebration that night was a barn dance, and after a few glasses of wine we stomped around in various jigs, reels, and do-si-dos. I even joined the band for a few dances on my violin. There was a lot of activity that night--we managed to fog up the windows of the church hall with our mad dancing.

The party didn't stop there, however. The next day was Sunday lunch at Chris & Dave's house. At the end of the day we gathered together for the traditional photo in the garden. It took us a while to organize ourselves.
But after a few hours we finally held still for that magic moment!

Maine Mania

Dan and I enjoyed a beautiful trip to Acadia National Park in northeast Maine, where my friends Montie and Tom tied the knot. This was our first visit to Maine. Even though I had pretty much covered all of New England (via trips made during university or cross-country family vacations), Maine was the one state in this area that had eluded me.

Our original intention was to land in Portland and immediately make the 4-hour drive to Mt. Desert Island, where the wedding was going to take place. But our plane was delayed in Newark, NJ due to an air traffic control "computer glitch." Note to self: try to avoid Newark Airport if you can. We were delayed about 3 hours (We were also delayed AN EXTRA DAY on the return trip). Since it was late at night and we were jet-lagged when we arrived, we decided to spend the night in Portland. Fortunately we found a Howard Johnsons that had rooms available, which brought me back to those childhood days of family road-trips to Disney World.

Woke up the next day and made the journey refreshed and in daylight, and we were glad we did-the drive to Mt. Desert Island was gorgeous. The wedding was held at The Asticou Inn in Northeast Harbor, and it was a beautiful sunny day. As it was a Dartmouth wedding, the Big Green held its spell on everyone, and it was great to catch up with friends. After the ceremony, we had a fantastic lobster dinner. The food on this trip was amazing, though Dan and I are currently undergoing a detox diet as I make this post. After four solid days of eating hearty American breakfasts, beers, steak, and lobster, we needed to fast.

At the Jordan Pond House in the nat'l park, we stopped for lunch and saw that they offered something called a "popover," which was a local specialty. We ordered it out of curiosity, and realized that it's a Yorkshire Pudding! They served it with strawberry jam, which actually tasted pretty good.

The day after the wedding, we went around Acadia National Park. We also visited the Asticou Azalea Gardens and the Atlantic Brewing Company, a microbrewery on the island. It was a beautiful trip, and our time in Maine generally consisted of walking around in the blissful sunshine, enjoying the views, tasting great food, and having our hearts warmed by the laid-back locals.

We fell in love with the place, and hope to return someday. Thanks Montie & Tom for inviting us out there! Pics here.

Already June?!?!?!

We have finally been blessed with some proper sunshine, so that means opening the doors and spending some quality time in our little garden. Yesterday Dan planted some marigolds, which were subsequently attacked and eaten by a horde of snails. We are attempting to save the stubs that are left.

May has been a busy month, hence the lack of posts. My original goal was to do a weekly thing but I haven't formed blogging as a habit yet. I just finished an awesome book sent by my mom, Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat, which I wish I read two years ago but oh well. If you want evidence of how the world is changing, check out my nephew's new site at www.IslandBoyArt.com. He is already well ahead of the game. Remember, he's only 4 years old.

May was also the first month of wedding season! We attended the wedding of Dan's cousins Chris & Jo in Evesham. It was yet another grand Bassford reunion.


We also were lucky enough to stay the weekend with Dan's cousins (on his mum's side) Zohary and Graham, and their son David. Since Dan and David are train fanatics, the two had a lot to discuss. Check out pictures here of the month (and of our new apartment!), HERE.