martinzoo

Halloween is my dh’s birthday.

So his first present was that he got to sleep as late as he wanted. Don’t we all crave that present?

One of the traditions we have for my hubby’s birthday is that he HAS to go to Friendly’s for lunch and a peanut butter cup sundae. It’s tradition. And he really looks forward to it.

This was my post from last year.

And this was the year before.

This year we decided to go to the rock climbing facility for fun. I go every month with the homeschooling moms, but dh hasn’t gotten much practice. And GB goes once a month with his homeschool buddies. So he is getting pretty darned good. At this point he is head and shoulders better than his daddy. (hahahaha) But he’s had way more practice and is not dragging too much weight up the wall.

GB

And my hubby. Happy Birthday honey!!

This is the pumpkin I carved this year. It’s a haunted house. Can you tell?

GB and O-Man dressed as Jason, from Friday the 13th, and Freddie Kruger, from Nightmare on Elm Street. I swear, they are too cute to be SUCH bad guys!

Especially when they do this!

Houses in our neighborhood are really spread out. So we popped them in the back of the van and and my dh and my bil drove them to cul-de-sacs where they popped out and ran from house to house.

I came inside so I could hand out the candy.

They are still out there…….

terrorizing the neighborhood……..

and obtaining obscene amounts of candy……..

Ahh! Halloween!

My parents have decided to start their own blog!

Woo! Hoo!

I think they do so many cool things in their retirement. So I’ll be glad to read all about their retirement adventures.

Here:   (Click on the picture to go there)

Although it was a perfect evening for this:

56 degrees is a bit too chilly for me to have ice cream…..

……..but not for my dh or GB. They thought it was a perfect night for it. My thoughts: If  Bruster’s would just serve coffee, tea, or cocoa I’d be good to go.

I’m not good at night time photography. But I wanted Aquagirl to see what we did to the front porch.

She gets into this kind of thing. 

Well, I don’t have anymore teenagers……..    

Jabem turned 20 today. So now I have to wait a little more than two years for GB to become a teenager.

I will miss having teenagers. But I would miss having a small child more……. so I’ll be nice and patient with GB’s growth.

This is Jabem when he was only three months old. What a cutie!!

And this is my grown up baby.

Man!

Does time fly, or what!?

Happy Birthday, Jabem! Love you!!

If you want to stay young and have energy………

…….you have to remain active.

This is my Mom! I’m proud of the fact that she’s out kayaking in Vermont.

Isn’t she cool?

I needed this.

I will admit that I thrive on field trips. I actually need them. They elevate MY mood, never mind GB’s mood. So I suppose that if MY mood is elevated it can only mean good things for GB. We went to the Pauwau on Friday, but this trip to Monticello really made me exhilerated. I loved it. The whole trip was fantastic. It’s not too far from our home, about 1 1/2 hours, and the drive is gorgeous.

Monticello is the home of our third President, Thomas Jefferson. The name ‘Monticello’ is translated from Italian to mean, Little Mountain. In 1787 Thomas Jefferson said, “…….all my wishes end, where I hope my days will end, at Monticello.” He loved his home more than any other place on Earth and his greatest hobby was “putting up, and pulling down” parts of the house to make them more stylish or functional.

This was my favorite picture of the house that I took. I love the reflection of the house in the fish pond.

These pictures were from the rooms underneath the main house, called dependencies. They were the spaces for working, living, and storage. The photo above is from the kitchen. It was considered to be the best equipped in Virginia, complete with French copper cookware. The cooks worked on this multi-burner stove that enabled them to prepare dishes in the French manner.

This is the Cook’s cave room.

GB had a blast climbing all over the trees, much to Uncle D’s concern.

Thomas Jefferson considered himself, above all else, a farmer. And he was always trying out new crops and machinery. With over  1000 acres cleared for crop cultivation, Monticello workers worked from dawn to dusk, six days a week. They received a peck of cornmeal, a half-pound of meat, salted herring, and occasionally salt and milk. They got a set of clothing every summer and winter, and a blanket every three years. During their spare time they were allowed to use their abilities to create their own furnishings, cooking utensils, gardens and poultry yards. Sometimes they performed tasks outside of the working hours for which Jefferson paid them extra.

A moment of silence must be paid for the loss of such an amazing tree. I never found out, but I’m assuming this tree was a Hurricane Isabelle loss. How sad.

One thing that was discussed the last time I came to Monticello (fifteen years ago) was that inspiration from French architecture cause Jefferson to design the main house to give the illusion of being a single story home, even though it really has three levels. The windows are ingeniously devised to look like single story windows, but actually are one window for both main and upper level.

Judging by all the casks and wine jugs, GB wanted to know if they were always drunk at Monticello………LOL!

One of the best things about our day was that Jabem and Aquagirl came from their colleges to accompany us. Aunt T (who somehow escaped my photo lens) and Uncle D came too, but I see them all the time, and I really miss Aquagirl and Jabem when they are gone. Aquagirl brought her boyfriend, Red. And that made me happy, too. Because it takes her so long to warm up to people. But now she is actually admitting to the boyfriend/girlfriend status. Does that not look like an infatuated gaze to you?

This is one of the five indoor privies attached to the whole house. Thomas Jefferson was very progressive for his time in that he was one of the first to provide these indoor privies. He even had one in his bedroom suite.

Another tree to climb.

Aquagirl and Red. During the house tour, the docent described Thomas Jefferson’s appearance as a thin, tall man, who stood a little over six feet and remarkably straight with red hair. Hmmm, check out Red’s appearance.

This is the vegetable garden and Garden Pavilion.  You could also call it TJ’s laboratory, since he planted 330 varieties of more than 70 species of vegetables. He liked to experiment with all varieties and combination of seeds.

This is the view from inside the Garden Pavilion.

The blacksmith shop was in an area of Monticello called, Mulberry Road. Most of the structures were formed from wood, so they no longer exist.

The joinery at Monticello was one of Virginia’s best-equipped  woodworking shops. Joiners made furniture for Monticello, some of which is displayed in the main house.

All my kiddos! I don’t know what my boys are looking at, or why they look so somber….

……but Aquagirl know how to pose for a picture, AND how to get some giggles!

Thomas Jefferson is buried, along with other members of his family, in this graveyard. His epitaph, which he wrote himself, only included, “Author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and the Father of the University of Virginia.” UVA is one of the greatest universities ever, and my dh’s alma mater.  Go Wah Hoos!

Monticello is the only house in the United States that is on the World Heritage Centre’s list that includes 878 properties  around the world forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value.

If you want to see pictures of the inside of the house, you can take a virtual tour here which includes some of the second floor and the third floor (the dome), which they do not allow access to during the main house tour because of fire restrictions.

I *know* this is a ton of pictures, but I took SO many more that I could have shared. But I restrained myself people. I did. I swear. I’m sorry. I’m an addict and I’ll admit it. I just want you to have as nice an experience as we did.Enjoy!

Today our homeschooling group went to the Powhatan Indian Pauwau. I find it so interesting to learn about totally foreign cultures. And this culture is right in our own backyard. Today’s Pauwau was to honor Chief Powhatan, who was the supreme ruler of most of the indigenous tribes in the Chesapeake Bay area from north of the Mattaponi River here in Virginia.

The Pauwau is a way to share the culture of their Native Ancestors as well as bring an appreciation and realization to the citizens of Powhatan County of the sacrifice made by Powhatan’s People. The word “pow-wow” comes from the Algonquin word “pau wau” - A gathering in celebration to renew friendships, to exchange knowledge, and to trade skills.

Powhatan County is only about 40 minutes away from our house. Members from various Indian tribes came from all over to show us some Indian traditions, like brain tanning. GB didn’t really get into that demonstration, but he liked looking at the weapons and leather products. I was facsinated with the jewelry. Oh, it was so pretty. I got one little bracelet, but that’s it.

I’ve seen teepees before, but this one, with it’s gorgeous paintings, was the prettiest one I’ve ever seen.

This was the brain tanning demonstration.

This friendly fellow thought we should take a picture……… so we obliged…… what a hardship…….LOL!

This is the Red Crooked Sky Dance Troupe. I was enchanted, but GB spent most of the time chatting with a friend. They also did some storytelling which I also enjoyed; probably more than GB. Oh well, I guess he’ll appreciate this more as he gets older.

This is GB’s cool, Indian-made bow and arrow souvenir. It’ll fly 75 feet…….. and it’s easy to lose the arrow…… trust me.

This past August my sister moved away. It’s been sad for the whole family. You get used to people just being down the road and easily accessible. And when I get pictures like this one, I miss her and her family even more. She is a teacher and they were dressing up for ‘Decades Day’ at her school. Being a child of the eighties made the choice an easy one for her.

I miss you Slick!!