I think that I shall never see

Little house on the prairie? No, a room with a view - Sadie's!

Mom's tree looks like a weeping willow.

Lizz's tree has fingers of delicate glass.

Once again, the ice weighs heavily on Ben's tree.


Up close, Ben's tee is a work of art.

Alan says that Pat Whetstone was going to cut his tree down anyway - less to cut now!


Across the street, the Prater's tree dropped several branches too.

Fall to winter

Once upon a time, we had color















But today we're having an icestorm and most everything is white












No birds at the feeder























The rain pees down and freezes.



















But outside, even without sun, its a cold crystal beauty.















Alan's tree brushed against our roof before cracking. Fortunately Dad's new car is fine.




















Yes, once upon a time we had color!

Getting Defiant ready for winter

Bob and I spent all of last week in Vermilion, Ohio, getting Defiant II ready for winter.

Ah, Vermilion, otherwise known as The Fort Lauderdale on Lake Erie, or if you prefer, The Venice of the Buckeye State.

(I tied up in Vermilion long ago in Tristan, so that's how I knew it would be a good place to put the new Beneteau for winter storage and spring-time launch.)



But first, underneath the boat (which is hoisted up and resting in a cradle in a storage yard of the Don Parsons Marina: miter saw, tape measures, lengths of PVC pipe and fittings, etc.










And here's the framework of PVC pipe and fittings, each frame carried up a ladder and placed two and half feet apart stem to stern.











The finished framework. Looks good, yes?













And finally tarps wrapped over the whole structure making Defiant look like a beached whale. We trust this will protect her against all winter hazards, of which we got a good taste on Thursday.
On that day it rained, it was cold, and wind blew at 30 to 35 mpg--not making it easy to hoist those 30 by 20 foot lengths of plastic into the air, over the top, and then tied down to the cradle.
But there she is, ready for spring launching.

Sadie faces Autumn and the coming Winter

It's getting colder, and it's dewy damp on my paws out there. Do I really have to go further?











Well, anyway, there're still good smells to explore out there.












And there ARE compensations when I get home!

Eid al-Fitr

This past Saturday was Eid al-Fitr, the second biggest holiday on the Islamic calender. It is a day of feasting to commemorate the end of Ramadan and 14-hour fasts (certainly a reason to celebrate!). While I did NOT fast this year, I still fully took part in the festivities in good Huntley fashion - we may not be a religious family, but we definitely enjoy celebrating other people's holidays!





This is me helping cook for the big evening meal! I intended only to stop by in the afternoon to see how the preparations were coming along and put some henna on my hands, but alas I got sucked in to making kebab.






After a long day of cooking (mostly on the part of everyone else!) the dishes were finally ready to be unveiled! There was food from all over the world - kebab from Palestine, hummus from Jordan, friend eggplant from Afghanistan, chicken tikka from Pakistan, and more. Sooooo goooooood!!!





This is a group of us (mostly familiar!) enjoying that delicious food. From right to left Allison West (my roommate in Syria), Michael Winter (all-around good friend), yours truly, and Joe Giacomelli (getting-to-be-a-better-friend).









Did I mention how cute I looked? I made sure to wear my shalwar qameez (the loose-flowing comfy get-up I have on) that was a gift from Pakistan last year.






This is the Pakistan group from last year (minus our friend Zoe, who is a student at Duke). From right to left Andrew Amstutz, Allison West, yours truly, and Owais Gilani (resident Pakistani). It's funny to think that we all spent the last Eid al-Fitr together exactly one (Islamic) year ago in Istanbul. Don't we all look about one year more worldly and intelligent?

Hot wheels

These are not your hot wheels of old, no siree Bob. This is an absolutely gorgeous Audi owned and operated by my absolutely wonderful and wonderfully good looking nephew, Liam.

He gave me a ride.
He didn't let me drive it.
Do you blame him?

Mom

We don't know how she does it!!!!

Tia, you are amazing and wonderful and awe-inspiring. Look folks: not only a new baby in the house, and a 3-year old Willem to watch over, and a couple of dogs to keep happy, Tia finds time to send us a lovely, hand-crafted, nothing-else-like-it-in-the-world announcement card for Addison. Isn't it lovely!

On Sept. 6th, Cap. Maloney, USN, writes me thus:
"Dear Mr. Huntley,
Your son, Ltjg Thomas J. Huntley, has been presented a Letter of Commendation in recognition of his outstanding achievement in Primary Academic Training while asigned to Training Air Wing FIVE, Naval Air Station. His superior performance has placed him among the top 10% of all Student Aviators undergoing training here.
This noteworthy performance is a personal achievement of which you and Tom can be justifiably proud. It is a pleasure having officers of your son's caliber in the Naval Flight Training Program."

So, Tommer, we are all very proud of you, Sailor, Husband, Papa, triathalon and marathon competitor, Coast Guard Officer, and soon to be Coast Guard Pilot.

Papa's got a new toy . . . (err, a new sailboat)

Here she is, Defiant the Second (current name is "Cash Up Front," but we intend to change that questionable name with all proper, nautical ceremony and observation). We'll just call her Defiant and not bother with any roman numerals.




She is a 17-year old Beneteau, 35.5 feet overall and comes with a lot of good equipment. Her owner has kept her in meticulous condition--sails cleaned and repaired every season; gel coat looking good; 28 hp Volvo diesel; batteries, hull, running rigging in good condition; standing rigging is stainless steel rod instead of wire cable. A professional survey done in June, 07, gives her flying colors.



Bob and I flew to Boston, drove to South Dartmouth, MA, to check her out 3 weeks ago. Talked with the broker, the owner, and the manager of the boat yard where she sits. We spent 5 hours looking at everything and decided YES. She's on the hard now. No need to put her into the water for a very expensive sea trial (couple of hundred to rig and launch; another couple to derig and haul). We both know how a Benebeau sails and we really like the interior.


So, we've got the boat hauler lined up. In a couple of weeks, Defiant will get hauled from Massachusetts to Vermilion, Ohio, for winter storage. Next spring, we'll launch, sail her up Lake Erie, past Detroit, through Lake St. Claire, up Lake Huron, up over the top of Michigan and under the bridge, then down to Traverse City. There Bob's son Mark and family live, and we'll pause a bit for celebration. And later on in the summer, I think it'll be mainly North Channel, Georgian Bay, Green Bay, and the rest of Lake Michigan. We're planning on sailing with family, friends, and students offering the latter a week-long course in basic keel boat sailing to bare boat chartering.





Specs? Lovely, Euro style interior below; 2 private cabins; complete galley with propane stove & oven plus frig; comfortable accommodations for 6 (2 in each cabin and 2 in the salon); proper marine head; hot water; 11' 10" beam (Tristan's beam 8' and Defiant I's beam 7' 9" so there's a lot of space below; displacement weight 11, 460 pounds; 80 gallons fresh water; well designed cockpit. I could go on, but I guess you realize that Bob and I both approve of the boat

Welcome to the newest Huntley

Willem is a proud and happy older brother.

Addison Lucille Huntley was born on September 13. Addison weighed 9 lbs. and 2 oz.


Tia does not look at all like she just gave birth!


Addison, welcome to the world - we are so happy to have a beautiful grandaughter / niece in our family.

Culinary inspiration

Ah, the tastes of the Medterranean. On a Saturday afternoon Daddy and I had a small repast of olives, feta, and tomato tampenade, with a sip of white wine. Liz, the culinary inspiration came from you and Allison, bringing back memories of sitting in Damascus and laughing about cat boy!

What do you think it means?

Hmm....that's a weird painting.

Sure is. What do you think it means?

I don't know, but it was painted by some guy in Ohio.

Really?

No, come to think of it, the guy lived in Idaho.

Yeah. I remember now. The pitchfork is for potatoes.

Ummm Ummm good

Lizz treated us to a wonderful meal before she went back to school. Ummm, Umm....the biryani was so good and I'll tell you, Lizz is a mean cook in the kitchen when she gets going! Don't even think about walking past and turning down the flame on the stove, no sireee Bob!

25 and going strong

Why are we looking so happy?













Because it was our 25th anniversary and Ben and Lizz gave us a surprise party.

Sadie gets a new toy

sadie got a new toy










but it was not good for playing tug of war

Shadows of the Autumn equinox

Every morning, the shadows come a little later. And every evening, a little sooner.







The days are getting shorter, folks, the air, cooler, and sun races toward its winter solstice. I love to watch the changing patterns of sun and shadow. Here are my favorite evening and morning scenes.















Can you find the deer nibbling way over there in Sadie's field? She's long since pretended that she can't see them; therefore, they're not actually trespassing. Same with birds; they fly out of her reach too quickly. But squirrels is another matter. She's never caught one yet, but hasn't stopped trying.






From these pictures, can you tell if the sun is rising up from the east or setting down into the west?

Nothing better than a good friend

There is nothing as wonderful as a good friend. Lizz and Christina have been friends as long as I can rmember. It's been wonderful watching them grow up together and having Christina be part of our family. This was taken right before Christina went back to school this fall. I'll be posting a number of summer pics to remind us of our good times.

Mom