my m&m's

Just dropped them off at their friend's house to meet the rest of the pack. They did take a few minutes to pose for me... and Elle got all wound up too. She wanted to go trick-or-treating also.
(Someone remind me not to use my phone camera next time!)
**********************
The trick-or-treaters are back and they had a good time! Not as many houses participated, probably because it is Monday evening but from the looks of their bags, it was quite enough! I guess there were only 4 m&m's out in this pack. And we even had two trick-or-treaters at our house (I quickly grabbed some Hershey bars that I had for s'mores... hope they like dark chocolate!). Hope you had a boo-tiful Halloween too!

Happy Halloween!

I think my two are going with friends as m&m's... a whole pack! :P  Of course they'll have to dodge snow drifts this year! Hope you have a good one!

what's wrong with this picture?

This is the "food pyramid" that the government is promoting right now. On first glance, it looks good. But if you look at this, most of your food would be carbohydrates which is not good for your body which needs proteins and fats to do most of it's metabolic functions like fighting colds or giving you energy to do your daily tasks. They suggest "lean protein" which means you don't get enough good saturated fats which your body needs to be nourished, and which also helps you absorb many of the vitamins you just ate in other foods. Saturated fat also keeps your immune system strong... you need A and D which are found in animal meats. The reason Grains are on there in such a large amount is because we have a huge food industry involved in growing and shipping wheat all over the world. You need very, very little grain in your diet to be healthy. And wheat is not a staple... oats and quinoa could easily fulfill your want of grains. You probably haven't noticed how much processed food is mostly grains... and these do nothing for your body or give you energy like protein and fats. This website promotes fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk which again is higher in sugars and to achieve that low-fat ratio, has powdered cholesterol added back in as well as synthetic vitamins because the real vitamins were destroyed in the pasteurization process. Most people do not tolerate this fake milk well. It's not real milk and your body has a hard time digesting it or getting anything nutritional from it. Fruits can be consumed minimally also. They are high in sugar and should only be eaten in their natural state, in small amounts, if you want any vitamin benefit from them. That means juices are way too sugary and are nutritionally negative to your body.

What this means is that if you're looking for good nutritional advice, the government is not the place to find it. This also means that the obesity epidemic will continue to rise because this food pyramid will not solve it-- carbohydrates are used first by the body and your fat is burned after that. If you keep putting carbs into your body, you will never burn the fat you have stored. And eating fat does not cause the fat storage on your body. Too many carbs does! So eating too many carbs leaves you with fat accumulated on your body, low energy, constant hunger cravings and no nutrition.

noon snow update

An hour ago this was pretty, now it's getting scary! We were sitting in the family room and heard a big crunch!  A huge limb broke off and fell right behind our house (see the second picture) and we keep hearing other creaking and breaking noises!  The big limb on the tree out front (see the one on the left in the first picture) is now touching the ground. I think we've had enough bad weather in Pennsylvania to last us for the rest of the year (or two)!

our weathermen were actually right!

Snow in October! The snow started about twenty minutes ago and it looks like we will get a lot! Time to pull out indoor projects and the blankets!  I just hope we don't lose power because the snow on the trees that still have their leaves makes the branches very heavy and it could down some power lines. We'll hope for the best, and prepare for the worst. Thank goodness for the fireplace.

they say the snow is coming...

and I believe them!  The air is full of moisture and the clouds are thick like a quilted blanket... ready to drop some snow on us starting at 2 am in the morning!  The weathermen are calling for 6-10 inches. I am really doubting that. But it looks like we might have just had one of the quickest autumns I ever remember!!!

a snow sky

sort of fitting, don't you think?

by Julene Harrison

I may have to attend this...

‘Milk and Cookies’ Could Get Moms Arrested 

Mothers to Break Federal Raw Milk Transport Ban 

Washington DC - The beloved American tradition of milk and cookies is a crime 

for some mothers, according to the Farm Food Freedom Coalition, organizers of 

a planned civil disobedience on November 1.  A US Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA) regulation makes the transport of raw milk intended for 

human consumption across state lines illegal, even for individuals purchasing it 

legally in one state and carrying it into the states where they live. 

On Tuesday, November 1, 2011, a group of moms will challenge the FDA’s ban 

on interstate transport of raw milk by picking up fresh milk in Pennsylvania, 

transporting it to Maryland, then distributing it, along with cookies, in front of FDA 

headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland at a rally from 12:00 -3:00pm. 

After numerous armed federal assaults and undercover investigations on 

farmers, coops and buying groups that supply their raw milk, mothers across the 

country are disgusted with the FDA’s aggression and ready to take action to 

protect their families’ food. 

“By criminalizing me for the food choices I make for my family, the FDA is 

effectively saying that I have no right to feed my family what I, as the parent, 

know is best for them,” says Suzy Provine, one of the “raw milk freedom riders” 

who chooses fresh milk for her family.  “It is one thing to inform me about my 

choices, but the FDA goes too far by forcing what they think is best on my 

family.” 

The FDA is disrupting thousands of families' food supplies by pressuring states to 

restrict access to raw dairy. States like Wisconsin and California are shutting 

down family farms by threatening penalties and jail for farmers.  

View www.naturalnews.com/033280_FDA_raids_timeline.html for a timeline of FDA’s 

raids on raw milk farmers. Visit www.FarmFoodFreedomCoalition.com for information 

about the organizers. For more information on raw milk, go to www.westonaprice.org 

### 

You are invited to the RAW MILK FREEDOM RIDERS’ 

‘Milk and Cookies’ 

Rally and Demonstration 

FDA Headquarters, Silver Spring, MD 

November 1, 2011 

12:00-3:00pm. 

Prior to the rally, a group of parents will illegally transport raw milk 

across state lines and bring it to the rally, at FDA headquarters, for 

distribution.  The FDA has been invited to the scene of the crime (see 

Max’s video inviting them (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8KfB7005UY)
and is welcome to join us for a nourishing, wonderful, raw 

milk and cookies picnic.  We’ve made it super easy for them by 

bringing the goodies right to them. 

Please Join Food Freedom Fighters 

MICHAEL SCHMIDT, Canadian raw milk farmer and activist 

Joel Salatin Of Polyface Farms 

Kristin Canty Producer of Farmageddon 

David Gumpert, Blogger, the Complete Patient

Karine Bouis-Towe, Co-Founder Farm Food Freedom Coalition

Liz Reitzig, Co-Founder Farm Food Freedom Coalition

Max Kane, Wisconsin Raw milk Activist

Mark McAfee, Organic Pastures Dairy

John Moody, Food Club, Kentucky

Denise Dixon, Owner, Morningland Dairy

Sally Fallon Morrell of Weston A. Price Foundation

RAW MILK FREEDOM RIDERS, and RALLY PARTICIPANTS

As we peacefully demonstrate in front of the FDA our right to purchase, transport and consume RAW milk and cookies!

EMBEDDED REPORTERS

Adam Kokesh of Adam vs the Man

Robert Scott Bell of the Robert Scott Bell Show

Will be along to cover the action!  Stay tuned!

See www.RawMilkFreedomRiders.com for additional details and to participate

Invite your friends:  https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=291787024165804#!/event.php?eid=291787024165804

some new links

I had deleted my list of instructional sites and also my gluten free links... only to have a good friend of mine write to me and tell me she was searching for my links on crocheting!  So I put together a new list of links and hopefully, as I remember them, I will continue to add things that I find which are very useful. Look down there in the right column... the list is on the lower half of the page.

I'm thinking I need to go through my blog lists and update that, but you know as soon as I delete one, they'll start to post again and I'll regret it!  I don't like to leave anyone out.

My question is:  Does it take a long time for my blog to upload to your computer? And do you think twitter is interesting or should I skip that? It might be one of the things that slows down my site.

Okay... enough with blog business... back to the fun stuff! Do take a look at some of the tutorials if you have a chance. They always make me want to create something! And the blog nourished kitchen is where I'll be spending a couple months taking cooking classes! There are some great recipes on there.

We've already started the weekend as the kids have school off tomorrow! Happy Weekend!

we love pumpkins

I'm feeling a little nostalgic today, and so I went to my little button "search this blog" and typed in "pumpkin".  I was able to pull up the following from previous posts:

 One of my favorites of the kids when they were little... healthy, happy children. Now Nathaniel is much bigger than Caroline!

 Elle is checking out the carving job!

 Making glittered pumpkins with the ladies at Hatch, my studio... you can find instructions on Martha Stewart's website.

A childhood favorite... Tasha Tudor always has the perfect book for the season!

Only a few more days left in October... November is right around the corner!

really wish I were going...

**** OH jeesh... I just found out that they held this in King of Prussia, PA last year-- right near me!!! I feel like I always miss out on things... too late to the party!

Lauren Child

I have always loved Lauren Child's illustrations and writing, since Caroline was little and read her books. I've kept them in my studio for inspiration!  Now Lauren has updated her website with a story about how Clarice Bean came to be and her journey to become a writer/illustrator. It's definitely worth a read (and click on all the links in red!). Perseverance and a belief that you can only do your own unique work led her to create this much loved series of books and tv shows. Like she says, "there can only be one Very Hungry Caterpillar!"

lace pumpkins

I was looking back at posts from October 2008 and I had posted about these beautifully carves pumpkins that Martha Stewart crafts had shown. You can find instructions here. It's sort of exciting to go back through my own blog and rediscover things I posted about (and forgot!). I might just try this carving technique this year. We don't get trick-or-treaters because we don't live in a neighborhood, but it might be pretty sitting on the table at night. I miss seeing the little kids dressed up creatively and passing out candy! I might just have to go down to the next street and walk around with Elle! I think my kids and their friends are all going as m&m candy this year. Are you dressing up and if so, what's your costume?

look what Craig did for Halloween...

{just kidding} but maybe next year? ;)

5 simple rules for happiness

bats for halloween...

Halloween is only about a week away... I just found a couple very cute tutorials from soto softies for you to try, if you want to add to the Halloween fun...

Click on the pictures to go to their tutorial site!

Autumn in Pennsylvania

Horseback riding surrounded by beautiful trees, High school football and hot chocolate, under blankets watching early morning soccer games, going to a real Harvest Party with our CSA celebrating this year's wonderful bounty of good food and the community of people involved, leaf raking, lots of mums and pumpkins, and possibly the first fire of autumn in the fireplace tonight. This is my favorite time of year! I always get excited for the beginning of the holidays and Advent. I used to think it was something I would grow out of or not care so much about as my children grow up, but celebrating traditions is a big part of the whole rhythm of life. When the weather gets colder, it's time to rest earlier when the sun goes down. Cooking and baking become easier -- warm kitchens make a house a home during the colder months. I love the change of seasons... it makes me appreciate the short time of each season. Just like eating food produced by my farmer friends... each vegetable or fruit is only available (in abundance!) for a short period of time, so we enjoy it as much as we can at it's peak freshness and flavor. Being in a smaller town allows us to enjoy those changes a little bit more-- not as much rushing around and traffic and noise. More farms and ties to the actual land we live on. When I first came to Pennsylvania, I didn't appreciate the farms. Now I love the traditional farmers that keep the land here. I love the Amish's traditions of nurturing the soil, raising healthy animals, keeping life simpler, and doing what is right for the good of families. They've become my friends now and are very special people. Oh, how could I forget apple cider in my list?! Cider from local orchards... yum! And eventually maple syrup. How can you not love this time of year? :)

p.s. If you look closely at the third photo, you can see the heart on Harmony's left flank!

terrain for the holidays

Terrain at Styer's | 914 Baltimore Pike, Glen Mills, PA 19342 | 610-459-2400

I may have to go to this on my birthday weekend! Doesn't this photo just put you in the mood for the holidays? ;)

Rob Ryan

Etsy featured this little film about one of my very favorite artists Rob Ryan. I absolutely love what he says about people and about love. That comes through in all of his work. He also has a new book which was just released on Oct. 13 called A Sky Full of Kindness, but I haven't been able to find it yet. If Fred Rogers were still alive, he would have absolutely loved Rob's work!

having fun with felt

My nieces have been busy... very busy... making these adorable little felt creatures the last two days! I had given them The Cute Book for their birthday last week and they dove into it, creating with felt and thread. I'm so proud of them!  We always have fun making things when they come out (last summer it was a bunch of scrabble tile necklaces).  Jane sent this photo to me this morning. 

I've been working on my top secret project too.. though I hit a snag and have decided to move to felt also. I hope to have something to show you here eventually. 

Hope you're having a good week!

wisdom

There is no power on earth that can neutralize the influence of a high, pure, simple and useful life."

--Booker T. Washington,
American educator, author and political leader

inbred cat...

Oh come on, you laughed didn't you?!!! :D   This looks exactly like our cat Chloe!!! I needed a laugh today!

There is a cure for cancer...

Dr. Burzynski's discoveries and treatments work.  That statement makes me cry... we don't need radiation and chemotherapy. I am totally stunned-- in an ecstatic way! But his patent was stolen by our government. This story is amazing. Read the movie review below and then watch the movie when you have time. Tell me this doesn't totally blow you away!:

Burzynski: The Movie by Eric Merola

Written by Tim Boyd

October 7 2011 14:29

Burzynski: The Movie Written, directed, and produced by Eric Merola Dr. Burzynski is a medical doctor and PhD biochemist who has discovered the genetic mechanism that can cure most human cancers. Numerous interviews are presented with patients of Dr. Burzynski who have been cured. His treatment has no negative side-effects. While his treatment protocol doesn't produce a one-hundred percent success rate it is far better than conventional chemotherapy or radiation, and often successful with childhood brain tumors which are otherwise almost always fatal. Other pharmaceutical companies routinely receive multi-million dollar grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to conduct research and clinical trials. The U.S. government currently prohibits any tax-payer money to be granted to Dr. Burzynski’s FDA-approved clinical trials. The movie documents how the FDA is controlled by the pharmaceutical companies it is supposed to be regulating on our behalf. In the 1980s Burzynski battled with the Texas Medical Board, which had asked for successful cases to review, which Burzynski provided. There was no further word for two years. Then the board came back, pretended the cases were not successful and accused him of breaking a law that doesn't exist. After several amendments to the charge, the case went to trial in 1993. Burzynski won. That, however, was just the beginning. The Texas Medical Board took Dr. Burzynski to a higher, district court. The case eventually went all the way to the Texas Supreme Court. Their goal was to revoke his medical license. It was discovered that the FDA was the driving factor behind this relentless persecution. When confronted, the FDA displayed its usual cowardice and refused to go on camera or be quoted. Throughout the 1990s the FDA went before a grand jury and came back with no indictment. This happened at least four times and probably more. They are not clear on this. Apparently it happened so often everybody lost track. There was an interesting interchange in a congressional hearing between Congressman Joe Barton and FDA commissioner Dr. David Kessler. Barton was curious to know how many grand juries are necessary before the FDA concludes there is no fault. The FDA's insolence shines through brightly here. Kessler asks Barton how he knows no fault was found. Barton gives the obvious answer that no indictments were handed down. Kessler then begins splitting hairs over the difference between lack of indictments and lack of fault which understandably baffles the Honorable Joe Barton. The insanity is then taken to the next level. The FDA authorized Burzynski to conduct clinical trials but continued to pursue a criminal case against him for conducting those clinical trials. Once again, they were unsuccessful. Seriously, I am not making this stuff up. Do we need more evidence that the inmates have taken over the asylum? If you do need more evidence, you're in luck. On October 4, 1991, the NCI hosted their site visit to Burzynski’s clinic, and verified for themselves that “anti-tumor activity was documented by the use of Antineoplastons.” Seventeen days later, on October 21, 1991, the Department of Health and Human Services, and Dr. Dvorit Samid (NCI) filed a patent for Antineoplastons AS2-1. They even had the audacity to include Burzynski as a reference. “The invention described herein may be manufactured, used and licensed by or for the government, for governmental purposes..." Over the next three years, the United States patent office approved all eleven copy-cat patents on Antineoplastons. One revealing detail found in these patents is this statement: “Current approaches to combat cancer rely primarily on the use of chemicals and radiation, which are themselves carcinogenic and may promote recurrences and the development of metastatic disease.” There it is, immortalized in a patent stolen by NCI and the U.S. government. Conventional cancer treatment is carcinogenic. Dr. Burzynski continues to treat cancer patients using Antineoplastons in FDA-approved clinical trials. In 2009, Phase II of FDA-supervised clinical trials of Antineoplastons was successfully completed. Phase III trials comprise the third and final phase before reaching FDA approval. This movie gets a thumbs UP and so does Dr. Burzynski. This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly magazine of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Fall 2011. About the Reviewer Tim Boyd was born and raised in Ohio, graduated from Case Western Reserve University with a degree in computer engineering, and worked in the defense industry in Northern Virginia for over 20 years. During that time, a slight case of arthritis led him to discover that nutrition makes a difference and nutrition became a serious hobby. After a pleasant and satisfying run in the electronics field, he decided he wanted to do something more important. He is now arthritis free and enjoying his dream job working for the Weston A. Price Foundation.

why I write about health stuff on my craft blog

I know I seem to get carried away with the health articles on this blog. It started as a place where I could post about my knitting and craft things I found. And then my art work. But it also included what my family was up to and my interests like music and books. I think when you write a blog for years, your whole person comes out, especially when you write from the heart.

I read things that maybe most people find boring or sometimes hard. Maybe I should have gone into medicine. Maybe I will!  But after feeling so badly for so long, and I don't mean horrible, but just not healthy, I decided to do something about it. This led to so many discoveries-- things that not only helped me, but I knew might help others who I knew were struggling with different things. What I sometimes forget is that people only take information offered when they really are seeking it themselves. So I can share the secret to life, but that doesn't mean everyone wants to hear it. I understand that. Partly because I'm the same way too!

My intention is to help... because that's how I am. I'm a helper. That's why I became a teacher and why I have volunteered so much, because that's my nature. If someone can be happy because of something I've shared, then that is worth a million bucks to me! I'm not motivated by money or by pride. I just want to help end suffering. This is probably misunderstood by people who don't think I have any credentials. That's why I've actually considered going back to school. I have two teenagers heading there too so I don't think I could swing three tuitions. But I have stacks of books to absorb right now anyway!

I know when I started to feel better after finding out I was gluten intolerant and started to heal my gut, cook better food and find real answers, then I felt more like creating and participating in life again. So that is why this craft blog is more a "living" blog.

When there are many, many articles out there, it is hard to know who to trust. This is when I decided that true health should be an innate thing in humans... not prescribed. I found The Weston A. Price Foundation and critically read articles on any subject I could think of, just to see how it would be answered. So far, it has been solid and there is so much scientific data to back what traditional health wisdom they have preserved, that I knew this was my answer. I just obtained the Weston A. Price "Wise Traditions Conference in London 2011" DVD (because obviously I couldn't attend it) and watched the first lecture by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride on GAPS Syndrome. Basically that all health comes from our gut. You might have heard that piece of wisdom by some guy we know as Hippocrates? ;)  It is AMAZING! If you click on her name, you'll find her website and of course, I would strongly suggest you check it out. But if you don't, just know that there is a place to go if you ever want to find out how to cure your allergies, heal your intestines, prevent cancer, cure all sorts of childhood diseases, diabetes, seizures, and the list is exhaustive. And I believe it's true 100% because this is what I've done since May.

So bear with me because while I throw out my pearls, I'm sure someone out there will eventually need the link to healing and we may never know it... and they may be healed. ♥

what a way to start the day....

Inspired by this...





I try to sing this song
I...I try to stand up
But I can't find my feet
I try, I try to speak up
But only in you I'm complete


Gloria...in te domine
Gloria...exultate
Gloria...Gloria
Oh Lord, loosen my lips


I try to sing this song
I...I try to get in
But I can't find the door
The door is open
You're standing there
You let me in


Gloria...in te domine
Gloria...exultate
Oh Lord, if I had anything
Anything at all
I'd give it to you
I'd give it to you


Gloria...Gloria...


U2

chicken and soup

Even though we're having Indian Summer outdoors and all of my windows are open, Autumn is here gracefully changing the colors of the leaves. All summer I avoid turning on the oven as much as possible but right now I have a chicken roasting and a pot of delicious smelling soup on the stove.

Here is one of my favorite Roast Chicken recipes and a new soup recipe I got from my CSA...

Tasha Tudor's Roast Chicken
1 farm-raised roasting chicken (not a fryer), approximately 6 pounds
salt and pepper
butter or cold bacon drippings
4 large cloves garlic, peeled
1 large onion, peeled
2 fresh bay leaves
1 large handful of assorted fresh herbs, especially tarragon and sage

Preheat the oven to 350º F.  Wash the chicken and pat it dry. Place it in a roasting pan, rub it with butter or cold bacon drippings, and salt and pepper it. Insert 2 large cloves of garlic by piercing a hold beside each drumstick. Place another garlic clove in both front and back cavities. Put the onion in the back cavity along with the bay leaves and the fresh herbs. Truss with a string, place in the preheated oven, and cook for 2 hours, basting frequently.

Serves 4 to 6


White Bean Fennel Soup
1 large onion, chopped
1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
5 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 (15 ounce) can white kidney or cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
3 cups shredded fresh spinach


In a large saucepan, saute onion and fennel in oil until tender. Add the broth, beans, tomatoes, thyme, pepper and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until fennel is tender. Discard bay leaf. Add spinach; cook 3-4 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted.

Hope you enjoy!

wisdom

“Parents are like shuttles on a loom. They join the threads of the past with threads of the future and leave their own bright patterns as they go.”

Fred Rogers

Fresh the Movie

new book out, worth a look...

FOLKS, THIS AINT NORMAL
By Joel Salatin

We live in abnormal times.  Really abnormal times.  Times when most people think Twinkies,  Cocoa-puffs, and Mountain Dew are safe but raw milk, compost grown tomatoes, and Aunt Matilda's homemade pickles are unsafe.  The average morsel of food travels fifteen hundred miles between point of production and point of consumption.  Indeed, the average T-bone steak sees more of America than the farmer that grew the cow.

Never in the history of civilization has a culture eaten foods it can't pronounce, foods that can't be made in a domestic kitchen, or foods that won't rot.  Living foods mold, rot, and decompose.  How long can an M&M remain on your counter without altering its appearance?  

Until extremely recent days, people had to think about energy, whether it was providing for draft animals for transportation and power, or accumulating firewood to keep the stove burning in the winter.  

We are the first culture to abdicate domestic culinary arts in favor of microwavable boxes of processed, stabilized, extruded, reconstituted, dye-colored, amalgamated, irradiated, nutrient-compromised, transgenic modified, prostituted pseudo-food.  Modern America now has the highest rate in history of chronic, debilitating diseases, and leads the world in unhealthiness.  

We're the first culture to invent supermarkets and to universally equate children's chores with abuse.  We're the first culture to confine animals in factories, use pharmaceuticals on our food, and break the soil-building carbon cycle on a massive scale.  


Never one to allow victimhood excuses, Salatin ends each chapter with a bulleted list of "things you can do."  This broad book addresses issues as varied as food police, soil development, Disneyfication of the culture, and scientific findings proving pasture-based livestock is far more nutrient dense than factory-farmed counterparts.  It will warm your soul.


The book is available here in Kindle and hardcover.

wisdom

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live it's whole life believing it is stupid."  ~ Albert Einstein

some of my art

As I was dusting my bedroom, I wiped away the tarnish from the metal in this enamel picture I did when I was in college. At the time I was fascinated with kimonos and Asian culture. What drew me to it was that design was connected to function and to nature. Everything worked together with respect for what was happening in the outdoors. I still feel like we should live that way now. There was also a simplicity to their design. But most of all I think what attracted me was the quietness that I felt when I looked at traditional homes and mannerisms. I used to love the song from Mister Rogers when he sang "Peace and quiet, peace, peace, peace." We all need silence, peace and quiet in our lives. That's when I do most of my thinking, like today as I was dusting (and still will be!). I like how this piece reminds me to be quiet.

angry bird fun

Now that I'm addicted to the Angry Birds app on my phone (after our nine hour car ride last weekend)... here's a fun video of a twist on it that I think Craig and Nathaniel should try at their next soccer practice!:

wisdom

“The greatest gift you ever give is your honest self.” 

― Fred Rogers

Kayaking on Casco Bay

We set off on a long car ride up to Freeport, Maine on Friday morning. Freeport is on the coast, but the more southern half, so it's a little closer. We had signed up for the Fall Foliage Kayaking Tour with LLBean's Outdoor Discovery when we got back from Maine in July. Seeing the East Coast in Autumn was on my bucket list and we had all wanted to try kayaking, so this was perfect! Or it would have been if the hurricane had not kept the leaves from changing color yet! So I have to do this again ;) The leaves were still green for the most part. It also rained... not a hard rain, but soft and it did quit once we got out on the water. Like one LLBean employee at the kayak shop said, "There's never bad weather, only bad gear!" so we were set...

Caroline took the photos with Craig's camera... I thought under the circumstances she did an excellent job! Here's a look at pushing off into Casco Bay from the LLBean dock. The water was rough and there ended up being a lot of wind! It was hard paddling but still so much fun!

Here's Caroline... she had a blast!:

Craig loved it too... well, we all did! It is such great exercise and so nice to be in the fresh air!

Here is Nathaniel and I in our tandem kayak. I got to work the rudder with my foot pedals and Nathaniel determined the pace of the rowing. We were racing Caroline and Craig but they managed to beat us (until the very end!). There were 10 people in our group plus the two instructors. One of our instructors is a high school counselor during the week and does this for fun on the weekends. That's what I love about Maine-- people are active outside. It's just too beautiful and too much fun to stay indoors!

After going against the wind the whole way out, then the Bay turned calm and quiet and the water looked like glass again. We got to experience all the weather conditions!

If you notice that kayak way in the distance... that's me and Nathaniel! Yes... first ones in... thank you!

There were houses tucked into the coast line. Oh, to have a house right there, and be able to just push your kayak out for a morning row every day... heaven!

If you ever want to learn an outdoor sport, LLBean Outdoor Discovery is a great way to do it. They provide all of your gear-- even your water shoes!  Casco Bay is part of the Atlantic Ocean and has many, many islands throughout it. You should be prepared when you go out on a kayak trip because it could get easy to get lost. The water was warm when we went but it is the ocean, and temps can drop at other times of the year. Back at the LLBean Kayak and Bicycle Shop, we talked over an hour with John who told us so much more... he also said that there is a Paddlefest which happens in June so we might just head back there to try out some different kayaks. Kayaking is a sport for the young and the old... it is one of my favorite things to do now!  We headed back on Sunday and now are trying to get back to the busyness of life without losing that feeling of adventure!