We spent our last morning in St. Albans having a wonderful breakfast with Violet, Dan and Marie. Scrambled eggs and ham, fresh apples and berries and something called Breakfast Bread by Pepperidge Farms. I've never seen this bread back home, but it is absolutely delightful. We enjoyed a cinnamon apple variety...toasted with some melted butter. Lovely.
I've been noticing the great care that these folks put into setting the table. The forks, spoons and knives are always out and arranged in the proper manner. There are virtually no cartons or packages on the table...the sugar is in the sugar bowl, the cream in the creamer, the coffee in it's carafe. A place for everything and everything in it's place. For every meal. I think they do this, not to impress, but because this is how it's always been done. The art of setting a welcoming family table is a lost one, going the way of the Dodo along with the family meal. And I have to say, that these small efforts and details really do go a long way in creating a delightful setting to gather around as a family.
After breakfast, Dan shared with us his experience in the military during World War II. He regaled us with tales for at least an hour and we looked through old photo albums. It was a really pleasant way to end our visit.
It was hard to leave today. This trip has turned out to be much more than we ever expected, and I am leaving with a whole new clarity and with a sense of contentment and optimism. I can't wait until the next visit, but until then we will take advantage of technology to keep us in touch.
Dan, Violet, Marie, Jack, Pam, Brian, Kristin, Mike and Chris,
Thank you all for your enormous generosity and hospitality and for making us feel so very loved and welcome.
Today was a girls day of lunch and shopping in downtown St. Albans. Marie took Amy and I on a tour of the best shops where we found some great clothes, scarves and kitchen items to bring home!
We also enjoyed an in-depth and very illuminating conversation over lunch in which Marie filled us in on a bit more family history, particularly with the women. This was kind of the missing piece to the puzzle that we've been looking for and it answers a lot of questions about our recent family history. Though I've only just met Marie, I've formed a real connection to her over the last few days. We share so much in common and she is a very open-minded woman. I'm gonna miss having her around.
Dan, Mike and Nick also enjoyed a boys afternoon of lunch and who knows what. Whatever boys like to do. According to Nick, though, they had a very nice time.
Later that afternoon I took a small jaunt around town where I explored the very old St. Albans cemetery. I am completely fascinated by old cemeteries...I could have walked around that place for hours.
And we were finally able to enjoy a beautiful Vermont sunset.
Today we hit the road with Violet and Jack and headed out to Lake Champlain and the Lake Champlain Islands. The Islands are a peninsula that run through the lake from Burlington, Vermont to Montreal, Quebec. There are five small towns that reside on the Islands where there are homes as well as shops and restaurants for visitors to enjoy.
Also along the way is an eight-mile detour to a small bridge that took us into Rouse Point, New York. Rouse Point is another small
town like St. Albans and those on the Islands. We had a nice little jaunt through town before moving on.
After our tour of the Islands we moved on to Burlington where we visited Church Street. This historical street is lined with shops and restaurants all nestled into wonderfully preserved buildings. We enjoyed a lovely lunch and saw a few sights before heading back to St. Albans for the day.
That evening we were treated to yet another superb family meal courtesy of Jack and Pam, complete with delicious food and more family stories and laughs.
This visit has been so therapeutic. It's been so overwhelmingly amazing to get in touch with these luminous people. We've heard so many times on this trip that we are pretty neat for making the trek across country just to meet them, but they have really given us so much more than the effort we put out to get here. They have given my sister and me something we've never really had....family. And my God, is it ever fun!
I'm far too exhausted tonight to recap our day, though I will as we had yet another fabulous day. For now, I'll just leave you with a few pictures....
Our main reason for visiting
It's been overwhelming to meet all these remarkable people who, upon meeting us and learning we are family, began treating us as if they've known us all their lives. Everyone has been taking turns preparing family meals and coming up with ideas of things for us to do. And they just talk and talk and laugh and talk, and you can really see the connection and love between these people. It just oozes from them. Overwhelming. And wonderful. This is the family I'd always
wished I had growing up. Of course, they've always been my family, but living on the opposite side of the country we never had the opportunity to experience them.
We got out and about today and we started off with an antique car show that was conveniently located across the street from our hotel. Nick, Amy and I all have a fondness and appreciation for classic cars, Amy and I having been inspired by our grandfathers passion. It was quite enjoyable to look at all the effort and care that folks have put in to restoring these memorable machines. As we walked along, Nick gave us 
a bit of design history here and there and pointed out details of interest in the engines...that kid really knows his cars...and we talked to a few of the car owners and eaves-dropped on the groups of old men who were gathering to "bullshit". Quite entertaining.
After the car show we met up with Violet, Dan, Jack and his wife Pam and drove to the Shelburne Museum located in 
Museum grounds. Impressionist paintings, folk art, quilts and textiles, decorative arts, furniture, American paintings and an array of 17th century to 20th century artifacts are all on view. It was a most unconventional museum, I've never seen anything like it before.
The grounds are absolutely stunning, I could have spent days there walking around or just sitting in the various gardens and soaking in the history and serenity. We enjoyed a guided shuttle tour of the grounds, where we were given some information and history about the various buildings and what was contained in them. We took some time to experience the Mary Cassatt and the Warren Kimble art exhibits as well as a fascinating exhibit of rare carousel animals and painted canvas panels from the museums 1902 carousel. We also toured the historical Locomotive 220 and the private rail car The Grand Isle, which carried such passengers as Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower.
We have been told that tomorrow we will experience Jack's family famous Maine blueberry pancake breakfast. Complete, of course, with Vermont maple syrup.
Okay, so day one in Vermont!
After a grueling day of travel yesterday, we finally arrived in the quaint historical town of St. Albans. Today was spent catching up with the family and meeting new family we didn't even know we had. And gracious, what an overwhelmingly remarkable group of people! Never have I been welcomed with such warmth and I am simply inspired by their infinite kindness and love. It breaks my heart that they are so far away but I'm so glad we decided to make the trek out here.
I plan to post lots of details and photos about my family and this charming little town. But for now....bed. It's been a long couple of days.
Goodnight everyone! And remember.....
(needle-point by my great aunt Violet)
We are organizing a yard sale to raise funds to help my friend Mindy pay her medical bills and we need your help. We are asking our friends, family and any other readers of this blog in Salt Lake City to please donate any unused/unneeded items to this sale. So start going through those garages and closets!
We are in need of items in good to fair condition such as:
Books
CD's / DVD's
Furniture items
Kitchen items such as dishes, appliances in working condition, etc.
Clothing (especially childrens clothing)
Home decor items such as lamps, picture frames, clocks, vases, etc.
Toys
Etc. etc. etc.
Any items that fail to sell will be donated to The Road Home of Salt Lake City and Deseret Industries.
Please contact me via commenting here or email at littlechina at peno dot com if you have items you wish to donate. We are planning to hold the sale the first or second weekend in July.
Mindy is a strong and amazing woman, and my dear dear friend. I would not be where I am today without all of her encouragement and support and I am delighted for this opportunity to return the favor.
Please repost this on your blogs and help us spread the word! Thank you to everyone for your consideration and support!! Your kindness and generosity never ceases to amaze!
Love,
Niki
Sometimes we all need a little help. Events happen, things go unexpectedly and before we know it our lives are topsy-turvy. It's times like these when we lean on our friends and family for support and to help us through these times.
I am linking to this entry from Mindy's blog. Please take the opportunity to read it and, if you can, to support her.
Mindy has been one of my most treasured friends for many years now. Her love and support helped me out of a pretty volatile situation and I am so grateful to her for all that she did for me during that dark period of my life. Her creativity and strength inspire me every day. And she has the ability to make me laugh like no one else can. I'm talking laugh so hard you fart. That's powerful! :)
So please take a moment out of your day to read her story and to get an original piece of local, independent art (shown above). Good Karma is a free gift with every purchase.
Thanks to all for your consideration.
Namaste'
I think this very well may be the most ridiculous idea a man has ever come up with. Ever.
A Monogrammed Steak Brand, brought to you by the fine folks at Williams-Sonoma:
Put your personal stamp on steaks and chops with this branding iron, hand forged in Texas. Your one-, two- or three- initial monogram can include any letter from A to Z. The 11 1/2" long iron comes with a 14" high, wall-mount rack for storage.
Hand forged in Texas, you say? Impressive. And wow...11 1/2 inches long. No doubt it'll be the longest on your block! *wink*
Okay, okay. Look, I understand the importance of men and grilling meat. I get it. It's your thing! Cooking a piece of slaughtered animal flesh to mouth-watering perfection is a thing of glory and far be it from me or anyone else to take that pleasure away. And I've got to admit you're pretty damned good at it.
But I believe that branding your steaks with your initials is just plain asinine. I mean, it's not like it's difficult to identify the chef. We all saw you behind the cloud of carcinogen-filled smoke and you'll be the one who smells of charred beef for the rest of the evening. You're probably also the one who's had the most beers. There is no doubt in our minds to whom to give the credit of the divine cut of meat about to grace our lips. Must you really mark your territory in this arena? Why not just pee on it and save yourself the $39.95?
Again, fellas...I salute your skill with open flame and appreciate the time and precision that goes into a great steak and the pleasure you get out of it. But wouldn't $39.95 be better spend on these?
I'm just sayin....
The 2008 Arthritis Walk to benefit the Arthritis Foundation kicked off at Wheeler Historic Farm this morning. Despite the unseasonal chill, there was a great turn out and over $16,000 raised to benefit arthritis support programs and research! Thanks to Nick, Lissa and Angie for their support and sponsorship of my walk today!
I walked in support of my dear friend Mindy, who is affected by rheumatic arthritis. Up until I decided to take part in this event, I didn't know much about arthritis. I knew it caused inflammation and pain in the joints, but all those Aleve commercials lead me to believe that it was relatively minor and a few OTC pain pills could get you back on the go. Not quite, it seems. In addition to affecting joints, it can also affect internal organs, skin and the eyes and is the number one cause if disability in America. What's more is that of the 46 million Americans living with arthritis, an estimated 294,000 (that's 1 in every 250) are children. It's been quite eye-opening.
Mr. Burns joined Mindy and me for our mile walk today, as did dozens of other awesome pups, and he even made some new friends. Check out this trifecta of sniffing and the delectable schnoz action on this mini Spuds McKenzie pup.
And take a gander at this little dude, named Bandit, who is missing his rear left leg. It's obvious, however, that hasn't slowed him down one bit. He's loaded with spunk and attitude and was enthusiastically dragging his owner all over the trails.
The walk through the grounds was very enjoyable. It's been years since I've visited Wheeler Farm and I'd forgotten how lush and beautiful it is. Our mile walk probably took twice as long as usual, because we were stopping along the way to take pictures of the landscape and some of the animals.
Little Cottonwood Creek
Moo.
Whoa, huge cock!
It was a fun day spent with a good friend for a good cause. I really learned a lot and gained a whole new perspective.
