London calling

Jon and I managed to find a few days to ourselves and hopped over to London for a quick visit. It was kind of a whirlwind tour of the city, but man, it was awesome. London, by far, is one of my favorite places we've been.

The first day we were there, we got off the plane, and headed to our hotel. We stayed at this nice little place in the Kensington/Chelsea area of London. Garden View Hotel lived up to its name, overlooking a tiny little garden park. The place was clean, quiet, offered free breakfast and was just a few minutes from the Underground. Once we checked in and got settled, we went on a four hour bike tour of the city with Fat Tyre Bike Tours (yup, the same company we toured Paris with). The tour was good, but our guide was mediocre at best. Who knows, maybe he was just having an off day. By the end of the tour I was exhausted! Being four months pregnant and cycling around a city in 70 degree weather, probably wasn't the best idea, but whatevs, it was still fun. We got to see a lot of fun things, but a lot of the typical sights, like Buckingham Palace was in full Jubilee preparation, so the views were obstructed. Ah well, at least we got to see the guards with the fuzzy hats.

On the second day, we celebrated my birthday! We did the Making of Harry Potter, a studio tour where the movies were filmed. That was the highlight of my day, hands down. Warner Brothers had sets like the Great Hall, the Gryffindor Common Room, Dumbledore's office, and costumes from the movies displayed like pros. I took gobs of pictures (probably close to 100 of just the tour, it was a little ridiclous. I was like a kid in a candy shop). The coolest part of the tour was seeing the "small" scale model of Hogwarts (pictured at bottom right) that was built for the movies. It was used for the incredible sweeping landscape scenes in the movies. They also had it rigged so the lighting in the room changed from day to night, and with the change of time, the castle changed as well - more candles and lights peaking out from the windows. It was  incredible. We topped off my birthday with a spin around the London Eye, which gave us killer views of London. The weather was perfect for it - sun just starting to set and no clouds. We also managed to find a burger place that rocked my socks. I know, I know, eating burgers in London? Seriously though, this place Byron's served me the best burger, onion rings and chocolate milkshake I've had since we moved to this side of the pond. Yum.

Our last day was actually spent outside of London in Salisbury. We picked up a bus tour in London and headed to Stonehenge for the afternoon. The weather cooperated and only rained on our way back to the city. This ancient heritage site is as every bit amazing as we imagined. It's so massive and incredible, and no one really knows that much about it. They do know that it was built in stages spanning hundreds of years, and what kind of stones were used, and where they originated from, but aside from that, much of Stonehenge remains a mystery. Pretty cool stuff. Completely worth the 4 hour round trip from London.

This trip to London provided us with some quality time with each other, which is much needed with the upcoming planned chaos of Jon opening a bakery and the arrival of the munchkin in November. A bit of babymoon, if you will. It was also probably one of the best planned trips we've taken, which (duh) makes the visit much more fun. Getting around London was a piece of cake on the Underground. Seriously, more cities with mass transit need to study London's Underground/Tube/Overground system - we didn't get lost once! London was a total success and I cannot wait to go back to visit (once the Olympics and the Jubilee are all said and done).

An addition to the family

We are proud to announce that The Downes' will be welcoming a bundle of joy in November! Jon and I are both so excited for our new addition.

Here is the baby at about 13 weeks.

We will be having the baby in Ireland, so the little one will be both an Irish and an American citizen (way cool!) As if being pregnant weren't overwhelming and amazing enough, try navigating a completely foreign healthcare system. The maternity care here is free (which still is incredible to me), and the nurses and midwives are awesome.

I will try to keep this updated as we progress. Currently I'm 13 weeks along, but when the ultrasound was done a little over a week ago, the technician said the baby was measuring at about 12 weeks 6 days, so I don't really know where I am now. It still amazes me that I'm growing a little human. Man, life is good.

Hey, Europe!

Phew! The past couple of weeks have been busy, and not just because the end of term is coming up (though that doesn't help). Jon and I have been bouncing around Europe visiting Scotland, Spain, and France!

Scotland was great because we were able to catch up with some Cobleskill friends, and hang out with them for the weekend. Then on Sunday before we flew back to Dublin, we spent the day in Edinburgh. After enjoying Scotland for a couple of days, I cannot wait to go back.

Pictured here from the top left, is my friend Jess, who we were visiting; me and Jon on top of Hailes Castle; and a shot of Hailes Castle. The castle was right down the hill from where we were staying - on a farm. 

The crest at Edinburgh Castle, Jon and I at Edinburgh Castle looking over the city, Edinburgh Castle, and the world's best bagpiper (because it can't actually play- hah!) and Jon.

Spain was phenomenal. We really enjoyed the laid back atmosphere here. We toured around the city, visited another castle, rode in a cable car, and enjoyed a very sunny day at the beach.

We picked up my brother Logan in Barcelona, and the three of us made our way to Paris. We took a bicycle tour around the city and got to see some of the incredible sights. We also enjoyed a delicious crepe for lunch. Logan and I stayed in Versailles, and were able to see the Palace of Versailles (bottom left picture).

Logan and I flew back to Dublin after a slightly disappointing time in France. We were supposed to visit Normandy, but with the Easter holiday, the tour company's wires got crossed and gave us the wrong info. Long story short, we didn't go to Normandy :(. While in Ireland, I took Logan up to Northern Ireland for a day trip to the Giant's Causeway, the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, and Belfast. We had gorgeous weather for a day on the northern coast.

I had a ton of fun adventuring around with my not-so-little brother. Hopefully we'll get to do it again in the future. Can't believe that boy graduates from high school in June. Man, I'm getting old.

Ducks across Ireland

While we were home for the holidays a retired racing duck found its way into our luggage bound for Dublin. The duck, a former member of the Oswegatchie Adironduck fleet, used to spend its days swimming down the West Branch of the Oswegatchie River. Now, the duck is making its way around the Emerald Isle.

Last week while my parents were visiting, the duck got a grand tour around Ireland.

From the top left: the duck with the infamous Molly Malone, who in addition to delivering cockles and mussels, enjoyed a trollop with the scallops; Me, a leprechaun, and the duck; the duck and it's handsome Irish duck friend; and, my dad and the duck having a blast at Bunratty Castle.

From the top left: the duck enjoying the local libations at the Old Jameson Distillery; the duck along the coast in Northern Ireland; me and the duck at the Cliffs of Moher; and, the duck at the Giants Causeway.

Stay tuned for more quack-tastic adventures of me and the duck. If you're interested in adopting a retired racing duck of your own, give Oswegatchie Education Center a shout. All money raised goes to a great cause - sending kids to summer camp!

Oh yeah, we saw Ireland

Last week mom, dad, and I were able to drink in the gorgeous Irish countryside. We toured the west of Ireland, visiting the Cliffs of Moher, Doolen, The Burren, Connemara, Kylemore Abbey, and Galway. We also were able to head north to check out Belfast, Carrick-a-Rede, the Giants Causeway, and other beautiful spots along the northern coast.

Images from top going clockwise-ish: Cliffs of Moher; me and dad crossing the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge: Dad, mom and me at Carrick-a-Rede; Mom and dad at The Burren; and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge.

All of these images are from the Giants Causeway up in Northern Ireland. 

We had a fantastic time seeing everything, but I think the highlight, for me, was the northern tour of Carrick-a-Rede and the Giants Causeway. These are truly beautiful, well respected places - something that's hard to come by these days. And, I can't wait to go back (I think I'll take my brother north when he visits in April).

Flat Stanley Does Connemara, part 2

Our intrepid travelling friend, Flat Stanley, continues. This time, the three of us headed to the west of Ireland to check out Connemara.

Flat Stanley and his new pal the retired racing duck from Oswegatchie Education Center. Stay tuned for more duck shenanigans.

Flat Stanley chillaxing at an old friary.

Us at Kylemore Abbey. It poured the entire day, so Stanley spent a lot of time couped up in my purse. You have to play it safe when one of your travel companions is paper, and could literally fall apart in the rain.

Us at the Quite Man museum in Cong. This area is where the movie was filmed.

Flat Stanley Does Dublin: Part 1

I visited my mom's preschool while I was home in Lowville over the holidays, and her class had been learning about Flat Stanley, a beloved children's book character. They asked if there was enough room in my luggage for him to fly back to Dublin with me. Naturally, Stanley being nice and flat and accommodating, he fit perfectly into my suitcase.

Since Stanley has been in Dublin, we have been quite busy. Follow along as Jon and I show our flat friend around our fair city.

 

Flat Stanley is excited for his journey to Ireland!

 

Flat Stanley visited Jon at work - The Bald Barista. He makes delicious coffee!

 He got to ride on a double-decker bus around Dublin.

 

Flat Stanley visited Gammell's Bakery, where he and I enjoyed tea and Cornish Pasty.

 

We cruised around the city on my bike. Flat Stanley had to hang on tight in my basket because it was so windy!

  

The Temple Bar Cultural Trust had a Chinese New Year celebration.
We decided to check it out. There was a dancing dragon and people playing these cool drums. It was pretty awesome.

Beachy keen

After one of our professors decided to cancel class at the last minute, myself, Jillian (the other American), and Dag of Ethiopia, decided to get off campus and explore. So we hopped on the first bus off campus and ended up at the beach, on December 1. Oh yeah!

The tide was out so we were able to walk out quite far.

 

 It was a lovely day at the beach, despite it being December.
We collected sea shells by the sea shore.

 

Jillian, me and Dag.

  

And, yes, for those of you who forgot that Ireland is a lovely tropical location, they've got palm trees here. Who'da thunk it?!

It really was one of the best days I've had here on the Emerald Isle in my nearly four months here.

DIY Weekend

Jon and I spent the weekend meeting some new and wonderful people thanks to the DIY Skillshare event! It was really lovely. I mean, it was nice to talk with someone other than Jon, and it was nice to get outside and enjoy this fall-ish weather. Kudos to the folks who put this shin dig together. And, major kudos to the chefs for keeping everyone well fed!

We constructed a compost bin out of materials we found in the skip (aka garbage. Words are fun here!)

The finished product!

People rode really awesome bikes. The bike guys also juggled random things all weekend, in addition to helping people fix up their bikes. It was fun.

We made wreaths out of scavenged greenery. It's pretty amazing what a city can offer. Jillian made hers out of really poky greenery.

 My wreath is made of different types of ivy and is hanging proudly in our flat over the couch.

Vroman's Nose and ice cream

All summer long I kept talking about how pretty the Vroman's Nose is. So finally, Steph made me take her for a hike. 

Jammin'

This weekend we decided to get serious about canning. Our pickling cucumber plants were kind of out of control. So I picked them clean and got about two-pounds of cukes. It was decided, we were going to make pickles! 

Our tiny farm a few months later

It's been a while since we've shown you how our plot at the Cobleskill Community Garden is doing. Well, everything has taken off like crazy! Well, except for our lettuce, that rascally groundhog who lives under the shed thinks our lettuce is quite a tasty treat. Saturday Jon and I went and picked up M for some quality time with Cool Jon and Miss Kate at the garden. It was so fun.

The strawberry fruits of our labor

Ten quarts of strawberries later and we finished up with four batches of strawberry jam. Our pantry is now stocked with 16 jars of tasty homemade jam for the next two years. Even better, we had leftover berries that I was able to chop up and freeze.

Hello strawberry shortcake in January!

 

Strawberry fields forever...

We made our semi-annual pilgrimage to the strawberry fields. We knew it was perfect weather because dark ominous clouds loomed in the distance, glaring at us as we picked our bounty. Side note: Two years ago when we went strawberry picking in Glenville, Jon made me finish picking our 12 quarts amid tornado warnings. Yup torrential rain, thunder and lighting - perfect for berry picking. This time we headed to Bohringer's Fruit Farm outside of Middleburgh. This place has decently priced berries if you're into the pick-your-own thing (we paid $2.25 per quart). And, really can you beat the sweeping views of the Schoharie Valley?

 

Wintergreen Park

We spent the day at Wintergreen Park, just outside Sharon Springs, with some friends. Let me just say that this place is awesome.

The engagement in pictures

Last weekend we met Katie of MomIQ fame in Washington Park to take some snappy photos for our engagement!! Here are a few of my faves.

How can you resist a couple in Chucks?

The beginning

We both grew up helping our grandma's plant and pick vegetables in the garden. And, ever since we've been together we've taken to container gardening. As it turns out landlords don't appreciate their groomed lawns ripped up and planted with the promise of a bountiful harvest.

Snowy fun: fort-gloos and friends

Steph, Jon and Kate in the fort-gloo.

After being inside for what seems like forever, we were having a serious case of cabin fever - and the only way to cure that was - more cowbell! I kid. We felt that the nearly three-feet of snow was begging to be played in, so we grabbed some makeshift sleds, called our dear friend Steph, and decided to hit the killer hill on the farm.