day 2

 The storm rages on so we have another day off.

I'd rather think about the summer so here are some

more pictures from our Pennsylvania trip.

We were able to spend a few days in Amish Country.

It was a delightful time.

I could have stayed there for weeks just sitting and watching

life going on.

 We took a short bus tour which was absolutely fantastic.

Our tour guide gave us so much information about the Amish.

First clue to spotting an Amish farm: clothes on the line.

And they'll often string them up very high to protect them again

escaping animals.

 Buggies everywhere.

The sides of the highways are marked from their

steel wheels.

 Another Amish farm clue: windmills

 Now this was a surprise.

The Amish grow tobacco - tons of it.

And of course it's of very high quality.

We saw these drying barns everywhere.

 And of course the tobacco in the fields.

 So many beautiful farm yards.

 The Amish also have camels.

Not really.

This farmer has a lactose intolerant child and he discovered (with the

help of an "English" friend and his computer) 

that camel milk is easily digested by those with lactose issues.

This same friend also discovered that camel milk sells

for a huge amount of money, so he has been building his camel "herd"

and sells camel milk on the side.

Notice the camels in with the cows.

Apparently they get along quite well.

winter has arrived

 We have gone from the warmest November ever to this!

Until last night, we hardly had any snow on the ground.

 This was the view to the north this morning at 8:00.

We were told at 6:00 that we had no school.

I wasn't surprised.

 The view to the west.

 

The view to the southeast.

The view from the front door!

harrisburg, pa

 Our first stop in Pennsylvania was the state capital, Harrisburg.

It is a very grand and old city

and has this amazing bridge that I took way too many pictures of!

It didn't help that the light was constantly changing and a paddlewheel

was coming up the river.

It was a pretty special moment.

 We wandered around downtown for awhile.

It was almost completely deserted.

niagara falls

 At the end of August

David and Katy had a reception in Pennsylvania.

We were able to travel down there and actually surprise them.

And we enjoyed a few surprises of our own along the way!

The first one was Niagara Falls which I had last visited when I was 10.

I have to say that the falls looked pretty much the same, but there were far too

many people and too much stuff.

 We saw the sights, took lots of pictures...

 ...and had a nice German young man take a picture of us 

(which happens to be on Howard's phone which is with him in Brazil right now)...

 ...and then we went across to the American side which was much less

commercialized and much more enjoyable.

 The Canadian "Maid of the Mist" is now called "Hornblower" 

but the Americans somehow kept "our" name.

That was kinda strange.

Of course it's still incredibly magnificent and beautiful

but our overall "take away" from our visit there

wasn't highly positive.

On to a slower pace in Pennsylvania!

she's engaged!

 It's official!

Terence and Bethany were engaged yesterday afternoon.

They went for a lovely walk in the woods in St-Pierre and it was

there that Terence popped the question.

We all had a bit of a part in the proceedings, but in the end,

it was up to Terence to get the job done!

He did well. :)

And he chose her a beautiful ring that she absolutely loves!

We are thrilled and blessed.

We will be planning another June wedding!