Gone Lavender Picking...

Lavender  NOUN  /ˈlævəndə(r)/ 

1 : a a Mediterranean mint (Lavandula angustifolia syn. L. officinalis) widely cultivated for its narrow aromatic leaves and spikes of lilac-purple flowers which are dried and used in sachets and from which is extracted an aromatic oil used chiefly in perfumery

b : any of several plants congeneric with true lavender and used similarly but often considered inferior

     2 : a pale purple

I have always wanted to go lavender picking.  I just didn't know I could do it so close to my home (town).  We visited Yule Love Lavender in Leonard Michigan. 

After picking lavender, playing a couple rounds of lavender bingo and drinking lavender lemonade we gathered our bunches of lavender and headed home.  Next on the list is a visit to Greenfield Village.

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Kalifornia with Kids: Santa Barbara Pier

We just spent a wonderful day walking / biking the pier in Stearn's Wharf in Santa Barbara.  We thought it would be a nice idea to rent some bikes:

 We finally made our choice and were off to the pier... It was a lot harder than I thought too.

We took a short break and were lucky to meet a Crab person? getter? catcher? whatever.... His tee shirt had "Got crabs?" emblazoned on it --- of course.  He invited us to see his catch of crabs for the day.
It was impressive to say the least.

Some of the  Facts:
1. All  red rock crabs.
2. He can haul in any thing from 1200 lbs. to 2000 lbs at the height of the season!
3.  Today the haul was 1600 lbs. 
4. These crabs don't seem to be in any danger ecologically. There are lots to be found.
5.  When he sets traps he puts in 100 lbs. frozen bait.
6. A few days later  he uses a hydraulic sort of crane to lift them out of the water.
7. Then he dumps them into plastic bins inside a big vat of ice water to knock them out a bit.
8. Boat full of crabs heads back to the pier to be unloaded and delivered to customers!

Santa Barbara was beautiful and we had such a great time with our friends!!

The beach was beautiful too.

California is a great place to take your kids!

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More on Montmartre (with kids)

I was just going through photos and came upon these...When we climbed to the top of Montmartre on New Year's Day there was the most beautiful house.

I love the Art Nouveau door and plaque.

Maurice Neumont artist, painter and lithographer lived at 1 Place du Calvaire in the 18th arrondissement.  He died there in 1930.

I'd love to see the interior... someone had a christmas tree up!

An example of Maurice Neumont's work is here.

More to do in Paris next week.

Montmartre with Kids

For this past trip to Paris en famille it was new year's day and we headed up the hill to Montmartre.   Almost like a Spring Day--the kids saw the performers (this dude below was the best).  We all climbed up and down lots of stairs and they got to see the Artists for which Montmartre is famous.... Could be considered a bit shlocky (sp?) but fun all the same!!

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Boston Day 2 - with kids

Visit to the North End:

Christ Church: North End Boston (British and Loyalists only)

Interesting to note:  All the pews are like enclosed boxes.  Turns out it was a way to conserve heat before central heating.

enclosed pew

A beautiful Stairway

 I love alleys and doorways.

I love funny little narrow houses. And this one had a matching car.  This building can't be more than 13 feet deep. The front entrance is in the alley... This row of buildings and houses faces a very old cemetery. 

view from the cemetary

Cute to look at, right?  But hard to live in I'm sure.

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