Sometimes you CAN believe what you read!

Erika recently bought Tom a nice litttle book called Behave Yourself! the Essential Guide to International Ettiquette.

We were reading the section on Croatia, and noted this passage- "Croatian hospitality is considerable, and you will therefore be offered plate after plate of food and lots to drink."

Although we have not yet been to Croatia, we do have a boat neighbor who is Croatian, and he has brought this hospitality trait with him to the States. Yesterday evening, for example, it wasn't quite dinnertime, and Tom & I were sitting by the lake reading. We looked up, and here came Milan carrying two glasses of white wine. "You must come eat with us," he said, "I have cooked too much just for Victoria & me. I have some nice fish. You come now and eat."

I'm not a fan of fish, but Milan insisted, so over we went. The "nice fish" turned out to be a stew of sorts with mussels and sausage in a tomatoey wine sauce. I have never eaten a mussel in my life, and I was positive I could not eat any (they were still in the shell, for heaven's sake)- BUT I tried one, loved it, and the rest was history. But the "nice fish" didn't end there, Milan had also cooked salmon, lobster cakes and crab cakes! Our wine glasses didn't go empty either, and needless to say, we did not go to bed hungry!

Points of light

Honeysuckle blossoms at sunset. Life is sweet!

Eager beaver!

Someone is always building something here at the marina! Tom caught these photos of the beaver - we're not sure, but it looks like he's thinking of damming up the entrance to the lake!

You may have to double -click on the photos to enlarge them to see the large branch Mr. Beaver is pulling behind him.

Look Owen, Grandma caught the Goose !!!

Meet Bud! Bud is a new addition to the marina this year. We think someone dropped him off to be a companion to Bernie, who has been with us every summer.

Unfortunately, Bud appears to be a very old goose in the final stage of his life, and he doesn't move very fast.

Our neighbors like him too!

Bud is spending a lot of time sitting here, soaking up the sun. We just hope this is not his final resting place!

The Bell Choir of Finland

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Ithaca hills came alive with the sound of music from the Dolce Handbellchoir tour group from Kuopio, Finland. Our church had agreed to host these young people and their chaperones for two nights. We were their very first stop and concert in America!

After arriving from Finland at JFK, and spending the night in a NYC hostel (not so good, we were told), they piled into 2 large vans, and with a rental truck to carry their bells and the foam pads they use for the bells when performing, they made their way to Ithaca. I was impressed that the airline did not lose any of their luggage or their bells!

After the girls had a short practice session, Tom & I took our two guests to the lake for an American style picnic and to sleep on the boat. Who knew that the weather would be so awful? Although it didn't actually rain, it was very damp, cold, and windy. Good thing Sanni and her Mom Ritva were tired enough to sleep anywhere! They were troopers and put up with our windy dinner and the cramped quarters on the boat. Thanks go to Brad & Ellen for allowing Tom & I to use their boat for the night.

Wednesday AM was not much brighter- here we are getting ready to head out for the day.

















Tom & I volunteered to be tour guides on Wednesday, and we led them around the Ithaca area- the Cornell bell tower, ( the tower has 21 bells that are played by hand & foot by the designated chimemaster); Sage chapel on campus where they performed a beautiful impromptu hymn, singing in Finnish; the many gorges and waterfalls; then to lunch at Taughannock Falls.



And then we asked the girls what they wanted to do next. "Shopping" was the unanimous response- so we let them loose in the mall. After a wonderful dinner of fried chicken and apple pie, the girls and their director entertained a full church with their beautiful music.

We did take pity on Sanni & Ritva, and we took them home to sleep Wednesday night.

Today they are on their way to Buffalo, where they will perform, then they are headed to Pittsburgh, Virginia Beach, Washington, DC, Philadelphia and a tour of Malmark where their bells were all made, and finally back to NYC for the trip home. We wish them all safe and fun traveling and hope everyone who hears their music enjoys it as much as we did!