August 7

Matt’s concert is tomorrow! Yay!

My parents are here for a visit, and I’m SO grateful to have the company and the help with the kids. According to Ryan family tradition, we have done it all: the first day we went to Essex, had lunch at a cute little place called the Essex Inn and looked through the shops, and then came back to have a picnic dinner while we listened to some Meadowmount folks perform at the park. The next day we drove to Lake Placid, wandered around Main Street for a bit, ate lunch at a place called the Cottage on Mirror Lake (I had a YUMMY turkey, gorgonzola, portabella with red pepper spread sandwich!), took the gondola up to Whiteface Mountain, drove up the Memorial Highway to the summit of Whiteface Mountain, and then came back to Westport to barbeque. Yesterday we drove to Ticonderoga for a parade of the National Fife and Drum Corps (according to the paper, it was a “once in a lifetime event”, and I’m thankful for that because I think I heard enough fife playing to last me a lifetime!), went to Fort Ticonderoga (we saw Ethan Allen’s gun, George Washington’s razor, and Martha Washington’s earrings that she wore to the inaugural ball), came back to spend the afternoon with Matt on our porch and have dinner together. Today we took the Essex ferry to Vermont, visited Shelburne Farms, drove to the Ben and Jerry’s factory for the tour, and came back so I could have dinner with Matt while my parents watched the kids. Phew! And we still have a few more days! Tomorrow we really don’t have many plans, which is good; maybe we’ll go to the beach or the playground. I’m really having a good time with them, and I know that the kids are enjoying themselves.

It’s hard to believe that I only have 6 more nights here. I remember arriving and thinking with a sense of dread “I’m going to be here for 49 days”. It has gone by quickly, and despite the dog hair, the funky smells, the crowded kitchen, and the lack of space, it has been enjoyable. Our hosts have been so welcoming and hospitable, and they’ve promised us to save us space if we come back next summer. I do hope we can keep in touch with them; they are wonderful people.

I have to go take a bath: I’ve given up on taking showers because the main bathroom hasn’t been cleaned once in the past 49 days, and I can’t take the wet bathmat, or the overflowing garbage, or the hairy bathtub, or the smell anymore. So I’ve resigned myself to bathing, and it is worth the effort.