One Quick Outing and New Friend Part 2

We're back! And we took Noam and Squirt with us to the dentist! They were both very scared and stayed well away as my dentist was working. I expected both of them to think the dentist was torturing me, but I guess they must have seen that I was perfectly fine and asked questions instead (questions that I could only answer with an unladylike grunt!).

Does it hurt? What's that thing for? Does it taste good?

Noam spent time talking to the receptionist while Squirt took a nap as we were waiting for my parents to get done. I let them both to their thing, since I had projects to work on.

This is my friend!

After getting nice clean teeth, it's tradition that we go and dirty them up again. We went to Red Robin because we needed the fast service we have come to expect from them in order to make our movie in time. The nice people gave Noam and Squirt some crayons and a place mat with games so they could play while we waited for food. They were joined by the origami bunnies too!

Squirt likes to color.

We all had fun finding words!

After lunch was the movie. This is what Noam was really looking forward to. It was his first movie! Even Squirt, who had only joined us that morning, was excited to be seeing it.

Shh, it's starting!

. . . .

I know Noam and our new friend Squirt had a great day out and about. Noam tells me that Squirt, being such a little piggy, doesn't like going out much. He's afraid he will get lost in the big world. I can understand that. Since this trip, Squirt stays home most of the time. He likes it there. There is room in Noam's Gnomish Travel Basket for Squirt when he does decide to come with us.

Noam's next adventure will be the Maryland Renaissance Festival. I've been waiting to bring Noam to this for months. It should be great fun!

One Quick Outing and New Friend Part 1

Poor Noam! I forgot to put up this adventure. He's mad at me. This turned out to be a very important day for him. Not only was it his first trip to the dentist, and his first movie, he met a new friend!

The day started like any other day. Noam and I were going to join my parents on the back patio for breakfast before we went to our appointment. Noam noticed something on the fountain that I didn't notice.

What's that?

When he went over to look, he found something wonderful! A tiny three-legged piggy! He was just like the bigger piggies that Noam plays with every day while they're waiting for new homes, only much much smaller. Noam said his name was Squirt, because he is definitely the runt of the three-legged piggy family. Squirt's voice is too soft for me to hear.

Hi, Squirt!

Noam, being the wonderfully friendly Gnome that he is, invited Squirt to say with us. They both shared my breakfast.

We like the fruit!

Since this day was a day for going to the dentist. I had to show Noam and Squirt how to brush their teeth. I'm so happy that I had a little Noam-sized toothbrush! Squirt needed some extra help.

Am I supposed to eat that?

And, we must not forget to floss!

That's not how you do it, guys!

Tomorrow, we'll see what happened at the dentist, and after! Stay tuned!

Noam's Family Weekend Part 2

Before heading off to my brother's place, we hung out at the hotel to give people a chance to get home from work. And, take a much needed nap!

I get my own bed. And it's huge!

My brother's awesome home is actually a little farm. He's still working on getting it going, but he had a nice little vegetable garden.

Maybe I can help!

My brother couldn't do much as he was recovering from surgery, but my sister-in-law took us to an awesome book fair. It's two big warehouses full of cheap books! Heaven!

I like the cookbooks best!

After we bought our hearts out with books, we hung out and watched a couple movies. Noam played with the cats.

Ichus wasn't all that scary.

Winston kinda scared me.

Then it was one more night in the hotel and a long drive home. Thankfully, my parents took Noam and I straight home and we didn't have to ride the Metro back.

It was a fun little weekend!

Noam's Family Weekend Part 1

A couple weeks ago, Noam came with my parents and I to visit my brother.

First, we had to take a Metro train to my parents' home. I'm pretty sure this was the first time I rode the Metro without another person. I'm glad I had my Gnome with me!

Moving right along, HEY!

After our evening train ride, we hung out with my mother then got a good night's sleep for the three hour drive ahead of us.

A good road trip starts with a good breakfast. Today, it was coffee and muffins.

And Noam-sized china!

Sometime through our ride, we had to stop for lunch, too. Noam had more of my milkshake than anything else.

It was yummy!

We started in Maryland and were headed all the way to the Shenandoah valley. Soon to be a thing of the past, we had to make use of the little break area.

That's a lot of miles!

Just up the road from my brother's place is a nice little hotel. We've stayed there before. This time, Noam and I had our own room.

I like it better than camping!

Next, a day of visiting!

Noam's Paddling Expedition Part 3

The second to last day of our trip had us stopping at a park I knew well for lunch. Before we ate, we toured the rural life museum, which was a collection of buildings from the just post-Civil War era and many objects that one might find in an old, off the beaten path, kind of town like those in Southern Prince George's County at the time.

The first building was a chestnut log cabin built buy a former slave, Charles Duckett. Many of the beams were the original chestnut that Duckett hewed himself.

Stew is ready!

Just outside the Duckett Cabin was a quaint little garden. A lovely museum actor told us a lot about what it must have been like to live in such a cabin, sustained by such a garden.

The potatoes look good.

One of the highlights of this town-like museum is the Sears Modern Home, a home-building kit sold in the catalog of Sears Roebuck and Company in the early 1900's. It seems I was quite lax in getting pictures of the outside of this house, but Noam had some fun inside.

The bed is soft.

Re-cord. Neat!

The Duvall Tool Museum was really neat too. It had many items in common use in the early 1900's. There was a dentist's chair, an apple cider machine, and even an old cash register. Noam was very interested in the cobbler's and cordwainer's tools.

If it's not mushrooms, it's shoes!

There was also a child's school desk and related items.

And musty old books!

An area was set aside to look like a general store. I liked the old cash register. Noam stopped to have a chat with an old rag doll.

You would not believe the stories she had to tell.

After this stop, we camped along my favorite creek. I paddle ths creek often, and even had the chance to go at night. The night paddle along my favorite part of this river was beyond amazing. The look of things usually familiar in the starlight, the sound of night creatures in the wetlands. And we even encountered a family of six Barred Owls. Just unbelievably beautiful.

The next and final day of our paddle had another mishap. We managed to miss the creek where we were supposed to land and have lunch. We realized where it was later: at a part of the river where the water was very shallow and there were ten or more Great Blue Herons wading in it. We paddled silently by them. By the time we realized we had gone up the wrong creek, it was closer to just keep going to the end than it was to go back up the river to the planned stop.

It's hot out here and I want lunch!

We finally made it to the final landing, and so did lunch. So, all's well that ends well! We have one more adventure planned for the end of my two week long vacation: a quick weekend visit more than two hundred miles away from this river to see my brother. More to come, stay tuned!


Note: Garden Gnomes are not waterproof and should be protected from excess moisture. This Gnome is being carefully guarded by a trained Gnome-handler and experienced kayaker. Please be sure you and your Gnomes know the risk before attempting this or any stunt. Gnome doctors may not be able to save your Gnomes in the event of a mishap. No Gnomes were harmed in the photographing of this adventure.

Noam's Paddling Expedition Part 2

Our first day of kayaking ended up being more adventure than anyone wanted. To make a long story short, recent rains and the opening of a dam made the river too swift for many of the paddlers to handle. I was instructed to secure my boat to an old gazebo on the side of the river, in the rising water, and walk through private land to get to a road where someone could pick me up and take me back to camp. Noam was terrified, even though we were never in any danger, so he stayed snug in my dry bag.

The incident of fifty kayakers abandoning their plans for an eight-mile paddle caused an unbelievable media frenzy. They're like vultures! The media ended up being the real problem, we were in more danger in being covered in that filthy water than we were for any other reason, but they kept trying to make a story out of it. (Many of them ended up reporting wrong information, but that's irrelevant to Noam's adventure.)

I think the cameras scared Noam quite a bit. The EMTs had taped off a section for us so we could get some peace as we regrouped, had lunch, and made a plan to recover boats and make it to the next camp site. I found Noam hiding in a tree!

Keep them back!

They're scary!

I didn't like talking to them much either, Noam.

I sent Noam to the campsite with one of the other paddlers. He was done with the water for the day, but I had to go back for my boat. After many hours, I arrived at the campsite. We were to have a fun party with music and contra dancing into the wee hours of the night. Noam may not have liked the cameras, but I think he likes being on stage.

I need to learn an instrument.

He had some fun with the second group of players, the ones leading the dancing, as well.

And, turn to the left, turn to the right, bow to your partner!

I didn't have much energy to be dancing all night, after that very eventful day. I went to bed early. I didn't even hear Noam crawl into his sleeping bag.

The next day, we actually got to hit the water! There was a big black cloud that caused some worry, though. The group I was with beached the boats while it passed. It didn't send more than a few raindrops on us, but it is still better to be safe. I sure don't want to be on the water with nothing around, holding a big metal pole in my hand when lightening has potential!

It was a little boring waiting for the cloud to pass. Noam was busy chatting with some of the other paddlers.

And then he said....

We also worked on some river restoration and education projects. I chose to work on the nature play area, and Noam and I spent two hours making a sign for it. I burnt my hand on the hot bit when it flew out of the drill, so the wetlands sanctuary had better appreciate what I went through!

I worked hard, too!

This day ended with a fantastic sing along. Noam didn't know these songs that I learned some twenty five years ago. It was really fun to teach him.

The fox is on the town-o!

The gent who normally plays the fiddle in this group had a fiddle mishap (it was in two pieces!) so he played the mandolyn instead. I play fiddle as well, but always struggled with the mandolyn. Here he is, showing Noam a chord.

Was that C or G?

And so ended our third night. We've got two more days on the water and one more night camping to go.

Noam's Paddling Expedition Part 1

This year, I was very excited to go on the annual Patuxent River Sojourn. Noam was thrilled to be coming with me. It was a new experience for both of us!

The first day was Thursday, and not much was going on. Noam waited in my little camping chair.

When does the fun start?

After the tent was all set up and the kayaks unloaded, I left Noam to go park the car at our final destination. I took a bus with other paddlers back to our camp ground. Just as we got back, everyone was getting ready for dinner.

Time for chow!

Dinner was a barbecue beef thing and some yummy veggie salads. It was also a great time to chat with and get to know other paddlers.

Are you going to finish that?

After a brief meeting about the trip and what to expect, we had drumming around the campfire. I was told these were some kind of Navajo drums, Noam just liked to jump up and down on them.

Boom! Boom!

After a long night of drumming, it was time to hit the sack! We had to rest up to get an early start for one of the two longest paddles of the trip.

Goodnight, Gnome.

The VARF, Part 3

Noam's VARF adventure continues!

After the alpacas, we ran across Mad Maggie. She was juggling. Noam had never seen such a thing before and wanted a closer look. Mad Maggie obliged. I don't think that's quite what Noam had in mind.

Wee!

Noam found some pirate ducks on a board. He decided to follow them. They did not mind, but said he needed an eye patch and warned him that he might get wet. Noam did not want to board any further.

We're boarding!

Next, it was back to the militia encampment to visit with my dad again. Noam did not understand the stocks. He wanted to go in so he could see for himself.

I'm innocent!

One of my favorite features of this festival is the stone labyrinth set in a field. It is a meditative process to walk the spiral-like paths in to the center and back out. Noam really enjoyed it.

There's peace here.

As is tradition after any day at a Renaissance festival, we were starving! We fought some traffic and finally found a nice restaurant to take a break, replenish some fluids, and fill our bellies. At the end of the meal, Noam played with the origami bunnies.

Two, three, and hop!

It was another long car ride to my parents' house were Noam and I were staying for the night. He settled in before I was even ready for bed!

Turn off the light, please!

Noam and I had so much fun at the VARF with our friends. I hope we can do it again soon!

Noam's next adventure is this weekend's kayak and camping trip. He's got his gnome bag all ready. I know we'll have a great time. Stay tuned!

The VARF, Part 2

Noam's VARF adventure continues!

After the great fun with the trumpet fairy (and maybe still a little too much wine in his little Gnome system), Noam found an empty stage and did his best rendition of Puck.

If we spirits have offended....

An audience gathered! They looked to be having fun!

They love me!

After his performance, Noam decided to take a break with some of the ladies of court. I hope he didn't say anything embarrassing!

I'm a lady's Gnome.

I was very happy to learn that the creator of fine soaps, GreenDeva, was back again this year. We spent a little bit of time here, my friend telling the nice lady of Noam's adventures. She asked Noam to pick his favorite soap. It was Cranberry, of course.

Just like my hat!

GreenDeva also had a little Buddha that Noam took some time to meet and speak with.

What is the sound of Gnome hands clapping?

There are alpacas at the faire! I love these critters and the worried sound they make. Noam wouldn't go near. He thought the alpacas might eat him!

It's behind me, isn't it?

That's all for today. Tune in tomorrow for the final part of Noam's VARF adventure!