The Fabulous B@ker Blog

...and yet twice the fun. Jasper came home from the vet yesterday weighing a little less after being neutered. Of course, the vet didn't want to give him back because he is so sweet. He had a good first night home, with minimal attempts at licking his wounds. We finally removed the cone around 10pm because he was just standing by the bed staring at Mark...not very happy. Then, he jumped up on the bed and had a great nights sleep. Today he'll be taking it easy after a quick walk to the market, and maybe hanging out with us as we scrape the fence in prep for painting.

I haven't gone on for a while about how awesome Fairport is, but it's time to point out that Fairport (and also, technically, the surrounding area of Perinton - very confusing) was voted one of the Top 100 Best Places in America for 2008 by Relocate-America. Fairport and Saratoga Springs were the only towns chosen for New York State. That seems like a great reason to celebrate with a gelato , or a cup of coffee at Fairport Village Coffee, or a beer at the newly opened Mulconry's Irish pub, or a boat ride down the Canal on the Colonial Belle, or...

It's been a crazy week of catch-up after our whirlwind trip to Virginia. Trip update since the last entry: Sue and Ken were great guides to the Roanoke area, and we spent a lot of time downtown at the market and surrounding area. On Sunday, Mark headed out to fish with a guide, and we headed for the hills. We took a scenic drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains to Floyd, VA, , a stop on the Crooked Road , Viriginia's Heritage Music Trail. After lunch in Floyd, we took the Blue Ridge Parkway with the intent of stopping at a winery, and were lucky to discover Mabry's Mill, a place Sue had wanted to visit for a long time but had never stumbled upon (see picture). Then after a stop at Chateau Morrisette winery, we headed back to Roanoke for the spaghetti dinner that Sue and Ken won during Cameron's raffle. The next morning it was up early to head back up north, but not before a stop once again at the Country Cupboard to stock up on sticky buns (with walnuts) and no-bake co...

Greetings from Roanoke, Virginia (well, technically, Salem) where we are visiting friends Sue and Ken for the long holiday weekend. (If you think you would like to take this opportunity to break into our house, don't even think about it. The house is being guarded by a vicious Golden Retriever who will probably bark your ear off and lick you to death if you try to enter. Oh, yeah, and we have a house sitter there, too.) We made the nine-hour trip down on Friday, and it went pretty fast. The highlight was, like any snowbird will tell you, stopping by the Country Cupboard in Lewisburg , PA. There's no place like it around for great "home cookin '," old fashioned candy and awesome baked goods (we have to stock up on no-bake cookies and sticky buns on the way home). Yesterday Sue and Ken showed us around the city. We went to the market district for the farmer's market and speciality shops, saw some sites, had GREAT FOOD, went to a festival, and just generally did...

I knew it was "some time this month," but I finally took the time to check when the our blog had its first entry: May 15, 2007. So, the wishes are a little late (what's new?), but HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, BAKER BLOG! We've had visitors from all over the world, and from just about every state in the U.S. (that's the most interesting part to me). Something happened to my counter (for some reason it re-set itself), but before it pooped out we had about 8,000 visits. I hope you have enjoyed sharing in our not-very-exciting-but still-satisfying-lives! I wonder what the next year will bring?

Yesterday I spent the day at Annalisse's middle school volunteering for the Staff Appreciation Lunch (taco bar with VERY BAD deserts of eclairs and cheesecake). Since I work full-time and don't get a chance to be as involved as stay-at-home moms might be, I love to volunteer when I can. It gives me a chance to get a glimpse into a "day in the life of the middle school," and Annalisse loves the novelty of having her mom in the building all day (she actually admits this). She has wonderful teachers this year (and has had wonderful teachers during her entire time in the Fairport schools), and it's great to see them, too. But it didn't end there! I chaperoned the 6th/7th-grade fun night which brought together the two Fairport middle schools. The "fun night" (we used to call them dances) was a much anticipated event as a lot of the kids could not wait to reconnect with their friends from elementary school. I worked three shifts in different locations, the...

A very happy 65th birthday to our mother/grandma Pat! The day is yours!