Pixie Dust and Pink Jellies

With one day left in Vermont, David, Emma and I decided to go for a walk in the forest. Forests are so calming and relaxing yet mystical and spooky. I love feeling both tranquil and alert at the same time.


We parked our car by a lake. Emma had her sweet, little pink jelly shoes on. We made her change into her sneakers before heading into the forest. Just as I was ready to put her slippers into the car, I decided to take them on a photo shoot in the forest. It seemed fitting that beautiful slippers that looked like they came off the feet of a princess fairy would be found deep in the forest. As we walked under the thick canopy of the greenery, I told Emma to watch for all the fairies who were hiding in the shadows. Emma is a big fan of fairies and I do what I can to keep that imagination alive. I said, “Let’s sprinkle a little pixie dust to see how many places we can find some jeweled pink slippers.” These are some of the images from our walk…

Family Vacation Part 2

So the second part of our family vacation was in Vermont. We drove from Quebec City to Burlington, Vermont. We traded the novelty of visiting a French speaking, somewhat foreign city (Quebec City) for the comfort and familiarity of the US.


The 4-hour drive from Quebec City to Vermont was very pretty. The scenery was green with rolling hills, red barns and iconic grain silos. The sky looked like the clouds from the opening scenes of the Simpson’s show. Because I grew up in a rural community, I was familiar with many of the farm equipment brand names I saw along the way: Butler grain silos, Massey Ferguson combines, John Deere tractors, etc. The people living in this part of Canada looked like they could’ve walked off the plains of Eastern Colorado, with one major exception: everyone spoke French. I enjoyed feeling like I was traveling through a French speaking rural America.

Vermont was very special. I knew I was back in the Northeast when I saw a Shaw’s grocery store. It seemed so welcoming. While in Burlington, we went on walks, visited several museums, rented bikes, ate lots of great cheese and of course took the required tour of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory in Waterbury.



Here we all are at the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory.













David,Emma and I at the Montmorency Waterfall outside of Quebec City. It is true what they say about hair growth after chemo: it will often grows back in a different color or texture. My hair is now very, very curly but still dark brown. David is clearly proud to be a Texas Longhorn with his cap and color coordinated burnt orange t-shirt.

Salut. Ca Va?

Greetings from Quebec City in Canada. David, Emma and I are vacationing here with David’s family - his brother and his brother's family plus Grandma and Grandpa Zuckerman. We have joined a bunch of other tourists who are here to celebrate Quebec City’s 400th birthday. I think all the locals moved out to make room for all the tourists. You can buy all the t-shirts and coffee mugs you want but don’t even think about buying a head of lettuce or a mop. Not that I need to buy lettuce or a mop, but I wonder where one would buy such things if one lived in this part of Quebec City.

I can see why Quebec City is a popular destination point. You get to feel like you are in Europe without leaving North America. Like in many European cities, a fortified wall encloses old Quebec City. Some of the streets are paved with cobblestones and the buildings look very European. There are other European (or perhaps French) cues like pork pate at breakfast, baguettes at dinner, and cheese for dessert.

Then there is the language. I studied French in college for three semesters plus I lived in France for 1 semester. That was a long time ago and my French is now a little slow and cranky. I try speaking French to the hotel staff, waiters, etc. but they all do “Le Switch” on me and we are into English. I did manage to have a nice brief conversation in French with a taxi cab driver. He told me he moved here 5 years ago from Paris. He likes Quebec better than France. He said it was easier to work and live here than Paris.

Just about everyone is bilingual, so communicating in English is not a problem. I actually wish it were more of a problem. I wish I had more opportunities to flounder around in French.

Emma is having a great time playing with her cousins. I always enjoy being with family.

We drive to Vermont today to enjoy Part Deux of our vacation back in the States.