banana belt

Not really. There were, however, lawns with no snow and I spotted no less than 9 crocuses (crocae?) making their way into the spring sun in the village of Plymouth, Massachusettes. This is where Seth's grandparents Tillie and Leno Atti make their home. This was Tua's first visit to Plymouth, though she has met her great-grandparents several times before on their visits to Vermont. Tillie Atti is known in wide circles as a tremendous cook and the most generous of hosts. So is was no surprise today to dine in pleasure and depart in girth. Proportionally, Tua out-ate everyone, seconds on the tortellini, thirds on the vermicelli and a moderate serving of ice-cream. Below are some of the better takes of the day.

afternoon stroll

We have awoken a monster it seems.....Tua walked outside for the first time this week and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. In fact, she loved it so much that she made it howlingly clear that she wanted nothing whatsoever to do with returning indoors. We finally settled her down with a good read, her favorite actually, 'Peter in Blueberry Land'.

downhill and dogs '08

Now that the spring is here, it's finally warm enough to stand outside with a camera filming family cruise by on skis. Here is Jenny ( with co-stars Abe and Fran) yesterday behind the house.

Sunday Coffee House

Every few weeks or so, we make a visit to a local cafe. Allechante serves good coffee with their fresh pasteries and breads. Tua's favorite is usually whatever her parents are having. Today, she ate most of Jenny's scone and managed a few bites of Seth's currant brioche. All the rich foods did nothing for her attention skills in the church hour following.

June Mission

Over on the left there under prayer requests, you'll find new link link. This June, Seth will be partnering with friends from the Upper Valley on a memorial mission in Scotland. They will be hiking the Great Glen Way in memory of Marty Mendonca, a friend to many here and there and a member of our church community. She met a tragic end just miles short of the trail's terminus in Inverness in July of 2006. They will be hiking in her steps, visiting with many of the same people she met. Below are the details.

Read this doc on Scribd: Scotland Trek

Pray for Albania

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7298341.stm

David (Jenny's father) is there now and was with one of the Planters Seed teams in Vlashi. David said that the sudden nature of the blast was almost as crippling as the noise and the shock-waves. He (and the rest of the team) are okay and have made their way back to Tirana.

We'll keep you posted if anything else of note comes along.

Below is a video up on TOPCHANNEL TIRANE. It was taken by our friends Genti and Shpresa from their home in Vlashi. Minutes into the video, a visbly shaken Shpresa is shown with the news anchor as the events upfold on film. PLease pray for their family as you can see on the last minute of film the damages sustained to their home.

At the REC

Every Friday morning, the recreation center in town hosts a "Baby Cafe" of sorts. All sorts of fun and games are served up for the crowd. No coffee, though. Tua has been a regular participant for a few weeks now and is really getting the hand of the whole social scene. She makes great use of the large open area ambling amongst all the others. Today, Phare and her mom joined the party. It was a blast. My favorite shot is the one below of Tua watching Nikola feed her daughter a banana. This particular fruit is to Tua what ice cream is to the average ten year old. As you might gather, even if she doesn't get to eat any of it, she still enjoys the sight.