Providence, RI

New England holds a special place in our hearts.  Not only do we have ancestors who arrived on the Mayflower, my mother was raised there in a quiet little town south of Boston.  Whenever we have the chance to make a visit back there, we jump at the chance. This month Mark had a board review conference in Providence, Rhode Island. Despite the fact that I got sick the first day we were there, we had a really sweet time and really enjoyed the time we shared with family.

 First order of business is lunch at Caserta's!  It's the real deal people! And the pepper pigs!  Yum.  So nice to be with Aunt Gin and Uncle Len. Lots of chatty catching up and Mark had to get back to his classes, I got to go home with Uncle Len and Aunt Gin.

 This is one of my very favorite photos - ever!! I snapped it with my cell phone while I was recording some of our conversation.  She pulled out her tape recorder which is full of her telling stories about her life and singing songs!  We sat and listened and laughed until our sides hurt!  Then she shared stories and recipes.  It was the best!

 I love how she will turn the card over and record what was going on that day while she was preparing the recipe.  What little treasures these cards are. I helped her cook up some crepes for dessert.

 She made us her mother's recipe (which she has tweaked a little) for Goulash and we enjoyed the crepes for dessert with Lens' homemade applesauce and strawberries. Nothing better than dinner at their table.  Such a treat!

 Uncle Len doesn't like to smile for the camera too much but he is the sweetest guy you will ever meet.  The stories these two have!  I need a copy of him smooching me off of their camera!

 On the "hill".  One of our favorite places in Providence.  So Italian.

When we go with a big group of us, everyone orders and we take a bite and pass it around the table.
Today it was a Chocolate Peanut Butter Square for Mark and Lemon Tart for me!

Thursday I rested in the hotel and did some stitching.  Colds are NO FUN on vacation! That evening we went to dinner at Siena's on Federal Hill.  Maddy introduced us to this fabulous restaurant a couple of years ago.  They win "best of" awards every year.  I think they were best in the state for Italian this year.  Fantastic!  If you go...get reservations for the back of the restaurant, it's more quiet.

The architecture up around Brown University is beautiful.  We went to the museum at Rhode Island School of Design - RISD. It was fantastic! It is housed in several old buildings that are all joined together. A neat display of Japanese block printing...

One room full of about a dozen cases of textiles from over the centuries.  The students were given an inspiration piece from which they had to design their own new piece.  This cute girl was so fun to visit with.  Oh to attend this wonderful school of design!!  She knitted the black thread out of a plastic type material and worked it into her piece. So cool!!

Quito's is a family favorite.  Their full bellied fried clams and scallops are the best in the world! 

And the chowda... oh my! So nice to dine on the waterfront.

Saturday we went with Maddy down to Point Judith to get lobsters off the boats!  What a blast!!  She is one of the most delightful people you will EVER meet.  Her sister, Cathy is just as wonderful.  They are Len and Gin's girls.

Questions about the industry...and we learned many things.  A bullet is a lobster with no claws, a cull has only one claw.  If they loose their claw in a fight...they will grow one back! Cool!

Maddy is adding to our collection in the cooler.

 These little necks/quahogs, whatever you like to call them, will be opened up and slurped down raw with lemon juice and hot sauce!  I'm definitely my mama's girl when it come to these treats!

 I don't look too excited, do I?

I think we took home about 12-13 when all was said and done!

 What a gorgeous day!

 You can see Maddy's new outdoor room that they have worked on this past year.  What a place! It has everything you could want from a TV to a fridge with chilled beverages! Her sweet husband and chef extraordinaire,  made us Stuffed Lobsters and we gorged ourselves, enjoying every last morsel!
Can't thank you enough - Eddy and Maddy, for your generous hospitality and love!

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And last but not least...the BEST part of the entire trip!  We got to meet up with Brady & Dani with the kids at the Baltimore airport on our layover there!  It was such a great refueling visit with them!  We hugged those kids over and over again! Liam showed us his two new teeth and how well he is learning words in French and Elsie is talking up a storm! ADORABLE!

Now...four more days until my Open House!!  Better get busy!