In June we were able to travel to Vancouver, Canada to visit out daughter May and her husband Victor.  We visited the gardens in Mission and the old train tunnels McCulloch's Wonder in the area as well as a few other places. It was good to visit with May and Victor.

Our 6th grandson was born on New Years day 2013. Sara and Jeremy are very happy at the birth of their son Gideon. He was born at home in the early evening. 

In Aug, 2012 our youngest daughter, May was married to Victor Mills.  May wore Carolyn's wedding dress with some alterations. Carolyn made the wedding cake (which was chocolate cake with cherry filling and whipped cream). 

The wedding was beautiful. Watch the Victor Mills and May Renaud Wedding video/slideshow. 

They now have begun their live together in Canada near Vancouver. 

Youngest daughter May is engaged

During Thanksgiving break, our youngest daughter, May, went to visit her friend Victor (and his family) in Canada for his birthday. While she was there, they became engaged and May loves her ring. May and Victor are planning to get married in the summer.

Allan carving the Thanksgiving turkey at Sara and Jeremy's house 2011.

Allan and Talia

Carolyn's Birthday January 2011

The last few days I have been trying to get rid of a nest of yellow jacket bees in the back yard.

Day 1, The only bug spray I had was a can of ant spray so I used that. The bees loved it and it kept ants away from the nest.

Day 2, Since that didn't work I put a rock over the 2 inch hole.

Day 3, The next day there was a new hole to the side of the rock. I removed the rock and put a large shovel of dirt on it and quickly slapped it flat with the shovel. I didn't get stung but when I got in the house a bee flew to a window. It must have hitchhiked on me. I zapped it with a long wired zapper that I use for bugs and things.

Day 4, The hole is back! I got the car and drove over the hole back and forth about a dozen times. The bees were slapping the windows of the car but none got in.

Day 5, The hole is back and the bees are still there but it's raining so I didn't try anything.

Day 6, Today the bees are gone. There is a 6 inch wide hole where the nest was with pieces of hive around it. I suspect a skunk dug it up to eat the bees (they love bees, grubs and such).
Good for the skunk. Now all I have to do is fill the hole.

Day 7, I filled in the hole then patted down the dirt with the back of the shovel.

Day 8, The skunk dug up the hole again. I think I'll wait a while before filling it up again.

Day 9, We had a family picnic. They helped pick up a lot of apples. Now the hole has apples in it.

Alice D. Renaud
October 1915 - May 2010

January 16 was my birthday - my 60th!! It doesn't seem possible! My sister Bev and her husband Bill came to help celebrate. Bill made beef stew and dumplings for lunch and Allan made a chocolate cake with fluffy white frosting.

It was fun.

Piano Recital

Playing in the Christmas 2009 piano recital.

Here I am making a fondant wedding cake for my friend in July. The bride wanted a three tier cake - chocolate cake with a chocolate cream filling in each two layer tier covered in fondant with red fondant "ribbon" around each one, dots on the middle tier, and designs on the top and lower tier. Here is some of the process and the end result. Jackie the bride was happy with it.

My daughter Sara made a video of the fondant being rolled.

Renaud Music Studio will be opening soon, here is my new web page: http://www.renaudmusicstudio.com

electric car

The batteries had to be changed on our electric car - a Bombardier neighborhood vehicle (NV). The top speed is 25 MPH. As the batteries age the range decreases. When they are new you can travel about 30 miles before they need to be charged - depending on the terrain. But not too long ago when we took the car for a ride we only got about 5 miles. We were not sure if we would make it home. So it was definitely time for new batteries. The problem is that the batteries have to come out from the bottom which means that you need to raise the car up and lower the old batteries while the car is still up. The car weighs 1200 pounds. The batteries in their holder weigh 462 pounds. These pictures show how Allan did it. Now it is done and the Bombaardier can ride again.

Easter eggs

We have an Easter tradition that each person in the house decorates an egg for someone else. We put them into their basket Easter morning (along with the usual candy). Then we usually eat them for breakfast. This year Sara found some interesting dyes and egg decorations. So Sara, May, and I made a few extra eggs. Here are our eggs. Can you tell which ones were made by whom?

spring

It was nice to go out and enjoy the back yard a little again. I even got Mom/Grandma to go out and get some sun.

It is snowing again!

Yesterday it was like spring. A man came with a truck yesterday because he wanted the apple wood that had fallen from our trees during the big December ice storm. Since it was in the 50s yesterday, the snow was melting and the yard was muddy. So the man could not drive his truck around back to pick up the wood. Allan said, "Maybe you can get it in about a month. It is nice today. But you never know. This is New Hampshire. Tomorrow it might snow."

I (Carolyn) usually go to school to teach a class in the afternoon on Mondays. But the roads are really slippery. So here I am at home. We thawed some pumpkin that we had left over from November and I made a pie. It was fun watching the snow falling outside while we were nice and warm inside enjoying the aroma of pie baking.

Pedals! Pipes! Pizza!

Today Mom/Grandma and I (Carolyn) went to an organ demonstration at Phillips Exeter Academy. As a piano teacher I was invited in case any of my students might like to take organ lessons. Abby Siegfried, the organ teacher there, did an excellent job describing how the organ works - old ones ("trackers" like Bach played) and new ones. The one in Exeter was built by hand in Italy with 3 manuals with pedal board and 2,699 pipes! I should have brought my camera! Listening to Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" surrounded us with sound - especially since we sat in the front row. Afterwards we were all invited to have pizza. So it was a fun time.

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(Carolyn's Birthday)