One Night Stands ( I mean Stays)

Click the icon to return to Awkwardly Emma, our  theme hostess!

It's spring  and  this is the season I begin to think about   bed and breakfast   stays.  

One aspect of B and B's  is the garden..
These next few  garden shots were  taken in Wytheville, Va...  enjoy  some 
architectural   highlights

or pathways that  lead  you on and on to  hidden    loveliness


examples of cuteness along  each way

I could pull up a seat right there and  really  enjoy the    bird song  wafting on the air!!

And porches.... what a  delightful place to  enjoy that second cup of coffee! This grand porch  graces the mansion relatively near our home....  We stayed there  a few years ago for our anniversary!


This patio, also,  cries out  for  an afternoon of  reading and a tall glass of lemonade!

I love this patio  in Lititz!
 Or sometimes it is lovely covered  patio!

 This was  the scene right outside out door  in  Hershey...

Well, we will be heading north  again  one of these  up coming weeks and it is time to  peruse the  offerings for our one night  stays as we  divide our trip  into 2  travel days...  I love  life!!!

Rhapsody in Blue

Anything Blue Friday 

I am joining alongside The Dedicated House today to share the beauty of blue!

Last week I shared about my  lovely blue tablescape

 I love my new  jacobean style cloth

 and how my  collection of blue transfer ware  goes with it!

  and  it  makes me think of my  beloved blue hydrangea

 whose blooms have delighted me ever since I started blogging in 2008.  but alas  this last   cold snap last week with its ahrd freeze  has zapped it  and  the  top of the plant was frozen to death,...  I doubt for much yield this year...
  and my saddest news  of th is week is that  the top of my  wonderful new 8 in high  Limelight hydrangea 

 was  bitten off last night  by  deer.. now I am usually a lover of  the  graceful animals,  but this morning I  am not seeing blue,  but 

 I think I go to  the  mart and  purchase a  bunch of blue hydrangeas  to  soothe my  saddened heart!!!

Wednesday Hodge Podge

1. What's the last thing you did that could be described as 'taxing'? 

At the risk of possibly coming across as a bad daughter, it has to be the last 3 years of caring for my aging parents... They celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary, and then both fell into horrible conditions. Mother fell and broke her back which culminated in severe excruciating pain for her, and my dad's health was terribly compromised by liver disease from a botched bile duct surgery 7 years prior. So being an only child I had no recourse but to put them is separate nursing homes.... dad in a veteran's in the next town and mom in a facility nearby... Therein began a difficult three years that tore me apart in many ways...thankfully, hubs retired at that same time and was able to do the things necessary at their home to get it ready to sell... repairs, painting, the estate sale... momma was so mad at me for selling her things... but at 92 and on methadone for constant pain... she wasn't herself at all... I really cant even today talk about the emotional upheaval that occurred for me during these months.... I lived off of adrenalin and now even after 18 months since their passing, I'm still not fully recuperated from the stress and the pain of seeing my mom go from 175 pounds to 75 pounds...Believe me.. it takes a toll on you....

2. If you cold plant a garden of anything, what would be in it? 

I would have an English garden littered all over with prolific hydrangeas...

3. April 10-16 is National Library Week...will you celebrate with a visit to your nearest library? When did you last make a trip to the library? What are you reading right now? What's one title on your want-to-read list? 

I am definitely a 'real' book reader..but, actually, during these past 5 years I haven't had the unction to focus on a book to actually read cover to cover, unless it was a Bible study book or a chapter of the Bible..it is only these past few months of 2016 that I have wanted to just lay around and read.. that is what I do.. I read best in a prone position...even though we have been members of the "Friends of the Library'" for three years... we loved to attend the special functions at the library especially the mystery night! However, we didn't join this year because then I was too tempted to attend the members only book sale and bring home way too many books.. our bookshelves are super loaded..I am deep in the throes of rereading my Lynn Kurland series of Time Travel books...these are much milder books of the Outlander ilk..I enjoy them because I am entranced with medieval times... and the age of chivalry!

4. Share a saying or an old wives tale you heard while growing up, you believed to be true or that you paid attention to 'just in case'. 

If you swallow your gum, you'll get a  gum tree growing in your tummy!

5. Are you a fan of onions? Garlic? Ginger? What's a dish you love that contains one, two or all three items listed? 

Sounds like Chinese food...  which I love!!!

6. Where does nurturing end and indulging begin? What are some skills or qualities you think a person needs to posses in order to be viewed as mature?

Nurturing is the process of   providing   the needs of  a child...  physical needs, as well as,  emotional and  psychological needs  to  grow  into a responsible and  caring individual.  Indulging  is    providing the   wants of a child  to such a degree that their  wants  become needs to them and if they don't  receive  these want/needs  then they  learn  forms of manipulation  to try to  get them...  This  describes a  spoiled  child  to    learns to play  authority figures until they  actually begin to rule the home.  Maturity  springs forth  through learning  to  cope with  the  disappointments as well as the joys of life in such a way  as  to  be   a giving individual.. learning to think more highly of others than  self...  But I realize this is a very  sketchy   explanation and I don't have time to get more involved....

7. What leading figure in any field would you like to hear speak, and why?

I would love to  have been able to sit under  Derek Prince's ministry...  I agree completely with his theology. Alas, he  passed  at the end of the 20th century!  But his  preaching can be heard on you tube!

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

The Simple Woman Daybook

The Simple Woman Daybook

For Today...

April 11, 2016 

weather outside...

56 degrees with a high of 72... spring is back!!!!

Outside my window...

The sun is shining and the tulips are rejoicing!!

I am thinking...

how excited we are that our daughter and her family are experiencing the thrill of purchasing their first home/yard/ lawn! It is so great to hear them strategizing landscaping and the purchasing power for needed furniture... this is a wonderful time in their lives.. And Hubs and I are anxious to be helpful... I particularly want to hold my precious little ones while the rest do what they need to do! heheheheh

I am thankful...

God's tender mercies that are new every morning... jsut the same wonders that fall on us... Thank you, Lord!!!!

I am creating...

to be honest I have no ideas as of yet.... too early in the week I guess!

I am going...

to 2 doctors this week... I chipped a molar last week.. bah!!! Want the dentist to check that out... and the dermatologist checkup.

I am wondering...

if the sublingual immunotherapy spritzes under my tongue in place of my allergy shots are going to work.. I know one thing... it tastes terrible!!!! Oh, the things we must do in this life!

I am reading...

I am still enjoying the Lynn Kurland series of Time Travel books...Three left... reading them more and more slowing... savoring.. hahahaha

I am hoping...

to get together with my gal pals soon.. it seems everyone has been scattered... either with vacations or illness or operations... but things are finally settling down.... I really do want to have a spring tea... soon! Now there is something to create!!

I am learning...

the discipline of contentment....

In my garden...

The hydrangeas are planted and growing... we have to put boxes over them on the weekend due to the hard freeze... the planter by the door is planted and looking good. And I have been thinking about how I can incorporate more fairy gardens around the house...While we were traveling through Lancaster last week I was on the lookout for fairy garden items and found the cutest new fairies to add to my collection... I consider this my long range project and it will evolve just as it is supposed to.... I like that better than rushing out and spending a ton of money all at once...I really feel that it gives the Lord a place in it for blessing me with surprises along the way.. he is a great Father that way!

In my kitchen... 

I have my macarons silpat-like sheet ready to go and hope to practice making macarons this week... They will be a tea party staple! 

A favorite quote/scripture for today...

"The sun was warm but the wind was chill. 

You know how it is with an April day. 

When the sun is out and the wind is still, 

You're one month on in the middle of May. 

But if you so much as dare to speak, 

a cloud come over the sunlit arch, 

And wind comes off a frozen peak, 

And you're two months back in the middle of March." 

- Robert Frost, Two Tramps in Mud Time, 1926 

A peek into one of my days... 

last week we were in Lancaster, Pa and one day our bus took us to A Stumptown roadside market .. we were excited to purchase a few soft piping hot, buttery homemake pretzels..

Hubs left the bag with me and I went around to enjoy the barnyard critters... when all of a sudden they all came running over to me as if to say,, "You got something good???"

I think they were conditioned for visitors!

They had a dispenser of corn feed nearby but I didnt want to get that on my hands,    but who could deny such sweet faces?

This handsome fellow took my heart right away so I broke open Hub's pretzel and started breaking off bits to toss out to the crew... Those birds were ravenous and didnt share one bit... poor Billy was a bit slow on the uptake..

So I had to bend way down and pass my hand through the slats of the railing and feed him hand to mouth... aw... it was so sweet.. goat kisses on one's hand are treasures to be sure! 

And poor Hubs had one less pretzel when we got home... well, I did forebear and gave him mine... I did get the thrill of the feeding, after all.. this was a special surprise on our trip!!

One of my favorite things...

One thing I found that I absolutely love are grazing sheep in the meadow,... I discovered this in Ireland..

I mean what views..

But we can find lovely pastorale views here, as well!!!

Post Script

I tend to agree with this ideal 

“To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being.” 

― Mahatma Gandhi

God created us all for His own purposes!

We are the sheep of His pasture, after all.

Praise for Today

Turn off the above  blog  music and enjoy  this  wonderful praise  for today!

How how we need His holy presence!!!

Jacobean at Heart

Alright,  it is time to confess...  I am a Jacobite    at heart.  This style just speaks to me...

Houzz

I mean who doesnt  love this??

or this

 okay.. I deviate!

  But  in my station and time of life...  I find I can  implement the beloved Jacobean  style to our home through  fabric...

like  in the dining room!I recently purchsed this gorgeous  tablecloth  at JC Penney's  at  60% off...

I  am using  a mix of  English transfer ware in blue in keeping with the time  period!

yet the  undertones of greys    modernize the look  quite nicely! 

These colors  really    accentuate the pewter pieces I have collected over time...

 Now I will share the  precious find  I  brought back this week from our  whirlwind trip to Lancaster, Pa.  There in the middle  of my plate hanger...

 I found at a  gift//craft shop  this  gorgeous  limited edition Peter Barrett  plate

"Janurary Lambing Season"

A bit of  Jacobean cottage style!

                        Grace at Home

                     Thursday Favorite Things

                    Home and Garden Thursday   

                     Tablescape Thursday

                       Home Sweet Home

Wednesday Hodge Podge

1. What does retirement mean to you? Are you planning for it, not thinking about it, looking forward to it, or dreading it?

Oh, my goodness.  I retired from teaching in 2003....  that seems so long ago,  I  think I should be 94,   but  I retired at age 53... after 30 years of teaching....  I loved the children, but the   bureaucracy was getting to me...  so  I  cashed in my chips and left the party...  I never knew that  my life  could  get so busy...  I used to think retirement was  time for a  good rest and reflection.. hahahahahah.... as soon as  it is discovered that you  have retired you  will be  bombarded with  requests of your  time...  but  to be honest.. I love  my life now....  I have learned things in retirement I never  would have learned in   all the years of teaching and my life    then...  retirement is  a  time of true commitment   to  things,  time,  others...  not  that I have to  get up and go punch a clock  but I get to get up and  serve in my church,  or  visit a friend, or   help my parents,  dabble in  oil painting, or    spend precious time with my  dear husband...   over  leisurely  breakfasts,  travelling,    working  around the house....   it is a time of  sweet  intimacy with  your  spouse...   not    so much the  physical kind,  but just   having the time to really  enjoy each other...  the sweetest day of my life was the  day  9 years after I retired my dear  husband  joined my ranks.  

2. It's International Guitar Month...do you play? Does anyone in your family play? What's a song you especially like to hear played on the guitar or a favorite song featuring the guitar?

No one plays guitar in my family....  we are  more a violin family....  still a stringed instrument  so  Im going to say it still  fits  in...  my  absolute favorite  song played on violin would have to be    Adagio for Strings! A most pensive and  soulful melody!

3. What's your comfort food?

I love  chinese food..

4. What's one activity or area of your life where you absolutely never procrastinate?

I have to say  Joyce said it best...I too, love the  sense of  peace that a made up bed  gives the  home...

5. Who does the grocery shopping in your house? Does your local store bag the groceries for you or is it a do-it-yourself kind of place? Do you like someone packing your groceries?

Before  hubs retired I did it all...  now  I love  for us to  do this together....  mainly because I never have a list.. he keeps the list  and knows best what we need  I am so bad!!!!

6. What's the coolest thing you've seen in nature?

I wish I could say  Halley's comet that I  looked forward to seeing  all of my adult life.. after hearing how  it's brightness lit up a  daytime sky..  good grief ... we drove to the darkest area  within 50 miles of home to look  upon it, sat in the car  all night long and never saw a thing..   but I deviate... I suppose it would be the great hawk that was  roosting  atop  our  lamp post  right by the  back steps that  lead up to  the driveway.. there I was  bounding out the  back door on my way to garden club one morning and  about    fell over as I approached the  steps  and looked up to see that menacing, yet majestic  beast   staring at me....  I  only remember  slowing backing back into the house and  screaming for hubs to  come look....alas,  we did not get a photo of it..  But  as it  flew away, its  wingspan looked to be  almsot  5 feet across!   Awesome  majesty!

7. Share a favorite quote about home.

As I was  researching quotes on home  and ran across this one, I  must say it  will now be my    quote to live by...  

If you want a golden rule that will fit everything, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.

William Morris

So now I know  to  get a sack  and  go around the house and fill it with all the  stuff that doesnt fit those categories.. I love it!!!!!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

This week are enjoying a season of life that is marked  by  a precious milestone  that  makes hubs and I  almost giddy with  expectation... our one and only  child and her  family  have purchased their first house..after living in a gorgeous condo for 6 years, now that they  have  two wee ones  it was definitely time to take the plunge,  but  the  sellers market in their area   has been a  nightmare...  of  bidding wars and  disappointments...  But this week  their  dream is  accomplished.. and  it is so great to see them strategizing to  walk through the   coming days   to  bring it all to fruition...  for  now it is time to sell  the condo  with  two (2.5 and .25 year) daughters in tow....  Oh, how I wish I was there to just take those girls in hand and  let  the  parents do the rest....oh how much fun it would be to just rock  Lady Bug and    sing with  Miss Birdie!!! Here is just a sample of some of that cuteness!!! 

Well, I suppose we will be going  up  to join in the 'fun' sooner rather than later!!! yayayayaya!!