One of my favorites

This is one of my favorite pictures I took last year.

In September, Daryl and I were in Honolulu.  We went to Ala Moana Park to watch the sunset and definitely weren't disappointed.

There were people everywhere, some on the beach with us, others in the water.  But, just after the sun fell below the horizon this lone paddle-boarder drifted in front of me.

I have wondered since that day about the man in the picture.  I don't have any idea about him except that he looked to be native Hawaiian and that he was comfortable on the water.  I have looked at the picture many times since I was there and this guy has become a part of my consciousness.  He has no idea.

Two people connected by a picture only one of us knows about.

Strange.

A pleasant oak sunset

The sunsets from Mom and Dad's deck are famous.  

I captured this one looking between the limbs of one of their gnarled oak trees.

Beautiful!

Flow

After nearly seven inches of rain in 3 days, we have water where, usually, there is  none.

 A pecan orchard, beautiful enough for a wedding, now has white-water rapids.

We always wonder what is happening with the water levels while we sleep.  Will the water be over the road when it is time to go to work?  We take one vehicle "to the other side".  One boat here, one boat there.

We are leaving the rising waters today and driving to New Orleans to get on a cruise boat.

Just going with the flow.

Retreat

Photo from scottriverlodge.com

Today, Daryl and I are arriving at this beautiful place in northern California.  

In his early 20's a man named Gene Johnson made a promise to God that if He would provide the resources, Gene would invest them in a way that would have eternal value.  This beautiful place is the fulfillment of that promise. Scott River Lodge is a retreat for husbands and wives set in the Klamath National Forest on the Scott River.  The Lodge is an extension of the JH Ranch which has been a retreat ministering to parents and children since 1980.    You can go to Scottriverlodge.com to see all of the details.

We are looking forward to whatever the week brings....

Philly's Terrain

After my fun weekend in Philadelphia with Jackie and Corey, I have been having fun at home catching up on the yard work.  When I am home it seems like grass and weeds grow at a reasonable pace.  But, let me leave town and there is some sort of growing fever that attacks my little farm in the country.  The place almost looked abandoned when I got back.

I've got most of it all whipped back into shape, though, and even got a little extra work done.  I had to get ahead because....I'm leaving town again tomorrow.  Gotta love it!

Today I sprayed weed killer around some walnut trees, in the garden, and down the middle of our gravel road.  I cut back some rose bushes and lantana, picked up some moss and sticks, sprayed bug killer around the garage, swept down the spider webs, and knocked down the dirt dauber nests, (dirt dauber?  dirt dobber? mess maker?),  replaced the light bulbs in the garage light fixtures and cleaned out the light covers.  THEN, I did a dreaded job -- I cut back the ivy that grows up a brick wall.  I dread that job because spiders and wasps live inside the ivy.  The first thing I always do is spray bug killer all over it, then wait a little while.  I am always tempted to just cut it all down, but I really like the way the green ivy breaks up the expanse of white brick wall.  If it would just stay put and not grow so fast!

* * * * *

One reason I have so much energy for my yard is because while in Philly, Jackie and Corey took me to Terrain.  Wow!  It is an outdoor decorator's paradise!  We ate lunch in a greenhouse there and then wandered around, just taking in all of the beauty.  Terrain is owned by the same company as Anthropologie.  If you love one, you will love the other.

Don't I look like I love this place?

The gift shop.

The plants.

The people :)

Jackie and I were talking about how to decorate in a way that would feel like Terrain.  I think the key is to have a cabin in the woods, add some twinkle lights, then spend a million dollars making the place look casual and rustic.

No problem with the woods and the twinkle lights.  Well, it's a start!

A Friday in Philly

As I write this I am sitting in Jackie's living room -- cell phone, Nook, camera, all nestled beside me on the couch, coffee in my hand, listening to the sounds of a Philadelphia city street.  Relaxing......

Jackie and Corey are at work today and I am free from responsibility.


No acres of grass needing to be cut.  (I love living in the country and I really do like yard work.)

No animals crowing, barking, meowing their needs to me.  (I do love them all, though.)

No laundry that needs to be washed, folded, repaired.  (Laundry is one of my favorite things to do.)

No calls from 1-800 numbers I don't recognize.

No dusty, dirty floors.


Some people are able to relax at home, but I'm just not one of them.  The types of jobs I have are never fully finished.  I love the life I am living and the work I do, but there is always some more that could be done.  And, I feel the weight of that 'more' most of the time.  Not that I don't sit down and rest.  I do.  But, I don't feel the total freedom that I experience when I'm physically away from it all. 

I'm certain that Jackie and I would have a wonderful time together if she was able to take the day off from work today, but I am so content to just be here in her home today. 

She says we are going on an eating tour of Philadelphia this weekend.  That makes me happy :)

Last night we walked down her street to this great place.

This is the Beer Garden at the Memphis Taproom.  It is an outside space with picnic tables in the front and a food truck in the back serving up gourmet hot dogs.  The weather was perfect and the space was full of happy people (and their dogs) eating and watching the Phillies game projected on the wall.

Tonight we will eat dinner at an Italian restaurant with waiters who sing opera every 15 minutes!  Can't wait.

Until then I will fill my day enjoying high-speed internet.  I plan to watch lots of tutorials on my photo editing software and hopefully learn how to use it.

Happy Friday!

A little Amsterdam humor

Homo Sapiens Non Urinat in Ventum

This is a very large pillared entrance into one of the busiest city squares in Amsterdam, the Leidesplien.  The inscription atop the stately pillars can roughly be translated, "A wise man doesn't pee into the wind."

Okay.

A strange Latin inscription to be on top of such an imposing entrance, don't you think?  I read that the architects who designed the renovation of the building attached to this entrance got totally fed up with the red tape they had to go through during the planning process and they put this inscription into the plans, expecting that the city counsel would not notice this small detail.

They didn't.

Amsterdam again

When Daryl decided that we would take a trip to Amsterdam this spring, I was all for it, but had no idea what to expect.  The only thing we knew about was that there are tulips in Holland.   But, there is a lot more to Amsterdam than tulips.

Amsterdam is the capital of The Netherlands.  Holland is one of the provinces and isn't its own country.  I didn't know that.  Calling the Netherlands, "Holland", is like calling the United States, "Texas".  Most of the 'row homes' along the canals were built in the 17th century and we enjoyed just walking and gawking.

There is a LOT of water there.  The country sits very low so there are canals, ditches, and berms everywhere to control the water.

Amsterdam has a beautiful canal system.  As you walk through the city, the blocks are divided by waterways full of boats.  Some of the canals are lined with very expensive houseboats.

This was the view outside a restaurant we ate in one night.  It was as fun as it looks.  And it looks like fun to me :)

Amsterdam is a bicycle town.  There is a dancing sort of rhythm you have to get to walk around the city without getting run over.  Not that the bikers were rude.  Not at all.  They just have the right of way and they are riding directly beside you.  If they see you getting in their path they ring the little bell on the handlebars.  For real!  It was really a cute sound around town with those little bells ringing.

As I have thought about posting these pictures I realized that I don't have much to say about our trip.  It was a great experience, but one that is better felt than told.  

And it felt great!

Amsterdam

Once upon a time there was a traveler.  She traveled thousands of miles without one single sneeze, cough or sniffle.  On the way home from her wandering she sat behind a sick lady on the airplane for 9 hours.  The sick lady's germs jumped from Row 29 to Row 30 and sat down on the traveler.

And thus began a germ's journey.  From Amsterdam to Atlanta to Montgomery.

In Montgomery the traveler is fighting back with antibiotics, steroids, antihistamines, and cough syrups.  And exercise.

And we all lived happily ever after this cold goes away.

:  :  :  :  :

SO.....

We are home from our trip to Amsterdam!

The weather while we were there was cloudy, cool and gray.  Occasionally, the sun would break through the clouds, but not much.  The reason for going to Amsterdam this time of year is to see the Aalsmeer Flower Auction and visit the Keukenhof.

The flower auction is the largest in the world, housed in the largest commercial building in the world.  It smelled glorious!

The Keukenhof gardens are only open for two months every year to showcase tulips and other bulbs, but in that time period millions of people come to visit. 

Just beautiful!

White shirts on the beach

One of my favorite vacation memories is a beach trip I took with my sisters, Jackie, and Abbie.  Hard to believe, but that trip was almost five years ago!  Sarah was living in Colorado and couldn't join us.

So much has happened in those five years.  Some of it really good, some of it really hard.

On this day we had not met Corey or Dennis.  We didn't know how much we could love Lily, Daniel, Bella, or Bennett.  None of us lived in Philadelphia and none of us had plans to.

Ovarian cancer had not touched our lives.

We are all still here, though.  I thank God for that.  And if we all live until September we will go on a cruise together, this time with Sarah and Mom.

And I hope we will all wear white shirts and have our picture taken.

Hiking in Sitka

Last week when I was thinking about our trip to Amsterdam, I started thinking about other trips we have been on.

In July of 2009 we went on a cruise out of Seattle up to Alaska.  I love to go on cruises.  The ships fascinate me and I like to search about and find the 'perfect' spot to just hang out.  On this ship, we made our home in the library which had wall to wall windows and very comfortable lounging chairs.  From our perch we could see the whole vista in front of the ship.  Many times, it was absolutely breathtaking.

Before we left home I did a little research on the best things to do at the different ports of call.  One guide book mentioned a hiking trail in Sitka.  We left the ship, walked past homes, a school, a small grocery store, got to the end of the road just before a beautiful little cemetery, and found the Gavan Hill Trail.  My book said that the view from the ridge was beautiful and we headed off on our 2 mile walk.

I don't get out on many Alaskan trail, but I have never seen one so well maintained.  There were many steps on dirt trails, but much of it was had boardwalks and steps.  We could hear a stream gurgling and lots of singing birds.  If I think really hard, I can still feel the woodsy, cool feeling of the air.

Before our trip, though, while I was reading guide books about wonderful hiking trails in Sitka, Daryl was reading about watching out for grizzly bears while in Alaska.  The undergrowth along the trail was thick in places and, to Daryl's wary eye, looked like a perfect spot for a rabid grizzly bear to lurk.

Needless to say, we didn't stay on the trail long enough to see the view from the ridge.

Maybe that is one thing that makes our marriage work:  I provide the adventurous spirit that lets us both experience some new places and Daryl keeps us alive to enjoy more adventures!

Sunday inspiration

I am always looking out for good music to listen to when I exercise.

Here is one of my favorites.

The message of the song has proven to be true for me:  pain in this life makes me stronger.  And, as a running song, the message is equally powerful:

     The pain ain't gonna last forever
     In time it's gonna get better.
     Believe me, this is gonna make you stronger.

I prefer the radio version of the song to this video.  There just seems to be more power to it.

I have been a fan of Mandisa since her American Idol days.  She is a person who was obviously overweight and handled with grace some mean comments from Simon Cowell.  Mean things like they were going to need to build a bigger stage if she was a contestant.  When she had an opportunity, she said that his comments were very hurtful, but that she forgave him because of what Jesus had done for her.  In an unpopular move, she sang the song, Shackles (Praise You), on the American Idol stage.  I am a fan!

:  :  :  :  : 

Later today, Daryl and I are flying off to Amsterdam for a week's vacation. The forecast is for rain every day and highs in the low 60's.  We have packed rain jackets and umbrellas and a little rain won't stop us!  We may see the inside of more coffee shops than we would otherwise, but we'll have fun no matter what.

Not "coffee shops", but coffee shops.  In Amsterdam, "coffee shops" sell marijuana.  I sure hope I don't get confused and spend some time in the wrong shop.

The Barbie wall

When I was in Oklahoma earlier this year we visited an art museum.  After looking through their beautiful exhibit of Bibles, we looked through the gift shop.  Instead of buying some sort of momento of the Bible exhibit, I bought a Barbie calendar.  That probably says something amount my maturity level.

This was no ordinary calendar, though.  It was very large, 14x18, and printed on heavy card stock.  Each month has a different drawing of Barbie in an evening gown.  When I saw the calendar, I knew it had to come home with me and go on the wall in my newly repainted pink guest room.

Thanks to Hobby Lobby having their frames half price this week I got 12 simple black frames and Daryl and I put them on the wall this morning.

It is as beautiful as I thought it would be.  My pictures aren't too great, but the wall itself looks lovely!

I Heart New York

View of Manhattan at sunset from the Brooklyn Promenade

I love New York

the energy

the lights

the restaurants tucked into tiny spaces

the subway, the taxis, the limos

the life lived without a car

the people

the people-watching

the skyscrapers

the rivers

the bridges

the food carts

that in one block you can find food from Thailand, Kenya, India, Ireland, Ukraine, and, yes, America

that in one block you find people from those same places

the parks

the museums

the tourists

the locals

the pizza

I love New York

Wrambling Wednesday

1.  In my continuing series of Roast Chicken Month, I did roast the third chicken.  It didn't turn out very well.  The recipe was wonderful because it was one of Emeril's recipes and he has never let me down!  It may have something to do with having sweet grandchildren with me all day that day.  Come to think of it, I don't think I became a good cook until I didn't have little children around.  Wonder why?  It must take a lot of concentration for me to get the recipe right!

2.  Speaking of Months of Foods, October is National Pizza Month.

3.  Speaking of October, my birthday is on Monday.  My Big 5-0!

4.  Speaking of pizza and birthdays, I think I will go celebrate in....

New York City!!!

Thanks to my great husband, we are leaving tomorrow to spend a week in Manhattan.  Ben, Abbie, David, Sarah, Jackie, and Corey will join us there on Friday for one big, huge, fun birthday party.  We have never done anything like this, and may not ever again, but we are all REALLY looking forward it!  I'll definitely be checking out the New York pizza!

Jackie had a business trip to Hartford, Connecticut this week.  When she goes there she takes the train from Philadelphia and rides right past New York.  As she came through she took this picture on her phone and emailed it to me.

I'll let you know how my pizza pilgrimage goes!

A Short Detour on the Way

Today Daryl and I were on the road again.  Somewhere out in rural Alabama I glimpsed this little church building on a side road so we pulled off to take a look and I'm so glad we did!

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church

When we got to the hotel tonight I looked online to see about the Canebrake.  It is the name for a five county area of Alabama that was known for having extremely thick stands of bamboo.  The cemetery here is said to be a Who's Who of the western part of Alabama.  

 The front doors to the church are padlocked shut from the inside.  I love the iron work on the hinges.

This moss is growing on one of the oldest tombstones in the cemetery.

 Each family plot has beautiful iron fence around it.

I'm so glad we took the time to stop for a while.  Daryl and I seem to be drawn to old cemeteries.  We have walked around in one in a seaport town in Alaska and in an old New Hampshire village.  And now in Alabama.

Tombstones really move me.

"In defence of his country"
There was a siege in Petersburg, Virginia during the Civil War from June 1864 until March 1865.  Walter must have been wounded before the siege began.

What could possibly have taken  little Mary and Julia  away so early?  The carving of such a caring angel and the two girls together must have been a comfort to their parents.  After all these years, my heart goes out to H. and J. Reese.

I had to look up "relict" in the dictionary, but apparently Olivia was married to W.A. Robinson first, he died, then she married J.T. Collins.  This is just a way of listing both of her husbands on her tombstone.
The line on the bottom of the stone is a quote from Jesus.  When Mary anointed Jesus feet with oil and was criticized for it, Jesus said, "She has done what she could.  She anointed my body for burial."

What an educational side trip!  I wonder what we'll find tomorrow?

NOLA

Well, we did it -- we drove five hours for a cup of coffee!  And enjoyed every sip.

Yes, that is my plate of beignets.  Yes, I am exercising this week.

The Cafe du Monde is open 24 hours a day and if you like to people-watch, this is your place.  We were there about 10:00 and you can see how crowded it still was.

Our little jaunt was not all about eating, though.  For years Daryl has wanted to visit the National World War II Museum and we spent a couple of hours there.  Daryl is standing beside a Higgins boat.  It was used on D-Day and was designed and built in New Orleans.

We're already making plans to go back one day.  The next time I think we'll eat dinner at one of Emeril's restaurants.  But dessert will always have to be a beignet!

Beware the random comment

Thursday evening I said one of my crazy, random thoughts.  This is how the thought became words:

It was too hot and too late for a cup of coffee, but I wanted one.
Daryl went on a fishing trip last weekend.
He drove through New Orleans.
We went to New Orleans together about 30 years ago.
While we were there we went to Cafe Du Monde.
Cafe Du Monde is famous for French press coffee and beignets.

And out of my mouth popped, "I think it is time for you to take me back to the Cafe Du Monde for coffee and beignets."

Usually this type of offbeat, quirky, out-of-the blue comment leads to discussion of trips we'd enjoy taking -- one day in the future.

That's not where the conversation went on Thursday night.  That Thursday night Daryl just said, "Okay!"

And, as fast as you can say, "Who Dat?", we had a plan!

Cafe Du Monde, here we come!

Ireland - Part Three

Halfway through our week in Ireland, we left Killarney and headed toward Dromoland Castle where we would spend the next three nights.  On the way we made a stop at Blarney Castle so we could kiss the Blarney Stone.  

Blarney Castle was originally built before 1200 AD and was rebuilt in 1446.  The legend says that if you kiss the Blarney Stone you will receive the 'ability to deceive without offending.'  A nicer way they put it is to receive the 'gift of gab'.   

To reach the top of the castle where the stone was placed you must climb a winding staircase every bit as old as the castle itself.  The steps were very narrow, maybe 18", and winded around the outside walls and it was fairly dark.  Several people stopped midway because of claustrophobia.  I just put my mind somewhere else and kept trudging.  When we reached the top, the view of the surrounding countryside was beautiful.

This is my picture of a man kissing the stone.  He is the one laying on his back hanging upside down.  Since you can't see very well what is going on, I found the next picture on Wikipedia.

picture from Wikipedia

Daryl and I just stepped right over the crazy folks hanging upside down and decided we would make do with whatever gab we've got!  Tripadvisor has called the Blarney Stone the most unhygienic tourist spot in the world.  I don't know what they are talking about - the man on the right there had some Lysol sitting right beside him!

Dromoland Castle sits on about 410 acres.  Most of that is either a golf course or gardens and has trails everywhere so you can explore.  I was sitting in the middle of a pond looking back up a hill to take this picture.  It was a very peaceful place.

This flower border is inside a walled garden and was one of my favorite places.  A little inspiration for next year's garden here at home!

On the morning we left there wasn't a cloud in the sky so I snapped one more picture of our hotel and it turned out to be one of my favorite shots of the week.  Wouldn't want to live in a castle, but it sure was fun to visit!

A couple of days after we got home we were driving on the Northern Bypass and I saw a rainbow.  At first, there was only a small piece, but finally we saw the full rainbow.  It reached from North Montgomery to one of the RSA towers.  It was so close to us that we could easily see each stripe of color.  I know that God's promise of a rainbow had to do with rain, but it felt like a personal sign to me that day.

The lucky leprechaun and pot of gold are never found in Ireland or any other vacation spot.  The end of my rainbow is in north Montgomery county, on Greer Farm Drive, here on my little Walnut Grove Farm.

There's no place like home.

Ireland - Part Two

On the second full day of our trip to Ireland we went out to drive the Ring of Kerry.  We were in County Kerry and the Ring was a road around the Iveraugh Peninsula.   All along the road we saw scenery like this.  On our left were green fields dotted with sheep, on our right was the ocean.

At one place where we stopped, this guy came up from somewhere with his little donkey and baskets.  He put a smaller basket on the ground for tips and was there to pose for photographs.  Something about the cell phone on his ear takes away from his age-old authenticity, don't you think?  I didn't pay him for this picture :)

To the right of our bus was the Atlantic ocean.

Along the way we stopped to see a sheep dog demonstration.  As we drove up in our bus, the tour guide said that the farmer was a "fine hunk of an Irish man" and "just looking at him will do ye good, ladies."  We all had a good laugh and were very interested to see what he looked like.  I think the guide and the shepherd might be dating.

The movie, Babe, is my only 'real' experience with dogs herding sheep, and I must say that these sweet dogs did seem more like wolves when they were on the job.  One of my highlights of the whole trip was when the fine hunk of an Irish man turned to his dog and said, "That'll do, Bess."  How many of you know what I'm talking about?

After the dogs put the sheep away we headed into a little shop for tea and scones.  While we were drinking our tea, the owner of the shop came out to talk a little and entertain us.  She chatted a little bit and then asked someone to say an American song that everyone knows.  A man to my left called out, "God Bless America".  I think she was looking for something with a little more beat because she grabbed a guy in our group and got him to dance with her.  So we sang God Bless America while they danced.  I was laughing so hard, it was hard to sing.  Maybe you had to be there, but it is very funny to see someone dancing a jig to that song!   She got to choose an Irish song next so we all sang "Danny Boy".  No one danced.

Daryl and I ate lunch at a creekside cafe.  This was our view from the deck.

When the Ring of Kerry tour was over we came back to the hotel, went out to dinner with some new friends, and then came back for our last night in Killarney.  I wanted to make sure to take some pictures of the hotel.  We only sat in this room one time, but it was as cozy as it looks.

This oversized pool table is for a game called Snooker.  The table is 12 feet long!

Looking at someone else's vacation pictures is about exciting as a trip to the dentist, isn't it?  I'll finish up tomorrow.  Promise!