I love landscape pictures - particularly of farm country. I have several that resemble the Kansas countryside in which there are barns, wheat fields, fencing, and I have them showing a variety of seasons. Most of my landscapes are originals by local artists. This particular one is a watercolor. I love the colors depicting Fall and the character in an old barn.
This summer I found these Spode plates at an estate sale. On the back of the plates it says they're from "The Spode Blue Room Collection 'British Flowers - Rosa' c. 1831. I got them for $3 each which I didn't think was such a bad price. I have Blue Willow pattern dishes and several other blue and white pieces so these pieces went along nicely with that collection.
What can a person do with old privacy fence boards when the fence has "had it"? Well, this is one project my DH did with them. This "settle" has been on my porch and then in my herb garden for years and I can still sit on it - so it's sturdy! DH has made several projects from old fencing. I'll share them off and on in my blog. 
I've posted before about my love of quilts. It's hard to decide what a favorite pattern would be. In the 80s I was team-teaching second grade. My team mate, Peggy, was diagnosed with cancer. She fought a hard battle but she passed away after several years of battle. She was in and out of the hospital many times during those years. She had substitute after substitute. If you've been a team-teacher before, you know it's hard to team-teach in that situation. While Peggy was receiving chemo one time she made this counted-crosstitch for me while she sat for hours taking her chemo. When she gave it to me all framed she told me how much she appreciated my "hanging in there" with her. Peggy did expert work in every craft she did. She knitted me several things and was constantly making something for someone. This piece of needlework has always been on a wall in my home since then and it will always be there to remind me of my good friend and team-partner, Peggy.
This weekend we took a "family" vacation to Kansas City. Along with shopping we included a trip to Union Station. There are many activities within Union Station to enjoy. Union Station was built in 1914 and due to the loss of railway passenger rail services, the use for a major railway station is not in need. So, this magnificent building has been "recreated". It houses a wonderful science center with many hands-on exhibits for children. The grandkids really enjoyed it. We enjoyed a 3-D movie about dolphins and whales on a big IMAX-type theater.
There was an exhibit of Abraham Lincoln and Russian Tsar Alexander II who have been compared historically. No photos inside so posing as Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln was the best photo op you could have.
The interior of Union Station was beautiful. It has been well preserved.
There are several restaurants inside.
This is a photo of the ceiling complete with the huge chandeliers.
I have been given an award by Eleanor at Thatchwick Cottage (all the way in South Africa). She indicates that inside this avid reader (meaning "me") there lurks a writer. She could be correct but I haven't tried much since college days - maybe writing a blog is that "lurking writer" coming to fruition. Anyway, thanks so much for giving me this award, Eleanor. I really enjoy reading Eleanor's blog because her life is so different from mine and yet we still enjoy some of the same things. Please check out her blog.
The above picture shows the new pond after it was completed and newly landscaped. The photo below is just a "higher" view of the pond - you can see there are two ponds with streams connecting the upper and lower ponds.
The photo above and below shows a much more mature pond. We enjoy our pond and we're constantly "tweeking" it - adding and removing plants.
Be sure to check over at Susan's Between Naps on the Porch for other major changes people have made for Metamorphosis Monday.
Ladies With Books met this week to discuss this month's "read", The Knitting Circle, by Ann Hood. As usual, our refreshments were from the book. Sharron, our hostess, made "cosmos" (cosmopolitans) for us to begin with. We also had a delicious lemon double layer cake with an "out of this world" cream layer in-between. Since the "cosmos" gave us a little 'freedom', we had a lively discussion of the book (well, maybe a really lively discussion). I enjoyed the book. It even made me want to pick up knitting again - tried it many years ago - made mittens even! If you enjoy knitting or if you have experienced grief in your life, you too will appreciate this book..jpg)
Be sure to visit Diane at A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words for the treasures that people have built from "trash" others have gotten rid of.
Here is a door that is used now in our family room as a "backdrop". I wanted an old country looking door for the bathroom door off our family room in my old house. We went to the salvage yard and found an old door that we thought would be the right size. When we got it home, it had to be completely rebuilt in order for it to fit the door opening - so my DH did that without much complaining. At first I put a shade and curtains on it but then my daughter started doing stained glass so I had her make a window for that door.
I loved that door and couldn't bear to have it stay with our house when we sold it - so we removed the door and put the previous door back before we started showing our house. Now the door has supports on the bottom so it stands alone and I still get to appreciate it.
We went to a Super Bowl party last night and had a great time. We ate really well - chili, potato soup, and snacks galore. Our friends Ruby and Steve hosted. This is a yearly get together and there is always a pot (as in small time "betting"). We all put in a dollar and pick a number for total points at half-time and total points for the game. I won the pot for total points for the game - a whopping $7.50. I get accused of "always winning". I don't, of course - but I have won more than once! I always say it's due to my vast knowledge of football and really analyzing what could happen during the game - NOT! I actually could have cared less who won or by how much. I did watch the game with only minimal talking going on amongst we women (the men there would have some comment on that). Men always watch in a different place!
Ruby made sure we all had the 3-D glasses to watch the commercials. These are pics of us modeling our glasses!
It was an exciting game and it was fun to watch! A really good time was had by all!
![Today's Thrifty Treasures](<a href="http://southernhospitality-rhoda.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i432.photobucket.com/albums/qq44/joannabrittain/SouthernHospThriftyTreasurescopy.jpg"></a>)
|
I am a |
