old fashioned holiday

 This photo is the quaint little house

by the HUGE Mount Washington Hotel  in Bretton Woods, NH.  

We enjoyed a wonderful vacation here a few years ago. 

I’m sharing with you today,

because it reminds me of all good things of

Thanksgivings’ past. 

What about you?

Can’t you imagine a ‘50 station wagon pulling up to the country porch,

mom and dad open the back car door for anxious children,

not so patiently,

awaiting their arrival to Grandma’s for a Thanksgiving day feast. 

I can almost smell the aroma of pumpkin pie and homemade bread

from the wooden steps of the porch.

Whether you’re having an old fashioned holiday or dining out,

my wish for you is a joyous one just like those of Thanksgivings’ past!

sunday eve

 

The Lord reigns...

Let the heavens rejoice, 

let the earth be glad,

let the seas resound and all that is in it;

let the fields be jubilant,

and everything in them.

Then all the trees of the forest

will sing for joy,

they will sing before the Lord for he comes…

Psalm 96:10-13

(photos taken in the great land and sea of Alaska)

Sunday Eve ~ birds of the air

 

Cooler days,

colder nights,

amber leaves are scarce,

branches will soon be bare.

The birds of the air instinctively know this, but they don’t hurry or stress.  Why?

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” ~Matthew 6:26

That’s why. 

Oh, what lessons we could learn from the birds of the air.

Sharing with Spiritual Sunday.

{Change…}

Thanks to Razmataz’s Red Challenge for the inspiration of my post!

Looking up into the maple tree, I’m struck by these two leaves, side by side.

One green ~ hanging on to summer hues.

One red ~ proud to have changed to autumn’s splendor.

Both beautiful in their own way.

People are like leaves.

Which are you? 

Hanging on to yesterday’s hues or…

 Reaching for tomorrow’s changes?

 “The summer fades and passes and October comes.

We’ll smell smoke then,

and feel an unexpected sharpness,

a thrill of nervousness,

swift elation,

a sense of sadness and departure.”

~Thomas Wolfe

stop and smell the zinnias

This week Cigar Man and I are working on building a rock wall around our patio.  I’ll show you some pics if it turns out.  If I don’t, you will know it didn’t!   ;=)

We took a break yesterday to walk a two mile path along some lovely historic homes.  I love to see the homes decorated for autumn and Halloween.  I took lots of photos which I’ll display later in the week.  It was kind of our version of “trick or treating”.   You see, instead of walking up to the porch and knocking on the door for treats, I just took photos from the street.  The photos are my treats, for sure!

On the way, we found a patch of  beautiful red zinnias,

but not before these delicate Monarchs found them.

I couldn’t help but stop and take some shots. 

They won’t be around much longer, you know.

And then, of course, I couldn’t help but play with my photos a little. 

Hope you’re making time to stop and enjoy!

~sunset...skywatch friday~

I watched from my covered balcony as it sprinkled rain throughout the afternoon.

When I saw the vacationers start to slowly wander out, I knew the rain was over.

First we saw the rainbow.

Little did we know it was only a glimpse of the beauty to come.

photos taken at Sand Destin, Florida beach

“If I can put one touch of rosy sunset into the life of any man or woman,

I feel that I have worked with God.” ~G. K. Chesterton

Linking to Sky watch Friday and Sky Friday.

~taking detours off that long paved road called an interstate~

On the road to Destin, Cigar Man and I decided to take our time, make some stops and smell the roses along the way. You know, there are some interesting places to see off that long dull paved road called an interstate!

One of the most interesting stops we took was in Cullman, Alabama at St. Bernard’s Abbey. I’ll have to say, a monk’s abbey is not a typical stop for us and may not be for you either, but it was well worth the visit!

Walking through this miniature village called the Ave Maria Grotto, we couldn’t keep our jaws from dropping to the ground! The Grotto, stretching across a two-block pathway, consists of a landscaped hillside of 125 small stone and cement structures built over a lifetime by Brother Joseph Zoetl, affectionately called “Brother Joe” by the clerk at the visitors center. I can truly say, I’ve never seen anything like it!

We were told the story of “Brother Joe” by a friendly man at the visitor’s center. It seems he came to America to be a monk at the newly founded St. Bernard Abbey from Landshut, Bavaria in 1892. Soon after arriving, he was in an accident that resulted in existing in an iron cast. He lived in pain much of the rest of his life, but was still able to create all of these elaborate replicas from all over the world.

With the calico cat and me in the pic,

you can get an idea of the actual size of the structures.

(After seeing this pic, these are not my favorite pants - just saying.)

I would really recommend this hidden treasure

off that long dull paved road called an interstate any day!

The friendly man I mentioned also told us about a restaurant in Cullman called

All Steak.

The story goes, at its origin in 1934, it was supposed to be called

All Steak Hamburgers but the owner ran out of money.

(You can’t make this stuff up.)

Good thing we were hungry and just had to stop cause it was southerly divine!

(Well, we were pretty much hungry through the whole trip. LOL! )

Doesn’t this look delicious?!

Fried tilapia, fresh squash, and purple hull peas! YUM!

Their specialty?

Orange rolls!

They’re brought to you at the end of your meal.

As you can see, we tore into ours!

Going on down the road, one more stop I want to tell you about is…

They have peaches, of course, and all kinds of locally grown veggies and fruits and the best country kitchen with all kinds of “tried and true” goodies.

What do we stop for?

FRIED PEACH PIES!

They are to die for!

In fact, we stopped on the way back and brought a couple home.

Listen…I think I hear one calling me from the frig now.

Stop by later. I’ve got more pics and tales from our ROAD TRIP.

Linking to Susan’s Outdoor Wednesday.

wish you were here!

and the “white stuff under my feet” WAS…

YOU GUESSED IT!

Well, some of you did.

I’ll have to say it was fun to read who guessed sand and who guessed snow. I can tell you right now. I’m not a snow person. If I can go where the sun is warm on my face and the sand tickles my toes that’s where I’m heading.

We drove south to Destin, Florida, a beautiful resort town established in 1984 and from the beginning grew faster than the sea oats below ever did.

No oil either! But as you can see from the tee shirt below, the Destin natives are not too happy with BP.

I’m told the oil never made it to Destin, unfortunately not the case for Gulf Shores, but many of the businesses in Destin suffered a slow summer anyway.

Cigar Man and I relaxed in the sun…

(loved these pink chairs and umbrellas)

Enjoyed delicious seafood…

(Cigar Man eats oysters on the half shell, NOT ME!)

and beautiful views!

Just wanted to let you know I’m back.

I have much more to show and tell about our road trip.

Catch you later.

~sunday eve~

 

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness. 

~Lamentations 3:22-23 

~mr. baby bird~

My usual walk was abruptly halted this morning. I hadn’t got any further than my front yard when I noticed two tiny baby birds lying face up, itsy bitsy claws pointing to the sky. That’s right - deceased, bless their tiny lil hearts. (I’ll spare you photos.) I sighed and walked another step when I saw their lil brother struggling beside the sidewalk in the grass.

OH NO, I thought!

What to do?

Do I leave him alone?

Do I rescue him?

Is his mommy near by?

Can he fly?

And then I did what any good blogger would do. I took pictures! J

To my surprise, as I was taking photos of this lil cutie, he wobbly staggers toward me!

HEY WAIT! I’m not your mother!

Go on back now! Really now!

I don’t know how to take care of baby birds!

But he just kept moving toward me!

Well, I couldn’t leave him there in the middle of the sidewalk, deserted, without his mommy.

So my mind starts racing. Okay, maybe he’s hungry or thirsty, so I sprinkle bird food down in front of him and some water. I know. You’re laughing aren’t you? Yea, I think mr. baby bird laughed at me too. He’s beginning to realize I have NO idea what I’m doing.

Next, I find a cardboard box and fill it with grass, leaves, and soft things that belong in a nest. I gently scoop him into the box. He does NOT like it. He sputters around, spreading his wings as if to say “Get me OUT of here!” I decide I’ve got to get some advice from an intelligent source, but the internet is all I have so I Google. I learn the best thing to do is put him back in the tree in a makeshift nest and hope that his mommy comes back to rescue him.

I find a plastic tray, punch holes in it and fill it with nesting materials.

And then gentle move Mr. Baby Bird once again from his box to his new home.

It’s hard to get a good shot of mr. baby bird with the leaves around and I don’t want to bother him any more than I have to just in case his mommy is near by waiting for me to get the heck out of here.

You can only see a little of his wing in this photo. I know it’s hard to tell, but he’s very comfortable here. He closes his little eyes and goes to sleep.

Ahh…I’m finally feeling pretty good about this situation.

Calming down after my valiant rescue of mr. baby bird, I start to look for a nest he and his brothers could have fallen from. Look closely and you can see it in the top center of this photo. But what’s interesting is the bird barely visible in the lower left of the photo. Do you see her?

Is this his mommy??

Has she been watching me through this whole ordeal?

or

Is this another brother or sister??

I guess we’ll never know.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a happy ending to my morning adventure.

Later, I go out to check on mr. baby bird. Sadly, he’s fallen out of his makeshift nest.

You know the rest of the story. L

I’m linking to Simple Pleasures at Dayle’s “A Collection of this and that”.

Sunday Eve – peaceful moments

(Photo taken off the waters of the Dominican Republic)

Everything you do can be done better from a place of relaxation.

- Stephen C. Paul

(Caribbean waters)

When we are present in each moment,

the past gently rolls up behind us

and the future slowly unravels before us.

- Rev Richard Levy

(Blue Mountain close to Destin, Florida)

Set peace of mind as your highest goal,

and organize your life around it.

- Brian Tracy

“the LORD turn his face toward you

and give you peace." Numbers 6:26

Are you feeling it yet?

May you enjoy Rest and Peace this week.

sharing with Spiritual Sunday.

~beauty on a morning walk~

 

 

The weather lady said 80 degrees at 7am and rising quickly.  So I’m thinking better stop drinking this coffee, get out of this chair and out for my morning walk or it won’t get done.

Crepe Myrtles are in full bloom here in Tennessee.  I love what Popso said a post or two ago.  “Crepe Myrtles are a graceful “compensation package” for us having to endure our hot summers here in the south.”  So true! 

So I got to looking around at all the lovely crepes draping from yard to yard in an array of various colors.  Before you know it, I’m heading back home to get my camera.  Yep, done that before.

Here’s the beauty I enjoyed on my morning walk.

I think this color’s my favorite!