This gallery contains 25 photos.
Wow, it’s been a while since I posted on my blog! With the short time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, life moved pretty quickly! I was making cookies right up to Christmas eve. Sean and I went to visit my mom on Christmas eve, came home and ate shrimp and ravioli with Brian and headed to […]
I realized it’s been a while since our trip to the Buchanan house post. Having a late Thanksgiving kind of put me in a tailspin with Christmas this year. After all these years, I have it pretty down pat to what I do and when, but I switched it up a bit. I just finished sending cards as I wasn’t sure I wanted to even do so. I send out about three different styles. I saw a box of Charlie Harper cardinal drawings in the Longwood Gardens gift shop that were calling my name. I have a few of his stylized designs in cross stitch that I should do.
We got the tree up a little over a week ago. We have been having early snow this year in Pennsylvania, very unusual. I trimmed the tree in a wintery theme of white snowflakes, clear and blue balls and silvery things. No red! Well there is a wee bit on a ‘Phillies’ ornament and a Santa ornament of Sean as a baby.
This is off my phone. I should set up the tripod to get some more shots with the Canon. The mantel had to be redone as the greenery started to fall a week after it was placed up there. No fire or anything-just a dry house. It was a terrible mess to take down. I replaced it with two garlands-a silvery one wrapped around the aqua snowflake cord and one with pine cones just laying above that. I added the sparkly leaves back. I like it better as it is reflecting the mega lights from the tree.
I like this tree a lot! It’s from the Habitat store, but I think it will be retired for a few years so I can so some color. I do like themed trees.
I love those snowflakes in front that are a bit iridescent and the snowball garland. But I love the over all effect.
Remember these are the phone’s camera photos. I just put this pink foil tree up a few days ago. I like how it gives a pink glow. It is a little close to the big tree, but it makes its own statement. I bought it last year and was going to put it up on the 14th, the day of the Sandy Hook tragedy. I went ahead and put it up and adorned it with cupcakes, lollipops and sweets and dedicated it to them so I could honor them. I also put this up on the 14th this year.
Did a few shelves of Snowbabies on my vintage hutch that belonged to my great auntie.
And today I put up some of my ‘Wizard of Oz’things. I could do a little tree too as I have Oz ornaments. Finding them in my stuff would take a little effort!
I’ll never say never!
One of my favorite collections is also on a tree, but a feather tree. It is mostly covered with hand-stitched (cross stitched) ornaments that I made and a few pals made too. I am trying to find a second one!
I’ve added a few new ones too! It’s getting really full. I nearly knocked it down the other night when I tried to add one to the side. About 10 fell off at 1 in the morning. Not fun fixing it.
We did some lights on the outside hedges and stars along the brick sidewalk. I like a spotlight on the door and also on Brian’s old sled.
Between doing all this, I worked (still one day this week left) and made cross stitched ornaments for coworkers.
I made everything. The little horseshoes were really hard to cut out of felt. I made this after our ladies’ tea at work.
Our teen helper is a dancer, so this was for her.
I also made an ornament for Sean’s new co-worker who loves nutcrackers. I burnt the midnight oil on this one and put it around the neck of a big bottle of Moscarto wine for her. She loved it!
I am busy making something for my mom. She asked for it, so I found a pattern which was giving me a headache at first, but I think I have it figured out now. Will share when it is finished and/or she receives it.
Next on the agenda is cookie baking. I know I will do chocolate chips and 7 layer cookies (Sean’s favorite). Presents will be wrapped a few days before Christmas.
Things are flowing along….there are still areas that need to be tidied up-at least I clean well at Christmas!
Happy Holiday-Merry Christmas and Happy 2014 everyone!
Our Christmas adventures begin!
On November 30th, we took a little trip up to Lancaster, PA to tour the Jame Buchanan house. To make the tour special, they had actors playing Clement C. Moore who penned ’twas the Night Before Christmas, his wife, a housekeeper and Mr. North/St. Nick.
We got there thinking we’d get in on the 4 pm tour, but had to wait until 5 pm. They couldn’t add us to the group. We went around the mansion and took photos of it outside to kill time.
We would get to see it in the dark all lit up (just the back). I just love when the sun sets at 4 something these days.
grape arbor
Colonial garden done for the fall
This was the door we would go in to start the tour.
When it was our turn, Brian, Sean and me were the only ones on the tour.
It was kind of interesting! We got to talk to the actors as if they were the actual people. We tried to take photos, but the lighting was bad.
This was Mrs. Moore. The tree behind her was gorgeous. It has a big peacock at the top.
We played 1820 parlor games with them. We were suppose to make someone laugh and I said ‘hello handsome’ to Mr. Moore and made his wife laugh! Then we had to read cards which were aimed at the humor of that time. Like the one card would say ‘when should we drink a cordial’ and the other card say, ‘not a quarter to midnight’. They all chuckled. Ha ha.
The mansion is really a lovely place. They did a nice job decorating it inside and out.
There were torches lit along the back too. We didn’t go around front to see it lit up!
The Lancaster Historic org is on the property and this is where we were waiting for our tour. We watched a short movie about Buchanan first. He was a bachelor and a lawyer.
Buchanan’s carriage
We thought it was different and fun. We headed to look for a few caches in Lancaster and couldn’t put our hands on them. Pizza Hut was calling our names, so we had dinner there. We did find one lone cache in a metal bus stop on Rt. 30. Brian found it on a ledge on the top inside-in the dark with my phone’s flashlight.
I can’t wait to see what Longwood Gardens did this year!
Last Saturday, Nov. 23rd, the three of us went to Atlantic City for the last ‘rah rah’ of 2013. I shouldn’t say that, because now I am scoping out places that will be decorated for Christmas like the home of President James Buchanan in Lancaster County. So the special treat was for Brian and me to go see one of my favorite singers ever, Bonnie Raitt. I even crocheted a scarf to give to her!
Bonnie was playing in Caesars and we stayed in the Tropicana for the 1st time. We have stayed in 5 out of the 12 now (actually the Sands was torn down, so it’s 4 now).
Brian and I were told taking a jitney was our best bet to get to Caesars. We went and stood a few minutes in the cold and one came along promptly. We had a more interesting experience heading back.
We bought a dinner and show package and had to find the restaurant. It was tucked in the corner of the 3rd floor. We both had Caesar salad and salmon. Brian chose cheese cake and me creme brulee. It was a nice meal!
We had some time to kill, and went over to the mall which wasn’t busy at all. We looked around a few stores, but I was anxious to get back to the venue and see who I could give Bonnie’s scarf too. The ticket guys really didn’t know and it took a bit for them to check to see what to do. Finally I was to give the present to a security guard.
We bet 2 whole dollars-that was it! Good for us!
The theater wasn’t really large and we had good seat in the second row of the back section. Unfortunately people kept climbing over us! We had to stand up at least 7-8 times!
Marc Cohn was the opening act for Bonnie and this was his last performance with her. I grabbed this shot off his Facebook page. Thanks for the memories Marc!
Found this on youtube, but what a strange angle!
I will treasure this evening forever! Bonnie sang ‘Rainy Day Man’ by another one of my favorites, James Taylor; Angel from Montgomery and so many of her new and older hits. The little boys above are the sons of Marc and his wife reporter Elizabeth Vargas.
So we had a little trouble getting on the right jitney on the return trip. First we got on one going the wrong way. We thought they turned around maybe? Then the second one was the incorrect number for the Tropicana. So finally we got on the right one, got out and didn’t know how to get in the right area for the hotel part. We had to walk from the bottom level and finally found the right area to go. Sean was gone for a bit longer. He was having fun checking out the night life, but not eating a very filling meal.
We never sleep well the first night and it was warm in the room. We had a difficult time getting up for breakfast, but I did grab the Canon for these shots.
I’m sure that water was a bit chilly!
Caesars is in front of that white parking garage. We have stayed there, the Taj Mahal and Revel, the place with the mirrored windows and the globe on the top. The lighthouse in Absecon (which I have climbed) is down the middle near the water-it’s a white dot here.
The curved roof building is convention center where the Miss America contest is now held again.
That’s the Borgata with the gold windows and the train station area (I think) and highway.
They do use wind machines for power!
What Atlantic City looked like before the casinos. I remember we stayed in a place similar to one of these when we were younger. Not that great.
When we were headed down, we stopped in Marlton, NJ where Sean works now. It’s really a haul for him each day. It’s good experience and if he needs to move closer he may have to as it’s 120 miles a day trip for him!
We stopped a few times coming home, but I wasn’t in the mood to shop and actually snoozed in the car. Yep, it was a long night, but a memorable one.
Being a little girl of just 4, I don’t remember too much about this day. I know my mom and grandmom were quiet and the black and white Zenith was on all day long for several days showing coverage that 3 and 4 year old children aren’t very interested in.
Several years later, in 5th grade, I would write a paper about President Kennedy, travel to Washington, DC and then see the Kennedy grave.
There were some things about the assassination that I didn’t know and am sorry I had to see…like that lost film footage of the actual fatal shot.
I also didn’t know that they took seats out of Air Force One so the President wouldn’t have to go in the cargo area. Also didn’t know that Johnson wouldn’t have the plane take off without being swore in as President first. Mrs. Kennedy sat with the coffin the entire way back to the nation’s capital.
When Brian and I were first married, we traveled up to New England on a car trip that took us a week. We saw the Kennedy compound from a far in Hyannisport, MA.
We also went to Newport, RI and decided to see Jackie’s home ‘Hammersmith’ and took a tour. It was where she and the President had their wedding reception in 1953.
These are from 1984, so not the best quality (and a scan)
Brian is the same age as Caroline and my brother is the same age as John, so you see we grew up with them. When John got killed in 1999, it was like losing a brother.
Life goes on, a new generation of this family may or may not take the limelight. Senator Ted Kennedy was the last of his generation. He was popular and outspoken until the end of his life.
Just recently Caroline became Ambassador to China. This is very interesting. She’s written several books of different genres.
I just heard the pink suit that the First Lady wore on that terrible day won’t be seen by the public until the year 2103 as requested by the family. I don’t blame them.
This gallery contains 23 photos.
Last week I decided to take a solo journey to Longwood Gardens as I was dying to see their yearly mum display. I was going to try for 1/2 hour and stayed for 2 hours! I walked over to the Conservatory and was wowed by the what I saw! There are over a thousand blooms […]
Thursday night I took a painting class up in the next town. I saw a deal for it come up for half price and decided to just do it. I’ve seen people on the Kennett Design’s Facebook page doing the different themed paintings and they looked like they were having fun. I had to sign up for a specific class, so I chose one of my favorite artists, Vincent Van Gogh. The painting was an interpretation of ‘Starry Night’ by Jarred Fisher, who I later learned graduated a year before Sean. So Jarred is studying under renown artist Nelson Shanks who painted Princess Diana and Pope John Paul I. Not many people get to do this. That was a cool thing to me when he told us.
Our inspiration
We saw the original last year in New York at the Museum of Modern Art
This is what the studio looks like:
This is actually after the other table had finished their paintings!
Other examples of classes you can take.
The price includes the canvas and paints. We wet down the canvas first and then added the blue. We had a choice of two blues-I mixed them.
Then we added the swirls and stars
They we added the dashes in yellow with a dash of white. I think it’s coming together here!
My finished piece! That’s a Cypress tree in the front. Jarred and I had a discussion about why it’s there. In the original, there is a village down to the right. He says the tree is for dimension.
There are a few things I would change-maybe make it a little neater. I think it’s not too bad for a few hours work.
This young lady did a great job:
The studio owner took this awesome shots and posted them on Facebook. The other people were mostly all drinking their wine. I had water. No one offered me any wine or snacks, oh well.
Brian and Sean thought I did a great job.
But the main thing is I had fun!
I have a blue kitchen, so think it may go in there. We’ll see.
Watch for a post on Longwood Gardens Mum Festival! They totally outdid themselves this year. I was going for 1/2 hour and stayed for 2 hours!
Really, I am not kidding at all. Can you imagine your hubby or significant other belting out ‘You Raise Me Up’ for your birthday or anniversary? I know some guys can sing, but how many can hold a candle to Josh?
A Group-on deal came up to see Josh down in Philly-$25 each-holy cow, that’s the price of a concert in the 1980s! Brian and I decided to go. I guess it was like a date night. I knew it would be a low key crowd also.
We left a few hours early which was a smart move. We got a great parking spot and no lines at the ticket booth.
We had to wait to get in, but we didn’t feel rushed. The usher pointed us to what we thought was the correct row, and we made ourselves comfortable.
Beyond the railing were floor seats. As I said, wow, not bad for the price. The big screens helped a lot!
The opening act was a lovely lady named Judith Hill, I couldn’t place her at first. Here she was one of the finalists in last season’s ‘The Voice’. How neat is it to tour with Josh. She sat at a piano and sang a few snippets of songs, including ‘You’ve Got A Friend’. Woo, love a gal that sings a James Taylor/ Carole King song. She was on about 1/2 hour and then Josh didn’t come on until 8:30.
He ran out singing ‘Brave’
So I thought this was called ‘Gotta Run Away’-lol
Josh is only 32 going on 33. He has such a mature voice, you forget he is such a young guy.
Here is Josh’s duet with Judith singing ‘The Prayer’. He said he was asked to sub for Andrea Bocelli (stuck on a plane)with Celine Dion at the Grammys one year which made him well known.
He sang a nice array of songs, some in Spanish, maybe French. I was waiting for him to sing ‘You Raise Me Up’ and he did as an encore! That song makes me fill up as one time when my uncle was sick, it made me feel better and more hopeful that he would get better.
We thought the show was over and I used the ladies room and he was singing ‘Smile’. I love that song too!
All in all a nice evening except the man next to me was way too large for his seat and he really overflowed into my space. He should have turned toward his wife. He had a big beer and I knew he’d have to get up sooner or later and I made Brian change seats. Alas, he never sat down again! And here we were in the incorrect row! We should have been down one as the young ladies who were suppose to be in our seats came in late and I pointed to the ones below us. I wish we could have sat down there.
This gallery contains 25 photos.
My son Sean started his new job on the 21st of this month and his birthday fell on the 24th. We always go out to dinner and headed to the Big Fish Grille when he and his dad got home from work. Third time there as we do like the food! Sean had 1/2 a […]
This gallery contains 26 photos.
I am definitely behind in my posts. October has proven to be super busy with us getting back from our travels, going back to work, cleaning up the yard (not finished) and changing out my summer to winter clothes. And Sean got a job in his field! He will be starting his GIS job with […]
Collages & Creative Goodness 