18,000 words

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then here are 18,000 for you.

David and I took this trip to Maine to celebrate our 30th anniversary. Here is a glimpse into our perfect week...

The view of the harbor from our pretty cottage.

The Thompson House in Stonington, Maine.

It belongs to my mother's cousin, Becky (click on her name to see her wonderful artwork), and is so beautifully decorated with art and antiques.

The bridge that took us over to Little Deer Isle where Stonington is located.

Stonington, a picture-perfect seaside village.

All in a day's work for this lobster fisherman.

Our good friends, the Phelps, happened to be in Rockland, Maine at the same time we were in Stonington. We had plans to meet them for bike-riding in Acadia National Park, but ran into them in a little shop in Camden, completely by accident, a day early.

Acadia National Park.


Most of the antiques shops are in barns next to the owner's house. I found a little treasure in this one.

The colors are beyond description. This almost captures it.

We took lots of drives and saw colors like this around every turn...

...in our convertible, with the top down. I am in the passenger seat huddled up in my coat and scarf. It was cold!



Had a picnic lunch at this nice, sunny spot.

David was so patient and stopped every single time I wanted to take a picture. Which was often.

Lily's Cafe for lunch - 3 days in a row. It was THAT good!

We hiked through a moss-carpeted forest that opened up to this beautiful shore.

David got to go out on a lobster boat. Bob and his wife, Annette, were so kind to give him this thrill. I think it was his favorite part of the trip.

A toast to the last 30 years and 30 more!




Goodbye, for now...

i'm home...

...in body only. My heart and mind are still in MAINE! David and I spent an indescribably wonderful week there and I will have pictures posted soon.

Happy Tuesday!

i'm going on vacation...

I'll be gone for a little while, but I'll be back...with pictures!

Have a happy week!

(don't turn on the news)

i'm open...

I spent the entire day at my computer yesterday setting up my Etsy shop. This is something I've contemplated for two years, but never felt really sure how or what to do to get started or how complicated it would be to keep it open. There was no one I knew to ask until...I met Brandy at the Quaint Ladies Sale! She has an Etsy shop full of fabulous things (you need to check it out - there is a link from her blog) and has been so sweet, patient and encouraging as I muddled through. God sent her just in the nick of time! I was really ready to try it.

For those of you not familiar with Etsy, it is a website that sells all things handmade. Pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea and treat yourself to a shopping trip like no other. There are incredible artists making incredible things. It is so much fun to browse - but be warned - there are 170,000 shops so it could take awhile. Several cups of coffee or tea. Maybe lunch. But, no gas! Be sure to read the profiles of your favorites. It is nice getting to "know" the people who make the things you like.

Happy Thursday!!!

good morning

I stepped out onto my front porch this gorgeous October morning and was greeted by this pretty pink sunrise. I could only stay outside in my PJs for about 5 minutes - just long enough to say a prayer of thanks - too chilly. Just thought I'd share it. Can you hear the birds and smell my coffee? Happy Tuesday to you.

quaint goodness

We members of the Society for the Preservation of Quaint Old Homes held our first ever

Quaint Ladies MarketPlace. JoCarol, Molly and Roxanne have already blogged about it so I'm just filling in with some of the pretty things that caught my eye...

...Roxanne setting up...

...the view from the yard's upper level...

..."home" wherever it may be, is sweet to all of us...

...nature helped in every way to make our day perfect...

...see?...

...sisters Sarah and Carolyn, our quaint check-out ladies...

...a precious baby visitor, Janice M's granddaughter...

...the morning sun coming through this window took my breath away...

...Jana (who so generously shared her home for this event) and Amy...

...JoCarol at her table of goodies...

...can you hear it?...

...Roxanne and crew's handiwork...

...altogether, a perfectly delightful day...

oops...

...I left Rocket out of the last post...he should have been included...he made us laugh...when his life jacket was put on him, he didn't move...I mean not a muscle...only his eyeballs...he eventually got used to it...became a real lake dog...

summer memories

Summer has come to an end, and even though I am loving this beautiful, fall weather, I'm reminiscing about summer. My favorite summer memories revolve around the lake. God has blessed us with a little cabin on a little lake not far from here (it belonged to Molly B's family before us) and we have spent many, many weekends there over the past 18 years. Lots of memories...these are just from this last summer...

...sitting on the deck is like being in a treehouse...there were several times that David and I just ran over for the afternoon to swim, fish, read, nap...

...David takes his fishing very seriously...we've had some delicious meals thanks to his hard work...perch, crappie, and bass are the best...while everyone else is playing, he's working hard to put food on the table...as you can see...

...Austin and Elizabeth relax on the dock after a nice, evening swim...

...Austin married into the family and fits right in...

...Anna, too, takes her fishing very seriously and is pretty hard to out-fish...Garrett (her boyfriend) helps her land a big one...there were meals where she provided everything...the fish and fresh vegetables from her garden...

...David and Garrett...fishing in the canoe...after the Fourth of July, we hardly see a soul here...the water is so calm...it's as if we have our own private pond...

...my brother, Craig, comes to kayak...and fish...mostly kayak...Kristina, his wife came, too, and I wish I'd gotten a picture of her doing homework on the dock...she's working on her master's degree...

...our nephew Cade...we laughed at his minnow mustache...Mema and Grandad were here, too...no picture...no matter how many I take, it's never enough...

...Bonnie and I love to swim...sporty little dog...this water is the softest, freshest ever...and then...

...we like to warm up in the sunshine...a Mickey Mouse towel from 1990...

...stopping here on the way, in Cross Plains, to eat the best chili relleno in Texas...the Doris Special...one chili relleno, rice and salad...$2.99...no kidding...once, we ran inside just as it started raining after a long, dry spell...we were all strangers, but instantly kindred spirits as everyone in the restaurant expressed their joy and excitement over the welcome rain...

...sandwiches are elevated to a whole new level at the cabin...everything tastes better at the lake...we are bums...no makeup...no fixed hair...no doubt about it...bums...

...the cabin at night...so cozy...I wish you could hear the night sounds...

Someone asked me what my favorite season is...just the kind of question I love to ponder...here is my answer...

My favorite season is:

Spring in the Spring,

Summer in the Summer,

Fall in the Fall,

and Summer in the Winter!

morning in the meadow

This is the view from one of our upstairs windows. I just happened to be passing by one morning and peeked through the curtain. It was a little hazy and the light was golden. One of those fleeting moments you could so easily miss if you don't stop to look.

barn swallows

This spring, a couple of barn swallows built a nest on our back porch. They were obviously newlyweds - it took them a month to complete their nest. We watched as, daily, their efforts fell to the ground.

They never gave up and finally made a lovely home. Isn't she a good decorator? I love how she finished it up with this pretty feather. Maybe he brought it to her as a gift and she knew just where to put it.

Soon, there were three little, hungry babies.

Then, there were three BIG, hungry babies. They sat like this for about a week before flying off.

Every night for weeks they all came back and slept like this. One big, happy family.

Yes, they made a mess on our porch, but I don't mind.

note cards and game board

I'm back! I finished the big job I've been working on (will post pictures soon) and am back to my regular schedule (whatever that is). I did manage to work on these note cards during that busy time. I'm addicted to pretty paper and can't stop buying or cutting it. I've got 15 sets ready to tie up in bundles of 6 cards per set.


And, I asked my husband (he can do anything) to make me a nice, large, wooden game board, 24" x 24", and I painted it yesterday. It can hang on the wall when not in use. I will make the game pieces out of ceramic and glaze them red and yellow-y orange.

So glad to be back to my hodge-podge, whatever-strikes-my-fancy lifestyle!