Tuesday 4: Autumn Trip

Mt. Washington, NH

 

Autumn Trip

Welcome back to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 where we put 4 questions up each week for you to ponder and answer. Then we hope you visit all the other participants too. so we can get to know one another better.

Let's plan a lovely vacation through New England to see the Autumn leaves.. Money is no object and we have all the time we would like.

1. How many days and nights would you like to be away?
Oh, at least a week. I would love to go again during the first week of October, which corresponds to our grandson's birthday and also the Fryeburg Fair in Fryeburg, Maine. That is when we used to always travel up there. It is the most beautiful time of the year for New England.  I've written about that before HERE. 

2. What kind of car would you like to take on this trip? Maybe you would enjoy the train? Would you sail up the coast in a yacht?

Well, first I would need to fly up there from Florida so more time can be devoted to the actual fall tour. Then we would need to rent a car to get around to places. I would love a scenic train trip through the White Mountains again. HERE is a link to The Conway Scenic Railroad, which we have done before many years ago.  And also traveling up to Mt. Washington via the Cog Railroad is quite the adventure.  That is well worth the time, but not for the faint of heart or person afraid of heights.  And no, I am not interested in sailing anywhere. I am a land lubber.

3. Would side trips be on your agenda? Perhaps to Mystic, Connecticut, Salem, Massachusetts, Plimouth, (yes, they spelled it with an "i" ) Massachusetts, Walden Pond, Lizzie Borden's home or maybe the home of Emily Dickenson, etc.

I guess I'm not really into a lot of scenic tourist places. Just the natural beauty of Maine and New Hampshire and the White Mountains and Mt. Washington Valley is good enough for me. If you've ever been there, you'd understand why.  I used to work at a place called Nordic Village Resort many many years ago, in the heart of the White Mountains. If I could go back and stay there for a few days, I'd be happy.

4. Lobster roll, chowders, boiled dinners, brown bread, baked beans, pancakes with real maple syrup, blueberry muffins, Parker House Rolls (well loved by Charles Dickens, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the Kennedy clan.), Toll House Cookies, Red Flannel Hash, Tourtiere pork pie, — what native foods catch your attention?

Well, when in Maine you have to have some real seafood "chowdah". No one makes it like they do. And then  of course the real brown bread came from New England...I love it.  You can buy brown bread in a can if you can find it.   I love it. Especially good with Boston Baked Beans.  

And yes, I love blueberry muffins made with fresh Maine blueberries.  Of course, here in Florida we just make them with whatever kind of blueberries we can find, but there's something special about going out and picking your own blueberries in the woods, which is what we did in NH and Maine. And of course, there's no better maple syrup than that which comes directly from the maple trees in New England (after it is boiled down to syrup, that is).  Did you know that it takes 40 gallons of sap from the sugar maple tree to get just one gallon of syrup?  No wonder it is so expensive!

Our hostess Annie posted this recipe for Red Flannel Hash, which is a New England specialty.  I have had it and it is very good, so I will include the recipe here.  I've never made it, however:


"Here is a recipe for the hash that I found a while back that might interest you."  

Red Flannel Hash

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 can (14-1/2 ounces) sliced beets, drained and chopped


2 cups chopped cooked corned beef

2-1/2 cups diced cooked potatoes

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup half-and-half cream

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add all remaining ingredients. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir until lightly browned and heated through, 20 minutes.

I hope you enjoyed this little trip to New England with me.  Please click on the different links above to get the full tour.  Thank you, Annie, for coming up with these questions each week. 

Friday Foto Friends~God's Beauty Around Us Everywhere

 Good Afternoon everyone!  I hope you are having a wonderful Friday! It's sunny and warm here, currently only 83 degrees, which isn't bad for Florida...and scattered thunderstorms are expected at 4:00 p.m.  We shall see. Originally they were supposed to be here by noon, then 2:00, now they say 4...I sometimes wonder who writes these weather reports! LOL.  Anyway, I decided to take a little walk around the back yard for a few minutes to see what I could see.  The air was actually very pleasant...it won't be long before we can start sitting outside again without melting into a pool of sweat! LOL.   (TMI).  Here's a few pictures of some of the flowers that are blooming in the butterfly garden:

Since we've had so much rain lately the Lantana has come back strong, between the weeds, that is...

And the Milkweed is still blooming:

This picture is a little blurry because I realized there was a wasp on the flowers so I moved away quickly:

More Lantana:

Some Penta with some cat's whiskers growing up around it:

The wild holly trees are are getting loaded up with berries and ready for the birds:

And I don't know what kind of wild bushes with berries these are, but whatever they are the birds and deer should love them. I let them grow back up a bit since when we first moved here they were all cut down and I was sad because I thought they would attract some deer.  We shall see what develops:

The other day Mr. Great Blue Heron was strutting around in Still Waters Pond, fishing for his supper, so I managed to get a few pictures while he was up closer:

Isn't he beautiful?  I love these stately creatures!

And speaking of Still Waters Pond, We've had some pretty amazing sunsets the past several evenings.  Here's a few pictures from the last three nights:

Isn't God's artistry in the skies just amazing?  I never cease to amaze at God's masterpieces painted in the heavens. No two are ever alike.

Here's a Psalm that expresses these thoughts much better than I could:

Psalm 8, NKJV

1 "O Lord, our Lord,

How excellent is Your name in all the earth,

Who have set Your glory above the heavens!

2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants

You have ordained strength,

Because of Your enemies,

That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

4 What is man that You are mindful of him,

And the son of man that You visit him?

5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels,

And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;

You have put all things under his feet,

7 All sheep and oxen—

Even the beasts of the field,

8 The birds of the air,

And the fish of the sea

That pass through the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord,

How excellent is Your name in all the earth!"

I guess this would be a good place to stop, but I have a couple more pictures that I took while working at Dixie Cottage this morning.  I was having fun adding a few of the new items that our friend Barbara brought yesterday to be sold on consignment from her home. I think they are a very welcome addition to our store offerings:

The large "Gather" sign is a favorite of mine. I may have to bring that one home with me.

This is a new cabinet brought in by one of other vendors, but I added a few of Barb's items to the decor on the cabinet to dress it up.  Actually, when Barb and Gary were here the other day, Gary was very much attracted to this cabinet, and I think if they could've fit it in their car he would have taken it home with them. LOL.  Barbara, tell Gary it's still available!

I love the "Porch Rules" sign. Yes, that's what I love to do on the porch too.

I was a bit surprised to see one of Barbara's own cross stitch creations in the box, but it is very fitting for our store. The Lighthouse is actually the one from St. Augustine, which was the one that could be seen from the parking lot of Dixie Cottage when the store was still in St. Augustine.  I love this verse as well.

There's a few of her items amongst this coastal themed decor.  

And I love this Amish bench above. It actually opens up and has storage space! Again, if I had a place for it, it would be coming home with me! LOL.

We'll close with these messages above:

"I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it someday for a crown", and

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound..."

Amen, and thank you Barbara for sharing your treasures with us. I know they will find their way to some other people's homes and be a blessing to all who come near them.

I feel blessed just having them in the store!

Okay, that's all for today folks. I hope you have a blessed and wonderful weekend.

What's for supper tonight?  I'm thinking seriously about ordering Domino's Pizza and calling it a day.

Good Evening!

Thursday Thankfulness

 Well, if you have read my most recent post HERE, you will know that I was expecting some special guests today at Dixie Cottage! It seems as though Dixie Cottage has become THE gathering place for blogging friends and other friends as well.  I love it!!!  People can come meet me here at the store and I don't have to clean my house to entertain them! LOL.  (Well, unless they want to come see Still Waters Pond too, lol).   Anyway, true to my word, we did have some very special guests today at the store:

Gary, Barbara, Yours Truly, and my hubby John

Yes, some of you may have already guessed it...our friend Barbara and her sweet "heartthrob" Gary, of Sweet Tea and Sandals fame.  If you follow Barbara, you will know that she and Gary are in the process of combining their households, and Barb has been clearing out much of her unneeded furnishings and decor items.  And so today they brought a car load of lovely decor items to be sold at Dixie Cottage on consignment.  If you know Barbara at all, you know she is a lady of exquisite taste and charm, and so I know that these items will be very popular and won't last long! I can't wait to go through them all myself and get first choice! LOL.  

After a fun tour of of the store, we headed over across the road to Nanna's County Cafe' for lunch. Sorry, I didn't get any pictures there.  And actually, if you wait a while, I am certain Barbara will be sharing more pictures of their adventure today when she writes her next post.  We had a lovely visit, and yes, Gary is just as dreamy as Barbara has already painted him to be in her blog. They make a very sweet and adorable couple, and we wish them  all the happiness in the world. God has truly blessed them both to have found one another.

This week has been a rather busy week, but in a good way.  Our Ladies' Bible Study started back on Monday, and we will be studying the Twelve Disciples.  Here's a picture of the book we are using:

Sounds like it will be a very interesting study, and I am thankful for the group of ladies who participate. We cover a lot of stuff in that one hour session each week...applying the Bible study to our personal lives and encouraging one another in the process. 

That was on Monday. On Tuesday evening we started back to Choir Practice for the year.  We always take off for the summer. And we had a couple of new people join the choir. Our choir is still small and we are certainly not professional, but we "make a joyful noise unto the Lord", and that's what really matters. I am thankful for our Choir Director, who puts a lot of thought into planning what we will sing...and our pianist and our sound man and well, just everyone who participates to make it all come together for the glory of God.

On Wednesday morning we had our monthly United Women in Faith meeting, which also is growing! It was so nice to have 21 ladies attending. Lately our little church is showing signs of growth, which is another blessing in itself, and it is carrying over into our women's groups, men's groups, Sunday School, and even the choir.  I am thankful for each of these ministries and how they are a blessing not only to our church family, but also as an outreach to our community.

So that brings us back to today, and you already know what a joy and blessing we had today!

Tomorrow, Friday, is a "normal day"...and we will be helping out at Dixie Cottage again in the morning.

Saturday morning is our church's monthly Community Breakfast, which is open to the public for a small fee. It is always well attended and they give us lots of good food. From there we will go to Dixie Cottage again until noon.  Then that takes us back to Sunday...which is another wonderful day, spent with our church family in Sunday School and church and usually we go out to lunch with several people as well.

Whew! It's been a rather busy week! But all good stuff and we are blessed and thankful

Oh, when we were at Nanna's for lunch, I saw this flyer on the counter and picked one up:

It also listed the cost and contact info, and if you are interested, I will be happy to share that with you. I would LOVE to go to this and hope I can talk some others to go with me. I think it would be so much fun. I just don't know if I can come up with any "period dress" to wear. I might be able to create a hat and gloves, but I don't have any "old dresses" from 1880's laying around. Do you? I wonder where I could find one. My birthday is the week before this, and I told my husband this would be a lovely birthday present to me, what do you think?  We'll see what develops.

On another note, also on my last post here again, I talked about wanting to go to Pennsylvania to take care of my parents' final wishes and burial.  Many of you encouraged me to pursue that, and I thank you for your kind words and thoughts about this.  Well, one of my nieces also reads my blog and she saw that and contacted me privately and said that she would love to see that happen as well. And actually my son and sweet DIL have already been talking about it and trying to make it happen...and so now the younger generation of cousins are all talking and making plans about how to bring this all together sometime next year. It may not be in May because there are already too many other conflicts on people's schedules then, but no matter the date...we just need to make it happen sooner rather than later.  I am thankful for these "kids" of the next generation taking the reins in hand and making things happen.  I pray it will all come together as we hope. I know my parents would be so proud to see their grandchildren actually being the ones to take on this project to honor their memory.  God is good.

Amen.

Tuesday 4~ More Questions

 Tuesday 4

We've Got Questions

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.


Here are questions to ponder for this week...

1. Are you happy with the way your life is going?

Yes, I am very thankful for the life that I am enjoying right now.  We are retired, living in a nice small town near our kids.  We have a wonderful church and church family.  We enjoy spending time with our church family and our own family, and helping our kids at their local store, Dixie Cottage, where we are meeting so many nice people in our community.  I am thankful for good health and all the many blessings that God has bestowed upon us.  Oh, and our Ladies' Bible Study started back up yesterday after taking the summer off, so that is an added blessing!


2. Are you planning any trips in the future?

Not that I am aware of at the present time.  There is one trip that I have been wanting to make for a while and we keep talking about it, but I'm not sure when or if it will happen, and that is a trip to Pennsylvania. There are several reasons why I want to go there.

 #1. It is the state where I was born and where my father grew up. After the genealogical research I did a couple of years ago regarding my paternal grandmother's ancestry, I uncovered a lot of family history that I would love to go and see in person. 

 #2. And probably this should be the first reason for going, but it is going to take some work and cooperation to make it happen:  When both my parents died, it was their wish to be cremated and be buried together back in Pennsylvania in my mother's family plot.  The burial space has been paid for and all we need to do is take their "cremains" there and have them buried.  Well, first of all, my mother died and then  five years later my father passed away.  We were to wait for both of them before we did this. After my father died all four of us children were not in a position at that time to make a trip to Pennsylvania, as we all live in different places far away from there, and it just wasn't a good time to do that. As time has gone by, my oldest brother has now passed away, and he was the one in charge of the estate and all of those details. So now there are three of us siblings still remaining, and we aren't getting any younger, and I would very much like for us all to meet in Pennsylvania and follow through with our parents' wishes.  (My parents' urns currently are being kept at my sister's home).  There has been some thought about planning a trip in the spring, perhaps for our parents' wedding anniversary on May 16th, which this next May would be their 81st anniversary.  I would very much like to do this to honor our parents before we are all too old and unable to go. I guess I just need to start planning and maybe the rest will fall in line... (I'm the baby of the family).  

3. Are you reading anything at the moment or do you plan on reading something interesting?

For some reason I have just not had much interest in reading lately. It's all I can do to keep up with reading and writing blogs and then also keep up with daily Bible Devotions, etc.  I used to be a voracious reader, but after having neck surgery and shoulder issues, I think I just can't find a comfortable position to sit and read anymore...plus my new glasses are not just right for reading. I need to go back to the eye doctor and have them checked or adjusted or something...So that's my excuse for not reading much right now. Maybe in the winter when it gets dark so early I will start reading again...

4. What's for supper tonight at your house?

Tonight? I have no clue.  Last night we had baked BBQ chicken, potato patties made from leftover mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli.  We may have leftover chicken tonight made into quesadillas.  Our choir begins practice again tonight after taking off for the summer, and we will be working at Dixie Cottage today, so supper will be something quick and easy.

So that's it for today.  Now I need to get ready to get on over to Dixie Cottage for the morning.  Tuesdays are usually kind of slow days, so why don't you just hop in your car and come on over and visit a while?  (Actually, I am expecting a couple of special guests on Thursday from our blogging family, but you will have to wait and see who).

  Have a blessed and wonderful day wherever you are and whatever you are doing!!

Saturday Review-Finally a Post!

 I bet some of you thought I'd dropped off the planet this week! Although I've tried to stay in touch with as many as I can through your blogs, I haven't had much going on to write about here all week.  Goodness gracious! I didn't even have a Friday Foto Friends post yesterday! What's up with that?  Well...it's been raining all week long, and we've been busy at Dixie Cottage and other stuff and I guess I just haven't taken time to take pictures or come up with anything intelligent to share with you.  (Although some may wonder if I ever DO have anything intelligent to share...LOL.)  

So here it is Saturday, and a mighty rainy one at that!  But it's been a lovely lovely day. Why? Because our dear friend Terri D'Orsaneo, of "Your Friend From Florida" fame...traveled all the way up here to see us today!  She lives about 3 hours away, but had another stop to make on the way to visit another of our blogging friends, Barbara from "Sweet Tea and Sandals" fame...and then since she was so close to us she wanted to come on up and see us and also visit Dixie Cottage.  So we met at our church because we were having a potluck luncheon today and that made for a fun and interesting way to "do lunch"...(Terri will have more photos to share on her blog when she gets back home, so be sure to check them out later).

Here we are doing a "selfie" in front of the church...

And somehow in the midst of taking our picture I managed to accidentally snap a picture of the skies above us...you can see they were building up for a big rain...and yes, they surely did open up and pour...

But we managed to get down the street to Dixie Cottage and had our picture taken by my son Benton. (I think Terri has a picture of him to share)

Next we headed to our house, and the heavens opened up and really dumped a ton of rain on us just as we were trying to get inside the house (hence the wet hair on my head). In the craziness of the moment I dropped my big round Pyrex casserole dish that I had taken to the potluck dinner with macaroni and cheese in it, and the lid broke into a million pieces on our steps, along with the leftover macaroni. So that's why I got especially wet, trying to pick up the pieces as best I could. Finally just had to leave it because it was raining so hard, and John and I cleaned it all up later after Terri left for home. Now I need to be on the lookout for a spare large round Pyrex casserole lid. to replace it.  Maybe some thrift store will have one.

Here we are standing on our back porch, overlooking Still Waters Pond. It was raining so hard on the tin roof that we could barely hear each other talking.

After a wonderful visit (back inside where it was dry) Terri decided she'd better get back on the road and hopefully dodge the bad storms on her way back home. I've been praying for her all the way and hope she will let me know when she arrives safely.  

Oh, I almost forgot! Terri brought us this delicious Pumpkin Spice bread:

The bag was so cute, but it also got caught in the rain and smeared the writing a bit! LOL. Thankfully the bread wasn't hurt as it was well wrapped.

It would have been nice to have a piece of this with Terri before she left with a cup of tea or coffee, but we were still too full from the potluck luncheon.  So I guess Lily Grace and Bailey and I will have to have our own little tea party later!

Okay, that's all for now folks!

Please say a prayer for Terri as she is still on the road.

Giving thanks to the Lord for the good friends I've met here in "blogland". Which reminds me...

Yesterday at Dixie Cottage another lovely friend who reads our blogs but doesn't have her own blog stopped by to pick up a piece of furniture that she and her husband had ordered from our son.  Her name is Betty Barber, and she may comment on your posts now and then as well.  This is the second time we've met, and the second time I've forgotten to have our picture taken together.  She just moved not too far up the road in the next town from us, so hopefully we will get together again soon and definitely get our picture taken! It's a tradition!!  Thank you, Betty, if you are reading this, for your visit. You are a delightful person and I hope we get to meet again soon.

Here is a prayer of blessing for our friends Terri and Betty today...and for each of you as well, whether we've met in person or not...you are ALL very special to me...

Amen

"The Morning After...The Sounds of Laughter..."

 "The morning after, the sounds of laughter..." That line from an old Everly Brothers song is the only part that sticks in my head.  The rest of the song isn't very happy, so I won't bother to quote it.  I was just thinking about how the morning after having a happy gathering in our home the sounds of laughter still echo in my mind.  I walk around the house picking up this or that and putting things away and moving the tables and chairs back into their usual places, and in some ways it can be a little melancholy, but to me today it is a happy memory.  Yesterday our house was full with many of our most beloved people, and we had such a fun time celebrating birthdays and just being together again.  If you are a Facebook friend, you probably have already seen these pictures, but for the rest of you, as I always say, "a picture is worth a thousand words"... (and a video is even better!)

There we are, singing Happy Birthday to four of our family members on both sides of our family....

Left to right is my niece Debby (my sister Doris' daughter), our son Benton, our nephew Nicholaus, who was born on our son Benton's birthday 31 years later, and his father, my husband's brother, Billy.  Yes, they all have August birthdays, and this was the first time we've all been together in quite a while, so it was so much fun.  If you can't get the video to work above, then here are some still photos to help you appreciate the moment:

My sister in law Peggy brought three of those luscious cakes, and also my sweet daughter in law Rose baked the pan of brownies, so it turned out that everyone had their own cake and candles!

There, we turned the cakes around so you could see the numbers while we sang to them.

And this was after the big blowout! so much fun and laughter! I love family times!

And here's the whole gang sitting down and enjoying a piece of cake and ice-cream.

L to R:  (on end of table:)hubby John, then on back of table: son Scott, son Benton, DIL Rose, niece Debbie, nephew Nick, (who is camera shy, LOL), brother in law Billy, SIL Peggy, sister Doris, her hubby Art...

And again from the other end of the table so you can see some faces better, except for Nick...LOL.

And finally I got to sit down and eat my cake and ice cream before it melted...

L to R, Doris, Art, me, and John

And finally the elusive Nick, with almost a smile. It's a game we play every time we are together. I keep trying to outsmart him and sneak a picture when he is not on guard. He's a very handsome and sweet young man...just camera shy...LOL.

So there you have the pictures from our day. After we finished eating, (which before the cake and ice cream we had eaten Pulled Pork, Fried Chicken, Baked Beans, Potato Salad, Coleslaw, fruit and vegie tray items and deviled eggs...so we were quite well fed and stuffed)...so after the festivities we all loaded up and drove over to Dixie Cottage so the family could see the new store. I didn't take any pictures there, but you've already seen quite a few anyway.  They enjoyed the tour and then they all headed back to their homes about two hours away!

It was a great day.

Meanwhile, back at Still Waters Pond, the saga of the squirrel and the new sapphire blue bird feeder had continued on...  (and thank you all for your fun comments on that post! I am slowly trying to get around to catching up with all of you, but it will take awhile as today I'll be gone all day at Dixie Cottage),   anyway, back to the bird feeder...

After we tried to hang it closer in on the porch, hoping the squirrel would find it more difficult to reach, this happened:

And so, I decided in order to preserve the bird feeder from being knocked down to the ground and broken, I would have to give up on making it a bird feeder for now, and so this is what I did:

I moved it down to the yard and just filled the bowl part with water for now, to be a little bitty bird bath.  I also hung that tea pot on the other side to create a kind of interesting birdhouse for wrens or whomever. It was a teapot that had a broken lid, and I've been saving it for just such an occasion.  Meanwhile, I plan to purchase some Safflower Seeds to put in the birdfeeder because squirrels do not like safflower seed and hopefully that will make the squirrel leave it alone so the birds can enjoy it. We shall see how that goes, so stay tuned in for further developments!

Now I better get a move on if we are going to get to Dixie Cottage on time today. It's going to be an "all-day" stint so Benton can get caught up on doing some painting of more items to put in the store. They've just about sold out of all their nice furniture pieces, which is a nice problem to have, but they've got to get some new things in there quickly!!

Here are some verses from our morning devotions today...and they go along with my festive mood this morning carried over from yesterday's celebration!  It is good to rejoice and sing and celebrate together. Even though yesterday was not exactly a "spiritual" gathering, it was in a sense still a holy time...and we did give thanks to the Lord for our family and gift of life that God has given us so that we can celebrate. Friends, life is short...we need to take time to enjoy those we love while we have the opportunity to do so. Amen?

Psalm 149:1-4

1 "Praise the Lord!

Sing to the Lord a new song,

And His praise in the assembly of saints.

2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;

Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.

3 Let them praise His name with the dance;

Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.

4 For the Lord takes pleasure in His people;

He will beautify the humble with salvation."