Dashing Through the Snow!

Oh what fun it is to ride in a two-horse open sleigh....especially when it's in the lobby of beautiful Grove Park Inn and Spa in Asheville, NC! That's my sister Judy sitting with me as Dasher was checking us out and Mel snapped the picture as we had our turn posing in this old fashioned sleigh surrounded with brightly decorated Christmas trees. What a wonderful and fun time we had at this wonderful lodge all decked out for Christmas. We enjoyed a most delicious and sumptuous brunch buffet filled with tables overflowing with every imaginable sort of food to fill us to overflowing and all the while enjoying breathtaking and beautiful views overlooking Asheville and the surrounding mountains, all the more beautiful as everything was still covered with snow giving a sparkle to everything. More pictures and fun events to follow!

And now on to Andrea Bocelli!

I'm learning that I cannot treat the keyboard like a typewrite while composing my blog as the previous blog entry posted before I finished! A message for me to shorten my entries perhaps?
So on to Andrea Bocelli. If I figure out how, I intend to include a musical selection of his along with this posting.
Upon my return home after almost two weeks in Florida and Nassau, and just a week away from Christmas, I was faced with another choice. Do I run around and play catch-up and attend to the myriad Christmas festivities, decorations, baking, present buying and wrapping, cramming a month's worth of activities into a week? Or do I remain in the place of calm joy and appreciation of the peaceful love of Christ and Christmas?
I chose the later, but not without a few pangs of guilt that I'd spent that time and money on myself rather than giving to others. I had stacks of mail to sort through upon my return home. I opened a package early Sunday morning that was a present from another dear friend. A cd of Andrea Bocelli called "My Christmas". I took it with me to listen to as I drove to church. The first song was "White Christmas", always a favorite of mine but so unbelievably beautiful as sung by Andrea that my eyes filled with tears. Tears of joy. Of gratitude. Of appreciation of beauty and love. The entire album has that affect on me. And I understand completely why sharing of Andrea and beauty and love and joy and peace and comfort and calm are the perfect gifts of Christmas! Thank you dear friends for these gentle lessons of love and choices. I choose joy. I choose love. Enjoy this song of love and joy with speakers turned up as high as they'll go! Hmm. Might need to get more classes of instruction for bringing the song to you through blog. I'll keep you posted!
Go to Facebook page for some listening pleasure. Could not figure out how to post here on my blog!

The Gift of Andrea Bocilli and message of love

Life changes. We can embrace these changes or we can resist them. It is a choice.

I recently returned from an impromptu trip to Florida visiting a lifelong friend. This friend and I don't talk frequently but when we do, we pick up our conservations as though we had just spoken yesterday. While on a recent phone visit catching up on life events, this dear friend asks why I don't come down so we can visit in person. As I hesitated thinking of all these reasons why I couldn't do such a thing, the next thought asked why not. Everything on my docket could be altered even if changing meant moving away from comfort zone briefly as I embraced the changes and moved forward. What limits us besides our thoughts of how things always were or how we thought they would always be? Isn't a belief something we thought was true but can change as we gain new insight and begin thinking thoughts?

When I learned that I could fly round-trip to Florida for less money than driving, I booked the flight that was leaving two days following. Everything unfolded harmoniously, including an impromptu 3-day cruise to Nassau as we discovered one last cabin available on The Majesty of Seas out of Miami (unfolding included another dear friend finding my passport at home and shipping overnight to me!)

What a glorious time we had together chatting in the sunshine, on many of the beautiful Gulf beaches,on her lanai overlooking Estero Bay and enjoying pelicans, dolphins, seagulls, herons, ibis, and all sorts of other water birds

Blackbird, friends and sharing of gifts to myself

Look very closely at this picture...a bit dark...but maybe you can see the blackbird box that is the centerpiece of the table. I found this most unique piece of folk art while doing some fun shopping at an antique store that grandson Jack and I found while on our recent adventure together and that I wrote about in another blog entry. Blackbird Crossing is the name of the company recently started up and that's centered around resale of arts, antiques and other collectibles. What a perfect symbol this blackbird is for this new company. This guy kept calling for me to bring him home, and I'm so glad I listened!

The friends in the picture came for dinner, and are another part of sharing in the fun rewards of not only this unusual and unlikely blackbird treasure, but are also part of a wealth of unfolding gifts of gratitude coming from all directions that I'd like to share.

I have another friend who I have helped with decorating and accessorizing over the years. She found six (all that she could find) colorful dinner plates that snatched up at very special bargain prices. She asked if I would find some complementary and co-ordinating dishes that might work with these plates. I loved their bright and cheery colors and was certain that I'd find many fun items to match.

And I did. At Pier I Imports. I took one of her square dinner plates with me and had a fun time matching all sorts of colorful square, round, brightly colored, brightly decorated items--all the way from small plates, salad bowls, soup bowls, serving pieces, stemware, placemats, napkins, candles, and all blending together, promising to make up a lively, lovely dinner table. I purchased everything I found with this friend and her dining room and dinner table in mind. So now, here I am with a wonderful dinner table collection that I loved. I set everything up on my dining table inviting her over to see whether these were what she had in mind. Imagine my surprise when I learn that she had not purchased these for herself but had given the dinner plates to me as a gift!

I really don't need more dishes, or glasses, or placemats or napkins, so I knew that I would never have made these purchases with myself in mind. But then when I set up the table, and discovered how much I loved the final result, loved how bright and cheery they made me feel, and then learned that the plates were a gift, I knew that I was going to keep them. This was such a special gift this friend gave me, and it was so much more than new plates and glasses. These new place settings have been the impetus and inspiration for the dinner party pictured above, as well as two more dinner parties.....small ones of course, with no more than six guests.....a number I've decided is a perfect number for intimate and manageable dinner parties. I realize that these dinner parties have helped me rediscover my joy for entertaining that I had sort of buried in recent times. I had moved away from any sort of entertaining these last couple of years as I allowed life events to squeeze out such activities. And an added bonus is that I had to do more decluttering, reorganizing and emptying out of cupboards to make space for this new set of dishes!

The treasures of the lovely dinner table settings and centerpiece are very much appreciated. As lovely as they are, the lovely treasures of friendship, family and love are the very best treasures that fill my heart with gratitude and love. And I love how everyone just has to smile when they see my most unusual blackbird centerpiece!

YouTube - OfficialCSChurch's Channel

YouTube - OfficialCSChurch's Channel

Good message....let's spread the word!

Woody, elf house, Anna & Mimi

I learned something....hit the key (even by accident) you post to the blog! And here's what was supposed to have been the second picture on the previous blog.

Mom snapped this pic while we were working on our decorating project.

Woody's elf house decorated for Christmas

This is Anna, my granddaughter (who turns 7 today Happy Birthday Anna!), who loves climbing, adventure, beauty,and imagination...in no particular order of preference. During a visit here for Thanksgiving, Anna wanted to make the usual rounds of the yard intent on making certain that a stop to say hi to Woody (see earlier posting picture) was on the agenda. She wanted to inspect the addition of the elf house at Woody's base and then Mimi and Anna had a very fun time adding wreaths to the elf windows. Anna picked and then planted a pretty flower next to the front door plus a few new branches added as trees in the elf's front yard.

When we finished with all the elf decorating, we continued walking around the yard looking for more adventure. Imagine how surprised and excited Anna was when she discovered a magic beanstalk growing right here in Mimi's back yard....one that she'd never noticed before!

She had such fun climbing the beanstalk over and over again, all the while imagining stories that were filled with a variety of adventures. She was even able to convince her most favorite cousin, Ellery, to climb her up her beanstalk and swing on the vines with her (not an easy thing to get a 17-year-old to agree to do) Too bad I didn't get a picture of the both of them in the beanstalk. Watch for another blog posting of Anna's story as dictated by Anna and scribed by Mimi titled Anna's Secret Beanstalk Adventure.

He's that good!

Download

I love imagination. I love design. Isn't it fun when they come together in a delightful video.
Enjoy!

Guess what I learned?

That if you hit the enter key twice in rapid succession, your blog message will get posted without previewing or before completion!

So now I'll write about the Christmas decorations that were in the last blog title. I learned something today. Not a big thing, but always interesting that as my awareness grows, I actually am more aware of things.

I love Christmas. I especially love the fresh greens of cedar, pine, and holly that grow so abundantly around South Carolina and that I have loved collecting for Christmas decorations since moving here. When I first moved here but in another part of the state, we formed a group that made and put up swags on all our street signs in the neighborhood, and it always looked beautiful. I missed that after moving away, so I started making swags for my street in this new community. The garden club decorates for Christmas, and over the years, I've helped them put up decorations.

Seems that they put these decorations up earlier and earlier each year. The fresh greens have a hard time looking fresh while in the bright sun when up for over a month. The garden club decided that artificial greens would solve that problem, and gradually have changed almost entirely from fresh to artificial. So we met today to sort through the huge assortment or swags, wreaths, bows, testing lights, straigthening or making new bows determining what decorations go where, all in preparation for members to put everything in place tomorrow.

Last year I had agreed to chair the Christmas decorating project but with all of challenges and life events that happened, I ended up not even being in town, so I was glad that I could help again this year. One of the projects will be that I make the large wreaths for the front doors of the club house, using an artificial base but adding fragrant fresh greens mixed in. So of course, I am delighted to be working with fresh greens again. And I love the excuse for collecting the greens. I love their fragrances. I love the beautiful shades of greens of different kinds of cedars, the shiny greens of the magnolias with their brown backsides, and the silvery greens of the eleagnus stems.

Today was a drizzly, cold, rainy day. I knew that I could have put off my greens collecting in hopes of better weather tomorrow, but instead I donned my waterproof poncho and headed out with clippers in hand. And that's when I learned something today. I learned that I'm one of those strange people that loves the fragrance of the woods in the rain. I learned how I love the smells that transport me to times past in an instant. I learned that I loved my time in the woods by myself as I collected greens. IAnd I learned that I enjoyed that time more than I did the time spent working indoors with friends. I learned to pay attention to how I was feeling as I listened to others talk. I learned to pay attention more to the quietness within. And I learned that I still love working with fresh greens, but in a whole new way than ever before. I learned that I felt more at one with nature more than ever before.

Musical Genius and Christmas decorations

Download

I love watching this so much, I'm adding it to my blog so I can click on it to view again and again. Love the music. Love the engineering minds all coming together to create this masterpiece of ingenuity. Aren't you glad to hear that it will be in Smithsonian for all the world to enjoy, and just think you can enjoy without having to leave your home!

Musical Genius and Christmas decorations

Download

I love watching this so much, I'm adding it to my blog so I can click on it to view again and again. Love the music. Love the engineering minds all coming together to create this masterpiece of ingenuity. Aren't you glad to hear that it will be in Smithsonian for all the world to enjoy, and just think you can enjoy without having to leave your home!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Twas the

month before Christmas

When all through our land, Not a

person was praying Nor taking a stand.

See the PC Police had taken away

The reason for Christmas - no one could say.

The children were told

by their schools not to sing, About Shepherds

and Wise Men and Angels and things. It might hurt

people's feelings, the teachers would say. December 25th is just a

' Holiday '. Yet the shoppers were ready with cash,

checks and credit, Pushing folks down to the floor just

to get it!---CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod

Something was changing, something quite odd!

Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa

In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.

As Targets were hanging their trees upside down

At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where

to be found. At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's

and Sears You won't hear the word Christmas;

it won't touch your ears. Inclusive, sensitive,

Di-ver-si-ty. Are words that were used to

intimidate me. Now Daschle, Now Darden,

Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen

On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !

At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter

To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.

And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith

Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace

The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded

The reason for the season, stopped before it started.

So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'

Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.

Choose your words carefully, choose what you say

Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday !

Please, all join together and wish everyone you meet

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christ is The Reason for the

Christ-mas Season!

When this poem arrived in my email this morning, it started me thinking. Could this message of Merry Christmas greetings really be politically incorrect? No, it is not. As we look for, find and express the love of One Mind that we all share individually, uniquely, knowing that it is One Mind, One Love that dissolves the fears regardless of how they appear, that's what will grow. As we simply let our lights shine as the light of Truth and Love to all, and as we sing songs of "Merry Christmas" to the world, we can know that the message of love is all that will be heard.

So my message is HAPPY THANKSGIVING and A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS to all.

The Cat and the Deer

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I hope this video and song are published as I intend with this blog message. I've watched it several times and enjoy it every time! It is a wonderful world and listening to Louis Armstrong sing it always melts my heart, especially when combined with these tender images of unlikely woodland friends cuddling together.

Yes, we all put our own imaginings into what is going on in the minds of creatures such as this cat and deer in this episode. The mere fact that we're moved by the scene is an indication to me that we are all at one with One even without the words.

For God's Glory....Let's try this again.

Okay, so here is the link, I think! Let's hope it will work this time.

http://christianscience.com/blogs/daily-lift/2009/11/16/for-gods-glory/

Glory to God

Does this link work? The message is simple but very clear. Hope it comes through.

Hey, I think I added a widget, or was that a gadget?

Actually it was my picture, but I need to get current with my new vocabulary and Facebook jargon. Oh boy! What have I gotten myself into with signing up with Facebook? It is quite time consuming. I am trusting that will settle down once I have my friends established, accepted, liked, and whatever else....oh yea....poked? Don't know how to or even if I've poked a friend(or whether I've been poked). No, I don't know what that means....much I don't know about Facebook.



I responded to a request for listing family members from one of my nieces (with whom I am now an official Facebook friend) who has asked me to list all of my family members on Facebook, so then she'll know who else she may be related to. I was directed to another whole area for family info. I did fill out some at that section but then decided that might be more than I'm ready to jump into right now.

It is fun seeing pictures of everyone....have seen pictures on my own children's facebook page that I have not even seen in person. Seems a bit odd don't you think? Here I am talking to my kids through texting messages on my cell phone and now writing to each other on Facebook....in a language that I didn't even know how to spell just a very short time ago. Oh well, This is one grandmother that's working at keeping up with the times. I remember that I did send out that message to the universe for help with better recognizing and connecting with love. And then Facebook shows up and opens up a whole new universe of old friends, new friends and family reconnections. How can I not be happy with this?



I continue to learn more about the intracacies of Blogger, and so what with now adding more entirely new language skills with Facebook, I will need to learn balance with this whole learning processes plus re-examining how I used to approach my day to day life. My sister says she's not ready for this mode of communications and time consumer, but I think she may change her mind once she hears about all the fun photos of her grandchildren that I am now seeing on her kids' Facebooks.



This is really moving up, up and away, isn't it? Fun, but not up there with the travelling part, especially to the beaches of St Maarten.

View of gorgeous fall flowers

View
I wasn't successful in publishing this gorgeous video of brilliant fall colors and flowers to my Facebook, so let's try my Blog. Hope the sound comes through when you click on the link. Enjoy the view.

More Butterflies, Garden & Trains

As part of a community beautification project called Greening of the Depot in Seneca, SC, our local Reading Room adopted a garden plot. It's been an ambitious garden, 80 X 40, filled with plants that attract butterflies and hummingbirds, and has been a labor of love. Initially there were many hours of hard work donated by various volunteers from the community and church that all came together to make the Depot project a success. This area is now filled with beautiful gardens with our garden in the center of what was previously a neglected field along the railroad tracks. The beautification project had many facets that included encouraging Norfolk & Southern Railway Lines to repaint the historic train depot in lovely paint colors, local businesses adopting portions of that once neglected area, replacing with unique and colorful gardens and plantings, and that also included a planting of a new park across from the library on another abandoned lot and that local garden clubs continue to maintain. All in all, a huge success.

It has been a joy and pleasure to watch the plants maturing and adding to the beautification of the area since it was started. The Reading Room garden has experienced a bit of neglect the past couple of years. As assistant librarian when the garden was started, I had been delegated as the main gardener and each year seemed to have fewer helpers able to help out. Some life events kept me away as well from spending much time in the garden, and so for the past couple of years the garden has looked rather neglected and overgrown with weeds. Many plants have grown into beautiful, large specimens. Some have died away. But many, many weeds have tried to take over, obscuring the steppings stones with some growing up as large as some of the plants.

The cooler weather and more available time have inspired me to work once again in the garden. With the help of two workers we mowed the weeds, dug up dead plants, planted new ones, sprayed, spread new mulch, replaced the stepping stones, did lots of pruning of various overgrown plantings, we were able to restore order once again to our garden.

I'm grateful to have had occasion to spend many quiet hours working in the garden this week. This afforded me opportunities to take the time to watch and enjoy the many butterflies that love to drink the nectar of the large Lantana plants that have grown into large shrubs. These butterflies that hatched from large caterpillars that fed on the caraway plants we planted years ago that they so love are now those brilliant orange flights of joy. Plus the watching of the many types of birds that played, flying in and out of the branches, especially the mockingbirds, and also discovering the many types of insects (including two praying mantis!), plus enjoying the warm, fall sunshine, all added to my overall enjoyment and pleasure this week as I worked each day staying present with each moment filled me with awe.

And the TRAINS! You don't realize there are as many trains using those tracks until you spend several days working alongside them. It was fun to have the excuse to stop trimming for a few minutes and wave to the engineers (who always waved back), and then count the number of cars moving down the tracks behind each engine.....68 on one heading north, 98 on the one heading south a short time later, then another heading north, this one with double engines and travelling especially fast, pulling 102 different cars! All of the trains. All filled with various types of commerce, travelling up and down this north/south railway that until spending time there alongside, I had not appreciated their numbers. It all evoked a real nostalgia within me filling me with peaceful feelings. Sounds a bit strange to say peaceful all the while standing so close and listening to the loud clickety-clack of their wheels moving down the tracks plus the very loud, plaintive peals of the train whistles blaring as they roared past me, but that's what I felt.....peaceful.

I'm glad to have the garden neat and trim once again, and very grateful for the at-one-ment experience with nature and trains.

St Maarten butterflies & history

This isn't a postcard. This picture was taken from my condo balcony on my recent visit to paradise. I invite you to come, sit on this balcony with me as I share a few insights that continue to reveal themselves even after my return.

Join with me on my first adventure out of the US that required my going through Customs (which went quite smoothly); my first vacation taken by myself (but not lonely); my week of discovery of exotic places on this planet, (and also discovering some new places within)

That deep blue water is the Caribbean Sea alongside Simpson Bay in St. Maarten of the Lesser Antilles.....very far from where I call home where the skies of South Carolina may rival these for blueness, but where there is no comparison of these combinations of blues and greens of water and sky, surrounded by green palm trees, volcanic mountains, soft white sands, and oh so brilliant sunshine that was always present, completely seductive and captivating in casting spells for leisure that looked and felt quite like idleness and laziness, but never boredom.

My first early morning walk to a nearby deli for freshly baked croissant revealed millions of yellow butterflies accompanying me appearing as snowflakes of yellow fluttering all around. Each morning these beautiful fluttering creatures were present until about mid-day when I imagine the intense sun forced them into retreats of shade and shadows. Walking among them flying overhead and all around, I felt a more aptly descriptive name for them would be flutter-bys because of their flight patterns and ever so brief stops on flowers and leaves....so brief that I was unable to snap a picture that captured the magic of their presence.

On my flight, I read about and planned visits to many interesting sights and attractions on both the Dutch and French sides. As I read about the history of this smallest island in the world that was to be divided between two sovereign powers and where the current boundary is a result of numerous wars between great European powers in the 17th century, my curiousity was definitely tweaked.

St Maarten and St. Martin is one of the Lesser Antilles islands that lies in the vague border between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, has two different languages, and is ruled by two nations. Ownership of the island is split between the Dutch and French (my condo was on the Dutch side). Only 37 square miles, or about half the size of Washington, D.C., make this the smallest territory with the southern half, 16 square miles, is Sint Maarten, ruled by the Dutch, and the northern 21-square mile area is Saint Martin, the French side.

No rift exists between the people of these cultures. The partition remains to this day and the two separate life-styles--charming vignettes of their respective homelands--coexist in complete contrast but perfect harmony. The island's inhabitants are quite proud of their nearly 350-year history of peaceful co-existence. According to legend, Columbus discovered the island in 1493 on the feast day of St. Martin of Tours. During the 140 years that followed, the Spanish, French and Dutch disputed possession, or at least the right to use the resources, of St. Maarten/St. Martin. On March 23,1648, a treaty was concluded atop Mount Concordia delineating the boundaries of the island. The Dutch received 16 square miles and the French received 21 square miles, owing to the latter's superior naval presence in the region when the treaty was signed.

My visit to museums to learn more about the prehistory and archaeology of the Arawaks will have to happen on another visit. My visit to the Butterfly Farm will also have to wait, as will my salsa dancing at heaven Disco or the full-moon reggae bash till the wee hours at Kali's Bar.

My days were mostly spent reading on the beach, snorkelling in the area in that clear, blue water near the rocks where all the brilliantly colored fish were hanging out, or else I was floating on my raft while napping or sometimes enjoying the antics and activities of pelicans resting on the nearby rocks or diving for fish within 20 feet of right where I was floating. Other diversions were having lunch at the Tiki Bar on the beach or poolside while sitting on a stool in the pool, sometimes drinking a frozen Pina Colata, and watching the beautiful sunsets where the each night out performed the previous night's displays.

I thought I would paint, write, sight-see, adventure, and I did do all those things.....just not in the way I had envisioned. More about that in another blog entry.

apples and chestnuts on my mind

I have an apple tree in my yard. It's a spindly apple tree. By all rights, so spindly that it should not produce apples. It had to grow very tall rather than full as it was searching for more sunshine from where it's planted in amongst many tall pines and dogwoods. It didn't take much to knock over, and it did fall last year as it was planted too close to the house where it was repeatedly bumped and brushed by stones and stone masons who working with knocking down and rebuilding my fireplace. I almost pulled the tree out entirely when I saw it lying on the ground and since it never had been very sturdy, nor done much up in the way of producing apples up to that point. I decided to try straightening and holding in place with a rope to hold it upright until some topsoil could be brought in for extra support and see whether it would survive. In spite of my never adding any topsoil, this tree, still staked, was loaded with blossoms last spring. I thanked him for his bravery for flourishing in the face of all odds. And he rewarded my gratitude and was loaded with apples this fall! Apples so large the branches had a hard time supporting them.



Now comes time to harvest these large and lovely apples. Remember this tree is spindly. Too spindly to climb to reach the apples. Almost too spindly to support a ladder even if I had one tall enough to reach the apples that were so high up stretching for sunshine. So my harvesting consisted of shaking the apples down, all the while apologizing to the tree for this treatment and trying to be as gentle as possible. Eight of them now sitting on my kitchen counter waiting to be turned into apple crisp. (Two lone resistant ones at the very tip top remain on the tree....for now.) Actually there were nine that fell with all the shaking, but I ate one. Delicious! Is there anything more delicious than a freshly picked ripe apple? Well, maybe a freshly picked tomato, but that's another blog.



Now on to the chestnuts. We have a beautiful park situated in my neighborhood next to a beautiful lake. This park is loaded with Chestnut trees and aptly called Chestnut Point. I frequently stop there for quiet contemplation, sometimes sitting on a bench nearby and sometimes just sitting in my car to read as I was doing the other day. Suddenly a loud clatter of chestnuts falling on my sunroof startled me out of my revelrie. I then realized that the park grounds were loaded with ripened chestnuts. Beautiful mahogany colored chestnuts. I picked up several and was so impressed with their exquisite beauty that I continued gathering until I had a bag full.



So what does one do with a bag full of beautiful chestnuts? We're a few months away from Christmas and "roasting by an open fire.." sort of thing. (Not that I know how to do that, but it sounds like fun, doesn't it?) Surfing the net, I discover ChestnutsOnLine.com (Who knew?!) and came across family favorite recipes for......chestnuts! I learned how to clean them, cook them, boil them, roast them, bake them, scoop them, peel them...and more. Ever hear of Chestnut Bisque? Cream of Chestnut Soup? Chestnut and spinach dip? Oh and get this....I can hardly wait to try this one......Apple-Chestnut mini muffins. (I need to cut back my apple crisp recipe by one apple for use in this recipe!) There's Chestnut Bread, Chestnut 'n Honey Cornbread, Chestnut Fritters, Chestnut Pancakes, Salmon and Rice with Chestnuts.....and the list goes on. Chestnut Biscotti, Chestnut Cheesecake, Chestnut crepes, Chestnut Cake....whew!

Yes, there's more, but I'm going to let you discover for yourself what other delights the Allen Creek Farm of Chestnuts has to offer on your chestnut adventure!


I love fall.

Mt. Pleasant new waterfront fishing pier & park

Adventures over the weekend consisted of outings with grandchildren James, 12, and Anna, 6, who live in Charleston, SC. The one and only criteria we set for our adventure was that we had to do something that we had not ever done before, and including where and what we ate. We considered going to a movie but it was such beautiful weather that none of us wanted to stay inside. So we changed that plan as soon as we left for our adventure and Mom and Dad (at home).



Armed with a small bit of information about a new fishing pier opening in Mt. Pleasant, the adventure bus headed towards the beautiful, awesome bridge that crosses the Cooper River in hopes of seeing signs directing us to this new wonder. And we did. The new pier is beautifully situated, where else, alongside the Cooper River! Filled with expected swings, the awesome playground also included simple, yet engineering wonders, of new spinning equipment that enchanted kids of all ages, especially James and Anna. The pier is an architecturally beautiful waterfront park that runs underneath and alongside the new bridge and where one can walk, fish or just sit and swing enjoying the sights and sounds of the water. It was thrilling to walk underneath the bridge, enjoying the echos and marvelling at the immense structure above. It was a delight to watch the pelicans flying over our heads but under the bridge, and while we also were viewing ships that passed by closely enough that we could count the huge boxes of cargo loaded on board as it quietly headed out to sea. We walked out almost to the end of the pier as the very end was closed off for the outdoor concert that was going to be there later in the evening. We enjoyed listening to the testing of the microphones, drums warming up, etc. with plans to return for the concert after we found our eating adventure place....a more adventurous fare for dinner than the hot dogs or hamburgs the pier snack bar offered seemed in order, so we left the pier to find some local seafood.



We didn't have to drive far before turning into Locklears Seafood Restaurant located almost around the corner from the pier. James and I enjoyed their seafood specials of the evening, locally caught trigger fish, and the salmon dinner special. Both meals were delicious and fun to share bites of each other's seafood selection in our quest of trying out new foods. The chicken fingers is what held Anna's interest as she's a bit less adventurous when it comes to eating new foods! Everything was delicious, including the Locklear famous fried green tomatoes that both Anna and James nibbled a bite for another new taste. The star-filled sky so grabbed our attention that a drive out to Sullivan's Island beach for star gazing was added in for the perfect end to a perfect evening adventure. The concert was playing and I decided to pass without stopping on our way back home with two very tired children after a delightful evening filled with spinning, seafood and stars.

So okay! Here's how I get photos on my blog! Thank you Jet for the detailed instructions of "how to" do just that. Always fun to learn new processes, and always surprising that success happens by following directions. Lots of fun! That's Jack at the base of the Natural Bridge, and again feeding the zebra at the Safari that we visited in our travels, and then Jack again, this time with me as we hold up the walls of Foam Henge.

This leads me to the next thought of how much I have to learn in the picture taking department as a that number of my new photos are not clear, poorly framed or blurry. That art will have to be another learning session or course that I'll take in the future, or maybe I'll just keep practising in order to improve.

Travels today take me down to Charleston, SC, for a visit with two other grandchildren (and their parents of course!) I am looking forward to our different private get-away travel adventures with James, 12 and Anna, 6 to add to my blog in the future. Busy schedules for everyone try to get in the way of getting to know these wonderful young people better and that grow and change at rapid paces between visits. All one-on-one visits are especially enjoyed by Mimi.

I recently saw the movie "Julie and Julia" which was great. Gave me new inspirations for my travels and blogging. France and gourmet cooking are definitely added to my list of "must do's". I add new meaning to "Pause, observe and listen" for ways for this intent to develop and unfold into new adventures and travels! Go see the movie. Refreshing and fun.

Playing Catch-up with my blog

Hello, here I am finally back at my blog. It's over a month since taking my adventure with grandson Jack. We had such a wonderful time that I know I want to record before memories begin to fade into current events. I will attach some photos of the event, I think. This too is another learning experience that requires daily hands-on to keep fresh.

I do not have photos of the Caverns themselves...didn't have the camera with us 250 feet below ground. We saw both the Grand Caverns as well as the caverns situated near the Natural Bridge and they both were awesome, breathtaking, and most definitely carry my recommendation that you stop to visit whenever passing a billboard advertising caverns anywhere in your travels. We started out for the Grand Caverns, but found ourselves stopping at the Natural Bridge as we came to this area first. We were checking into visiting the Natural Bridge and learned that we would get a discount if we were guests of the hotel, so I called from the lobby of the gift shop. They had just one room left at the Natural Bridge hotel, and they were apologetic that it was "a room with only two double beds...." Well Hello....just what we needed. We knew it was meant to be there just for us as we "happened" to stop in this area. Knew it was more than a coincidence that this one last room was still available even though I called as late as 6:30pm. Another event that we happened upon is the Natural Bridge evening drama. This is an event I recommend to all. Beautiful lights dramatically highlighting parts of the bridge while beautiful orchestral music plays in the back ground and the story of creation is told. The beautiful display moved both Jack and me to tears and goosebumps....all the more thrilling to envision George Washington and Thomas Jefferson sitting under this same bridge and grounds where we sat.

A favorite event and photo is the one of Jack and me holding up "Foam Henge". Another accidental find that delighted us both that is a exact replica in size, scope and structure of Stone Henge in England except it's created from, you guessed it.....foam! The creator obviously has a wonderful sense of humor as well as a large pocketbook to build and have available for anyone curious enough to stop and find out more about the small sign along the highway had to offer. We had driven past this place a number of times although we thought it was not open. Finally Jack's curiousity got the best of him and asked if we could stop and find out what it was. Imagine our surprise to find that it's always open, and free, and filled with fun signage explaining how the display got there. It is a fun climb that allowed us playing "imagine...if" on the top of the hill! And how fun that another family also stopped at just the right time to take Jack's and my picture holding up the walls of Foam Henge!

One of Jack's favorite restaurants of the weekend was the "Pink Cadillac", a 50's style place that served up killer hamburgs with lots of fun memorabilia to view while eating. It was a fun place although my favorite eatery offering of the weekend was at the Natural Bridge hotel, where they offered an excellent prime rib buffet!

The entire weekend flowed with synchronicity that kept us both in awe and appreciation of the harmony, including discovering the wax museum, the dinasaur forest, the haunted forest to name just a few more of the stops that we found along the way. Another favorite for both of us was finding Jake's Antique Mart on Route 11that we discover is "Open 365 days a year" that enabled us time for a visit before heading back home on Sunday. Yep, each of us found a couple of treasures or two from Jake's to take back home with us......and where we plan to visit again when we return for further treasure hunting on our next adventure in that area.

We both decided that we must do this again. What a wonderful fun and memory filled way to connect with Mimi and grandson. We expect that our next adventure will be to Jefferson's Monticello. It was nearby but we simply ran out of time on this weekend outing. Travelling along Interstate 81 in Virginia offers a treasure chest of adventures for everyone. You never will know what golden moments of memories can be created unless you stop.....so be sure to allow extra time in your travels to do just that...stop when you pass some billboard that catches your imagination, interest and sense of adventure!

Hello again,

I thought I had posted my first blog message last week but just discovered that I had left it in the drafts folder! I am publishing it now even though the weekend adventure I said I was taking with my grandson hasn't happened yet. We are going THIS weekend so I'll publish that adventure when we return.

I don't have a travel adventure to share but I must share some experiences of late that carry huge meanings and symbols. I am slowly realizing that as I am aware and paying more attention, throughout each day, I am discovering symbols all around.

One of these recent symbols is my street getting paved. I love this idea for a fresh start on new, smooth roads just as I begin this travel and adventure blog. There are a number of shrubs planted along the street in front with roots coming up to the surface and breaking through the old pavement. I was told these would need to be removed before the new paving went down to prevent buckling the new pavement. It was believed that one of my bushes planted close to the street and driveway were the cause of the buckling. I had been putting up with this bush obstructing views while pulling out of my driveway for years. Periodically I would cut the branches back but never really considered removing it altogether. And now, here comes the maintenance crew asking if they could cut it down for me!

The shrub is now gone. The views are clear....unobstructed as I pull out into life each day on my freshly paved roadway....a marvelous job of removal....cannot tell there was ever anything planted there. Beautiful symbol....obstructed views now simply gone.

With that picture in mind, I took extra quiet time this morning with my countdowns and quiet listening within expecting to hear some calming thoughts before beginning my day. A very specific, pointed and definite message of just three words came quite clearly to me, "alertness to duty". Just three words. I knew that Mrs. Eddy had used those words somewhere in her writings. I did a search and found that they're used just once. In the Manual: 42-4, Alertness to Duty SECT 6: says, "It shall be the duty of every member of this church to defend himself daily against aggressive mental suggestion and not be made to forget nor to neglect his duty to God....." I knew then that this was an angel thought to handle right then any belief that anyone, anywhere could be influenced erroneously. That was a lie. I needed to hold to the truth that there is no reality nor Truth to any suggestion that God, good, is not right here, right now, present, holding in thought that He is in control, governing, everyone, everywhere, each and every moment. Another symbol....stand firmly with Truth.

My day later began with my computer starting this off-on, off-on, off-on series, and each time it was followed with a beep-beep! Sounded most serious....fatal even. I was baffled as to why or what was happening with the computer. I unplugged everything. Replugged all back into different outlets, and finally, the off-on sequence stopped. Turned everything back on other than computer....wanted it to sit and cool down. When I did finally turn it back on, it came up with a black screen (horrors!) with a message across the top saying, "failed boot, insert disc to proceed". What?! No! I walked away, hoping it would just go away, but when I went back later, that dark message was still there. I then was working from my laptop and discovered that I could not print....the printer was no longer communicating or responding. I then turned off the computer and called my "computer guy" who said he'd be over later.

I next went downstairs to deal with my washer/dryer stack unit. Last night when I showed to a friend who recently moved in how to use it, it worked fine, but when she tried putting in a load of clothes before work this morning, she discovered that it would not start. I called a repairman, who was out in my community and was able to stop by within a half an hour of my calling.....I loved that co-incidence and symbol. I learn that the main circuit board is bad....gone, dead, kaput.

The "Alertness to Duty" message was still playing loudly and clearly in thought. I saw that error, carnal mind, evil, aggressive mental suggestion.....whatever name you want to give it.....was working hard trying to convince me with these symbols that I was cut off from my Source, that my circuits were shut off, shut down, that I was separated from good. I once again sat quietly, listening within......knowing that I could not ever experience a disconnection from God, Truth, and stated that firmly out loud, then let it go, leaving to run errands, and leaving front door open so computer friend could get in while I was out.

This friend was there when I returned. He said that when he turned on the computer, it started up just fine. There was no black screen of death, no dark message. Where did it go? I don't know. He did go in to check the "Page File" (whatever that is!) and saw that setting had been changed to 700, he changed it to "use all that is needed". No idea how it ever was changed to that setting in the first place, but isn't that a wonderful setting? "Use all that is needed". (great symbol isn't it?) All we need is available isn't it? All that we need, whenever we need it. I love it. After hugging my computer friend, I told him that's our message for life each and every day, and he laughingly agreed! Oh, and the printer works just fine.

I am expecting good results from the washer/dryer circuit board too. And even if it does need replacing, I expect that will work out harmoniously as well. This washer/dryer unit was by my mothers for 18+ years. I won't be upset if it needs an update of modern circuitry to keep going for awhile longer. Not certain what that symbol is....maybe a reminder that keeping updated and in tune with our Source is a great way to begin each day!

I sit here smiling with joy and simply had to share.

The Journey Begins

Join me as we travel together all the nooks and crannies of fun, out of the way places that we'll visit in person and/or in our minds. There is adventure all around. We all have the ability to find the joy of adventure wherever we look....we just need to remember to look!

For this first adventure we will be travelling with my grandson Jack to the Shenandoah Valley area as we explore the majesty of the giant stalagmites of the Grand Caverns. Jack is 12, a great age.....old enough to be an interesting and fun travelling companion, and young enough to still think it's "cool" to go somewhere with his "Mimi". We'll meet outside Knoxville to spend an end-of-summer-before-school-begins weekend together. I'll keep you posted with this travel adventure through the caverns as we move through it.

Happy travelling!
Happy adventure!