Here we are getting ready to leave.

I just thought this tree was so beautiful.  We were stopped at a gas station and it was just growing there.  Very pretty with all that moss.

This is where we stayed.  The Camelot.  The place was nearly empty.  They had something know as the Lazy River where you get in inner tubes and float around a very curvy path.  They water was just right and we had a ball.  If there were kids there we wouldn’t have been able to get near it.  As it was, we had it to our selves.  Just Heaven!Buddy bought a kite before we left.  He had more fun with that kite!

Trying to get it up.  It wasn’t too difficult.  The wind was blowing very hard the entire time we were there.

I sat and watched the entire time.

Buddy had to take a break from kite flying.  I have a video of him using his fishing pole to fly the kite.  He did it.  The kite, I know, was over 11 stories high.  Wish I could show you the video, but I don’t know how to put it in the blog.

You can see how few people there are on the beach.  It was like we had our own private beach.

I painted my nails pink with some glitter (never enough glitter) to celebrate the coming of summer.

I also got a pedicure before going to the beach.  Hot pink polish with all my toe rings.  I think I took them off here so I wouldn’t lose them in the water.

It was so quiet and peaceful.  The ocean just makes me feel better.  I am more at peace in my soul while at the ocean.

This is a picture of our hotel.  As you can see, there are very few people, if any, out at this time of year.

Have you been watching Dancing With The Stars?  The best year ever!  I hate to see any of them go. I am hoping William wins.  He is just so beautiful, and he really can dance.  We will know more next week at this time.  Until then,

Blessing!

This picture was taken at the Grand Canyon.  We got tired of walking so Buddy and I sat down and tried to keep warm while waiting for Nicole and Chuck.  Doesn’t Buddy look just like Papa Smurf?

Isn’t she beautiful?

I asked Buddy to pick some of my Lily of the Valley and some lilacs to put in her hat.  The Lily of the Valley were given to me many years ago by a dear neighbor who’s grandmother planted them back in the early 1900′s.  They are pink.  People tell me that you can no longer buy pink Lily of the Valley.  

So not only do I treasure this precious vase, I also treasure these flowers that were planted around the turn of the century.  I would love to share these flowers with others.  They just need to ask.

Blessings. 

Our first stop was for lunch.  We had stopped at this restaurant last summer when we visited Jeannie and Peter.  It has such delicious food, we made sure we stopped here once again.

I had their fried oysters, green beans and their coleslaw.  It was just yummy!

For dessert we split their Better Than Sex chocolate cake.  It didn’t taste as good as it did the first time we had it.  Last time we thought it came in a second to sex.  This time it was nowhere near.  ;)

Thursday morning found us in Chinatown.  Some people didn’t even know there was a Chin town in DC.  This is the beautiful Chinatown Friendship Archway that marks the entrance to the tiny Chinatown neighborhood.

Close up of the archway.

Another close up of archway.

One of many unique buildings.

Close up of the roof.

Another building.

While we were in Chinatown, we decided to have lunch.  What a delicious lunch.  The place was very small but it was crowded with people.  

This is a picture of our appetizer.  Veggie tempura.  Yummy!

After lunch we took the Metro over to the Smithsonian.

We went into the castle to get some information about the different exhibits.  My mistake.  I ended up purchasing the replica pearls worn by Jackie Kennedy Onassis. They are just beautiful.  They will look great with all my Magnolia Peal clothes.

Buddy inside the Smithsonian.

This fellow stands at the entrance to the building.

This fellow is not too far behind the elephant.  His eyes seemed to glow.

I know this is blurry, however, it was on a turn table and it was difficult for me to get a good shot.  It’s the famous Hope diamond.  It was blinding.

The next several pictures are amazing.  I took a movie and it looked like something Walt Disney would make.  The fish were unique and some even looked like Dorry.  I don’t think I really captured the beauty there was to behold.

 Outside crossing the Mall.

A lot of construction going on on the Mall.

This is a bike decked out for the Cherry Blossom Festival.

When we got back to our hotel we were exhausted.  We took a quick nap and then headed out to a wonderful Italian restaurant for dinner.  The restaurant was the Positano.  I ordered fresh clams over linguine and Buddy had a hankering for just spaghetti and meatballs.

My delicious meal.Buddy’s meal.This is a picture of our appetizer.  It was eggplant cosini.  It was very good.  After dinner we headed back to the hotel for a good night’s rest.  The next day was going to be a lot of standing.  It was kite flying on the Mall.  

There were hundreds of kites flying the entire length of the Mall.

 No kite eating trees.

You can tell the day is wearing me down.

More kites at the other end of the Mall.  There was still construction going on and the dust was awful.  At times it was difficult to breathe.

Lots of families turned out for this event.

Kites over the Capitol.

We watched this man struggle with is kite trying to get it up.

Almost up.

Success!!!!

Flowers at the Metro where we get off.

Still smiling after a very long day.

Blessings.

Let’s take a break from Christmas, and see what I have been working on these past couple of weeks.  

EASTER EGGS!!!

I have been hard at work trying to jazz up some paper eggs.  It was fun going through my stash finding things to put on them.  I hope they will grace my table at Easter.

I took some close ups, but as you can see, my hands are not that steady.

This egg is painted silver with an earring clip in the center.

This little beauty is painted pink and it has on some of the ribbon I purchased at Tinsel Trading when I visited Jeannie last June.

This egg was rolled in glass glitter.  You have to be careful with the glass because it will cut you.  I also has a clip earring in the center.

Purple egg trimmed in silver ribbon with a rhinestone earring in the center.

This egg has some of the ribbon I bought at Tinsel Trading.  I have been very stingy with this ribbon.  It is very expensive and too pretty to cut.

More ribbon being used from Tinsel Trading.This was fun.  I glued glittered stars on the egg.

This egg was topped with a flower I made.  You can’t it see it, but there is a crystal in the center of the flower.

I made the flower on the top of this egg.

 I had such fun with these eggs.  I wish Nicole was a little girl again, so we could make them together.  I miss having a little girl to make things with.  She use to love to help me bake cookies.  Things are always more fun when you can do them with people you love.

I’ll try and continue the pictures from Nicole’s New Year’s Tea tonight.

Blessings!

Nicole making our famous sausage balls for Christmas morning.  Scout was trying to help.

Scout checking things out.

Scout is never far from Nicole.

And here is Miss Kitty.  She is really a beautiful cat.  She is not as well behaved as Scout, but I really believes she tries to be good.  It’s just so difficult to be in a house when one is use to running outdoors.

No, Chuck did not get a new steering wheel for Christmas.  That’s the bottom part of the patio chair.  He’s so dramatic!!

Nicole set a beautiful table for Christmas.  I wonder where she got her talent for  such things?

Picture of her center piece.

Very imaginative napkin rings!

The best picture I have of the patio furniture Buddy and I gave them for Christmas.

Buddy and I wait for dinner.

Chuck cooking the asparagus.  A great picture of their bougainvillea.

In our Magnolia Pearl.

My mother’s famous ice box cake for dessert.

In front of the Christmas tree.

All together after dinner.

Buddy checking out the bushes ? before we leave for the Grand Canyon.

Standing in the drive way before we leave.

A picture of all of us right before we get in the car to leave.

Buddy and I at one of the over looks on the way to Grand Canyon.Nicole and Chuck

Buddy and I outside our cabin at the Canyon.  We had Snow!!  It was the only snow I have seen this winter.

One of my favorite pictures in the canyon.

I love to play with Picsa.

Me with Papa Smurf.

Another one of my favorite shots of the canyon.

Wait for a table at the restaurant.  The lobby was beautiful.

They had a roaring fire in the fireplace in the lobby.

Nicole overlooking the lobby.

Buddy and Nicole looking over the lobby.

This was the candy house in the dining room.  They had all their desserts around the house.  Next picture is a picture of my dessert.  It was a chocolate mousse taco!

Who couldn’t resist that?

Several pictures of the Grand Canyon.

I fell in love with this tree.

 That’s Papa Smurf way down there looking into the canyon.

Papa Smurf and Chuck.

Papa Smurf

Oh, No!!  Man over the canyon!!

Too late!

Papa Smurf at Hermit’s Rest.

Nicole and Papa Smurf at Hermit’s Rest.

After a wonderful time at the Grand Canyon, we headed south to Sedona.  Buddy had never been so we thought it would be fun to show him around.

Our first stop was at Garland’s.  That’s where I buy all my silver jewelry.  We looked around but decided not to buy any thing.

We took a back road to Sedona and the scenery was spectacular!!!  Look at the beautiful snow on the mountains.

Nicole in front of Garland’s.

The next three pictures are of the Three Stooges.  While I was out, they took these pictures with my camera.

On our way home we stopped for a bite to eat.  The two Stooges entertained us.

Papa Smurf is gone and Buddy is back.  He is loving Chuck’s salt water tank.

It really is very beautiful.  It is my favorite tank.  It sits right outside my bedroom door.

Nicole decorated our bed for Christmas.  It was so pretty.

The bordello Christmas tree that stays in my bedroom.

When we got home, Buddy worked really hard in getting Nicole’s dollhouse hooked up with electricity.  The pictures are a bit dark, but you can get an idea how beautiful the rooms look with the soft lighting.

The kitchen.  My favorite room.

Old cast iron stove with coke bottles and a bag of apples.  T hat’s a pie and some cookies on the stove.

That’s a bottle of milk and a bowl of eggs on the butcher block in the background.

The wall opposite the fireplace.

Living room

Bedroom

Bedroom

Fireplace in living room. I love the picture over the fireplace.

More to come about Nicole’s New Year’s Day tea party.

Blessings!

Buddy and I flew to AZ for Christmas this year.  What a time we had!! Nicole and Chuck really know how to show you a great time.

Buddy and I at the airport at 1 in the morning, 3 am our time.  Boy, were we ever tired.  Looked forward to a bed and a good night’s rest.

Nicole always has beautiful roses waiting for me when I get to her house.  These were peach and cream and just dreamy.  I love to see what she has for me.

After a day of rest, we got to work shopping for Chuck’s Christmas gift.  We  started out at Lowe’s and then went to Home Depot.  We bought the outdoor furniture in one place and the umbrella at the other.  The chairs were swivel ( Buddy’s idea) and we bought the bright red umbrella to make the furniture pop.  It also brought out the beautiful colors of their bougainvillea.

Since it’s been so long, I’m just going to post the pictures from Christmas and maybe some captions underneath. 

Buddy looking for something for Nicole in her craft room.   What a mess.  Can you find Buddy?

Cabinet that Nicole finished for her Craft room.

Another picture of her craft room.

That use to be an old seed bin in a hardware store.  It’s now filled with button, ribbons, and just gobs of stuff.

Scout checking me out.  Looking for food.

Nicole and BuddyOne of two Christmas trees that Nicole has in her kitchen.Light over the  dining room table.  Got the idea from her mother.Nicole decorating her Nature tree in the kitchen.

Close up of nature ornament.

Another ornament .

Buddy messing in the kitchen.

View of dining area in the kitchen with the pink tree.   That tree has only candy and “gumma” ornaments on it.

Buddy working very hard to put lights in Nicole’s dollhouse.

This started out as a simple one tile job.  Not so.  I’ll have other pictures to show just what the damage was.

Decoration above the media center.

Just about finished.

Remember the one square fix?  Well as you can see, it has grown.  You can’t see it from here, but there is also tiles needing to be replace in the hall way.  The following pictures shows what the men were dealing with.

We love to decorate our presents!  The following is just a small example of our efforts.  Sometimes they are too pretty to open.

Some pretty ornaments

on Nicole and Chuck’s tree.

Top of media center complete.

These aluminum trees were Chuck’s parents’.   He loves them and they hold many fond memories.  Nicole puts both of them up in the dining room.

Buddy still working on the doll house.

Much more to come.

Blessings!

Isn’t she adorable!!

This is the sweetest angel I have.  I love the tree and the present she is holding.

My precious angels.

Oh, to have a beach house like this in Wilmington! 

Blessings!

It’s really a dream to ride in.  It has heated seats, just in time for winter.  It rides so much smoother than the Jeep.  I love it.

Buddy bought two gifts for his brother.  I told him that I would wrap the gifts for him.  I love wrapping gifts.  I would wrap professionally if there was a need for it. 

It’s been fun.  I only have 3 more presents to wrap then it’s a wrap!

Blessings!

I wasn’t up to too much decorating this year.  A wreath on the door and my mantel.  I always have a live wreath on the front door.  I embellish the wreath with magnolia leaves, pine cones, and other beauties of nature.

I “borrowed” the magnolia leaves from my neighbor’s tree.  They moved out and the tree was just standing there waiting to help me decorate.

My mantel is done with putz houses and old time looking decorations.  Nicole gave me some old angel hair.  You can’t buy this stuff anymore.  I love it because it softens the lights and makes the mantel look ethereal.  I love the bottle brush trees.  They remind me of my childhood.  

I love my reindeer.

This beautiful wreath was given to me by Buddy.  He bought it at Honeysuckle Hollow.  Everything in the wreath is vintage.  I just love it.

Enough decorating for me.  Next year it will be different.  I will pull everything out of the attic.

Blessings!