Vacation

Recently we traveled to the beautiful state of Georgia to visit with our daughter and her family.  We had a total of 10 days - the longest vacation we have ever taken!  Of course 4 of those days were spent driving, or in my case, riding.  The scenery is absolutely beautiful along the route we take. We got to relax quite a bit and spend time with our newest grandbaby.  Such fun!!  Some of our time was spent helping with some decorating projects and hosting a yard sale,  The first day of the sale was really cold,  I mean really, really cold!  We sat in the garage in front of a heater!  The second day was beautiful!

We also took in a little sight seeing.  We always try to go somewhere interesting. Last year we went to Fort Pulaski.  I blogged about it HERE.  Here's a few more pictures from that trip:

 

Did you see the movie "The Conspirator"?  Some of the scenes were shot here. 



This year were toured Old Fort King George, a Pre-Revolutionary War re-constructed fort.

  

This is a bird 'house' in the layout of the fort.  So cute!

I

 It doesn't take alot of imagination to know what this is.....

 This is one of those historical sites where you can actually go in the buildings and touch things.  While very little of it is original, everything seemed to be made just as if it would have been in the mid 1700's.  It's intriguing to imagine the men and women living out their everyday lives in what we would consider 'primitive' conditions.

The vegetation is very close to what the soldiers would have had to live with, no manicured gardens here!  In fact, much of it is very swampy.  In one particular spot there is a sign warning you not to approach the alligators "as they are wild" .  I didn't stop to take a picture of that!  I walked very quickly and warily past that spot!  EEK! 
There's a small museum on the grounds that tells the story of the many inhabitants of the fort.

We had a great time! There's so much history in that part of the country,
All too soon, it was time to head home, back to the cold and snowy Western NY weather.  On the way we stopped at the New River Gorge.  We've stopped there before but all we could see were tree-tops!  This time we went into the visitor's center and had a much better view:

It's a looooong way down !

The bridge over the gorge.

The visitor's center was very interesting with alot of memorabilia from the mining history of the area.   If you're in the area you really should stop and look around and if you're really energetic, you can take the really, really, really long staircase down to the base.

I kept busy on the drive looking for and documenting gas prices.  The price actually went down in a few places between our drive down and our trip home.  What a difference from one place to the next!  The highest price was...you guessed it......at home! Good ol' Western NY.   We were glad we filled up before we got there. 

I'd love to hear what vacations you've enjoyed over the years or your plans for future ones.  Leave a comment and tell me about it.

PS.....You can read more about the Historical forts of Georgia in this book, and if you click here and buy it, I get a small percentage.



I'm linked HERE:

Confessions of a bad truster OR The Boogie Man and God

There I was, a grown woman, watching a Veggie Tales with my grandbaby, with tears running down my cheeks.  Why?  Because I'm a bad truster, that's why.  As long as I can remember, I've been that way.  My husband, on the other hand, has an unshakeable faith in God, and trusts almost everyone he meets.  That's not to say he's gullible, he just doesn't like to think badly of anyone.  So, while he trusts everyone, I trust very few people.  And while he trusts God completely, I know I should, but it's much harder for me.  
We are at a time in our lives that we had hoped would be less stressful, more relaxing, and financially more settled.  Unfortunately, that's not the way our lives are going.  After 25 years of dedication, faithfullness and going waaaaaayyy above and beyond the call of duty, my husband became semi-retired.  He and his employer sat down and worked out a plan that would allow him to return to work on a part time basis.  They worked out the pay scale, insurance details, etc.  "Great!!!!!" , I thought, "We'll have more time to visit family, work around the house and relax!".  Well, you guessed it......things are not working out as planned.  Between broken agreements, shrinking paychecks, increasing bills and financial stresses, ...let's just say I was (and still am a little)  having a hard time trusting that God's gonna get us through.
Here's where the Veggie's come in.. I'm sitting in my living room singing along with the show when it suddenly hits me what I'm singing
"God is bigger than the boogie man....", and the tears start. The boogie man can seem really huge! But God is huge-r. I might not like the situation we're in, I might not like what God's going to take us through, it might be really painful and more than likely my trust will waiver, but He won't waiver!  I remember giving this advice and cousel to my kids....'sometimes going through something is painful but it's always better on the other side.'  Yeah, I know, I should practice what I preach.  He never said we'd never have tough times, but He's always brought us through. 
So, dear friends, please pray for this self admitted 'bad-truster'.  Because even though my head knows "....He's watchin' out for you and me...."  my heart still needs to be reminded to "Be still, and know that I am God."

PS...if you want to buy the Veggie Tales that I mentioned you can get it on Amazon and if you buy something, I get a little something too!




I'm linked here:

The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen - a book review

I love good historical Christian fiction and The Tutor's Daughter didn't disappoint me. And when you throw in a little intrique, mystery and suspense, it's a winner!  This author keeps you on your toes right to the end.  Even the cover of the book is a winner (and I don't usually comment on the cover of a book), but this one is perfect for the story.  A young woman, dressed appropriately for her station in life as a school master's daughter, poised on the edge of a cliff with dark clouds in the distance.....perfect!

The story is about Emma, the daughter of a boarding school master whose wife has died.  Their school is slowly fading away so when they are asked by a former students family to be in-home tutors to their two young sons, they agree and move to Ebbington Manor, home of the Weston's.  The Weston's are, to say the least, a disfunctional family.  There are secrets, strange noises in the night, locked doors, haunting music, and even a little attempted murder.  Here is what the publisher's website says:

"Emma Smallwood, determined to help her widowed father when his boarding school fails, accompanies him to the cliff-top manor of a baronet and his four sons. But soon after they arrive and begin teaching the two younger boys, mysterious things begin to happen. Who does Emma hear playing the pianoforte at night, only to find the music room empty? And who begins sneaking into her bedchamber, leaving behind strange mementoes?
The baronet's older sons, Phillip and Henry Weston, wrestle with problems--and secrets--of their own. They both remember the studious Miss Smallwood from their days at her father's academy. But now one of them finds himself unexpectedly drawn to her...
When suspicious acts escalate, can Emma figure out which brother to blame and which to trust with her heart?
Filled with page-turning suspense, The Tutor's Daughter takes readers to the windswept Cornwall coast--a place infamous for shipwrecks and superstitions--where danger lurks, faith is tested, and romance awaits."

Go HERE to read an exerpt

This book is a faith based book but it's not at all 'preachy'.  It's a good, clean, suspenseful story that will leave you wanting to read more from this author. The ending is predictibly happy. This is after all, Christian romance but even though you know Emma is going to end up in love and happy, you're never quite sure who she's going to end up with until very close to the end.

You can read more about the author and her other novels on her website.

I hope you give this one a try.  If you like faith based fiction and suspense, you won't go wrong with The Tutor's Daughter.

We have a WINNER !!!

Thanks for all of you who visited here and entered my giveaway. I had such fun going to Sew Mama Sew's blog and following the links and entering bunches of giveaways.  I found some new blogs to follow and saw some really cool crafts.

So, without further delay...... the winner of this beautiful necklace

is..........

Tammy !!!

Congratulations!!!!!

Thanks for entering, Tammy.

Giveaway has ended!

Time's up!!!! The giveaway is officially over.  Thanks to everyone who entered.  I loved reading all your comments about what your favorite season is.  I have to say that mine would be Spring, then Fall, then Winter, and lastly, Summer. I really don't like the heat.

Anyway, I'll pick the winner using a random number generator and then notify the winner!
Please go to my giveaway policy page for all the blah-blah, necessary legal stuff.

Giveaway day is here!!!

For this year's Sew Mama Sew's giveaway, I've selected a beautiful, one-of-a-kind necklace.  I made this necklace using silver toned chain, with a center detail and pendant.  The hand wire-wrapped cobalt blue faux 'beach-glass'  dangles from a center detail of white glass tube beads and antiqued silver toned bead caps.  The necklace also contains accents of cobalt blue glass crystal beads and oval white glass beads.   The necklace is a flattering length of approximately 17.5 inches with a 1 inch extention piece, making the total length 18.5 inches.

So......here's what you have to do to win this....

1..... Leave a comment below telling me which season of the year is your favorite.  I'll pick the winner using a random number generator so your answers won't be judged, I just really like reading them! 

 

2.....Make sure you leave an email address so I can contact you if you win,  (I suggest something like this:  me (at) myweb (dot) com - it cuts down on spam) 

 

3.....Only one entry per person please. 

 

4..... My giveaway is only for USA entrants, I don't ship internationally, sorry. 

When you're finished, skip over to Sew Mama Sew's blog and enter a TON more!!

There's all kinds of things entered from handmade home decor to handmade items for kids and alot more!   And you might even find some new favorite blogs!

You have from May 6 - May 10 to enter. 

 

Have fun!!!!

 

Give-away Day !

Once again, I'm participating in Sew Mama Sew's Give-away Day!  This is such fun!!  Come back on May 6 -May 10 and enter, then hop back to Sew Mama's blog and enter a bunch more!!!

I'll be giving away something handmade just in time for Mother's Day.  You can take a look at some of my handmade products at my Etsy store,  but the item/s I'll be giving away aren't there. I'll be giving something brand new and never posted on Etsy.

I hope you come back and enter!