MY CHRISTMAS GIFT TO YOU!!
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Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Monday, October 28, 2013
Peaceful Places
When I have an afternoon of just a bit of energy, and have had my fill of cabin fever, these are usually the two places we go near us. Sometimes it may be to Jones Gap, which is a state park kept in the wild, and the Saluda River runs through it. But I love these two bridges, Campbells Covered bridge and Poinsett Bridge, and we take the dogs with us, because they enjoy it every bit as much as we do!
CAMPBELL'S COVERED BRIDGE
Campbells Covered Bridge official address is Gowansville SC, but it is out in the country of northeastern Greenville County. Built in 1909, it crosses Beaverdam Creek
and is the only covered bridge left in SC. Behind it on the left are the remains of the grist mill which operated here for many years. It is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a wonderful place to enjoy nature and man made beauty together.
POINSETT BRIDGE
Poinsett Bridge, named for Joel Roberts Poinsett, was built of local stone in 1820 as part of a road from Columbia, SC to Asheville NC. The bridge includes a 14-foot Gothic arch, is wide enough for a carriage, and stretches 130 feet over Little Gap Creek and is in the tip most section of Greenville County, not far from the NC state line. Though no longer in use, the stone bridge remains largely intact. The bridge is part of the 120-acre Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve. Poinsett bridge is off U.S. Highway 25 north of Greenville, SC. and was also named to the National Register of Historic Places. It is a lovely area and attracts local visitors especially in the summer to escape the heat. The Poinsettia Christmas flower was also named after Joel Poinsett.
Both of these photos are available at Bellesouth Studio and would make special gifts for those who live in the area, or who have moved away and would like a special reminder of their time here. Or, if you are a bridge lover, these would be for you! The photo of Campbells Bridge is had a painterly effect added to it, the Poinsett Bridge has had no effects added. Check them out!
Where do you like to go for a short get away?
Click on any photo you would like to see closer!
Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
A Little Doodle
I was really feeling parched, artistically, and wanted so badly to indulge in my art. For various reasons, I just have not been able to (mostly because of my health), but today I was determined I would at least doodle in my journal. I also had some issues pressing on me, and thought playing with my art would divert my mind. And it did!
Some of my brushes and my water pail had been patiently waiting for me to begin.
This is the journal doodle. I started out using a leaf stencil with oil pastel sticks and found out quickly that that wouldn't work, so I colored in and added the lines later. Acrylic paints, Stabilo pencil, torn pages of a Shakespeare play and some doodling and some press-ons, and I was pleased to be once again doing something artistically!
My husband and I made a donation to Water Missions International as our Christmas Gift to each other and to Tabitha. They are a fantastic organization which helps to supply water where ever it's needed - third world countries or when disaster strikes in any other areas, such as Hurricane Katrina. John knew the couple who started it and once they organized it, he served on their board until we left Charleston. They have saved many, many people's lives by providing safe drinking water.
I'll share some of the fun things we received:
Tabitha gave me a great book about the painter Renoir, written by his son. Renoir has always been one of my favorite painters and this is a very thick book, blending what was happening in the world with what was happening in Renoir's life. It's a used book, she knows I like used books because there are so many choices to be had for so little money.
Tabitha also made four lovely stationary cards for John, each one an original ink print of different leaves. She had inked up the leaves and rolled them face down once she had them arranged the way she wanted. They turned out beautifully! She also gave him several bags of boutique popcorn flavors, as that is probably his favorite snack.
One of my sisters gave me a brightly colored, sturdy tote bag and a fuzzy pair of slippers. The slippers had to be exchanged because they were a size too small, so they weren't available when this photo was taken. They have since arrived!
Tabitha surprised me with postage stamps made of one of my paintings! This picture is a bit fuzzy because I scanned the whole page, and then realized afterward that they were too small to make out. So I cropped them to this size. I've been busy using them, so that's why there is not a better picture, they are mostly gone!
And now I am very tired, but glad I could share a little with you!
Click on any photo to see it closer.
Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!
Saturday, December 29, 2012
An Owl Overhead and Bright Lights
Just a few random things to share with my readers. Last evening, as I was lying on the bed, I heard an owl incredibly close and thought he must be in the trees outside in the front of the house. I went downstairs and made John mute his TV show (he was good natured about it, thankfully) and we both heard it clearly. I went back up to the 2nd floor and into the guest room in the dark, opened the dormer window, and peered carefully at the trees, hoping to see its silhouette in the leafless branches. Nothing. Then I heard it again and realized it was coming from above me. I went up to the only room in the 3rd floor - my studio - treading carefully in the dark and quietly opened that window which looked out in a different direction. For a little while I heard nothing and I figured I must have scared it off, because I could not see the silhouette in any of the trees in that area either. Then, suddenly, I saw the moonlight glancing off of his back and the upper part of his wings as he glided down from the rooftop to the trees on the far side of the yard. I thought that was just amazing! Judging from the 5 count of his hoots, it was a Great Horned Owl; a Barred Owl has a 9 count call.
Thursday night, my husband and I had an actual date - an extreme rarity for us because 1. it was in the evening and 2. we weren't going to a doctors appointment! John thought we could go see the Christmas light show at the Roper Mountain Science Center. We would just ride through it in the car, and I would not have to get out. Meanwhile during the day on Thursday, Tabitha was over and she told us about this house with a great light show of its own. She said the owner had decorated the entire front yard and house and then had all of the lights timed to Christmas music played by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, 3 different songs, and his own little spot on the FM radio. So we thought we would see if we could make that too, if I was not too tired, and it was on our way back from the Light Show.
In Charleston, we had gone to the James island County Park each year where they had a fantastic and enormous Christmas light show. Every year it got better, and we remember when it started. Not only were there secular displays, there was also a Menorah, a Kwanzaa display and several Christmas displays of Christ's birth. There were also many very clever other things, displays related to Charleston, some of moss hanging from a tree of lights, a bridge going around the end of a lake, many which seemed to "move", and much more. It took you an hour or more to go through it, and we often went around at least twice.So, we were looking forward to seeing another good show.
All right, friends from Greenville who read this, do not take this too personally, but we were so disappointed. The Roper Mountain show was lame. Yes, lame, I'm sorry. Very secular and repetitious, with only one, maybe two actually clever or artistic ones. What a let down! We were through it in 15 minutes! We drove back toward home, glad that it was a beautiful full moon out and that it was something to enjoy. We decided to go by this place our daughter mentioned, and oh my, was that fun! Here was this modest brick home, with a better planned light show than what we had just seen. We sat transfixed, listening to the music in the radio and watching the lights blinking in sync with the music- quite dramatically in places! I can't imagine being his neighbor, but it gave us a positive ending to our small date. Thanks Tabitha! :)
And if you ever have the chance to see the James Island Christmas Lights in Charleston, please go, you won't be disappointed! (Except perhaps by the traffic!) It's rated one of the Top Ten Light Shows in the US!! Here's a link to see a few of the lights, and you can google for more images - Lights . And it's still only $10 a carload!
Thursday night, my husband and I had an actual date - an extreme rarity for us because 1. it was in the evening and 2. we weren't going to a doctors appointment! John thought we could go see the Christmas light show at the Roper Mountain Science Center. We would just ride through it in the car, and I would not have to get out. Meanwhile during the day on Thursday, Tabitha was over and she told us about this house with a great light show of its own. She said the owner had decorated the entire front yard and house and then had all of the lights timed to Christmas music played by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, 3 different songs, and his own little spot on the FM radio. So we thought we would see if we could make that too, if I was not too tired, and it was on our way back from the Light Show.
In Charleston, we had gone to the James island County Park each year where they had a fantastic and enormous Christmas light show. Every year it got better, and we remember when it started. Not only were there secular displays, there was also a Menorah, a Kwanzaa display and several Christmas displays of Christ's birth. There were also many very clever other things, displays related to Charleston, some of moss hanging from a tree of lights, a bridge going around the end of a lake, many which seemed to "move", and much more. It took you an hour or more to go through it, and we often went around at least twice.So, we were looking forward to seeing another good show.
The old Cooper River Bridge in the background, with the new Ravenel Bridge in the front, at the James Island Festival of Lights
All right, friends from Greenville who read this, do not take this too personally, but we were so disappointed. The Roper Mountain show was lame. Yes, lame, I'm sorry. Very secular and repetitious, with only one, maybe two actually clever or artistic ones. What a let down! We were through it in 15 minutes! We drove back toward home, glad that it was a beautiful full moon out and that it was something to enjoy. We decided to go by this place our daughter mentioned, and oh my, was that fun! Here was this modest brick home, with a better planned light show than what we had just seen. We sat transfixed, listening to the music in the radio and watching the lights blinking in sync with the music- quite dramatically in places! I can't imagine being his neighbor, but it gave us a positive ending to our small date. Thanks Tabitha! :)
And if you ever have the chance to see the James Island Christmas Lights in Charleston, please go, you won't be disappointed! (Except perhaps by the traffic!) It's rated one of the Top Ten Light Shows in the US!! Here's a link to see a few of the lights, and you can google for more images - Lights . And it's still only $10 a carload!
More about Christmas in my next blog!
Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!
Friday, December 21, 2012
A Gift For Someone
Ahhhhhhh, what a nice feeling! In spite of the horrible migraines, and lack of sleep which have filled most of December for me, I was able to accomplish something special for someone! And it was something important to me to get done. I cannot show you the gift, but I can show you the process of getting it out into the mail.
The hardest part was finding a box just the right size. Rochester is asking if I'm sure this will fit this box.
He has to inspect it to make sure....
He approves!
"OK Mom, what's next?"
The packing material is on the bottom, and the present is wrapped with purple shoelaces.
A card is tucked under them, and we can see who it is for....... then the rest of the packing material goes over it and the box is sealed.
Rochester does the final inspection and approves of the decorations. (If I were stronger, I would have decorated the box a bit more nicely, but no one will complain, I'm sure!!)
Now, Judy, since you know that this is for you, you will promise me now that you WILL NOT open the wrapped present till Christmas DAY!!! You may unpack the box, but the gift remains wrapped till CHRISTMAS DAY, not Christmas EVE, OKAY?? And I know you will not lie to me, so I am taking you at your word. :)
I will post the picture of the gift after Christmas morning.
Merry Christmas!!
Click on any picture to see details.
Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Tuesday Story
I posted some art pictures yesterday, but do not have anything new to post art-wise today; please check back later in the week!
It was last year on the Tuesday after Christmas that I posted my first story, and in honor of that, I am posting it again. Hope you enjoy!
When my parents were first married, my mother became interested in a certain china pattern, Silver Pine. She was hoping to collect enough pieces to have something special for company. Then over the next decade, six children arrived and the few pieces she had collected were stored, and labeled in her mind as "someday...". As my siblings and I became adults, and our parents grew older, we struggled every year with the "what do you get your parents, now that they really don't need anything" problem. One summer a novel idea presented itself during a conversation with my Dad. I asked him just how much my mother had of her "special dinnerware" and together we hatched a plan to really surprise her.
I was an antiques dealer at the time, and had access to auctions, and shows where I could find some pieces to fill in her collection. I contacted all my siblings so everyone could participate. I made a list of things she would need to complete a service for eight, plus serving dishes after my father gave me a list of what she had, and started searching. I ended up finding most of the things on eBay, and since I had several months lead time, I could take my time and search for pristine pieces. By the time Christmas arrived, I had found everything we needed and even some ice tea glasses which matched the dinnerware! All of us chipped in to pay for the things as time went along and we were all excited about the big day.
That Christmas, we gathered at my parent's home, and all of us unloaded our car and piled the boxes on the living room floor. My mother was very curious once she got a look at the pile of wrapped boxes, but we wouldn't let her know who they were for until it came time to open gifts, then we made her wait till last. She and Dad sat down on the hearth and after opening the first box, she was speechless and had tears. Box after box was opened and china was laid out on the hearth and you could just feel her excitement! After everything was opened, she just looked at us and expressed her feelings by saying she just didn't know how to thank us, but the look on her face said it all! We quickly washed the dishes and used them for Christmas dinner and that was the loveliest table and one of the happiest Christmases I remember. Now that both of my parents are no longer with us, it is a very special memory!
It was last year on the Tuesday after Christmas that I posted my first story, and in honor of that, I am posting it again. Hope you enjoy!
Christmas Past
1st story in the Tuesday Story Series - Repost
When my parents were first married, my mother became interested in a certain china pattern, Silver Pine. She was hoping to collect enough pieces to have something special for company. Then over the next decade, six children arrived and the few pieces she had collected were stored, and labeled in her mind as "someday...". As my siblings and I became adults, and our parents grew older, we struggled every year with the "what do you get your parents, now that they really don't need anything" problem. One summer a novel idea presented itself during a conversation with my Dad. I asked him just how much my mother had of her "special dinnerware" and together we hatched a plan to really surprise her.
I was an antiques dealer at the time, and had access to auctions, and shows where I could find some pieces to fill in her collection. I contacted all my siblings so everyone could participate. I made a list of things she would need to complete a service for eight, plus serving dishes after my father gave me a list of what she had, and started searching. I ended up finding most of the things on eBay, and since I had several months lead time, I could take my time and search for pristine pieces. By the time Christmas arrived, I had found everything we needed and even some ice tea glasses which matched the dinnerware! All of us chipped in to pay for the things as time went along and we were all excited about the big day.
That Christmas, we gathered at my parent's home, and all of us unloaded our car and piled the boxes on the living room floor. My mother was very curious once she got a look at the pile of wrapped boxes, but we wouldn't let her know who they were for until it came time to open gifts, then we made her wait till last. She and Dad sat down on the hearth and after opening the first box, she was speechless and had tears. Box after box was opened and china was laid out on the hearth and you could just feel her excitement! After everything was opened, she just looked at us and expressed her feelings by saying she just didn't know how to thank us, but the look on her face said it all! We quickly washed the dishes and used them for Christmas dinner and that was the loveliest table and one of the happiest Christmases I remember. Now that both of my parents are no longer with us, it is a very special memory!
I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas and is looking forward to 2012!
Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!
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