Happy Veterans Day

Thanks to our men n women who served this country. God Bless the U.S.A

How's your Day going

Our most gracious Hostess this week is our friend Grace. and she wants to know...

Your Day: please describe to us your typical weekday, from when you wake up until when you go to bed, what do you do to get you up and going, how do you wind down in the evening and what happens in your life in between those times. For some of us, the drama is in the mornings and evenings and for others, it is during the day.

Well now...since I am retired most of my mornings are about the same...I like to rise n shine around 7am....my hubs is always the first one up and he makes the coffee every morning. I get out of bed, go potty, splash my face with cold water to get the sleepy man out, and head downstairs for my first cup of coffee ...this is my favorite time of day. Did I ever tell you what a great coffee brew my hubby makes everyday. I never know what blend it will be, he likes to mix it up.. he uses regular and mixes it with different flavored coffees like hazelnut, vanilla, pumpkin spice, chocolate, cinnamon, caramel swirl, just to name a few. After getting my coffee, I sit n stare at the t.v. watching the Today show and slowly wake up while sipping my delicious brew. Two cups is my limit...by now I am wide awake and ready to take on the day. I get my lap top and check...email...go visit my blog buddies...check face book and tend to my farm (farmville) on face book. I then start laundry and have my breakfast, which is usually cereal. My Hubs makes the bed everyday also (am I lucky or what!!!) I clean up the breakfast dishes and then I will make my daily phone calls...most of the time to my two daughters or my sister or friends. Next, I look at the clock and say OMG its 11am already and I am not even dressed. So I get dressed and get myself to the gym for my daily workout. This is when I run errands also. When I get home, I will have a lite lunch finish up laundry, watch Dr. Phil n Oprah and then its time to start preparing dinner. On days I watch my youngest grand daughter I clear my calender so I am prepared to spend quality time with my sweet little angel. I am pretty flexible so lots of my days vary according to my plans. We eat dinner most every nite at 6pm...clean up dishes and now that its dark at that time...I watch the evening news, read my mail.. play on the computer, get my shower around 8pm and settle in to watch my favorite shows for that night. I head on up to bed anytime between 9pm n 10pm. Most nights its lights out and time to get some zzzzz's by 10 pm. Now go see how the rest of the crew spends their day. Thanks for hosting Grace!

The Last Bloom

I just happened to notice this one lone bloom on my clematis vine. Very unusual for November.

Vermont...The final Chapter

On Day three of our trip we visited "Hildene" the summer home of Robert Todd Lincoln..

His father was born in a log cabin and called from the humblest rank in life to preside over our nation during the most momentous period of its history. One generation later, Robert Todd Lincoln, the only child of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln to survive to adulthood, became chairman of the Pullman Company, the largest manufacturing corporation at the turn of the 20th century. He built his Georgian Revival mansion in 1905 in the scenic village of Manchester in The Shires of Vermont. It became home to only Lincoln descendants until 1975, longer than any other Lincoln residence. It is an example of the “Great American Story” and the story of the Lincoln family’s love affair with Vermont. An historic home, gardens, trails, woods and farm set on 412 preserved acres of quintessential Vermont landscape.

The view from the garden



Our next stop was the.............


BENNINGTON BATTLE MONUMENT
The tallest structure in Vermont commemorates the Battle of Bennington, a battle that lead to the turning point in the Revolutionary War.

Soaring more than 300 feet above the lovely streets of Old Bennington, a striking stone monument marks the site of a critical military supply depot.

"There are the Redcoats;they will be ours or tonightMolly Stark sleeps a widow."

General John Stark

In the late summer of 1777, the Continental Army beat a hasty retreat toward Bennington. British and Hessians pursued, but were badly in need of supplies.
The Americans, carrying what is believed to be the first American flag into battle, defeated them before they could reach the supply depot at Bennington.
The British were forced to proceed to Saratoga without the supplies, where they met a stunning defeat that turned the tide of the Revolutionary War

Moose Art

All you Teachers out there....here is a little trivia for you....notice that the Vermont flag is flying at the same level as our American flag. Normally this would be unlawful...the American flag should always fly higher than your state flag......well..here is the part that blew me away....Vermont can fly their flag the same height because they were at one time their own country. Yep, that's right...they were a country for 14 years...who knew! That was a fact well hidden from the history books. I guess because they petitioned the continental congress to be the 14Th state and were rejected. They said the Heck with you...we will become our own country...and they did. How do you like that little bit of trivia!

Our last stop for the day was ...The Apple Barn

More Moose Art

The owner jumped on our bus and took us up to the apple orchards for the most spectacular views

After returning to the barn for homemade apple pie, we headed back to the Inn for our last dinner and entertainment for the evening. A magic show left us all scratching our heads saying...How did he do that!


Early the next morning after breakfast, it was time to board the bus for our long ride back home. The entire staff came out to say good bye. Everyday they would come out to wave to us as we left for the day and were always there to wave to us when we returned...it was such a nice feeling. As they were standing there waving goodbye for the last time, I actually got choked up...they were so nice and accommodating during our stay..it made you feel like family.

Maybe one day we will return...

A Halloween Party

Our Blogging Buddy "The Church Lady" Hosted a Halloween party on Saturday and here are the results...A good time was had by all!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Wishing n Sharing

FUN MONDAY

Our friend Mariposa volunteered this week and here is her challenge.........

(1) Share something which you wish your readers would know about you. It could be something you feel you might need to clarify/ share, etc.
(2) Ask three questions to your readers, and I mean all readers, whether participants of Fun Monday or not. The questions should be generic so that all your readers can answer them and that it will help you get to know your readers more


The one thing I would like to share with my readers is....to let them know how much I appreciate them coming to visit my blog. I feel like you are all my friends even though I have not met you face to face. SO HERE IS A BIG THANK YOU AND HUGS FROM ME TO YOU!

The three questions I ask of you is...........
1. what color are your eyes?
2. what do you love to do with your spare time (besides blogging)?
3. what is your all time favorite song?
Can't wait to see your answers!
Now scoot on over to see what other questions are being asked...Thanks for hosting Mariposa!

Vermont Adventure Part 2

Day two of our trip we headed to Stockbridge Massachusetts to visit the renowned Norman Rockwell Museum and hometown.

This photo below features Norman Rockwell's' second wife(on the right) holding their first grandchild. The neat thing about it is...she had died two years before this child was born and Rockwell painted them together. He always had meaning in his paintings..mostly it was very subtle. We got to see all of Rockwell's original paintings and all of the 350+ covers of the Saturday Evening Post. This man painted real life.

Our tour guide Mike was so full of information and history of Vermont. We really learned a lot from him. He was funny too, had us laughing all the time. You could tell he lived in Vermont..always running around in shorts, when most of us were in long pants and jackets.

This photo is taken in front of the Red Lion Inn on Main street. Rockwell depicted this street the idea small town, in his painting of Christmas on Main street. It remains the same after all these years. Rockwell lived just around the corner.

We had a delicious lunch in the Red Lion Inn...very nice atmosphere and fine dining. It was a very special treat and enjoyed by everyone.

There were interesting sculptures all along main street by local artists.

I thought this was a quaint setting

Our next stop was Chesterwood.. This was the home of the famous sculptor Daniel Chester French. He was the creator of the Lincoln Memorial that is in Washington D.C. Very interesting facts that we never knew.

After a full day in Stockbridge we headed back to Vermont which was a two and a half drive.

The weather was gorgeous and the views were superb. Stay tuned for part 3 and final chapter.