And The Answer Is.................

Bermuda!

Yep, Mr. P and I headed off last Friday to Baltimore, Maryland to catch a cruise to Bermuda! We have never been on a cruise, never even been out of the country before, so we were really, really excited for this adventure. Unfortunately, if you think you are going to be reading about romance in a tropical paradise, you won't be finding it here.

Day one: When you are ready to board a cruise, you just don't give them your luggage and hop on ~ there are a million and one things you have to go through in order to board. The lines somewhat resemble getting on a popular ride at Disney. Well, we finally make it to the last station, and it's time to get our documentation out. I show them my identification and also my birth certificate and they give me my cruise card and say "happy sailing!" But, when Mr. P gets his out the woman takes one look at it and says it's not acceptable. What????????? Well, can you imagine ~ I thought I was going to hit the floor! With a frown on her face she says this birth certificate just won't do. Oh, no!!!!!!!!! She says she needs to go talk to the purser. After five agonizing minutes she comes back and says the purser is not there, so out of the goodness of her heart she's going to let him board! Thank you Lord that people have goodness in their hearts:)

Day two: I awake the next morning to poor Mr. P moaning and groaning. Uh, oh, this is not good. The poor man was deathly seasick, I'm talking looking "green in the gills" kind of sea sick. In the 27 years of our marriage, he has only vomited once ~ can I tell you he made up for it that day! So, this is where we spent the day.

Day three: We reach Bermuda. Mr. P was feeling better and was finally getting his "sea" legs. Here's an interesting fact, though. Did y'all know that Bermuda celebrates Labor Day, too? Well, we sure didn't. Unlike the States where people are encouraged to shop and save money at the Labor Day sales, Bermuda basically shuts down so everybody can enjoy time with their families. Now, normally I would say that was a really good thing, but not on the one day we pick to visit! The view from the ship was beautiful, though:)

Day four: We leave Bermuda and are sailing home. The captain comes on over the intercom and says jokingly, "I'm afraid Mother Nature is not going to be very nice to us on the voyage." Again, I say, "uh, oh." This time, not only was Mr. P sick, but every passenger on the ship was, as well (including me;) We had gale force winds and 12 foot seas for the over 24 hours. You couldn't even stand up for fear of falling. So, there was Mr. P on one side of the bed moaning, and I was on the other side, groaning. To put it in perspective, I don't think Disney even has a wild a ride as we had, and morning sickness was a piece of cake compared to this! We didn't get to eat at the fancy dining room, we had yummy meals of saltine crackers!!!

Day five: We arrive back home. I never understood why people say they felt like kissing the ground, now I do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lessons learned:

1.What does true love really mean? Yes, candy and flowers are nice, but having somebody hold a "throw-up" bucket for you, and put a cold cloth to your face really spells love to me.

2.If we could make it through this, we can make it through anything!

3.We both said that if we had to be miserable, we would rather be miserable with each other than anybody else!

4.We will never, ever, never, ever, go on a cruise again:)

Riddle Me This:

What do onions and shorts have in common? Any guesses? It's where Mr. P and I have been the last five days! I'll be back tomorrow with the answer;)

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

I'm back! We had a wonderful week of fun in the sun at Nags Head, N.C. Perfect weather and wonderful company, what more could a person want?!! Here are just a few snippets of our trip.

This is a picture of the Corolla lighthouse. When Mr. P and I first saw we said, "are those people up there?" Well, yes they are!! At first we thought we didn't want to try it, but after a little "cajoling" by one of us (I won't say who;o) we decided to take the trek up. There are 214 steps and it is 162 feet tall. There are nine sets of winding stairs with a little landing that you can stand on in between, if you need to rest, As we were going up we met people coming down and they were really "huffing" and "puffing." They all said the same thing though, it's worth the climb. So, after much huffing and puffing and puffing and huffing we were finally triumphant and made it to the top!!

Here is a picture of part of the stairs ~ if you have vertigo or are claustrophobic this wouldn't be for you!!

Here were are at the top, sweaty and tired, but extremely happy we did it because we got to see this . . . .


Isn't it beautiful? If you want to learn more about this historic lighthouse you can read about it here.

We also did a lot of swimming . . . .

Our family loves puzzles, so every year we bring one and work on it throughout the week. This is the one that was done this year.

Ashley & Gerry

Miss Bonnie

Our tired puppies! Of course, they weren't the only ones who took a lot of naps;o)
I don't know if you can really see this, but if you look at the couch you might be able to see the flip flops that were all over it! Cute, cute!

Here's all the gang! We made some wonderful memories and are looking forward to next year when there will be six of us:o)

And We're Off . . . .

"You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you."Nehemiah 9:6

Carriage House At The B&B
Our Anniversary Trip Last Fall
As promised, here are the pictures from the same B&B as Miss Bonnie and I stayed at (see previous post.) The Inn has two separate small cottages on the property and was the perfect place to spend a lovely Fall weekend with Mr. P. The leaves were at the height of color, the mountains were just beautiful, there was a crispness to the air, fireplace was glowing . . . Oh my, I want to go back now!! LOL



Entry table in the main house welcoming us for our stay. When you leave the Inn there is a sign by the door that tells what the temps are, weather, etc. . . I thought that was nice for planning activities.

Our little cottage "hideaway!"

The owners of the Inn are originally from Colorado. They brought this furniture all the way across the country because they loved it so. . . it was all handmade by a craftsman friend.

Snacks (cheese, fruit, chocolates, etc.) just waiting to be munched on.

The flowers on the fireplace were for me!! The fireplace was absolutely beautiful lit up at night.

The Inn's owner is an artist and her artwork is displayed throughout the Inn.

Almost heaven!

Our breakfast basket. The owner had hand stamped pretty fall leaves on the cloth.

Mr. P enjoying a snack. Isn't he cute??!! ;o)

Thank you for joining me on our "armchair" tour ~ I was so glad to have your company!

Mother/ Daughter Trip

Every summer Miss Bonnie and I take a special mother/daughter trip! It is indeed something we both look forward to ~ much laughter and fun takes place while we are together. You should hear us singing in the car! On second thought, maybe not!! Since this is the time most people take vacations I thought it would be fun to share some pictures with you of last year's trip to a B&B in the mountains of Virginia. It was our first B&B experience and we were certainly not disappointed!




The B & B is a 1890 Queen Anne Victorian! Isn't it charming?



The cozy front porch just beckons one to sit and enjoy a cool glass of refreshing lemonade!



Entry way. On the little table was a board with the names of the evening guests written on it saying, "Welcome!" Beautiful music was playing in the background and there were some delicious homemade cookies, tea, and lemonade awaiting us!



This is located in the front room. The owner of the Inn is an artist and this is where she displays her beautiful paintings and pottery.



This was our sitting room~

To the left you can see the double side fireplace. Beyond the wall is the sitting room.

She had lovely antiques throughout her home

Her beautiful tea cup collection

Here is her antique mirror collection that she had in the bathroom


This is the one thing in their home that WASN'T antique!! LOVE IT ;o)

Our breakfast basket that was delivered the next morning. YUM!

I hope you enjoyed going on the B&B tour with me. Tomorrow I will post the pictures from when Mr. P and I went in the Fall. We stayed in the little guest house on their property!

A Few More Treasures

Here are a few of the other treasures I got at the tea room in Lexington. As most of you know I am a big hankie lover! As I walked into one of the rooms in the gift shop my sister Betsy said, "Susan, you will love this room because it is filled with linens!" Boy, my ears perked up and my steps grew a lot more hurried!! I felt like I had entered hankie heaven!! Never before had I seen so many beautiful hankies in one spot! I just love collecting them because they remind me of a sweeter, gentler time. I always carry one in my purse and have one tucked away in my bible. I love to iron them with lavender ironing spray because then they have such a beautiful,

delicate scent. I am especially fond of giving them as little "just because" gifts. Here are just a few of my favorites.

If you want to read more about my love of hankies you can go here.

As I told you yesterday the tea room actually grows all of it's own herbs. I couldn't resist this bag of potpourri. The scent is so lovely and I just love the name, Lavender Bliss!

I love to place the potpourri in something other than just a plain bowl. Here I have decided to put it in a dainty tea cup!

Here you can see the tea cup on my shelf in the guest powder room . It not only looks pretty but the guests will be greeted with a most "blissful" scent:o)

Let's Do Tea, Shall We?

One of the highlights of any visit to Lexington is a visit to the local tea room. Not only do they serve delicious teas, they also have delicious little sandwiches, quiches, and salads. They grow their own herbs and use them in all of their cooking. We feasted on chicken salad, quiche, and pasta salad. My pasta was surrounded by beautiful edible pansies that were just too pretty to eat! Besides, I'm use to having my pansies in the ground, not on my plate! LOL At the end of your meal they try to tempt your taste buds with some wonderful delicacies. I had bread pudding, my sister Sarah had three nut chocolate chip pie, and my sister Betsy had Geranium Lemon Pound Cake! Again, I'm use to having my geraniums growing in the ground, not in my cake! My sister is always telling me I have to "step out of my box!"

If all the wonderful food wasn't good enough, no trip to the tea room is complete without a visit to their wonderful gift shop! I wanted to share with you this beautiful tea stand I purchased. It looks perfect sitting on top of my Grammy's sideboard. Tomorrow I will share some other
goodies:o)

A Little Taste Of Sunshine!

While visiting with my family, my sister Betsy made the most delicious cake for us to enjoy. If you have ever had Lemon Jello Cake this is very similar, only you use oranges, instead! So, so yummy! I also wanted to share with you the cookbook she got the recipe from. Both my sister and I own this cookbook and love it. It is called the Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn. Every recipe in the book starts with a basic cake mix~ I highly recommend it!

Cake Mix Doctor Cookbook by : Anne Byrn

I love how the cake looks on my sister's antique milk glass cake stand!

Orange Cake

1 package yellow cake mix with pudding

1 cup fresh orange juice (about 5 med. oranges) or from carton

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 large eggs

Mix together for about three minutes with electric mixer. Pour mixture into greased and floured bundt pan. Bake cake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes. Let cake cool.

Glaze

1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

3 tablespoons fresh orange juice (about 1 med. orange)

1 teaspoon fresh grated orange zest (from about l med. orange)

Combine the c. sugar, fresh orange juice, and orange zest in a small bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Place the cake on a serving platter and pour the glaze over the top, letting it drizzle down the sides and into the center. Let the glaze set for a few minutes before slicing.

Thanks Bets!! ;)

Happy Days!

We have just returned from a wonderful trip to visit my family in Kentucky. We had such a wonderful week of visiting and I got to see my new nephew for the first time! Here is a picture of Joseph Matthew~

Isn't he a sweetie? I tried to bring him home, but for some reason my sister Sarah wouldn't let me;) Wink;)

We were treated to a most beautiful, but unexpected snowfall along the way. Poor Mr. P was most exasperated with me because I was trying to get pictures of the snowfall at every turn:) He is such a sweet and patient man!

Of course we had to have an Easter Egg hunt! As you can see we were all "bundled up" as we went searching for the eggs!

What a blessing it is to have family! I am grateful for the week that God allowed us to have spending time talking, laughing, and catching up with each other. Oh, I forgot to mention all the eating, too;) I feel especially blessed that I was able to spend a lot of time with my dear Mama who has Alzheimers. This dreaded disease might have taken a lot from her but it hasn't touched her wonderful heart and kind spirit. When I look into her eyes I still see my dear Mama looking back:0)

I hope that you all had a wonderful week, as well! I have missed everybody and will be around to visit soon.

Much love,

Susan P.

A Special Day And A Special Place!

We had the most wonderful day on Saturday. The sun was shining and the sky was that perfect blue that only comes with spring time. We took a drive to a very special place with our son and soon to be daughter-in-love. I wanted to share some pictures with you.

This is where we ended up! An old restored home that has been turned into a bed and breakfast. Just picture this: lots of antiques, four poster beds with beautiful crocheted canopies, fireplaces, quilts, old chiming clocks, hardwood floors, silver tea services, fine china, claw foot tubs, and beautiful views. As you venture outside your eye is drawn to the beautiful gazebo. Can't you just imagine a young couple sharing their vows there?

Did y'all know that September is sure a pretty time of year in our state;) Now, I want you to think "southern!" I want you to imagine the name of a beautiful flower that grows in the south and then imagine another name (old fashioned) for a really large farm. If you put those two words together it sounds like the ideal place to have a beautiful Southern wedding! Wink,wink;) More to come!!