A birthday, too....

Many things come in sets of twelve....12 inches make a foot, 12 months make a year, 12 eggs make a dozen, a dozen roses, a dozen doughnuts....but the sweetest "set of twelve" is Munchkin the Younger who celebrated her 12th birthday on the 14th of this month.

Here is some blow torch action on her choice of birthday cake....

City Girl assisted Muncho Mom the night before with the graham cracker preparation.  Then, a layer of chocolate is added before scooping in softened chocolate ice cream! 

There were two of these delicious offerings prepared.   The one pictured above had vanilla with caramel swirl ice cream.

This is the version with chocolate ice cream....S'mores Ice Cream Cake!

The aftermath of the present opening!  It was such a merry time!

Is there anyone who would like to be twelve again?

These August days....

In a month with no holidays, The Husband and I set our wedding date for the 16th.  It has been 49 years ago now, and we celebrated this year with a trip to Mount Airy, NC.

We recommend this bed and breakfast!  First courses at breakfast were these....

 Vanilla yogurt with diced apple and a banana nut muffin....

Poached pear with a lemon poppyseed muffin.  These were only the first courses!

A walk down Main Street presented many opportunities, one of them to experience Barney's!

 Unfortunately, Barney was not in the building on this day....

....but that is a delicious chocolate milk shake inside that lovely pink glass! 

We didn't go in to see Floyd.  There was a sign on the window that states that they will no longer be giving shaves.

Bristol, VA, home of the Burger Bar, provided this treat while we were enroute!  This is a Plain Jane hamburger with delicious onion rings.  The fries were tasty, too!

 The Old North State Winery and Restaurant offered this amazing Vegetable Flat Bread!

Oh, dear!  Why do our excursions seem to focus so much on food?

Summer's activity....

Summer can often become very busy, sometimes without our help.😄

For instance, today I've been very busy trying to post this on my blog!  I keep losing my attempts, although I click on "save" each time!  So, this may wind up being a series of picture with no details. Sort of a "make up your own story" deal.

And....there you have it! From The Harvest Table in Meadowview, VA all the way through the Turquoise Table gathering at our house this morning.  Trying this one more time!

Breakfast

On this lovely July morning, it seemed to be the perfect time to take breakfast outdoors!  

There were ten here on Saturday night for pizza!  Of course, there are no pictures!  Seems that I find myself too preoccupied to remember to take any!  

Earlier, the skies were full of small, white, puffy clouds.  Now, gray is appearing, and there may be a chance of rain.  I'm so happy I have been able to be outside before the rain!

A birthday

Happy birthday to Beatrix Potter!

Her presence has been in our family for a long time!

Voting

I just recently learned that my state - Tennessee - ranks at the very bottom in voter turnout! That is not a distinction that brings a feeling of pride! 

We have early voting here.....

This tells you what we did earlier today!  Be sure you exercise your right to vote!!

Saturday

Ready for Breakfast at Wimbledon!  Sending out encouragement for Serena!

Busy times....

As is the case for many of you, times can become very busy!  That isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially if the time is filled with enjoyable activities.

If you have followed this blog for awhile, you are aware of my involvement in United Methodist Women.  I have once again volunteered to be a group leader for Mission u for our Conference this summer, and that meant going for training.

Last year, my training was in Pittsburgh, but this year I was able to go to Nashville! Our site was the Scarritt-Bennett Center, right in downtown Nashville.

 Such a simple signage indicating the Center's location.

There is quite a history to Scarritt-Bennett.  When I graduated from college, this is where I would have come had I decided to pursue graduate work in Christian education.

This is the entrance to the dining hall.  I was fortunate that the dorm in which I stayed was right next door!

 This is the dormitory where I stayed.  My room was the last two windows right under that beautiful architectural bay feature!

The rooms were simple, though very adequate.  There is a shared bath between two rooms.

All buildings were constructed with crab orchard stone, an easily obtainable material in the area.  The campus has been given National Historic designation, so the beauty will not be destroyed for what is called "modern day improvements."

Scarritt Bennett is available for use to other groups, as long as they are able to fulfill this requirement.

This was only one of the UMW activities for the recent past.  More will follow.

Going backwards.....

Let's go backwards for just a couple or three days. There are a few things to pass along....things like those hot cross buns....

These have become a Good Friday tradition.

Some of them even made the trip to see Pebbles, a special bunny!

Pebbles is a special pet for Munchkin the Younger, and she truly adds that special touch at Easter!
It was great to be able to spend this special day with Muncho Mom and family!

These are just two of the many pictures of events since I posted in early February.  As every photo has a story, there will be more to come!

All good things....

Well, it would be good if vacations could last longer....if it is an enjoyable time, that is.

Love these word on a plaque the owners had hanging on the wall in the breezeway.

Of course, one thing I love about being at the beach is the great opportunity to enjoy fresh seafood!  My choice for one night was this Oyster Po'Boy! Delicious!

....and then it was time to leave.😞The elevation of this bridge coming onto Edisto Island is higher, but I was driving then, so there's no picture.  We were crossing the Intra-Coastal Atlantic Waterway.

The route continues....

....showing how very near the marshland is....

...and how low that wall seems to be to me!

Don't you just wish you could bottle up all these unforgettable experiences and revisit them at will?  It is so very important to make the most of the time we have!

There is more....

One of the things we did while vacationing on Edisto Island, SC was to explore a bit on Botany Bay.

A memorial stone to honor those who cared for this area.

It was such a peaceful setting.

Marking the spot. The Country Couple rode their bikes all around!

As we walked out to the beach area.

We actually were walking where the ocean is at high tide!

Yes, I actually had my feet in the water!

It was a beautiful day; seemed like one could see forever!

 

 

We did enjoy a "car picnic" at Mrs. Pepper's Oak!

This isn't all!  More to come!

Last week....

Hello, friends!

Last week, we had the opportunity to vacation - with all the family - at Edisto Island, SC! Great fun for all of us, and I want to share some pictures with you.

Crossing the state line into South Carolina....

Arriving at the house where we stayed....

My first picture of the ocean....

Some of the houses viewed from the beach; love those white puffy clouds!

The sunset one evening; lovely weather for us, thankfully.

The ocean was a bit rougher for this one. Are you able to see the boat out on the water? It seemed to me to be a rather small boat going across those active waves!

Showing the tide coming in that same evening.

It was such a special time as all the family cleared calendars and came!  There will be more about this trip....and all the other things of the past few months as well.  I've lots of pictures!😊