Some time away....

Happy Friday to everyone!  Do you anticipate the arrival of a Friday in the week?  It brings about a change of pace for some people who are looking forward to some different week-end plans.  We recently took some time away, but not on the week-end.  Our little getaway was during the week!

Has anyone else been here?

For our anniversary (back in August), the "children" gave us a Groupon for some time at Boone Tavern in Berea, KY.  There was, of course, some "fine print" on the Groupon, plus we have had a very busy schedule in the past few months.  We finally got away this week.

Pointing the way.

The Boone Tavern is located at the campus of Berea College, a small college with approximately 1,600 enrolled currently.  All the students do some kind of work to help finance their college education.

Entrance for guests to register.

The Boone Tavern was originally built in 1909.  One hundred years later, in 2009, the hotel underwent major renovation, becoming the first green hotel in the state of Kentucky!

Porch on the side.

The temperature was not very warm when we were there, so there were not any guests enjoying the rocking chairs on this porch.

The staff could not have been any nicer!  If you want an idea for a place to head for some time away, consider the Boone Tavern!

Whatever you have planned for the week-end, I hope you will find it time to recharge for what is coming next week!  :-)

Thank you for reading.  I appreciate your comments.

One week from today....

Happy Thursday to everyone!  Do you realize that one week from today is actually Thanksgiving Day?  Time is really flying by!

I have shared some of my Thanksgiving books with you earlier.  Today I want to share another one, particularly trying to show the work of the artist.

Newell Convers Wyeth was born in 1882, the first of three generations of an extraordinary family of artists.  He admired the work of Henry David Thoreau and studied under Howard Pyle.  His first published illustration appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post in 1903.  However, his most famous illustrations were for children's classics such as Treasure Island, Robin Hood, The Last of the Mohicans, and Rip Van Winkle.  Less known are Wyeth's murals which he painted for a wide variety of clients.

In 1940, Wyeth was asked to create a series of murals for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in New York.  It is from this series that the illustrations for this book were taken.

Wyeth challenged the existing notions of Pilgrim society as being severe by depicting the pleasures and beauty of the colony.

Many of us are probably in the midst of our own Thanksgiving preparations.  In all our "busyness," let's remember to enjoy the beauty around us!  We have much for which to be thankful!

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

Assisting with Veterans Day....

Happy Wednesday to you!  I know this post is a bit "after the fact," but it is always a good day to remember our veterans and their service to our country.

This is the tenth school year of my retirement.  A fellow retired teacher returns to our school to help plan a special program honoring the veterans who have a connection with the school.  She enlists some of us to assist, and that is where I headed at 6:40 on Monday morning!  Yikes!  That is really early for this retiree!:-)

Name tags for attendees!

More names.

Two tables had this covering.

It was my job to welcome veterans and see that they had their name tags.  Then, Boy and Girl Scouts were on hand to escort the veterans to their proper location. 

The program was really good, with music performed by the local middle school orchestra, and a speech given by a local TV news anchor.  I was really glad I began my day early in my red, white, and blue just to have a chance to show appreciation to this great group of veterans!

Thank you for reading.  I appreciate your comments.

Adult day care....

Are you having a good Tuesday thus far?  The weather is certainly doing some strange things across the United States this season.  I hope conditions will be good today wherever you are.

I have had several posts about the adult day care at our church during the past week.  This is a program that has been in existence for just about seven years, and most of the participants have dementia or some sort of memory issues.  Whatever menu I might choose would not seem repetitious to them.  Then there are a few who come for the socialization opportunity.  Sadly, the lunch I served to one of these participants last Tuesday was the last I would serve for her, as she passed away just this past Friday.

It takes special people to staff this program, and I personally think we have the best!

As part of the fund-raising to support this program, there was a special event this past Sunday evening.  Some entertainment - this time a "jug band" and a well-known local television host known for his storytelling ability - and a silent auction were on the program!

From the Silent Auction!

This arrangement found a perfect spot in my house! 

How about you?  Do you ever attend Silent Auctions?  Do you ever bid - and win?

Thank you for reading.  I appreciate your comments.

Not only cooking....

This is more than likely a very busy time for most of you as you are probably making plans for when you are going to take care of the cooking duties that may be your responsibility in about a week and a half.  Be sure to take time to "smell the roses" or, in this case, enjoy some seasonal reading.

Two of a larger collection.

One for children - and one for me!:-)

The familiar song in a book!

Busy time here, so this is short.  More about that in another post.  I hope your week is off to a good beginning!

Thank you for reading.  I appreciate  your comments.

Good to follow....

I recently found these words.....

          "Blessed is the one who is too busy to worry in the daytime 

                    and too sleepy to worry at night."

                                                               Anonymous

Then, this quote from the Bible -

               "Do not be anxious about anything......."

                                                    Philippians 4:6  NIV

Have a blessed, peaceful Sunday!

The star of the show....

Good Saturday morning to you!  Do you have any special plans for the day?  We are hoping to watch some football on TV.:-)  UT and Missouri will play around noon, and the game is to be televised.  This has not been an outstanding season for the Vols.:-(  We are hoping they win today!

The "star of the show" that I mentioned, though, has nothing to do with football.  I'm talking about the turkey that will take center stage on many tables this month.  While we have our family gathering on Thanksgiving Day, I know there are many of you who have Thanksgiving celebrations planned at other times. 

Turkey will be part of our Thanksgiving Day meal; however, I have spotted a few turkeys already parading through the house!

Waiting for "the bird."

Waiting for the gravy!

How about some Chocolate Cream Cheese Turkey Mints?

Keeping an eye on the goings-on in the kitchen.

Supervising reading time.

Ready with a cheery "gobble-gobble" greeting.

Some mantle decor.

Through the years, we have enjoyed turkey in different ways.  We have found that the simplest preparation is the best for us.  As most of us prefer the white meat, I plan to buy only a turkey breast, actually two of them.  While fresh ones are available in our area, we will go with frozen.  Also, I plan to use the slow-cooker/crockpot to prepare our turkey.  I will use sage and rosemary from our herb garden and will probably add an onion along with some carrots for flavor.   On Wednesday night I will plug in the two crockpots, and the turkey will be ready by morning.  We plan to have our meal at noon.  For us, the most important aspect of the day will be gathering with family!  Our times together are far too infrequent!

Thank you for reading.  I appreciate your comments.