Best Christmas Present !

A new grandchild is born! As I have heard said, We are over the moon! 

                                 We love you.

Starting to Decorate

It's beginning to look like Christmas.

                                              

Our Thanksgiving Table

 This was my first post blogging last year! It was just out there in the blogsphere because I did not know about blog parties then and how to meet blogger friends. So I am repeating my tablescape from last year. We won't be having anyone over this year but will have Thanksgiving with my husband's family and my sister's family. We get two meals!

English game set acquired at Brimfield Antique Show 
Francisian crystal
Buttercup Sterling by Gorham
Chargers-Wal Mart
Placemats, napkins, and napkin rings- Bed, Bath and Beyond


May the Lord Bless and Keep you. May He make His face to shine upon you and give you peace. Happy Thanksgiving 2010.

Monet's Garden at Giverny

Counting My Blessings

          As we approach Thanksgiving I am so aware of all God's blessings. This post shows another aspect of our anniversary trip for which I am very grateful.

Claude Monet's home in Giverny. After viewing a documentary about the Impressionists (available from Netflix) actually visiting his home made a lasting impression on me. Many  of his paintings were displayed and the furnishings left me wishing to have more time there.                                                              

You can see the dining room curtains in this photo. The dining room and kitchen were my favorite rooms and I was disappointed they did not allow photos made inside the home. Pressed for space in our suitcase and weight limitations I did not purchase a book about the house from the bookstore and now wish I had photos of the rooms to share. The kitchen and dining rooms were so striking decorated in yellow and  blue. The kitchen was incredible! Blue and white tiles went to the ceiling and were breathtaking. I do not know this to be true but with Monet being an artist I am guessing he had something to do with the design of those pretty tiles. A rack of copper pots and pans took up an entire wall and I also noticed an authentic farm sink. 

Views of the garden.

I understand the gardens are always flowering with something and are most colorful May through July. Our visit was in September and I was not disappointed. It was beautiful. Colorful iron arches carry your eye down a long allee that is striking. You only can see a portion of one of the arches here.

Thanksgiving Blessings

Fall is so pleasant with cooler temperatures, beautiful leaves, pumpkins, and fall mums.

Notice our pet lizard posing on the wreath. 

Just finished planting pansies, parsley, kale and dianthus.

Foyer vignette.

 Family memories from Thanksgiving 2009.
Eagerly anticipating another addition to our family this December. 

September in London

London is a fabulous city, however, it was crowded everywhere.

Sunday Roast at the Salisbury.

Westminster Abbey's Sunday service was for me the highlight of our trip. The magnificent surroundings and beautiful music brought tears from my heart as I experienced worship like never before. It was truly incredible.

I've heard so much about Porto Bello Road and the wonderful antiques. Well, we went to Porto Bello Road along with thousands of other people but never saw the antiques. We were at the food market end of Porto Bello Road. I should have asked more questions. I did buy a pretty silk scarf there.

Food markets at Porto Bello Road.

Aren't these children adorable? I wanted to capture everyday life as I observed people.

 Scenes from the river cruise along the Thames River. Incredibly beautiful and exciting.

The sightseeing buses are nice to ride to get an overview of the city. You can get off and on whenever you like.
St Paul's Cathedral was an awesome experience. Seeing the painting of Jesus entitled," The Light of the World ", was an overwhelmingly awesome experience. You were allowed to take pictures without a flash but I lost many of my pictures when an error occurred as I downloaded my pictures onto my computer. I do regret deleting them from my camera. Live and Learn!
This was an unexpected moment I could not resist. As we were touring St Paul's we saw a wedding party posing for pictures. I was so touched by the groom's attentiveness to his bride. He lifted her onto the niche and gently smoothed out her gown very carefully only for the photographer to change his mind having him lift her off the alcove niche to repeat the arduous rearranging of her gown. As you can see she was very beautiful. All the wedding party was dressed so nicely I could not help but stare and wanted to snap more pictures. I felt as if I were intruding even across the room so I did not. I recognized the mother of the bride and groom and they wore hats to beat the band. Just like royalty and I guess to be married in St. Paul's Cathedral you have to be special. I was blown away by the moment.

You can get caught up in all the excitement in Trafalgar Square quite easily. It has the same effect on you like Times Square in New York. Day or night there are people speaking every language imaginable. 

The National Portrait Gallery. None of the museums in London charge admission.  You could spend days in each one. My brain was on overload the entire time but it was so exciting to experience!

The National Portrait Gallery is so beautiful and as we strolled through viewing the portraits we realized something exciting was going on. We felt fortunate to take advantage of a violin and piano concert performing selections from Brahms. After the performance, we decided to check out the wonderful view on the top floor of the Gallery. We were not disappointed.

This is the spectacular view from the restaurant at the top of the National Portrait Gallery. We wanted to have dinner there but had not made a reservation and they were having a special event.  I can imagine how wonderful it would be to leisurely have dinner and look out at everything at Trafalgar Square and take in the night views.

Pub food in London is very good and after walking all day you enjoy the Fish and chips for  lunch or dinner with no guilt.  

I thought it would bother me to be so high but the London Eye turns so slowly and you feel secure in the large capsule. Seeing Buckingham Palace, all the crowds along the Thames enjoying a concert, and all the major sites in London was a thrill.

The view was incredible! You could see for miles and it was so exciting to recognize landmarks.

Although we had been to Buckingham Palace before it was still a thrill to observe the changing of the guard again. I could not help but think about Charles and Diana's wedding when the royal family came out on the balcony as well as other historical times when the family appeared and waved to the people.

Our 39th-anniversary trip will never be forgotten.  I've skipped around sharing pictures on my blog in no special order. I am still smiling. It has been a month since we were on our trip but we still are talking about it. I have many more pictures to share.

I am joining Laura for Wayfaring Wednesday.

Birthday Rack of Lamb

My husband's birthday supper while visiting our daughter's family. Rack of lamb, sweet potatoes, purple fingerling potatoes, golden beets, sweet onion with thyme and rosemary lamb jus. We enjoyed shopping at the new Earth Fare for the organic vegetables. Birthday cake was from the Best of Chocolate cookbook.  Everything was wonderful!

I think they seasoned the lamb with  just salt and pepper. The lamb was bought at Costco. 
Grilled to perfection by our son-in-law on his green egg!
Hope this makes the fishing better. Thanks to all the family. Wish everyone could have been here.
Happy Birthday Grangraddy! 

Don't know what is up with Blogger. One pic is large and all the others are smaller. I edited the Html the same. Oh well!

Joining Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday.

Cappuccino & Espresso in Paris

Lauduree Tea Salon on the Champs Elysees was on my" must go to list" after reading so much about it from Vicki Archer's blog French Essence. 

Rue Cler is a wonderful street in Paris with lovely shops, open air produce stands, fresh fish and flower markets, and patisseries.  It was a pleasant cool morning to enjoy croissants and cappuccino as we observed daily life on this quaint pedestrian street.
After walking for hours but loving every minute touring the Musee d' Orsay we enjoyed one of those long Paris lunches at Le Royal Orsay Cafe. When my husband asked for the "l'addition, s'il vous plait," the delightful waiter asked if we wanted a small bill or a large bill. Naturally my husband said a small bill so the waiter folded the ticket into a tiny piece of paper and handed it to him. It was funny and we all enjoyed laughing.  He posed for a picture and also took a picture of us. I can't help but wonder if he had done the same thing before.

I am joining Michael's fun party at Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday.

Lake District Scenery-ENGLAND

Beatrix Potter's home used for movie "Miss Potter" starring Renee Zellweger. They would not allow photographs inside her home and I was disappointed about that. The home had beautiful antiques but the most interesting observation was how dark the inside of the home was. If you have not seen the movie it is very good.

I saw more sheep on this day than I have seen in my entire life. They were so beautiful. Everything was so green and healthy.

There are many lakes in this area.

Our tour stopped at this spot and I made pictures of people enjoying the beautiful day.

I made a picture of this house because the flowers were so pretty!

You can see the snow covered mountain top in the distance.

I am joining Susan for Outdoor Wednesday .

Just met Laura from Happy Homemaker in the UK and enjoyed her post about Beatrix Potter. Check out her September 29 post here.