How Does Your Garden Grow?

First and last sighting of a bluebird.

A snowstorm that left us with 3 inches of snow followed by rain which turned everything into a sheet of ice.

The gnomes seem happy

and Erich doesn't seem to be bothered by the ice and snow.

I refilled the front and back bird feeders

Seems the ice is holding the greenhouse panels in place

Snowbirds foraging in the bushes under the window

caught Calli's attention. Isn't her little, snowball head so cute?

How does your garden grow?

Happy, Little, Time Waster

 

Mozart Group: The Difference Between a Fiddle and a Violin

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. I went with Himself to pick up the rental car so Moose could go into the shop. I was going to drive Moose home. I caught Himself in time just as he was pulling out of the parking lot to give me the keys to Moose.

2. I finished organizing the pantry

3. I think I saw a bluebird at the feeder

4. Play day with Teague started with breakfast at Beyond Full in Hopedale. The Cinnamon French Toast was amazing.

5. An urgent care visit turned out to be a mini Holy Cross reunion for Himself. The doctor who treated him recognized Himself. Had asked where he went to school. And then asked Himself if he knew 2 of his classmates. They lived across the hall from Himself and his roommate. The doctor was a year behind Himself's class and lives in the same town as us. Small world. 

How was your week?

Retirement Card

 

I made a card for a friend that will be semi-retired. I followed an exercise from Lindsay Ostrom's Creative Hand Lettering Book. The exercise called Writer's Block, required dividing your paper into blocks and using different hand lettering. You wrote a word or made a doodle and then rotated your paper a quarter turn. That way some of your writing would be upside-down, side-ways, or the right way up.

I wrote things one could do in one's "free time". Like going to lunch sleeping late, watching the clouds. Just a fun way to acknowledge the next phase of her life.

Whatcha Doin?

 

Today, I'm the chauffeur. I'm driving people to and from doctor's appointments and work. Whatcha doin?

T Stands for Christmas at the Wayside Inn - Part 1

Just after the New Year, I had a play day with Teague. I wanted to go to the Wayside Inn for lunch. We've visited the Inn many times before. Over 300 years of history and the oldest operating inn on one of the oldest roads in the country.

When we got there, I was happy to see the Christmas decorations were still up. The front entrance was beautifully decorated.

The wreath reminded me of Della Robbia sculptures of fruit. The pineapple is a typical New England motif for welcome. 

Christmas tree in the main lobby

Dining reservations desk. Just to the left you can get a peek into the Tap Room, now called the Little Dining Room. The Tap Room is cozy (i.e small) and less formal in decor than the main dining room. That table that you can see

was the table we were seated at. For my beverage, I had my  usual unsweetened iced tea with lemon.

I liked how the wreath hung outside the window cast a shadow.

We both ordered the Thanksgiving Turkey Panini. Roast turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mayo on a panini roll. Served with French fries, and a pickle relish. The last time we were at the Inn, we ordered this sandwich, but it was the most popular item on the menu that day and they ran out. 

Sadly, the sandwich and the service was disappointing considering how expensive the menu is. A basket of bread and muffins was placed on the table and all were stone cold. Not even heated up in the microwave.

The sandwich wasn't worth the wait. The turkey, real turkey, was dry, and the sandwich needed more cranberry sauce. The French fries were good.

The picture over the fireplace has the initials of member of the Howe family that ran the inn from 1716 to 1861. Henry Ford purchased the Inn in 1923, and was the last private owner.

Most of the decor is charming, rustic Americana.

Part of the Inn could use a face-lift.

A charming, primitive painting of the Inn and surrounding countryside with the chapel and the grist mill. I couldn't find the provenance of the painting and don't know the name of the artist.

In all the time's we have visited the Inn, we never knew there was a small museum on the second floor. Teague found a small sign in the lobby as we were leaving.

A room set up as it would have been in the 1700s. You would share the room and perhaps the bed with other travelers. A sign indicated that you could ask the Innkeeper if you could share the bed with the Innkeepers wife. How about that for a belly warmer?

Next week, part 2.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

A Matter of Perspective

 Himself's youngest brother's wife came for a visit to pick up seeds that Himself wouldn't be using in his garden this year.

The conversation turned to her hobby which is hiking. She has been hiking portions of the Appalachian Trail. The trail stretches 2200 miles from Georgia through Maine in the Appalachian Mountains.

She told us that a few years ago, she would see lots of women hiking the trail by themselves. 

"I saw one elderly woman on the trail." she said, "She had to be at least 70. And I thought, you go, girl!"

"J, elderly? I'm 68. I'll be 69 this Summer." J is 10 years younger than I am.

"Oh, wait, she had to be at least 80"

"Good save"