What contrasting pictures.... Santa brought Rock Band and XBox and I do believe we've played more gigs than most new bands since Christmas. I do know that I won't be an American Idol contestant any time soon. They are paying me 'not' to sing! The other pic is of the local library in Mt. Holly Springs. It is a most charming building. The inside is even more charming. Some day soon I must take the camera inside to get a few shots of the outstanding wood work. We spend alot of time here and love to be with books. Since my children have been small we attend many of the activities and always enjoy a great time. The woodwork in this building is awe inspiring. If you've never been here believe me it's worth just to get a peek of some old world charm. Thanks to Amelia Givens in her donations to the community many many years ago. Support your local library!
A special thanks today for my family. We were all together at Christmas even though it gets harder each year as we grow. We had great eats and a fantastic time together. Did anyone take notice the television wasn't even turned on!! Thanks to my Mom and Dad for providing their home and an endless supply of food. We played our family game again this year and it was a good time. Stacy wound up with the best gift of all. An emergency underware kit!!! Will it show up again on another year? Monica has become British and does a great job on her guitar. Thanks for sharing with us! I do believe that maybe she could've been the 5th Beatle! It was good to hear about Cortney, Cory and Nick's college days but I'm sure there's a few things they haven't shared with us! Samantha brought her charm and got the best gift of all from her Grandparents -- Beatle's Abbey Road poster! (she's such an old soul) Cody got a Nerf gun to get ready to be a hunter and Drew and Connor brought their great humor to share with us all. The gifts were all great but personally I think all of us would give up every gift just to have the gift of togetherness. We are so blessed and thank God for looking over us.
Happy Birthday today to Connor! 10!!! Connor is full of spunk and is always ready for any competition be it a ball game or tiddly winks. He's full of wit and the most charming little fellow I know. He can do the worst thing in the world and turn around and give you that cute little smile with those big eyes and get away with it all. I hope he always keeps that spunk and just loves life to the fullest. Did I mention he's a killer hockey player who loves baseball and shopping at Dickies?!!! --All the happiness in the world Connor!!
Merry Christmas to all. Got a pic together in about three minutes so I can spend time with my family. --We're all attempting to be Rock Stars!! Spent an evening with my extended family as I have all my life. We just keep growing and growing. Had an icy beginning to the day and saw my Japaneese maple tree that is normally red look a beautiful pink. Enjoy you day and hope you find the happiness and contentment that Christmas can bring.
This is the back porch at Kings Gap. Oh what a view! I've claimed this corner bedroom because of the open windows on two side of the room. It would be great to wake up there to the views of Cumberland County.
Christmas week is upon us. Stop and reflect on the real reason for all the celebrations. It was all so simple and we have made things much harder than they need to be. Click on "One Solitary Life" to enjoy a great tribute.
Some more pics from Kings Gap today. Many of the old bathroom fixtures are still being used. The sinks, the claw tubs and even the hanging toilet box. Much of the plumbing has been upgraded but they somehow still used some of the fixtures. This makes this place all the more remarkable. 
Almost every room has a fireplace. They make you feel warm and cozy but boy I wouldn't want to be the one hauling the wood in to burn. Today most of the fire places have fake burning logs but they still are quite spectaular. 
As we inch through December we've been reminded that Winter is now in control. Today the deep southern portion of the U.S also got a taste of that Wintery mix we all are familiar with in Pennsylvania. New Orleans enjoyed a coating of snow with some sleet and ice. It's hard to believe that there are many in the world whom never experienced the glee of what a fresh snow fall give you. My son who lives part time in NOLA told me he was surprised how excited everybody was about the precipitation. They were out having snow ball wars and simply being joyed in the days events. The last time New Orleans experienced snow was 2004 and before that you had to be there way back in 1989. Hey you know what? I think I would be excited too! Today's pic is of Jackson Square in downtown New Orleans. It sits by the Mississippi River and is close to all of the city action. The fleur-di-lis graces the pic also which is NOLA's symbol. Part of my heart constantly goes toward NOLA with my son being that connection. I never really had an interest to visit NOLA but now that I've experienced it's charm I admit I want to go back many more times to be a part of the wonderful culture that is so differnt from mine.
I remember when you'd sit sideways from a wall with a bright light shining on you and a piece of paper would be taped to the wall. What next? Someone would draw your outline and then cut it out of the paper. That's so manual!!! Have we really come much further in life? I've accomplished the same task in these pics from last year and this year but there still was some manual work. Technology. Don't you love it! Don't you hate it! The collages of my daughers activities throughout the year are put together so we can remember those special times we've lived in the past year. 
I do believe Winter has arrived. That was the 'hot' topic everywhere I ventured today. As was pointed out in Church this morning be thankful we don't live in Barrow, Alaska where currently it's -13 degrees and that's without the windchill factor! After all it is December and this makes you feel more like Christmas is close.
Today's pic is of my great-niece. I needed a different subject to try some new tactics on and I needed someone beautiful. She was giving me a 'big eyes' look that melts your heart.
Today I'm sharing two pics I find lovely. The first is a farm in Adams County and you can tell that it's well taken care of and offers quite a few picturesque opportunities. The second pic is at one of my most favorite places to escape to. Devil's Den in Gettysburg, PA. This picture is timeless in that it could've been taken a hundred years ago or yesterday. I sure hope a bride and groom has taken advantage of the beauty of this location at some point for some pretty awesome views.
Oh what a sketch. Learned some new techniques today. Of course it wasn't hard to find a good candidate to try it out on. I can see some places that could use improvement but hey what the heck it was fun and new. Every time I stretch myself to learn something new I discover there's another whole chapter to learn and follow. Of course I don't mean just working on a picture but with life in general. As I like to refer to it --it's called...If you give a Pig a Pancake.... As the book goes... "If you give a pig a pancake, she'll want some syrup to go with it. You'll give her some of your favorite maple syrup. She'll probably get all sticky, so she'll want to take a bath." You get the idea. Baths lead to bubbles, bubbles lead to rubber ducks, rubber ducks lead to wanting a trip to the farm. Or otherwise give an inch and you'll want a mile.. The book is written by Laura Numeroff -- look it up! There's so much to learn and not enough time to learn it all but I'm giving it a try!
...................Ooops forgot yet another month passed by. Retiring the November banner and pulling out Decembers'. December brings Winter, Christmas and even a few birthdays. The year is coming to a close and it feels like we were just getting started. Mr. Snowman to the side is actually a gourd. Just where does some people acquire their imaginations? What a clever idea and again I ask myself --why didn't I think of that? Growing up I thought gourds were only good for throwing at your brother when nobody was looking or for drying them out and shaking them to make a little music. The ones that had a handle made good maracas! Go make some music and be joyful!!! December's header is actually my tree along with a tree ornament. The nativity scene sits on my mantel. I thought I'd share a little from my house to yours.
Guess who's coming to town! I've made my lists and I'm checking it twice. The Christmas season is upon us. Today is the first day of Advent. It's the time to prepare to celebrate the gift that has been given to all of us. -The christ child. On the secular side it's a wide eyed time for children looking where Santa may be. In the past few years I've attempted to just find contentment in wherever and whatever I'm involved in. We are a blessed nation and have more than we could ever dream of but those dreams just keep on and on and on. May you all find your happiness and be wrapped in it this Christmas season.
This is One million dollars. When I was in Vegas this was in a glass vault for all to see and stop and think to oneself --Just what would I do if I was handed this.... What would you do? I'm sure like me your options change with the day and with whatever else is currently going on in your life. Me? I'd attempt to see the world right after I was totally out of debt. I'd head to Vienna, Austria first to see if I could start crossing things off my bucket list. Isn't it everyones dream to 'play the piano on a stage in Vienna'?? No? Oh well that's on 'my' bucket list and you need to make your own. Right after playing on stage I'd visit the city and check out some real architecture highlights. I'd then head upstream on the Danube then return and head down stream to Budapest. After I get off the river I'd head over to Saltzburg. --Yeah I like to dream do you?
We had a great Thanksiving Day. The whole family was together and everyone at one time or the other was laughed at or rather laughed with. Of course we had to do a yearly picture of the grandchildren to the moans of the boys and to the many poses of the girls. In the end it came out great. It was a tough time sitting still on the rocks and the air had a chill that made us get this pose very quickly. I'm quite sure their grandparents and parent appreciate every moment. We missed having Kathy and Ashley from Massachusetts with us this year but Kathy got a great tour of Italy instead so I'm sure it didn't hurt quite as much. There was more than enough to eat and now we're all on diets --at least until the next meal! Thanks again to Mom and Dad for having us all home. What a blessing my family is to me. --and cute!!!!
Another holiday to get together and eat and drink and find out what we all have been up to lately. We have a Thanksgiving Eve get-together for a pot-pie dinner. Every year is filled with laughs and tales of the past year. All the kids are home with a friend or two and we just enjoy one another. Thanks to my sister for allowing us to take over her home and we hope it's put back together when we leave. We have family, and in-laws and out-laws and extended family and friends and maybe even a few strangers join in but over all it's just plain fun and worth a few good belly laughs to melt all those calories away!
It's been a long 3+ months since Cory has been home. He made it home very late last night to a reception at the airport. Waiting those last minutes for him to arrive goes on and on and on.... I was ready to get him something to eat even if it was after midnight. What a feeling it is to have my family all under one roof again. 
Happy Birthday Samantha! Sam you are! You are Sam!! Fourteen years have gone by since that blessed day when I received a beautiful 4 pound bundle. She has grown into a sensational young lady with a charming personality. She 'jumps' for joy every chance she gets and is always ready with a smile for whatever lies ahead. She loves her music and reading and sports and who can top her in shopping! I look forward to always seeing her smile and being part of her world.
When you take a snapshot and get it loaded onto the computer an instinct to attempt to make the picture look better sets in. Sometimes though there's no reason to touch it and let it be. Here are three pics I believe are the utmost in colors I find intriguing. The blues and the greens in the first pic are pure. The second picture of the rainbow takes me back to Science class. "Roy G. Biv" Do you remember him? --Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet. I could've changed the mid tones or the contrast or sharpen things up but hey I like it just the way it is...!
