The Little Birds Are Urging Me

Hiding in the Mountains

2012-05-09T15:57:00.000-07:00

A few memories from our week at Hidden Mountain Resort in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee ....

We stayed in this development .... our house is the one all the way to the top right

Dining area, where we enjoyed breakfast together each morning

Scrapple for breakfast .... these packages traveled all the way from Maryland to Tennessee

the living room area ....

enjoying a few relaxing moments on the porch

the view from our porch

a gazebo area near the offices of Hidden Mountain Resort

another view of the development where we stayed ... again, our house is all the way to the top right

a robin admiring herself in a car mirror

The Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant ... my sister Betty's favorite place to dine ...

The Old Mill Restaurant .... our second favorite place

Driving through Cade's Cove ... looking for wildlife

we found lots of flowers ...

... and we tried to photograph each one

Bonnie, David, Betty, Keith ......

"What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories."

~George Eliot

(click photos to enlarge)

... And You Get There In a Car

2012-04-23T14:49:00.002-07:00

My sister Bonnie and her husband David and I recently traveled to Pigeon Forge, TN to vacation with my sister Betty and her husband Keith at their favorite spot in the Smoky Mountains. Here are a few memories from our drive there. I'll break the vacation up into more than one post because of the number of pictures .... (click photos to enlarge for better views. I didn't do much editing of these photos ... only what was available through Picasa).

.... everything is somewhere else, and you get there in a car

.... it rained the entire way down to Tennessee. But the redbud trees were in full bloom and they made the drive beautiful

.... a brief stop at Luray Caverns, where Gary and I went on our honeymoon more than forty years ago

... redbud trees in bloom just outside the Luray Caverns entrance

... who can resist photographing a little girl admiring a little dog?

... to pass the time in the vehicle, I enjoy taking pictures of houses (through the windshield) ... we had a very brief respite from the rain

my dream car .... some day! (sigh)

Bonnie and David .... taken at a rest stop somewhere in Virginia

... rest stop blossoms

Tennessee ..... yay! (and it was STILL raining)

Hurrah! The offices of Hidden Mountain Resort, less than a mile from our final destination!

(to be continued)

An Afternoon in Ocean City

2012-04-14T05:53:00.000-07:00

A few moments from our early-March stroll down the Ocean City Boardwalk ...

Early March in Ocean City ..... so very different than the way things will look come June, when the summer season begins in earnest.

Small Treasures

2012-02-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

a sweet bear mug I bought at a Hallmark store several years ago .... you may remember there was a line of cards that matched

a chipped coffee cup I bought at an antique mall on one of my trips to SC to visit my parents ... couldn't pass it up, even though it was chipped .... pretty to look at, even if it can't be used

coffee creamer I found at a local antique shop for $6 .... I love the roses

more roses .... I found this one on ebay about ten years ago when I was going through a "roses" stage ... I store small pieces of jewelry in it

Isn't it fun, the way each individual piece holds it own special memories in your heart? You look at it and are instantly taken back to a moment in time.

A Slice of Life

2012-02-22T05:41:00.000-08:00

a few random shots taken in my living room ...

Victoria Lynn, atop my reading chair, lit by the floor lamp ....

looking soft and precious on the rug

Sarah Lee has become enamored with sleeping on pillows .... this is one of her normal "I don't care" looks

The chair where Victoria was sitting in the first photo .... a pillow in place for when Sarah wants to sleep. This is where I sit to read. The chair does not match my living room decor, so I have it covered with a bedskirt (which you can't see here) and a white blanket. I didn't try to pretty it up for the picture. Was just sitting on the sofa with camera in hand and liked the way the area was lit by the floor lamp.

I just like the details

lace curtains, again lit by the floor lamp ....

a small section of the bookshelf where I store my Amy Carmichael and Elizabeth Prentiss books

Source: thelittleexistence.tumblr.com via Frances on Pinterest

thank you so much for visiting

The Fall ...

2012-02-16T11:09:00.000-08:00

Directly across the road from the old barns in my last posting was this old abandoned and crumbling church. It sits beside a lovely river, just looking sad.

Sometimes when I see old churches in this condition, I wonder if this is a reflection of what God sees in much of "the church" today ....

"Search me, O God, and know my heart"

(Psalm 139:23)

http://mht.maryland.gov/nr/NRDetail.aspx?HDID=142&FROM=NRMapTA.html
info on this church

What the Heart Sees ....

2012-02-15T08:42:00.000-08:00

Gary and I took a short ride one day last week and ended up on some of the back roads around Easton. The highlight of that trip was this old barn complex. I surely would have loved to have gotten closer. I took these pictures while walking along the edge of a deep ditch on a fairly busy road. I wonder what people think as they are driving along a roadway and see a not-so-young woman trying to maneuver her way along a ditch and stopping every few feet to point a camera at some old buildings. These are not the best pictures in the world, but they do look a little better if you click on them and view them larger.

I love those two silos with the open windows at the top. And I love the cupula on the barn all the way to the left.

I wonder if growing up on a farm makes me love things like this even more than I normally would?

"sometimes the heart sees what's invisible to the eye"

(Alfred Tennyson)

For Love of Hearts

2012-02-10T06:53:00.000-08:00

It's Friday, and I'm linking up with Kati for Photo Friday (the Hearts edition). Kati challenged us to find photos of hearts in unexpected places. Here are two of mine:

Gary often volunteers to run to the grocery store for me when I need just a few items (one of the many things I love about his retirement). Upon returning home on one of his recent outings, he presented me with this heart-shaped potato. How sweet. Have you ever discovered love in the midst of grocery shopping?

Last Autumn, we made a trip to Bethlehem, PA to visit the old Bethlehem Steel Plant. While walking the grounds, I spotted this heart in the midst of a rusty pillar.

“Love is not written on paper, for paper can be erased. Nor is it etched on stone, for stone can be broken. But it is inscribed on a heart and there it shall remain forever."

Thanks, Kati, for hosting Photo Friday. Here is a link so you can visit Kati and see the heart she has captured ....

Love each other deeply, with all your heart.

(1 Peter 1:22)

Polka Dots, Ruffles and Roses

2012-02-07T15:39:00.000-08:00

I'm loving these Martha Stewart polka dot cupcake papers, available at Michael's. I haven't filled them yet because once I fill them, I will be like this:

“On Saturday, she ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice-cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake, and one slice of watermelon.

That night she had a stomach ache.”
― Eric Carle, The Very Hungry Caterpillar
(I took license to change the "he" in the original quote to a "she")

Pink, Yellow, Polka Dots, Ruffles, Roses, Daffodils, Hollyhocks, Butterflies, Yellow Dresses, Teacups .... I think I could have a tea party!

And ... oh my word ... you have to check out Pinterest !!! (smile)
(there's a link on my sidebar)

The first time ever I saw his face ...

2012-02-02T05:42:00.000-08:00

dear little feet

dear little hands

dear little face

dear little boy

Mason David Phillips

Born November 14, 2011

Mason is my sister Georgia's grandson .... born to her daughter Darlene and Darlene's husband, David

(my very first experience photographing a baby)

click photos to enlarge

Clouds

2012-01-23T06:38:00.000-08:00

Just a beautiful scene that greeted our eyes on a recent Sunday afternoon while traveling the back country roads, heading toward Dagsboro. It was one of those days when the clouds were wondrous.

(a sweet illustration by Susan Beatrice Pearce, from one of my vintage children's books)

Try not to fall out of your cart as you go about your chores this week.

thank you for visiting

frances

When No One Else Was Watching

2012-01-19T11:29:00.000-08:00

How sweet to be softly walking in a garden on a summer day and to have your eyes alight upon a dear young robin .... his mother was discovered a few minutes later on a bench nearby.

“For a long time she flew, only when she thought no one else was watching.”
― Brian Andreas

you are so kind to visit .... thank you

frances

Greenness

2012-01-16T20:37:00.000-08:00

Who would have thought my shrivl'd heart
Could have recover'd greenness?

(George Herbert ... 1600's)

Gary and I sometimes walk the wooded pathways at Winterplace Park. These ferns were spotted last Spring. I love their vibrant green.

thank you for visiting ....

frances

Some Wildflower in my Heart

2012-01-14T08:05:00.000-08:00

In the midst of the winter bleakness, I am going through old photos searching for color.

(click photos to enlarge for better viewing)

Gifts from the Wildwood

I know not how to capture
This fragrant wildwood's rapture,
The magic of these dells
Where silent beauty dwells,
Where noble strength and power
in oak and pine tree tower.
But when from these I come,
I hope to carry home
Some spirit not yet had
To keep me strong and glad,
Something from oak and pine
To be forever mine;
When from these woods I part,
Some wildflower in my heart. *

(Archibald Rutledge)

*this poem is the inspiration for the title of one of my all-time favorite books, entitled "Some Wildflower in my Heart" by Jamie Langston Turner.

read about the book here

you are so kind to vist .... thank you

frances

Things I've Seen Along the Way ....

2012-01-13T06:09:00.000-08:00

a horse softly grazing at a market on Rt. 50 near Hebron ... the market includes an Amish bakery

little chicks, at the same market

a unique mailbox found along a country road

windmill, against a beautiful sky

a common view from my front window .... "whatever you find to do, do it with all your might"

(photos look much better if you click to enlarge them)

I'm linking up with Kati for Photo Friday ....

Wishing everyone a sweet weekend ...

thank you for visiting ...

frances

Send in the clowns ...

2012-01-09T12:38:00.000-08:00

(my photo, with added textures .... a new winter treasure discovered at Marshall's .... for some reason, he spoke to me .... I think it was the vintage feel, reminding me of childhood Christmases)

Friday Pretties

2012-01-06T08:29:00.000-08:00

To see individual photo links, visit here

and here

Two more mosaics I created from my Favorites folder in Flickr. Photos by my Flickr friends.

Do you want to try making a collage? Go here. It's fun.

Happy Friday .... thank you for visiting!

frances

Take my hand and lead me to Salvation

2012-01-05T06:38:00.000-08:00

"Come with me
Where chains will never bind you
All your grief at last at last behind
you."

(Les Miserables)

I belong to a group on Flickr called "Things I Love Thursdays," where I put together mosaics highlighting photos from my Favorites folder, which holds pictures posted by my Flickr friends. I try to make each mosaic portray a story or emotion. This one is for any who have ever been enchained in soul or spirit. You can view each individual photo here .

"And withal consider how in all these trials, your Lord hath been loosing you at the root from perishing things, and hunting after you to grip your soul."

(Samuel Rutherford)

From Our House to Yours ....

2011-12-31T08:15:00.000-08:00

"Why won't anyone play with me?"

"Oh .... Daddy has gotten my attention!"

"I'm just bored with it all ... "

"I think I'll watch the birds ...."

" ... or find a spot of sunlight"

"Happy New Year, Everyone .... it's time for a nap!"

Noel

2011-12-24T16:09:00.000-08:00

What could be more precious than being invited for coffee and cookies with sweet friends during the week of Christmas? And how wonderful when those friends allow you to bring along a camera ....

Can you hear the sound of "Silent Night" being played so beautifully on the piano? This last collage brings back memories of my own childhood, when just about every waking moment at home was spent at my piano.

Wishing everyone the most blessed Christmas ever!

Collages made in Picasa. Click on photos to enlarge for better viewing. Digital art made from vintage postcards.

Let Your Mercy Spill

2011-12-15T17:27:00.000-08:00

http://gentletouches.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-morning-of-friday-december-9th-i.html

(photo taken about two miles from my home .... click to enlarge)

2011-12-06T16:31:00.001-08:00

a lone little feather, sweetly escaped from my pillow

"Go, Little Feather .... Be Free"

Oxford, Maryland

2011-12-01T15:04:00.001-08:00

click photos to enlarge for better detail

Far Ahead the Road Has Gone

2011-11-24T09:00:00.001-08:00

I love photographing houses .... old ones, new ones, cottage, country, farmhouse ... it doesn't matter. There are ones that speak more strongly than others, however. This one reminds me of a home belonging to my mother's sister (Aunt B.) many years ago, when I was a young child. I adore the vintage-style awnings ... the dormers ... the door to the right that looks as if it leads into a sun porch ... the country setting ... even the clouds that were so lovely on this day of traveling the Eastern Shore's back roads. I even love the shadows on the front lawn, cast there by large groves of trees.

And further down the road, on the outskirts of Oxford, we turned onto a lane leading to an old cemetery. Across the pond that encircled the cemetery stands this wondrous estate. I wonder if the people who live there glance towards the cemetery and ponder eternity.

(click on photos to view larger and to enjoy details not otherwise seen)

Autumn By My Driveway

2011-11-16T06:33:00.001-08:00