A Simple Woman's Daybook

Taking a Moment to Contemplate the Journey!

Just For Today...Monday, December 26, 2011

Our lives pass swiftly by!
I want to do something to remember
the everyday moments and my thoughts.That is what this daybook is all about.
Focusing on the little things that become my life.
One week at a time.

Outside my window...I am viewing the beautiful ocean that surrounds this island. Where I am sitting is about the best place for a writer I have ever been with the exception of Yosemite perhaps. It is peaceful, quiet, private and glorious. What more could one desire for inspiration? It is a beautiful clear, windy day and I can see the white caps on the water from the desk. The water looks like a deep sapphire pool.

I am thankful for...all people in my life that have blessed me so deeply. Family, friends, leaders, teachers, parents, role models, children, grandbabies, siblings, siblings of different mothers or in other words the people that feel like siblings...neighbors, past work associates and clients, aunts, uncles, cousins, people with extreme faith, courage, talents and intelligence, people that have touched my life and those who have left us to return home to our Father. The ones that have made extreme sacrifices to make my own life better. I love them and am so grateful.

I am reading... Scriptures, the Pioneer Woman's Cookbook, Christmas stories and blogs and genealogy newsletters. Oh, and Rhode Island toursita info.

From the Kitchen...We are still eating leftovers from our Christmas Eve extravaganza. The whole family made a big dinner for some guests and we made a ton of the best Italian meatballs. We are still eating them. The boys enjoyed this, especially Spencer. He is becoming quite the little chef just like his Grampa, and his great, great, great grandfather before him.

I am missing....absolutely nothing except Robert. Our life is very full and we are so blessed.

I am hearing...one of my favorite songs..Celine Dion singing "Have You Ever Been In Love?" Well, have you?

I am wearing...black pants a dark teal shirt and a multi-colored scarf with mostly black and teal and a few other colors, black socks and shoes and jewelry, watch and ummm that is it.

I am quoting..."Never leave the house in sweats. A girl must be prepared to meet a dashing stranger or an old enemy!" I think this is funny!

Some things that made me happy this past week...getting ready for Christmas here in Rhode Island and being with Laura and the boys. Meeting their wonderful neighbors and friends and visiting the boy's school and attending their Christmas concert, having a caroling party and a dinner party with friends, attending their ward and several activities, hearing Laura sing and Ross play the piano and the watching the boys take a karate belt test and advance in their Marshall Arts skills with new belts, talking to Robert on Skype. Driving around the island as a family, shopping with Laura, lunch out with Jim and Laura on different days and once together. New England Fish and Chips and High Tea. Visiting the mansion in Bristol. A whole glorious day with Laura. Shopping with my girl. All things vacation and Christmas. Getting a peak at life in New England. Love it.

One of my guilty pleasures...drinking a glass of egg nog with Ross. Yummm. Even the lowfat is good.

Pet Peeves...schedules that are just too full. I am really enjoying the kick back days here on the island.

I am going...To write all day long today. What a luxury.

One of my favorite things...living in the moment and savoring it. Also daydreaming of the past and future.

An enjoyable movie I have seen lately.....I got the series, Lark Rise to Candleford for Christmas from someone who always knows exactly want I want...me. You should always buy yourself a present, don't you agree? Anyway, Laura has not seen it so we started it yesterday afternoon. I have been wanting to buy it since the minute I first got hooked on it. Now she is thinking of doing the same.

I am curious about....how I can listen to "Caruso" by Pavarotti a million times and never tire of it. Somehow this is true as I have put it to the test of time. It has become more beautiful over time actually.

If I could change one thing it would be...that earth life was more like heaven..peace, love, safety, wellness, extreme joy and in God's presence all the time.

A few plans for the rest of the week...Jim and I may go away to Cape Cod on an overnighter if the weather looks like it is going to hold in the non-snow pattern we have become accustomed to since our arrival. Laura and I are going to go on some more holiday home tours in Newport this week in the evenings, we'll do some fun things with the boys, there are probably a few movies in the plans, there is an ice skating party hosted by their school on the 30th and the night before we may all go to a string quartet concert in the Blythewold Mansion. Grampa has projects and adventures planned and Laura and I can probably occupy ourselves very nicely doing girl things. No plans for New Year's Eve yet. Probably just a quiet time with the family is my guess. The best part is I don't have to worry about anything but just being here and enjoying it. Who can complain? Not me. Life rarely seems this uncomplicated.

A few photos and thoughts...the other night we went for about an hour's drive to see the Catholic Shire of La Sallate in Massachusetts. It is something like their version of The Salt Lake Temple Square Christmas Lights, but much larger. It is several acres of lights and there is a large lake, concession stands, a merry-go-round and trolley car rides and the like. It was so fun to go out there and see so many people out with their families enjoying this lovely display that had to take weeks to put up and lots of helping hands.




They had an incredible number of creches that belong to the shrine that people have donated and that were fun to see. They were from all over the world and while some were very simple others were quite elaborate. Spencer enjoyed taking some photos of them. They also had a huge artists display of pictures of Christ.

There were thousand and thousands of lights
to illuminate the heart, night and the season!

Laura approved this photo to be published. So I am publishing it even though only she and Spencer photographed well here! Ha ha, she is her mother incarnate. Honestly, how does that happen? I thought no one disliked their own pictures less than me, but maybe she does. I tell her that she is beautiful in every photo but her response is often, "Mom, to a mother every beetle is a gazelle!" Love my silly, precious, very beautiful girl.

Blithewold Mansion and Gardens

Merry Christmas From Bristol

Blithewold Estate has a beautiful old Mansion, Garden and Arboretum in Bristol, Rhode Island. It was built in the mid-1890's by a family named, Van Winkle, and they had a fire a few years later. It was then rebuilt and stands today, as it was then. I learned of it last fall while browsing through the tiny city library when we visited Bristol and I knew that Laura and I just had to visit the mansion at Christmas one year. I didn't know it would be so soon.

It was delightful in every way and I got to go two times! One day with James and the very next day with Laura. We love doing Christmas home tours, especially the old homes of the 1800s. This is probably the best one I have ever seen. Design is totally in the details and this estate owner knew that from the beginning.

The architecture, the flow, the crown molding, ceilings and stairways and banisters are fabulous. Exquisite detailing on every level just make this home sublime. The thing that makes it a crown jewel is it was given in trust to the city, with the entire contents of the home included. This makes for an authentic, historic home viewing experience. Many of these types of homes are filled with period pieces that were never in the home originally. Sometimes the fit is awkward, but not here. Houses and their contents say so much about a family. Here is the real corker...admission $10.00. In CA it would be three or four times that.

James

Here we have the most perfect, gianormous Christmas Tree.
Should have had Jim stand in front of it for scale. Love it!

The back of the home

The lawn and view of the sea!

Laura's ready to walk in!

Foyer's two-stories-tall Christmas Tree
This year's theme...'bringing nature in.'

The grand Mantel in the Entryway about 6 feet 6 inches tall.

Details of the big tree. It was really a pretty one!

This is a tiny phone room off the foyer.
The amazing thing is the wall mural.
It looks like wallpaper when you first see it.

I loved seeing this in this elegant home~
We have something similar in our cottage!

The kitchens of today are a little more functional for cooking but nobody has this beautiful
storage for their dishes, stemware and linens.
Love the butler's pantry attributes.

I'd give up my dishwasher and disposal
and Jenn-Air grill for this...any day of the week!

These Silver Candlesticks found on the
immense mantle in the formal dining room
are amazingly beautiful.

The silver was so highly polished and shiny it was hard to take a photo because the room was dark. We loved the tall, battery operated candles with the slender flames too. They looked very elegant compared to the ones you see so often. Here in New England the single candle in the middle of every window sill is popular, and very classy looking as your drive by at Christmas time when it is dark. It is a really pretty place, New England that is.

The Dining Room

It is a very formal room with dark wood carved paneling on the walls and a dark slate paint on the plaster. Both Laura and I agreed we would not have selected it but it was remarkably effective in creating a very elegant setting for the tea. The trees in this room were decorated with blue ornaments and a lot of silver and clear glass with white lights. Elegant.

The Tea

They had some wonderful chamomile herbal tea, scones, and sweet and savory bite size offerings on the tea menu. Most gentlemen would have wanted a bit more, but the ladies savored it and delighted in the nurturing of this exquisite setting and good conversation. I had such a sublime time with Laura we were out all day...breakfast, lunch and dinner, covered part of two states, lots of shopping and gabbing and mommy/daughter time. Nothing like it...pure heaven..I didn't get any sisters but the Lord blessed me with two wonderful, wonderful girls, a super daughter by marriage and five grandgirls to help fill in that void. Lucky me!

My Christmas Present..a day with my littlest girl, Laura!

The living room was divine. The mantel was amazing.
The trees on the side of the mantel were half trees.
A great idea and very effective on yet another
over-sized fireplace and mantel.

We spent some time checking out the garlands and how they made them. We love to do the garlands. They make all the difference in your Christmas decor. They are painstaking, labor intensive and take a long time, but they are sooo worth it.A Garland maker's best friend, wired, wide ribbons. Vintage Christmases without them are nearly impossible.

Jim discovered this little trick they used to double the lighting effect on your mantel. Line it with a shinny piece of transparent plastic and it acts like a mirror and illuminates everything twice as much. Love it!

I want Jim to make us some of these glass doors
for our bookcases when his shop is done. He said OK!!

Just a little quirky, no?

Some of the bedrooms in the mansion.

A Child's Room

The bath

We enjoyed seeing this bathroom with the double sinks and the claw foot soaking tub. Sadly the big bathroom scale. It has always been an issue it seems. One had to be able to get into those stays and tight dresses with the laces. The price of a little beauty is so high, isn't it?

We had a wonderful time doing this this week. I hope you have also had some fun pre-Christmas activities. Next week we are touring a bunch of historical homes in Newport. Not mansions just older, smaller houses from the 19th century decked out for the Christmas Season. Wish you could come too.

Merry Christmas to you and now I am off for a nap under a big furry blanket. Still freezing but happy! Santa has been very generous and I am pretty tired after only four hours of sleep. We went to a Midnight Mass last night at a local Catholic Church after a big fancy dinner party here earlier in the evening. And then presents and church this morning. Full day yesterday, plus running today = nap time now. Zzzzzzz..... Hugs, B

My Maine Flash Back

When we left on our week long trip to the other five New England States we didn't have a lot of preconceived notions about Maine. About all we knew was that Maine is mostly wilderness area with nearly all of the settlements along the Eastern coast line. We knew there was something going on with mooses, meese, or whatever they are called, we knew the Lobster was king, and there are lots of lighthouses. (OK, I had to look it up...it is moose as in sheep and deer.)
We knew that the Senior George Bushes have a summer home in Kennebunkport, Portland is the largest city, and that if you want the best lobster in the state you should go to Barnacles Billy's in Ogunquit, according to a most reliable source...Lorelei Gilmore. Yes, I know you probably shouldn't rely on a TV series to get your referrals but, have you ever tried planning a trip to six states? You take it where you can get it at a certain point. Lorelei has never let me down, so what the heck!

That coupled with the amazing Visitors' Center that we found in Kittery, just over the border and pictured above, was all we needed. They had pamphlets on everything imaginable to do in Maine.

We took the back roads to Portland and along the way there were so many delightful shops. Jim said, "OK , anyone can "pull the chain on the bus" whenever they see something and would like to stop. Laura and I jumped on that one, much to the chagrin of the boys who HATE shopping. But look at the fun place they could hang out while they waiting the 15 minutes for us.

They kept looking for a Mc Donald's so they could
pull the chain for their favorite treat,
a soft serve ice cream cone.
Finally they found one!

This was the first of the lovely nurseries...
I had to pull the chain for a photo or two.

We absolutely fell in love with Ogunquit
and really enjoyed Perkin's Cove
where we were led by Lorelei
to find Billy's on the harbor there.
They have a spectacular little harbor
indeed, and a lot more!*

I love these boys,
they can always find something to
keep them interested and occupied.

They had a great time checking
out all the stuff with Grampa.
They loved seeing the draw bridge in action!

Across the harbor and draw bridge you
can see this~Lovely homes.*

The little village of shops in Perkin's Cove

Grampa, Grampa......

There is this legend that Grampa once held, our son, Christopher over the railing of the Golden Gate Bridge by his belt loop when he was a kid. Ross is hanging on for dear life after the way that fabricated story has been embellished over the years! There is a little too much glee on his Grampa's face, don't ya think?

Spencer's bird!

The guys had a great time at the beach on the other side of Perkins Cove which was basically just across the street. The above photo of the seagull was taken by Spencer. Love it, Spence!

Little boys and rocks equate to hours
of endless rock throwing.
This is something they do everywhere
they can find water and rocks. ??

I wonder how much the beaches of New England
will have receded by the time they move on??
I think a good portion of it in RI
is in their rock collection at home.
(Hopefully to be recycled at some point
for the next boys who come along!)

This was one beautiful afternoon
in one amazing place.
The Ocean was so blue!
There was a cliff walk around the cove.

Before we got to Portland for the night,
we wanted to stop at none other than...Barnacle Billy's!*
As I had mentioned, this is how we found
Perkin's Cove in the first place.
Serendipity!

Now back to the Gilmore's.

The above lovely couple is Luke and Lorelei. They were working on falling in love for seven years, surmounting obstacle after obstacle. Just when things were about to look very promising for them...the series ended its run, leaving a billion fans going...what the...? That crazy production company left the whole thing up to our imaginations. Go figure!

Well, I have decided, being an incurable romantic, that they eventually got married and honeymooned along the coast of Maine, stopping at Barnacle Billy's for lobster. After all she was the one recommending it, saying it was the best!

So very picturesque, isn't it?*

So when we get there we discover that on each side of this lovely lawn is a Barnacle Billy's. On the left of the grassy area is a very casual one, to the right is the white table cloth one. Same company, just different venues. So knowing Luke and Lorelei, who spent most of their seven years in Luke's Diner, we are pretty sure they picked the more casual one...so we did too!

This is the patio between the two and
the outside of the fancy one.*

So here is the down home side where we went.

No tablecloth, no plates, no glass....just lobster!

Of course you know I am not nearly as goofy as I sound, but it was fun to think of Luke and Lorelei while we traveled in New England. OK, maybe a little goofier than you thought or just very easily entertained...you choose! Anyway, the lobster was good but I have to admit I have a hard time getting past that carcass. I tried really hard not to let the phrase, "You are what you eat" pass through my mind.


I found this cute mosaic on flickr that had permission to share it, so I am. I have been waiting for Laura to send me the photos off her camera for this part of the trip but she has been so busy. So the photos with the * have been borrowed temporarily until ours arrive.

The mosaic is so fun and I got a kick out of the last one in the southeast corner...All the wires are above ground in New England due to freezing ground during the winter. They are a bit of an eyesore while trying to get decent photos.

So that is a wrap for this day. Thought I'd never get it done with a power outage today and then connectivity problems. However, when all that was happening I was with Jim at AT&T getting an iPhone. I didn't want to go there but the day of the dinosaur is over. I swore I wouldn't get one but in a moment of weakness, I caved. Honestly, the things we do to stay connected to our family. They cost us a bloomin' fortune, but they are worth it. If they like texting, well then, I'll commit.

So then, tomorrow Portland, Maine in all its splendor. Stay tuned for the most photographed lighthouse in the world. Thanks to all of you for your wonderful responses to the trip posts. I am so glad you are enjoying them.