One of my favorite places is...

Pickity Place, located near Mason, NH. Lunch there features delectable food make with fresh herbs from the herb garden. My daughter, Jen, and I have lunched there several times.

On the property is Grandmother's Cottage, a red Cape Cod cottage that was featured in the 1948 Golden Books edition of Little Red Riding Hood by Elizabeth Orton Jones. Grandmother's bedroom is full of Little Red Riding Hood memorabilia. The grounds of Pickity Place are a photographer's dream - full of building, nooks and crannies, and of course the herb garden itself.

Just thinking of the great food served there makes me hungry. On Amazon I found a cookbook Country Herb Cooking: Four Seasons of Recipes from Pickity Place by Judy Walter that I promptly ordered. Can't wait for it to get here. Here are samples of what's served.

If you're in the New England area, think about visiting this jewel of a place. I'm not connected to Pickity Place in any way, just wanted to share one of my favorite places.

See ya later...
Sondra

Grandma's gate leg table

One of my most prized possessions is the gate leg table that came to me from my Grandma.  Called Bobo by everyone who knew her, she had this table in her living room for as far back as I can remember...where it originated, whether from a family member or not, I don't know.  This table was painted brown until it came to me about 20 years when I  painted it two tone green with a crackle finish.  Over the years it got scuffed and stained so this year, chalk paint came to the rescue.

Hubby and I sanded the top and used a cherry stain with many coats of varnish to get the look I wanted.  Not sure what the wood is, but it had a green tone which according to the internet could be sassafras.

Duck Egg Blue was painted on the legs with accents of Aubusson followed by light wax.  Here's how the final result.

 

Quite a difference from that old brown table.  Bobo would be proud.



Shades of Amber Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Linky Party



Domestically Speaking 106th-power of paint party

The Colors of October - My camera is always ready

I’m so glad I like in a world where there are Octobers.

~ L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables ~

“Autumn the year’s last and loveliest smile.”  ~William Cullen Bryant~ 

“Oh Autumn how I have missed you.  Cool nights, sunny days, school starts and summer fades.” ~Caroline Glen

"The chile, it seems to me, is one of the few foods that has its own goddess." - Diana Kennedy, cookbook author

I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree
by Joyce Kilmer


Thank you Miss Reed, my 8th grade teacher, for making your classes memorize this poem.





All photos by little ole me

Blueberries, Queen Anne's Lace and wooden bridges

I love to visit New England and photograph all the beauty there. The fact that I have two grandsons there  doesn't figure into it of course.

One blistering hot summer day, we went to a truck farm to pick blueberries 'cause Grandma (me) had never done that.  We got lots of berries and summer vegies, but I also got beautiful photos from there.

Julie from Sherwood Studio at thedigichick.com has a new kit coming out called "Quite Contrary".  I used it
for this layout.

A Moment in Time...

that's how I think of my photography.  Many years ago as a little girl I started out with a Brownie camera and flash (with those awful flash bulbs);  I loves the idea of taking photo, but hated the terrible ones that came from that little camera - more expensive cameras were out of the question for our family finances.  Back then I knew nothing of composition, angle, rule of three, etc. so I got discouraged and quit.

Then life intervened.  College, marriage, 3 little ones, jobs...you know the routine.  I barely had time for anything, much less documenting my life.  Now that I'm a "senior" it seems that with age comes the freedom to rediscover old loves; I first found the point and shoot cameras, then digital SLRs.  Now it thrills me to see my 7 year old granddaughter use her mother's DSLR.

I'm still not the photographer I want to be nor the one I dream of being but what the heck.  Let's enjoy the journey.

I found some old favorites of mine taken with that little point & shoot.  They're grainy, out of focus, but they're my memories.  Taken from a trip to Santa Fe about 10 years ago, the photos have been edited with photoshop art filters.

Brigadoon

When I visit family in New England - which is frequently to see my grandbabies - we always spend one day on a photoshoot. My son Chris, daughter Jen and son-in-law Bob and I go to various places in New Hampshire and Maine. Some time ago we were driving down a two lane road when we passed a reconstructed village alongside an antique store. Quickly turning around, we headed back to photograph this great find. It was sleeting and snowing so we couldn't spend too much time there, but did manage to get some great shots.

By the way, we call it Brigadoon because we've gone up and down that same highway and never found the place again.

Isle of Shoals

One of the items on my bucket list was a visit to the Isle of Shoals.  Located off the coasts of New Hampshire and Maine, seven island comprise the Isle of Shoals.  Most are privately owned, but two are open to the public - Star Island and Appledore Island.  Last September we visited Star Island by boat; it was a great photo op and a wonderful adventure.

supplies used:

Potting Shed by Cilenia Curtis @ Digital Designer Shop
Dainty Edges by Honey Scraps @ Digital Designer Shop
25 days of Summer templates by Tiffany Tillman

Grandbabies

My two youngest grandbabies live in New England and I don't see them nearly enough.  So...I take photos the entire time I'm with them.  I'm the grandma with the camera.

A bit about me

Supplies: Breathings of my heart (retired) by Cilenia Curtis

They steal your heart away

Last July we lost our beloved corgi, Max. He lived a good life for 14 years until he became gravely ill. We were so heartbroken that we found another corgi puppy, not to replace Max but to fill the emptiness in our hearts. Teddy is so full of vim and vigor - he makes us laugh all the time.

Max and the Rainbow Bridge


supplies:
Beautiful Life - Wendy Page Designs and Mari Koegelenberg
My Dad My Best Friend (hearts) - Anita Designs and Scooty Design
Zinnias and Swallowtails (template)- Plant Your Story Quoted


Teddy at 4 months

The view from the sunroom

On a recent New England visit , I stayed with Chris and Kristin and the boys in Mass.  While there I spent a lot of time in their sunroom facing Lake Attitash.  I'm sure nothing else would get done if I lived there and could watch the lake all day.  One day was dark and overcast - fantastic light for photos.






Guess it's because I live in the sunny Southwest that I love rainy days so much.

Our new Teddy Bear

New Blog

Digital scrapbooker, photographer, gardener...all words to describe my creative passions. I'll share those passions with you in this blog starting with my most popular photo on Flickr.com - since I have nearly 40 rosebushes in my garden...and my Flickr name is Roselover, it's no surprise that it's a rose photos.