Drive to Abbeville

Its Easter and its just the two of us again.  We took a drive out to Abbeville  to see the spring flowers.  Would you like to join us?   Come along and enjoy the spring blooms!  Dear husband will narrate today.

I so anticipate the warmth of spring.  We all seem to be having an extended winter.  When I see the thrift bloom in front of old houses in the country, it lets me know all the other blooms will follow.  Sometimes you just see thrift where a house ceased to stand and it is only a reminder of what was once there. ...dear husband

 

Here is thrift on the wall where it accents the house .

But then I look closer and see the flowers in the back!

  
I don't know what these are called, but ...

 

I am so glad the grass hasn't been cut.  

The shamrocks are out and will be blooming soon! 

Dear Husband took the pictures and wrote the blog today.  I'm so thankful for him.
I hope you enjoyed our Easter drive.  Thank you for coming along! 

Love,
Lottie

Suddenly I'm a Movie Critic?

My dad is 88 years old and we live 250 miles apart so telephone conversations are important for staying in touch.  Sometimes I just want to share with him that I am happy and hope that he is happy,  too.  I told him about a wonderful movie I saw called The Concert.  His response was that he didn't have enough time to waste watching movies! Ouch!  I guess if you're 88 years old, you can be as negative as you want to be.  (This from a man whose wife's pet name for him was Mr. Scrooge.)

So do you mind if I share the movie with you?

The Concert is a beautiful, wonderful, silly, dramatic, funny movie about a concert thirty years ago in Russia that was stopped in the middle.  The group goes to Paris to finish the concert.  For a very good plot synopsis, click here. 

Wonderful stories are inter-weaved with beautiful music.  The ghost, of course, is Tchalkovsky.

I think you will love this movie if you haven't already seen it.  My husband and I discovered it on Netflix and have watched it several times!  It truly gets better (and I cry harder) with each viewing.  I ordered a DVD from Amazon.com today and this movie is only $4.99.  I couldn't believe it!

Just wanted to share this treasure with you.  Maybe you could go to http://www.youtube.com

and watch the trailer.  Then after you have a stress filled day,   you could put this movie in and relax!

A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy?

---Albert Einstein

Dad, are you listening?

I hope you are having a great day!  If you come across any beautiful movies with wonderful stories to tell, please share them with me.  I've been reading books for over fifty years and now I am watching movies with my family.  It really is quite enjoyable!

Love,

Lottie

A Little Girl's Dream of Horses

Do you remember your dreams and wishes from when you were a little girl?  Every once in a while, I forget I'm not ten years old.  That's usually when I see a horse!  Last weekend my husband took me to a horse show where I had the most wonderful time!

I don't have grandchildren yet, so I have to enjoy other people's grandchildren. 

 

What a wonderful afternoon doing something different and fun!  

As I said above, every once in a while I forget I'm not ten years old anymore.  It is usually when I see a horse.

What do you do to feel like you are ten years old again?

Love,
Lottie

Two Weeks in March

This is a special time of year!  There are about two weeks in March when two of my favorite bushes with flowers bloom.  Lots of people cut the branches and force them inside, but we have pretty days in March in South Carolina where the blooms are beautiful outside.

First, I love a Flowering Quince!  They bloom on branches without leaves, but with thorns.  I have a pink Flowering Quince planted by my sidewalk from the driveway to the side door.  So, I "skip a beat" of my heart every time I walk by. 

Second, the picture below is of a Forsythia, often called Yellow Bells.  For years I would cut long branches and put them in a big vase in the living room.  But, my neighbors have these planted all along their fence so that we can just look out the bay window and see a golden show!

Of course,  I love the trees in winter because I can see the sky.  These big boys below are threatening each day to burst out in new baby leaves.  I watch them, too, during these special two weeks before spring in March.  Soon, the trees will become a canopy of shade.  The world will change. Wish I could hit a "pause" button sometimes!.

Hope you are having a happy day!  If you are, hit the pause button for a minute before the world changes again!

Love,
Lottie

Home Is a Place in the Mind

Oh, why does my heart break when I see a vacant old house?  Especially this one.  It was built in 1906 and since this part of South Main Street was zoned commercial, thirty years ago it was turned into a fancy restaurant appropriately called 1109 South Main.  It had a Swiss chef and many of my friends went there for anniversary dinners and Valentine's Day dinners and paid for private cooking lessons!  I was going to do that one day, as soon as I paid all the bills and saved up enough money for a down payment on a house.  But I forgot to "someday" make the reservation and now it is too late.  1109 South Main has been closed for a long time.

It's funny how zoning an area commercial seems to change a house.  It ceases to be a home. 

 

1109 South Main is on the National Register of Historic places. Beautiful stairs! 

Next door is 1103.  It used to be called Evergreen and was turned into a health spa and beauty salon years ago.  So many beautiful old homes are turned into beauty salons when the area is zoned commercial.

Evergreen is also on the National Historic Register and has six bedrooms and six baths.

The house below was a used furniture store at one time.  I can remember that beautiful porch full of used washing machines and dryers and stoves and refrigerators. 

The business now has taken very good care of this house..

As with this one across the street that is now a restoration business.

Now I have to be honest. I think I sometimes confuse a beautiful old house with a happy home.   I tried explaining the difference between a house and a home to a male friend once who told me that whether it was a house or a home, it was still just wood and bricks and glass.  I had to think on that awhile (for years) but in a strange way, he was right.

A business can change just like a family and a super storm named Sandy can take it all away!

Hope you have a happy day in your house called home! "-D

Love,
Lottie

Searching for Inspiration, Finding Beauty

I love to read your bogs!  I really do!  Sometimes I spend way too much time reading your blogs and stories.  I admit, sometimes I'm procrastinating, but most of time, I'm searching for inspiration.  You see, my husband is an artist and can do anything he sets his mind to.  I can do almost nothing.

I'm surrounded by his art at our home.  He made the Raku pottery pieces on the mantle and he painted the watercolor also above the mantle.

But I cut the nandina berries and put them in the vase!  It was an inspiration picture from Keeping It Cozy that reminded me I have nandinas in the yard.  Within 5 minutes,  I  put the berries in a vase and contributed my part to art!  Oh, how I feel inspired and surrounded by beauty.  That is the best I can do right now and get the laundry done, too.

I always find inspiration and beauty in your blogs.  They are so warm and welcoming and even invite me to be a part of your community via comments. Thank you for visiting and I hope you find your inspiration today!

Love,
Lottie