Trip to the food pantry

In preparation for Saturday's tea party at the Victorian Parlor, we made a trip to our local food pantry yesterday. Sadly, I forgot the camera so I borrowed this pic from their website. The Lilburn Cooperative Ministry,consisting of both a thrift store and a food pantry, offers needed help for many in the area. They are located at 5329 Five Forks Trickum Road in Lilburn, GA.

The Birthday Girl!

Happy Birthday to a wonderful daughter!Age 1 in the backyard
2 years of age at the beach
Lounging at 3 years of age
Her 4th birthday!

Although these were taken many years ago, she hasn't changed much. She still likes her backyard, living in a warm climate, relaxing and laughing (although not on such a contemporary sofa), and having dessert (preferably with a cup of tea). Happy birthday dear daughter!

Life's Blessings

"A daughter is a gift of love" (Author unknown)

"A mother's treasure is her daughter" (Catherine Pulsifer)

Remember those who have served...

this Memorial Day and everyday!"They fell, but o'er their glorious grave floats free the banner of the cause they died to save." (Francis Marion Crawford)

(Image - thanks to the Township of Livingston, NJ)

Life's Blessings

"What we become depends on what we read after all of the Professors have finished with us. The greatest university of all is a collection of books." (Thomas Carlyle - 1795-1881)
"All that Mankind has done, thought, gained or been: it is lying as in magic preservation in the pages of Books. They are the chose possession of men." (Carlyle - Heroes and Hero Worship)
"A book is the only immortality." (Rufus Choate - 1799-1859)
"God be thanked for books. They are the voices of the distant and the dead, and make us heirs of the spiritual life of past ages." (William Ellery Channing - 1780-1842)

Life's Blessings

"Animals are such agreeable friends; they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms" (George Eliot, 1819-1880)

"In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" (Aristotle, 384-322 BC)

Sweetbrier continues to bloom...

Her one and only rose bush blooms in the spring only...
And her dogwood tree is filled with blossoms this year.

Revisiting the past

I've been cleaning out the attic the last few weeks and this is not an easy task:) Going through all the old papers, toys, and remembrances is like going back in time. I finally settled on assigning a box for each family member and when I find something that belongs to a particular person, I put it in their box. Then there are piles of toys, doll clothing, small misc items that if no one claims, will probably go in the trash.
Some china finds include some Homer Laughlin pieces.
A wine decanter from the 1960's.
And some pottery by Richard Kale (on the right) and his son.

Life's Blessings

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers!

Life's Blessings

"For today and its blessings, I owe the world an attitude of gratitude." (Clarence E. Hodges)

Trip to Downtown Atlanta!

I had to go downtown this week so I thought I'd take a few pictures. There are multiple ways to get downtown, but during the day the best way is via Marta, Atlanta's mass transit system. 

In the plaza outside the Marta station is a huge sculpture of an eagle. It's very impressive!
This is a picture of Broad Street. Broad St is a short street but it's filled with a bunch of small eateries. You can have just about any type of food you want - Mexican, Thai, Chinese, American, etc. It has the best pizza place in town called Rosa's Pizza. I highly recommend it.
Several of my friends and I ate at a restaurant called "Chow Baby." What fun it was! You go through line picking out different ingredients (i.e., rice, mushrooms, spinach leaves, onion, pea pods, tilapia, etc), adding different sauces, and place them in a bowl. Then the chefs stir fry them and bring the dish to your table. It was delicious!!! PS - it's several miles from downtown so you have to drive to this one, but it's well worth it!

Checking out garage sales...

We had some great garage sale finds this past weekend! The cherub column was $5 and the large picture of the lady was $3. The tiffany-style lamps were $5 and $2. The chenille spread, which does have a couple of stains and a slight tear was 50 cents. And finally, the vintage magazine holder was $2 and the brooches were $1 each. This was so much fun!

Life's Blessings

"Reflect on your present blessings, of which every man has many; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some." (Charles Dickens, 1812-1870)

Sweetbrier's blooms

Sweetbrier's azaleas are in bloom.

What's that I see among the white azaleas - is that a pink one peaking out?

I forgot the hostas!

Spring at Sweetbrier Cottage

Spring came to Sweetbrier in stages this year. This beautiful bush bloomed about a month ago. The blooms were a beautiful mauvish color.

Sweeti napping...

It's been a rough few weeks for Sweeti (and the reason there have been no posts). She has CRF which is controlled through diet, but she began having diarrhea. A visit to the vet's and blood tests showed she has hyperthyroidism. We've decided to try the Tapazole first and hope she can tolerate it. In the meantime she's on two other nasty tasting medicines for the "d." 

Finding a bit of sun, she decided to take a nap this morning with one of her favorite catnip mice. 

It's snowing - sort of!

Well, we received a slight dusting of snow this afternoon, the first in two to three years. But we take what we can get:) We turned on the Christmas music, fixed hot chocolate and watched as large white flakes floated down from above. I've attached some pictures although they don't do it justice.  For those of you further north who are blessed with the real thing, please don't laugh too hard, but do keep safe and warm!