Monday, March 31, 2014

A-Z Starts tomorrow

Good morning and welcome Through My Back Door. I am doing the AtoZ Challenge, thanks to Lura at Grammy's News.
I got acquainted with Lura after she was in a horiffic car accident a few years ago. We have since become "blogging friends" and share prayer request. She suggested doing this so here we are. Every day the month of April, except Saturdays and Sundays I will do a short post beginning with the letter of the day. Have no idea what you will get, because I never know what I am going to blog about until I sit down to type. That is why you get what you do.lol Anyway if you have time check in daily during the month of April and see what happens.
Hope you have enjoyed your coffee and that the weather is going to be as beautiful at your house as it is at mine. Can I say REJOICING!!!!!
Thanks for coming Through My Back Door where life is good.
betty
PS

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

The Rest of the Trip

Good morning and come on in. Grab a mug and a wonderful molasses cookie. They are so good. My friend Carol Flanary made them and brought them to a game day Saturday. I am embarrassed but I ate so many she brought me more on Sunday. They are the best. I thought we would finish the Pa trip today. I need to begin this post with the statement, I LOVE Pa. The people were wonderful. I had a bad experience in 2 shops only. Some shops were closed early in the week, but the shops I visited people were so nice, except the 2 I mentioned. In one shop the worker even looked up hours of a shop for us. I think that was the candle barn. Anyway, I don't want you all thinking I had a bad experience everywhere I went. (If that were the case I would have to examine myself, wouldn't I)lol
On Tuesday we were off to Philadelphia, I had been but Dodd and Renda hadn't. It was wonderful to go again. Of course we started the day with breakfast at Funcks. They have a FB page btw.
See the snow.(and our snack bag)lol
We were delighted to see this covered bridge. There was a beautiful stone house on the right.
I took this very quickly as there was a hill behind us and we didn't want to get rear ended.
I love this bell. All I can think of is Let Freedom Ring! The guard here was the nicest person. He represents his town well. He offered to take our picture.
That was one thing that had changed since I was there. Security. I find it so sad that the times we are living in has come to this.
I am blessed with a good daughter in law. Dodd even said he was glad we loved one another so he could spend time with both of us.lol We do get along and enjoy a lot of laughs. We all have so much in common traveling with any of my family is just "a journey" as Renda calls it.
We went over to Independence Hall and Dodd was touched by it. He said to think 5 of the greatest men in our country's history were in this room at the same time.
Going up the stairs. I didn't get any pictures. These are some Renda took of Dodd and I.
These are all I have of Independence Hall. I don't know about you all, but I find a reverence in these sites. Their halls are hallowed and when you think of all the work it took to make our beautiful country and in this day and time to see our liberties being destroyed a bit at a time, breaks my heart. I asked Dodd if he thought George Washington, John Adams, James Monroe, William Blount,Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin,(to name a few) ever thought they would be remembered and respected so long after there helping form our country and he didn't think so. It is fun visiting historical sites with Dodd as he has taught American History for many years and always has wonderful tidbits to enhance whatever we have seen. I told him he needs to be docent somewhere when he retires.
After we left there we went to eat lunch. Of course it had to be a Philly Cheese Steak! I am sorry I don't remember the name of where we ate, but it was wonderful. After eating we were heading to the car and passed a candy shoppe. Renda said lets go in here. Oh My! Lores Chocolates have to be the best ever.
The women running it were the nicest. Two were dressed in period attire and I asked if I could take their pictures. They said of course.
It is a wonderful candy store. I truly felt like a kid "in a candy store".lol They too have FB page.
On the way home we stopped at a bulk food store and bought cheese, turkey, etc and ate at the condo that night. We had done a lot of walking that day. It was nice to just sit and relax in front of that fireplace.
Can you tell it was really cold and windy that day?
On Wednesday we started to Gettysburg. The keyword being started. It was so rainy and cold, but we stopped at several antiques stores. We had a leisurely breakfast at Funcks, then began our "journey". After several stops we found a wonderful antique store(mall) in Hummel, (I think) They had the nicest things and the women who were working were so nice. Yes, they let me use the restroom.lol. We were in there forever, with Dodd and Renda finding some treasures. I just don't have room or need anything, but I enjoy looking. As we were getting ready to leave Renda wanted to show me a crock. When we went to the booth the dealer was working in it. She Gave Renda a good deal on a crock, and we began to talk. She asked where we were from and she said she had only been to Tn once and that was in September to Pioneer Days show in Clinton. I had to laugh as I said I only live 12 miles from there. So Connie Gleed and I soon realized we belong to several FB antique and decorating pages! lol It is indeed a small world. We stayed so late in the shops we never made it to Gettysburg! I had been several times but Dodd and Renda hadn't, so I hated it for them. Anyway we had wonderful day. That evening we were looking for a place for dinner and went into what we thought was a sit down place but it was a deli. There was a lady walking in the door who when we asked told us where to go eat. It was Nicks114. Oh my goodness! What wonderful Crab Cakes I had. It was a great experience, as the people behind us in the booth, heard us wondering what we were going to have and they suggested the crab cakes. The waiter assured us they were not full of filler, and they weren't. He was so cute and reminded me of a grandson. His name was Ray. We enjoyed chatting with him. It wasn't long before Nick came out and said he heard we were from Tennessee. He was so friendly and so nice. Renda asked if she could get a picture and he willingly obliged, I look horrible, had been in out of the rain all day. My blouse was bunched up, but what the heck.lol
When we left Ray hugged me good bye. As you can imagine we left feeling very happy about our day. Oh yes if we were ever back in the area, we would eat there again. Thank you Nick for making us feel like we were guests in the truest sense of the word.
We went back to Hershey and enjoyed our last night there. Family trips are good for many things other than just having a good time. When you are in a car several hours you can have some serious conversation, as well as lots of laughs. Dodd should have been home campaigning but chose to spend time with his wife and his mama. Thank you Dodd.
Our trip home was uneventful and we did stop at several antique shops. I am grateful for a son and d-i-l who will spend time with me and make me feel so loved. I am also grateful for each of you who come Through My Back Door where life is good.
betty
PS: I have to share this with you. You know I have complained about putting on 6 pounds over this winter. Well after walking so much last week I decided I would continue when I got home. Yesterday there were 5 of us who walked the church walking track. However, only 2 of us went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast after! Yes it was my friend Dottie and me. lol That isn't all. Last night a group of went to Shoneys for dessert. Yes Dottie and I were in the group. Today we walked and we each went home.lol I can hear you laughing now.
PSS: Oh the tragedies of this past few days. Let us pray for the families of the people on the missing plane and of the mud slide victims. We are so blessed.
PSSS: It is cold here today, but spring is coming. I have seen the most beautiful blooms on my way to and from walking. We have HOPE and lets not ever forget it.







Friday, March 21, 2014

Travels With The Crowes

Good morning everyone and come in for a cup of coffee. It is quite cool this morning, so hurry and get a cup. I am sorry there are no sweets, as I just came home late yesterday. What a wonderful time I have had the last few days with Dodd and Renda. We saw a lot of Pa I had never seen, and I have visited several times. Used to go every fall. Anyway we left home Saturday morning at 6am. Yes, 6 am. I had forgotten 6 o'clock came twice in 24 hours.lol We arrived at our destination around 8:15. We stopped and antiqued a lot. Found only one shop that had anything we wanted. Now in Wytheville there are 3 shops on a hill, I have told you about before. Two of them have mostly junk but one has fine antiques with very high prices. We enjoy all 3 of these. (Bought nothing) We found this shop off the road and I am sorry I can't remember where, but I do remember Staunton wasn't too far from it. (We didn't go to Staunton). This guy was very friendly and would deal with you. Renda found a gorgeous coverlet, and Dodd got a candy container pistol and a metal toy gun. Here are some pictures.
The cat in the window is painted. I asked him if I could take these pictures and he said sure. I think his name was Wayne. He had a set of beautiful matched rope beds. I enjoyed our stop here.
One of the things I was disappointed in around Lancaster County was how unfriendly the folks running the malls were. They followed you around like they were afraid you were going to steal something, and I know  people do, but unfriendly shop owners do not make shopping fun. We were in Strasburg at a mall that had some nice things and were enjoying it, but when we went up stairs they followed us and then wouldn't allow us to use their restroom. Didn't leave Cackleberrys with a good feeling of wanting to go back.Found this attitude in a couple more. Some of the stores that were open in downtown Lancaster were very nice and cordial. In Lititiz we only found one shop opened the day we were there. It was Moravian House. It was going on 5 and Dodd asked her if we had time to look a minute. She was so nice and said to take as long as we wanted. She had gorgeous pieces and the shop was so nice. She even told us where to go eat. I made my only purchase there.
A German sheep. We will go back there if we ever make it back to Pa.
We made it to Harrisburg for supper and ate at a 50's diner. It was so neat and the waitress was so friendly, as well as people sitting across the table from us. Hearing our accents they asked where we were from and we had quite a nice conversation with them. Left there and went into Hershey and found our condo.
This is my room and I had my own HUGE bathroom. It was so nice and convenient to everything.
Gas fireplace and it was so cozy as the weather was cold and when we had run around all day to snuggle in front of it at night was just perfect.
We only used the kitchen for snacks and coffee.lol
Sunday morning we were looking for a breakfast place and found this one.
We ate breakfast here every morning. It was so reasonably priced and the food was so good.Renda and I tried several different things. Here is my artichoke/spinach omelet baked in a delicious pastry.
Dodd has always loved oatmeal. He has it every morning. lol I enjoyed breakfast here. Good coffee too and the service was good. The prices were so reasonal. As cheap as eating at McDonalds. I would recommend anyone in the Hershey area try it.
We went to Hershey on Sunday. Quite a history behind Milton Hershey and his chocolate. (I had done this before but enjoyed it again)
Dodd and I at Chocolate world. Would you believe we went to the museum and Chocolate world and bought NO candy?lol I guess we had seen so much chocolate we didn't want it.lol We spent the rest of the afternoon recuperating from the long day before and just being. Had a great time. Renda did run over to the outlet mall and shop. (we were close to Tanger) (I had spent all day Friday in Pigeon Forge with my friend Sandy Merriman, so I didn't go over with Renda.) We did go up to the grand Hotel and it is gorgeous. Lots of shops in the lobby(pricey) but I always enjoy going there.
Renda and I in front of it upstairs.
Isn't this stunning? Look at the view
I hope you have enjoyed traveling with us this far. We have had so much fun and I will share a game we played in the car. Dodd made it up. We would start the words of a song and when you stopped singing the other one had to start another song beginning with the last letter in the word of the song you stopped? Get it?lol We laughed so hard, and one of us tried making up songs, and it didn't work.lol Yes, I admit it was me.
Next post I will share more adventures and malls. We found one in Hummel that was awesome. Lots of wonderful stuff and the workers were so nice. In fact met a dealer who had been to Clinton to the Pioneer Days show in September. I want to say hi to Connie Gleed. She gave Dodd and Renda a great deal on jug crock. Thanks Connie.
I am so happy you came Through My Back Door where life is good.
betty
PS: I can't wait to share our day in Philly and Lores chocolates. Oh my
PSS: Dodd is running for county commissioner in Blount County. If you would like his page, Dodd Crowe for county commissioner on FB.
PSSS: I just want to say, I saw the most beautiful homes in Pa. There are so many old ones and in the towns I loved the row houses. If you live in one you are truly blessed.









Monday, March 10, 2014

Let The sunshine In and Decorating

Good morning guys and come on it. You can have a cup of DD and a cookie to celebrate beautiful days here in East Tn. We have had some gorgeous ones and the sun is shining Through My Back Door. I am so happy after those cold, cold days we had this winter. So many of you had so much snow. My friend Marla lives in Wisconsin and she sent pictures of more snow than I have ever seen. It actually covered all but the top of her son's car. So even though I complained I am happy we didn't have that. Anyway I am so happy to see you this morning. I know it's Monday and laundry day, but I did mine Saturday. I took one of those FB number test and it said I was a non conformist. I was shocked as I had been called that before. Hmmmmmmm. I have told you before my Mother and Grandmother would be appalled that I am not doing my laundry today. (Yes they both had washers and dryers. My grandmother got hers in the early 50's. she was the first person I knew that had one)
Anyway, I am glad you are here, and lets talk decorating a bit.  Are you decluttering,like so many people I know. I am trying.It seems I still have so much stuff. I love my little house and attempting to make it comfortable for family and friends.
This is all I have on my chest/coffee table. It has been suggested I use runners, etc to break up the wood. I really love the look of wood. I have a runner on this table. I liked this because the pattern is called, Tn Trouble, Hamblen County,Tn.
Another Bare piece of furniture
I do use a runner on my table. I think it is all in what you like. I love the look of worn furniture. The patina is enough for me. What about you? Do you prefer runners or not? Another decorating concern of mine is people painting everything black. I am on a couple of decorating pages on FB and I admit I am stunned(and appalled) by some of the things people suggest be painted black. In my humble opinion an antique should be left alone. What are your thoughts? I saw a picture of a beautiful kitchen and people were suggesting they paint the cabinets black. They are so pretty the way they are. Oh well. I personally have very little black in my house and do  NOT like what I have. Black shows dust!!!!!!!NOW I said it and hope I haven't offended any body. I know we all have our own taste and what I like you may not, but one day people are going to have a hard time removing the black paint from these nice pieces. It was suggested to me on page(I am no longer on) that I paint my German Cupboard and Corner Cupboard to make a splash of color on either side of my mantel.
This is an old picture but you get the idea. I said you cannot paint a mid 1800's piece of furniture. Then removed myself from that group. There are a lot of fun decorating groups on FB. I enjoy the ones I am on. Be selective and find one that fits your ideas and enjoy it.
Some of the blacks, I have.
This bench is no longer here, but it shows my black recliner too.
Black chairs. See I do have some black, but I wish my chairs were red and my bench mustard. Do you think I can persuade Deb to paint them one day? Doubtful.lol I don't want to offend anyone about painting things black, but I just don't understand so many people wanting to paint good stuff.lol
Okay, I have vented and thanks for allowing me to do so.
Last post I asked if you all thought bloggers were braggers and was so happy to read your e-mails and comments.  I enjoy reading and getting decorating tips and apparently you do as well. I don't have many tips to offer(just don't paint everything black)lol as I am not a decorator. I just do what I love.
Well, I have a trip coming up pretty soon. I hope the  weather is nice.
One more thing.I am a huge Lady Vol basketball fan. Love it. Well the SEC tournament was this weekend and they have aged me 10 years! Had to come from a deficit to win every game and (some bad officiating in the championship game) but they have won their 17th SEC Championship. Thanks for letting me brag.I still miss seeing "the legend, Pat Summit" on the sidelines.
I am so happy you came Through My Back Door where life is good.
betty
PS: I cannot wait for days to sit out here
PSS: This Friday night,  on Wheel of Fortune two of my friends are on. Please watch and cheer them on. No, I don't know how they did, I will find out with the rest of you. Lisa is Josh's Mother. Remember this picture?

PSSS:This is my beautiful new Great granddaughter.










Tuesday, March 4, 2014

"Spicing It Up and A Few Boxes"

Good morning and come in and visit. I am so happy to see you this morning and of course the coffee is on. There are tea bags if you prefer hot tea. What ever makes you happy, is my philosophy. There is a story behind those words. Years ago when I was a Sp Ed teaching assistant , there was a supplementary reading book, with a story about a fish and a dog. The fish was tired of swimming in circles in a glass bowl and wanted to see the world. So the kind dog took the fish to see the world. Every time the fish wanted to move on the dog would  say, "Whatever makes you happy," then it would read, said the dog to the fish. Well that became a special saying between Curt and I. It was "our" saying. We still use it with one another. SO, if tea makes you happy, have tea. lol Yesterday was another cold, sleety, snowy day here. Now it appears we are having spring like weather the rest of the week. Now that makes me happy. lol
One of the FB decorating groups I belong to was showing boxes, so I decided I would carry it on my blog. Also a bit of mustards to spice it up. I love the color mustard and a few years ago went on a mustard painting spree. Curtis said he was afraid to stand in one place too long or he would be painted too.lol
There is a lot more mustard here, but don't want to "over spice" it.
Now for boxes. I do like boxes. They have a lot of uses. Deb uses them in here bathroom to hold all sorts of things.
Oh yes I like boxes!lol There are more of them too. I have to admit I don't buy them anymore, as there is no room. I have found a lot of mine on the longest yard sale. You know I wonder when I get some of mine,what the person who originally owned them, intended to use them for. You know it was for a purpose. I also wonder what they would think if they knew someone enjoyed them and kept them on display in their home? I am thinking, they would probably think we were crazy!  You all know that I only want things around me that I love and that means people too. So be sure you only buy things you love and today I loved that you came Through My Back Door where life is good.
betty
PS: I have some fun things to look forward too. I love being with friends and there are some friend moments on the horizon
PSS: I read where someone said they thought bloggers were braggers. That is certainly not my intent. I like to share and to have you share with me. How do you all feel about that statement? Agree or disagree?
PSSS: Lets continue to pray for our fellow bloggers. I can't name them all, but so many are experiencing difficulties right now. I know for one thing, bloggers are prayers.