~ Wonder-land ~

Hello Friends & Folk!

and a ch-ch-chilly Good Thursday morning to you all ~

oh the woodstoves will be piping today...keeping them going is a job in and of itself!

but we 'wood' not have it any other way ~ I love the coziness of our woodstove, the tangy smell of the smoke and how it curls gently from our rooftops.

It will be a good day to do some final decorating & cleaning ~

then I will settle in for an afternoon and evening of stitching!

Each year, our little family visits the

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, VA

{  https://www.lewisginter.org }

Being that our daughter Hannah was born on December 20th,

~ it is a perfect way to celebrate! 

 

although it was only 28*, we enjoyed the brisk-ness of our annual visit...

 Each year the Garden decorates in a 'theme' with this year 2019 being "Things that Fly" ~

there were fairies, flying pigs and hot air balloons...kites and aeroplanes and flying monkeys too!

here are a few snaps of the beautiful lights...

{{ it was so cold that I hated to take off my gloves to work my iPhone }

entering the Garden Walk from the Gift Shop

a view of the 'Tree-house'

Hannah's friend Sarah, Hannah & Peter all bundled up

my Space-Cowboy lol

a fabulous view of the greenhouse, from the 'treehouse' {and Peter photo-bombing}

another view of the greenhouse...

walkway to the greenhouse...bricks engraved with names of philanthropists who support the Garden...

HUGE lighted peacock in front of the greenhouse ~

our beautiful Hannah & her sweet beau Tevin ❤

...and here we are, my hubby & me ~ in front of the towering tree in the conservatory!

 After our walk, we made our way in to the gift shop

to choose our yearly ornament ~ 

Hannah & I have been collecting one each time we visit ~

...here are a few from year's past:

 

this year, I found this sweet little Bee!

 I wish I would have taken more photos, 

but as I mentioned it was hard to remove my gloves to take a photo!

and once we got into the greenhouse, we warmed up and enjoyed the most-beautiful

room of orchids and giant hanging baskets above our heads ~ and I simply forgot to take photos!

if you're ever in the area, the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is a must-see ~

any time of the year, but especially magical at Christmastime...

you won't be disappointed!!

 

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Virginia Rug Fest ~

 ~ Hello Friends & Folk! ~

and Happy Sunday to you all...

we have returned from our trip to Richmond VA for the

annual Virginia RugFest put on by the Shockoe Slip Rug Hookers

We stared the day by teaching a crash course in punch needle to these loverly ladies ~

{ hi ladies! }

The vendor booths were set up in the foyer of the 

Virginia Museum of History & Culture ~

here is our booth below;

 

here is Searsport Rug Hooking booth ~

 

beautiful baskets {below} by Diane Pearce

{of course on came home with me, and Joan as well}

 

wild colorful wools from Mary's Wool Garden ~

{picked up a couple of pieces}

 

drool-worthy woolens from sweetfolks at The Wool Studio ~ 

{yep got some of those too}

the raffle tables were FULL of treasures!

 

this year's Challenge Rugs were based on Children's Art Drawings ~

how adorable are these??

❤

here is Kathy from Checkmate Farm and her gorgeous yarns for rug punch ~

 

 and

this year we were honored to have my sweet friend Michele Micarelli as guest speaker ~

www.michelemicarelli.com

Michele and I lived not far from each other in CT, 

and she was the person who helped me fall in love with rug hooking ~

 {hello to you beautiful Michele! was SO good to see you again!}

xoxoxox

Thanks to the Shockeslip Rug Hookers for another fun event!

and thank you to all who took my class and shopped in our booth ~

hope to see you next year!

 

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ a short visit to Richmond, VA ~

Spent the last few nights in Richmond, VA

 with our daughter Hannah

walking the brick-lined & ancient cobble-stoned streets, seeing the sights...

just taking in the old-city 

and being amazed at all of the wonderful diversity she has to offer. 

We dined at a few locales, thrifted at a few dusty little shops

and then headed out on our walking tour of her neighborhood:

a.k.a. 'The Bottom' {Shockoe}

I didn't want to infringe on anyone's privacy, so I did not take photos of private homes.

But let me tell you this ~ row after row of beautifully appointed and historically known homes line the streets there, my head was spinning around like an owl's!

Our plan was to take in a few museums, then maybe head over to Hollywood Cemetery.

 but we just took our time and enjoyed each others company 

walking on those old streets and being voyeurs of those old houses.

We did however, visit the Edgar Allan Poe museum, 

...which is in walking distance from Hannah's home.

and what a loverly museum! 

a small home { ca. 1700's} is used for the entrance to the museum and gift shop,

 and walking through it & out the back door brings you to a delightful tiny courtyard surrounded by high brick walls, pathways. and a bubbling fountain ~

I made fast-friends with two resident cats

...they are brothers.

 

the shrine's statue of Poe is laden with coins, pebbles and other gifts of remembrance...

{there is a penny in Mr. Poe's right ear...very strange indeed.}

 

I tried my best to stay focused on the subjects of the tour

and not drift off to this spot...

but he was calling me.

 

the grotto that the Poe shrine is in 

was a cool respite from the day's almost 90* heat & bright sun.

my girl is a beautiful soul ~ inside and out.

 

I would love to make a courtyard here at the farm ~

complete with a bubbling fountain...

maybe in place of the kitchen garden!

 

ok, so my attention span is short.

I couldn't bear not to hold one of these big-boys...

oh, and we ducked into this to get out of the hot sun:

thought it was a phone booth at first, but....

no.

 

Perfect spot to REST in.

I drove home from Hannah's this morning, 

and once here I set to work cleaning up the kitchen garden

 {with thoughts of that courtyard in my mind}

and it's overgrown mass of sweet annie...

while I walking {always barefoot}

I tripped over a three tiered wire plant stand on the porch and busted my left heel.

~ so now I am walking with a cane. {ok, it's a walking stick I use when we go hiking}

cannot put any weight on it without shooting pain, so I think I fractured it.

ugh.

I'm just glad I didn't hurt it before the weekend 

... or I would have never been able to go to Richmond.

Now that I have to sit with this blasted foot up on a pillow on the couch for the rest of the day,

and possibly tomorrow ~

I will be perusing my sketchbooks for something new to needle punch.

{just hoping I don't need to get x-rays, not much they can do for a fractured heel anyway}

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori