August 28, 2007

• It
  has been a long time since I have had that age old assignment given to
  me that most of us have be given through the years…..

  What did you do this summer?

  or

  Where did you go on your summer vacation?

  
  
  Well..I kind of miss it.  So I assigned it to myself and have posted it below. 

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Some highlights from my summer. 

  Wow….when
  I sat down to reflect what I did this summer I was surprised at what we
  did do as a family.   No wonder I am so worn out! 

  It was almost Spring and that began with my daughter and one of her friends (Jen) dragging me out of
  the house to take a long walk at a local state park.  I was just getting over those months of being pretty sick and I had not been out for a long time.  They promised I would be okay.   I use to be an avid hiker…but boy did I find out how sick I had been!  It did me a whole lot of good though and I am VERY grateful these gals took me along.  We did have a
  great time playing on the ice and looking for nature items to be used
  for a sculpture in an art class Jen was taking.

  
  This was taken in front of the old outhouse behind the church in the next picture..the church was on the way home from the park.
  It is a beautiful old ,old church.
  
  
  
  

  Then
  I recalled the day four of us ventured to a museum to enjoy the crisp
  spring day and an exhibit at the museum entitled “Pastoral Scenes.”  
  That was a “peaceful” exhibit of some local county artwork from long ago
  as well as farm scenes and wooded scenes from all over. 
  We took a walk on the paths at the museum property and after observing all the modern sculpture we decided we would create our own…human sculptures.

                                                                                           

  
  

                                                                                   
   I am not sure what I was being…a modern duck sculpture maybe?
  (Mari, I have your socks on!)  

  
  

  
  

  Elisabeth held a cooking workshop which I had the pleasure to attend and take some photos too. 

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Miss Elisabeth and Miss Mae…who have been bosom buddies since they met at a history day camp way back when they were teeny tiny.

  Elisabeth also demonstrated at another local historic site that same weekend.  This too was a simply beautiful day.

  
  

  Then
  we attended an annual home school ball.  It was held on a very
  beautiful and fancy estate.  This was my first Civil War era ball.  I
  loved it.

  
  

  
  

  

   
  

  June showed up and so did baseball.  I went to all but one of our son’s  games.
  This
  was not a high competition group of guys.  They just love to play. 
  Will’s dad is one of the coaches and mostly all the boys’ families came
  to every game and even to some practices. 

  

  My cousin and her son and Will and I
  

  
  Of
  course we have to keep up with the garden.  I do the flowers and herbs
  while Elisabeth does herbs, flowers, and veggies.  She sure had a
  prolific season!

  
  

  
  

  I love when my Iris’ bloom…this is where orris root comes from..these Florentine Iris’

  We participated in a WWII air show
  weekend.  The couple in charge of where we volunteered had a volunteer
  appreciation kick off Luau the night before.  It was very low key but
  they went all out with some great food cooked on an authentic 1940′s
  camp stove.  Mr. S. even baked cakes for us.  I found my genuine 1940′s
  made in Hawaii muumuu on ebay for a song and it actually
  fit…including the length.  I am pretty short so most things are too
  long…but this was just right.  Elisabeth picked up a really neat
  shirt at the Dover AFB for Will.   There was even a B-17 on it with
  nose art that was named Susie. 

  
  

  
  Jumbo in a lei….You can tell he just loved it!
  

  
  

  
  

  Then
  three days of going back in time to learn about the WWII years.  I
  really enjoyed talking with many veterans of WWII as well as more
  recent wars.   I got so choked up when I tried to respond to them after
  they told me their story.  When listening to one man I was so emotional
  I could not even speak.  He must of thought I was some really wacky
  lady….but I did manage to thank him and shake his hand and say God
  bless you.
  

  
  

  

  Well…let’s
  throw into our summer a few long trips to VA.  Some of us in our family
  were asked to participate in Vision Forum’s Jamestown 400.  They set up camp at
  Fort Pocahontas other wise known as Wilson’s Wharf.  This property is
  owned by the great grandson of President John Tyler.  We spent a
  wonderful weekend there listening to lectures and talks on the visions
  of our founding fathers and the history of this property through
  several wars.   Very fascinating.  It was a privilege and an honor to
  learn more about our Christian heritage and be there with 4000 people
  who came as families to celebrate and learn and who also homeschool.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Friendly greeters along a garden walkway in Williamsburg

  
  

  
  

  We
  really enjoyed the very short time we had in Williamsburg, especially
  the garden, but there is so much more to see and we must go back.  My young
  lady fits right in that town…

  Elisabeth and I took a bus trip to Washington DC to spend the day
  at the Smithsonian.  It was an awfully HOT and HUMID day but we really
  did enjoy the National Art Gallery.  You are probably surprised we did
  not spend the day at the American History Museum!  It is closed for
  renovations.  Some things are on exhibit at the Air and Space
  Museum….which we had to spend time in too because my daughter just HAD to see the planes.    The WWI exhibit is excellent as well.
  We had a most delicious lunch in the art gallery.  It was a real refreshing French cuisine treat.

  
  

  That really expensive French way of making a salad.  

  
  

  
  
              Louis Armstrong’s trumpet                                                             Thomas Jefferson’s writing desk
  

  
  

  
  
  You certainly know who this is.                                                                      Timmy’s sneakers from Lassie
  

  
  

  
  

  This
  pigeon almost walked right into an ice cream truck parked by the
  curb….Will knows a song about pigeons in the park….one by Tom
  Leher..do you know the one I am talking about?
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  On another occasion our family spent the weekend with some good friends and they did not have to twist our arms to much to
  drive us to Richmond to tour the Museum of the Confederacy and the
  Confederate White House.  While I was not very keen on that at
  first…I was just content to sit a spell for the weekend on their quiet
  little farm…..once the tour of the White House began, I was so glad
  to be there.  I have never had such a fascinating tour and it was all
  so new to me as I had not learned very much at all about Jefferson
  Davis or his family or any of that.   Our tour guide was a retired
  Sergeant in the Army and he knew how to hold an audience and tell a story. 
  He had the great honor of being given a personal tour of this very same
  White House when he was just 11 by none other than the grand daughter
  of the great General  Robert E. Lee.   This was an African American who
  was very proud to have been a citizen of Richmond and he had the
  greatest respect for Gen. Lee.  He was told by his personal tour guide
  to refer to the war as “the late war of unpleasantness.”   This was
  truly a highlight of my summer.

  
  

  The back side of the White House(the front was way nicer but I did not take a picture of the front)
  

  
  

  
  

  YES!!!  This sure is J.E.B. Stuart’s hat  
  …..his boots were there and his portrait and other things….Seeing
  this exhibit alone was worth it all to me….but I am not dismissing my
  loyalty to Mr. Jackson…we just have a close second here….very close.

  Another
  thing we did this summer which was pretty much one of my favorites
  because I love the ocean…was to visit Cape Henlopen and Fort Miles, DE.   I got to
  spend a tiny bit of time getting my feet wet in the surf.  There is a
  WWII army barracks located there that is full of interesting tidbits. 
  We saw some BIG guns and an underground bunker where POW’s were kept.  We could not go inside though.  We got a lot of walking in that day but the weather was near perfect!  A way too short of a trip.
  The same weekend we visited Trap Pond State Park….the walking there is so neat….lots and lots of one of my favorite trees called Loblolly Pines.  They make a forest smell so good!
  

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

  A mine found right on the coast….fellow there claims the gunpowder did not survive the saltwater.
  I believe him….I really do…
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  The view from inside one of the barrack’s windows

  
  

  
  

  
  
  So
  while I did not pack up and leave town for any great lengths of time I
  did enjoy being with my wonderful family, being with dear friends
  and  seeing some places I have never seen before. 
  The Lord is so faithful and so good.  All of creation point to him and how very blessed we are to have such a holy and righteous God who never slumbers. 

  
  
  
  

  • 8:19 am
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