Randomness

We are home from Amelia Island. It was a really fun trip...the highlight was the annual Battle of the Boards on Friday night. The July meeting is the first for the new President of the Bar. It is a combined meeting of the Board of Governors and the Young Lawyers Board...thirty five years old and under. Every year it is a true battle to see who takes home the trophy. Some years it is a physical battle...scavenger hunts...volleyball on the beach...it is the choice of the president. Sometimes it's a bit more cerebral. This year the "old" lawyers, as Annie calls them, defended their title with a game of "Lawyer Feud"...as in Family Feud. The hotel staff did an excellent job of running the show.

The t-shirt this year was a doozie...Mr. Gene...the President of the Florida Bar with...as Annie exclaimed..."pink hair"!

Fueled with a little libation and lots of competitive spirit...even a few non-lawyer wives ended up helping out for a few rounds as we were outnumbered by the youngsters. I'm proud to say I contributed a number one answer...Perry Mason...best lawyer t.v. show of all time...the old lawyers prevailed!

Well done, Counselors!

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On the way home we made a stop at Kingsley Plantation. Sea Island cotton was the main cash crop here. 

The original foundations of the slave cabins still stand. The cabins were built from "tabby"...a mixture of oyster shells sand and water. 

...the view...

...the house...

The slave cabins were built in a semi-circle similar to the design of many West African villages. The owner of Kingsley Plantation, Zephaniah Kingsley, was married to an African woman from Senegal. He purchased her in Cuba and freed her when they moved to Florida when it was still under Spanish rule. When Florida came under U.S. rule, Anna and her children were in danger of being made slaves  themselves upon Zephaniah's death, so the family moved to Haiti. How's that for a convoluted history?

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Here are my goodies from the trip. I have eyed this reverse painted silhouette on many trips to Amelia Island. This time it was reduced in price and came home with me...love the birds eye maple frame.

I am a "honey" addict. It's one of the things I look for when we travel because honey always tastes different in different locales. This honey happens to be from Savannah. Tupelo honey is my favorite!

Also scored three pins to add to my snippets bag.

Ask Annie the best part of any hotel stay and she will answer. "...the cold sheets".

Pumpkins popping up here!

Have a great week!

Robyn

Local Color

The Amelia Island Plantation Resort is tucked away between the Atlantic Ocean and tropical old Florida landscape.

They offer every kind of activity you can imagine...the usual golf and tennis...

...and much more...horseback riding, segways, bikes, kayaking and paddle boarding.

There is a nature center, archery field and a miniature golf course.

In the evening they fire up a bonfire on the beach...complete with s'mores.

Hidden among the palms and palmettos are shops and cafes offering a little bit of everything. They actually offer golf carts to make navigating the place easier. Sixteen shops and nine restaurants are scattered under venerable old pines and mighty live oaks. 

It's an adventure just to explore the place. 

My girl and I...we roll at a slower pace but have lots of fun doing our thing.

This is the chandelier that greets you in the lobby...driftwood and metal...it's wonderful and huge!

I've been having my morning tea watching the sunrise...tea that comes in such a sweet little "bag" and is so tasty!

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Thank you to all who left such lovely comments yesterday. You warmed my heart and made me smile. I guess I am not as boring as I thought.

Margaret, Julia, Lauren, Francine, Nancee, Rose, Mindy, Patti, Sheri, Kathy, Louise, and Carol...thank you...yesterday was a good day.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Travelin' ...Morning has broken...

  

This was my view just a few minutes ago, and I had to share it with you. 

I have been absent lately...you all know how that is.

We are in Amelia Island for a meeting. We usually come here in December so this is a new experience for our group...being here in the Summer. We are in a different hotel as well...it has Annie and I a little off our game. A little jaunt to our favorite places later today should help us get back on track...and we will be checking in on the wild peacocks that roam free on this small slice of paradise.

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Lately, I feel like my blogging has become blah, blah, blah. When I first started MW's Lori Brechlin told me just write about what I love and what interests me. Well, I am a stay at home mom that loves her family, her home and pulling a needle...or hook...and every few months I get out of town and get to order room service. That's about it. Not very exciting. But then I thought...I love to hear what everyone is working on...and about where they go...and see their collections and beautiful homes. It's what we would talk about if we were all in my living room just hanging out. Maybe it's not so blah, blah, blah after all. I've been thinking about letting my blog fade off into the sunset...but then I saw this extraordinary sunrise and I just could not keep it to myself. 

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Antique Lion...a finish

Antique Lion pattern by Karen Kahle Primitive Spirit

He's finished and hanging over my bed. 

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

My kind of town...

We are planning a trip to this great city early this Fall. Mr. MW has been here a couple of times, but for Annie and I it will be a first. I love a big city and am starting to get excited about this adventure.

We will be driving...with a "lay-over" in Nashville. I have always wanted to visit Franklin, Tennessee so we will be stopping there on the way North.

I'd love to hear from you if you know of any great places to see along the way. Shops...antique malls...historical homes. Any info about this area would be greatly appreciated. We might vary our route on the way home so we can see more sites.

Many years ago, on a trip to Cincinnati, we made stops at the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill and the Smokey Mountains National Park. We like to see our National Parks and always make a point to visit if we are close to one.

Any info...ideas...recommendations? 

Hope you all enjoyed the holiday. Mr. MW had a great race through the dunes and on the beach of Honeymoon Island. The course is lit by luminaries...a 10k...6.2 miles which he considers a "short run". The rains stopped just in time and the bugs were scarce, luckily.

Thank you for the lovely comments about our candle lit living room. We love our little home. It's our "starter house"...but after twenty four years I am fairly certain we will be finish here as well. Wouldn't want it any other way.

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

Happy Birthday, America!

Debbee Thibault Uncle Sam      Mugwump Woolies Firecrackers

Enjoy the day!

Evening

Last night I fired up all the candles in the living room. Sometimes I just like to sit with the candle glow washing over our little cottage. What's that old saying? "Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits." 

These wing backs were given to us by my in laws about twenty five years ago. They are actually the very chairs my husband grew up with in his childhood home in Connecticut. They have been recovered a few times and my upholsterer always comments that they don't make furniture like this anymore...good and solid...the reason they are still around. 

They have traveled hundreds of miles and offered a resting place to no less than four generations from both sides of our family. 

Our sofa came to us by way of my upholsterer. A client of his was downsizing, so the 1940's sofa was recovered and joined the wing backs in our living room. It was recovered recently and my "new" upholsterer commented what a well made piece it was...all wood...wood that had been heated and curved the old way.

I like that my furniture has it's own story...that it was not discarded along the way. I like that I can sit on my well traveled chairs in the evening, and gaze out of my window at the homes of my wonderful neighbors. I like that when I sit in the candle glow and quiet, and the evening fades into the night, that I am grateful and content.

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Do you have lots of fun planned for the 4th? Hope you all stay safe and makes lots of memories.

Mr. MW will be running in the Midnight Run tonight as he does every July 4th. At midnight, when the gun goes off, he'll be making his way down a candle lit course battling the skeeters and heat. Annie and I will be cool and bugless at home.

Enjoy the day,

Robyn

July kitchen window

Sweet Land of Liberty...I love this print. I bought this Susan Daul print many years ago on a trip to Massachusetts. It's perfect for my July window...I get to watch these patriots march as I tidy up. 

It's all about the words this month...liberty...America...Washington

We always have a lantern in the window.

Shooner  eagle...Turtlecreek plate

...flag & feathers...

The eagle...noble symbol of our land.

It's a dreary day here...rainy and stormy. We will be burning our lantern all day in memory of the brave firefighters who lost their lives while trying to protect others.  Such a sad, sad day.

Sweet Land of Liberty...let freedom ring!

Enjoy the day,

Robyn