Weekend B&B

Last weekend hubby and I headed up to Virginia as I have been wanting to see Monticello which was President Thomas Jefferson's plantation back in the 1700's.  I love bed and breakfast as I get spoiled by having breakfast made for me!  Plus a lot of times you get to meet different people, and talk about where they are from. Such as one couple who just got married the previous week when his sister came over from England.  They are the lead band singers and they sing Celtic music, and they even have a dancer!!!  Here is their website http://www.ionamusic.com/ if you would like to hear the beautiful music they play.
Now to the bed & breakfast.  What can I say?  It was wonderful! Here are some photos of the farmhouse/bed&breakfast built back in 1848.

Look at those trees lining the side of the house

Who knows where the phone booth came from?! Almost looks like something you would see in England!

A small herb/flower garden with a pool in the back

Not exactly sure what this was used for yet I loved the old bricks!

The rear view

Our room, the linens were heavenly, put you right to sleep!

The table set waiting for its hungry guests!

The lawn chairs where you could plop down if you didn't want to sit on the porch

while watching the bees on the flowers

and if anyone knows what this is please tell me!

The owners, Orquida and Dan Ingraham, are the nicest folks!  Orquida came out to greet us when we arrived, and we met Dan later as he was out cutting the grass.  Here is a link to their bed & breakfast http://www.aftonmountain.com/ where you can see more photos.  We had two wonderful breakfasts and two great nights sleep.  If you ever get to Charlottesville, Virginia area I would recommend staying with them although there are so many bed & breakfasts in the area I'm sure they would all be an enjoyable experience!  There are so many things to do including visiting wineries which I was surprised at how many there are just in that one area!  We had fun!  I'll show those photos plus the photos from Monticello in my next post.

Blue Pots

I love this photo!

When I took this photo I noticed the pots on the ledge.  With the flowers cascading down it makes an interesting picture, but add the pots and it is like wow!  Then I am wondering.....why do they have them there?!!!

Fall Fruit

Bet you weren't expecting this!! It looks yummy doesn't it? This was taken a few years back when we were visiting Strasbourg, France.

I think it is amazing how they can make it look so real. I love the acorns and pears!!

Sunflowers

I've been quite busy lately, and had not realized it had been a while since I've posted. I won't write much today, I'll just leave you with a few photos of sunflowers from the garden. Summer is almost over, and I'll miss these cheery flowers!

Welcome, Wilkommen, Welkom, Accueil, Bienvenida

To my little garden house/cottage!  Pretty small isn't it?  I bought this light switch cover a long time ago, last winter I believe, and I guess that is where I got some of my colors from!

A few last minute preparations such as adding some dirt here to the front along with a french drain as when it rains it has washed some of the dirt away.

Hubby loaded some of our good ol' red dirt/clay which will be like cement!  Yes, that is our new "foster" dog on the side there.  I believe she has found a home now as no one claimed her, and we certainly don't want her put down either.

French drain finished, grass seed added. Let the watering begin!

Ooops! Did I do that?!!!! I had touch up painting to do, but it is now finished. 

A side look

View from the front with my (I love!) French doors!!!  The color on the doors and windows is called French Country Blue.

The inside.  I painted the floor the same color green although it looks much darker here. I had a ton of that paint so I might as well put it to good use since the floor needed painting anyway.  Hubby is putting floor molding down too. 

Speaking of hubby he's adding (one of  many) a decorative item given to me by my next door neighbor.  She said she knew it would be perfect for my little house.

Looks good!

My stepson gave this to me.  Hubby put it up for me too.  This one went on the back where later on I'll have some of  my garden stuff.

We got a porch light!

My daughter and I found this at Hobby Lobby.  She took french ages ago, so we bought two, one for me, and one for her front door!

When you are further back you could not read it.  So hubby suggested just adding a little paint to the words, now you can see it!

So, from this

To this

This past weekend we had really nice cool weather.  It got down to 52 degrees/ 12C. 
A beautiful night just right for a small fire.  It took all summer to get it done, and what a job! Lots of days with aching muscles, paint covered fingers.  Even though summer is coming to a close I'll be enjoying it for summers to come!  Of course now the real fun begins......the decorating!!!

Beach dreaming

I'd like to be sitting here

While waiting for the sun to paint the sky

Sighhhhhh

A Year Ago Today

A year ago today is something that no parent would want to go through. A time when your heart feels like it could stop too.
Last summer my daughter was sick on and off. At first it seemed like it was only a sinus infection which was a possibility, but there was a darker side attacking her. Her chest was hurting, and she was coughing hard. Then it got to the point of having a hard time breathing. At one doctor's office/clinic they took x-rays, and said she had pneumonia. Antibiotics were given which seemed to help. Then it started again. Now they said she had pneumonia in her other lung, and it got worse. More antibiotics. One doctor ran blood tests, and her white cells were going crazy. Then she coughed so hard she cracked ribs. Finally it eased up some with the antibiotics so they took their vacation down to Florida. While down there she said she never felt right, always felt like something was wrong. I too, had a bad feeling, woman's/mommy intuition. The morning when they were coming home she happened to stubble against the bucket of sand she was bringing home. She said it felt like her heart stopped, she turned gray, broke out in a sweat. Yes, she knows now she should have gone straight to the hospital there, but her thought was mom will have to come all the way down here just for a cracked rib. So they drove home, a long car ride home. Everything was so unsure.
We went to another doctor, and this is where she wound up.

The hospital for a whole week, and in ICU for three days. What was it you ask? Something that we would never, ever, in our wildest imagination would have thought of.......Blood clots aka pulmonary embolism. So many of them. The doctor said that perhaps the bucket saved her by making us aware of it. They called her the miracle girl. By all rights she should not have made it, but she did. One that I am thankful for every day for the rest of my life.
Now we are more aware of blood clots. There is a facebook page with it, and I am amazed at how many young people there are who have gone through it too. This is a very, very, scary situation. Not something that you would think could happen to young people, but it does. So now, I'm asking you to be aware of these things that I have read and am passing on to you.
Pain along/or with heat or swelling in the calf or thigh that feels like an ache
Breathing difficulties, shortness of breath, fast breathing, and painful breathing
These are just a few of the symptoms that should be check out asap.
Don't let a doctor say oh it's nothing. It is better to have an ultra sound or cat scan done than to have it ignored. A lot of doctors from what I have read have done that as they think a young patient, no surgery was recently done, they can't have this problem. Wrong, it can affect any age!
As I watched my daughter receive shots in her stomach, iv's, blood thinners being given to her that first week, I was amazed at how strong she was during that time. Me?, I felt like the 90 pound weakling!
So, now a whole year of being on the blood thinner Warfarin aka coumadin has come to an end. She will probably still have some tests done in another month or so for her new doctor to make sure she is as healthy as she can be with damaged lungs.
I must make a note though that a very big suspicion for her blood clots were the birth control pills.
This is not something that I would normally write about, but I believe it is something that everyone should be aware of that it can happen, more often than we know, and yes, to our children. I hope my blogging friends will pass this information on, because I would not wish something like this on my worst enemy.
How is my daughter you ask? Here take a look

Isn't she beautiful? I am a happy mom!!!!