The Wine Trail

For my 29th birthday this year (lol if you believe the number!) we went to Watkins Glenn, along the way, making our trip up the wine trail! Two of our neighbors, who happen to be very close friends, went along with us. It was their first wine tasting tour and our second. Needless to say fun was had by all! And I found a few new favorite wines to add to my ever growing list! One of them is called Eft, by Red Newt Cellars of the Finger Lakes. It's a red wine and sort of taste like shiraz. An eft is a young newt, a new piece of information I picked up at the winery, as I had never heard of an eft. Can't imagine many people have! I have lots of others pictures, but to be honest right now am being too lazy to go into photoshop and resize them! They are too big at the moment. Bad lazy blogger, that I am. Well maybe just for the moment!

okay, so I unlazied myself, and edited a few! There are lots more though! This is Belhurst Castle, where we ate lunch. The wine is awesome there as is the food! And the castle is just gorgeous! We tried to get a room there in the castle tower, but when we looked online they were booked.

This is hubby dear. Notice the watery eyes! Poor soul had a nasty cold, but braved it out for me! I am so lucky to have him!

This is J.B., my lil' partner in photography, well actually we aren't partners, we just jibber jab about camera, photoshop and whatever photography related subject we happen upon that day! For some reason he was taking a picture of the girls in the backseat. Apparently someone else was taking his picture back.

I hope you all are having a peaceful, but fun Memorial Day weekend!

My other Secret Garden

This is part one of my secret garden. Part two can be found here .

When I look at this photo I feel like I could be two inches tall, just wandering around amongst the flowers!

Things have been sort of busy for me lately. Yesterday I went to a seminar in Stamford, Conneticut. The seminar was for work. We actually left Sunday morning and somehow..don't ask me how, the car swerved off the thruway into the parking lot of Woodbury Commons (gads upon gads of factory outlets lined the outskirts of this parking lot!!)

After a marathon shopping day, we stayed until closing, we headed to our hotel. The rest of the trip was not as pleasant though. We checked in and had a late dinner. Mine was very good, nicoise salad (neeshwah, as the waiter told me) with pan seared salmon and a champagne dressing. Lucky thing I enjoyed it because as soon as I got to my room I felt extremely ill. ALL night! By morning all was well though, but not for another co-worker of mine. She was sick to her stomach all day, and all night, including the ride home. (which took us 4 hours or so) We got lost in an 'eh gahds I have so much money I don't know what to do with it' neighborhood. (never trust a garmin!) My poor friend picked a very lovely lawn to pullover and be ill on...really I don't think she truly cared what kind of lawn it was, not so sure about the owners! We then had to ask for directions a few times. We came upon a man walking his dog, I thought to myself..'hmmm..looks like Arnold', you know, the termintator/governor Arnold. I wanted to roll out of my seat when he opened his mouth and had the exact same accent as Mr. S! We pulled away, and apparently nobody had the same thought, but I said...that was Arnold! My car buddies didn't think so...but tell me people..irony..the accent???!!!!

Happy Birthday to me...and Casey!

Yesterday I walked into work and found these beautiful roses sitting on the counter! They were from a co-worker who shares the same birthday with me. I think they are absolutely gorgeous, orange roses have always been my favorite!

Today is my 40th birthday, and my youngest sons 19th birthday. I love sharing a birthday with him! He actually was 6 weeks early when he was born. Something I always have found a little strange is that his dad was born on his mothers' birthday also. A rare coincedence I guess.

These are my Stars and Moon earrings, created from vintage clip on earrings. I just listed them in my etsy shop this morning.

I have a fresh batch of vintage costume jewelry to create with, thanks to some co-workers! They were so sweet and thoughtful to do this, and I feel absolutely spoiled. At our morning break yesterday they gave me a black and ivory colored toile covered box, just overflowing with little goodies! Most of which were costume jewelry that they had found! I felt like a kid in a candy shop! Perhaps some complimentary jewelry will be coming there way. More to come on the creations! Now off to start the first day of being 40...hmmmm..I think I will go for a run. (highly unusual for me, not!)..and also something I didn't do when I was 20!

Fish bowl be gone!

The curtains are finally up in my little studio! It is so much nicer knowing I am not sitting in a fishbowl anymore. The sliding glass doors got pretty spooky at night with nothing on them! Especially if I decide to watch an episode of Medium online, which I did a week or so ago. It became dark as I sat in here watching it, I also had not one light on in the house. Hubby was out of town, I wasn't aware of how freaky things seemed until I looked around for a moment! Anways I finally have a touch of 'shabby' added to this space, a look that I love! There is a lot more I want to do with the decor of this room, it will remain a work in progress for quite some time, I am sure!

My garden is in 1/2 bloom so far! It just keeps getting prettier and prettier every day! Everything is getting prettier! I made the mistake, well it wasn't really a mistake, of taking my camera with me on my run today. I made quite a few stops along the way. Needless to say there are lots and lots of pictures patiently waiting in my digicam to be let loose!

Here are a few pictures from the show this weekend. I entered 6 pieces, 4 prints and two collages. Above is the Rose Tree. I had the chance to drool over some gorgeous pottery displayed there! It is almost the same shade as my soon to be new kitchen countertop...and laundry room walls...sort of the shade of bluish green in my collage below.

This is Allies' Fairyland. The original 'Allie' was going to go this week and have her picture taken standing next to it, it is place at just here height! I can't wait to see how it comes out!

I haven't completed any new collages lately. Somehow, I just seem so busy! And then get so tired! Hopefully soon I will have something new and exciting to show you!

This one is for you Dad

The last time I saw my dad, we made plans to go out for pizza for his birthday. We talked about my future plans. He wanted to know as much as I could tell him. I told him I was going to college for an art degree and talked about other nonspecifics in my life, that seemed very important to him at the time. I hugged him goodbye, afraid he would break in my arms. I could have counted every single bone in his back. We never went out for pizza for his birthday. Instead he took his last trip to the hospital. I was a teenager back then, he was 35. I never finished college with a degree in art, instead changed my path to nursing, always longing for that art career. Tonight I am going to an artists' viewing of a local county art show that I am participating in. Last week my mom was up and we dropped my artwork for the show. She told me how she remembered going to the same art show a few times, years ago, back in the 70's, with my dad. I remember going to my dads' apartment once and seeing an easel set up, with a drawing he was working on, and how he showed me how to draw a daisy, I may have been 5 or 6. I am thrilled to be showing my artwork locally for the first time, and also thrilled knowing my dad walked the same halls so long ago. I don't know where my relationship would have gone with my father, had he lived. I like to think it would have evolved, matured and strengthened, though I will never know. I do know I think of him often and all that he has missed, and all that his children may have missed. I do know I will love him forever and still speak to him often. So in saying that, my dear father, tonight is for you.