Outdoor Wednesday

Today is Outdoor Wednesday hosted by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer. Thank you Susan for hosting!

Here, I happened to be at the right place at the right time. I call it my 'Farside' photo. This photo was taken on one of the jungle treks at WDW in Animal Kingdom.

To enjoy or to participate in Outdoor Wednesday, please go to Susan's blog A Southern Daydreamer to see all the beautiful posts!

Monticello

The beautiful home of Thomas Jefferson. 3rd President of the United States of America. Author of the Declaration of Independence, one of our Founding Fathers.

Photo looking out the window of the Ticket House.

It was a foggy morning. A tad cool. I had just bought a new camera for work and was trying it out on this trip. DH said that he remembered me reading the manual in the car while we were waiting for Monticello to open. So, I guess these are the first photos taken with this camera....

Indoor photos were not allowed. Something about the ownership of all the antiques and furnishings in the house and contracts to include no images being taken, etc etc... But we were allowed to take all the photos we wanted of the outside. Lovely Bowling Greens.

There was a painter and a ladder on this porch. They were trying to get through before the crowds started coming around to take.... pictures! DD, DH and I all took photos and did an excellent joy shooting around the ladder and painter. Those columns are pretty big!

The flower gardens are so beautiful. Jefferson grew many many varieties of flowers and plants. (I think this is Joe-Pye Weed in the foreground in this photo.) In some areas, the lighting was bad, so I chose not to take photos. But it was fun to get photos with fog.

The pond looks like a looking glass. Very pretty.

One of Jefferson's vegetable gardens. The building to the left was one of his offices. He was very 'hands on' with all of his work. He would spend hours with his work in that room. And who could blame him? Look at that view!

Jefferson's favorite food was peas. He grew 28 different varities on his farm.

This is where his body lays at rest. And I have no idea why I took this photo in Black and White except I had a new camera and was experimenting. LOL! And was at a graveyard.

Monticello, a beautiful place to tour, visit and spend a day. Learn about our history and about one of our Founding Fathers. A great leader of our nation.

They have a great gift shop, garden shop, hiking trails, etc. We have always planned 1/2 day there. To enjoy it fully, you need to plan on 3/4 to a full day.

Thank you Kelli for Hosting Friday Show and Tell every week. To participate or to see more Friday Show and Tell posts, go to Kelli's blog-There's No Place Like Home.

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

An Award!

I feel like I have been a terrible blogger as of late. Life is getting in the way and I have several projects that are coming up and they will make me even busier! But that is part of life. I miss you all! I am going to take some time to do more than lurk and will be posting to everyone's blog in the next few days.

Also, a month ago, I started Kay Arthur's Isaiah Part I. This is a wonderful Bible Study. If you ever get a chance to take it, do so. You can also take it online. Since I will not be able to go to class tomorrow, I am going to see if I can view the video online. (technology... too kewl!!!)

Speaking of technology & terrific bloggers.... Meet Sweet Susan - A Southern Daydreamer (go check out her blog! it is awesome and she knows how to use a computer! She has decorative thingys in her sidebar that match her blog! And she has been blogging less than 2 months!). Susan just bestowed the Premios Daro Award to me. *Blush* I did look up the meaning of this award.... “The Dardos Award is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web.” *Blush*

Now, I am supposed to pass this along to 5 other bloggers....

Sweet Kitty Scraps-A bit of Fluff, Quite Messy Really

Smiling Sally-Smiling Sally's Blog-Susan may have given her this award, but Sally deserves it! She is a faithful blogging friend. :D

Lovely Anya-Hills Creek Quilter

Beautiful Nina-Portugal Bound (She follows my Health and Fitness Blog and is my new email buddy. She is helping my with my girls mission goup - GA's- You Baptists will know what GA's are.)

Beautiful Sharon-Keeper of the Home Sharon encouraged me to start posting to my Health and Fitness Blog again after a time of letting it go almost dormant.

Please go by and visit these ladies blogs. Unlike me, they really fit the discription of this award.

God bless you all today.
Love,
Melissa

Sunday Video

Steven Curtis Chapman "How do I Love a Woman". To better enjoy, please turn off the music that is on my playlist on the sidebar to the right.

Blue Monday

Welcome to my addition to Blue Monday. Blue Monday is hosted by Sally @ Smiling Sally's Blog. Thank you Sally for hosting every week. We all really appreciate it.

This week I wanted to show you a set of salt and pepper shakers that I purchased at Monticello (Home of Thomas Jefferson) several years ago. I love them and use them next to my stove. And now that I look at the photo (I used one of my work cameras for this photo) I see all the grains of sugar that should have been cleaned off the hutch! LOL!

To see more Blue Monday posts or to participate in Blue Monday, go to Smiling Sally's Blog.

Happy Blue Monday! And thanks for stopping by.

Sunday Video

A wonderful Video by Mercy Me. To enjoy, please tune off the music on my playlist in the right sidebar first.

Have a blessed Sunday!

Ronald Reagan

"Here's my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose."

- Ronald Reagan

"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

- Ronald Reagan

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so."

- Ronald Reagan

"Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong."

- Ronald Reagan

"I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress."

- Ronald Reagan

"The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination."

- Ronald Reagan

"Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other."

- Ronald Reagan

"The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program."

- Ronald Reagan

"I've laid down the law, though, to everyone from now on about anything that happens: no matter what time it is, wake me, even if it's in the middle of a Cabinet meeting."

- Ronald Reagan

"It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first."

- Ronald Reagan

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."

- Ronald Reagan

"Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed, there are many rewards; if you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book."

- Ronald Reagan

"No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is as formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women."

- Ronald Reagan

"If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."

- Ronald Reagan