Monday, November 23, 2015

Treasures of Italy





We were in Italy for 10 days.  It was not nearly long enough to travel this beautiful country.  I'm still recuperating from jet lag.  So today, because there are literally hundreds of photos, I thought I'd show you photos of our first  introduction to Italy.  The town in called Montepulciano.  It is part of Tuscany and so we stopped here to get our first taste of Italy, no pun intended.  We had a tour of a winery.  

It was amazing!  The winery itself was once an ancient castle. And it was built over the remains of an Etruscan burial site.  It was quite an adventure.  Going down into the lower levels of the winery and seeing the artifact that have been found there. 



Largest of the wine casks


And it all begins here.


The Etruscan burial chamber


Steps to the tomb.

It was amazing to see how the remains of two thousand years of history can be maintained and continued in use at the same time.  

Oh, and did I mention the wine?  Oh, my goodness!  It was just delicious.  I also had my first taste of pecorino cheese (cheese made from sheep's milk).  It was wonderful.

When we had finished our stop in Montepulciano we were off to some serious touring. . .Florence.    I will try to share this adventure in more detail, but right now my head is still spinning!

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!!!


I have found a new place to play and invite you to join Mersad at Through My Lens.  It's inviting and fun!





And as an added treat perhaps stop by NC Sue's Image-in-ing.

Friday, October 30, 2015

River Walk



On a river walk
It was beauty all aglow
Sky was shimmering

The glow of the sky
 Mirroring its very light
Lights us on our way

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God




A man practices the art of adventure when he breaks the chain of routine and renews his life through reading new books, traveling to new places, making new friends, taking up new hobbies and adopting new viewpoints” ~Wilfred Peterson

I'll be gone on a great adventure for the next two weeks so I'll not be visiting you all until I return.  It's the adventure of a lifetime for me as I will be traveling to Italy.  So, if you will pray for me, I will be praying for all my friends who is on this blogging adventure with me.  So until I return, God be with you all!


Please visit Rebecca at recuerda mi corazon for Haiku My Heart. There is always more beautiful words  there to enchant and encourage!!! 



Finally, I am joining A Soulful Life for Soulfood Friday



I have found a new place to play and invite you to join Mersad at Through My Lens.  Should be fun!






And as an added treat perhaps stop by NC Sue's Image-in-ing.

Friday, October 23, 2015

Berry Beauty



Glow on the berries
The autumn sun is ablaze
Wonders never cease

Wonders never cease
We must always be aware
Winter's on the step

Winter's on the step
We knew sooner or later
Knocking at the door

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!




Please visit Rebecca at recuerda mi corazon for Haiku My Heart. There is always more beautiful words  there to enchant and encourage!!! 



Finally, I am joining A Soulful Life for Soulfood Friday


I have found a new place to play and invite you to join Mersad at Through My Lens.  Should be fun!



I'm also joining Catching Light for some lovely photos today.  Why don't you stop by?


And as an added treat perhaps stop by NC Sue's Image-in-ing.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

A Palette of Gold












A palette of gold
Beautiful shades of color
Sun glows in the park

Sun glows in the park
Colors are from God's palette
Glory be to God

Glory be to God
So many are the wonders
So very many

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!


Please visit Rebecca at recuerda mi corazon for Haiku My Heart. There is always more beautiful words  there to enchant and encourage!!! 



Finally, I am joining A Soulful Life for Soulfood Friday


Saturday, October 10, 2015

Halloween Preview


Two of my favorite quotes for Halloween

A grandmother pretends she doesn't know who you are on Halloween.
~~Erma Bombeck~~

'Tis now the very witching time of night
When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world
~~William Shakespeare~~

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!


Please visit Judith at Lavender Cottage for Mosaic Monday and share in the beauty offered there.

Mosaic Monday


I have found a new place to play and invite you to join Mersad at Through My Lens.  Should be fun!



I'm also joining Catching Light for some lovely photos today.  Why don't you stop by?


Thursday, October 08, 2015

Stately Tree


~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!




Please visit Rebecca at recuerda mi corazon for Haiku My Heart. There is always more beautiful words  there to enchant and encourage!!! 



Finally, I am joining A Soulful Life for Soulfood Friday


Sunday, October 04, 2015

Beautiful Friends


WELCOME

It's a most beautiful time of the year.  The leaves begin to change, but flowers continue to bud and bloom.  I do love to walk in the fall.  Fresh crisp air that awakens me and makes me appreciate all that is dear to me even more.

Roses continue to boast of their beauty, as if trying to remind me today, that I need not worry for they will return in the Spring to brighten my days.  For surely that is their sole purpose.


Days decrease,
And Autumn grows
Autumn is everything
~~Robert Browning~~

~~~~~~~



I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.
~~Nathaniel Hawthorne~~

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!




Please visit Judith at Lavender Cottage for Mosaic Monday and share in the beauty offered there.



Mosaic Monday



I have found a new place to play and invite you to join Mersad at Through My Lens.  Should be fun!



I'm also joining Catching Light for some lovely photos today.  Why don't you stop by?


Friday, October 02, 2015

The Autumn Rose




Walks do the soul good
Reflecting on God's beauty
Lifts me to new heights

Shadows and sunlight
Lights and darks and shades of pink
Boast of God's glory

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!




Please visit Rebecca at recuerda mi corazon for Haiku My Heart. There is always more beautiful words  there to enchant and encourage!!! 



Finally, I am joining A Soulful Life for Soulfood Friday


Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Single Gerber Daisy


I have waited all summer for this pot full of green foliage to bloom.  And this morning I went outside to work in the garden and found this single Gerber daisy blooming. . .the first day of Autumn.  Ron nursed this plant through the winter knowing it was an annual but hoping that he could keep it alive.  Well, he succeeded.  It just waited to the very end to show her glory.  Don't know if Ron is going to try to nurse it again this winter.  Will wait and see.

~~~~~~

All this greenery
Lush and green the Gerber leaves
Waiting for a bloom

Waiting for a bloom
All the summer long I wait
And she blooms today

Proud as she can be
Vivid is the color red
So very pretty

~~~^j^~~~



I'm joining  Little Things Thursday.  Drop by by and visit!

Little by Little

Please visit Rebecca at recuerda mi corazon for Haiku My Heart. There is always more beautiful words  there to enchant and encourage!!! 



Finally, I am joining A Soulful Life for Soulfood Friday


Sunday, September 20, 2015

The Glory of An Autumn Garden






But friendship is the breathing rose, 
with sweets in every fold.
Oliver Wendell Holmes

My favorite rose in the garden.  It's hardy and beautifully dainty at the same time.  It withstands the summer heat and the autumn chill.













The aster greets us as we pass 
With her faint smile 
Sarah Helen Power Whitman

Butterflies, bees and moths  in the garden.  Don't you just love it? And the Aster has become one of my favorite flowers




The burning bush is oh so lovely when it's color is brilliant red, but seeing her change so gloriously allows me to appreciate her even more for all the labor that goes into it. 


Earth laughs in flowers.
Ralph Waldo Emerson









This wee hibiscus is sheltered in the bushes and even now is budding again.  How I have come to love these creations.

I'd rather have roses on my table,
than diamonds on my neck.
tEmma Goldman

And that pretty much says it all!!!  Have a wonderful week and don't forget to give the Glory to God!

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!




Please visit Judith at Lavender Cottage for Mosaic Monday and share in the beauty offered there.



Mosaic Monday



I'm been inviting you  to  join Monday WRites by Gillena Cox.    Today maybe you might join her in this adventure.


verses


I have found a new place to play and invite you to join Mersad at Through My Lens.  Should be fun!



I'm also joining Catching Light for some lovely photos today.  Why don't you stop by?