HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Today be thankful and...

Think how rich you are.

Your family and friends are priceless,

Your time is gold,

And your health is wealth

~Author Unknown~

(Company coming.  Short blogging break until next week sometime.)

BUSY BEES, A FLASHBACK TO WARMER MONTHS

"The key to nature's therapy is feeling like a tiny part of it, not a master over it.  There's amazing pride in seeing a bee land on a flower you planted - but that's not your act of creation, it's your act of joining in."

~Victoria Coren Mitchell~

"The bee is an exquisite chemist."

~Royal Beekeeper to Charles II~

Did you know that the bees' buzz is the sound made by their wings which beats 11,400 times per minute?

"Bees communicate with each other by dancing."  I have always liked bees, now another reason why.

Other interesting facts about bees can be found here.

DEER AT BIG MEADOWS ON SKYLINE DRIVE, VA

These photos were taken a while ago when we were walking across Big Meadows.  

"If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don't hesitate.  Give into it."

~Mary Oliver~

Happy day to you and thanks for stopping by.

MONDAY FOOD POST - THE FIREFLY CAFE IN WINCHESTER

When we met our son last week, he took us to a new restaurant.  He had been there several times on his trips to Winchester.  Therefore, no recipe today except to a link to one we are thinking of making soon.  It is a meatloaf recipe by The Barefoot Contessa.

I read: "Firefly Café and Bakery is owned and operated by NW Works, which is a non-profit dedicated to empowering individuals through meaningful employment."  

This link will give you more information.  The menu can be read here.

I don't receive anything other than the pleasure I get passing along a place we enjoy. It has excellent reviews on Yelp and you can read those here.

This is the address to the organization mentioned above. 

~www.nwworks.com~

I enjoyed the wall art.

Also this one.

and this one.

We were there for the breakfast.

The three of us ordered an omelet (hubs) and ricotta pancakes (son and me). They were delicious and that bacon was the best I had tasted in any restaurant.

To top everything off the staff were nice and friendly. 

Great company, great conversation, comfortable surroundings and excellent food.  We are looking forward to going back and yes, highly recommended!

   

GOSIA'S FENCES AROUND THE WORLD

Another fence and another ride in the Virginia countryside.  

If you would like to see other fences or join in with your own, you can go here.  Thank you for hosting Gosia.

And thank you for supporting my blog.  Have a great weekend everyone, and see you on Monday.  

MUSEUM OF THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY, WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA - PART 3

Last post from this museum for a while.

I always find any exhibit fascinating, and whenever you learn something about the piece, the artist's vision becomes more clear.

This is the Tree House by the same artist.

I missed taking a photo of the information on the above sculpture, but I found the website here.  If you scroll down you will see it.  It has a fascinating description of how Mr. Cross found his materials.  The other works of art and their process are just as interesting.   The following tells you its history and I will type all of it as it is written on the website.

"Fig 9. Tree House by Robert L. Cross (American, born 1926), Winchester, VA, 1966-1974.  Mixed media.  Collection of the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, 2015.10.3, gift of Robert L. Cross.  Photo by Rick Foster." (the photo on the website, not the one above which is one I took).

"Because locust is an extremely dense wood and thus difficult to work, Cross purposefully looked for stumps that had already been hollowed out by termites.  Of the termites, Cross recalls: "We all worked together.  They helped me on the inside and I did my work on the outside."  I once asked Cross if he had made sure that all of the termites had left the stumps before bringing them into his house.  His reply?  No, but he probably should have.

On both stump sculptures, Cross ingeniously used the contours of the wood to his advantage.  Small openings in the bark became opportunities for fully-movable windows and doors.  A large branch shoot and the top of the trunk on the Stump Map became the locations for the states of Alaska and Hawaii, which do not touch the U.S. mainland.  One of the deepest crevices in the wood became the spot in which the two sides of the map converge, marked by a red line dividing the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans."

There is a photo of another tree house - see here -  - first and tenth photo - when Mr. Cross talks about Alaska and Hawaii.

I found the above information at the museum's blog which you can find if you click on this link.

I must have shaken the camera when taking a photo of this description as it came out blurry.  To save your eyesight I typed it for you.

"Doll, mid-1800s

Maker unknown

Forestville, Shenandoah County, Virginia

Yellow Pine

2017 09.1  gift of Nancy Branner Stewart in honor of Naomi Kibler(?)"

Few belongings of the Valley's enslaved population survive.  This doll may be an exception.  In the 1940s, while playing in a cabin on the Branner family farm mear Forestville, two young girls found this doll in a hidden nook.  A century earlier this cabin had served as the farm's slave quarters.  An enslaved person living in the cabin probably made the doll."

I could barely read the last paragraph in this description, and as I don't want to get any facts wrong, I will leave it until my next visit.  I was unable to find any more information online.

By the time we got to these interesting rooms, we had to quicken our pace as it was time to meet our son.  No further information from here.  Next time we go back I will enjoy seeing the museum at a more leisurely pace.

TODAY WILL NEVER ...

MUSEUM OF THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY, WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA - PART 2

Just a few of the doll houses from the museum.

I am not sure if this is the actual house described above.  I will know for sure the next time I go.

Below is Shadows of the Tec House, link here showing the original and at this link you can see the front of the model at the museum with more information.  I didn't get any photos of the inside rooms this time.

The following are the inside rooms of Tara from Gone with the Wind.  This time I didn't get the front!  I hope to take my time on our next visit.  Here is a link with more information.

In the portrait above you can just about make out Scarlet O'Hara.  Below you will see the likeness of Rhett Butler.

Closer looks of two of the rooms.

 I would love to see how people make this tiny furniture.  

One more post from the museum will be coming up sometime, but until the next time we go this is all from the doll house exhibit.

Thanks for looking and enjoy your day.