Eureka Springs Getaway

Eureka!!!  Last weekend we visited one of my favorite places, Eureka Springs.  Having our buddies Becky and Ray at nearby Beaver Lake just makes it All That Much Better!!!  

Friday night we attended the preview of the antique show in town.  It's always a good show and I've found a few treasures there over the years.  This year my goal was to Not Buy Anything...  I'm supposed to be "downsizing" ha ha.  I saw at least 100 things I would love to have, but I showed Great Restraint.  I could not resist this though... is it an antique?  Yep, it's an antique.  My third grade Mathematics textbook - in mint condition! 

And then this little print... couldn't resist it either.  So romantic...

Here's a close-up.  I think it's quite a shame men don't wear those ruffly collars anymore!

This flower print is also from the Eureka Springs antique show - maybe 5-6 years ago?  I love it - love these colors and the flowers - everything!  It is quite old.  This hangs in my kitchen at the top of the stairs.

Take a look at this...  this is just heaven!  Right there at Beaver Lake.  Heaven!  Many thanks to Cee Cee for letting us spend some time with her in her studio.

We are so happy because we are about to go inside for a little Sip of Dickle, and to look at The Jewelry, in that order.

After their Sip, we sent the guys off to "look around"...  and then out came The Jewelry!  Ray looks like he knows what happens when The Jewelry comes out!

About an hour (and two necklaces for me) later, we let Cee Cee get back to her creative endeavors.  What a treat!  There are always crazy things to see and do in Eureka Springs.  One of the things I love about this place is that it is not necessary to try to Explain Everything... 

I don't have a photo from Simply Scrumptious Tea Room and Emporium.  If you find yourself in ES, do not fail to have lunch there.  It was... simply scrumptious!  Thanks Miss Charleen!

And many thanks to Becky and Ray for the laughter and the hospitality there in the Acorn Palace at Point Mirage... where the Illusion is Real.  (Well, it used to be until Ray took a chain saw to it!)

Unfinished Buniness

Nope, that is not a typo.  This really is about unfinished bunnies.

I'm on a quest to finish an "undisclosed number" of "projects" before starting anything new (not counting the new crocheted shrug I started two nights ago!  Augghhh!).  Lately I have not been too good about finishing things.  Starting something new is Just So Much Fun!  Am I right?

Actually, I love this little rug and am very excited to see it so near completion.  Several years ago I came across a painting on an art website - see the color copy of the painting in the upper left corner of the photo.  The artist was listed as "unknown" - so no one to be upset at me if I copy it!

I thought the composition and colors and of course The Bunnies would be perfect for a hooked rug.  I filed it away for awhile, then set about converting the color copy to an enlarged black and white copy, then to red dot, then to the linen background.  My rug hooking teacher, Anita White, helped me pick out the wool.  I wanted to stay pretty true to the painting.  My straw is a bit darker, and my bunnies are not quite as detailed, but I think it is translating very well overall.  I plan to frame it.

Question is...  how long will it take me to get there?  I hope to show you Finished Buniness very soon!  (Spell Check really objects to my word Buniness...)  Maybe putting it here on the blog will give me a little extra motivation!

Vacation Memories #4 - Whale Watching

One of our favorite vacation experiences was our whale-watching tour.  We started our journey in Gloucester Harbor.  As we left the harbor, we saw this wonderful sailing ship.

 This is the view from the top deck of the whale-watching boat.  Below was another deck with a dining room.

 Another sailor enjoying a beautiful day at sea.

It took about 2 hours to reach the area where whales had been spotted by other boats.  We were 33 miles out from the harbor!

 This is one of our first sightings - a humpback whale.  Many photos were taken that day!

 Lots of watching over the side of the boat.  And lots of running back and forth every time someone spotted one on the other side of the boat!

 This is another whale-watching boat in the same area.  The captains of all the boats are able to communicate with each other - which really helps find the whales!

 It is possible to see the whale's spray from a long ways away!  Spotting that is one of the best ways to find the whales.

 Here are several swimming together - pretty close to the boat!

Now very close to the boat!

 This one swam right under the boat with her calf right beside her.

 I thought it was so interesting how the color of the water changed depending on the direction of view.  Look at this blue...

 The sun and clouds created an amazing image.

 Here's the blue version!

The entire voyage took almost 6 hours - but it was worth every minute.  We saw 7 different humpback whales - with many sightings of each one.  Each whale has a unique tail pattern.  (I was not lucky enough to get a good shot of a tail up out of the water.)  The whale "experts" on the boat were college kids studying marine biology.  They did a fantastic job of helping everyone have a good experience.

 If we ever get back there, we'll do this again!

Vacation Memories #3 New England Flower Boxes and Houses

Back by popular demand!!!  To my several blog readers out there, sorry it's been so long.  But I am happy to know that you enjoy the blog.    

We saw many wonderful flower boxes everywhere we visited in New England.  And, the houses... what can I say?  We saw some spectacular homes, especially along the sea coast.  I don't have pictures of the really special ones - too hard to take a picture from the road.  I would love to go back just to look at the houses - and maybe be a little braver about getting close enough to get a good picture.

 In every little town, the shops had fabulous flower boxes in the windows.

 

This is a wonderful old home in Marblehead.  Up on the top I'm sure you would have a million dollar view of the ocean.

 Lovely combination of colors and textures.

 Here is a close-up of the one above.

 We were there in August - so everything was very full and mature. 

 Pretty pink geraniums outside a childrens store.

 The flowers in this window weren't too good - but there is a C.C. Barton print inside the gallery!  She is one of my favorite bunny artists.

 Great greenery.

 I had some of these on my patio this year and really loved them.

 Vine geraniums.

 The red grass in this is so cool.

 I think these were in Newburyport, MA.

 

 This was outside a great seafood place along the coast near Rye, NH. 

 Also near Rye, NH.

 This was on an incredible site - pretty much surrounded by ocean.

 

 Here's another example of a shingle-style home.  I love this look.

 There are lots of funny little cottages like this one.  It seems like a bad storm would just carry this out to sea!

 This is in Gloucester (I think.)

 Gloucester, MA.

 I would love to know the story behind this castle.  I think we were supposed to go see this, but never found it.  I took this picture from the whale-watching boat as we were leaving the Gloucester harbor on our way out to look for whales.

Speaking of whales...  yes we saw whales!  That would be a good subject for the next post!