Scenes from the navigator's seat

I did not get to drive very much while we were on vacation.  Covering 1,889 miles in seventeen days means sitting.  Lots of sitting.  Same seat sitting.  I do believe my hiney imprint is forever in the passenger seat.

There were times when we were able to stop along the road so that I could snap a photo or two.  More often I took pictures "on the fly," meaning while the truck was rolling at 45+ miles per hour.  

I need to look back at photos to remember all that we did and saw as we traveled from the deep South to the high North, dividing the nation into (for us) the states east of our route and those to the west. It certainly helps in remembering where, exactly, some of the states are.  

Remember those fifth grade geography tests on which we had to label all 50 states?  I failed at those.  No really failed.  My teacher kept giving me the test again and again.  For some reason I would miss several states.  Not always the same states.  Just several wrong ones.

  

Meaning enough to fail.  Meaning enough to have to take the test again.  And again.  I don't remember how that turned out, but I do know that I passed fifth grade.

I could probably pass that test now.  Just saying.

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: Amish Life

Having traveled through parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and upper New York state, Richard and I have had a few small encounters with some of the Amish people from the area.  Those encounters were mostly distant--the Amish are easily distinguished--and few words were exchanged, but having taught a bit about the Amish life, I could not help but be curious.

To that end I purchased and read two books written by Amish writers: Amish Houses and Barns, by Stephen Scott, and The Amish School,by Sara E. Fisher and Rachel K. Stahl.

Both are quite interesting but I'll tell you more about the books on another post.  Tonight's post is all about how to be inspired by the people of the Amish community.

Sunday Quilt Inspiration

Here's hoping you're enjoying the Super Bowl.  It just happens to be on right now and half of the family is here to watch the game.  The other half was still here this morning, but they all headed to their own homes after lunch.  The game ends too late for those with little tykes to hang with us till the end and still get to respective Monday morning musts.  That's only one of the problems of a late night Sunday.

Since it's Sunday, it's time for a little inspiration for the week ahead.  We had a beautiful weekend.  The boys all showed up quite by accident, since nothing was planned. 

We especially enjoy those laid-back visits and extended the time outside by making a fire in our patio pit.  Everyone was already sitting around visiting, laughing and telling stories.  Let's start with a little of that fire pit feeling, in the form of candle light.

Don't you love these mix and match sets?  They are so easy and casual and look great.  I appreciate old things more and find that casual and comfortable is much more my style.

And since we're appreciating old things, how about appreciating quilts that have been around for as long as the Amish have?  I've found that there are quite a few pictures of Amish quilts on Pinterest.  Here are a few from my board:

 

Since it's the night of old things (for me anyway), let's take a look at a few abandoned buildings from around the world.  

Some of these were absolutely stunning in their glory, but today nature, time and decay have done untold damage.  It's easy to imagine how beautiful these building must have been and sad to think that we've simply deserted them.  Come by to see the 85 or so other pictures on my forsaken, heritage board.
Have a wonderful, creative week,
Mary