Sentimental Sunday

The memories of traveling to New Zealand a year ago are vivid in my heart & mind this month. A year ago today I was here - with Brent. I've seen quite a bit of this world. Without a doubt, Akaroa is on my top five list of beautiful places...

Tuckahoe Plantation

I got to be a "real" parent for half a day today, being a chaperon for Nathan's field trip to Tuckahoe Plantation. - They are studying Virginia History in their final block of the year. Tuckahoe Plantation was the boyhood home of Thomas Jefferson. Unfortunately no picture-snapping is allowed on the inside. It was marvelous, though.

The photo from the front turned out not-so-nice, so I give you the picture of the back. It's and H-shaped house.

Kitchen.

Pretty garden.

More garden.

Even more garden.

Rosebushes by the cemetery.

Noah's Balloon Ride

It was so amazing to witness. If I had $750 just laying around, the three of us would go on a balloon ride. Nathan was totally intrigued. I love how the pictures turned out. Story goes they tried to land on a field close to a high school, but didn't quite make it, thus they landed in someone's front yard & the whole subdivision came out!

We got up at 4:15 a.m. this morning for them to launch as the sun was rising. Both boys are taking a nap. How sweet. Noah's class is off tomorrow to accompany the 3rd grade on their farm trip, while Nathan and I will attempt to hold down the fort & get some packing in.

Enough said. Enjoy the story the sequence of picture tells!

Sunday Afternoon

We spent the afternoon with my cousin. They live in Williamsburg, just about a mile from the historic Jamestown settlement. Brent, the children, and I visited my cousin, and a week later the settlement, just a few weeks ago, back in December. Many memories. Sigh.

Today we had a picnic at a beautiful lil' place by the James River. Pizza. Fruit tart. Chips & homemade guacamole. Yum. Noah & Nathan - along with my cousin's two boys - played football with my cousin's hubby. They had so much fun. It was cool & windy, but it was so good to breathe fresh air.

What an amazing sun it was in the heavens today. I have found myself looking up at the sun a lot lately. Nuriel, the angel from Hebrew mythology, comes to mind, his name meaning, "fire of the Lord." The element fire - Destructive & bearer of light at the same time. What polarities.

I had to smile when I uploaded this picture. Brent always joked that I had a "finesse" for photographing the rear end of members of the animal kingdom. Lots of pictures of sheep bums when I visited New Zealand. Voila! More bums. I'm so talented. Ha.

Noah. Afro-boy. Looks a bit skeptical here, but had an awesome time.

Nate. Mohawk-boy. So nice to see him smiling again. Indeed. Knock on wood...

The picnic spot. The James River is pretty wide here, just before making its way into the Atlantic Ocean.

Another view. So beautiful.

But always the reminder of death. Life is so fragile.

Three Weeks Ago Today...

...Brent & I were in New York City. We had taken the Subway into Manhattan pretty early - most people were probably still snoozing, recovering from their New Year's Eve hangover. We went up the Empire State Building.

We took a ferry to Staten Island.

We went to Times Square where I took pictures of the confetti left from the big "drop-of-the-ball."

I wanted to sit somewhere and have a drink, so Brent suggested an Irish Pub. We tried two. Neither of them had the Irish beer he was looking for, so he refused to stay. - The man had his quirks. :-) We had yummy pizza in a lil' place in Jamaica & then headed back to the hotel.

Three weeks ago & never again. So hard to believe.

New York City

I just love this blurry, crazy night & light kinda picture.
It was fun.

Christmas At Mom's

What a weather change from the snow in Richmond. There's actually stuff blooming down here in Savannah, Georgia. It was a very warm Christmas Day. The boys spend Christmas with their Dad every other year. Christmas morning without children was a bit strange, but it was still a lovely day. Brent gave me two beautiful books, New Zealand Landscapes by Andris Apse - gorgeous, gorgeous potography & The World Of Wearable Art by World of Wearable Art (2009) - creativity at its best! I framed a black & white picture I had taken of his daughter when I visited him a few months ago. He loved it.

My brother holding the turkey that my Dad deep-fried on the porch. Very yummy. We had stuffing, German Kloesse, veggies & gravy with it. The sherry-soaked trifle Brent made was so good, too.

Downtown Savannah. Just so pretty. I love the old houses and the tiny city gardens hiding behind iron gates.

River Street there on the left & a pretty ole house in one of the downtown squares.

It seems I have an affinity for taking pictures with wreaths in them.

Jamestown Settlement

Just some small impressions from our trip to Jamestown Settlement. The crafty me learned how to twist a rope. I really liked how they brought together the customs of the Native Americans, the Africans & the English.