Home from Vacation

I've been away from my blog for awhile since we've been on vacation back east... visiting our previous homes, some friends and family, and favorite places. The planning of this trip was quick, since we had hoped to do it in the fall. But, some plans changed, and we made a fast decision to vacation the end of July. I wish we could have had more time to see all our family and friends, but things just didn't work out. Hopefully, we can do that on our next trip!

I packed my "to do" bag with a few different books, several cross stitch projects, and two boxes of stationery. I managed to get some letters written, a chapter or two of one book read, and a teensy bit stitched on my Pumpkin Patch WIP. It always seems that I'll have plenty of time to do everything, but by the time evening arrives in the hotel rooms, I'm tired from our busy days :)

I had over 400 pictures to download so I'm doing it gradually, to make sure I get all of them labeled properly with their descriptions. But, for now I thought I'd say hello to you all again, and share a few pictures.


Above are some of the beautiful hydrangeas at our beach hotel in Rhode Island. The colors on the bushes were in shades of deep purples, pinks and blues, to the palest shades of rose, pink, ivory, lavender and light blue. I wish I could have brought them all home with me!

Below are a few photos from Mystic Seaport. I really liked this weather vane and I apologize for it being a tad bit crooked. It certainly seemed straight when I was taking the picture :) The second picture is of one of the large ships, taken through the rigging aboard the Charles Morgan. The third picture is of one of the homes and its gardens.



Here are a few pictures from the beach by our hotel. The first one is taken from some large boulders on the beach, and you can see some of the homes along the coast. I couldn't resist the picture of the seagull as he stood looking out at the waves :)

The third picture is taken from a tree at the park area, just above the beach. The fourth was taken a short time later ~ through that same tree at sunset. The colors were really beautiful.




And finally, here are a few pictures from The House of Seven Gables in Salem, Massachusetts. The gardens are just beautiful this time of year, and I love the way they look against the dark color of the house. I love Nathaniel Hawthorne, so this is always one of my favorite places to visit when we can. The second picture is taken from the garden looking out towards the water.