It's really hard to summarize oneself for the general public. I mean, really, what does the public want to know about me? Am I married? Yes. Do I have children. Yes, three, and they're all grown thank God. (By that I mean parenting is HARD. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but I'm really glad our offspring have all reached adulthood.) Do I have pets? Yup. Two dogs. Since the kids are all grown, you'll read more about my dogs than my kids. Because that's what happens when you get old like me. I have three grand kids, too, so you'll read about them as well. But the dogs live with me and, when I am desperate for blog topics, they usually help me out.
I’ll be the first person to admit that I sometimes go out of my way to see some of the stuff that I photograph.
Like the big Virginia LOVE signs. I’ve gone out of my way to see a bunch of those. But sometimes, I encounter them unexpectedly.
Take this past Thursday as an example. I left my house around 5:30 AM for the three-plus-hour to drive to the coast. About halfway, along I-64, east of Richmond, I had to stop for a bio break. That’s when I saw this LOVEwork.
Counting this love (New Kent, VA), the undocumented LOVE I saw in Sperryville recently, and the one I saw in Doswell, VA on my way to Carolina Beach, I have visited and captured pics of 49 LOVEworks!
I haven’t updated my log page, so you’ll just have to trust me.
I’ve known for a while. There have been signs. It’s one of the reasons I’ve been so absent from my regular online haunts, like reading blogs and publishing stuff on my own blog.
I honestly don’t even want to THINK about getting a new computer. I hate having to make decisions about technology, because truly informed decisions take lots of reading, and lots of thought.
And, as soon as you mention needing a new techy thing or other, everyone wants to share advice and opinions. To me, all of that is even MORE overwhelming. Because what is good or works for one person may not be good or work for me.
The latest “sign” is that the network adapter stopped working. So I can’t connect to our home network or the biggest network of all, the Internet. It can probably be fixed. But why bother when I know the thing needs to be replaced. It’s time, really. I have been in denial for MONTHS.
Anyhoo… to change the subject, look at this pretty sunrise.
Pretty Sunrise
I am a visual person. I really , really love all the colors in nature (like sunrises and sunsets). I’m not usually up early enough to see sunrises and, if I were, I wouldn’t be able to see much of it from my house because I don’t have a very good view of the eastern or western sky.
Recently, due to the oppressive Mid-Atlantic heat and humidity, and the fact that I work from home so have nothing to really force me out of the house, I’d been feeling rather house-bound. Like a cabin fever sort of thing. I got outside, but only in the evenings when walking the dogs. Not only did that feel hot and uncomfortable, it was also LOUD because of the stupid cicadas. They’ve been quite loud and quite incessant for WEEKS. If you’ve never had to live with the darn things and don’t know what I mean, make sure your sound is turned on then follow this link.
So I decided to head to the beach for a few days. Hubby hates the beach and I really wanted to swim in the ocean one more time before beach season ends. I am a remote employee, so I just moved my office and altered my hours for a couple of days. I worked in the early morning and late afternoon/evenings and had midday to hang out on the beach.
It was a refreshing and much-needed break.
While there, since I had to get up early to work anyway, I made sure to enjoy sunrise from the beach. I mean, I had to sit somewhere to drink that all-important morning coffee, right?
I don’t take pictures just for the sake of taking a lot of pictures. I take pictures trying to capture — and share — the beauty (and other stuff) that I see.
I’m always saying, you can’t just take an occasional snapshot here and there and expect to have a bunch of great photos on hand. You have to take a lot of pictures in order to capture a few good ones.
Anyone can push a shutter and capture a moment. I throw away/delete a lot more images than I share. I think most good photographers do. That’s another key to being good, knowing when you have created/captured something that’s not so good. If it’s not good or it’s even really bad, DON’T SHARE IT.
I actually captured quite a few decent sunrise pics, but I think the one I shared above is my favorite.
If you’d like to see some of the “bloopers” watch the video I embedded below. There’s sound, so you may want to adjust your volume before pressing play.
I hope to make more-frequent appearances once I have procured a new personal computer.
Since I use this blog sort of as a photo diary and personal reference tool, I wanted to post a few more fun pics captured while visiting Washington earlier this year.
One of two cool cows at Haggen’s grocery story in Auburn, WA.
There’s no shortage of coffee/espresso stands in the Pacific NW.
I have met some really cool people since moving to Virginia in 2011. It’s hard to believe it has already been five years! Well, not officially five until September 30/October 1, but that’s close enough. Sometimes it still feels so new…
But, back to me having met COOL people. One of the interesting localish ladies I’ve befriended is Connie Stevens Hilker. Some of you may remember her from this 2014 post of mine. According to the bio on Connie’s blog…
…I started Hartwood Roses, an educational rose garden in Virginia that specializes in rare and unusual antique roses. I know a lot about roses, old houses, carpentry and remodeling, and am an expert day dreamer. You will often find me working in the garden, planning a home project, building something, or hanging out in a cemetery …all of this has come in handy as my husband and I restore our historic home (built in 1848) renovate the outbuildings, and design the gardens.
She loves animals, too. She’s a supporter of dog rescue. She paints furniture. She’s just a really fun gal. And she’s married to a guy named, Steve, an artist who also seems like a cool chap. Here’s a recent pic of the two of them from Connie’s blog…
Steve and Connie
Aren’t they a cute couple? They’re grandparents, too.
Now for the point of this post… Connie and Steve hosted an open house/walking garden tour this past May. It’s an annual thing, I think. After seeing all of their preparations online, I thought it would be fun to go.
Illustrated Map of the Property
There was a map and everything. If you click on any of the images in this post, a larger version will open so you can see details.
Hartwood Manor – photo courtesy of Connie
There were LOTS of different rose varieties.
I hadn’t told Connie I was coming. She was a little surprised to see me, but I think Steve was more surprised to see this granny pull into his yard on a motorcycle. I hadn’t met Steve before that day. Of course, I felt like I knew him to some degree through Connie and her social media posts.
That’s Connie on the left chatting-up some other visitors.
It’s a big yard with a lot of different gardens and planting areas.
Front Hybrid Tea Rose beds, laid out English-garden-style.
Rear outbuildings; L-R, Carriage House Garage, The Shack, and the Greenhouse.
There’s the large Miniature Garden behind the outbuildings.
The Barn and Cottage toward the rear of the property.
English Rose garden near The Barn
Rose Tree (a climbing rose went crazy, resulting in this happy accident)
That’s an overview of the property. Isn’t it delightful?
Now for a bunch of pictures of their gorgeous roses.
One of my favorite pics from the day.
This flower is a unique shade of dusty lavender; the pic doesn’t do it justice.
Tea Rose
This is a George Washington cabbage rose that dates back to 1860!
I’m behind again. I have given up trying to understand or explain why I haven’t been writing blog posts, so I figured I would just state the obvious and move on.
Back in April while Hubby and I were visiting Amy and family in Washington, we FINALLY got the chance to meet up with fellow moto bloggers Brandy (Trobairitz) and Brad (Troubadour). We’d been close a couple of times. I was thrilled that we finally got to meet. (I wrote about that meet-up elsewhere in a more-timely fashion.)
Brandy, Brad, and Me
They live in Oregon, so Brandy chose a spot — Centralia, Washington — about halfway between their house and Amy’s neighborhood for us to have lunch.
They’re both just as nice in person as I knew they’d be. One day, hopefully, we will meet again and maybe ride together.
Rainy Day in Washington
Hubby and I arrived a few minutes early so we poked around town a bit. Then, after a lovely lunch, the four of us strolled around town for a little while. Hubby and I were still in charge of the grand kids, so, sadly, we didn’t have an indefinite amount of time to linger.
My Doppelganger
Mural in Centralia
Brad trying on bikes for size.
Mural in Centralia
Cool Reflection
We had a lovely lunch with B&B. Really. I’m sure the four of us could have some fun adventures together.
Maybe one day…
I think B&B were a bit unsettled when, as we were preparing to leave, I hurried back from the bathroom to get my camera.
It’s never a good feeling when someone is taking pictures in a bathroom. But the sink area was unlike anything I had ever seen.
Unusual Sink in the Women’s Bathroom at the Restaurant
If Hubby weren’t a plumbing guy, I may not have been so compelled to capture that photo. But he is a plumbing guy, so I HAD to.
Hubby and I drove out to Shenandoah National Park (SNP) last weekend. It’s been pretty hot here, so I haven’t been on my bike in weeks.
It was about 93 degrees and humid when we left the house on Sunday. The heat index — what it feels like with the humidity — was probably about 105. It was gross.
As is typical on hot, muggy days like that, there were thunderstorms forecast for the afternoon. I told Mike we’d probably see some pretty cool skies from Skyline Drive. He wasn’t excited.
It was about 75 degrees when we reached Skyline Drive. It was still humid, but it felt much better than the temps back down on the Piedmont.
Check out this awesome quilt that was on display at the Visitor’s Center.
Centennial Quilt
The SNP Facebook page said…
Shenandoah National Park has a lot of exciting plans to celebrate the 100th year of the National Park Service! This past winter, Shenandoah staff and volunteers created a quilt representing Parks across the nation. The quilt is currently displayed at Byrd Visitor Center. Other quilt related events can also be found on our special events page. Visit our website to learn more about the hikes, programs and festivities at Shenandoah as we celebrate our 100th Birthday! https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/special_events.htm.
Pretty Flowers at the Visitor’s Center
We were surprised to see a very large storm cloud approaching the lodge complex from the other side of the drive.
Hubby watches large storm cloud rolling in.
The sky looked clearer north of the Visitor’s Center.
Pretty flower, but I have no idea what it is.
The cluster of flowers was oddly waxy-feeling.
Interesting cloud formations.
Storms were definitely starting to pop up in various places.
More interesting clouds.
Hello, Grasshopper.
Blue skies to the north.
I did say we’d see some interesting skies, right?
Check out that downpour!
Seeing such heavy, localized rain intrigued me.
Look how dense that rain is!
A little while later, heading north, we saw a bear beside the road. I had to turn around and circle back for a better view. Buy then, he’d gone into the brush, so I didn’t get a decent picture.
Raven!
You folks out West will probably laugh at me for sharing a picture of a Raven, but we don’t see them often. We have far more American Crows than Ravens. So, yes, I get excited when I see a Raven.
And that was our excitement last Sunday.
Clear skies to the East.
It’s supposed to be cooler this week. Here’s hoping the weather folks are right. I am really, really tired of being in the house.
