The collage includes photos from our lunch in Blackwater, Missouri and a photo, from yesterday afternoon, at a new wine garden in Arrow Rock, Missouri.********************************************
Our road trip to Atchison, Kansas and Nell Hill's began early Thursday, May 10th. Along I-70, near Rocheport, Missouri, we noticed water very near the highway. The Missouri was moving swiftly and was well out of her banks! We saw no water over the roads, along the way.
The photo, above, is from Mary Carol Garrity's beautiful garden.
While I'm on the subject of photos, I need to explain the quality of some of the photos included in this post. Early Friday morning, just as I was entering Nell Hill's, my trusty little Kodak P850, slipped from my grasp. There is damage, not sure if it can be repaired. J bought a disposable camera, I was able to use for a few photos at MCG's home. I used Picasa2 and PhotoFiltre, to fix them up a bit. Still, they are not very good. You should be able to see enlarged photos by clicking. They are fuzzy, but you get a general idea of how beautiful the home is.
While standing in line to tour Mary Carol's home, I met a friend from Great Impressions, an MSN decorating group, I belong to. This was the first time meeting, in person. Lacy, from Iowa, was accompanied by her daughter and several friends. She stops by the back porch, often. You might have seen her comments. I enjoyed visiting with Lacy, her daughter and friends.
This is a marble topped table in the living room of the home. I have photos of this table beautifully decorated for Christmas. The tiered stand holds a variety of pretty pill boxes.
A corner of the living room. This screen is gorgeous! The room is so welcoming. It's easy to see a family here.
The collage includes three photos of the dining room and one of the window seat area of the living room. The table is set for Mothers' Day. The china has been replicated from Mary Carol's own china and is available at Nell Hill's. The tiny photo frame holds a photo of Mary Carol's mother, as a child.
Just look at the screened porch! Of course I brought some of these pieces home. In the center of the top plate, you see a small glass, lily shaped vase, filled with grapes. In the center of the table, inverted bowls are used as lifts. I love the teapot on the cakestand and plan to copy that, as well as other elements of this table.
This black iron bird bath stands in the side garden. Clear glass marbles were placed in the bottom of the bowl, before filling with water. This area is particulary pretty.
We all must go out and find a glass house for our gardens! Well, at least I'd like to do just that! This tablescape has a layer of sod, instead of a table cloth. An old garden hose has also been used in the staging.
Don't throw out those broken urns! I love this idea. I plan to duplicate it here at home.
Another pretty corner of this walled side garden. J and I talked with one of the Master Gardeners. J told her about our dear Frances Williams. The gardener said, Frances might be the hosta for a corner near the broken urn.Later, this week, I'll post about my wonderful finds from Nell Hill's.
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While driving to KC, Thursday, we did some meandering. We drove to Historic Arrow Rock, but found Main Street closed. We noticed a sign, announcing a gardening event, scheduled for May 12, and made a note to stop by on our return trip. Instead of backtracking to I-70, we decided to follow the road. To our delight, just a few miles from Arrow Rock, we found Blackwater, Missouri, Pop. 199. Again, we made a note, to stop back by.
We started our return home, early yesterday, May 12. We made a quick stop in Independence, Missouri, to purchase a new camera. I can't tell you how lost I felt without my camera! The new one is different than the old one. It will do very well, until my dream for an SLR comes true.
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While driving to KC, Thursday, we did some meandering. We drove to Historic Arrow Rock, but found Main Street closed. We noticed a sign, announcing a gardening event, scheduled for May 12, and made a note to stop by on our return trip. Instead of backtracking to I-70, we decided to follow the road. To our delight, just a few miles from Arrow Rock, we found Blackwater, Missouri, Pop. 199. Again, we made a note, to stop back by.
We started our return home, early yesterday, May 12. We made a quick stop in Independence, Missouri, to purchase a new camera. I can't tell you how lost I felt without my camera! The new one is different than the old one. It will do very well, until my dream for an SLR comes true.
We left I-70 at the Arrow Rock/Blackwater exit and drove through the countryside. What a wonderful surprise was in store for us. As we entered the small community of Blackwater, we discovered a street fair in progress! We absolutely love small towns and community events, like this one. There were booths with antiques, crafts and foods. There was an artist, working beside a lovely little gold fish pond/water garden. Down the center of the main street, vendors offered antique furniture, pen and ink drawings, garden accessories, plants and other wonderful items. We bought a handmade quilt, for grandson Drew and Honey from a beekeeper. Another vendor was selling his delicious strawberry dressing. It's only available in the KC area and Columbia. We asked him, to please find shelf space in our area.
We had lunch at the Iron Horse Hotel and Restaurant. The meal was delicious, the service excellent. You could not ask for better atmosphere. The collage, at the top of the post, shows a photo of my plate. Chunky chicken salad on a croissant, a small pasta salad, and a spring greens salad with a wonderful blueberry dressing. After lunch, I walked into the foyer of the hotel and glanced up the beautiful staircase. Standing on the landing above, was a grey haired man in dark, somewhat western attire. After peeking into the lobby, I turned to leave. The man passed in front of me and smiled, then was gone. Was he a ghost? I don't believe so. Kind of neat imagining, though.
The grid above, shows scenes of Blackwater, Missouri.
After lunch we drove to Arrow Rock. The gardening event was in full swing at an old school house. Beautiful plants and gardening accessories, were offered by several vendors. We bought colorful bottle candleholders to hang in the ornamental Pear, beside our patio, a rustic birdfeeder and some gorgeous eggs. The bottles were sold by a vendor, who has a shop in Arrow Rock and another in KC, at the same shopping center, where the new Nell Hill's is scheduled to open, Fall 2007. I'll include his shop's name when I post about our buys. The seller directed us to the new wine garden beside the school house. Wonderful place, where we enjoyed glasses of wine and beer, under huge shade trees.
We arrived home at 7pm, yesterday, with many happy memories and a plan to visit these great places, again.
After lunch we drove to Arrow Rock. The gardening event was in full swing at an old school house. Beautiful plants and gardening accessories, were offered by several vendors. We bought colorful bottle candleholders to hang in the ornamental Pear, beside our patio, a rustic birdfeeder and some gorgeous eggs. The bottles were sold by a vendor, who has a shop in Arrow Rock and another in KC, at the same shopping center, where the new Nell Hill's is scheduled to open, Fall 2007. I'll include his shop's name when I post about our buys. The seller directed us to the new wine garden beside the school house. Wonderful place, where we enjoyed glasses of wine and beer, under huge shade trees.We arrived home at 7pm, yesterday, with many happy memories and a plan to visit these great places, again.
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Nell Hill's:
Iron Horse Hotel:
Historic Arrow Rock, Missouri: