Day Trip 2

More photos of my day trip to Hot Spring with Sister #1.

This is the view from the veranda of the Arlington Hotel. It's Central avenue and if you look to the left closely, you can see Bath House Row.

This gorgeous building in directly across the street from the hotel.

It was the Medical Towers building in its day. The art deco work on the corner of the doorways is unbelievable. It makes me want to get out a paintbrush!

This building is across the street from Bath House Row. I can't believe the work that went into these places.

This particular building seemed a touch out of place. I think it's more suited to the Eureka Springs area.
On to Bath House Row...

Buckstaff
Looks to be operational as a bath house. Several others have been or are being converted into gift shops, museums, and other businesses.

Fordyce
We didn't go inside, but from the sidewalk we spotted beautiful stained glass ceilings.

 This marker speaks for itself. The area is bare now, and it makes me wonder if they just set up in tents for the interim.

Ozark
It's been turned into an art museum and we paid our $5.00 to go through. It was worth every penny, and we could take photos. Those will be in my next post.

As we walked down the tree shaded sidewalk in front of all these buildings, we discussed the reasoning behind there being no trash receptacles. Possibly to keep it beautiful, possibly to keep the homeless from setting up shop. 

I didn't get all the names of every house, but here are a few other photos and wonderful workmanship on the buildings.

Thanks for coming along with us on this little trip. More to follow.

Am I Boring You?

Seriously. I've been questioning myself on this issue for some months now. I show to have 22 followers, but seldom does more than one or two people comment. Now, I understand the busy-ness of our lives these days, and I'm as guilty as the next guy of reading a blog post and not commenting, so I'm not pointing any fingers or criticizing. I'm simply curious to know if my blog has become uninteresting. I don't post as often as I did before I joined LeLe with The Seam Rippers, so that might have something to do with it.

So, I'm considering discontinuing this blog. Considering. I'm going to pray about it first, and ponder the thought. Maybe I need to change the focus of it. Any suggestions?

To all who read, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'll be in touch.

Day Trip

Last Tuesday, Sister #1 and I took a day trip to beautiful Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas. I live a short 45 minute drive from there and like to visit when I can. Sister spent a week at the awesome Arlington Hotel last week attending a continuing education conference, and really wanted me to see it. I've never been inside the Arlington, and was excited about it.

I took photos of our excursion until my batteries ran out. Here are some of the highlights. WARNING!! This is a photo heavy post... ;)
As you may can read, this particular hotel was built in 1924 at the height of the Art Deco period. I never really cared for that style until recently. Now I think it's gorgeous!

Sister and I walked through the building exploring and imagining all the guests in their pinstriped suits and flapper dresses. What fun it would be to travel back in time to see that first hand!

The workmanship and artistry of the architecture was mind boggling.

Most of the original design is still there, even if it might need a little TLC.

The vintage elevator is still in use, but during specific times, so we didn't get to actually ride in it.

 

Can you envision someone dropping a note into this old mail slot? It wasn't hard to do while standing in front of it.

We explored the entire building pretty much, and was graciously allowed to check out the spa area. I didn't take any photos other than this one, because ladies were enjoying the spa experience. Wouldn't want them all over the internet now would we??

That's it for this first installment. My next one will have more photos of the Arlington, and then I'll post one about our other exploration of Bath House Row. It was a great day!!

Seasons Change

There are seasons in life, as we all know. Listing them would take me all day, but I don't think I really need to.  For a while now, I have been in the season of loving and playing with this little boy.

That particular season will never be over, but it may change a bit. As he gets older, he gets wiser, and quicker, and grows more into the person he will eventually become. I never thought my role in this would be as strong as it is. Yes, I knew I'd be responsible for teaching him things. About God, about love, sharing, responsibility...all the things that you would normally think a grandparent would do. I find that my role will be a little more complicated than that.

You see, this child is a sponge. A very intelligent sponge. And since he is with me almost as much as he is his parents, I have to fill that sponge with education, love, thinking skills....well, you get the idea.

Yesterday, I had long discussions with three people whose opinion I respect. And after a very long day of no nap with Mr. LMW, it was decided that we will no longer be forcing naptime. Instead, I will have to work toward a more structured plan for the days he is with me. That means using pre-school activities and learning tools.

I am 50+ and it's hard for me to go back like this. I don't begrudge the chore, actually I feel needed and blessed to be able to do it. I'm worried though. Worried that I can't hold up to it, worried that I will not succeed at it, worried that it just simply won't work for us. This is where I have to go to God for major help.

If you would be so kind, remember us in your prayers. I need guidance, I need patience, I need ideas and most of all, I need energy. Just thinking about all this makes me tired. God grant me what I need, when I need it. And may LMW and I have a grand time learning about life together!

Help Me...

I learned the other day, that my iGoogle will be discontinued in a few months. I'm trying to switch to My Yahoo so that I can have all the apps I want on one home page and I'm having a devil of a time getting my blog roll on there. My Yahoo is not google reader friendly.

So, can anyone help me figure this out or suggest something I can do?  There is sooo much on there I don't understand.

I really need some help here guys. I've tried to add the rss feed to My Yahoo page, but it always tells me the url isn't correct.  Anyone know what to do? Cause I sure don't!!

It's always something....

Skipping Out

I haven't posted since July 1, and it seems I'm skipping out on my old friend BLines. I guess my mind just doesn't come up with post topics like it used to, all full of family and life issues.

The heat in Arkansas has finally abated some, we got a little rain, and we are breathing a little easier, even though we are still in a burn ban. This global warming thing is for the birds.

I've not done a whole lot of anything this summer except play with LMW. He's a full time job and as he matures it gets harder and harder to keep him occupied without wreaking havoc and mayhem. You can clearly see that below.

You have to laugh at his antics. Trying to curb them is not possible. The terrible twos have arrived with a vengeance.  *trying to grin*

My son and daughter-in-law just closed on a new home and moved in this weekend. They are excited and overwhelmed. And SR and I are tickled pink they are so close now. They have settled in the Bryant, AR area and it's only a 45 minute drive from my house to theirs. Woo Hoo!! Here's a photo of their house.

And this is a shot of their house warming gift from us.

On the sewing front, I've relaxed and begun some simple hand sewn quilt tops. I'm going to take my time and just enjoy the process. I have done some commissioned pieces for baby gifts, and that helps keep me going and making a little moolah. Emphasis on the word little.

I'm headed to the local quilt shop in a few, to scope out their wares and see if they actually have anything that catches my eye. They aren't very fully stocked, probably because of the size of our little town, but I'm a little tired of the same old thing that Walmart offers. I have another commissioned baby set and I need some inspiration!

Enjoy your Thursday ladies!

A Hot Time

We took LMW to Lake Ouachita yesterday. Sister #2 was camping there with her family and some friends and we drove over to spend a few hours. I can tell you it was HOT HOT HOT out there, but once you actually got to the camp site and in the water, it was nice. There was a nice breeze blowing in the shade and after getting several feet away from the bank, the water was cool.

We couldn't drive to the site, so after meeting BIL at the boat ramp, Cap'n LMW took control of the helm and took us safely to our destination.

"Be sure to sit facing forward and hold on tightly folks, we wouldn't want to lose you on a wave!"

It was about a ten or 15 minute boat ride to camp, and we were glad to arrive.  Safety first and all that, LMW immediately put on his swimming floaties to jump in.

It was hard work, all that swimming and playing in the water, so he decided to sit in Aunt K's lap and indulge in a quick snack.

Nanna found out that he is fearless in the water and if he had access to a pool, would probably be swimming like a fish even without floaties.  Too soon the hours passed and it was time to travel home. LMW took advantage of the hum of the car and the AC and took a nap while being chauffeured home. He was a good little boy and had a great time.