Snapshots from summer

 

 Last fall I was thinking back over Summer 2024 in preparation for sharing a testimony with other ladies.  I thought about how many wonderful memories have been preserved in photos that we took.  (Now, in light of the devastation to that area from Hurricane Helene, I am doubly glad we took as many pictures as we did.  And I wish we had taken more.)  It seems to me that this past summer is one of the nicest that we have had in a long time, as far as good memories go.  At that time, I began a post full of summer memories.

I found myself thinking of these memories in terms of snapshots.  Actual snapshots, as the first part of the definition below describes:

Ice cream with our friend Terry -- I'm so thankful we got to do this (and got this photo) on a day when she was feeling well and able to fully enjoy it.  That is a flight of ice cream on the table in front of her.

We had plenty of opportunities for ice cream this past summer and fall.  We always share, so the calories and sugar are not quite as bad as they might be.

Family members playing cornhole on the porch of our Airbnb farmhouse in North Carolina as the rain fell outdoors.  We had lots of time to make precious family memories on this trip.

Time with old friends at Table Rock State Park in South Carolina.  So thankful for the gift of friendship and being able to encourage one another in the Lord.

Mountains upon mountains on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  God gave safety in travel and many opportunities to ponder His might, sovereignty, and endless creativity.

 Cousins at Cracker Barrel (plus Emily's and Julia's friend Lily).  Even though many of Emily's siblings weren't here, it was a wonderful time for these cousins to reconnect.

 A wonderful couple of days with our friends Tom and Judy in Pennsylvania.  We have been wanting to visit them for some time and are so thankful that a visit, although brief, finally happened.

Reconnecting with our precious friends Chris and Debbie in the Maritimes (we stayed in New Brunswick but also visited Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island).  We had not seen them in over ten years.  What a delight to pick up where we left off.

 As I reviewed further,  I thought more deeply -- about other memories that are recorded in the heart.  We didn't get photos of those, but some pictures are indelibly (I hope) etched upon upon hearts and minds.  These could be considered snapshots too, more like the second part of the definition.  And I frequently find myself taking out these "pictures", reviewing the blessings and sharing them with others.

A few Scripture verses came to my mind: 

"Many, O LORD, my God, are Thy wonderful works which Thou hast done, and Thy thoughts which are toward us; they cannot be reckoned up in order unto Thee.  If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered."  (Psalm 40:5)

"Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually ... the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name."  (Hebrews 13:15)

"I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth."  (Psalm 34:1)

"I will meditate also of all Thy work, and talk of Thy doings."  (Psalm 77:12)

"We will not hide them from our children, showing to the generations to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength, and His wonderful works that He has done."  (Psalm 78:4)

And so here are a few of those snapshots to share with you: 

* Sharing a meal at a restaurant with dear ministry friends -- enjoying wonderful food and a fun atmosphere, but even better, sharing from the heart as we encouraged one another in the Lord.  This happened a few times with various couples and families.

* Having a moment of prayer as various friends parted from one another, not knowing when or where we will meet again in this life.  But knowing we will meet again in heaven!

* Realizing as we reconnected (and praising God!) that some of our friends have been through very difficult times, but they have continued to walk faithfully with their Lord.

* Experiencing amazing hospitality all along the way as we were blessed by people using that spiritual gift.  Wonderful accommodations, fantastic food, and just all-round caring and sharing.

* Having opportunities to minister this summer -- Sunday School, VBS, our regular volunteer work at TWNE,  and hosting a couple of cottage prayer meetings at our little camp.

* Even better, watching three of our teen grandchildren minister in music at church and in teaching VBS.  

* Through the generous hospitality of our New Brunswick friends, getting to return to a provincial park on PEI where we'd spent many happy times camping with our children. 

* Being blessed by a memory book our daughters put together to commemorate our half-century of marriage.  The notes from far-flung family and old friends were so precious!

* Getting to have our NV granddaughter Emily with us for an overnight stay at the North Carolina Airbnb.  What a delight to have her with us around the table and to look after her needs for just a few hours.

* And maybe one of the dearest, most precious snapshots of the summer -- the seating for our Cracker Barrel meal worked out so that the four adults were at one table and all of the grandchildren, plus Lily, were at another.  At one point my daughter looked their way and whispered, "They're praying!" Yes, oldest grandson Sam took the lead and they all bowed their heads as he gave thanks for the food.  

There are more -- many more.  But I have delayed publishing this post long enough, so I'll leave you with  just this handful of snapshots from last summer.

Christmasy doings

 

Here's a little update from the past week.

🎄 Saturday -- I made a cheese log and arranged a large cookie tray to take to a party with my husband's former work crew.  Even though he has been retired a few years, we are welcomed to this party and it's always such a fun time.  Beautiful decor!  Wish I had taken pictures, but I didn't.  For the tables, pretty plastic tablecloths with a pine cone print were topped with red plaid flannel runners and cream colored vases filled with red berries.  Lovely.  This was held in a rustic pine-paneled garage.  A stairway leads to the upstairs, and on each of the four lower steps was a sweet potted Christmas tree.  I always gain so much decorating inspiration from this party.  Food inspiration as well!

🎄 Sunday -- We began singing Christmas carols in church instead of our regular hymns.  Sunday afternoon, we went to a lovely Christmas concert by Lakes Region Symphony Orchestra.  Granddaughter Julia and several of our friends play with this orchestra, so it was exceptionally fun to see in addition to being just a stellar Christmas concert.  Worth every penny of admission.

🎄 Monday -- a change in Mr. T's plans for the day sent us to our state capital on an errand for the church.  I went along so we could accomplish a few things and we picked up quite a few gifts on my list.  

Kind of bittersweet in some ways as we passed a large mall, now nearly empty.  (Back in the day, a trip to that city mall with our kids was always a memory maker at Christmas time.  Although we didn't buy much there, we loved seeing the beautiful Christmas decorations.) 

When we got home from our errands, we ate a late lunch and then went out to do some local errands here in our town.  When we got back from there,  Mr. T made a batch of chocolate peanut butter fudge.

🎄 Tuesday -- I made two pans of lasagna to freeze and then will gift them to a friend who's having a houseful of family at Christmas.  We had had a lot of snow, so Mr. T spent lots of time shoveling at home, church, and our camp.  I had to order some more yarn for my temperature blanket, since the stores I looked at on Monday didn't have the right color.  While I was at it, I ordered a few Christmas gifts as well.

🎄 Wednesday -- Mr. T baked two double batches of some of our special cookies that are in high demand -- Sacher Torte Cookies, and Eggnog Logs.  Both are labor intensive, with the Sacher Tortes including a jam filling and chocolate topping, and the Eggnog Logs requiring icing, adding lines with a fork, and grating on fresh nutmeg.  He was amazed to get so much accomplished, especially since he also shoveled off our metal roof at the camp.  I made a batch of Special Holiday Fudge -- a chocolate one with almond and orange flavors, raisins and pecans.

🎄 Thursday -- Mr. T was out of town at his volunteer job all day. I did some cleaning and dusting tasks that have been on the back burner for a long time, and also made some simple Christmas coasters to include with my gift for the church ladies' gift exchange.  I did some laundry also and did a bit more Christmas decorating in the living room and front hallway.

🎄 Friday -- We went grocery shopping and picked up a few more items and components for food gifts. Made a thrift store run and I found several pairs of brand new Christmas socks (total of 2.50) and a gorgeous pair of dressy black jeans -- my favorite brand and a perfect fit -- for only $4.  I also picked up some free Leisure Arts Spirit of Christmas books in like-new condition.

Mr. T baked Christmas tree spritz, lemon shortbread thumbprints, and another batch of Secret Spice Cookies and I made some cocoa dusted almonds for gifts and wrapped my gifts for the Ladies of Grace gift exchange in the evening.  While I was gone, he put up the Christmas tree -- but no lights or decorations yet.

🎄 Saturday -- This morning we hope to possibly get the lights on the tree.  I hope to make some gingerbread coffee creamer for our own use, and I need to package an Etsy order.  This afternoon, we'll be meeting our friends Syd and Cyndy at the King Arthur Baking Co.  flagship location in Vermont.  The plan is to have supper at their favorite Mexican restaurant.  I'll blog about today's happenings next week.

Hope you all are enjoying some Christmasy doing as well!

Saturday six

 

Just popping in on a Saturday afternoon to share a few blessings from this week.  Here goes:

1.  The opportunity to have our missionary friends Bill and Karen visiting our church last Sunday to update us all on their ministry in Papua New Guinea.  It was a wonderful day of fellowship.

2.  The blessing to be able to volunteer this week at The Wilds of New England.  It continues to amaze us that God is using us even in a tiny way in this wonderful ministry.

3.  Everything going smoothly in all of our projects -- my hubby's painting, carpentry and floor installation projects and my own work in the kitchen which helped keep volunteers and staff well fed.  It took a lot of detailed planning but I am praising the Lord that everything went so well.  We prepared lunches and dinners in the Inn, below.

4.  Lots of time with people!  Getting to know our fellow volunteers and staff a little better as we worked together and also shared meals around a table. Two phone calls with my friend Jennifer this week; it was good to stay caught up with her even while out of town.  Instagram messaging with my daughters and even a message from granddaughter Emily.  Getting to attend a discipleship Bible study on Tuesday night.  Having a wonderful, iron-sharpening-iron visit with my younger friend Cassie after supper last evening.

5.  Being able to go out for brunch yesterday with our friends Terry, Bill and Karen.  What a treat that was!  It meant taking a few hours out of our time at TWNE, but was well worth it to be able to get our widowed friend Terry a little time with these dear ones she remembers from years gone by.  It was a refreshing time for all of us.

6.  Small amounts of free time so I was able to do a little bit of crochet and counted cross stitch,  and even a little bit of blogging.   I was also able to have a truly blessed quiet time each morning and do some studying ahead for Sunday Scripture posts.

It was a busy week but a good one.  Hope all of you had a good week as well!

Fall meet-up with friends #5 -- another breakfast and lunch at our little camp

 

It's a rare treat when we are able to get together with our good friends Syd and Cyndy from Vermont.  So when it happens, we like to spend most of a day together, usually beginning with breakfast.  Often it's at our home, but in summer and fall we love to entertain at our little cottage.  And thanks to a mild November, such was the case on Veterans Day.  Amazingly, this was the second meet-up with them this fall; they are the same friends mentioned in my October post about meet-up with friends #4!

I kept breakfast super-simple with breakfast sliders and with a Hash Brown Casserole, which I kept warm in a crockpot rather than baking it in the oven.   (The oven at the camp is tiny and only has one rack, so I could only bake one 13x9 dish.)   Cyndy is somewhat of a baked-apple specialist, so I had asked her to bring baked apples to add to the breakfast menu.  She surprised us with an unusual but scrumptious variation -- baked apples filled with bread pudding!  Of course we also had coffee with our breakfast.

The sliders were from Jamie at My Baking Addiction.  They were delicious!  I tweaked the recipe in a few ways.  I couldn't find Hawaiian rolls in the right size, so I bought Pepperidge Farm slider buns.  (They were still expensive -- $4.29 -- but not as expensive as the Hawaiian rolls would have been.)  I made homemade sausage patties instead of using purchased sausage.  And, I used American cheese for the cheese on the bottom roll layer and shredded cheddar for the top layer.  I really liked the cheddar, so another time I would likely use all cheddar cheese.   There will definitely be a next time! 

I imagine some readers might like to have the homemade sausage recipe.  I have posted it before, but it's been years.  So here it is:

HOMEMADE SAUSAGE PATTIES

1/4 cup water
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. rubbed sage
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
2 lb. ground pork

In a bowl, stir together water and seasonings. Add pork and mix well. Shape meat mixture into eight 4” patties (or a larger amount of smaller ones). In a skillet over medium heat, cook patties for 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until no longer pink in the center.

This is such a yummy recipe for homemade sausage! I often cut the amounts in half to make a smaller batch. This sausage is very lean and not at all greasy.  For these sliders, I used about 1 1/4 pounds of ground pork, which is what I had, and used half the amount of seasonings specified here.

We lingered over breakfast just enjoying the fellowship and wonderful food.  After the breakfast dishes were done,  we decided to take a walk at nearby Quincy Bog.  Syd took these photos with his phone.

There is just something about red berries after all of the other foliage is gone.  Love them.

We were fascinated by this large tree apparently growing out of a rock.

Such unusual moss growing vertically on this stump!

For lunch, we were joined by our daughter and three of the grandkids, who walked through the woods from their house next door.   Chili seemed like the perfect choice for a fall day, although the day turned out to be quite balmy. Once again I served  Easy Crockpot Chili.  And again I need to add a quick note that I tweak the recipe by cooking the spices and onion with the ground beef first.  It seems to add a very measurable depth of flavor to the chili.  (And the grandkids LOVE it!)   Even though this is a super simple recipe, I usually get many comments about how good it is.  I also use much less meat: a pound or less rather than the 3 pounds called for.  I often add an extra can of beans too -- usually kidney beans.  And I'd forgotten about this, but I usually cut down on the water and sometimes on that large quantity of tomato sauce as well.  It all depends on how many people I'm serving, the size pot I use, and whether or not I'm transporting it somewhere.  This time I used around 16 ounces of tomato sauce and no water, as we were transporting a very full crockpot over a bumpy dirt road.  (Once we got there, I transferred some of the chili to a saucepan and added some of the tomato sauce to each batch.)  So if you make this, feel free to tweak it too! 

Cyndy brought a pan of delicious cornbread and a jug of cider,  and we also had tortilla chips and a Baked Taco Dip.  I had seen this dip recipe on the Hodgepodge this week and decided to try it.  With teenage appetites present for lunch, I wasn't sure if the chili would stretch far enough without it.  (It certainly did, because two of the teenagers in question enjoyed leftover breakfast sliders and hash brown casserole.  After which I heard, "Amazing food, Grammy!")

For dessert, I had made two Turtle Pumpkin Pies.   This is apparently a Kraft recipe, but I found it in my Gooseberry Patch Big Book of Holiday Cooking (the link will take you to my review of the book).  In fact, it's one of the cover recipes!  I got this book at Thriftbooks for $5.99 a couple years ago.  It's always worth checking there for good deals on cookbooks.

 
I made homemade graham cracker crust (which the recipe I had specified doing).  Instead of cinnamon and nutmeg (which totaled 1 1/2 teaspoons) I substituted 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice.  My pie slices came out looking just about exactly like the picture, which was surprising and encouraging!

 

(My family has teased me for years about trying out new recipes on company.  I'm notorious for doing that!  But this may be the first time I have tried three new recipes on one hospitality occasion.) 

Just one more photo, for fun.  Our dear friend is "Miss Cyndy" to our young granddaughter Arielle (as well as to many other children).  When she saw Ari's deer costume (purchased on clearance after Halloween) she decided a photo shoot was in order.  A little deer is bounding through the woods on a gray November afternoon!

What a delightful day it was!  So thankful for good friends as well as for family "just through the woods". 

Fall meet-up with friends #4 -- breakfast and lunch at our little camp

 

When we are able to get together with our good friends Syd and Cyndy from Vermont, we like to spend most of a day together, usually beginning with breakfast.  Often it's at our home, but in summer and fall we love to entertain at our little cottage.  And such was the case on Columbus Day.  

I decided to keep breakfast very simple with a vegetable egg bake and with a Hash Brown Casserole, which I kept warm in a crockpot rather than baking it in the oven.   (The oven at the camp is tiny and only has one rack, so I could only bake one 13x9 dish.)  We also had red grapes, and Cyndy contributed apple corn muffins to the breakfast menu.

Lunch was a hot dog roast, for which we were joined by our daughter and three of the grandkids, who walked through the woods from their house next door.  In addition to the hot dogs, I also made the Old Settlers Baked Beans mentioned in a previous post, along with macaroni &cheese.  Cyndy brought a delicious potato salad, and they also brought a jug of cider and a bottle of vanilla chai to share.

I made some hot spiced cider also, which was a big hit with the kids.  It seemed like just the thing for  sipping around an autumn campfire.  I made a spice bag with one cinnamon stick, broken up, and one teaspoon whole cloves for one gallon of cider.

For dessert, my hubby made the gingerbread whoopie pies mentioned in a previous post, and I made a Fall Apple Dip.  In a perfect scenario, I would've made an apple crisp, but I was crunched for time.  The Honeycrisp apple slices and dip were great alongside the whoopie pies.

 

This was such a fun get-together!  We all had a wonderful time!

Fall meet-up with friends #3 -- A hot dog roast at our little camp

 

 I failed to get photos of this one, but it was a wonderful Tuesday afternoon.  So I'll just use older photos and tell the story -- and maybe share a recipe or two.  Our friends Rick and Bethany and two of their adult kids are visiting from Indiana, and we absolutely had to carve out some time with them.  We invited them, plus Bethany's parents whom they are staying with, over for a lunchtime hot dog roast at our little camp.  This is such a fun place from which to extend hospitality!

Our daughter Carrie and three of her kids walked through the woods to join us for lunch, making the time even nicer. 

Roasting hot dogs over a campfire is so much fun and makes a simple main course.  I also made macaroni and cheese and a baked bean dish, and my friend Lynne (Bethany's mom) brought a quinoa and cabbage salad.  For dessert, I made an apple crisp in a 13x9 pan.

Ordinarily I make homemade baked beans for this meal.  But in this case, our plans were sort of last minute and I didn't have time to soak dry beans.  So I did some looking through my Gooseberry Patch cookbooks and found this recipe, which I adapted a bit, so I will give you my quantities: 

OLD SETTLERS' BAKED BEANS

1/2 pound ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
A handful of bacon bits
1 can baked beans
1 can butter beans, with half the liquid drained off
1 can kidney beans, same
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 to 2 Tablespoons prepared yellow mustard

Brown the beef and onion together in a small skillet.  Toss in the bacon bits and mix well.  Combine in a 3-quart slow cooker and cook on Low for 6 hours or so.

This was a pretty casual recipe that didn't give can sizes or tell whether or not to drain the beans.  The butter beans and kidney beans I used were about a 1-pound can, and the baked beans were larger -- possibly 28 or 32 ounces.  I drained half the liquid off the butter and kidney beans as a sort of compromise, but added the full contents of the baked bean can.  My bean dish turned out more liquid-y than I would have liked (maybe because I didn't drain the beans fully; maybe because I cooked mine on High due to time constraints), so I served them with a slotted spoon.  People liked them, so I would probably do this again.

We have chairs around the campfire ring and a table and chairs inside the camp and made sure people knew they were welcome to eat in either location.  Everyone ended up outdoors, as it was such a beautiful afternoon.  It was warm and sunny around the firepit.  Leaves were falling gently, making it necessary for us to watch what we were eating!

 After lunch Mr. T took the menfolk up to show them the spring and his ingenious system of getting a seasonal water supply to the camp and shower house.  The young women talked writing (an interest they have in common) and we older ladies chatted, admired our few surviving flowers, and did a little clean-up.

Just a wonderful time together surrounded by the beauty of God's glorious creation!

Fall meet-up with friends #2 -- Pancake breakfast in the mountains

 

For our next meet-up with visiting friends, we went out for breakfast.  These friends from Nevada, plus their adult son from New York City, were visiting New England for the first time.  They had several times available for meeting up with us, but we suggested breakfast out on Monday morning.  We thought they would enjoy Polly's Pancake Parlor in Sugar Hill, which would give them a genuine taste of maple products and yummy pancakes, as well as authentic New Hampshire charm.

In addition, we knew that there's a great view from Polly's and that the mountains and foliage would be at, or close to, their best on the beautiful morning we visited.  Want to see the view for yourself?  Look here: Polly's View Camera to see the view in real time.

Our friends agreed to meet us at Polly's, although they had never heard of the place previously.  But over breakfast, they shared that since being in New Hampshire and researching various sights to see, they came across Polly's over and over again as being a "must visit" place.  So they were very happy with our choice, and agreed it was indeed a very special place.

(This is an older photo.  The wooden chargers above were used at Polly's some years ago.  They served as placeholders until your meal arrived, then they were taken away.  So beautiful!  The tray to the right contains an array of maple condiments.)

This place is busy on a morning in peak foliage season, and we had to wait about an hour for a table.  When we were leaving, we heard folks say they had been given an estimated wait time of 2.5 hours!  So we were truly blessed with our one-hour wait -- which, since we spent it visiting outside in the lovely autumn sunshine, passed very quickly.

The food was delicious and we enjoyed the options in pancake flavors and the maple toppings.  You can check out the menu here: Polly's menu.  Two of us chose the pancake sampler with a half stack (3 small pancakes, but they are hearty due to the freshly ground whole grains); one person chose the pancake sampler with a full stack (6 small pancakes).  The other two chose the Kathie's Combo, which includes eggs and toast.  We all got bacon, since our server informed us it is locally made. 

 The waitstaff is truly incredible -- so attentive and kind despite an outrageously busy morning and a dining room literally filled with people.  We never lacked for coffee refills, done accurately despite our varied coffee orders, thanks to a clever system utilizing the coffee mugs themselves.  The mugs in the photo above were used for regular coffee.  I got hazelnut coffee, the "flavor of the day", which came in a mug like the one in the photo below.  You can actually buy one here: Polly's mug.  And for my friend who ordered decaf, a mug like mine only yellow, with "decaf" emblazoned on the red leaf.   The person pouring coffee could see at a glance who had what. 

What a lovely time of catching up with old friends over a scrumptious meal amid the fall splendor of the White Mountains!  We are so grateful that our friends took some of their vacation time to meet up with us.

Hope you have enjoyed this look at our pancake breakfast in the mountains!  The fellowship, atmosphere, and food were most delightful.

Fall meet-up with friends #1 -- Soup and chili supper

 

(Above, Carrie's fall kitchen decor from a previous year.  This space is so much fun!)

October looks to be a friend-filled month.  It seems that several of our friends from other states have traveled to New England at this time.  Our first fall meet-up was Sunday night at our daughter Carrie's home where we were able to enjoy a soup and chili meal with Carrie's long-time friend Lori and her husband CJ.  We had not seen Lori in many years and had never met her husband, so this was a nice time to catch up with all that's going on with them.

 As Carrie and I brainstormed what to serve, we considered chili.  Then we learned that Lori is not a fan of chili -- but her husband is.  Carrie decided to make Cheeseburger Soup, a recipe we have enjoyed for years.   She would make rolls to accompany the soup.

I volunteered to make chili.  This has become my favorite chili recipe: Easy Crockpot Chili -- but I tweak it in a major way as far as how it's put together.  I think it makes a huge difference.  So what I do differently is, while browning the hamburger, I also brown the chopped onion and all of the spices along with it.  I really think that doing this adds a very measurable depth of flavor to the chili.  Sometimes I use ground turkey instead of beef, but with the spices cooked with the meat like this, one would never know it was turkey.  Even though this is a super simple recipe, I usually get many comments about how good it is.  I also cut WAY back on the meat in this recipe, using a pound or less rather than the 3 pounds called for.  I often add an extra can of beans too -- usually kidney beans.  To go with the chili, I brought tortilla chips.

Carrie's rolls were amazing.  I guess they are a pretty standard recipe for pan rolls, but to make them slightly healthier she substituted maple syrup for sugar.  It only called for 1/4 cup, but wow-  that tweak really made a difference.  One could taste a hint of maple in the rolls.  They were wonderful.

For dessert, Carrie made a delicious apple cake.

This turned out to be the perfect menu for a Sunday night supper in fall.  The food and fellowship were both delightful!

A few photos from a tranquil spot up north

 

 Earlier this week we spent two days at our friend Charlotte's cabin up in Pittsburg.  I took a few photos of her gardens and grounds and thought I would share the peace and tranquility with readers.

A corner of the pond.

 

The pond is so tranquil.  

 Daisies at the edge of the pond.

 

 Love the red birdhouse and the red bee balm.  So pretty!

  

Hollyhocks at the left front.  I love hollyhocks.  They are such an old-fashioned flower.  My mother always had them. 

Below is another corner of the same garden.

 

Hope you've enjoyed this look at a quiet and peaceful spot.  It is always a blessing to spend time there with our dear friend.

Wall art at our little camp

The other afternoon I was looking around our little camp and thinking about some of the wall art we have in place there.  I'm sure there will be more to come over time, but I know some of you enjoy reading about our little place and this might be something different to show you.

The sign at top is fairly ancient -- probably from the 1950s.  It had been nailed to a fence post by my grandfather and the person who evidently co-owned a pasture with him.  This was a cow pasture which was also rich with high-bush blueberries.  This sign lived on my parents' enclosed porch for years, and we decided it would find a new home in our little camp.

The welcome sign above is cleverly displayed in a corner adjacent to the coffee bar.  Our oldest granddaughters had gifted us with this sign at Christmas, and recently grandson Sam figured out a great place to hang it.

Our friend Cyndy drew this saw-whet owl and gifted us with a print.  We finally found the perfect frame for it and it's now on the living room wall.

Above is a section of a much larger illustrated map filled with US historical events.  We found this while clearing out the homestead.  It isn't on the wall yet, but is propped at the back of the coffee bar.

This sweet sampler is in the little bedroom area.  My great-aunt Mabel stitched this, in 1936 if I remember right.  It's in the original frame.

There's not a lot of wall space in the kitchen -- it's mostly taken up by cabinets and windows -- but I have found that hanging a plate on a cabinet door adds a wonderful decorative note to the kitchen.  This one is a collectible-type plate from Avon.  At Christmas time, I used one of these:

And I loved the way that looked on the cabinet door.

Lastly, below is a little sign on another cabinet door.  (Aren't those vintage glass knobs fun?)  This sign is quite small, much smaller than it looks in the photo, but it adds another decorative touch to the kitchen walls.

And that's it for now!  Hope you've enjoyed seeing some of our vintage camp decorating!