WOW---What a SUNSET

George and I went back to the Biltmore House and Gardens yesterday to check out all of the new flowers--including their ROSES.   We have TONS of pictures to share --but today I'm going to share something which we saw on our way home last night from Asheville.

There were storms all around us ---but luckily,  except for a little rain here and there,  the storms went around us...  BUT--the sky and clouds and sun put on a show for us...  I was snapping pictures from inside the car in every direction...   This may be some of the prettiest sunset pictures I have ever taken.  Hope you enjoy them. 

The pictures need no explanation,  but  I will encourage you to click on them and see them all larger....   AND---if you are like me,  you will see all kinds of cloud designs... See if you can pick out the picture of the doggie with his big floppy ears (or maybe he's a teddy bear)!!!!!  Have fun!!!

The last picture reminds me of being up in an airplane looking down on a HUGE WATERFALL.....  See it?????

We had so much fun looking at the sky and all of the colors and cloud formations.... Did you see the doggie with the floppy ears (or does he look look more like a teddy bear)?  What else did you see?

Again,  I apologize for being behind in my comments on your blogs...  Sometimes ---life just gets in the way!!!!! ha ....  I'll catch up soon!

Have a great weekend and I'll see you on Monday.
Hugs,
Betsy

Interesting Sky Pictures from Arkansas

On our recent trip to Mt. Nebo, Arkansas  (click HERE for more pictures from that trip),  we have talked about the weather that week ALOT.... ha....  Anyhow--every single time we go to Mt. Nebo,  we love to take both sunrise and sunset pictures... This year was a huge challenge...   BUT--as things always seem to work out for us,  we did manage to get some very interesting and 'different' pictures this year. Hope you enjoy some of our 'sky' pictures from Arkansas.

Above is probably the closest thing to a SUNRISE we saw all week.  A couple of mornings, we didn't even try since it was so cloudy.  BUT --two other mornings we got up early to see the sunrise at Sunrise Point,  but the fog and clouds definitely got in our way!!!!

This beautiful picture of the fog (mist) in the valley below was gorgeous --as we sat there at Sunrise Point waiting to see the sun!!!   You can see some lights in the valley --but what I loved was seeing all of the fog.

Here is one last picture taken from Sunrise Point --showing the fog in the valley,  and the pretty morning color in the sky.

We had a little better luck with getting some SUNSET pictures than we did sunrise.    From our cabin,  here is the beginning of a very pretty sunset.

I love this picture, also taken from the cabin.  There is always something special while watching a sunset when there are lots of clouds in the sky.... LOVE it.

This picture was taken on a very foggy afternoon.... I love seeing the sun through the fog --and also reflecting on the rocks outside of our cabin.

Here  is another good picture of the sun as it begins to set ---while peeking through the clouds!!!!  It was awesome to watch this while sitting on our back porch at the cabin.

Finally,  I saved the best 'til last.  At least,  it is MY favorite.  We drove to Sunset Point one evening for some pictures.  The sun went down behind the clouds --but all of a sudden,  the sunbeams just jumped out at us... Is this not awesome???? Wow!!!!!

Hope you enjoyed seeing more of our Arkansas visit photos.
Hugs,

P.S.   Did anyone see that tremendous Hallmark Movie on CBS last night,  entitled "Beyond the Blackboard"????  As a former teacher,  it made me proud to be in that profession.  Hope you saw it!!!

Fabulous Valentine's Trip

George and I had a wonderful Valentine's trip to join our good friends,  Judy and Charlie, in their beautiful mountain home in North Carolina.  We went out to dinner a couple of times.  We TALKED and TALKED and just relaxed.  It was a wonderful trip and a great way to  celebrate Valentine's Day --with such good friends.   Above is a picture of me and Judy.  Judy is standing up on some steps --since she is really MUCH shorter than I am!!!!!

We visited Biltmore House and Gardens in Asheville, North Carolina AGAIN (since we have season's tickets now)..  Since it is still winter,  there were no outside flowers blooming yet.. We have to wait until April to go back for that.  BUT--we did visit the Conservatory again --and there were many beautiful green plants and several beautiful flowers in bloom as you can see from the above picture.  As you can imagine,  we took a gazillion pictures ---so you will be seeing them on our upcoming blogs I'm sure.  (My new header was taken at Biltmore on Valentine's Day.)

Here's a view of the beautiful North Carolina mountains above Fontana Lake (which was very low on this side of the dam).  The mountains are very pretty--even in winter, aren't they????

And of course a trip wouldn't be a real vacation for us IF we didn't stop and see some waterfalls.  Isn't this a pretty little waterfall??  I loved seeing all of the Rhododendrons along that little creek.

George and I had a wonderful time with our friends...  I'm sure the four of us solved ALL of the problems in the world this week---with all of the talking we did!!!  ha ha

These are two wonderful people, Charlie and Judy.   We are blessed to have two such wonderful friends...  Thanks for the great time, you two!!

Finally,   no mountain vacation would be complete without a gorgeous sunset.... The weather was fabulous all week----and we enjoyed beautiful blue skies plus sunsets (like the one above) --over the mountains..     Life was beautiful in the North Carolina mountains, and we certainly enjoyed the view from Judy and Charlie's home!!!!

Hope you had a great Valentine's Day and week.

Asheville on Dwellable

Hugs,

It's Falling into the Water

George and I got married in June of 2001.  We went on our honeymoon in September of that year.  Neither one of us had ever taken a cruise before --so we flew to San Juan and took a cruise to the South Caribbean.   It was absolutely fabulous.

Since we both love sunrises and sunsets,  we managed to see MANY during those 7 days.  We laughed when we got home and started looking at our pictures... We had more pictures of sunrises and sunsets than we did most anything else... AND--when you are on a ship in the water,  sometimes (unless you look at the time on your camera) --you may not know the difference in the two. ha ha

Today,  I'll show you one sunset which we saw one evening while on that cruise in  September of 2001...  I think the clouds make it more special. Hope you enjoy it.

Going---Going---Gone...

Hope you enjoyed seeing one of our sunsets while we were at sea.  Sunrises and sunsets both just take my breath away.... LOVE them..

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On another note,  NBC has a show on Genealogy on Friday nights at 7 p.m (Central time).  The name of the show is "Who do you Think You are?"  Anyhow --this coming Friday night,  they are featuring country music star,  Tim McGraw,  who is searching for his ancestors.. In his quest,  he goes to MY HOMETOWN,  Big Stone Gap, Virginia.  I think --from what I've read--that he will be at the Southwest Virginia Museum,  which is only a block from my childhood home.   If you have time,  watch that show this week.  I don't know how much of my tiny (5000 people) little town you will see,  but the little town of Big Stone Gap, VA  (in the southwest corner of the state) is very special to me.   I will definitely watch the show!!!!  Hope you can also!!!

 Have a great day.
Hugs,

2010 Best Of...: SKY

I have so many sky pictures in 2010 --so I decided to feature some of them again in my "Best of"  series.   Above is one of my favorite sunset views taken on 2/24/10 when we were at our little cabin on the mountain at Mt. Nebo, Arkansas.

I love seeing the BLUE sky --especially in winter.  We had had alot of snow and ICE,  so I took this picture with ice on the trees while looking straight up.  Isn't it gorgeous?

Here is a gorgeous picture of the lunar eclipse.  I know that I just posted this recently--but just getting to see a piece of this eclipse was just awesome.  This was history in the making... We saw this eclipse while at Ocean Isle Beach in December of 2010.

Do you like rainbows like I do?  This double beauty was taken on 5/4/10 while we were at Ocean Isle Beach,  North Carolina.

This beautiful picture showing the sunbeams was taken on 11/22/10 when we were at at the top of the mountain at Mount Mitchell,  North Carolina.

I love seeing the sunset when there are lots of beautiful clouds in the sky.  This sunset was taken from the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville, NC on 11/22/10.

Finally,  this beautiful sunrise was taken when we visited Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina,  on 12/23/10.

Hope you enjoyed my 'sky' pictures.   There is so much I love about being out in nature.  Seeing beautiful sky pictures is always a favorite of both George and me.

Hope you also had a good weekend.  I spent the entire time working on my Family History... I love Genealogy --but it takes time and effort for sure!!!!

Hugs,

Sunset on the Blue Ridge Parkway

During our Thanksgiving trip to the Asheville, North Carolina area,   after visiting the Mount Mitchell area,  we were driving back to our motel in Asheville on the Blue Ridge Parkway....  It was perfect timing since we saw some gorgeous skies --and a beautiful sunset.  Here are some pictures --which need no explanation.

Isn't God's creation just magnificent?  While I was watching that sunset,   I almost felt as if God was truly talking just to us.   We've seen many sunsets before,  but this one was definitely one of the best.  It was AWESOME. The only thing which would have made it better is IF you had have been there with us!!!!!

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I will end this post showing our Nativity Scene which is sitting on our coffee table.  I am reminded of the true meaning of Christmas. And I also am reminded,  even with all of the joy, the parties, and the fun during this wonderful season, that there are people out there who are hurting in one way or another.

A very good friend whose husband is really struggling with various health problems needs extra prayers right now from all of us.  May God Bless ALL who are sick, or in pain --both physically or emotionally.

Have a blessed weekend.  I will see you on Monday.
Hugs,

Cumberland Mountain State Park, TN

George and I celebrated our 105th MONTH-aversary yesterday. Since we didn't get married until 2001, we celebrate as much as we can (trying to make up for all of those years we weren't together). We had a fabulous day on the plateau --so we decided to visit one of our favorite local places, the Cumberland Mountain State Park. We had hoped to eat dinner in their lodge restaurant ---but found it closed... Sniff Sniff!!!!

SO--we walked around and took some pictures before leaving to find another restaurant. After taking pictures, we went to the Vegas Steak House in Crossville (a new restaurant for us) and were very pleased. (I'm always afraid to try a new restaurant.) We both got Prime Rib, baked potato and salad. Dinner was excellent --and we will definitely go back there again!!!!

Here are some pictures from yesterday!!! The picture above is a view of the lake looking toward the bridge. Don't you love the reflections? Below are more.

This girl is so happy to be married to this wonderful man!!! It was a gorgeous late afternoon at the park.

Here's another view of the lake... I was thrilled with the reflections since the water was very CALM.

We are enjoying our new cameras SO much. This picture of George was VERY dark --but I was able to lighten it some using our NEW Photo Shop Elements program. (Thanks Richard!)

The Canada Geese were looking for something to eat --but I had nothing with me. Shame on me!!!!!

This little guy was resting on ONE leg.... Maybe he was practicing for the ballet!!! Ya think???? ha ha

The Canada Geese didn't get all of my attention. These Mallard Ducks wanted me to know that they were there also. So --I just 'had' to take their picture too!!!!

We hiked to the other side of the bridge/dam (bridge is built over the dam) to get a picture of the 'waterfall' there. Guess what we saw on our path????? Obviously, beavers have been very busy in this area!!!!!!

This is the 'waterfall' on the other side of the dam... Even though it is not a 'real' waterfall ---we still like to see it, especially when there is so much water coming over the spillway.

And--here's the end of a beautiful day in Tennessee!!!!! We came out of the restaurant at the perfect time ---and were able to snap this picture before the sun went totally down... Thanks Be to God for our fabulous Month-aversary!!!!

Hugs,