More of my Babies (and this time, it is not the Birds)!!

I've mentioned to some of you in comments how much that I dearly LOVE CLOCKS... I have three old chiming clocks in my home (all in my Great Room), and all three of them work. It's wonderful when they all chime at the same time (which is rare)... ha.... My job is to wind them and keep them running!!!!!

Today I will show you some pictures of my 'babies'---beginning with my favorite one pictured above. I received this clock (made in Germany) in about 1970 when my family and I lived in Maryville, TN. We lived in an apartment at the time and my neighbor was a lady from Germany. She had several German clocks in her home --and I admired them several times during our friendship. One day she GAVE me this clock---and to this day, this is one of my prized possessions. It's the type of treasure that you do NOT allow a mover to move... Everytime I have moved, I have taken this clock with me in my car. I wish I could see that German lady today and tell her AGAIN how much I love the clock that she gave me. Below are the other two clocks.

One reason I love clocks is that I grew up with this little Seth Thomas clock. It sat on the fireplace mantel in my childhood home in Big Stone Gap, VA for as many years as I can remember. SO---I don't really know how old it is, but it has to be at least 68 years old or older...

My Mom and Dad used to tell a story about me and this clock. When I was four years old, I attended a little pre-kindergarten program in our town. I must have loved going to 'school' ---so every morning, I knew that we couldn't leave for school until 8:45 a.m. One morning ----about 8:30, I got on a chair (so they say) and moved the hand on the clock to 8:45... Then I ran and told Mama that it was time to go... Oops---I think they caught me!!!!!! (Of course, I think this was just a 'tall tale'--since I was such a good little girl, I would never have done such a thing!!!!!!! ha ha ha)

This little Seth Thomas is special because it was 'rescued' ---from the trash can (if you can believe that). This one really has the prettiest chime sound of all three of them--and it keeps the best time. This baby was in George's family --and he remembers that his father-in-law at the time found this little clock in the trash can somewhere, took it home, cleaned it up---and here it is still working many years later. I am thrilled to have an old clock from George's family --in addition to my two. All three of them strike on the half hour ---and on the hour.

We have a huge Great Room (combo living/dining) in our home --so all three of these clocks live in that room. I keep hinting to George that we need a 4th clock someday, a vintage 'tall clock'---or as I have always said, a Grandfather Clock. Every time I see one in a museum, I get so excited... OH--how I'd love to have one in my home!!! BUT--I think George believes that THREE is enough!!!! Oh Well!!!

Have a great weekend.

Hugs,

Desoto State Park, Fort Payne, AL

On February 14, 2010, George took me on a surprise Valentine's trip to the Little River Canyon and Desoto State Park in Alabama. Desoto State Park is the place to go IF you like waterfalls. Besides all of the waterfalls in the Little River Canyon area, there are SIX waterfalls in or around the State Park. We have seen them all --but this trip, we only saw four of them. The other two (Laurel Falls and Lost Falls) were seen on previous trips to the state park.

Today I will share with you the other four waterfalls in and around Desoto State Park --which we saw on Feb. 14 or 15. Above is the main falls, DESOTO FALLS --which we have featured on several blog posts. In order to see more pictures of this gorgeous waterfall, you can check my sidebar and look under the label ALABAMA. Below are more from our Valentine's trip.

I liked this picture of the top of DESOTO FALLS--showing the snow and icicles.

This is LODGE FALLS, which is not far from the lodge where we spent the night on Valentine's night.

This is INDIAN FALLS. There is a bridge which crosses the brink of this waterfall.

We climbed down the side---toward the bottom of INDIAN FALLS --in order to get more pictures. This is a pretty waterfall, isn't it? You can see some of the bridge above.

We woke up on February 15 to some snow on the ground at Desoto State Park. We took a short hike down the boardwalk to see the AZALEA CASCADES, before heading home to find TONS of snow that day.

This was a pretty area of the park---with beautiful rock formations around...

This little waterfall (AZALEA CASCADES) is not as large as the others, but the area around the cascade is serene and relaxing. There are places where you can sit and just enjoy hearing the sound of the water.

Several of you have asked about Desoto State Park, and we highly recommend it. This 3,502-acre park provides mountain chalets, log and rustic cabins, motel rooms, meeting rooms, and also has both improved and primitive campgrounds. They also have a picnic area with playground, olympic-sized swimming pool, a nature center, and over 19 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails.

Hugs,