Whimsical Fashion Fun...

 

There isn't a linky, and there aren't any rules.

Take a look at the dress and choose the shoes you like best.

It's all for fun and just a whimsical thing!

Photos are from the Storybook of Dreams and Beauty.

When I saw this photo, it gave me a 60s vibe.  Not a dress I would choose today, but it does kinda make me happy!  Count down 1-2-3 on the shoes and tell us which ones you like best for her.  It's all for fun, and just a whimsical thing!

My thoughts:  I wish pair #1 were blue, but I'm still choosing #1.  It just looks more comfortable.  What are your thoughts?

Peace and Hugs!

Sharing quotes by President Lincoln...

"The Lord prefers common-looking people.

That is the reason He makes so many of them."

Still in Illinois and Then Home!!

I went to church with Elaine and Jim on Sunday.  They are both very active in their United Methodist Church.  I am sorry that I didn't get pictures inside, because the church is a stunning older building with stained glass windows.  Here is the outside...

Jim is a hunter and built a blind on a friend's property a while back.  He learned just before I arrived that a tree fell on it during a storm, and it looked like a huge loss.  While Elaine and I were off having fun, Jim was reconstructing his blind, and he was able to get it back to nearly new.  We all celebrated that win!  While he was out there, he was able to 'harvest' some mushrooms.  He cleaned them and froze some, we used some, and he gave some to a neighbor.  I've never seen mushrooms like these, but they were very good!  This is just one batch...

Jim and Elaine have three sons.  They are all successful in their own fields (and all are brag-worthy), but I want to brag on the youngest.  Jon is an artist and lives in Asheville, NC, with his long-time girlfriend.  He worked for years at the Blue Spiral Art Gallery.   He is now doing his art full-time and is making a name for himself.  He was featured on the cover of the Asheville magazine.  I took these photos of the magazine and article, and HERE is a link to his website and more recent work.  The second page has his self-portrait...

On Monday, we were up and about, ready to head back to Springfield to explore the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, and his homesite (where they lived for 17 years, before moving to Washington).  There was so much to see and experience!!   I have three times more photos than I'm sharing here.  It was so interesting! 

Lincoln's bed looks short but was actually 6' 9" long for his 6' 4" height.

Our tour guide...

  

I had to take a picture of the luxurious outhouse!  Three seats!!  

I am so glad we ladies don't have to dress like this now!

The White House Kitchen...

Lincoln's casket...

We didn't travel to his tomb, but I snapped a photo of the photo...

This band was so interesting to watch and listen to.  There were two over-the-shoulder instruments that would be called baritones today.  Back then, they were called Saxhorns.  The bells of the instruments go backwards over the musician's shoulder so marching troops behind the band could hear them.  I've never seen that before. 

We traveled back to Quincy for dinner at The Tower Pizza & Mexican Restaurant.  Another yummy dinner out.  I neglected to get a photo.  

On Tuesday, I was out and about with Elaine, running a few errands, and she was acclimating me to Quincy.  There are so many beautiful mansions (my description) in many neighborhoods.  HGTV decorators would have a field day in Quincy!! 

Elaine and Jim have a beautiful garden that was producing lots of tomatoes and pickles while I was there.  Elaine cans garden produce and made some jalapeno pickle relish while I was there.  They also have strawberries, and she made jam from them earlier in the growing season.  I would say I helped with the relish, but I really only chopped a few cucumbers, tightened the lids, and put the filled jars into the boiling water.  I did get to bring home some relish and strawberry jam...

Wednesday was my last full day with Elaine and Jim.  Elaine wanted me to see the  Quincy Art Center, so we went there and stayed for nearly two hours.  

Here is a link about this exhibit.  I really enjoyed it!

We went out for dinner at The Abby Restaurant.  It is another favorite of theirs, and we all enjoyed our meals!  Kind of sad to be heading home the next day.  I neglected to mention that Jim is a great grillmaster and Elaine is a great cook.  Meals eaten at home were all also delicious.

We got up early enough to visit The Village Inn for breakfast on Thursday, before heading to Springfield and my trip back to Grand Rapids and on to Lakeland Friday.

I will add that it wasn't quite that easy.  To make a long story short, I flew American Airlines to Chicago, and was to take another flight with American to Grand Rapids, where I had a room reserved at the Grand Rapids Airport Holiday Inn. There was a pretty bad lightning storm in Chicago that grounded and canceled many flights, mine included.  There were stand-by lists and an actual seat on a later flight.  I didn't make any of the stand-bys.  The 10:30 p.m. flight,  on which I had a seat confirmed, kept delaying.  I finally got on board at nearly 12:30 a.m., arriving in Grand Rapids at 2:30ish.  The hotel shuttle stopped at midnight, and there were no taxis after 1:00.  I used my Uber app, and he arrived in less than 10 minutes.  I was checked in by 3:15ish. Twelve hours bounced around from gate to gate to gate at O'Hare took its toll.  I got about two hours of sleep and was happy that my luggage followed me and wasn't lost!  A shower felt good.  I had breakfast at the hotel, and the shuttle got me to the airport in plenty of time to make my Avelo flight back to Lakeland!  Praise God!

Neighbor and friend, Susan, was there to pick me up.  Her smile and hug were so good!  She and her hubby invited me out to dinner with them at Cracker Barrel.  So very blessed by wonderful people in my life.  Praise God!

That's it for my vacation, and I thank you for getting this far!!  It was so much fun, and was a getaway I really needed, despite the glitches getting home.  

Thank you again to Mari and Bob, and Elaine and Jim.  

It was amazing, dear friends!

Watch for my Whimsical Fashion Fun post tomorrow!  Back to normal going forward!!

Peace and Hugs!

Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.

--Abraham Lincoln

The Next Adventure...

Day 4... on to Illinois!

On Thursday, July 17, Mari and Bob took me back to Grand Rapids to catch my plane to Chicago, where I made another connection to Springfield, Illinois.  It was bittersweet saying goodbye to them, because their hospitality was so warm and wonderful. What a blessing to be able to call another blogging friend, an 'in-person' friend!!  The connections we make here in blog-land are pretty amazing!

Elaine and Jim met me at the Springfield airport with hugs.  We are family.  Elaine and I have been friends since we were 10/11 years old.  We marched in band together, we hiked in the woods, looked for adventures like Nancy Drews, ate complete batches of no-bake cookies while watching Chiller Theater, and we were in each other's weddings.  I've known Jim almost as long.  They were college sweethearts and celebrated their 50th anniversary last year!

That said...

I was greeted by a beautiful sunset on the way to their house...

Bella really was happy to see me, even though this picture may suggest otherwise.

This Norfolk Pine is "Joe's Tree".  Y'all know I have a brown thumb.

I received a planter for Joe's memorial service in February 2021.  

Elaine took a very small pine tree home with them when they left in March 2021.  

It is thriving under her care!!  I was happy to see how well it is doing.

I got situated in the guest room, we ate, and then we just chilled in front of the TV until bedtime.  My first time in their home, but it felt like home. 💓

On Friday, Elaine took us across the river to Hannibal, Missouri, for my first adventure!  Mark Twain's home and museum!  We had fun exploring all of the exhibits and grounds.  

I bought two books while there.  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 

and also The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

I've never read either, so I look forward to getting into them soon.

 

When we stepped onto the raft, it felt like it was really on water.

There was a stagecoach replica that was interesting, and we could sit with these passengers...

A huge bale of cotton...

We left Mark Twain behind and went to find The Unsinkable Molly Brown!!  It was so interesting!  I didn't know about Molly, other than the unsinkable part associated with the Titanic.  She was quite a woman!!  Our tour guide was dressed for the part and did a great job!!  Here is more info about Molly.

We had tickets for a Mississippi River Cruise at 1:30, so we had to hot-foot it to the river!!  I was so excited to finally be on a riverboat, on the mighty Mississippi!!  I know it was just a two-hour ride up aways and back, but I can say I did it!! LOL

I wish I had pictures of some of the staff, and I'll tell you why in a bit...

Elaine and I walked to a gelato/candy store she remembered, before we headed home. Yum!      

Jim and Elaine have a favorite Italian restaurant in Quincy, and that's where we went for dinner.  It was so good!! The waiter knew them by name, and we got excellent service to match the excellent food!  We all brought half of our meals home!

I will end this post with some photos of Jim and Elaine's beautiful yard and garden.  I will also tell you why I wish I had pictures of the riverboat staff...

 

I don't have pictures for Saturday (slept in, did laundry, talked a lot...), but we had tickets for the Quincy Community Theater production of The Jersey Boys for Saturday evening.  It was fantastic!! One of the Four Seasons was a staff member of the riverboat!!  He had a great voice and did a great job.  That was kinda fun to see that connection from our adventures on Friday.  Quincy has a great Community Theater group!

Thanks for sticking with me on this vacation/journey!!  I'm enjoying getting it documented and will be happy to have this saved in my archives.  Still a few more days to go!!

Peace and Hugs!

“Right is right, and wrong is wrong, and a body ain’t got no business doing wrong when he ain’t ignorant and knows better.”   – Mark Twain