I have been noticing old suitcases everywhere. I love them. I look at them and wonder where they have been. Have they been used strictly for visits to Grandma’s or have they traveled the world?
When we traveled to my Grandma’s house one year, we bought so many souvenirs and stuff that we needed a way to get them home. Grandma gave us her old suitcase so we could get our things on the plane. That thing was huge! It was grayish white in color and I think it was made of pressed cardboard. It held up through lots of journeys.
Since that trip, my sisters and I used that suitcase to cart things back and forth to each other’s houses. I think it is at my sister’s house in Kentucky now and in it are maternity clothes we exchanged. Neither of us has been pregnant for over 22 years! That suitcase is getting older!
Do you have an old suitcase? Did it belong to someone in your family?
It sounds like Pittsburgh is the place to visit!
What do you think of when you think of Pittsburgh? I think of gray days and cold temperatures. I don’t know why. Perhaps that is the way that Pittsburgh is portrayed in the movies.
I am amazed at what I am finding out about Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh is celebrating its 250th birthday. They want people to think new things about their city. Pittsburgh ambassadors are making changes so that those who visit the city will see a art museums and cultural themes. Universities have a historical place in Pittsburgh. They also have new and exciting things to offer.
It is too bad that people from Pittsburgh aren’t becoming more involved in the renovation and promotion of their city. They will be the ones to reap the benefits. I am interested in visiting and I am sure others will be adding Pittsburgh to their lists of cool places to visit.
Even though I have traveled to many places, there are places that I am still learning about. Newsletters and mailings are my link to finding out about new and fun places. The e-newsletter from Trusted Tours and Attractions is always full of interesting stories, travel tips, and travel blogs.
When you sign up for Trusted Tours e-newsletter you will be eligible to win 4 free tickets to tours in a city of your choice. This offer ends Friday, December 14th, 2007 so hurry and sign up.
I especially enjoy the travel blogs noted on Trusted Tours e-newsletters. Hearing about the fun each person blogged about makes me want to get going and check out all the places they have been. Trusted Tours and Attractions offers discounted tickets to the best sightseeing tours in all the places that I would love to visit! Key West is on my list of the places I want to visit. Ernest Hemingway intrigues me. I would love to visit his home and see how he lived. The Nobel prize winning author lived in Key West for many years. I want to see what attraction the area held for him.
City-wide excursions of the most fun and interesting places are listed in the e-newsletters. A few include San Diego, San Francisco and Savannah. When you tire of shoveling snow and cleaning ice off your foyer floor, check with Trusted Tours for your winter getaway.
As a quilter, I am always interested in new techniques to make quilts and new styles of quilts. I don’t always like the things introduced because I like the old fabrics like the civil war fabrics. I do like to look and get ideas.
All of you quilt enthusiasts need to take note of the 14th Annual A Mountain Quiltfest™ in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee on March 12-16, 2008!
This festival draws over 20,000 quilters and quilt lovers from all over the nation.
Classes are available and some of the instructors include:
Carol Doak - Windham, NH
Joan Shay – Harwich, MA
Sharon Kennedy – Louisa, VA
JoAnne Belling – Des Moines, Iowa
Nancy Odom – Westfield, IN (from my neck of the woods!)
Sue Nickels – Ann Arbor, MI
Vikki Pignatelli – Reynoldsburg, OH
I hope to see you there!
Technology is changing many things. Have you noticed how quickly you go through the checkout line at the grocery? Mammograms are more accurate because of digital imagery available that was not there for us before. We are discovering that what we thought of as boundaries are changing.
NASA has released a detailed map of Antarctica. As noted on CNN online, the map, dubbed the Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica, is a realistic, nearly cloudless view of the southernmost continent with a resolution 10 times greater than in previous images.
The first satellite images were taken in 1972. That is when my husband and I met! New imagery gives us a time-lapse historical record of how Antarctica has changed and will enable us to continue to watch changes unfold. It is amazing the amount of knowledge we can gain from new technology.
Our trip to Europe was an easy one because we entrusted all of our flights and hotel reservations to an experienced travel agent. Holiday Hypermarket is an experienced travel agency. They know that you prefer a cheap flight so that you have more funds to see all that you can see when you get to your destination. Holiday Hypermarket is one of the largest travel agencies in Europe. They understand that a cheap holiday doesn’t mean unworthy but that it is inexpensive. They get you more for your dollar and they know how to find those deals all over the world. Let them be at your service as they have for millions of travelers.
When we traveled in the Netherlands, we stayed at a pension that had the most narrow stairway I had ever seen. It was an adventure getting our luggage to our room! I would recommend a backpack for those of you who are planning a trip to Europe. Backpacks were not all that popular in the 70’s when we took our trip.
Our hosts were rarely seen, unlike the B & B’s here in the states. They did set out a nice breakfast of hard rolls, boiled eggs and cheese. I know that I should eat like that more often but I was hungry and that didn’t satisfy my appetite. My husband said their coffee was good. I wasn’t a coffee drinker at the time.
We wandered the streets of Amsterdam and watched the police shoo away all the hippies from their gathering place on the town square. The atmosphere was much like a big city here in the states except they had a red light district. That was interesting!
I am looking forward to Stacy living in Florida. Our work schedule is at its lightest during the winter and early spring months. We find it a bit easier to get away from February through mid April. Then tax refunds start coming and people start buying carpet again.
There are many things I would like to do when we go to Florida. I love to lay on the beach and relax but I also like to do things I don’t have the chance to do at home. Warm weather is the reason that many of the baseball teams have moved their spring training facilities to Florida. I have checked out the New York Yankees Spring Training Schedule to see if it would be feasible to hit one of their games. It looks like there is a game in St. Petersburg on April 14th. I’m going to have to check this out with my hubby! I need to plan ahead if we want to order New York Yankees Spring Training Tickets. We went to a Cubs game last year and had a good time. I think it would be fun to watch the Yankees when we visit Stacy in Florida. She might want to even a few of her buddies to join us!
I was searching my brain for a place to take my nephew and his wife while they were visiting. They wanted to visit areas where Amish live in their everyday life. Amanda had eaten Amish bread before and was hoping to find some to buy.
It is interesting to visit Berne or areas around Shipshewanna because there are a lot of Amish people who are going about their daily business. I love to see how they work in the fields with their horses. I have noticed that it is primarily women who are using old fashioned push mowers to keep their lawns mowed. You will see many riding their bicycles. They are required by law, to have flashing caution lights on their buggies. The first time I saw these lights, it was dark and I thought we were approaching an accident. The lights are bright and flash at a fast rate. It is similar to the light on a police car when they have someone pulled over. It made my heart jump as I check my speed.
There is a certain look about most of their houses that make them recognizable. You won’t see shutters on Amish homes. Their gardens are surrounded by the most beautiful flowers. I have never seen an Amish home with junk sitting around. I have never seen old farm equipment rusting away on an Amish farm.
We weren’t able to take our guests to visit any Amish homesteads since we were short on time. Maybe next time.
I love how Hotels Combined finds the best prices for hotels. They have the ability to search over 700,000 hotels simultaneously and it only takes a minute to find the best deal. Gone are the days of searching for hours. The choices given have reviews so you have the chance to know how other customers rated each hotel. They show pictures of each hotel so that you can see what you are considering and make an informed decision. Check out www.hotelscombined .com, and let them make booking your next hotel reservation an easy task. This hotel rate comparison tool is free! I will never go back to individual searches to find a nice hotel! Thanks Hotels Combined.
