A TRIP TO SAVANNAH, GEORGIA

Last year, a group of my Elementary/High School friends took a vacation together to CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA area to do some WINE-TASTING and to learn a little about the history in the area. ANNA bought burgundy t-shirts for each of us that had BIG, BOLD LETTERS across the front - WINE WENCH - which we wore with pride.

This year, the same group +1 traveled SOUTH to SAVANNAH, GA and BEAUFORT, SC. We had a busy itinerary planned and every day seemed even better than the previous one.

Our first evening we "dined" at THE OLDE PINK HOUSE, one of the finest restaurants in the city, located in one of the oldest buildings. I loved their basement bar, where I photographed the spectacular dog sculpture below. 

Dinner was typical SOUTHERN COOKING - most of us had SHRIMP AND CHEESE GRITS - EXCELLENT. We were also serenaded........

The next day we took a FOOD WALKING TOUR with SAVANNAH TASTE EXPERIENCE, which was so much fun. We enjoyed small tastes at 7 restaurants as John shared tidbits of history and local gossip while we walked. A GREAT/YUMMY way to get an overview of any city that offers this.

 We started with SEAFOOD CHOWDER.

A little SAVANNAH HISTORY.........

SHRIMP and GRITS with BACON and CHIVES at our next stop, TANDEE'S TAVERN.........

THE ORDINARY PUB made us PORK SLIDERS, CABBAGE and CORN SLAW and a spot of KEY LIME PIE over a berry compote..........

SHEPHERD'S PIE at MOLLY MACPHERSON'S SCOTTISH PUB.........

A COOKIE tasting.........

And a nibble of SAUSAGE PIE at the PIE SOCIETY

A WHOLE BUTTERCREAM CUPCAKE at MABEL'S CUPCAKE EMPORIUM....... yes, we each ate the WHOLE thing........

And an extraordinary "HONEY TASTING" at the SAVANNAH BEE CO.

In anticipation of the trip I asked my HS BOOK CLUB this month to read "MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL". So, naturally we toured the MERCER-WILLIAMS HOUSE, originally owned by JOHNNY MERCER and later purchased by JIM WILLIAMS. We could easily imagine all of the parties Jim hosted there. I LOVED this house tour and must now watch the movie again! If you haven't seen it, KEVIN SPACEY does a killer job of portraying JIM WILLIAMS - and from the photos we saw, looks so much like him.

Next, we HAD to visit JOHNNY MERCER'S grave-site in BONAVENTURE CEMETERY. The family grave-site was beautiful. 

There is a MARBLE BENCH in the corner with inscriptions of JOHNNY MERCER'S song lyrics.

And THEN, the most UNBELIEVABLE THING HAPPENED!!!!!  Marianne took a picture.......... you MUST read my NEXT BLOG POST to find out the specifics! I DO believe in SPIRITS, but NEVER IN MY LIFE DID I EXPECT THIS...........

JOAN

A YEAR-END CLOVER!!! STORY

We need to end the year with an entertaining CLOVER!!! story, right? 

This is my "WINE ROOM", which is the setting for the following.........

My neighbors, the PETAS, are like a second family to me. The day after CHRISTMAS they visited mid-day with a gift of wine, a cute little CHRISTMAS decoration and a unique CHRISTMAS WINE STOPPER to add to my treasured collection. This one LIGHTS UP!! 

I opened some wine and we were all enjoying each other, sharing laughs and lifting our glasses in my "WINE ROOM".

The PETAS are dog-lovers, so CLOVER!!! was actively involved in their visit. 

Nichole was playing with CLOVER!!! and her "iFetch Too" (a ball-tossing gadget) in the other room. CLOVER!!! drops the ball in the hole in the top and the ball shoots out the side. Most of the time, CLOVER!!! catches it in her mouth as soon as it exits.......... 

In case you aren't familiar with this "TOY", here she is this summer playing with it on the deck.

So, NICHOLE and CLOVER!!! are busy playing with this toy, but this one time......... 

DRUM ROLL........... 

CLOVER!!! misses the catch when the toy is set on "high velocity toss".

The ball SHOOTS out of the toy, HITS the side of the wall mirror and RICOCHETS into the WINE ROOM, high in the air, in direct line to the CHANDELIER.

The ball hits the CHANDELIER, knocks off one of the shades, breaks the light bulb and glass showers down around us.  

The little GLASS BEADS of the chandelier are knocked loose and are hanging straight down......

BINGO!!!

We all jump out of our chairs and into ACTION, while LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY. 

NICHOLE rushes CLOVER!!! out of the room, MARK and I start picking up GLASS PIECES, MONICA gets the vacuum, MARK gets a ladder from the garage to replace the broken bulb, I TURN OFF the light and search for a NEW bulb, ALEXIA takes a photo of the chaos, while laughing, almost missing the shot of the chandelier damage......... and we're still all SHAKING OUR HEADS and LAUGHING. 

WHAT ARE THE CHANCES that CLOVER!!!'s ball would RICOCHET off the MIRROR and hit one of the CHANDELIER BULBS DEAD CENTER????  

Gotta LOVE this GIRL!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO Y'ALL!!!

JOAN and CLOVER!!!

NATIVITY SCENES AT GLENCAIRN

Every year the PITCAIRN family displayed a SET OF 3 NATIVITY DIORAMAS with this vibrant BLUE background in their dining area for all of the family and guests to enjoy.  

Most if not all of these NATIVITY SCENES in the PITCAIRN HOME were hand-made in ITALY.  If you can zoom in to see the detail, you'll be even more delighted.

This next one, with several levels and a hub-bub of activity, really caught my eye. Remember that each piece of fruit, every character and the shingles and bricks are all HAND-CARVED and HAND-PAINTED. There are a number of tiny CLAY POTS on the back wall. The LION FACE on this back wall is typically seen in ITALY spouting water from his mouth into the bowl below. INCREDIBLE.

A massive NATIVITY SCENE was displayed in THE GREAT HALL, where our house tour began.

The last NATIVITY SCENE I'm sharing here was completed in 2015. It was a commissioned piece, to incorporate many special parts of the GLENCAIRN ESTATE buildings into the scene. From my past few posts on this estate, you might recognize the STAINED GLASS WINDOW from the CATHEDRAL, the vibrant half-moon painting of the NATIVITY on the back wall over the fireplace and the similarity of the general architecture of this diorama to the buildings on the estate grounds.

Beautiful reminders of the CHRISTIAN meaning of CHRISTMAS.

JOAN

VISITING THE CAIRNWOOD ESTATE

The CAIRNWOOD ESTATE outside of Philadelphia is only an hour from me, yet I knew NOTHING about it, until my Aunt suggested I visit it - particularly at CHRISTMASTIME. I'm so glad I did!!

There are 3 important buildings, which compose the ESTATE - CAIRNWOOD on the right in the above photo, GLENCAIRN on the left and the CATHEDRAL.

CAIRNWOOD - completed in 1895, was the original home of SCOTTISH immigrant, JOHN and GERTRUDE PITCAIRN, and their 6 children.

• John was a wealthy industrialist who co-founded PITTSBURGH PLATE AND GLASS and made his fortune in the 1870's by investing in PENNSYLVANIA coal, oil and natural gas
• Their home included a CHAPEL for the family and a wing to house 7 employees in 5 bedrooms, with one bathroom, a sewing room, a nursery a butler's pantry and a linen closet.
• John and Gertrude began buying up surrounding land to develop a community where "their children could attend church and school in an ideal environment surrounded by nature and farmland".
• Today, wedding receptions and other public events are held here.

GLENCAIRN - a home built by the oldest child, RAYMOND - completed in 1939, housed RAYMOND, his wife MILDRED PITCAIRN and their 9 children. 

Their second oldest child, GABRIELE PITCAIRN married Rev. Willard Pendleton in 1934. They had 6 children and lived here from 1945 - 1980. Today it serves as a MUSEUM, sharing with the community what life was like in this spectacular home.

THE BRYN ATHYN CATHEDRAL has the largest NEW CHURCH congregation. The building was dedicated in 1919.

Inside the CATHEDRAL are beautiful STAINED GLASS WINDOWS, shown here reflecting their colors across the front altar.

This CHRISTMAS BOUQUET in the CATHEDRAL hallway gives you a taste of what I'll share in my next BLOG POST........ photos of the PITCAIRN FAMILY'S hand-carved NATIVITY SCENES, GLASS BLOWN CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS, books, candies and additional TREASURES from the EARLY 1900's.

JOAN