As I shared a few days ago, Jeff took me to the Poconos for a couple of days.  We stayed at a beautiful stone lodge that was built on 5500 acres in the 1920’s – Skytop. I loved getting to know a bit about the history of the place.  The architecture and intact original details were beautiful.   …and it was fun looking at pictures taken over the years… The service and food were spectacular.  Since I’m a vegetarian, it can be a little tricky sometimes when I eat out if I want more than a salad or a plate of mushrooms, but they were so accommodating.  The chef made a dish for me of a cheesy risotto with fresh vegetables.  It was delicious and the food altogether was a highlight. Unfortunately, the weather was rainy, misty and foggy, so we didn’t get to enjoy all of the outdoor activities

A couple of weeks ago, Jeff declared that we needed a little getaway.  I am a homebody and I love my work, so I don’t usually feel like I need to get away, but he’s almost always right with that sort of thing and it ends up being really great. He always picks the destination and accommodations, so the arrangements are not on my shoulders.  And I love that.  He always does a fantastic job in the planning.  This trip, he chose Skytop Lodge in the Poconos of Pennsylvania. It is a beautiful lodge that was built in the 1920’s. It was rainy, misty and/or foggy the entire time we were there, but we still managed to get in some outdoor activities.  I’ll share more about the lodge next week. Since the weather was a bit of a bummer, Jeff suggested something he knew I would enjoy…hitting a few antique stores.  What a

Today, our realtor had a “broker’s open house” at our home, so I had to find something to do away from home.  I’ve been having a lot of tightness and, not quite pain, but discomfort in my shoulders and neck.  My trapezius muscles to be more specific.  That’s where I hold my stress and it gets tight when I’m, well, stressed.  The weeks heading up to Lucketts were busy and stressful, culminating with my tent collapsing from torrential rain the Friday before Lucketts.  For some reason, the event this year really took it out of me and that manifested itself in a hoarse voice and tired body. I set aside the week after Lucketts to relax…hang out in bed, watch Netflix and movies and only work when I wanted to.  You may have guessed that I’m not very good at loafing around.  I did extend my “break” into the following

I spent most of the day digging through my Lucketts – leftover pile.  I didn’t have a lot, but we just dumped it all at the basement steps after the event and I really needed to go through it.  Most of the items will go in the online shop, but I do always set a few things aside to keep.  One thing I kept was a pair of needlepoint pillows.  I made these years ago (actually blogged about them HERE) and they’ve been in my living room and guest room, but were finally stuffed in the “pillow closet.”  They’re really too pretty to languish in a closet, so I decided to sell them.  Well, they didn’t sell, so I put them on the daybed in my family room and they are perfect there!  I’m so happy they didn’t sell! I also kept a square ironstone tureen that didn’t sell.  It was