A Sunday Excursion to Thornrose

Sunday, I decided to head into our town and tour Thornrose Cemetery. I have lived in this area all my life, and except for attending a funeral or two, I had never explored this cemetery. What a surprise!




Thornrose was established in 1849 and is celebrating its 160th anniversary this year. In 1849, the city bought 12 acres of land outside the city limits. Now the cemetery encompasses over 30 acres of land inside the city limits. Architect, T.J. Collins, designed many of the cemetery's features including the gatehouse pictured here.

There are extensive roads and paths that wander through the entire site.

This statuary surrounded by an annual garden was dedicated in 1901. Can you see the garden hat and gloves?



Next was a fairly recent memorial dedicated to the town's firefighters.

Before starting down mausoleum row, this stone caught my attention. The gentleman interred here must have been a dog lover although the ravages of time have caused the muzzle of the dog to break off.

Several prominent families erected mausoleums. The doors are just beautiful.

I should have gotten a close up view of the lion head door knockers on this one. Who would want to go in?

This one has a tiny stained glass window on the back side. A few of the stained glass panes show damage.

Stones of all shapes...


designs...engraved with flowers...


and colors.

This stone marks a former governor of Virginia.




I thought this was an interesting engraving...

But this was my favorite of the day. A sheaf of wheat is in the center of the stone,



and I'm not sure what is coming out the top. Close inspection looks like an aloe plant!


Visitors can cross a bridge or climb a tower to overlook the surroundings.


But what captured my eye on this Sunday were the memorials to the children.

A little lamb...

an angel with wings...

our little Sally...

another angel...

heaven's sweet dove...

and another sweet lamb.



Revolutionary soldiers...


and canon to mark the Confederate mass plot in which over 1700 Confederate soldiers are buried atop the hill.This serves as the marker for all 1700.



A flag-draped memorial...


and a tall spire to mark another war hero beside a family mausoleum.


Places to stand and view on a hillside...



or places to sit and contemplate.

Are the famous buried here?

The newest structure to be built is the Four Seasons Mausoleum and Columbarium.

Inside is a statue of Staunton mourning her dead.


On the way out , here is another view of the tower and bridge.


So many stories; so much beauty; another visit to Thornrose is in the making.

Please visit Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for more on Outdoor Wednesday.

A Blue Quilt for a Blue Monday

Time to air out the quilts on this Blue Monday morning. This one has been in the spare room for much too long. The fold lines are much too evident. My MIL and I both collected quilts. This was one of hers. I think it is a variation of the Rose of Sharon pattern probably made somewhere between the 1920's to 40's. If someone knows the correct identification of it, please let me know.


This is a great day to hang out the quilt-a gentle breeze and subdued sunshine.


This is one white center piece with 20 appliqued flowers. The applique work is quite impressive with about 10-12 stitches per inch. You can see an overall quilt design as well on the white background.


These are two of my favorite colors-blue and green. In fact, we used blue and green as our wedding colors 38 years ago. If I had known then that my MIL had this quilt, I would have tried to use it some way in the wedding decor.

A paler shade of blue...

juxtaposed against a darker flower.

It can rest at the foot of the bed...

become a tablecloth for a future tablescape...

make a great tablecloth for a romantic picnic...

or display on a quilt stand.

Have a wonderful Blue Monday. Visit Smiling Sally to view more participants.

It's a Christmas in July Tablescape Thursday!

For every Hallmark store owner, we are celebrating Christmas in July with our Ornament Premiere. So what better way for us to contribute to Tablescape Thursday than with a little bit of holiday cheer. For this occasion, I am using my Lenox Winter Greeting's Everyday dinner ware. I am sure that many of you have this same winter pattern. I enjoy using it after Thanksgiving through the new year.

For those of us who live in Virginia, the cardinal is a very special bird.



Take away the sauce bowl, and we see the salad plate...


and finally the dinner plate.


There are very limited pieces to this Lenox pattern-sauce bowls, soup bowls, salad and dinner plates, and an occasional serving piece.

I enjoy collecting antique napkin rings.


The center piece is a metal sled filled with magnolia leaves, a hurricane shade, and a tall candle. If this were in December, I would also use nandina berries, and some pine to round out the sleigh.


This little fellow was made by my friend Linda many years ago and now rests in the magnolia in the sleigh centerpiece.


A few Hallmark ornaments mark each place setting. This is a new series call Season's Treatings.

And who couldn't resist a snowman or two. This little fellow is Zak E. Zamboni from the Snowtop Lodge series.


The Community Church is the fourth in series from Noelsville.


Could you guess there is a golfer in our household? The Teed-Off Gopher from Caddyshack is sure to be a hit.


Since it is Christmas in July, we must have a hint of patriotism on our tablescape.


Alas, Christmas in July must come to an end.


Visit Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for more Tablescape Thursday.

Pink Saturday

For my contribution to Pink Saturday, I thought I would share some of the pink Christmas ornaments that are on display at our Hallmark store.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Barbie. Shoe-sational is so stylish!

Here is another Barbie in her Preferably Pink outfit.

This is China Rose , the 22nd of the Rosemary's Angels series.

Madame Alexander's Wreath of Holiday Wishes is the 14th of her series.

How about A Sugar Plumped Fairy?

Or a Teen Queen?


Proceeds from the sale of Angel of Strength helps to benefit the Susan Komen fund for breast cancer.


This is Precious Beauty, the fourth in the Angel series.

But my favorite has to be Ralphie's Pink Nightmare from The Christmas Story.

Visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for more Pink Saturday.

This Week at Applejack Lane

This has been a busy week at Applejack Lane. Last Friday, June 26, David's company nTELOS flew him to San Francisco for a seven day Cisco Convention. He enjoyed seeing new sites and participating in Cisco's 20th anniversary celebration which included concerts, carnival rides, and fabulous foods. He did have to attend classes, but he said on the whole they were very enjoyable. He learned a few new things, interacted with other businesses like his, and would definitely do this again if the company paid for it!

With Dave in San Francisco, Timmy and Burt came out to Applejack Lane for their vacation.














Murphy was banished for his sake to the outside.

It was quite a week carting the dogs to Dave's house during the day and back to Applejack Lane at nights. Plus, somebody got fleas! After numerous flea baths, the scratching subsided. Of course, Timmy had to wear a red bandanna handkerchief around his middle one night so that he would not dig himself to death. The pooches were a little traumatized with Dave not being around. But, Tim and Burt did have some nice walks on country roads to help expend some of their energy and enable them to sleep well. On Friday, off to Doggystyles they went to see their friend Ann who massaged and groomed them beautifully for Dave's homecoming.

With Timmy and Burt back home on Friday, Team Cathy arrived Friday afternoon to celebrate Cathy's birthday and visit for the 4th of July. Murphy was able to come back into the house because he and Kahlo are friends. We had chicken and vegetable kabobs cooked on the grill along with pasta salad, and fresh corn on the cob. Kahlo decided to rescue the cobs that Guy threw over the fence and eat them later that evening-that's six whole cobs! You can see him here checking out a few extra chicken kabobs.

Instead of an ice cream cake this year, we resorted to more health conscious fare with a July 4th concoction of blueberries, strawberries, angel food cake, sugar free pudding, and light whipped cream.

Amy thought the Pepperidge Farm chocolate pirouettes weren't so bad either.

Cathy unwrapped a package or two...

and dazzled us with her fashion style.


Since the store was absolutely dead on Saturday, we decided to close and headed out to a new winery in the Fishersville area-Barren Ridge Vineyards.

This is a lovely facility which was transformed from an old apple packing shed by the present owners.

The covered balcony and patio area is set with tables and chairs overlooking the beautiful vineyard and countryside of Augusta County.


The patio is even equipped with an outdoor fireplace so that the winery could be used in the early spring to late autumn for a variety of activities and entertaining. There have even been wedding receptions here.


We tasted about seven of their wines. I recommend anyone visiting in the area to stop by for a free tasting. You can taste five more for a $5.00 charge, but we thought seven tastings were enough. I was getting a little woozy at this point anyway.


By Sunday, we were all pooped. Even Kahlo seems to have lost a lot of his zip. It was rainy and a little on the cool side which made for a lazy day.

By 11:00 A.M., Team Cathy was packed and ready to return to Richmond. I was whipped, too, after a week at work, caring for Timmy and Burt, preparing for company, and cooking over the weekend.

So, I decided to make myself a wine spritzer or two and just relax for the rest of the day here at Applejack Lane. Come on back for another visit!