More Flowers to Brighten Your Day

Today I want to share a few photos of my Amaryllis.I had two plants this year,one a bright red and the other very softly coloured.

The lighter one,called Apple Blossom,had only one stem of flowers,but the flowers were huge and the stem was very tall.

The red one didn't have a name,but it was very pretty. It sent up two stems,so they remained shorter and the flowers were a little smaller.

 Unfortunately,I did not get to enjoy the red flowers to the fullest.They started blooming just before I left for Nashville and were mostly done by the time I came home.

I like the detail in those petals.

Just for good measure,I will add one more photo from the Christmas arrangement I had.

Flowers have a way of brightening the room and lifting the spirit. I hope you enjoyed this small glimpse of my flowers.

Flowers on a Winter Day

At Christmas I received an arrangement and today I want to share a few photos from that.

The centre of this Mum is so tightly packed and beautiful. Sunlight lightens the the outer petals.

The same flower from a different angle.It was a very large flower.

Still the same Mum,now looking trough those pristine white petals.

Here is one of the other blooms in this arrangement,with sunlight causing its thin petals to glow.

On a cold,but sunny winter day,this is a scene I just don't get tired of.I see this from my living room window and each time I look outside,I marvel at this beauty.

The above is a morning scene and I am reminded of the following quote.

Thank-you Lord for another amazing day full of so many blessings.

Nashville,Tennessee,Part 5

By now you all know that I got to visit Nashville,Tennessee a little while ago.

This was a week filled with firsts.
I took my first ever flight,had my first visit to Nashville,or for that matter anywhere in Tennessee.
I got to meet George and Betsy for the first time,and they took us to Cracker Barrel,which was also a first for me. This was a place I had often heard about and now I can say I have eaten there.So Cool!

I initially made the plans to go,because I wanted to attend Legacy Five's New Year's Eve celebration at the Gaylord Opryland hotel. I was very excited about attending this event,but long before I left to go there another event stole the show.

I have posted the next two pictures before,but since it was such a special moment in my life,I have to share them again.

My dear friends George and Betsy Adams made the effort to drive to Nashville to meet with me.Their smiling faces only tell a small part of the story. I was beyond thrilled to finally meet them,after all these years of being blog friendsThey are just the sweetest couple and the hours flew by too quickly.

George was gracious enough to get this picture of Betsy and me.I do hope this was only a first visit and hope that somehow we can meet again.Oh,and Cracker Barrel wasn't bad either,in fact Gwen and I took a taxi back there on New Year's Day.

This is a look at the room where the events took place. Apparently there were 1400 people in attendance. Acoustics were really good and even though I was not in the front row,as I like to be,we had a fairly good view of the stage.
I will be including several videos for your enjoyment.

This is The Jubilee Group.The groups here are Greater Vision,The Booth Brothers and Legacy Five. Each group is good on their own,put the three together and the sound is amazing.The firsts continued during the concerts.Well, lasts and firsts.This was Jim Brady's last time of singing with the Jubilee Group.

During part of that segment,the Booth Brothers sang together for the last with Jim Brady.

This is a different time and place but this short clip will help to explain the hats.

Shortly after that performance the New Booth Brothers stepped on stage with Paul Lancaster joining them. They sounded great.

Jim Brady has not quit singing,but rather formed a new group,The Jim Brady Trio,and they too sounded amazing. On January first they made their stage debut,so you can see this was a time of firsts for me and many others.

The event is hosted yearly by Legacy Five,so I had to add at least one picture of them.

I have many more pictures,but for now these 5 posts will suffice.
I came away from here with a heart full of memories and that is as any good vacation should be.

Nashville,Tennessee,Part 4

I hope you are not getting sick and tired of all these pictures. I promise,I am almost done with the ones I plan to show now. I won't be sharing all my photos as that would be way too many.

Once again I ask you to join me at The Opryland Hotel.

The beauty of this place is astounding.This is all inside,so that makes it even better.,

 This Poinsettia tree was standing in one of the lobbies.

I really like how this one turned out.I have the giant tree and the tiny one standing close together.

Still indoors,we have these pretty lamps,all decorated for Christmas.

I never did promise that all the pictures would be beautiful.I just had to get my picture taken with the Smoky Mountain Santa.I found out that this Santa happens to love Southern Gospel Music.

I was walking along inside and was impressed with the beauty of these shiny leaves.

At another place in the hotel was the area for the conference/ballrooms.I loved the lights and subdued decorations here.

Now we step outside to see what is on display there.

This huge manmade Christmas tree was amazing,especially from a distance.

Displayed on the front lawn is a larger than life sized Nativity scene.

It warmed my heart to see this so prominently displayed.

The angels were there to herald the birth of the Christ Child.

I was truly impressed to see this display.An open Bible with the birth of Christ as written in Luke chapter 2 was there,front and centre. Upon stepping out of the building one could hear this story being read from the pages of the Bible.

With all the talk of taking the Bible out of our courtrooms and schools,this was like a breath of fresh air. The Word of God will endure the test of time.

Nashville,Tennessee Part 3

We continue our walk through the Opryland Hotel.There is so much to see and so many photo opportunities.

I came across this tree with fruit on it. There were two trees like this and both had the fruit,but on this  one the fruit looked like it was ripening.Can anyone tell me what this is?

Poinsettias were everywhere and I thought they looked extra lovely,framed like this.

This picture shows some of the rooms overlooking the Atrium.I am sure they would be lovely,but just a little more than my pocket book allowed.

I had so much fun photographing the various water falls and cascades.The sound of the running and falling water was beautiful and relaxing.

This scene was located close to some restaurants.The water would shoot from one place to another.

I should have taken a video to really show this well. I do believe that this was all lit up at night,but I was at concerts in the evening so didn't get to see it.

Orchids,Orchids everywhere.They were tucked into many little nooks and crannies and lent their exotic look to these areas.

Once again,I don't have names for them,but I do like and appreciate their beauty.

 I really like the veins in these petals.

Simple white with just a touch of color,is still so pretty.

Another variation.This one is spotted.

These had very unique petals and were quite eye-catching with those bright colors.

I love Orchids and I sure got to see many varieties at the Opryland Hotel.

Nashville Part 2

Come for a walk with me through the Gaylord Opryland Hotel.

Yes,the place was still decorated for Christmas,but somehow,I didn't mind,it was just so beautiful.

Cascades and waterfalls were everywhere. I also really enjoyed all the lush foliage.

I want a Poinsettia Christmas tree like that. Oh—wait,I have no place to put a tree that large.

It sure was pretty though and the flowers were all real.

For a garden lover like me,who can't seem to keep things growing at home,this was the place to be.

I enjoyed the beauty and then let them worry about how to keep things growing.

The decorations on these pillars caught my attention

A lazy river flows through the building.I know it is all manmade,but it is still spectacular to see.

Even a Banana tree grows in the gardens.

Looking up into the structure of the building was also stunning.I enjoyed seeing all the patterns and lines.

These huge Christmas trees were everywhere.I can only imagine the hours of work that went into all this decorating.

Last but not least.This may well be one of my favourite images.I was just trying for a picture of the water and was pleasantly surprised at the results.The movement of the water turned the reflections into abstract art.

I have at least three more posts about my visit to Nashville.I took so many pictures and even with all these posts,I'm not showing nearly all of them.

Thanks for joining me as we tour the hotel.

Nashville,Tennessee Part 1

I am back in Bogland.I don't know if anyone missed me,but I missed being here.

I had the privilege of taking a short vacation to Nashville,TN. I left on December 29th,2014 and came back on January 2nd,2015

To many people this is probably no big deal,but it was a BIG deal for me.You see,I had never been on an aircraft before,had never been to Nashville,although I have heard so much about it.

I did enjoy most of the flight,but wasn't crazy about descending through the clouds and not being able to see anything,but,I made it. YEAH!!!

Here are a couple of shots taken from the air,just because I could.

I like how neat and tidy the world looks from up there.No garbage or any such thing.

We arrived in Nashville in the late afternoon,so the lights at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel were already on.It was quite a sight to see and enjoy. This place is huge and gorgeous.

After check-in we made our way to our room.I should add that I was travelling with a friend of mine.

I had to stop and get a picture of the Cascades area with all the lights. WOW!

We had come here for some concerts,but first on the agenda was to meet my long time blogging friends,George and Betsy Adams.Both of them have blogs and are also on Facebook.

We have commented back and forth for many years,we even chatted on the phone twice,but had never met,so I was super excited to meet them.

 Not long after we arrived at the Hotel,George and Betsy pulled up and took us to Cracker Barrel for supper.What can I say? Meeting them was a HUGE thrill for me,it was all and more than than I had expected. These two folks are kind,loving and the sweetest folk one could ever wish to meet.

After a few hours of none stop conversation,it was time for them to head home.Good-byes were difficult and came with a few tears,no,more than a few on my part.

I hope this was only,until we meet again,for I know we WILL meet again.

I love you  George and Betsy.Thanks for taking the time to come to Nashville to meet me.

Friends really are the ROSES in the garden of life.