Gary and Judy are salt of the earth people. Gary is beyond brilliant, and Judy is beyond talented as a cook and seamstress. Not ones to complain about their life situations, they have always been an inspiration to me.
Judy and Gary have a second home at Hideaway Lake in East Texas near Tyler, and they invited the Living Stones and the Albers men’s class to visit. Sweet Mother of Pearl! It was the most perfect day. They weather could not have been better, and the company – well I love all these people so very much, and I must say – “I’m proud to know them.”
As we walked up the walk, the first thing we saw was Gary’s toy – a restored Mustang convertible. Cool!
Inside the house there was food, food and more food. This is so pretty and delicious.. See the dried apricots dipped in chocolate in the top right hand corner. They are everyone’s favorite.
Judy also served meatballs and another dip for appetizers, but I guess I didn’t take those pictures. Yes, I am a dork!
Everybody knows that Judy is an excellent cook, and we look forward to her meals. Loved the taco soup. Yummy! I will tell you about the delicious dessert in another blog. You will like it.
Then it was time for the home tour. Sweet Mother of Pearl! Their home is wonderful. I love it! Around every corner and in every nook and cubby there is something to see.
A flag tray combined with a crock and pinecones caught my attention.
This is too funny. Papa Scarecrow is sitting the the rocking, chair eyes glued to the TV, and controlling the remote control.
And this is Mama Scarecrow reclining alluringly atop the TV begging for his attention. Makes me laugh.
Of course, I was in love with the Texas room. The iron daybed is good looking.
The metal “Howdy” on the bathroom table is super cute. I wonder if I have a place to copy this idea?
Upstairs is a Coke-Cola room. How fun is this?
WOW! The enameled table with the red chairs is wonderful! They even have the jukebox.
This little vintage dress and apron was hanging on a doorknob. I like it. I love it.
Be still my heart! Perhaps my favorite antique at Hideaway is this door with an etched glass window. The picture does not do it justice. It is beyond wonderful. I told Judy that if it was gone when I went home, she would know where it was. I think Tonna had already told her the same thing.
There were antiques in almost every room. Dishes are stored in this beautiful cabinet. When Judy redid her kitchen, she removed all of the upper cabinets. She now has drawers on rollers under the counters. It is nice.
Vintage fans hanging on the wall took my breath away. This is my kind of thing.
(Drum roll) This is their backyard – They have their own private woods. I could get used to this.
How peaceful. Beyond the glider was once an herb garden. There is oregano, rosemary, thyme, mint and other herbs growing wild. There is even a Sassafras Tree.
Wanted you to see this. It is a blue tree. Can you believe it? I think it is a Wichita Blue Juniper.
Jane and Nancy loved being out in the garden. Whenever I missed them, I knew exactly where they were. Jane took home a cutting of ivy that was a type of ivy new to her. (That is amazing.) The lichen on the twig is so interesting.
The Beautyberry shrub fascinated all of us. Nancy said she read in the Dallas Morning News a few weeks ago that you can use these bright purple berries to make jam and tea. Be careful when touching them – they stain.
Tonna and Nancy were the first to arrive, and they needed to get back home. As they were leaving, I took their picture with Jane in the garden.
This is the rest of the gang that enjoyed a most wonderful day in the woods. Thank you Judy and Gary.
Blessings to you and yours,
As we were preparing to leave, some of the guys were in the front yard tossing the football. I loved it. To be honest, I felt we were like the Kennedy’s – We had had a most wonderful day, and the fun did not seem to end.