Eltz Castle

My laptop is finally back and although it does not always do what I want it to, or what I wish it would, it is repaired and back in my loving care, as are all the photos that I have stored on it.  I never thought that I would so dearly miss a bit of electronic gadgetry!

 

Hubby and I took a very much needed day off from work last week and with the family took a day trip to Eltz Castle, about 90 minutes from where we live, and situated in the countryside not far from the Moselle River (spelled Mosel in German).  We lucked out and had the most marvelous warm sunny weather that day, and like Goldilocks would have said, "not too hot, and not too cold".  It was perfect for sight seeing.

 

 This is how it looks as you walk down the one kilometer long road to reach the castle grounds, and as you turn a curve in the road, there is this spectacular view of the castle itself nestled on a tiny hill in the wooded valley.

After stopping for a bit of lunch on the outdoor terrace on the castle grounds, the family went for a tour of the inside, while I waited outside with Cody.  Yes, he came along for the ride that day and loved every minute of it.  

Cody and I walked all around, and eventually tiring, we found a quiet corner to sit so we could wait for the others.  Cody had a great view of the trail where he knew Christina, his human "mommy" would have to walk down to meet us.  And this is the view of the castle that we had from the bench.  I could have sat there all day long, with not a care in the world, and that breath-taking view filling me with awe and wonder.

The castle is under renovations, hence the crane in some of the pictures and plastic covered scaffolding.

Built in the 12th century, amazingly the castle is still privately owned by the same family for the past 800 years and has not been turned into a federally operated historical site.  Entrance fees into the castle help to pay for upkeep. 

   

Castle Etlz is definitely a place worth seeing! 

COMPUTER TROUBLES

Not too long ago my laptop started to give me reason to worry, it just was not working right.  Then the screen lighting went out, so although I could use the laptop, I could not see what I was working on!  Not good.  So, we hooked up a regular screen to the laptop, making it a stationary one and I could only use it in the diningroom.  Now even that is not working, so I am without a laptop at the moment and have to share hubby's office computer.  Which means, we have to take turns at it!  Ugh, even worse!  With all of my photos saved on the laptop,  I am not able to use any of the recent ones to post on my blog.  And since this computer in the office is rather old and VERY slow, I don't want to add any new pictures to it and over burden it in any way.  So dear friends, I will still continue to come around visiting you and seeing what is new with you and yours in your corners of the world, but for now don't wonder why I am not posting.  

"Dear laptop, please come back to me soon so that we might spend some enjoyable hours together once again blogging, emailing friends and family, doing online shopping, and keeping up with listings in my Etsy shop.  I will miss you for now!!" :-)

I hope you are all having a grand day.  Inspite of no laptop, my Thursday has been lovely, with nice sunny mild weather and a family bbq adding much chatter and laughter to my hours. 

Mountain Ash, a patient dog, and a beautiful sunset

 With all of the rain that we have seen of late, our moutain ash (or rowan berries) have really exploded.  While out walking with Cody I was able to capture these pictures. 

 Their vibrancy fascinated me, and all the birds in the area too, who flock (excuse the pun!) to this huge bush and have a feast.  The bush is quite large, having grown on the edge of our property for more then 40 years.

 Not sure what Cody saw off in the distance, but he stood perfectly still and I was happy to have snapped this photo of him.  He is such a pretty boy!

 He then waited patiently for me while I continued to snap photos of not only him....

 .........but of this fantastic sunset that we were privileged to see that evening.  Without much sunshine this summer, sunsets like this one have been few and far between.

 I captured the beauty of it as viewed through the corn stalks.

After that lovely little walk with Cody, I settled in for the rest of the evening hours and did some creating, and finished this sweet little pink garter with vintage satin trim, and right in the center of the big pink bow is an adorable vintage Czech glass mouse button!  I couldn't resist using it for this sweet silk confection of a garter!

I hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday.  The sun is shining this morning, so not a bad start so far!  I will take all that we can get this summer.  

~Debby

TUCKED INDOORS TO CREATE

With all the rainy weather we have had this summer, there has been opportunity and time for me to stayed tucked inside the house to work with my silk ribbons.

These have just been listed in my Etsy shop.

www.GarterMademoiselle.etsy.com 

 

I have been enjoying making this new style that I designed, the garters embellished with my own handmade French ribbonwork blossoms and folded roses.  This blue one is made with dusty blue ribbon and vintage 1950's blue lace.

This bridal white one has a folded rose and white 5-petaled blossom with a vintage rhinestone as its center.  And tucked lovingly below the flowers is the bride's special "Something Blue" bow.

Similar to the all white one, this garter is made of white silk satin ribbons but has a very pale yellow silk blossom next to an ivory folded and needle-sculpted flat rose, and again the little Something Blue bow with a pearl adorning the middle.  What bride could resist such elegance!!