All Occasion

Good morning & thanks for popping by today. The card for today is made up of bits & pieces that were in the desk pile. The image is one I had done for a challenge some time ago, but I didn't like the way the butterfly turned out, so it was not finished. Last evening I decided on a way to salvage the image...I had diecut the image with one of the current S/Binders (think it was the Gold Circles One). The outside edge did not cut well (this was operator error, not the die's fault!). Wasn't happy with the look, so abandoned Mr. Butterfly & he's been flitting around on the desk for a while. Last night while watching old recorded tv shows, and thinking about making a card, I had the idea to use the plain old S/B circle die and cut a frame. Voila, it covered up the messup - pretty well anyway.

- Hero Arts butterfly, colored with copics

- Ranger black enamel on antennae & body (never used this before & it sort of 'blobbed' on the body. Most of this stuff is rather thick in viscosity, but my bottle was 'thin'. I took a scrap of c/s and tried to shovel the 'body part' back within the lines).

- Ranger stickles rubbed around on the wings for a bit of sparkle, also on the brown frame.

- border trim from some El Cheapo paper, done with an EK success punch, yellow grosgrain ribbon from stash

Now for some Mt. Vernon pictures....

The view of Mt. Vernon as one stands in the line to be admitted. It is a very simply styled house, but yet so elegant. The house started as a small place, but G. Washington added wings to each side of the existing house over time. This is the entrance where visitors would arrive coming up a long tree lined drive, unless they were coming by river. To me, this seemed like the 'back entrance', but the docents said really, it is the 'front or West entrance'. There is a series of steps for horseback visitors or carriage visitors to step down and then enter the main hall. No pictures were allowed once inside. The exterior is built from wooden planks, beveled to resemble stone, varnished, painted and while wet, sand was adhered to the surface to make it look like stone.

This is the East entrance, and where visitors arriving by boat would enter. I could just imagine Mr. & Mrs. Washington sitting in their rocking chairs enjoying the superb view. When I made such a comment, one of the docents explained that Mrs. Washington especially loved to sit here in the evening to watch the sunset. There is a sloping lawn down to the river & it was so peaceful, even with all the visitors there this day (as you can see).

 

Potomac River view from the piazza. I could picture the wonderous sunsets the Washingtons must have enjoyed.

Tomb of George & Martha Washington, designed according to the instructions in his will. It was not possible to get a picture without anyone standing in front of it (I could hardly ask them to move - but I DID want to!). The vault you can see is George and Martha rests on the opposite side. Behind the back wall are more of their family members. To the right side, there is a small cemetery, with graves of some grandchildren,(Martha's) & grand nieces, etc. The graves were covered with morning glories, enclosed by an iron fencing. Trees hang over all of this, and again, such a feeling of calm & serenity. We were told that George Washington's remains were relocated from his original burial place, once this structure was erected. The government at the time, wanted to locate his remains in Washington, DC to honor him, even though his will specified he be laid to rest at Mr. Vernon. Martha W. agreed to this, but she died before a suitable monument could be funded and built. His nephew inherited Mr. Vernon at her death, as the couple had no children together. Thankfully, the nephew refused to allow this to be done, saying Mr. Washington belonged at Mt. Vernon.

Closer view of the tombs

 

 

This is a picture heavy post. I put a break after the card picture, so that if anyone didn't want to get bored with these pictures, you can just skip this part! I hope you enjoy the pictures...and hopefully, will entice anyone who is able to visit this place (and has never done so,) to consider a trip. It's $16. entrance fee for seniors, and was well worth it. Descendants had let the house fall into a sad state of disrepair, and the Mt. Vernon Ladies Association was able to purchase the house but not the contents. Over time this Association has been able to restore the house, retrieve some of the original contents. 

 

I purchased a coffee table type book of Mt. Vernon, which had some pictures of the interior. I may scan some & post here, if anyone is interested. Please do let me know if you'd like to see something like this. Don't want to bore everyone to bits on this subject!!! <g>

 

Thanks for joining me, and have a grand day. Hugs.