Did You Miss Me??

Hello friends...it seems like an eternity since I posted last..17 days to be exact. That's 17 months in blogger years...not really, I just made that part up. It does seem like forever since I have talked to all of you.  My Christmas was hectic prior..calm during and hectic again after. My guys could not get home until late afternoon on the 25th, so waking up to just my man and I was very different ( not that he still doesn't make my heart beat faster ). Once my guys came home, I had a permanent smile on my face that lasted into the night.

Billy is on the left and Sean on the right. They gave me the coolest gifts this year..they had their portraits painted by a wonderful Charlottesville artist Eliza Evans. I think she captured them beautifully.

After Christmas, I drove to New York and played Santa to my Mom and other family members. I also got to reconnect with some wonderful ladies from my high school days, who I had not seen in many years. I attended Franklin D. Roosevelt High in Hyde Park, NY and these ladies were and are once again very special to me. While we talked and ate and laughed the snow fell steadily outside. Just as we said our farewells, the snowfall ended and it was all white and sparkly. I decided to take advantage of the pristine snowfall and drove the 5 minutes to my old teenage hangout..Vanderbilt Mansion. Frederick Vanderbilt (of the New York Railroad Vanderbilts) bought the Hyde Park, NY property in 1895 and the following year tore down the existing estate home and built what now is considered one of the most beautiful Mansions in America. I was lucky enough to consider this fabulous place as my teenage hangout.

                         

Only years later as an adult did I come to realize how wonderful and magical this place was.  When I go there now, it seems like the first time and I am seeing it with new appreciation. On this cold snowy day it was just stunning and serene and oh so quiet.

                         

The main gate is up past the bridge on the right...guests would enter and come down the drive and pass over this beautiful stone bridge on the way to the mansion.

                          

The snow makes it even more beautiful...like a painting.

                          

A lovely stream meanders through the property.

                          

Coming around the circular drive that passes in front of the mansion provides a stunning view of Vanderbilt Mansion and the surrounding grounds. I think winter is my favorite time of year to come visit this place. It's as if the snow provides the perfect back drop for the ornate architecture of this premier example of the American Guilded Age.

Well I hope you enjoyed my little tour of my hometown Christmas visit. Maybe next time we will visit the Roosevelt Mansion...it's practically next door to the Vanderbilt's.  Or maybe the Ogden Mills Mansion right up the road....yes we have quiet a few fabulous Gilded Age Mansions here along the Hudson River. So please come back and visit..until next time, be kind and stay creative.