Thursday, June 17, 2010

Carpet, Disconnecting and Writing...


I thought you might like to see a bit of carpet from the past.


We went to historic Galena, Illinois and toured (then) General Ulysses S. Grant's home.


I was fascinated by the carpet and the pottery. 
It turns out Galena Pottery is quite valuable!  Don't buy the green pottery!  It has a higher concentration of lead in it... (YIKES!)


I'll be hibernating with my disconnected laptop and my research for the next few weeks.  I'm not sure how much I'll be around, as I'll have to drive a bit to get Internet...Hopefully, you'll miss me as much as I miss you!

Are you planning any writing retreats this summer?

25 comments:

  1. Wow those are beautiful! No writting on weekends, thats my rule. But thats because I havent found a job in switzerland yet, so I write a lot during the week...too much if you ask me lol

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  2. Clara--I didn't realize you lived in Switzerland! How cool! I don't usually write on the weekends, but where we are going there's not much TV...only swimming, walking and writing. :) Have a lovely weekend!

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  3. No writing retreats planned here, I've got a few projects I'm working on. Enjoy your time away, happy writing to you :)

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  4. Galena's a beautiful little town. Actually, I've "retreated" to Chicago to get my writing head back on straight. Then I'll "retreat" home & hopefully, get back to pounding out those beautiful (or not) words!

    Have a great retreat & we'll see you when you get back!

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  5. Enjoy your retreat, Sharon. Yes, you will be missed. :)

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  6. Wow!! The carpet designs are fab and suitably opulent but the pottery are amazing!! Just steer clear of the green ones!

    GOOD LUCK with your research!!!!

    I am missing you already!! Do return soon!

    Take care
    x

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  7. I wish you the best on your nolaptoptime and we're already missing you!

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  8. Have fun on your trip, Sharon! Of course you'll be missed :D

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  9. Did you say Galena?? One of the best places on earth?? Love that town! I want to tour Grant's home but haven't had a chance yet. Have a great weekend and happy retreating!

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  10. Splendid carpet designs... a real thing of beauty.

    And I plan on finishing my book through 4 drafts-- to 100% completion by the end of the year.

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  11. hi miss sharon! yep for sure im gonna miss you! i hope you get done what you want to get done and have some fun doing it.
    ...hugs from lenny

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  12. I was planning a getaway to Galena for our anniversary in April (he golfs + I shop = happy marriage), but hubbers informed me it was his turn to plan the celebration. So I'm jealous that you got there before me!

    Enjoy your unplugged time! It's good for you!

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  13. Have a wonderful break - you'll be missed!

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  14. Hi Sharon .. I love seeing what the old days looked like - so thanks for your pictures of the carpets .. the designs are so interesting .. the richer the better in those days. Good too to see the Galena pottery .. yes .. lots of nasties helped produced everyday items in days gone by .. but then they were so new and so wonderful ..

    Interesting what we learn ..

    Enjoy your break .. sounds great .. and thanks very much for your comments over at my blog .. I'm having a few changes here .. so it'll be good to connect later on in the summer - when we're both freer or back on line!

    Have a lovely time .. Hilary

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  15. Joanne--Thanks! It looks like the weather is going to be great...Ahh the distractions.

    Mary--I sounds like you have a good plan to get on track with your writing "retreat." Best wishes...

    Stina--Thanks. It looks like I may be able to hit and miss the internet a bit...(I was worried about withdrawl!)

    Jennifer--It is amazing what was considered nice carpet at one time...Could you imagine putting all of those colors and designs on your floor now? I finished reading the last of Donna Aviles books this morning. They are a great read. I'm not sure if they are considered biographies or historical fiction...They are about her relatives that lived in the early 1900's. Interesting stuff!

    Brian---Missing you too! I should be able to check in every once and a while...weather permitting.

    Tess--Thanks! I got stung by a hornet this morning...not nice at all!!!! I had no idea what got me until Walt got stung and actually saw it. By then I'd taken a bunch of benadryl and was loopy....

    Jill--It's lovely! We went to the Beldavier (sp?) Mansion as well. It had a great story too...it was full of things like chipendale chairs, tiffany lamps, famous bit from movies...Worth the money although you felt a bit rushed.

    Jeff--That's great! Have you started researching who you might send it to?

    Lenny--Had a great day, but got stunk by a hornet...OUCH! Miss you too.

    Vicki--Wow your hubby took over the plans for an anniversary trip...That is awesome! It's a fun place. Parking is not the best, but if you are okay with walking it's fun.

    Susan--Thanks. Wish you were coming with us!

    Hilary--You are right, it's funny how something that seemed to be as good as white bread turned out to be not so healthy...(kind of like white bread, LOL).

    I'll be checking in on everyone here and there...Have a safe summer!

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  16. Beautiful pics.

    I've been writing like a maniac here at home, but I'm definitely planning periods when I can just hang with the family and go out with friends. I took Thursday, Friday, and the weekend off this week. ;)

    Enjoy your retreat!

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  17. What fun samples! Hope you get lots of research done. :)

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  18. I became fascinated with pottery while living in the UK. So many good pieces to be had if you look around. It's amazing what people will give away for next to nothing. But anyway, your pics are gorgeous! It looks like you've had a lovely time exploring. Enjoy the getaway!

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  19. Dawn--I write best when no one is around. Congratulations on finding time to write a lot. Once we are settled in here, I'll get into a groove and write. I hope you enjoyed the weekend.

    Janet--Thanks...I'm glad I have plain old carpet in my house...of course, I'll bet all that pattern covered up spills well. :)

    Carol--I love pottery too. When we go on holiday, I try and buy either a piece of local pottery or art and of course a silver charm for my bracelet. When we are in the UK, we love going to charity shops...We've found some lovely bits in them. Thanks for the well wishes, but I'm so pleased to have my computer working. I thought I'd be completely disconnected from the rest of the world.

    I hope everyone has a lovely Sunday!

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  20. Those are gorgeous! I'm on a mini-retreat now, which just means I've cut out freelance work for the month. But I'd love a full-fledged weeklong no chores or responsibilities retreat someday!

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  21. Fascinating!

    More more more tidbits, please!

    Happy re-treating!

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  22. Nope!

    I love those pictures, though! Love!!! Them !!!!

    :-D And thanks for my award, bb. The kid kept me busy until rightnow. So I will blog about your awesome level of coolness later!

    <3

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  23. Gorgeous pictures! We will certainly miss you but I hope you get a lot done and enjoy the time working on writing/research.

    In other news, I got the loveliest thank you card in the mail today. Thank YOU for the thank you card! It truly made my day.

    Have a lovely week, Sharon!

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  24. I definitely agree, the carpet designs are fabulous especially the first one. Wow! I am so impressed with the design.

    Have fun and enjoy!

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  25. Portia--Thanks for stopping in. I hope you have a great mini-retreat. I didn't think I would be able to get on line down on my retreat, but :) if I sit in the right spot in my kitchen I can hook up with the marina internet.

    Jennie--You know me...I'll be putting something random up soon. :)

    Jen--Everytime I see your picture it makes me wonder if we are related. I have a picture from the fifth grade that looks soooo much like yours!

    Jackee--I'm glad you got the card. Thank you so much for the basket full of books and goodies! I'm reading Heist Society right now. It's really good!

    Oriental Rug Cleaning--Thank for stopping in! It's funny to look at our modern carpet in comparison to the detail in the old ones....

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