I attended a meeting held at the Stonewall Jackson Dam project office in Roanoke, West Virginia.  It involved a one night stay at the Stonewall Resort nearby.

The entrance to the resort which is a wonderful lodge.

The lobby has beautiful views of the hills and great rustic furniture.

Well, look who came with me—it’s Finn! I brought him on an impulse and I am glad that I did :). I took photos of him in the early morning before work began and the rest of the photos after the meeting ended.

This photo shows a bit of the swimming pool and beautiful scenery. I am so happy the weather is warm and sunny!

This window had a screen which affects the clarity of the photo but you can see a bit of the lake. There was a lot of boating and fishing on the lake but the Arnold Palmer golf course was really busy with golfers. They had hiking trails, paddle boats, disc golf course, camp grounds, and other recreational activities available but my trip was short and business focused. I will have to come back sometime for pleasure. They have a spa too 🙂

Finn is enjoying the sunshine outside of the project office building after the meeting was over.

Finn decided to sit a while and look at the huge Stonewall Jackson Dam. This dam impounds the water that creates all of the water recreation activities on the lake behind it.

Finn feels very small next to the dam.

Another view of the dam.

What a great day for Finn!

Finn in a grassy area.

Loving this view and there were people fishing just downstream of the dam where the water was releasing.

Another view of sweet Finn enjoying the day 🙂

Finn is walking back to the office building where the meeting was held.

Another view.

Finn loved climbing the fisherman’s access stairs both up and down.

Finn found a cool rock channel constructed on the side of the hill to manage the water run off.

Finn asked me if he could run up and down the rocks and I said “sure, as long as Mom can sit and watch!” 😉

On the outside if the building, Finn poses under a relief of General Stonewall Jackson on horse.

A closer view of the artwork.

We went inside and there was a wonderful, educational center that was very kid friendly. Finn loved it!

The mural was painted to show a Fall scene of the dam area. The birds and animals on display were either painted or preserved by taxidermy. The birds and animals were found deceased and preserved to help educate people and to increase their appreciation of the outdoors and the creatures that live there. It was a lot to take in but we tried 🙂

Finn stopped for a photo by the mural scene.

This is a close up of Finn by the “Food Chain” notebook.

Finn admiring the beauty of the birds indigenous to the area.

Lovely creatures with Finn peeking 😉

Finn loved this interactive, domed display of the watershed.

When you push the button beside a location, the area lights up where you will find it.  You could see the lodge location as compared to the office location. Really neat!

A closer view of the watershed display that shows the topographic relief and how the water flows.

Finn loved the fish display too. The cubes are seats when schools or groups visit and receive a tour.

When the button is pushed by the fish name, it lights up the picture of that fish.

Closer view.

Finn loved the aquarium best of all. This blue gill was very friendly and came over to Finn immediatly to say hello.

The sweet fish really liked Finn.

In fact, this sweet blue gill could also be called a kissing fish. He gave Finn a big kiss and Finn is now a fish lover too 😉

My co-worker kindly took this photo before we left to go home. I had a great time and so did Finn! We both wish you a Happy Mother’s Day weekend!   🙂

Today is a wonderful, beautiful day! It is much warmer, we are having April showers, and the sun is fighting the rain to create small windows of time allowing me to take photos outdoors at Sasha Shangri-La.  Faith is a favorite of mine. She is an English production girl made in 1968. She has a single row of fringe and very beautiful, hand painted eyes.

Faith put on her cheery Cath Kidston poncho with hood, her wellies and her bright yellow umbrella outdoors to enjoy the day. I took several photos of Faith from different angles and with her hood up and down. She is venturing out on our hillside.

Faith standing in a puddle and enjoying the outdoors 🙂

Faith standing with the front barn shown in the distance.

Another photo showing her wellies that she loves wearing on wet days.

You can see the flowers that have fallen from the redbud tree.

A nice photo showing her umbrella.

It felt so good to be outside today to take photos. Apple blossoms have also fallen nearby. The air feels so clean and crisp on our faces.

Close up photo of Faith.

This photo shows the back of Faith’s poncho with its Cath Kidston label. The poncho is also nicely tagged on the inside “Just for Sasha by Christina Meatyard”. I was so fortunate to find this on Shelly’s site. I love this fabric and the creation by Christina. So very well done!

A final photo taken this lovely day. I would like to dedicate this post to my dear Mother who passed away ten years ago today. Thankfully, I feel very close to Mother which continues to bless and encourage me :). A last happy thought to share with you is that Faith and I are sending you big hugs and well wishes for a beautiful weekend. 🙂

The last thing I expected to see was this wonderful brunette Gregor available on ebay. He was so wonderfully dressed and available with a buy it now—–so—–well——-I bought him now or should I say immediately! I had just purchased Lewis a few days earlier so, call me crazy, but I did not hesitate a second to purchase another fine brunette lad. As soon as I removed him from the box, my heart connected with his sweet face and I thought, “He is just the greatest boy” and so I named him Max. Please meet Max 🙂

A closer look at Max. His outfit fits perfectly.

Max came wearing these well made leather boots by Jean Jensen. He is strung well too and poses nicely. His previous owner took excellent care of him 🙂

This photo was taken by the ebay seller. Max is very playful and athletic too 🙂

I was very interested in knowing who made this nice boy’s outfit and fortunately, there is a maker’s tag, “Helena Doll Fashions”. I am not familiar with Helena and I hope to find more of her creations.

Max’s vest is made of the same material as his socks. He is holding his hat so we can see his nice mop of non-falling hair. I checked Max’s stringing and it dates him to a 1972-1973 manufacture.

A couple of close-up photos.

Max’s eyes have some very nice hand detailing. I think he is very handsome.

Max again looking smart and he fits in perfectly here with the boys and girls at Sasha Shangri-La. Max and I hope you have a wonderful week 🙂

Well most of the boys here at Sasha Shangri-La posed for a photo with their pups. We had a good time getting together and moving around a bit though still indoors. Surely Spring will show herself soon!

These three boys are all wearing waist coats made by Ted Menten. I love how handsome they look.

This brunette boy is named Bob and he has his original striped stringing in his arms and in his legs which indicates he is a 1969 boy. His hair is fragile and breaks off. As a result, his hair style gives him a bit of a rough and tumble look. I think his eyes are just wonderful.  They look very soulful to me.

Here is a full length shot of the handsome boy.

The blonde boy is a PJ boy I bought from Kelly. He is very petite and is from 1970. His name is Joey and he is a very sweet and kind boy. He has a lot of scrapes and dings on his body from a previous life. He is very happy here now among his brothers.  They all look out for one another.

Next is my beloved Quinn, a 1968 shorts boy. I was so lucky to find Quinn on Shelly’s site. He was dressed in a white t shirt and jog pants when he was adopted. I have since located the original shorts boy shirt, shorts, belt and age appropriate underwear for Quinn. I found gray non-original socks but have yet to find his dark leather laced shoes with heels.

This photo shows the shoeless Quinn. I will keep up the search for Quinn’s shoes and if anyone has a spare pair, please let me know 🙂

A full length photo of Quinn wearing Ted’s waist coat. His jeans are made by Pinestreet Studio.

This handsome boy is Hans. I bought him from Jackie Kraemer at the Sasha Festival last year. Hans is another of those “happy mistakes” with his brunette hair and nice blue eyes. I just think he is so pretty but he does not like to be called pretty ;). He is a denim boy from 1974 and was a factory experiment that was not continued. He came in his original outfit which is stored away for him.

Hans wearing a nice striped t-shirt by Mary Anne Getchell, shorts by Heidi Wheeler, and boots by Lisa in the UK.

A line up of the boys that want to go outside and play.

A final line up of more boys wishing that you have a fantastic week!!! 🙂

Sharon of the Sharon in Spain blog was awarded the versatile blogger award by Nymphaea of The Doll Barn blog. The rules are: choose 15 bloggers to pass this award on to, and tell the award giving blogger 7 things about yourself. Since I was one of the fifteen chosen, here are my “7 things”.

1) My Mom loved dolls and had quite a collection that is now mine after she passed. Her favorite doll was Shirley Temple and I have very fond memories of watching Shirley Temple movies with my Mom from childhood through adulthood 🙂

2) My first doll was a Raggedy Ann doll. I love cloth dolls to this day though Sasha dolls are my favorite 🙂

3) I had a wonderful childhood especially since my beloved Granny lived with us after my Grandpa passed away. I was only 7 when he passed but I remember him well. My Granny was my best friend until she passed in 1988. I miss her so much!

4) My earliest very clear memory was at 18 months old. It is a happy memory 🙂

5) I worked as a police officer my last 2 years of undergraduate study. I worked mostly straight midnight shifts and went to classes in the day.

6) I attended Harvard University in Cambridge for my elective graduate study in environmental studies in freshwater and marine biology.

7) I am so blessed to have married a wonderful person 29 years ago this September and he is my best friend. We have 2 sons and we also are blessed to have raised his son and daughter. There were times when raising 4 children and working full time were most challenging for us both. Looking back now I would not change a thing about those special years together. We have one beautiful granddaughter that I wish lived closer to us 🙂

Well, there are 7 things about me and written “off the cuff” so to speak so they are in no particular order other than chronological. I have no blogs to pass on to at this time since my choices are already chosen by Sharon and Dee.  I will give more thought to including additional blogs later.  This was fun! We are still experiencing snow squalls here in West Virginia both yesterday and today 🙂

Little Kim is enchanted by the snow storm. Hugs from Kim to you! Have a great day!! xxxx