Sunday, March 26, 2006

LINDERHOF


Linderhof -- King Ludwig II's Small, Reclusive Palace.

King Ludwig II was a reclusive king who liked to left alone -- so much so, that he designed an entire palace around the concept of minimizing contact with other people.
That palace, and its lovely grounds, would be isolated among the quiet hills and valleys several kilometers from the nearest town(Oberammergau)It is one of the most beautiful attractions in Bavaria.
Linderhof is a sprawling complex of open fields and forest set on rolling hillsides. Scattered among it are a number of small landmarks, with the tiny Linderhof palace itself positioned in the center with a huge fountain and special gardens on all sides.
The palace and the spread of fountains and temples obverse to it are just the starting point.

posted by amanda @ 12:31 PM 19 comments

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Donuts

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior.
No one wants to mess with you.
But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft.
You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily.
You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out.

WOW! Well that pretty much say's alot i guess.


http://www.blogthings.com/whatdonutareyouquiz/

posted by amanda @ 10:46 PM 4 comments

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

NEUSCHWANSTEIN







Neuschwanstein one of the castles built for King Ludwig.Bavaria,Germany.Between 1869 and 1886, King Ludwig II of Bavaria drained his personal finances to build a fantasy castle. Often referred to as Bavaria's "Mad King Ludo," Ludwig was actually an exceptionally shy man who had immense responsibilities thrust upon him at a very young age.

In 1864, Ludwig became King of Bavaria. He was 18 years old and had spent his youth dutifully fulfilling his studies under the critical and sometimes brutal eye of his father, King Maximilian II. The few pleasures he had enjoyed while growing up came from nature. He enjoyed swimming in the Alpine lakes and the grace and serenity of the swans. He hiked, went skiing and took sleigh rides.

Today Neuschwanstein is one of the most popular sites in Germany, hosting millions of visitors every year, many of whom are returning guests inspired by the beauty and wonder of the Castle. Walt Disney had a scale replica made and used it as a model for Sleeping Beauty's Castle, where fairy tales come true, and love lives happily ever after.

Maybe Ludo wasn't so mad after all.

posted by amanda @ 5:38 PM 16 comments

Monday, March 13, 2006

Okay Kayla,Britt,Aimme and Nic just left for California.It is going to be really lonely at home.I have to admitt i was crying,i am very amotional(spelling?).But they will be back sat-day so that's good i guess.Well,just thought i would tell you all so,bye.:)

posted by amanda @ 3:59 PM 17 comments

Saturday, March 11, 2006


The plants were named for the passion of Christ, because the flower structure seemed symbolic of Jesus' scourging, crowning with thorns, and crucifixion.
The Mexican Augustinian friar Emmanuel de Villegas sketched the plant (P. caerulea) in 1610, and first mentioned the 'sacred meaning'.
The ten petals represent the ten 'good' apostles (minus Judas and Peter), the 72 filaments correlated with the number of thorns in Jesus' crown, the five stamina stand for the five stigmata, and the three flower stigmata represent the crucifixion nails.
In addition, the outer parts of the flower resemble a halo.

Well that is part of that it means but i couldn't get the rest of it.

posted by amanda @ 5:52 PM 10 comments












The pretty village of Winchcome has been blessed with the stunning buildings and gardens of Sudeley Castle since the time of the Doomsday Book when the manor was held by Harold de Sudeley. It lies serenely in a glorious corner of the undulating Cotswolds, where for centuries, sheep belonging to wealthy Medieval merchants roamed the green wooded hills and gentle valley's.

Since the first castle was built in the 12th-century, Sudeley has played an important role in English history, and nearly always the way was led by women. It is a romantic, fabled place of great beauty and enchantment, which has been nurtured by the great female characters who proudly step from the pages of history.

The castle we see today is the second castle to be built here, it was built by Ralph Boteler in the mid 14th-century, and around the grounds there remains relics from the earlier castle.
Henry VIII brought his sixth wife Katherine Parr to Sudeley, she was to return here after Henry's death in 1547 as the wife of Thomas Seymour who had courted her before her marriage to Henry. Katherine was happy at Sudeley, life was more relaxed, she led the life of an English country lady, caring for her step-daughter the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of ill-fated Anne Boleyn, and tending to her garden - now known as the Queens Garden. Sadly, Katherine was to die a few days after giving birth to her only daughter Mary. In spite of the King's wish for Katherine to be buried beside him in the Royal vault, she chose to be buried in the chapel at Sudeley.

In later years Queen Elizabeth I returned to Sudeley to be lavishly entertained in 1592. It must have been a poignant visit, tinged with memories of the happy childhood she had spent with the Queen who was to prove the last of her four step-mothers. Elizabeth Tudor stayed at the castle for several days and made her daily devotions in the chapel where Katherine Parr lies buried.
Another of King Henry VIII's Queens to visit Sudeley was Lady Jane Grey, who reigned for only nine days. In her short life she was to say she had spent her happiest days at Sudeley Castle.
The castle was Crown property for centuries, at the time of the Civil War, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, nephew of Charles I, made the castle his garrison headquarters. It was at the hands of Cromwell's troops that Sudeley began to feel the hand of destruction. The castle lay neglected for almost two hundred years during which time it was visited by several Royal personages including George III, but none was prepared to take the castle on. It was eventually sold in 1837 to John and William Dent of the Worcestershire glove making empire.

In 1855 the castle passed to John Croucher Dent and his wife Emma, and a huge debt of gratitude is owed to Emma Dent for her forthright determination to resurrect Sudeley, and make it once more the glittering castle of former days. Emma Dent worked tirelessly in her role as "Lady of the Manor" she cared for the poor and the sick of the estate, helped with Sunday School and Night School, started the foundations of the castle gardens and planted avenues of trees. An elegant, well educated lady, wealthy in her own right, well-travelled. possessed of a warm and generous spirit, her one great sadness was that she had no children of her own. Thus, she ploughed all her energies into Sudeley. Emma Dent kept everything relating to her life at Sudeley, and over a hundred years after her death, Lady Ashcombe, the present chatelaine of Sudeley, uncovered a hoard of treasures belonging to Emma; these include letters, diaries and scrapbooks into which she had poured her every thought on the happenings at Sudeley and her ambitions for the castle.

Today, owing to the keen continuation of Emma Dent's work by Lord and Lady Ashcombe, we are able for a short while to step back into the past and experience a world far removed from the society of the modern day. We can wander sweet scented gardens, stroll through Yews planted by Emma Dent, walk in the footsteps of Katherine Parr, view the elegant 'Long Room' where there is a 'Six wives of Henry VIII' costume exhibition, Tudor paintings and many other artefacts. You can visit the chapel where Katherine Parr rests in peace and where a great Tudor Queen worshipped. You can admire the romantic ruins of the earlier castle, take tea in a pleasant restaurant.

Sudeley is an evocative place, it is both romantic and mysterious, within its walls you quickly become enslaved by the women who have made this treasured castle the beautiful place it is today.

posted by amanda @ 5:14 PM 6 comments

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

http://nichole-miller.memory-of.com/Uploads/Audios/Audio632411138023907664.mp3


I really like this song:)

Packing up the dreams
God planted
In the fertile soil of you
I can't believe the hopes He's granted
Means a chapter in your life is through
We'll keep you close as always
It won't even seem you've gone
Cause our hearts in big and small ways
Will keep the love that keeps us strong

(CHORUS)

And friends are friends forever
If the Lord's the Lord of them
And a friend will not say "never"
Cause the welcome will not end
Though it's hard to let you go
In the Father's hands we know
That a lifetime's not too long to live as friends
With the faith and love that God's given
Springing from the hope we know
We will pray the joy you'll live in
Is the strength that now you show
But we'll keep you close as always
It won't even seem you've gone
Cause our hearts in big and small ways
Will keep the love that keeps us strong

CHORUS 2X

Michael W.Smith and Amy Grant sing is one but, other people do sing it too.

posted by amanda @ 10:28 PM 8 comments

Well,there are so pictures of butterflies and beautiful passion flowers!


Know some people thought it was a good idea to post some pictures of butterflies so i guees why not:)
Are they not beautiful?

posted by amanda @ 5:19 PM 8 comments

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Hohenschwangau


Hohenschwangau,built in 1832 for Maximillien II,King Ludwig's father.

Hohenschwangau -- Home of the Young King Ludwig II

Located a few minutes away from Füssen in the small town of Schwangau, Germany, Hohenschwangau is one the four castles of King Ludwig II and a prime tourist attraction in southern Bavaria (the others are the Herrenchiemsee, Linderhof, and Neuschwanstein). Of these four, Hohenschwangau is the one King Ludwig II did not build, but he grew up in it -- it was built in the 12th century and rebuilt several times. Compared to the excess inherent in the others, Hohenschwangau is quite modest, and small. But, it has a terrific lakeside view of the Alpsee and an incredibly display of Bavarian artifacts.

posted by amanda @ 2:29 PM 8 comments

The Hearst Castle

In 1865, George Hearst, a wealthy miner, purchased 40,000-acres of ranchland that included the Mexican Ranchos of Piedras Blancas, San Simeon and Santa Rosa. In 1919, his only son, William Randolph Hearst, inherited the land from his mother, Phoebe Apperson Hearst. By then the ranch had grown to encompass 250,000 acres.Originally known as "Camp Hill," its wilderness offered a place for family members and friends to "rough it" on camping trips. Despite elaborate arrangements with separate sleeping and dining tents, Hearst envisioned more comfortable accommodations. His simple instructions to famed San Francisco architect Julia Morgan in 1919: "Miss Morgan, we are tired of camping out in the open at the ranch in San Simeon and I would like to build a little something"

Hearst and Morgan's collaboration was destined to become one of the world's greatest showplaces. As they were planning and constructing his dream home, Hearst renamed the rocky perch from which it rose "La Cuesta Encantada" - The Enchanted Hill. By 1947, Hearst and Morgan had created an estate of 165 rooms and 127 acres of gardens, terraces, pools and walkways.

The estate's magnificent main house, "Casa Grande," and three guest houses are of Mediterranean Revival style, while the imposing towers of Casa Grande were inspired by a Spanish cathedral. The blending of the architectural style with the surrounding land, and Hearst's superb European and Mediterranean art collection, was so seamless that world-renowned architectural historian, Lord John Julius Norwich, was moved to say that "Hearst Castle is a palace in every sense of the word."

Hearst Castle
 Neptune Pool at Hearst Castle

posted by amanda @ 2:22 PM 9 comments