The Tartan Thistle Part 1 of 2 or 3.....

Okay folks. I have 48 pictures that I took during my overnight getaway at the Tartan Thistle Bed and Breakfast. I am trying not to duplicate pics that are on their website...so follow the link for even more views of this beautiful home! (especially of the outside because I didn't get a good pic of the front of the house). In order to make all these pictures something better than a slide show of someone else's vacation I'm breaking them into more than one post. Hopefully I'll get them all posted over the weekend.

This post will be views from the wraparound porch....and FOOD!!


Speedy heard me mention food and decided to stowaway in my quilting bag!





The history of this home is very interesting! Apparently, according to my Hostess, Karen Watson, in the 1880s the original one story Victorian home was owned by a woman. She was probably the mistress of the school located next door.

Around 1900 it was purchased and expanded by the Scott Family to it's current 3 story Neo-Classical Victorian grandeur.

ain't he cute? He's one of Karen and her husband Tom's two Huskies that live in the yard between the main house and the carriage house. I don't have any pictures of the carriage house as it's currently a private residence.

This is the yard off the porch. A beautiful meditation garden in good weather!

A century after the school mistress sold the house it found itself once again owned by a woman. Although it stood empty and was steadily falling into disrepair, this lady held onto the house for about 10 years. She was loathe to allow the house to sell to someone that didn't cherish its history and beauty.

I don't know why blogger turned this picture of the lovely table. Everyone lay on your right side and enjoy.

Fortunately for me and my fellow travelers the lady sold the house to Karen and Tom Watson. The Watsons spent 4 years restoring the home and carriage house doing almost all the labor themselves...with the help of their then teenage sons. They have been hosting folks like me for about 10 years now. And I must say Karen is a perfect Hostess!

So grab a drink from this coke machine on the porch and let's go see if we can protect ourselves against starvation.......

If you'd like something cold to drink this lovely buffet in the upstairs hall is always accessible. Karen made sure I never ran out of ice....or Dr Pepper! (yes, the missing glass and Dr Pepper can were MINE!) Karen said something about fruit juices.....but I didn't listen as that seemed waaaay too healthy for my getaway plans!!

And if a hot drink is what you're after head to the downstairs parlour under the tea cozy is a hotplate/teapot that you can turn on to warm your water at any time! It made wonderful Hot Cocoa at 3am I must say!!

Now, for dinner I had.....

yummmmm It's been YEARS since I had a Pappa John's pizza cuz they don't deliver out to my tiny town. Karen was a sweetie and stuck my leftovers in the fridge for me to take home!!

Then came the REAL TREAT!! warning! you might drool.......

I came down in the morning and found this on the sideboard....

at the table....

Knowing that I was the only breakfast guest I'd brought my book along, but I was too busy enjoying my breakfast to read any.

This pic is dedicated to my late Mom Baker (my stepmother's grandmother)! She had blackberry bushes in her garden and my fondest memory of her house is eating fresh picked blackberries in milk with sugar! oooooo they were good.

yeah, the spinach quiche was so good I had to sample before I could stop and take pictures!

and if ALL THAT wasn't enough...she offered me DESSERT!
blackberry cobbler...oh my!

now I didn't get pictures of the trays of treats that were available at all times....or the little bowls of chocolate that were around....but just trust me. No one will starve in Karen's house!!

In the next installment...I'll tell you what this is:

Leave your guesses in the comments.