The Best Saint Patrick's Day Decor

I had a hair appointment this morning in downtown Fredericksburg.  Afterward, I treated myself to a dozen glazed donut holes from Paul's Bakery (a yummy local landmark).  This was their Saint Patrick's Day decoration on the corner of the counter ...

Hastily snapped iPhone photo.

... a green cake donut with icing and green and white sprinkles, and a big bite out of it, on top of a can of Guinness!  

I don't have a drop of Irish in me that I know of, but my husband and children do.  On their behalf, allow me to wish all of you a very happy Saint Patrick's Day.

A Saturday Stroll Downtown

Daniel and I went to downtown Fredericksburg yesterday afternoon, to get some exercise and enjoy the beautiful, sunny fall day we were having.  I had worked in the yard all morning (more on this soon), I needed a break, and he needed some 'mommy time'.

Fredericksburg was chartered in the early 18th Century, and we have a huge range of historic buildings here, from pre-Revolutionary to Victorian to modern.  As Daniel and I walked, I used my Canon Elph camera (which is always with me) to capture some of the images that appealed to me. 

This is Masonic Lodge #4, where George Washington was made a Mason ... did you know that Fredericksburg is George Washington's boyhood home, and that his sister married and lived here?  I imagine the fencing on the sidewalk surrounding the building is to keep people away until they get the earthquake damage on the chimneys repaired.

Finding this parlor set outside of an antique store gets me all motivated to work on the one that I have that's almost identical!  I got mine on Craig's List, it's painted Rustoleum gloss gray (ewww!), and it needs a bit of love.

This porch on this Italianate house (now an inn) always gets my motor running.  I'm not too big on Victorian decoration, but this one is absolutely perfect!  (In case you're wondering, there is no progress on our front porch to report.  Too much going on recently to devote any time to it.  I think it's going to be a winter project.)

The Visitor's Center was displaying the flyer for our 'Take a Bite Out of Canine Cancer' benefit in November.  (Click HERE for details)

The Husband liked this photo of rooflines along Caroline Street, and he thinks that it will make a neat painting.

Another roof ... This time it's a colorful Second Empire house.

Goolrick's Pharmacy is a local landmark.  Whenever Presidential candidates have made their brief appearances in Fredericksburg, they always seem to do a photo-op at Goolrick's lunch counter.

There is a small garden of hybrid tea roses in the courtyard beside the entrance to the Old Town Hall (now the Fredericksburg Museum)  It looks like the earthquake took out one of the chimneys, and it's wrapped in a tarp for now.

The Lewis Store is one of the oldest commercial buildings in the country.  It was owned by Fielding Lewis, husband of Geo. Washington's sister Betty, and it was restored and is used by the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation.

Another roof.  This one is Dog Krazy, a wonderful dog store!  Fredericksburg is an incredibly dog-friendly town.  Daniel and I met lots of dogs while we were out, and he was welcome in many of the shops.

The plaque above the door on this building says that it was a school founded in 1803.  It now houses offices.  I love it because of the fantastic porch and the sensitive and imaginative way they blended glass panels and a commercial door on this 200-year-old structure.

This brick outbuilding is behind one of the larger houses on Princess Anne Street and it fronts Lewis Street.  I always seem to be attracted to simple, well-proportioned, utilitarian structures the most.

I loved this view of the Japanese Maple tree through the wrought iron gate on the other side of Lewis Street.

This is just a doorway on a house that I like.

Here is one of my favorite buildings in town ... another Italianate, like the house with the porch earlier.  It was a doctor's house when it was built, but it has been lawyer's offices for as long as I have lived here (30+ years at least.)  The building is immaculately kept, and the garden is beautiful, as you will see in a second.  Isn't this porch incredible?

Here is part of the garden, on the side of the house, with the little building that I am told was the Dr.'s office.  It is just as well kept as the house, and it's a great feature in this garden filled with roses.

One more porch ... this one is the side porch of the Doggett House on Amelia Street.  This porch overlooks the house's parking court, which is adjacent to a lovely boxwood garden with roses and perennials.

By this time, Daniel was tired and it was time to load him into the Jeep and head for home.

I hope you enjoyed your walk with me!

Fredericksburg's Version of a National Holiday

Every year, residents of Fredericksburg and the surrounding region anxiously await the Friday before Presidents' Day, knowing that this is the day that Carl's, a landmark nationally-known ice cream shop, opens for the season. 

Cash only, please, and there is often a sign in the window asking patrons for small bills.  Carl's has been a Fredericksburg landmark since 1947.  The menu is simple ... cones, shakes, and sundaes, with vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry ice cream ... still made using the original machines!!  

Sorry for the glare.  This is the best I could do through the window.

Yesterday's weather was unseasonably warm (we topped out at 77 degrees, on a day when the average high temperature is 47.), so it was a perfect afternoon to stand in line and get ice cream after lunch. 

Look at this beautiful blue sky!!

A few other folks had the same idea.  The line was half-way around the block.  I couldn't get a photo to show just how long the line was ... so I drew you a diagram.

You have to imagine the line stretching down the sidewalk and around, from point A to point B.  The X marks the approximate spot where we were standing when I took this photo.

The folks who work at Carl's are incredibly efficient, so it only took about 20 minutes for us to get to the front of the line.  While we were waiting, we saw one of our daughter's best friends (a former Brownie Girl Scout of mine) and we squealed and hugged.

Carl's really IS a landmark ... they're on the National Register and everything!

Carl's is only open 9 months a year.  They open on the Friday before Presidents' Day and close on the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  One year, I was on a trip to San Diego with my sister the week before Thanksgiving.  We were at the zoo when each of us realized that it was Carl's last weekend ... so I phoned my husband and asked him to go there to get some pint containers and put them in the freezer for when we got home.

What did I have, you ask?  My favorite ... a maple nut sundae made with chocolate ice cream.