Friday Love

I am looking forward to a beautiful weekend.  Rain is in the forecast. I love rain, it makes me so happy. Gray skies, wind, droplets pelting the roof. I have a pretty mantle, all fall-ish with little white lights that will be a welcome warmth from the rain outside. I hung a pine cone wreath that my dad gave me the other day. I remember when my mother made it and I  looked forward to her bringing it down from the attic with the other holiday decorations. She always hung it at Thanksgiving/Christmas. I am just over the moon about having it now. I love having things she made around my home. 

That extraordinary moth was found by my son. Isn't it magnificent? He was at least 6 inches wide. He was not living when he found him. I think he was hit with a pesticide. 

Come rain! I have lots of stitching to do, and what better way to spend a rainy weekend!

I hope you're having a great Friday. Thanks for stopping by!

Autumn Approaching

Mossy.

Leafy.

Tree trunk-y

Beautiful days! The air is starting to have a bit of coolness to it. The light is lovely. The garden is going to sleep. Today is my dd's birthday. 26 years old. I love her so much I can hardly stand it!  So hard to believe how quick the time has gone by. Yesterday I took my sweet 87 year old dad on a picnic.  He was so excited.  We drove the golf cart to a nearby lake and ate hot dogs and chips.The wind was whipping around us, taking our napkins and putting them in flight.  The geese were honking nearby.  There were children there flying kites. Or trying to fly kites. 

When I was out walking the other day there was a leaf seemingly suspended in mid air. I tried to take a picture, which was a little hard to do - to get the depth.  It was so cool looking. I also visited my favorite tree trunk. It has a tree growing in it.  I took a picture about this same time last year. The little tree has doubled in height. 

I think it's fun to find the simple pleasures in life, like a mossy carpet, a magical leaf or a tree trunk growing a tree.  Life is good.

Do you have some simple pleasures? 

I hope you're having a great Wednesday. Thanks so much for stopping by. 

Sunny Saturday

One of the first things I notice as we drift towards Autumn is the change in light. Today I noticed these wonderful shadows on the little shed behind the garden.  I have had on my to-do list the painting of this shed. but it hasn't happened yet. Looks like I need to do a little clean up on the shed where the rain has caused quite a dirty mess!  Funny what you notice in photos but not when you're standing right in front of it!

It's been a lovely weekend, full of stitching and the beginning of some fall decorating. I'm trying to stay with the Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow cross stitch piece.  I have really enjoyed it, but I don't think I want to attempt another piece that takes a whole year to do.  I keep wanting to work on my crazy quilt, or make another quilt piece,  but know I've got to stay with the big project. I'm so afraid if I stop I won't pick it back up.  I'm terrible about stuff like that.

I hope you've had a lovely Saturday. Thanks so much for stopping by!

September Garden

Happy September! The garden has really started it's decline, but surprisingly I have a few pretty things.

I love this urn. The Dichondra has been so pretty. I removed the pink polka dot plant and replaced it with just a simple begonia.  Not my favorite, but it looks better than the other did.

 I lost my coreopsis this year and replaced it late in the season.  It is still throwing out blooms.

 This is an azalea I planted this year and it blooms two times. It has some blooms on it now.

 I do not know what this is. It looks like a very tall ageratum. I grew it from seed many years ago. 

 I love, love, love this sedum. Sometimes it has a bluish cast and sometimes it seems to have a burgandy hue. 

The hostas still look good this year!  This big green one has almost no leaf damage from slugs. 

 

I also have some Black Eyed Susans with some blooms.  

Now here's my thought...I should move these plants together for a very pretty late summer/early autumn show!  I think the sedum with the tall lavender plant would look so pretty together. Add the yellow coreopsis and black eyed susan with the azalea close by - wouldn't that be a pretty picture?

I hope you're having a great Wednesday (Mike, mike, mike, mike,mike, mike...what day is it??? IT'S HUMP DAY.)

Thanks for stopping by!

LOOKING TOWARD FALL WITH GLEE

It's going to be a while before I get to see any of this...

 And do fun things like this...

 And this...

 And admire pretty colors like this

But I'm so excited it's on it's way.  Last year we had a gorgeous fall. I hope this year will be as pretty. I wonder if the wet and cooler than normal summer will make a difference. I hope not, unless it's for the better!  And best of all, I have a brand new, handmade fall table runner that I can't wait to use. 

Welcome September!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

Hello! How are you?  I am so glad that Friday is upon us and am really looking forward to a three day weekend.  I have no special plans, how about you?

I haven't done a Flashback Friday in a while, so thought I would do a fun one since it's Back To School time.  The first picture is from the Sears Catalog, 1968.  We always got the Sears Catalog and I would drool over the cute clothes.  The skirt and sweater on the left would be very similar to what I wore in '68.  Knee socks, sweater, and  loafers. I was a big fan of the pleated skirt with colored knee socks and sweater.  

Now for something not so stylish...the dreaded gym clothes.  The kids are so lucky now days, to not have to wear gym clothes.  Of course, when I was in high school you couldn't wear pants, at least we in the South couldn't.  I swear that looks like my gym teacher, Mrs. Tankersly.  

And a little something fun...an autograph book.  I had one very similar.  Mine had colored pages, If I remember correctly.  You would fold the pages down as they were signed.  

And now for a little fun after a hard day hitting the books...my favorite comic.  

I hope you've enjoyed this little trip down memory lane.  Did it stir any memories in your mind? 

All of these images I found on Pinterest.

The Fallness of August

We are 20+ degrees below normal here in Georgia and it's making me think of fall! All the leaves are green, but the air is totally Autumn! I pulled out my fall table runner that I made over the summer and took a few shots to share with you.  This was such a fun project and I am so proud of myself that I actually started and finished something!

 I love the autumn colors.

I machine stitched in the ditch on the rows, but hand quilted the star blocks and the orange squares. 

Now I'm ready for the hues of autumn and cool, crisp air. Oh wait! It's still August. I'm sure the hot weather will be returning soon, I'll have to be patient for fall's arrival!

Thanks so much for stopping by. What's your weather like lately?

A Movie

I don't know why the critics trashed this movie so much.  I loved it, and so did everyone I know that saw it.  It was funny, and beautiful, and exciting. If you can still see it at the theaters, I highly recommend it. Honestly, the cinematography is gorgeous, all filmed on location.  Really gorgeous. I liked Armie, he's cute and a decent actor, and Johnny Depp is so funny.  And WOW! When they played the Lone Ranger's theme song I teared up. It was that great! So do it!  Go!

A bit...

Back to work. I'm happy to be there. I do not do well with unstructured time!  Everything was great while I was sewing my little table runner. I can't wait to show you the finished product, but I think I will wait until fall. I think you will like it so much better as the leaves change and the air cools! Once I finished that project I found myself wiling the hours away in other needlework ways.  I have been working on my Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow and I'm trying to finish this cream colored crazy quilt square. I layered on some buttons, but haven't attached them yet.  I think it looks nice though.  Other than that, summer has been a bit of a yawn-fest around here!  The rain had made working in the garden almost impossible. Now the rain has moved on, but I'm spending my days in an office.  I'm already looking forward to planting tulips for next spring. I think I like the planning as much as the arrival!

I hope you're having a great Monday.  Thanks for stopping by!

Hello Friday

You can see these pictures bigger if you click on them...

 Respectful begging...

Such a strange summer - we have had so much rain. The garden has not done well.  Or maybe my attention has been elsewhere.  I have not had a good summer, health wise.  I think I'm better, but I have an appointment Tuesday, so we'll see.  Nothing serious, just irritating. I have one week left before I return to work, summer is done according to my calendar.  I hope you are having a nice summer. I'm already wishing for fall! 

Sweet!

Most adorable visitors to the garden this morning...

Siblings.  Two precious little deer.  What a wonderful little gift.  Of course, I was really hoping they weren't going to come any closer and start snacking on the garden. Just scoping the place out I think - they will probably be back tonight:)

Have a great Tuesday, thanks for stopping by!