The Nesting Season.

I was walking around the garden yesterday, sadly everything is in the stages of hibernation.
There is still color, red, orange, and lots of brown.
It's a time to start nesting, nature's way of slowing down.....

The Autumn scents candle puts a grin on the face of even the spookiest of characters.


The gourds and pumpkins are on display.

Looking out of the window, for the herd of resident deer.

Chrysanthemums brighten up the porch.

Autumn Splendor.

Come, pensive Autumn, with thy clouds, and storms,

And falling leaves, and pastures lost to flowers;

A luscious charm hangs on thy faded forms,

More sweet than Summer in her loveliest hours,

Who, in her blooming uniform of green,

Delights with samely and continued joy:

But give me, Autumn, where thy hand hath been,

For there is wildness that can never cloy, -

The russet hue of fields left bare, and all

The tints of leaves and blossoms ere they fall.

In thy dull days of clouds a pleasure comes,

Wild music softens in thy hollow winds;

And in thy fading woods a beauty blooms,

That's more than dear to melancholy minds.

~To Autumn : John Clare

Poof ! And Just Like That He Was Gone....

We seemed to have lost a fellow-blogger "Dave ". Isn't that curious ?

Nary a wave goodbye, or a familiar "See you around" to be found.

His blog is simply GONE.

I know I'm not alone when I say I truly enjoyed Dave's writings, his " tell it like it is "style had me hooked. Not to mention the man was simply hilarious.

Dave I hope you are planning on returning, at least give us a "shout" so we know it was all part of the master plan.

I have a feeling you've returned to the hundred acre woods.......

Teapot Folly...

I'm not alone, when I say "I love teapots".

I've never met a teapot, I didn't like.

All shapes and sizes, earthenware, and fine bone china.

Some of my favorite teapots are considered collectors' teapots, "themed" from English landmarks, and famous characters. They are James Sadler teapots, and can be quite whimsical in nature.

James Sadler was founded in 1882, and is one of the leading manufacturers of teapots in the UK. It began with James Sadler, who built a factory in Burslem at the heart of the ceramic industry in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. He went on to make a name for himself by making fine earthenware teapots.

I'm always on the look-out for a new teapot to add to the collection.

Scarlet Ball....

"October gave a party;

The leaves by hundreds came-

The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,

And leaves of every name.

The Sunshine spread a carpet,

And everything was grand,

Miss Weather led the dancing,

Professor Wind the band."

~ October's Party, George Cooper.

Where Do The Years Go ?

As I was walking through the porch door yesterday, something caught my eye....
It was the three bullet holes on the left hand side of the door.
I hadn't noticed them in awhile, but they were the work of my grandson playing a joke on me, some seven years earlier.
Of course, they are fake, but I laughed heartily the first time I saw them.

I began thinking, where have those years gone ?
The times the grandchildren came by to ride the school bus in the mornings.
The hours spent watching Beatrix Potter and Disney movies all day long, snuggled in quilts on the living room floor.
Playing tea-parties and cooking pretend-meals in their children's kitchen, my grandson acting as the pizza delivery boy, on his little scooter.

They have their own room, it sits in silence. No more laughter, or dress-up games.

Their bear and rabbit collection no longer hugged.

The mama rabbit is now my company in the computer room.

Her rabbit friends keeping vigilance.

The grandchildren are grown, their interests are now friends, music and cars. I miss their laughter.

~ We've had bad luck with children; they've all grown up ~ Christopher Morley

Gotcha.....

My daughter, son-in-law, grandchildren and myself took "Top" to Nashville last night.
No wild buck dancing at the Wild Horse Saloon, instead a nice family dinner at his favorite restaurant The Cracker Barrel.
Just as we were finishing our meal, the waitress came by, and announced to the whole restaurant, it was my husband's birthday, and that he had just retired from the military after serving thirty eight years. There was a deadly silence, everyone stopped eating, and at the request of the waitress, a loud chorus of "Happy Birthday to You" echoed throughout the dining hall.
I can't remember the last time I witnessed my husband so red in the face, embarrassing, but worth it !
It reminded me of the Mastercard commercial :

Rounding up the family ~ impossible
Dinner at your favorite restaurant ~ 50 bucks.
Co-ordinating a hundred strangers to stop eating dinner, and sing "Happy Birthday to You" ~Priceless.

Autumn Splendor..

O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stain’d

With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit

Beneath my shady roof; there thou may’st rest,

And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe,

And all the daughters of the year shall dance!

Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers.

“The narrow bud opens her beauties to

The sun, and love runs in her thrilling veins;

Blossoms hang round the brows of Morning, and

Flourish down the bright cheek of modest Eve,

Till clust’ring Summer breaks forth into singing,

And feather’d clouds strew flowers round her head.

“The spirits of the air live in the smells

Of fruit; and Joy, with pinions light, roves round

The gardens, or sits singing in the trees.”

Thus sang the jolly Autumn as he sat,

Then rose, girded himself, and o’er the bleak

Hills fled from our sight; but left his golden load.

To Autumn ~ William Blake 1743

Happy Autumn....

Yesterday was a balmy 79 degrees here in middle Tennessee with humidity levels comparable to those of Summer months.
They say if you don't like the weather here in Tennessee, stick around a day or two....it'll change.
Change it has !

Today started off in the low 50's and it didn't climb much higher all day long. Fall is making it's presence known, and I for one love it.

Today, I noticed decorations everywhere, porches, shopfronts, sidewalks, town squares. Beautiful vibrant fall colors, pumpkins, gourds, cornstalks Indian corn and chrysanthemums.
Whimsy and beauty alike.

It's the beginning of slowing down, nesting, and maybe even a little pumpkin carving...

Utter Frustration...

My apologies bloggy friends for not visiting any of your blogs lately, I'm still having computer problems.
It's the most frustrating thing, I seem to get one problem fixed, and then another comes along.

This is what I feel I'm up against....

I'll keep trying !

A Once A Week Indulgence...

Once a week, I shop at the local Publix store for groceries. I must admit, it makes shopping a pleasure.
The first isle I troll, is the imported 'Brit food' section, with it's full-size Union Jack flag, towering above, it beckons my attention.
I stock up on Shepherd's Pie mix, a gravy of sorts, with tomato base and herbs and spices.
British people tend to like meat and potatoes, working -man's staples.

Shepherd's Pie is a concoction of ground meat, onions, carrots, and peas, topped off with mashed potatoes, and browned in the oven until the potatoes are nice and crusty.
It's the first meal I cooked for the First Sergeant, and one of his favorites still to this day.

The in-store bakery is the last place I shop, before heading home. This is the reason I cannot lose weight.......

Warm, fresh out of the oven blueberry or cranberry/orange scones.

I smell them baking as I'm trolling around the store. If I were to make the bakery my first stop upon entering, I would no doubt eat them as I shopped.

Instead, I play a game with myself. Finish the shopping, head home and unload, then make a nice pot of tea.

Put my feet up, and reap the rewards of a well-earned break.

Hhmmmm nawt better ;)

A Little Facelift...

Have you ever had the decorating urge to change something, but didn't want to get so involved it developed into a huge remodel ?
Well, for the past few months I felt the need to upgrade the backsplash in my kitchen. It was wallpapered, and looked worse for wear.
I thought about tiling, but quite honestly didn't want that much expense until I change out the countertops in the next year or two.

My daughter has just completed a kitchen remodel, and used a product around her backsplash that looks like tin, so much in fact, if you didn't know it wasn't you'd be none the wiser.

Enlisting the help of The First Sergeant and Number One son-in-law, the head contractor (daughter), installed a new tin-type backsplash in less than three hours.
My job was the most important, in case you're wondering......making the tea.

Not Quite Down For The Count...

I'm still firing on only three cylinders, but was at least able to share a few pictures, of smiley faces around here.
It has me wondering if maybe they know something, I don't !

Running Out Of Patience...

It seems I have spoken too soon, the 'confuser' is still on the blink :(
I've run out of ideas, and so the next step is to deliver the whole kit and caboodle to the techie guru, and see what hocus pocus he can perform.

I'm tired of playing with this mouse.....

Computer Gremlins....

It's been one of those weeks, where the computer gremlins have made their presence known.
It seems that despite all the defraging, cache clearing, artfile purging, and cussing, it didn't help one bit.....no it seems all is back to normal, and the gremlins have left to seek out their next victim.
I swear I can hear them giggling.

The best I can do before heading out the door for work, are a couple of Halloween decorating pictures.
At least I'm making a start.

Hope to catch up with your blogs, as soon as I'm able, I've missed you all.....