A Cozy Tale

I have always been amazed by the wonderful friends we meet through this world called blogging.

Words of encouragement, sympathy, and an overall feeling of camaraderie.

The sort of people I would enjoy sitting down and sharing a pot of tea and a scone with.

A sweet fellow blogger  writes a delightful blog about all things tea, and in particular English tea and customs. https://bernideensteatimeblog.blogspot.com/
Bernideen owned her own tea room in Colorado Springs, Colorado, a town co-incidentally, I lived in for several years, but wasn't aware of her delight.
Recently,  Bernideen has moved to be closer to family in Missouri, and has recreated her tea room in her home, and stunning garden.

Her talents do not stop there she is also a talented crafter.
She designs and sews amazingly beautiful tea-cozies.
If you are a regular reader of my little blog, you are probably aware that I recently lost my handsome Oliver cat to Bobcat fever, a terrible disease with little or no cure.
Bernideen contacted me and asked if she could send me a gift, in remembrance of Oliver, and Saturday it arrived.

The sweetest little tea-cozy created with kitties on the fabric, front and center is the image of a orange and white kitty, just like my Oliver.
The cozy can be reversed, the opposite side, is fabric covered in the Union Jack flag of England.
It's perfect, as pretty as I could have imagined, THAT kindness just made my day.

Thank you dear Bernideen, I will forever treasure your beautiful gift.

Wildflower Beauty

One of the sure signs, that Summer is waning, is the return of the Passion Flower..

Resembling something of an underwater sea-creature, the Passion Flower resides far from the ocean, in land-locked Tennessee.

It was first named as the official state flower in 1919 and then in 1939 the iris was also named the state flower. In 1973 legislation was passed designating the passion flower as the state wildflower and the iris as the state cultivated flower.

Also known as the maypop, wild apricot and the Ocoee, passion flowers grow wild in the southern United States and South America. Ocoee is the Indian name for the passion flower (also used in the name of the Ocoee River and valley in Tennessee and the city of Ocoee in Florida). American Indians considered Ocoee the most beautiful of flowers.
I can't help but agree.

Returning

The porch rails have been replaced, how I've missed them !

This is our third set of rails, the spindles are custom turned and made from beautiful Western Cedar wood, shipped in from North Dakota.

The painters show up tomorrow, not the best timing, with a hurricane lingering in the atmosphere.

Tom-Tilly is one happy little camper, they give her just enough privacy to watch over her domain, yet deter adventurous visitors from disturbing her naps. 

That unusually means a  naughty squirrel or two.  

Words From The Old Farmer's Almanac

"Winter will be warmer than normal, on average, with the coldest periods in early December, late January, and early to mid-February"

Apparently, the trees have not yet read that prediction.

Autumn seems to be creeping in.

In A Pickle

My sweet daughter has worked at the same company over the past thirty years. 

This summer her job was no longer.

She's enjoying taking care of her little hobby farm, and has found a new talent....canning.

From pencil-pusher to pickle-packer and lots more.

Bread and butter pickles and I can't stop devouring them 🙂