I'm back!

I had an absolutely fabulous time in NY and my daughter's gallery showing was fantastic! I will tell you all about it later because I am getting ready for the Whirligig Festival which is this weekend, November 3 and 4, and I have SO much to do!

These are the flowers hubby gave me at the airport on my return. Aren't they pretty! I thought I would share them with you!

Have a great day! I'll be back next week.

New York

I'm going to the Big Apple for a few days to attend the opening night of our daughter's art showing at the Monya Rowe Gallery in Chelsea! This will be her first solo show and she's already sold two paintings! My other daugther and my sister and myself will all be traveling together and we're so excited and are planning to have a great time in New York, just the four of us!

I'll be back next week with pictures. Don't forget me!

Dessert

Last evening I made an apple-pear tart for dessert. Would you like to know how I made it? Cut up 4 granny smith apples and 2 pears, put them in a bowl and add a bit of sugar (maybe 2 tablespoons) and some cinnamon. (I don't measure anything when I make tarts and pies) Stir the apple mixture. Then unroll a pre-made pie crust and put it on a baking sheet. Put the apple mixture on the pie dough (pile it high in the center) and turn up the edges of the dough all the way around. Brush an egg wash on the crust and sprinkle with some sugar and it's ready to bake, 375 for about 40 minutes or so. And voila! Eat it warm with vanilla ice cream. Delish!

Rainy Friday

It's a bit wet here today, but we sure do need the rain. I was out with Otis and Riley this morning and took some pictures in the back yard. It's even beautiful when it rains!

Of course, it's mid afternoon right now and very warm and muggy. I'm hoping cooler weather is soon on it's way. Have a good weekend everyone!

American Beautyberry

Yet another beautiful fall color.

Simple pleasures

Candle light...

comfy sofa...

Otis and Riley by my side...

my new Victoria magazine...

these equal simple pleasures for a delightful evening and sweet dreams.

Smiles!

I've just been awarded the "You Make Me Smile Award" by Mary over at little red house. Thank you Mary! You make me smile too! Mary is very creative and I'm sure you would enjoy her blog, so stop by to see her, if you haven't already. I'm supposed to pass this on to ten more people that make me smile, but, you know what? There are so many of you that make me smile ~ so if you don't mind, I will decline on picking just ten. My side bar is filled with all of you that make me smile and there are some I haven't even gotten around to list yet! So, thank you again Mary for choosing me and all of you other wonderful bloggers out there that make me smile!

And speaking of smiling, I just got my Victoria magazine today in the mail! Whoohoo! Tonight I am going to curl up on the sofa and get all comfy and cozy, have a cup of coffee and enjoy Victoria!

Have a good day everyone! And keep smiling!

"The Enchanted April"

I found this great book at Goodwill a few weeks ago and just finished it. It's an old classic titled "The Enchanted April" by Elizabeth Von Arnim.

It's about four very diverse women all seeking revitalization from the dreary February rains of London in the 1920s. They rent a small castle at San Salvatore, in Portofino, Italy, for the month of April.

Arriving at San Salvatore, they find it "awash with the scent of flowers, its olive groves terracing down to the sun-warmed sea." As the weeks move on they find themselves resuscitated and transformed by the magic of San Salvatore.

If you like fairytales, you will love this book.

Autumn

This weekend was the most perfect-weather weekend ~ a little chilly, sunshine, clear blue skys and a gentle breeze. One of those weekends that makes you want to spend all your time outside. And that we did! We (hubby and I) took Otis and Riley for walks, worked in the yard, did some painting projects outside, ate our meals outside, read the newspapers and magazines outside, and thoroughly enjoyed the weekend outside! Love this weather. So I took some pictures outside too. Most of these were taken in the garden and I was surprised how much was blooming and how colorful it still was.

Truly a beautiful weekend outside. Hope you enjoyed your weekend too. Happy Autumn!

The unwatched pot

The crock pot. Does anyone use these anymore? When our girls were young and I was working outside the home, mine got alot of use. All the ingredients were prepared the night before, and then the next morning in the big rush, all that needed to be done was to put everything in the pot, turn it on, and forget about it. When we got home, mmmmm, the house smelled so good and dinner was ready!

The crock pot was put away in the cupboard and forgetten about. I got it out over the weekend and made a wonderful dinner for two. Time to get the "The Unwatched Pot" cookbook out and check for some new recipes. I think I'll start using it again.

Dabbing and doodling

Dabbing and dooding today with watercolor and ink.

I don't know what you'd call the middle one, but it was fun to do!

Marbles and chasers

Do you remember playing with marbles when you were young? I used to play for hours on end; I'd play with them on the floor and take some out in the sand box, and I remember my mother cleaning out the fish bowl and letting me drop my chosen few in the clean water for the goldfish. The colors were so bright and sparkly and the fish looked so happy!

Do you remember playing with marble chasers? Or, maybe you never had a marble chaser. You line up all the marbles on the top rung and then let them go, down and around till they hit the bottom and then you start all over again.

Life was so simple back then.

My husband grew up in the amish area in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He does a lot of woodworking and decided to make marble chasers with a newer, more modern look; so that's what he does on his weekends out in his "manspace" in the garage, thinking up new ideas and designs and crafting them out of wood.

Saturday at the museum

Have you seen "canstruction"? Raleigh Exploris Museum held it's annual 9th triangle "canstruction". A celebration of creativity, ingenuity and hard work of architectural design teams working to fight hunger can by can. These structures made from cans of food are donated to local food banks. This year's theme was "toys and games". They were amazing! To name a few, there was: Mr. Potato Head, Lite Brite, Monopoly, and Rubics Cube.

Our daughter, Jen, works for the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina and was there for the competition and awards ceremony, so along with our granddaughter and son-in-law, we had a great time and Maddy got to play at the new "Marbles" kid's museum.

Mint tea

I was sweeping the back porch and patio today and brushed up against the mint that was growing along the side of the patio and it smelled so good. It immediately prompted me to go and make a cup of mint tea. I'm a big coffee drinker, but occasionally I like to have a cup of tea ~ and of course, I like to have it in my favorite tea cup.

Our family would make, what they called, "meadow tea", which would be the same thing as mint tea and I can remember gathering up handfuls of tea leaves, put a pot of water on the stove to boil and then stir in sugar and the leaves to steep. I still make iced tea this way in the summer and it's so refreshing ~ it also reminds me of "the old days" and family get togethers.

Early morning walk

What an enjoyable walk Otis and Riley and I had early this morning. We found such pretty colorful leaves and nuts and pods to bring back with us. As we walked you could hear the crunching of the acorns, the leaves were dropping at the slightest breeze, and Otis and Riley got a little too excited when Old Mr. Squirrel ran up the tree. It was a beautiful morning, but now it's getting a bit warm outside and this afternoon will feel like summer again.

Where have all the pumpkins gone?

I went pumpkin hunting the other day and couldn't find any pumpkins. Usually there are stands full of big orange pumpkins everywhere, but not this year.

My husband travels alot through the week and I told him about this so he said he would look for pumpkins for me. He was in Virginia and Maryland and said ~

"here in the serene farm country north of Frederick, Md you can find some. If you are in the area and on Rt. 15 North swerve right at the Old Frederick Road and follow the great pumpkin signs to Ramsburg Road and pull on the steering wheel hard to the right. Look for the big spider at the Ramsburg Farm and Voila'a - pumpkins. You can pick some in the pumpkin patch or find some in the barn where the cat is and some other fall items including decorative and exotic guords. How bad is the pumpkin shortage? It's on the front page of The Frederick News-Post." (Oct. 3)

Well, there you have it! He's bringing home a pumpkin for me too!

In the garden

I decided today to clean up the garden and get it ready for winter. The hedge was clipped on the weekend by hubby, so that's done. Thanks hubby!

I trimmed the jasmine over the garage and everywhere else it was growing, clipped dead flowers and stalks, pruned some of the holly bushes, replaced four shrubs that died earlier in the summer, cut back ivy and raked ~ and I planted a daisy. I love daisies and I'm hoping this one lives.

Well, I think that's about all I need to do in the back yard, and now the garden can rest and sleep over the winter. And now I can rest and have a cup of coffee.