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Autumn in the Mountains

 
 

It just wouldn't seem like autumn without a family trip to the mountains. I should say family, plus friends, as we typically allow the kids to bring a few extra buddies along as well. While we had to send the kids home on Sunday to attend Monday classes, the Mister and I stayed on for a few extra days. Wait, let me clarify that...college kids were sent back to college and high school kids to a home with surrogate parents in place!

While this largely tourist area of Western North Carolina is decked out to the nines in fall decor {manmade and nature made}, this was by far my favorite manmade display. How creative is this?!

 
 
We could not have ordered nicer weather. Beautiful sunshine and warm afternoons. But the mornings and evenings were chilly...even "frost on the pumpkins"--and flowers in the morning....

 
The Mister and I agreed that the fall colors weren't quite as vibrant as last years' offering, but still beautiful. The locals said we missed peak by about a week. Nevertheless, the natural beauty of this area never fails to delight. While I took a ga-jillion photos, I'll share a few today and maybe some more later... 
 
 
 

 
 
I spotted this nest about 25 feet off the ground on one of our walks. It was still an active nest. Returning with a zoom lens to keep my distance I still had a few inhabitants of this abode dive bomb me. But I brought my doggie along...as if that would offer any extra protection! Doesn't this look like an ugly halloween mask? [start in the lower right hand quarter of the hive and zero in on the dark spot for the eye and then the nose prodruding from the same area...] The kind I would never let my kids wear when they were trick-or-treaters much to their bitter dismay at that place in time...mean mother that I was!

 

...a view from our deck...so peaceful...

 

 Ahhhh...but the reality of two trips back to back has left a wake of disaster when it comes to my real life and normal responsibilities...not to mention the need to catch up in bloggieland as well. But I wouldn't trade these times and the memories we've been blessed to gather together for anything.

But as I think about that last statement, I realize that many of my fondest memories of times together with my family have even been as simple as taking a bag of bread to the park and feeding the ducks. The important part is doing something together...

 
There's something about heading outdoors after a hard rain...I love that smell...

 
 
 
...and the way droplets of water puddle and glisten...

 
...and with each passing day, more and more signs of summer being over begin to creep into the landscape...

 

But heading outdoors to enjoy all the sights and sounds after a rain does have its down side as well...

 
 ...especially when my constant companion is with me...the little girl who doesn't care that we just paid to have her groomed last week...

 

 ...and who doesn't understand the words, "please!!!! stay out of the mud..."

All she cares about is someone tossing her the next tennis ball to chase...

...in fact, at one point, she actually laid in this puddle..........

 

 

 

She cleaned up rather nicely, don't you think? Thanks to the magic of photoshop you'd never guess this little girl was caked in mud now, would you?

Wouldn't it be fabulous if all of life's messies could just be photoshopped away? I thought you'd agree....

Credits: texture from Kim Klassen, vintage ticket from Cathe Holden.

Searching...

...found that quote in some free publication that was in our mailbox...thought it spoke volumes...

...meanwhile, instead of knocking off important stuff on my to do list, {which will soon turn into a list renamed as "it's now on fire!" if I don't get busy soon} I keep playing with my camera and textures and pse...

...but I will keep searching for that girl who is organized, on time, and strikes a healthy balance between "should do" and "want to do"....

Xo, Sue

credits: textures by Kim Klassen

Recent finds...a fun giveaway...free images, and what not!

Whew! That's a lot for one title...buy hey, I'm trying to cover a lot of bases in one post. So many fun things going on in the blogosphere (and atmosphere).

Here's another little treasure I dragged home from our recent trip to Florida. And despite the unrelenting heat for months here in Georgia, my flowers survived my absence.

But the cloud formations lately have been so thrilling... (me thinks mr. sky is trying to apologize or compensate for his friend mr. air who has been scorching this part of the world)

And if you love sky scenes, check out these moon beam pictures my friend, Patty has captured in the skies of Virginia. She has a way of zeroing in on anything that shines...I loved these photos!

Despite the fact that mother nature is more than capable of doing her own decorating, I added a little tree beauty to her world in order to showcase another little treasure from my Florida trip...

I merely took advantage of those little branches that pop up randomly where they're not supposed to be on mature trees and "tied" my new tray to the tree.

While my usage of the outside layer to this photo does not due this artists' creations justice I did want to share with any photoshop veiwers a gorgeous blog offering fabulous textures. I am still learning photoshop where these textures will rock when applied properly...my rendition is a cheap version (strong emphasis on cheap) of just layering and using a transparency brush to reveal my photo. The "real thing" is beyond dreamy...

Check out Kim's blog and her beautiful photos! Her prices for these textures are so reasonable and she even offers up free ones if you sign up to receive her newsletter.

And speaking of free stuff...

Terri has recently posted a couple of wonderful digital image freebies here and here. Go grab 'em! I had the pleasure of meeting Terri and her FUN ART when she won one of my giveaways.

So guess where that leads me to next. Yep! A giveaway... Connie is offering up a couple of yummy things...

Here's one of them! Isn't she a beautiful seamstress? Yes, indeed! She also has two adorable grandbabies...one is brand new. Check out those precious photos when you visit as well!

Now that we're talking about giveaways, I just realized that this is my 100th post since moving my blog to Typepad. Time to pull together a giveaway of my own...hmmmm... so many possibilities. Stay tuned....

Warm hugs to all the fabulous souls in the blogosphere...you all fill my world with so much inspiration!

xo, sue

 My time in the mountains of western North Carolina was over before

I could blink. But it is always time well spent. Lots of laughter, good food, beautiful scenery, drives through the countryside...

...an hour or so walking through the shops...you could spend days in this area going through hundreds of unique shops if you so chose...

...each visit I usually try to check out a place I've never been before... 

...most times I even remember to grab my camera...

...Mr. and I drove to one of my favorite antique shops tucked way back in the woods on a twisty, narrow mountain road that gives me the creeps because there are precious few guard rails...and someone in the car who shall remain nameless drives way too fast on those roads... 

...I was so happy to have survived the ride that even finding the place closed barely even caused my emotions to fluctuate one iota...of course, finding these beautiful pink roses growing along their fence was more than compensation for having driven so far...

  ...and wouldn't you know it? On our way back to the cabin we just happened to drive right by my favorite shoe store in Highlands. Look at my {SQUEAL} new shoes! They are incredibly comfortable and just plain FUN! Just what I needed for all the traveling I'll be doing in the coming days....

Where am I going, you ask? Why I'm off to visit creative spaces across the globe during theWHERE BLOGGERS CREATE PARTY! 
 

credit: free background image from rubyblossom [Flickr]

Needed: A Case of Magic Bandaids!

This photo of our oldest still makes me laugh. She's now 21, so those magic band-aids that could fix all of life's boo-boo's way back when, most likely wouldn't have the same effect today.

But if they did, I'd be buying a case for me!

Seriously...it's almost been hilarious. My life, that is... I just shake my head and say, okay, what next?!!!

Life was rocking along with me working like a mad woman digging in the dirt. Dragging home and planting lots of flowers. Finally feeling a bit of motivation to tackle some of those projects that have been needing some attention and finding any excuse to work OUTSIDE instead of INSIDE.

[ pink perennial yarrow...new additions to my flower beds]

Then it started.

DAY 1: Bent over while vacuuming to pick up a dog toy and whammed my forehead into the sharp corner of the fireplace mantle. Cute lump and bruise in middle of forehead! While bringing in the meat I had grilled on the rotesserie spicket it slipped and I seared the chubby pad area on my hand creating an awesome blister. An hour later as I hid behind a french door [teasing my dog who likes to play hide and seek] she comes around the corner, sees me and in total excitement, jumps against the door. My little bare piggy toes act as door stop. I am now missing the first 4 layers of skin on two toes.

[let me interject that these band-aids are the best...]

 
  Saying good-bye to that day...I woke up the next day with a frozen shoulder. Very painful.   

I had this same condition four years ago and after months of physical therapy it took almost 6 months until I fully recovered. So you can imagine the downer I was doing...

On the bright side, the bump on my head and band-aids on my hands and toes from the previous day didn't seem like such a big deal. LOL! 

And besides, things were bound to look up as I did plant some HOPE in my garden this year...

okay. maybe it can get worse. because it did.

Day Three: breaking out in a terrible rash all over my torso that over a week has continued to spread like wildfire...

Can you say miserable?!!!!

Which caused me to doodle this in one of my journals i keep...

FINALLY, after too many nights of fitful sleep due to the intensity of my rash, yesterday I went to the doctor. I have a nasty case of poison ivy or oak. Have no earthly idea how...but given the severity of my case, I rec'd a big old shot of steroids in the cheek, and will now do a prednisone taper over the next week.

But things are looking up...my shoulder is 90% back to normal...enough to get back to my garden therapy. For it to unfreeze in less than two weeks was nothing short of a miracle in my book.

 I also couldn't help but think during this time how much I take for granted. There are countless souls who would trade my eetsie-weenie [in comparison] physical setbacks for their chronic conditions in a heartbeat... 

So skip that part about me wanting a case of magic band-aids, instead, I hope this latest rash of challenges will cause me to be more grateful...

...more grateful for all those things I take for granted.

 

Pink Saturday--Spring, Glorious Spring!

"Keep your faith in all beautiful things; in the sun when it is hidden, in the spring when it is gone."
-- Roy R. Gilson

Thank you for stopping by for Pink Saturday. As always, a warm round of applause for Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for hosting. For a complete listing of today's participants, head over to Beverly's blog!

As much as I love summer, if it were up to me, I would have winter last about one month and then head straight for Spring! What a glorious time of the year. Seemingly overnight, the earth awakens from its slumber. Gray and gloomy gives way to color and cheer.

It is like watching nature dramatize the word "hope"...with each new bud, the emergence of green, eggs in nests, songbirds singing, roots shooting up their hidden secrets...

I love how hope looks, feels, and behaves in any setting, be it Spring or any slice of life.

Happy Spring all you pink ladies!

xo, sue

p.s. At the top of my page I'm having a giveaway for a wonderful cause. A cause that is helping to spread that word hope to many who so desperately need it. Everyone is welcome to play!

Bird Watcher...or is it birds that watch?

Make no mistake, I am a bird watcher. bird listener. bird lover. But today, it was like nature in reverse.  The birds were watching us...for hours!

There was a pack of birds that continued to lightly bounce off the windows, sit perched on the outside sills and look in the house. Not once, not twice, not a dozen times, but at least a hundred times if not more...it was the strangest thing. One son called it downright creepy and qualified his statement with reminding me of the old Alfred Hitchcock movie, The Birds!

 

All the commotion caused this little girl to break the sacred rule of no paws on the counters.

 {Notice the little splotch of mud above her eye and the wet fur. The mud spot is from knocking down tennis balls with her head.  Tennis balls she drops in the pool and then expects me to fetch them and toss them to her, over and over and over again. She's quite athletic and could catch them in the air if she wouldn't insist upon keeping one in her mouth at all times.}

 

Still a little baffled by this steady stream of window peekers today, but it sure was cute while it lasted. Hope your days was filled with some unexpected, delightful little surprises as well!