Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone has a safe and fun night!
until next week
a

Pumpkins, Baby Blankets and a Winner

I have been rambling on and on about how lovely Fall has been to us....and so the ramblings continue!

In our weekly routine of going to the library we spotted a Pumpkin Patch across the street.
Killing time...having fun.
After story time we ventured over to where the festivities were being held. O has a fondness for the 'dotty' pumpkins. So he immediately picked out his favorite, which had warts all over. I have nothing against warts but this pumpkin had huge warts all over it.
He was asked by one of the guys managing the patch if he wanted to go on the hayride. He quickly said no thank you and walked the other way. O is the type of person that he fears the unknown.

Until I gently nudge him towards something, he'll try it with stiffness, and in the end loves it! So, with tears in his eyes and a frown on his face, he said he'll go, but "just one time around".

By the time we arrived back at the beginning point, he wanted to go again.
Loved it. And a new friend from the library bought O a pumpkin...... so good day, it was.

O brought me a chicken feather from the yard before we left for the library and it still had some morning dew on it. It's the simple things that are so beautiful to me.

I finally started on my brother's blanket for his soon-to-be baby due in November. I'm using the same pattern I'm working on for this blanket. I think they are pretty traditional so I picked out a beautiful heather pink O'Wool for the baby.

So.....Clare from The Green Gate is the winner for the soap giveaway.
Congrats Clare and I'll be in touch.
Have a Blessed Weekend
a

Cool Bike Helmet and a Giveaway

Alright ya'll, I don't know where I found this site but check out this helmet!
Ride in total style with this cool bike helmet.

I'm loving this weather so much. It's perfect to sit outdoors all day, just a cup of hot tea in the morning to warm the hands, maybe a blanket or in my case, my robe. We fill as much space on our 'picnic' blanket with our projects; yarn, books, trains, trucks, drinks, snacks and occasionally a dog or two. As the day moves forward, it gets warmer till you don't need the blanket/robe or the tea to warm yourself. You have the sun, ball throwing, knitting, walks through the yard.
Ah....Fall.....please don't go away!

Although I am looking forward to building fires in the winter, these day are going to be sorely missed. Anyways, I hope you had a grand weekend. O and I headed over to a Harvest Potluck on Saturday after the Farmers Market and a good long nap. The gathering was put on by Eric who runs Locally Grown. And I thought I lived in the country. He owns a beautiful place with a river in his backyard.
We hung out by the cool River with our friends and collected shells, rocks, sticks, sand and wood.
O collected as many "mussels" that would fit inside of his overall pocket. When we arrived home he was drenched with water, dirt, sand and mussels that he hurried to put into his bug collector.
As the sun started to fade the we built a fire by the water. The kids helped collect sticks and wood for the fire and had a blast throwing them into the fire.

I hope you and yours had just as fun of a weekend and some beautiful weather reached you!

Oh yeah, I do have a surprise soap giveaway for one lucky reader. It is a giftable giveaway or can be all yours!
It entails filling out a comment with your favorite scent of soap or just in general, your favorite smell. Be sure to fill out your name and a way for me to contact you.
I will pick the winner on Friday afternoon.
Good Luck
a

WOOO HOOOOO

My camera is back home.
I feel like a girl in a yarn store......


Such excitement fell over me I couldn't help myself from taking pictures of
even myself folding laundry!
HA

I usually use a dresser drawer to make my soap. I have for years, well, for as long as I have made soap. I did have a friend make some "soap molds" for me but I never could adjust so, I fell back into the same ole mold. Which I actually love the 'same ole molds'. They work for me. Ya know, it's similar to finding worn jeans at the Goodwill, they are worn in, not need to give them special care, like putting them in the dryer or washing with like colors, they've been there.
However, I sometimes think of making soap and pouring into individual molds. I like the look of this, they are guaranteed to be one size, uniform.
So, I splurged the other day and bought one mold that holds 4 soaps. I used it last week and really like it. Even my husband noticed the soap at the sink. He says he likes the shape and size of it. I just think it looks pretty.
I'm not ditching my other way of soap making just adding this to the pot.
Maybe more will come out of this experiment.
We shall see.
Looking forward to next week.....a Holiday Soap Giveaway!
Have a lovely weekend
a

Things I'm diggin

We've been trying to enjoy this lovely weather with me being sick again. I think I'm totally depressed missing my camera! Sad.

However, even through this cold, I've been waking up to the sound of this in my head.

I've been really digging these awesome pictures on Flickr. I really would love to be as good as him! One day.....maybe.

O and I have been enjoying eating apple butter on homemade scones.

Can't wait to visit the pumpkin patch and get some pie pumpkins for making some pies or butter or soup.....something good will come out of it.

Every year I make a pumpkin soup that I got from here. It's very rich and oh so tasty, especially with the relish, you can't do it without the relish!

And I broke out the pomegranates last week and made some pudding with pomegranate.

Ah....I can really taste Fall.....

Must call camera shop.....
until next time
a

Anniversary Weekend....Again

Ok....I know that my last post was regarding our anniversary trip but I didn't have the pictures downloaded onto my computer. So here are the promised pictures from last weekend.

This is the back porch swing where I spend most of my cabin time knitting, reading, watching the sun come up and having morning coffee in peace.

Here is a beautiful early morning watching the sun coming up. We were so high in the trees, and so far off of the single lane gravel road that I felt like we were living in a tree house for the weekend.

We visited an old graveyard, really stumbled upon it by accident. We were at Bessie Mae's doing some touristy kind of shopping and we were headed back to the car when I noticed a small dirt road behind the shop with a sign, "graveyard."
There were gravestones with no names, some with only a rock placed at the head and the feet. Some were dated back to the early 1700's. There were quite a few with hugh flat rock slabs stacked upon each other. This is where along the trip my lovely camera said, "memory card full" with a bright red light right in my eye! (Can't wait to get my camera back!)
Maybe I wasn't supposed to be taking pictures in the graveyard anyway.
There were a good plenty that were babies, only a few days old. I can only imagine what caused these babes to died so early.
It was really a beautiful place with my husband enjoying the history of it all.

We picked O and Sally up on our way home as you can see Sally found her a spot for the whole ride home. O was passed out as well....right out of the driveway!

I hope to return soon with some pictures from the mind with my fixed camera!
Stay tuned for a Holiday Giveaway and a Etsy shop update!
until next time
a

We're Back!

And what a lovely time we had....just me and my hubby. I didn't think about chores, what time it was, when to have dinner, what to have for dinner, when to go to bed, obviously I didn't have a care in the world.
We went out to dinner Friday night at a famtabulous restaurant in Dahlonega. Their website still states their old location however, they have moved to a bigger and better place with paintings from the late Rev. Howard Finster. The woman waiting on us was the wife to the chef, both owners (and a couple and their 5 kids I used to wait on at a restaurant in my prior life, in Cleveland). Every bite of food that was entered into my mouth was followed by a, "ah, umm, ohh". It was just simply delicious.

I had the Angel Hair Primavera (copied from website) which was eaten for lunch the following 2 days.
"Portabella mushrooms, roasted red peppers, grilled sweet corn and fresh garlic tossed in a spicy chipotle chili olive oil and topped with asiago cheese" topped with smoked hen. (smoked out back by the chef.)
I left there feeling like I had visited with old friends who had cooked dinner just for us!
Before leaving town we decided to top our weekend off with Brunch at Ricks. I had the Egg Sardue (?). It was a homemade biscuit with spinach and artichoke topped with 2 perfectly round poached eggs and a hollandaise sauce, hand cut potato fries, watermelon and grapes on the side. I really can't say enough great things about this place. So, if you are in the area, do yourself a favor and check them out!

We stayed at a lovely stay at a secluded cabin. It was really off the beaten track only 5 miles from town. So this made it convenient enough to drive into town to pick up some chocolate, wine or yarn. The back porch had a wooden swing which is where I spent most of my time in the early morning and afternoons.

The mountains were simply beautiful with bits of Fall poking through.
With such a beautiful time shared with my hubby it was time going home was right around the corner. I had to start mentally preparing for emotional breakdowns, crying over spilt milk, clothes, sunglasses, shoes being too tight, non-stop talking but also of picnics on the front porch, playing with friends, kissing hurt knees and elbows.
I did get renewed as a mother, wife but also of myself. I read Gift From the Sea, which was a perfect read for this weekend of solitude.
I didn't get many pictures of this weekend, (my camera is still in the shop), but I did get a few with my old camera. I really can't believe that I even used that old thing....it took really crummy pictures. Made me appreciate my beloved camera!

Thank you for all the sweet wishes for our anniversary.
Until next time, maybe I will be able to get a chance to upload some of the pictures.
a

Rock Crayons B&A

We received these really cool "river rocks" from a friends online shop. We were so excited to get them, having to wait for them to be ordered then to actually arrive. The excitement and and anticipation was actually done by myself. I wanted those cool rock crayons as a back-up plan. You know, like a rainy day activity or I-need-a-break kind of activity when I can reach into my magic bag and pull out a surprise. Doesn't every mom have one of those bags...may not be a bag, but some places around the house that hold activities? I know that I have a few hidden places!
Anyways, they did turn out to be a much loved art supply for O. Coloring in big strokes instead of small lines that I assume he will like a little later in his young life.

Enough of crayon talk.

I'm off this weekend to celebrate my anniversary with my hubby...6 married years.....

Wishing everyone a weekend as lovely as hopefully mine will be!

Till next week
a