Here it Comes!!

With the first day of October arriving tomorrow, the town is beginning to look a lot like Autumn. I think the local merchants, which, btw, is all of them, decorate for the seasons, but possibly none so much as for Autumn? Floridians flock to the mountains at this time of year and dare I say buy property once they see the magnificence of the miracle of changing leaves? 

Can you tell that I can't wait? 

Speaking of Floridians, Michelle messaged this morning that she and David are coming to Murphy in a few weeks for the first time since we moved here!! To say that we are thrilled is an understatement. Furthermore, our friends Keith and Patty are coming as well so it looks as if the Pecks are going to be a busy duo! 

Oh wait, we already are!

I mentioned the loofah from Sara June; maybe there are some amongst you who want to know what it looks like before it drys out over the winter? Of course you do!

We shall see how it changes as time progresses.

Rain happened a few days last week which left wet courts which left the Pecks doing projects around the house.

One of the backyard trees, what it is I'm not really sure, but a good deal of the leaves have already fallen.  One good thing about that tree is it only drops leaves.

Unlike the chestnut tree that gifts us with hundreds of what I am calling "spike balls" because they are covered with super sharp spikes. As you recall I am using a bucket and long tongs to rid the yard of their menacing presence. To date I would guesstimate we have picked up at least ten buckets full. I don't think I've shown you the black walnuts on the tree so now is a good time to do so. Nix that idea because I can't readily find the photograph, however when I was looking for it, I came across this adorable photo of Jonathan and Alissa while they were at Coney Island during their New York City visit to see Oasis. 

Oh yes, they also went to the US Open! I just love it.  Can I call it adorable when they are in their mid 40's? Why yes I can and will. :)

While I continued working on my latest quilt,

Bruce began an ambitious project as is his wont. Unbeknownst to me, the pantry construction was a little too crude for his liking so while the kitchen was slated to be painted, why not the pantry too?

Trim where it was needed, both serious sanding and caulking, to the tune of four tubes worth.

And  now we wait for the special paint to cure before loading it back up. In the meantime there are about six large boxes in the dining room that I have been rummaging through to prepare meals.

The pictures do not do it justice but trust me, it looks so nice now, but what else would I have been expecting with Mr. Peck at work? The color is not wildly different than the previous one but I think Dixie approves.

Dixie for those new to the blog is my new favorite cowgirl who is looking on. This morning he met with Grayson but is now painting away. All of the rooms he has painted have had their challenges and the kitchen has been no exception. I won't go into details, but suffice it to say that Bruce is up for the challenge, as he always is. 

Mostly I holed up with my sewing machine while he worked on the floor below.

Still I found time to watch the hummingbirds who are still loading up on sugar for their long journey. While I thought I was done making nectar, I thought wrong. 

One day as I watched a bee was attracted as well and kept bugging the hummingbird, sort of like blue jays rams into owls to make their presence known. A little size difference I grant you that, but still the same concept. The hummingbird kept batting its' wings until the bee flew away. Then they shared.

While there I noticed I have a few strawberry flowers!

The tomatoes are small but mighty!

I used one in a tomato and grilled cheese sandwich yesterday and I was pretty darn excited. Now I am channeling that excitement onto the broccoli plants I put in the ground yesterday! I most certainly will keep you posted on their progress.

An early morning walk on the riverwalk revealed this spider.

It kind of gives me the creeps, how about you?

Just when you thought to yourself that we had stayed home all week long, here she goes detailing the goodness of friends. Seriously, we have been so lucky in that regard. D'Anna invited us along with Randy and David for dinner on Friday night. Of course we said yes, especially when they offered to drive. Don't ask me how I sat on the wrong side of Randy's MINI Clubman because I did, so I just took whatever photo I could of the glorious fields and mountains.

Along the way we began noticing how the color was just beginning to change as we rose in elevation. Once we got to their home, at 3,100 feet ,we saw even more.

As you are probably well aware of now, she loves her seasonal decorating! I am trying, really I am.

David made a yummy chili, followed by her surprise dessert.

Banana pudding under those Clubman cookies! D'Anna pulls out all the old-school southern desserts she learned from her mother in Atlanta and there is a reason they have stood the test of time.

Saturday evening we went to the Hearne's charming property in nearby Brasstown. If you have been following this blog for any length of time you are undoubtedly familiar with Julie and Harry, both potters from the folk school. Plus Harry is heavily involved with pickleball. So now that you have them in mind, let's visit. As soon as I stepped out of the car, the sight of all of the goldenrod in the late evening sun was so beautiful.

All these wildflowers have appeared since I last took a photo of a nursing doe and her fawn when this was a green meadow. 

The lights are all strung between the trees, and it was cool enough for a fire and who in the world does not love a fire?

The kitchen of two artists is not like mine!

Their home is filled with eclectic art and interesting touches everywhere. It's heaven for me to visit.

Look who is there for the second night in a row. Would that be David next to Bruce.? Why yes it is.

And what was the occasion you ask? Maybe the beginning of Autumn? They are so hospitable I think it was merely because they could.

The giant gift basket Bruce won included a gift card to a local restaurant called Rib Country so Sunday after church seemed like a good time to check it out.

Plenty of folks doing the same. All the yummy barbecue joint favorites to choose from. I was also somewhat smitten with the art work because, well, I can't really say why.

Perhaps it is because I am looking for some art for the kitchen? 

Well that is all the news from Murphy and the house on Campbell Street.  Dare I say there will be more to come? Lord willing and the creek don't rise .

your friend,

Gail

The Second Day of Autumn

It's here!! In Florida, the first day of fall comes and goes without much fanfare, in part because it is still hot as blue blazes. Winter is what we long for, a time when the air is drier, the skies are bluer, and for the most part, it is perfect aside from a freeze here and there.  I read just the other day the average date for a freeze here in Murphy is about a month away. Is that what happened last year? Let's check. Going back to posts from both September and October of last year, there was frost in the third week of October!! I wrote this post about a year ago and if you were not reading Camera Crazy back then, you might enjoy it. 

The truth is that while nothing like September in Florida, we have had some hot sunny days. The heat only lasts a few hours but baby that sun is strong if you are having the pleasure of watching a young man play soccer at the high school field. 

The person holding that big umbrella had the right idea! Grayson is standing just behind the 30 yard line. In the post from last year that I linked to, the above field looked quite a bit different than on this afternoon. A homecoming football game tends to fill the stands for sure. The soccer team that the Murphy middle school played was from Cashiers, NC, a town that is quite a bit different than ours. It is 74 miles east of here and because of the winding roads it takes nearly two hours. Geographically it is not that far, but as far as economics are concerned, it is the polar opposite of Murphy with the median home price there being 1,000,000!! I mention that because watching the kids from both teams it was evident that the Cashiers kids played as if they had far more advantages than ours. Nonetheless, despite having a big early lead (six goals), our kids worked hard to make a comeback and in the end made it competitive.  The picture below is celebrating a goal made by that much smaller boy. He and number 15 were super fast and focused!

Grayson played defense and got plenty of touches.

He is wearing #3 jersey. It was nice because we got to meet more of his family at the game. This week they have away games, but we will be back during their home games. 

The game was last Thursday and on Friday I went with the pickleball ladies to Vogel State Park, organized by Camille who was kind enough to include me in her car. Bruce and I visited there once before and it was every bit as beautiful as I'd remembered.

Just before taking off on our walk, I took a group picture.

Our first stop was going to the waterfall, which although it looks like I am a hiker in the photo below, I am not!

I am far better and more confident using what is in my hand above.

My confidence is shaky at best; someone always ends up helping me down the rocky paths whereas plenty of the ladies acted as if they were taking a stroll at the mall! 

By choice, taking up the rear is my preference so I don't hold anyone back. The rest of the hike was smooth sailing as we circled the lake.

We had a nice lunch, including a large sandwich tray provided by Camille who will soon be heading back to Florida for the winter. Pictured above on the left, walking with Nancy on the right. 

Since our last visit they have completed a lovely new visitor center with some outdoor seating.

My days are all mixed up in this post, but what the heck, there is no exam so let's forge ahead. Thursday was both Soul Table in the morning and later on an annual fundraiser put on by the area clergy. Soul Table is our bi-weekly free lunch and one notable thing happened and that is that I now know how to freeze peaches.

One of the attendees brought in a mostly full large box of peaches, many of which were on their last legs. Can peaches even be on their last legs? Why not? Anyway, many people took ones that were not too horribly bruised, and then everyone went home aside from the dishwasher and his wife. What to do with a haul like that? Why take them home, cut aways all the bad stuff, peal with a knife and freeze. At least that is what I did. 

One morning, while opening the bedroom curtains I did not see any deer if that is what you were thinking that I was going to write. Nope,  I saw the moon and such a bright light adjacent to it. I knew it just had to be something because it seemed way out of the ordinary to this amateur. Indeed, after taking a few photos, I went inside and found this. 

If you look carefully you will see all three.  You've heard me say it before, but is this world fantastic or what??? 

This is what my weary cucumber plants look like these days. I picked the last good one a week ago and what you see are a few that got too big for their britches.

Following our visit to the farmers market here in Murphy on Saturday we headed towards Andrews for me to revel in the roadside sunflowers. No such luck my friends as they have already been mowed down. Boo hoo! Both sides of the road are graced with them at some point in the late summer, so I do have one photo that I may or may not have already included.

Who doesn't love a field of sunflowers? I will tell you who....a grouch! Decades ago I decorated my kitchen with sunflower everything including a wallpaper border that I used like a chair rail. I have happy memories of that kitchen with our house full of boys! 

Speaking of kitchens, I finally chose a paint color for the kitchen and Bruce painted a bit of it this morning so I could see if I was pleased with my choice. So far so good. Next week will be the reveal!

What we did go check out was the new AI complex that is underway. David, Grayson's stepdad is a FedEx driver and although the place is not on his route, he has heard they are receiving at least forty packages a day. Of course in this household, inquiring minds want/need to know. Holy Cow...there is a LOT going on at this former Coats factory. Coats as in a thread manufacturer.

Look at all these, what I think are servers. 

My photographs are not doing this giant project justice. Following the closure of the thread factory, prior to this iteration, this was a bitcoin mining place.  This link has more information and really the only reason to look at the link is because their graphic is a far cry from what it looks like now! BTW, Marble is an adjacent town, known for, you guessed it, marble.

Later on Mark and Erin picked us up for a date night with them, first to the town square of Hayesville for a small festival. Note the blue bags.

The bags contained all sorts of things but for our purposes they also contained a ticket you filled out with your name and put it in the container next to the big basket you hoped to win. More on that in a minute. Hayesville is very cute and is not a big mess downtown like Murphy. 

Don't misinterpret that because although it is taking far longer than we hoped, our town is going to be very, very cute when it is all said and done. We ran into pickleball friends if you can believe that!

Erin and Mark are on the left and that is Debbie on the right. She, too will soon be returning to Florida, Port St. Joe in particular. Oftentimes Bruce will tell people that we thought we would be doing that, however, as it turns out, we like it here more than we ever expected to!

Across the street from the square is a restaurant that everyone has raved about since we arrived. Called The Copper Door, I think Bruce and I are in the minority because for us, it was underwhelming and we were not the ones who had a full water glass pour into their lap. The server seemed to be very new and was completely flummoxed with little to no support from other staff. I have to give it to Mark and Erin, who sat through the meal with wet clothes, they remained cool, calm and collected. While we were eating, guess who got a phone call....if you guessed Mr. Lucky, you guessed right. Indeed it was a big basket chock full of, among other things, local pottery. Plus a subscription to the newspaper in nearby Clay County. 

The year-end win count for Mr. Lucky stands at four which is more than probably his entire adult life. 

The parking lot adjacent to the church is underway! 

Since I took this photo it is much further along. 

Holy Smokes, the annual clergy-run fundraiser was last week and it did not disappoint. David and Pastor Wil serving up food to the crowd.

Most of the local pastors and priests participate in the effort to raise money to help folks with rent, food and other necessities of life throughout the coming year. Think of it like a giant pot luck.

It seemed as if the crowd was bigger than last year with quite a few from our church, of whom a small sample are pictured below.

Finally because I can, I am making a new bed quilt and it is super simple. I am bringing in the precise one to help me get those blocks perfect. After I cut them out, he used a template he made and if you could have seen how inaccurate many of my cuts were, well you might be wondering why I even keep at it! Then again, you might wonder that if you saw me playing pickleball. Fortunately it is easy for me to laugh at myself and there are any number of opportunities to do so. :)

Autumn began yesterday and I am ready and excited.

In spite of being a hiking wuss, I do love picking up the goodness to be found on the forest floor and having a space to display it makes it all the sweeter. Bring it on!

your friend,

Gail