Surprise, Surprise!!!!

My friends, we have carrots.

Not very many but the fact that we actually have some usable carrots is something to be celebrated. Before you go thinking I am crazy,  many people have told me that they are hard to grow. No one told me that if you just let them alone, eventually they will produce and by golly they have.

It was another rainy weekend, this time from the effects of the hurricane with the absurd name. It may be a fine name, but when one has to explain how to pronounce it, I'm thinking that is just plain silly. 

But I digress...

In the end, at our home, the effects were minimal, nearly non-existent in fact, with less rain than the previous weekend. That said, David and D'Anna had leaves and branches everywhere with one tree that came down on their entry gate which knocked out some of the electronics of said gate. After spending a week in Hilton Head they were refreshed, but darn if they wanted to come home and have to work so hard!

But back to the carrots; I'd decided to pick them, come what may, because they were getting so big after nearly eight months in the ground. With the wet soil, it took only a little tugging and look what came up!! I was expecting more like the one I showed you in my last post. Click on the link should you want a refresher. At any rate, I used one of them in a quick soup I made last nigh and it was good!! Now I can't wait to plant again! With the carrot tops out of the way, there is now more room for the growing broccoli that I am hoping will be a success. As we have demonstrated, only time will tell!! That Italian parsley is something else.

Book ends of rainy weekends with gorgeous sunny days in between has been the scene here in Murphy. Many days begin with fog which I love.

Why the sky was full of color on Friday night is a mystery because darn if it didn't rain the next morning.

There was a killer sunset at the football game on Thursday night. 

Some observations from the bleachers:

1. Grayson was put in for one play:

That would be him wearing #10.

2. He has been disappointed not getting to play, so I am happy that I was able to get him on the field.

3. The cheerleaders provide constant entertainment especially when they got their chance to shine during halftime.

Note their opponents cheerleaders watching from below the bleachers. Whether that is tradition, being respectful, or trying to learn the Murphy tricks I am not clear. For sure it would not take long to learn the cheers, most of which include spelling. Pray tell what does that mean you wonder? 

Come on Murphy!

Let's get a 

T-O-U-C-H-D-O-W-N!

Perhaps you can think of others? They certainly have and it's great fun to observe. This time we sat at the top of the home side and Bruce wished he'd brought a jacket. On the other side of the spectrum, I was delighted with the cooler weather.

Here is another of those sweet girls.

Lots of my pickleball friends are quilters and many have great stashes of fabric. Mentioning to Lori that I was working on a scrappy quilt, I asked if she had any scraps she might want to contribute. By golly, she came through BIG time, bringing me three small tubs of not just scraps but 2" strips of a huge variety of fabric, none of which I have. This was more than I could have hoped for so with the rainy weekend, I did some cutting, sewing and sorting.

Using that pictured bed tray (previously purchased at a thrift store with no plan in mind), I put them together in pairs after trying to mix them up on the floor!

So the tray is first followed by sewing the pairs together, followed by sewing pairs together which is what you see in the above photo. I sew them together in a long chain.

Then I press them and put those pairs with another set of pairs and there is one block. Then the blocks go together side by side and there is one row with 104 pieces. Now you know why I wanted more fabric! I have yet to decide how big it will be, but suffice it to say there will probably be well over a thousand pieces. I know it may sound tedious to some but creating things makes me happy. 

One evening we popped into Fairy Cross and were treated to Rick's father playing the accordion. I know what you are thinking-- who likes accordion music? Turns out we do when he is on the other side of the keyboard. Playing since he was four years old, he has practiced daily for 84 years!!! 

We were shocked to learn that he is 88. Maybe it is because there are a disproportionate amount of senior citizens here that we know so many people who are thriving in their 80's and 90's? Must be the mountain air!

I have no idea how we had an open morning but we did so we drove to Hayesville to do a little thrifting and antiquing. On our very first time going to Murphy we stopped at this neat place on our way.

Our home is now outfitted to our liking, but I was on the hunt for some tiny salt and pepper shakers because I have moved some atop the door frames in the kitchen. 

Jam packed in places, but mostly everything is displayed neatly.

We love going to these sorts of shops that have such a huge assortments of bygone things. Just look at that big camera that was once thought to be the latest and greatest. It's something to think about isn't it? So many trendy things will be obsolete with other latest and greatest items taking their place. 

Sort of like us I guess. 

Seventy six trombones is how Nancy described Larry's age.

While we immediately got the reference, our sweet young server was befuddled. Apparently she is not a fan of old movies! 

On our drive home from Hayesville, Bruce stopped so I could take photos of the huge roadside stand of orange zinnias!! A delivery truck pulled up behind him alongside the road, coming into the field to take photos as well.

Apparently he likes to stop every day on his delivery route to take photographs, although to tell you the truth, it was not the ideal time of day to do so because the sun was so bright! He called out that a Monarch was in his vicinity on the other side of the huge stand. I was busy taking photos of this American bird grasshopper. Who knew?

Also I spotted a bird amongst the flowers, however I could never get a clear look, but I did get a few butterfly photos that in a month or so we will be greatly missing.

Indeed, the Monarch.

Yesterday afternoon I went for a walk, hoping to see some color. While there was a little,

mostly the trees looked dry despite the weekend rain. Now I am far from an expert on these things but one friend is convinced the summer drought did us no favors in more ways than one. 

Gosh, there's that time will tell again! For probably two months Bruce has been working hard, in conjunction with Larry, on the plan to finish the new church parking lot. While it is usable, much of the original plan has not been completed. As such, there was a meeting on Sunday after service and a vote taken on whether or not the congregation wanted to go forward. After plenty of questions and discussions, the vote was for completion. And now it will be Bruce's responsibility to make it happen. And you thought he'd retired!! 

Baby Christian is no longer such a baby and will turn two next month, the day after Thanksgiving. We can't wait to see our entire Orlando family and as it turns out our Austin branch will be joining us at our condo. If we were there right now we would most certainly go to the budget meeting on Saturday where the proposed monthly dues increase will be discussed. Apparently the natives are not happy and who can blame them after just getting through the $16, 000 roofing assessment. Yikes!! That means us too! That surprise fits right in with today's title because we had no idea until one of our neighbors informed us. 

Meanwhile I am thanking God that we are not there for the bickering and backstabbing. Instead, I will continue to be grateful for my beautiful geraniums,

just one of a great number of things we love about our home in North Carolina. 

From my desk inside that home, I wish you a good day and many, many more to come!

your friend,

Gail

Our Little Town

Walking out on the front porch in my bare feet a short time ago, the concrete was cool from the lowering overnight temperatures.  Fog cannot hide the signs of the season, such as Sandy's 75 foot tall red maple changing to it's namesake color. The painters have finally returned to the house across the street after a few weeks away. I'm dying to see the colors that have been chosen. Soon I will know.

It's meant to be a sunny day, matching the previous days of this week. What a shame that rain hampered the attendance to the weekend festival.

While it was not raining when we arrived, an hour or so later it began. Actually, probably about the time we saw the bagpipers walk by, a group that can be heard long before being seen!

Most things become trendy again and I think the same holds true for macrame as we saw more than one booth with some creative use of the craft.

For Bruce no festival is complete without lemonade. I am ambivalent about the drink. 

So many folks in our region rely heavily on the income they make at the festival so having two days of rain, albeit mostly gentle, is so challenging. Normally at the time Bruce was getting his lemonade, there would be a line twenty deep.

This path above clogs with people heading to the food trucks and the festival barn where Appalachian music and dancing is celebrated, keeping the old traditions alive.

Our friend Marji said her sales were down by a huge percentage. I do remember those days and do not miss them for a minute!! 

That same night we went to the Big Brothers fundraising gala where the theme was Dirty Dancing. We did our best to look a little festive using what we already own. I rolled Bruce's jeans up, along with his plaid short sleeved shirt sleeves and he slicked his hair a bit. I wore a swirly skirt, sweater with pearl-type buttons and white Keds. Our friend Ann was kind enough to buy the $100 ticket and I'm glad she did because we had fun.

Well how about that....Mr. Peck is behind her perusing the silent auction offerings. John donated a five piece set of Adirondack furniture for the audible auction. He and Laura just returned from a biking trip in France. They do love their exercise! The wineries along the way don't hurt.

At the event these folks were getting a little exercise of a different persuasion.

Following church on Sunday, Bruce and I went to Valley River Brewing for lunch. I'm not a beer drinker but I do love their food. We mostly always like to sit at the bar and chit-chat a little with whomever is working. A family run pizza and more restaurant, on this day the daughter was behind the bar and we got to talking about watching sports. She claimed she was not much of a fan.

We had been talking about football, however, when asked if she liked watching any sport, she answered that women's lacrosse was her favorite. I did not see that coming!! 

Taking a walk through town on Monday afternoon, most all of the dogwood trees are beginning to show their fall finery.

Here's another view of town from the other side of the street.

On another day I walked through town on my way to the riverwalk, rather than go down the street closest to our home. Along the way I saw some things that you might find interesting.

I remember going in the visitor center when we first arrived. I could never have predicted that we would make Murphy our home. NEVER! On this day I met about three couples visiting Murphy for the first time that I was able to help by either answering questions, or giving directions. How about that? 

Would you just look at the pollen on this sunflower plant I came across! I had no idea they dropped so much pollen until I displayed them in our home. 

Walking through the streets adjacent to the train tracks, I had fun watching these mockingbirds strutting about which is maybe not a good way to put it but I can think of no other!

Morning glories graced a fence post,

I noticed a Downy woodpecker having his way with carport rafters.

It was so crazy that when I backed up a bit, look who was watching me from the roof.

Do you see the giant spiderweb in the bright sunshine.

A closer look.

The golden color of the large one was unique to me.

Back on Campbell Street, the geraniums continue with an abundance of blooms. The hydrangea plants are finally blooming!

I was beginning to think that it was just a bad year for these beautiful flowers as my neighbor's normally prolific bloomers have been mostly bare. They are so pretty as cut flowers and last a good long while indoors. I don't think the picture below does justice to this bloom's size which is actually about eight inches wide!

In the garden the dahlias are still showing off.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined me being someone who has dahlias that bloom like mad. I remember once paying a pretty penny for a few dahlia plants in Orlando and they wilted in the heat. Talk about a joy! 

Every day I am picking green beans, the okra is still producing, as are the shishito peppers. Here's something funny....take a look at a six month old carrot.

Isn't that a hoot? The tops are so lush one would think a lot was going on underground but one would be wrong!  Alas....there still are some in the ground that I will just leave until a freeze comes along. 

A few tomatoes are hanging on, while the herbs are going gang busters. It's sure been fun to have a garden. I was telling Bruce, as I put some okra in the fridge, that I really cannot believe that I grew this food. Not bad for a city girl!

On an afternoon when we were sitting on the porch talking on the phone with David, Bruce saw one hummingbird, but none since. Seemingly they are on their way. Don't get me going on the miracle of migration. The zinnia plants are so darn tall now that they are blocking my view of the bird feeders from inside. 

Raising the feeders has been the ticket...no more trouble with Lucifer who I will have to rename as he has changed his ways with a little help from Bruce.

Leaves are falling in our back yard but it is so crowded with trees, here's the only view to show the changing color.

Since I took the photo, more leaves have fallen and we can now see a bit of the sky.

While I was picking up two buckets of the chestnuts, aka spike balls, I was thinking about how amazing seasons are and how well organized and planned everything is. I had never once thought about how when the leaves fall, more sunlight can reach us allowing for a bit of winter warmth. Of course if one lives where it is gray and gloomy all winter, this does not apply, and I am sure that there are benefits to those places, but being a Florida girl, I do like a bit of sunshine whatever the season. 

Then again, I like life in all it's many forms. And the mountains...oh my what a treat.

Talk about purple mountain's majesty!! 

your friend,

Gail