It's The Wind!

Oh my goodness it is cold outside, and why should I be surprised, it is January after all. How I wish I had included the temperatures in the posts I wrote last year at this time. Writing that it was cold, but how cold, I cannot say. I read those posts because of my dim memory of all things, so now I have been reminded of what we faced at this time last year and it was not just the wind! Check out this sad post! Knowing that maybe one of you will do so, I will just say that it is about when we had Covid for the first time and how that turned out. Yikes! I do have some sort of thing going on right now which is making me cough during the night; I am thinking sinus? For the first time since writing the above post that I have missed church yesterday morning. I just didn't feel like coughing through the service and disrupting everyone.

About a half hour ago I filled up the empty bird feeders not because I wanted to mind you, but because it is only getting colder as the day goes on. My phone tells me it is 31 degrees as I write this at three in the afternoon. It is the wind though that is making it feel so much colder to the mark of 15 degrees. I know that sounds pretty inflated, but maybe not, as the gusts are something like 30mph. Plus, snow flurries happened while I was out there. Now, however, I have on three tops and leggings, the heater is blowing upwards by my desk, and I feel pretty cozy. 

Friday morning it was very cold as well, so much so that there were snow flurries on the pickleball court as we played! 

I had to laugh thinking to myself how one is never too old to do something that once seemed impossible. When we learned to play this game it is a safe bet that neither of us ever imagined we would be playing in snow flurries. Actually, about a half hour later, I told Bruce it was time to go as I was just too cold and mostly it was my fault as I had not worn the proper clothing. Cold weather does take it out of you is something we have also learned. 

Cold weather also calls for comforting food in the stews and soup category. Casseroles count to. It must have been the night when my cupboards was very nearly bare that I dreamed up this dish with Great Northern beans and chicken over polenta.

I had some poblano peppers in the fridge along with some tomatoes and now I can't remember how I spiced it but it actually turned out yummy. Woo hoo!

Remember when I made that meatloaf for John and Laura that fell apart? Do you recall me telling you that it called for three cups of chopped onions. Here's what that looked like. 

To be honest, I only am just seeing these photos because the card from that camera has not been uploaded until today. The thing is though, that this is a nice segue unto my next topic of discussion. The cast iron skillet, pictured above, is one that I bought used at the big local flea market. It has turned out to be fantastic, something I cannot say about the one I bought new in Orlando. I love this pan. 

Secondhand life. Do you remember our friend Mary saying that they have lived mostly a secondhand life?  While I have done plenty of shopping at thrift stores and the like, never before have I done so with such a purpose. That camera card included this photo of the set table and I realized that nearly everything in the photo has come from our local thrift stores.

The runner came up here with us and the flat ware is new, but the dishes, the placemats, the candlesticks, the glasses and the basket have all belonged to someone else before. We are so grateful to all of the folks that donate to the area thrift stores, whoever you are!!

When I wrote about that dinner, I included the story of how Mary had given me the cheese ball recipe some thirty years prior and I hand never made it. Well, she happened to read that post and wouldn't you know it, after decades of disuse on her part, she had recently made the cheese ball, rediscovering how good it was. How about that?

That dining table now looks like this after we took down all of the decorations. I had a number of live poinsettias inside and they do so well, until they don't. Leaves drop and they get leggy, so I cut the upper leaves off and now the sun is putting on a show on the table.  Don't you love all the new colors of poinsettias? Furthermore, lets be honest, it looks like I need to dust!

The birthday flowers from David and Michelle are still holding up and are now flanked by my birthday cards, many of which were cute or clever, none more so than that truck one from Nancy.

Count me super excited by the finally blooming Amaryllis given to us as a bulb from David ages ago!

The Cherokee Scout that we read in this very room always has articles that interest us, but in this last edition, two stood out. After our most recent Soul Table I sent three photos to the newspaper and it took a couple of weeks but here they are.

Unfortunately in an effort to fit it all in one box, the Free Produce sign was cut off, plus they left that part out of the caption despite my best efforts. Two volunteers drive to Franklin to pick up the fresh produce, many of it grown very locally. Last months offering included some black radishes, a vegetable I never knew existed. I brought one home and finally peeled off the black skin and tasted it. Although we are big radish fans in this household, but in the future, we intend to stick with red. 

Flipping through the pages I spoke out to Bruce at lunch, well here you are honey wearing your ever present pickleball hat.

How about that? There is also a big article about the accomplishments of the Main Street America program that Laura runs. What are the chances? It's all to help the community.

My last post was a wee bit negligent because I said that there are four feeders. Not true. A decorative feeder, another gift from our London lads, has been duly hung.

Fortunately there was an open spot where the hummingbird feeder usually hangs. Now if we were in Florida we would be having a hummingbird feeder right about now, although I, for one, have never had success with one there. 

Now is the time of year to head up to the sewing room seeing as college football is essentially over, although there were some fantastic playoff games in the last week. It is far too cold, at least when it is overcast and windy, to go for a walk, so lets get sewing instead.  Ever since we bought the house we have been buying seasonal pillows from Walmart for the front porch rockers, all of which you have seen before. Well, now what? 

Cue my fabric stash, thanks to Mary! 

I could not be anymore pleased with the covers all made with fabric I owned, including the fantastic paisley that is part of a group of Liberty fabrics Matt gave me years ago. Unfortunately I did not have much of it, but I still think it looks nice.

A tiny bit of quilting on the front after I changed the design a few times. I began with four big strips but thought better of it. Cutting them in two and moving them around added interest. I added a thin strip of the Liberty on the back of one of them.

And now we have some pillows until I pull out the spring ones again. Of course, knowing me, I will want to make something of my own, but we shall see. Spring is clearly a long way away.

Detailed in this post from Vancouver, which I highly recommend that you click on. but that's just me because not only would I love to see the quilt but the title, The First Day of Spring in a land where cherry blossoms etc bloom would be a big magnet for me.  Okay, I digress, let''s get to the point. Donating a quilt I made to our church's homeless ministry, I have always missed it because it was so colorful and interesting. So, why not finally make a "A Trip Around the World" quilt for us? I'm thinking perhaps in a more muted color palette to fit the season here, in other words, not so Florida-like. 

So, Saturday morning after finishing the laundry, I began sorting through my fabrics trying to come up with nine fabrics that might go well together. Having enough of each was a necessity as well.  Okey dokey, after a good deal of thought and deliberation I came up with the winners and began cutting four inch strips to make it large enough for a double bed. This was going very well until something became apparent that did not please me in the least. Can you spot it?

Should you have noticed that they are not all the same length, which in this particular pattern means it will not work, you are a winner. At least half of the above are twenty years old and back then they kept the selvage to a minimum, as well as the width a little smaller. What was I thinking? Now I am back to square one, but although a little discouraged, I will think of something.

Speaking of discouraged...wow, we just finished Job! The language is so rich in that book of the Bible I was sorry to see it end and when we began that book I thought it was going to be a chore. Onward to the Psalms!

Bruce has just purchased his material for the next house project which promises to be very exciting. Wait and see! Before that though, I believe he has just volunteered to help in building another ramp, which while not nearly as big as the last one, baby it is cold outside!!!

Standing at my kitchen window the other day I called out to the man of the house, "honey, quick I need my camera!" While it did not work great through the window and screen, it was very fun to see this Downey Woodpecker having a meal courtesy of our Rose of Sharon tree.

Oh my goodness, that reminds me. At church yesterday, Linda gave Bruce three things of bird seed because she is taking a break having found a BEAR on her front porch!! And she lives not too far from John and Laura!

On this super windy and cold day, the birds, both at our feeders and Sandy's across the street, are eating as if there were no tomorrow. As I've mentioned before birds eat a lot to keep warm. Another thing they do is stay together and puff up like this beautiful Cardinal.

And no it is not a mirror image, but it sure looks like one doesn't it? Actually I believe I saw a third one in the same area, a first for me, as they normally do not run around in a group. Love it!

Looking through my libraries for owl pictures for a friend, I came across this image that I used to have for sale. Called, "This Too Shall Pass", it sold well, in part because of the image and in part because of the sentiment that I think a whole bunch of folks cling to. I know I sure did, especially when we had four teenage sons at once! (that was taken on our counter adjacent to our refrigerator btw)

What is kind of weird, serendipitous, crazy, whatever you want to call it, although I've had this image on my desktop for a few weeks now, it just occurred to me that writing about the cold and more specifically thinking about Job and his reported life, it all sort of fits together doesn't it? Or so it seems to me. 

You know me, I love this sort of thing!

your friend,

Gail

p.s. trying to get back to posting on Mondays!  

And Then There Were Four

Seventeen Christmases ago, my sweet Bruce gave me a Christmas present, a digital camera, that would change my life. It is not very often that a gift can change a life, yet if I think about it, maybe it is not all that unusual after all? Has it happened to you? Since December 25, 2006 I have taken photographs every single day. Yup. Well there was that time I had pneumonia and skipped a week or two. Probably some other ailments kept me from "practicing" , but setting that sort of thing aside, a camera is always with me. Lots of people are in that boat these days, what with mobile phones, however when I began in earnest it was very unusual indeed.

Gosh it has been fun. 

I began this blog about six weeks after that Christmas and for all these years I have kept at it. I am behind though. 

I'm puzzling about where to start but maybe Christmas Eve will do.

Indeed that would be me in a familiar stance with a bag hanging off my shoulder and a camera in my hand. It was a glorious Christmas Eve candlelight service with beautiful music and a packed house. The youth group was raising funds by selling memorial luminaries. Bruce did one for Christian!

Should you be wondering, according to his parents, he is not only a good baby but the cutest one ever born. I just made that up, but doesn't every parent feel that way?? Well, I will say that my babies were not exactly angels but they were pretty darn cute, even if I do say so myself. :)

Although we were not there in person, we most certainly did not lack for companionship from those beautiful boys and now their loved ones, because beginning at 7:30 in the morning we visited with them either by phone or Facetime. Tom and Matt were joined by his parents, Ray and Jane, and when I saw this image on my computer screen, naturally I had to pull out my camera!

See, I was not exaggerating when I said my camera is by my side at all times! In the last post, I believe I mentioned gifts from a downtown shop were in our future thanks to Matt ordering from the only shop he could find with a website. It won't surprise you to see that all ornaments speak to our interests.

Here is where the title comes into play....Matthew and Tom gave us our fourth bird feeder as a Christmas gift and this one is unlike all of the others. Check out this link to Bird Buddy to see what it is all about. This is a terrible picture, taken through the parlor window with the screen on, but it gives you an idea what I am talking about.  It's the blue one with the camera!!There is a learning curve that we are still figuring out.

We have discussed taking down the unused trellises but then again, maybe we will put them to use this spring?  Birds, my friends, have been visiting all four of the feeders like mad to ward off the cold of which there has been plenty. The worst is yet to come. I have finally cooled off!

When we were not visiting with our sons, I was in the kitchen preparing the meal for our guests Mark and Mary Beth.

The menu was thus:

Appetizers: olives, cheese ball, and salami roll ups  (personally I don't need apps because I can only eat so much, but as they are expected, I fix them).

Dinner: Prime Rib, scalloped potatoes, spinach salad with apples/ pecans/feta, roasted asparagus and good old fashioned crescent rolls from the tube.

Dessert: The infamous sugar cookies clipped from the Orange County Register when we lived in California circa 1977. They are just so good, why mess with success?

Somehow we sat at that table for hours on end and so it was, a very excellent Christmas day. 

The ornaments from Matthew were not the only ones we received this year, Laura gave us this one.

Perhaps you recognize the building?

Our sweet friend Brittany dropped off some Christmas goodies which are pictured here along with some fantastic tea from Jonathan and Alissa. A match made in heaven.

As to the hot sauce, Nancy wisely addressed that package to Bruce. Mini, yet mighty? No thanks!

While we are on the subject of gifts, Ruth's birthday present arrived the other day and not a day too soon. The following day the wind blew like mad allowing us to experience a concert on the front porch.

Actually we could hear them indoors because of the ferocious wind. "Amazing Grace" is the name of the chimes and amazing they are indeed. 

Bruce bought me a little table for Christmas and spruced it up a bit and at the same time he fixed the front porch table that I bought before we even bought the house. That he took all apart,

using a rubber mallet.

Our house would not have nearly what it does in short order without the trusty Antique Marketplace on Peachtree Street. Reasonable too, as the little gold table was only $25.

Finally I tackled straightening out the pantry. For how long it will stay this tidy is anyone's guess, however if you guess about a month, I suspect you will be spot on.

I fully intended to write this post on Tuesday, however, fun got in the way of that. As many of you know, most of the time I just write whatever pops into my head  but on that day it occurred to me that it would be my last post while I was 70 years old.

So much for that....let 71 begin!

Michelle and David sent flowers.

Gosh it is nice having the cabinet! I mentioned fun and indeed it was a nice day, unlike last year when Mr. Bruce had a difficult case of Covid for the first time. I count myself as a very fortunate Mom because  our boys like to talk to me. Or so it seems because they called again on my birthday to wish me well. 

About ten in the morning our friends Keith and Patty came by for a brief visit!!  If you have been reading this blog for any length of time you already know that Bruce and Keith were quite the team in Orlando. Although they were visiting Blue Ridge with extended family, they made time for a visit.

Plus they brought birthday flowers which I have displayed in our office. If you are paying close attention you have deduced that flowers are gracing all of the rooms!

It was a real joy seeing them and to say that Patty liked the house is a bit of an understatement. I fully agree with her enthusiasm.

For the next bit I am just going to relate it as it happened. Because we had no firm plans after enjoying lunch at a local Chinese restaurant, about 3:30 in the afternoon we drove two blocks. No judgement friends....it was cold! 

We had arranged to meet Ken and Linda at Fairy Cross and so we did. While that sounds really early, we expected it be crowded, so in our quest to secure a table, 3:30 it was. Turns out it was not nearly as busy at that time as we expected. We had a glass of wine and chit-chatted. Is that how you spell it? So I cannot remember who exactly came next, but as the hours passed more and more folks we knew arrived. In the end we stayed until like 9:00, visiting with friends. Robert and Lisa, Julie and David, a new couple we welcomed into the circle and others I cannot remember. And yes I did drink some wine but not really as much as you might imagine given the time frame! Bill and Fallon's Christmas gift card came in very handy indeed. 

While we were there a front moved in bringing more cold weather. I popped outside when I saw this happening.

Looks pretty ominous doesn't it? Which reminds me, I've forgotten exactly what day it was last week but, wow, there was quite the overnight storm, with booming thunder and lightening that woke us up. Enough rain fell that river levels rose almost to the banks. It seems as if it was the biggest rainstorm since we have been here. 

If you recall all summer long there was nothing but a Carolina blue sky, but the drought has broken and the sky frequently puts on a show.

I am standing in the empty lot adjacent to our home.

Crazy birthday gift from Peggy alert.

Foot atop opened birthday gift which did feature Bruce's stellar wrapping skills.

Looking at this photo, I realize it also features his upholstering and painting skills as well. Speaking of that, here's the cute little table in place.

Way too windy and cold to play pickleball on New Year's day so instead we took down the tree and all of our decorations. It was such a special Christmas season we hated to see it end, but it is always nice beginning the new year with a clean slate. Although the high temperature was in the middle 40's yesterday, it felt far colder than that with the wind gusting up to 25mph. Aside from the tree which went in the basement, all of the other boxes are nicely stored in one of the closets upstairs which is really, really nice. For all of our years at the condo, storage has been an an off-site storage unit. College football games filled out the remainder of the day.

When we got in the car this morning to go on a badly needed grocery shopping trip, the story on the radio was about doing things to make yourself happy, like watching a bird through the window. And to be curious. Duh....you did not need the radio to tell you those things because you have been on a steady diet of Camera Crazy where you have learned all about those ideas. 

Let's keep it up friends throughout 2025 whether it be in your own yard or out and about. I'm pretty sure this Song Sparrow is giving me a look of curiosity. 

What do you think?

your friend,

Gail