A Captivating Tree

Since our arrival on Campbell Street, some seven months ago, I have been thoroughly captivated by the Japanese Maple tree that stands in the small front yard. Looking at the bare tree in March when we put our contract in, never could I have imagined just how much I would come to love it in the coming months. By the time we moved in on May 3, the tree was covered in leaves that at some times of the day were deep purple.  I thought to myself what will it look like in fall if it looks this amazing in the spring? May I suggest to you that it is even better? I took the photo below about one week ago and as you can see it was still multi-colored with both reds and green.

About a week later, the color is so deep red it hardly looks real.

And you do not have to remind me that I have been spending a lot of time waxing eloquent, or so it seems, about the glories of the tree, but have no fear, I am nearly at the end because the brilliant red leaves are dropping off at an alarming rate. Perhaps it was the fierce wind late last week that loosened them up.? We are all learning this together as most of my friends in Florida are as inexperienced as I am when it comes to autumn!

As has been the case most of this past year, our days are full. Between cooking meals, baking, playing pickleball, church activities, shopping, walking, and creating, the days are flying by. For Bill and Fallon they are counting the days until Christian makes his way into the world. Typing that, isn't it just something when you think about new life? When we were young, I took so many things for granted, birth being one of them. Along those same lines, when we learned we were having twins, mostly we thought about how we could not afford to have two more children, certainly two at once, never thinking about how absolutely remarkable it is to have identical twins. Now we know better. 

Muffins are an easy and yummy baking project with ingredients that I normally have, even more so since I ordered twenty pounds of flour from Costco,

that I have had to store any way that I can. I purchased the container on the right at the dollar store and it's been handy, but small. At the same time I ordered ten pounds of sugar, knowing that it would get used over the coming months. Well, the flour came intact, however, the enormous bag of sugar tore which meant I went scrambling for a container in which to store it. I dumped the remainder of the pretzels in a one  tub like above, using the pretzel container for the remainder.

The small bowl on the counter is filled with chopped apples from our trip to the orchard and I combined them with rosemary to make a tasty muffin indeed, one that is both sweet and savory. Haha, I am so in love with it, I included it in my last post!

As you can see, those counters get very busy but I am figuring it all out as I go and so far it has been manageable.

Tuesday Dottie asked me if I could help her with the Christmas decorations in the morning. While I agreed, I told her I was not great with seasonal decorating. Maybe because I have had so little practice? Whatever the case, she assured me that she would instruct me as we went along. I met her on the third floor where she was already busy. I had three tasks, one of which was to clean the glass in the candle holders.

Any soot left over from last year came off with ease. Although there were plenty of wreaths, she made them even better, adding decorations where she felt it was too empty. Another task was to fluff up about ten, eight foot pieces of artificial garland that was hung like this following church on Sunday. Looking at it just now I am reminded that I put batteries in as well.

One of the things that we so like about this church is that the pastor is very involved, not asking from the congregants more than he is willing to do himself. Plus, because he is so young, he is silly as well. 

That would be Mr. Peck in the blue vest. All in all, I believe Dottie made/enhanced nearly twenty wreaths, including this huge one.

Another job she assigned to me was to fluff up all of the poinsettias, something that would never have occurred to me to do. It all came together nicely; many hands made light work.

Plenty of wreaths inside and plenty on the outside.

It was with great joy that we welcomed Mary on Wednesday afternoon. The day began with rain so no pb for this couple; instead we fiddled around the house. Once she arrived, the rain had disappeared and we wasted no time, getting busy right away. We went to the river walk and made a plan to meet Bruce at the wine shop around five. Something that was so good turned out to be that Mary and I are both mindful walkers, or that is the name that just popped into my head. As you already have learned, most everyone is in a big hurry and it is always hard for me to keep up. Not so with Mary though as her steps are just as measured as mine.

Because we had rain overnight, as well as in the morning, the water level was higher than it has been for more than a month.

Should you be wondering why I include that sort of thing, wonder no more. It serves as a guide for me of this strange new world we are living in.

Heading to see her daughter in Memphis for Thanksgiving, we were grateful she went out of her way to visit us. On Thursday we had Soul Table which we really couldn't miss, however, she was game for that, eating lunch with one of our friends. While we were at the church early, Mary went to the nearby urgent care for a UTI. When she did get to the church she remarked on how caring everyone was, something that we have experienced for ourselves. Afterwards, we shopped around downtown before returning to the house to be prepared for our dinner guests which turned out to be a dinner guest as Randy had driven to Atlanta earlier in the day and was just plain pooped. Because the weather has turned cold I made a big pot of chili, as well as a Mexican Chocolate cake. Simple, but good. David brought an Amaryllis in a box and after reading the instructions, Saturday I soaked the cake in my small basement waste basket, using the sink down there that has proven to be invaluable.

We shall see! 

What came next was wind and plenty of it. Friday morning the group was slated to go on a hike, however it was canceled due to the potential for inclement weather. Time for plan B. 

First we drove over to Andrews to check out a new coffee shop that we had heard might be right up Mary's alley. Sure enough, she enjoyed it.

From there we drove to Hayesville with the idea of walking along the dam at Lake Chatuge. During the drive we saw some trees with colorful leaves hanging on for dear life.

The earlier rain gave way to the blue skies we have become accustomed to by the time we arrived at the dam over Lake Chatuge where we planned to walk, with planned being the operative word. Not only was it super cold on top of that dam, it was incredibly windy with my hair whipping every direction and covering my face. I know it sounds super wimpy but take a look at how the surface of the water looks.

Practically waves in what is otherwise super calm water. We should have known when we pulled up and there was but two other cars in the parking lot! Although we got a start, my nerves got the better of me and even though intellectually I knew we could not get blown off the top of the dam, I still asked if they minded if we turned around and went back the way we came. Fortunately they agreed.

Driving back into town, we had lunch at a familiar place that has a new name and owner, roamed around an antique shop, eventually returning to Murphy where we returned to Latasha's boutique for Mary to shop. You have read about Latasha in this space before, however, not with the sad news that her young husband died recently, as well as unexpectedly. Seems like death is a familiar theme right about now as our friend Pam's mother died last week, Lamar died, and just two days ago Jonathan alerted me to the sad fact that an old friend, a woman a few years younger than me from when the kids were young, also died. Oh yeah, Matt's best friend's grandmother died as well. Yikes! 

Mary is such a good friend and her stock has risen even further because, God bless her, she brought my fabric here in the back of her SUV. After she left Saturday morning, I visited with my fabric, sorting it and in general admiring my stash.

Note three very large baskets filled with goodness, including two Christmas stockings!! Hurray! Here I am auditioning fabric for a new quilt for the guest room.

Meanwhile Bruce made a frame for an oil painting I'd purchased a few weeks ago at an antique store.

Although it was in progress when I took this, soon it will be on the wall.

Painted in 1975, the artist's name is on the front but who that person was is a mystery.

What is not a mystery is some exciting news that I received while writing this post. Plans are in place for Fallon to have an induction on December 2 in the evening so it seems as if Christian will be born on the 3rd of December. Their lives are about to change in a big way. 

If anyone should know it is your friend's the Pecks!

your friend,

Gail

Early July in the Mountains

Once again, I hardly know where to start. Not writing a post for eight days is not ideal, however, yesterday after going with others on a hike to Benton Falls, this blogger just could not get it together, in either body or mind to write. Now, however, I am in good shape. Plus, we skipped pickleball this morning which leaves me three extra hours which hopefully will be sufficient time for us to catch up. You will spend about five minutes, whereas I will enjoy spending a few hours.

Tuesday last week, I walked to the church to meet up with two other ladies in order to count the offering. Apparently this is done by two volunteers each week with two trips to the bank included. Of course that part is pretty easy as it is just down the street. During our walk to the bank, Janie and Lorie, two Murphy natives, told me that our house was built by the Candlers who once owned a department store downtown. Our previous information turns out to have been incorrect. Giving credence to this new information is the fact that Lorie's husband's grandparents lived two doors down and when they died, said husband whose name I cannot recall, and his parents moved into the house on the corner. One of his memories was of being a young person going around the neighborhood collecting for the American Heart Association, and as he recalled, Mrs. Candler was quite generous because her husband died of a sudden heart attack. Well, I guess all heart attacks are sudden, but in this instance they were visiting family in South Carolina when it happened. Armed with this new information, that it was the Candlers, not the Chandlers who built this house, I went in search to learn what I could. Well, I learned quite a bit including this article detailing the marriage of their daughter with the reception held here in the year after the house was built. I so remember a time when the gown was described in such detail because even in 1973, my gown was given a full write- up in Bruce's hometown newspaper in Adams, NY. 

Speaking of small towns, it has been over a week ago that we met up with Jack and Nancy in Andrews for their Friday night food truck event which has a fancier name that I cannot recall. Because it has been quite warm here, it was with a bit of trepidation that we went, but as it turned out, the park in Andrews was quite comfortable and the scenery cannot be beat.

Mark and Mary Beth (l), who live in nearby Marble, joined us. 

No doubt we are in Appalachia.

Although this was our first time attending this event, it won't be the last as it turned out to be most pleasant. The drive to Andrews is about twenty minutes during which time you encounter very little traffic. Which meant that when the rodeo was advertised in Andrews for this past weekend, we decided to go. It was our first rodeo so I really had no idea what to expect, but what I did know was that the setting was good. Andrews is in a valley, surrounded by mountains, and the natural beauty of that town exceeds that of Murphy. 

I was most happy when we walked up and found those amazing port-o-lets, something I never imagined typing! They are so clean and the fellow standing beside them cleans them after each user. What a relief! Arriving, it was a very casual entrance, to say the least. Hand over a $20 and you are in.

The barrel racing was our favorite with beautiful horses ridden by pretty girls. Whoa...showing my age, right? 

Because we arrived early, our seats were on the top of the bleachers, something both good and bad. An unobstructed view was the good thing, the bad thing was getting up there! And getting down with no handrails! Ever since breaking my wrist twice, I have become a very tentative person. 

A variety of pretty horses.

Gotta love a palomino.

The announcer asked for any children that weighed 50 pounds or less and wanted to try their hand at mutton busting, or so that is what he called it, and much to my surprise, parents let their children give it a go, so to speak. One little guy holding on for dear life was the winner.

Eventually he faltered, or you might say the mutton gave him the heave ho, but he popped back up to claim the prize. 

Those boots!! That hat!!

Another event was equally as surprising in that this time he asked all children between five and twelve to enter the ring in order to chase a calf with a red ribbon tied to its ear. The kids just kept on coming..

By the way, in true form for here, we saw four different people we knew including our friend Gerrie, seated in the navy blue top in the foreground. She is 83 and plays pickleball with us when she is in town, otherwise, when she returns to Sarasota for the winter it is tennis. We both just love her! 

Anyway back to the action.....

There was some bull riding (scary) but according to our friend Brittany, who was there with her family, this was not the best introduction to a rodeo as they were mini bulls. Big enough for us!! Now we can check that off our list of new experiences.

I finally joined the gym in order to cool off in the water and at some point, perhaps I will go to the water aerobics classes.

I was most proud of myself for swimming twelve laps, albeit in two sets of six. And while it has been hotter than I would like, it is still not Florida hot!

Walking to the library, literally two blocks away, I saw some neat things that I was thinking of sharing, but other stuff happened and that idea went by the wayside. Actually, I walked around the block first, admiring my neighbor's homes.

We enjoyed a lovely party at Shannon's house, the one with the pride flags in front, on 4th of July. Wonderful food and good company. Her home is beautiful and she tells us it was built by the Candlers for their daughter, which makes sense as it is behind ours and across the alley from the Presbyterian Church where Mr. Candler's funeral was held. (All stuff I learned from the old newspapers) 

In front of the senior center was this lone stem of Gladiolas in a bed of Hosta.

I'm pretty sure that these would not be found in a stack for sale at our Orlando library. Maybe in Kissimmee?

The two week check out time is not my favorite part of the library, although I can renew online, I am so used to three weeks, that it has taken me by surprise. Plus my reading time has so diminished I don't even know why I check out more than one book at a time! Perhaps in the winter I will have more time to read, or so I'm thinking.

I passed by the history center that I plan on revisiting to see if there are any mentions of the Candlers.

We held Soul Table on the 4th of July and Dottie made popcorn to go with all the other traditional foods. I do so love popcorn.

One thing we recently did is water the garden at The Orchard House, aka, John and Laura's, while they were out of town. She planted it before we left, and it is doing very well in spite of the lack of rain. Plus the deer have stayed away which is most welcome. 

I must say it felt sort of weird being there and not staying. They found, during our stay, that it is far easier having a long term renter, so a friend who was looking for a new place to stay, has moved in. Thank gosh our new home is lovely because leaving here was not easy.

If you have been reading for any length of time you have seen that tree outside the window filled with birds when it was bare. 

Speaking of our new home, the Hydrangeas are withering, but still look beautiful.

Ta da!! Finally the quilt is put together for quilting, which is actually the act of sewing the three layers together. I've got a start on it now and hope to head upstairs soon to keep going. 

Having the space to lay it out was amazing! Of course Bruce helped me get it all straight and trimmed. What would I do without that man? Here's a bit of good news as to him, aside from the fact that he is so happy with his shop, and that is that he has been doing some hand exercises which are helping him greatly. We shall see how long it works, but for now his pain has diminished greatly. 

When we bought the house the Japanese Maple tree was bare. The it was super burgundy and now it is changing again. 

Those little dangling things are seeds, although I read it is hard to get them to grow. Apparently they are prone to flight once they become loose enough. Spreading their seeds to the wind if you will. Maybe, just maybe, someone else will get lucky and have a seedling grow and thrive in their garden. There is something really profound about that when you stop and think about it. 

It's a wonderful world folks. 

your friend,

Gail