Getting Ready for Company

When we went downstairs this morning to greet the day this morning, after having spent the night in what I told Bruce I might start calling our tree house, it was nice and cool. That's the thing about the upstairs, when we open the curtains on either side, we are surrounded by big trees, so why haven't I thought of this before???

Our love affair with the house continues as we discover new things to excite us. From the front windows, as we sit on the couch watching television, the setting sun makes itself known and I pop outside to see what I can see. On this night, I believe it was Sunday, the late summer setting sun was ever so striking.

I'd actually just walked home from Vacation Bible school where I am the designated photographer and a check-in person for the week. Amazingly, they not only do it in the evening, beginning at 5:30, dinner is served and it runs from Sunday night to Thursday night. Pretty much everything is far different than when I was last volunteering for VBS. I am mostly doing what I am told! 

It has been fun watching the kids engage with one anther, as well as seeing how the teachers are so good! They are using a curriculum with a scuba diving theme and science experiments are a part of things. Our friend from pickleball, Patty, is one of the helpers and although I won't be sharing the children's photos, I imagine Patty won't mind me sharing hers

Another night, while out looking at the fading light, I saw my guy through the pretty windows, which btw, are covered with storm windows as well.

In keeping with today's title (post number 2051, but who's counting?), perhaps I should talk about it don't you think? Bill and Fallon will be here in just three days!! We can hardly wait to see her growing baby bump! It will be nice to see Bill too. In part because he will be bringing up Bruce's air compressor and nail guns so he can begin building some furniture. It is a group effort as Nancy was kind enough to first go to our storage unit looking for the guns, and then back to the condo where they actually were. It was some effort but all's well that ends well. The compressor has been in Bill's garage for the longest time, so I expect he won't mind having the added space. Now if only we would get my kayak out of there! It's been in his garage for at least three years.

So, one day last week, we went to the Home Depot in Blue Ridge looking for oak boards and plywood. While they had some oak, most everything will have to be ordered. We went home to think about it but while we were in BR we went to TJ Maxx, and a very low rent store called Rose's. You know me, I cannot resist taking photographs of things I find out of the ordinary, and who wouldn't when faced with a product like below?

Two things to consider here: who makes this ugly stuff and who buys it????

On our way home we stopped in a large antique market that moved to the area from nearby Elijay just one month before. The store was super nice as far as that sort of place goes and again, I cannot resist. 

Who knew 50 years ago, or somewhere in that neighborhood, that folks would be collecting this sort of thing??? We did buy a great pillow for the new futon we bought for, drum roll please, our other company coming in just two weeks time! 

We are so hoping it will be comfortable for Nancy, who should feel right at home in a room devoted to sewing, as she is an excellent seamstress, far more accomplished than I. Anyway, as you can see I am trying to pick a paint color that we will like AND that will compliment my latest find at the Antique Marketplace that has been our go-to for good stuff for our home.

Seeing this original painting months ago, I kept thinking about it and finally put down my $40 and took it home. And while it has been met with mixed feelings by some, I'm very pleased with my purchase.

And just when you thought we were done buying stuff, we are not. Another rug arrived and we put it down on Sunday night. 

It  goes well with the drapes, but still something felt like it was missing, that is until after seeing a photo of the room, Pam gave me some advice that I'd never heard before. Sometime in the past she'd once read that every room needs some red in the decor. Hmmmm....when we got home from church I marched out back, cutting a few of the Red Spider lilies that suddenly popped out of the ground in the last week.

Look at those fingernails!! Just dreadful (!!) as they keep splitting and breaking, something completely out of the ordinary for this blogger. But I digress. 

Pam is incredibly knowledgeable on all sorts of topics in life and decorating is no exception. I could not believe how much more vibrant it looks with the red!

Maybe I should ask Nancy to look for some artificial ones before she comes to see us with Matthew and Tom in tow. Kindly she has agreed to drive them here after they spend some time at our condo. Companies coming!! We can hardly wait, but wait we shall. 

In the meantime, we are shopping! Just kidding, but it really has been a constant as we discover things we need. Of course we did not NEED pillows for the front porch rockers, but when I saw these at WalMart for $2.50, how could I say no?

Meanwhile on the back porch the Peach Begonia is doing well.

Before I forget!

The biggest news from last week.....spraying for mosquitoes happened on Tuesday and what a blessing it has been! Apparently, with all the big trees/bushes, the larvae were having a hey-day, but no longer is that the case. I spent several miserable days last week with bites on the back of both thighs that caused my legs to swell. I tried every Cortisone cream we had, but what gave me the most relief was dousing them with a pad soaked in rubbing alcohol. Hallelujah, let the filling of the bird feeders commence!

If only I had changed out the hummingbird nectar sooner we could have enjoyed their presence this  longer this summer as they will be migrating before we know it.

Since I took the photo above, they drank all of the nectar and are into a fresh batch. 

So many birds, but not many bird photos. 

Song Sparrows are plentiful.

Have I mentioned the prevalence of spider webs yet? They not only love the brick, but they love the windows too!

Upstairs the windows are double-hung meaning we could get to the above. On the first floor I use either a broom, or us the hose jet sprayer on the house. It's really something to this Floridian. 

Friday night we called Hank to invite him to join us in Andrews for Food Truck Friday where we were meeting up with our friends Nancy and Jack. We were delighted to see him. Sometimes we get so busy with our own lives that we are not nearly as diligent as we should be! Anyway, we were happy when he said yes please!

Of course in between chatting I look around for photo ops! Not very often in my Florida life did I see anyone wearing overalls, but here it not completely out of the ordinary.

Just the lack of people still amazes us. This is just on the other side of the railroad tracks that border the park.

Yes my friends, those are goats. 

And yes, children roam around without being supervised at every turn. Since our last visit they have added these to the downtown street. Speaking of which, with company coming, it is a great disappointment that downtown Murphy is not looking it's best these days.

Last year, what they call pocket parks on the four corners of the main downtown intersection were just beautiful with flowers mounded so thick it was unimaginable to me. This year, because of the new water lines and the planned round-about, the flowers went unplanted. Mostly it is dirt right now, however, some flowers have recently emerged from that dirt which pleases me to no end. Andrews is different in that regard with mostly one main street running through it with huge hanging flower baskets. We were so delighted to see a new shop opened up, actually right behind our car pictured above. A yarn shop. Perhaps we will visit soon even though I can't knit a stitch!! I did, however, buy a few embroidery tools at the white tag sale, so perhaps I will put them to use this winter. 

I took the photo below because the sky was so impossibly blue that morning. Randy and Linda, deep in conversation, did not even notice.

I was sad that my Olympic watching was so minimal this time around as I've always been an avid watcher, however, my viewing options were limited and I've had to content myself with Youtube. Totally not the sam,e but at least it is something. The word that comes to mind when thinking of the games is majestic. I've just looked up the definition and I don't think I am too far off. With synonyms such as grand, imposing, magnificent and stately, it seems to me that it fits. The dedication it takes to become an Olympian is hard for me to fathom, year after year of training. How do they keep it up? Did you watch any badminton? That was really something. As was every single sport! The hometowns of these athletes are also darn proud. A young woman from nearby Bryson City won a bronze in the canoe slalom that was front page news in the Scout.  Lots of small places worldwide are proud of their athletes. Such joy and such sadness all in one place. That said, do you think that most of the athletes have lost so many times on their journey to the Olympics that they are immune to the agony of defeat? Some readers are too young to remember that famous slogan on the old Wide World of Sports; "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat."

Pretty dramatic as is fitting when describing sporting competitions, but maybe it works for everyday life too?  Your thougths?

your friend,

Gail

As is Common, A Smorgasbord

Good grief things are getting interesting around here!! Wow is popping out of my mouth seemingly every hour. Maybe a slight exaggeration, but not by much. Flowers are popping up out of the ground and trees are one day bare with some buds, and the next day--flowers.  As promised though, plenty more to discuss. Beginning with a super fun photo of a Pine Sisken holding on for dear life in the rain. Note the feet which is something I only just noticed. No wonder they can hang on!

Unfortunately we have had a casualty. On Tuesday of this week, I noticed some unusual behavior from this little one who had just been drinking from the collected water in our sweet sundial given to us by Jonathan and Alissa for our anniversary.

Do you notice anything unusual. I kept my eye on it and the next day I noticed this outside the window. 

I became even more puzzled. Unfortunately yesterday Bruce buried this little one in spite of us taking it indoors with the intention to nurse it back to health. Actually it didn't last long at all.

Perhaps there are some amongst you that have already identified what I was seeing, but it was all new to me. Apparently when a bird is sick or injured they ruffle their feathers. If only I had known perhaps we could have saved it. So that is one piece of sad news.

As we were heading home from practicing pb last Sunday afternoon, I asked Bruce to stop the car, not for the first time as you well know! Anyway, I was dying to get a shot of a huge blooming tree. This, my dear readers is the last photograph I took with my six year old trusty Olympus OMD. It has been by my side for lots of adventures and it is a wonder it didn't conk out when I fell on it and broke my wrist.

Literally I pushed the shutter button and it never opened again. Naturally I was diappointed, but fortunately I was able to order a new camera and the wonderful folks at B&H and FedEx got it to me in less than two days from New York. Now that is some fine service! Below is the first photo I took with the new camera,  an updated version of the old one. I believe these are plum blossoms?

I'd learned of the bush from our friend Angela and actually by the time I took this, if you can imagine, loads of the blossoms had fallen off already..

That my friends is the very definition of "pretty in pink", or maybe this is more your idea of that term?

Maybe two or three weeks ago I photographed this tree and wondered what the buds were going to be and now I know in spades as there are actually four of these Pink Magnolias lined up in a row! 

Here at Charlotte's Cottage, where the lucky Pecks are living, we've had one Crocus so far,

one of the trees has begun blooming,

as has the Forsythia. 

I've begun seeing Forsythia around town and it is going to be pretty spectacular, probably before we know it! 

And, of course there are the birds.

I believe I counted 25 in the shot above, a fraction of who was in attendance at the time as there are another thirty or forty on the ground.  Those are the Pine Siskens and Goldfinch that hang together for now, but I'm thinking I read somewhere that the PS will be moving on. Of course where else will they get this kind of treatment?? 

The Dark Eyed Junco are another bird that I believe will be migrating, so I am enjoying them while I can.

Hey you, get off of my perch!!

The weather has been mild with rainy days and sunny days in equal measure. We are good with either. I was surprised when we saw the spider webs come out in full force the other day.

Had enough of nature have you? Well let's do some people stuff, shall we? 

My sweet friend Brittany, the fab book editor and fab Christmas gift giver, whom I had not seen since Christmas. She is a woman on a mission and has no idea I am taking her photograph!

I love playing with her not only because she is so good, but she is equally as good to me when I make bad shots. Sadly, way more than I like. Let's put it this way....I do almost everything better than I play pickleball. I still try though. :)

Last Thursday we met up for lunch with our friends Jackie and Mike in Blue Ridge, GA, about twenty or so miles away. We ate at the General Ledger and it was delightful.  

We had so much to say, catching up with everything happening at church in Winter Park, that I nearly forgot to get a shot of them. As it was, I had to holler and ask them to pose for a moment! 

So, that was a good time, as was our dinner over at Hank's house. He served his favorite beef stew and we had round two of the day for good conversation.

He is loving it here in North Carolina and if I had to describe his life it would be that he is thriving in his new environment. Not that he still does not miss Carol that's for sure. But he is learning to live without her. 

Tuesday, because it was not raining, we went for a walk on top of the Lake Chatuge dam. Overcast and slightly chilly, the scenery is so special whatever the weather, it is still beautiful.

One thing I have been loving is the appearance of very tiny wildflowers, mostly on the ground. So tiny that I put my shoe alongside them to demonstrate the size. 

Aren't they adorable? While I may not describe the yellow one below as adorable, cheery comes to mind instead. I am seeing these in abundance as well.

While we were at the dam, it won't surprise some of you to learn that we had a nice long chat with Kim and Missy pictured below.

I'll have you know that we did not initiate the conversation, but we sure did jump in with both feet! Or, make that sets of feet. Turns out we had a lot in common. Missy on the left was a carpenter, so there's that. Kim loves photography and birds, and she also has twins! That's one thing about being retired, you can stand there and talk for 45 minutes and it is all good!

Mr. Peck has begun working on the chicken coop.

Per his conversation with John, we will have four chickens and they will be free range, thus Bruce is removing all of the wire that encased the framing. According to him, they will march in at nightfall. This is going to be an exciting new experience for sure.

On the new experience topic, Senior Games is very popular here and most folks we know are participating in one way or another. For example: Bruce is playing men's doubles with Cobby. Bruce and I may pair up but that will definitely not be to Bruce's advantage! See above. Anyway, there are art categories including photography and writing. Now we are talking! Yet, having never entered, I have no idea what to enter. There is a popular photographer around here who usually has that category sewn up. Her photographs are very dramatic with heavy editing that I just can't compete with. I think it was just yesterday that I thought perhaps I could enter something in black and white? What do you think?

This, of course, would tie into my newfound obsession with mushrooms, right?

Just an idea. My other idea is that there is a category for life experiences and for that I am thinking about writing an piece on what it is like to blog for so long. Does that sound interesting? I've got time to ponder on it, but seriously, the days are speeding by. It is hard to imagine that we have been here nearly eight months. What an experience!

Let's do dramatic ourselves. To God be the glory, great things He has done.

I don't know, I do love color photography. 

your friend,

Gail