The Heat is Gone

Yippee! It is 51 degrees as I type! The forecast for the next ten days has the highs mostly in the 70's, and even some days with a chance of rain, albeit slim. Obviously I don't know what to make of it but I've heard from a few folks that because some leaves are already beginning to change, it means a colder winter, while others claim it is because of the lack of rain.  Then others claim who knows? 😀

Apparently, Orlando is drowning in rain, whereas here, there has been so very little. 

Our Japanese Maple tree continues its' changing ways, yellow, orange, green, you name it. After I began writing this entry earlier this morning, I went outside to see what I could see. Running into two women who were walking the neighborhood with their walking sticks in hand, I asked them how long they have lived in the area. 37 years as it turns out. Posing the question about the changing leaves, she is in the drought camp. Asking me if was I staying in the bed and breakfast that was within eyesight, I answered no I was not, but I do live across the street. Further into the conversation she expressed the opinion that this amazing tree would next turn red, something that will delight me to no end.

Labor Day was spent with friends at Cobby and Diane's house, mostly outside on the deck, over top of a babbling brook, fed by a small waterfall.

Oh my goodness, my photo library is acting crazy showing a jumble of photos taken many moons ago, such as this one of a Sandhill Crane colt.

A gorgeous pair of Barred Owls!

But that was then, and this is now. Let's see if I can find them.

Here we go....

They each have a grill and one to spare as well.

Here's the group with Florida heavily represented, although there are some Georgians, South Carolinians, along with Alabama which is where Diane is from. Oops, I forgot Texas. In other words, all transplants!

We were slightly less busy the rest of the week, or at least I was. The same could not be said for Mr. Peck as he has been working many days over at the ramp which looked like this after Saturday's work session. 

Dr. Dan sent the photo with Tom and Jane in the doorway. Much of the pictured hand rails will look more like the posts you see in the foreground when it is complete. Many men have contributed lots of hours as well, but it won't surprise you to learn that Bruce is over there as I type! Tomorrow afternoon more volunteers are coming, including our pastor, to help get this project done. 

It is a good thing we are close to town since I am left without transportation other than my feet! I used those feet late Saturday morning to pick up something I had on hold at the marketplace. While I won't show that because it might be a gift, I will show off another goodie, this amazing find for $30.

The minute I got home I carried it upstairs, hanging it on one of the many walls beside the bathroom. It is signed, Love, Oma, Christmas 2004. The work is impeccable, and it is so vibrant and cheery, it is my new favorite piece! 

Speaking of the stairs, one of the things I most love about this house is the light and now that the heat is mostly gone, the light has softened. Heading downstairs, which btw, I hold on to both the rail AND keep my elbow against the other wall, the light was so good I had to go and get a camera.

Easing your mind further, there is a rule in this house that the overhead light must be turned on before either of us goes down. 

That pretty light was coming in from this room.

While on the subject of lighting, I forgot to show off this adorable candle holder that Matt and Tom gave us! It is so cute and especially fun when lit up at night.

Isn't it just the cutest? We think there are maybe three hummingbirds that come to feed, one of which tried to find nectar in the above. They much prefer, drinking like mad of late, apparently in preparation for their upcoming migration.

With the onset of cooler weather, while Bruce has been gone, I have returned to walking ways in order to be up close and personal as the new season approaches. I came across something mysterious on my walk along the river the other day. My usually trusty iPhone was of no help in identifying this which was strewn about in several places. It is not cotton, or anything I've see before.

Here is something kind of fun. For the most part, when presented with an image of something, AI is doing a pretty darn good job, however, the mushroom below stumped it. A coral reef? I think not.

All summer I have not seen a mushroom to save my life, however, I came across some biggies on this walk. These were one of four different batches in one tree!

Here's another tree.

In addition to the mushroom sightings, I as lucky enough to come across one of what I have now learned is called a "Kindness Rock". 

The most amazing thing about this is that about a day after I took the above photo, Cynthia texted with the news that she and Ann were slated to teach a class on painting "Kindness" rocks! Because I have come across about four in my wanderings I was able to send her those images for inspiration, along with a Facebook page called, Murphy Rocks.  Isn't life just so fun?

This place was along my route to the river walk. RC Cola used to have a plant in town back in the day.

Something about seeing that broom beside the door just made me pick up my camera. Lots of texture going on as well!

 We've got mums in the house my friends, or more accurately, outside the house. I told you the weather was cooling off!

There was but one pot of white ones at Lowes, and as it turns out, not completely white! I moved the red begonias outside the back porch on the top of the red steps.

According to AI we have a European Beech tree, which may or may not be true, but whatever the tree is called, leaves have been falling for the last two weeks.

Wonder of wonder, last Sunday there were clouds in the sky and actually, on our way home from Mark and MaryBeth's lovely dinner party, it rained.

When I tell you the sky is blue, and all the way blue I really mean it. Linda and Randy having a chat after church on a nothing but blue sky kind of day.

Hopefully you are still reading and if so I have but one more story to share. Actually I have more, but if I want to keep my readers, I must learn to be more succinct! Anyway, as I was walking home from through town on my walk, I came across something I had yet to see and that was what appeared to be a family band performing outside of Cherokee Cellars before the evening's Art Walk began.

Live music is such a thing here in town, with the above group one of three scheduled to perform that night! 

Once home, and after resting for a few minutes, because although it may not seem like much, some of the hills are pretty steep for a Florida family! Anyway, we went first to Marketplace, running into Bob and Kem who told us that a good band was playing later at the Mason Bar. Okay, thanks for the info. But first we saw the chainsaw artists in the town square.

As well, we popped our head into the Ballroom where the Rotary Club was holding a book fair.

As is so often the case, conversation ensued and I learned that the woman I was speaking with had lived in Orlando for years. Bruce on the other hand was wearing his pickleball shirt and that always sparks conversation. That said, they moved to Murphy from Albuquerque, New Mexico, a place renowned for a bit hot air balloon festival, which she claimed was the only good thing about the place! 

Finally, I'm nearing the end! 

Indeed we did stick our head into the Mason Bar, discovering loads of folks we know and a very good band as well. Kem and Bob (cowboy hat) are out on the dance floor.

And here's the thing, a little later I was too! Saturday I was still smiling thinking about Heidi, a woman we just met, asking me if I wanted to dance. She also asked for my phone number so there was that. Actually they moved up not long ago from Venice, FL and the more people she meets the better for her. 

Secondly, I was thinking that one thing that I really like about here is that it is okay to be old. An article published this week in the Cherokee Scout cited a recent study about North Carolina demographics, and Cherokee county has the second oldest median age in all of North Carolina, making up 52% of the population. In the coming weeks they will be delving into those numbers in more detail, so while it is good for us, maybe it is not so good for the area? We shall see what they report.

On a lighter note, the heat is gone and I am a happy old lady who hopes she does not have to eat her words!

your friend,

Gail

Let the Painting Begin!

As is so often the case for all of us, the days fly by with all manner of activities. So often people exclaim that they are busier once they retired then when they were working, and perhaps there is some truth to that. I'm not entirely convinced, in part because our memories are faulty. In any case, most of us have plenty to do, so I very much appreciate you taking the time to keep up with Camera Crazy! 

Before we delve into painting, I did finish the quilt after seemingly forever. The inspiration fabric for the quilt is this wild print that I saw at Hobby Lobby, who knows when. Maybe before we came to North Carolina last summer? At any rate, I found the fabric, then chose about twelve others using the same color way, a term I learned from our friend Irene, who now lives in our condo community but is selling her place to move further afield. Now that I think of it, she will feature again a little further down this post. Anyway, here it is with the binding strips I made atop it.

As you may recall from this long term saga, I bought the blue in a whole bunch of pieces from the nearby craft sale at the fundraising for the library. Come to think of it, fundraising will be mentioned again too as it is a constant in this part of the country. This is Appalachia after all.  In the photo above I am trying to remember how to join the two ends of the binding to make a mitre. But first I had to sew all 375 inches onto the quilt. Please note the presence of curtains that my darling husband hung! 

Once I remembered how to join the ends, I sat down with a needle and thread and spent probably eight hours, or something like that, sewing on the binding. Good thing I had sports to watch while doing so!

The finale is a trip to the washing machine, followed by the dryer and there you have it.

In spite of washing in cold water, the quilt is still a tiny bit smaller than I hoped for. Well, that is homemade for you! No complaints here.

Honestly thinking of complaining, the only thing recently that has not brought out the best in me was a trip to the movie theater.

Oh my word was the movie terrible! While we lived in Vancouver, this happened twenty floors below. Even if you are no fan of Deadpool, most folks are interested in movie star sightings and mine was a good one! Vancouver is a hot bed for film production and since Ryan Reynolds is from there, the site is a natural for him. While I tolerated the previous two movies, this one was really hard for me to sit through. The good news is the cost of attending is merely $5.50 for the evening show, so there's that. 

Shall I jump into painting now? I think so, but not before I show off the beautiful cake stand that Pam brought as a housewarming gift when they visited a month or so ago.

The stand is beautiful and the cake was delicious so a match made in heaven. What I want you to note is the wall color. Okay, that is what I am now calling a faded yellow color. Now there is not a thing wrong with the color, but since we like a little more of a jazzy look (see quilt above), after much, much deliberation, we chose an historic Arts and Crafts color by Sherwin Williams called Hubbard Squash. We did, however, have it made at our local paint store on Tennessee Street owned by the Hughes. Lovely folks, and part of our mission to buy local when possible. 

In the past I would choose a paint color by a name that I liked, think Dancing Green for example, or just because I felt like changing things up. This time around, none of that was in the cards as we did not want to make a mistake, if at all possible. The walls are heavily textured plaster that required a thick napped roller. The room feels so elegant now. Oh my goodness, it is something else. As mentioned earlier, Irene was to come into play again and it is because she has used a similar color in all of her living spaces wherever they may be. 

While not well portrayed in this photo, on the right is a new art piece I bought at, you guessed it, Downtown Marketplace!  I cannot tell for sure, but it seems as if it is painted on silk and depicts deer! I will await the arrival of Matthew and Tom who are far more well schooled in art than I! And here is a daytime look.

The living room will soon be Ruskin Room Green, another in the Arts and Crafts line. I will admit to being a wee bit nervous in advance. but we are thinking it will give the room more depth and a richer look. Not as in money richer, but in a deeper feeling. Does that make sense? We shall see.

Speaking of a rich, deep look, rarely do we have much of sunset, or at least that is visible here. Last night, on the other hand, I could see by the reflection on the porch wind chimes,

that the sky would be putting on a show and what a show it was. I walked around the block, seeing the reflection on the courthouse through the trees.

Seriously intense! Plus, what I am thinking were Chimney Swifts were flying around like mad.

Now, let us have a little look around the yard, including this!!!

I was so pleased to have gotten a nice hummingbird shot. The Rose of Sharon is putting on a new show, but at the same time leaves are yellowing and dropping like mad. Plus many of the buds remain closed before falling to the ground below. I have no idea what is happening! Except one thing I know for sure is that the pesky squirrels are partly to blame for the fallen blooms.

Two things on the Cardinal front. One, I was pretty sure we had some juveniles in the mix here, and today through the living room window, I watched Papa feed one of them in the Lilac tree. Lately we have added a suet cake to our bird feeding repertoire and it came in handy for Papa Cardinal! So that bird looked super, but this one not so much. Molting has begun for this fellow.

Because we have finally had some rain, the fallen sunflower seeds are sprouting, but for that problem we have rabbits!

What is interesting about them is that they seem to not fear us, at least from the porch anyway. The birds will skedaddle the minute we even come near the edge of the porch. One day I will get a nice shot of the puffy little cotton tail!

Speaking of rain, we have had more of it and one day I took advantage of it by placing my plants on the walkway to receive the gift of rain.

It has done wonders for the grass! Here comes another look at the Japanese Maple tree, in part because I think it is interesting, and in part because I want to document the changes as the months pass. What in the heck will happen when Autumn arrives?

I am pretty sure I see the remnants of the nest as well. 

I have no idea what these plants in Sandy's yard are called but they sure look pretty don't they? 

Shifting gears, wildly I might add, this came in the mail the other day, forwarded from Orlando.

One might have thought that surely someone in her campaign would have caught that blatant error. Oh politics, how I hate thee!

Here's something! Dottie, one of the friends from church, upon learning of my interest in the history of Murphy, having lived here for forty years, was eager to share a few things she has saved over the years, mostly articles from the Cherokee Scout. Imagine my surprise while perusing some of them, discovering that in 1984 the Olympic torch came to town! According to the newspaper account, there was plenty of excitement in these parts.

Mr. Peck is pleased as punch with his new vacuum system he's created for his tools. It's a first for him and most welcome.

This is a super busy time at the church with all manner of activities happening, mostly charitable as in participating in this program. 

It is my understanding that 80% of the areas schoolchildren qualify for a free lunch and because this is so, next year all children will be given free lunches. I imagine it is less awkward? Anyway, food was collected and on this day, bagged up for distribution.

Sarah June is carry a box filled with jars of peanut butter that she obtained from her other volunteer work at a food bank. 62 bags were loaded with goodies.

And now it is time for what they call the White Tag sale. What I am calling it, is awesome! Last year I bought an terrific iron at the sale, actually your favorite blogger's husband found it, and it has been a godsend. Yesterday I helped put things out, shopping at the same time. I came home with a blender for $2, stainless mixing bowls, a big rug, and more for $20. It is crazy to me how inexpensive they price everything, but at the same time I am not complaining. Friday and Saturday I will be one of the ones checking folks out, so I will see plenty of treasures leave all the while raising money for various projects of the women's group. 

Walking there this morning I helped with pricing, which consists of tape denoting the asking price. $.25-$2.00 for most anything! In that vein, I came home with more today including a container that had all these little figurines in it. Having not the foggiest notion of what they might be, I thought they were kind of cute, so for $.50, I thought, why not? I also picked up an owl thing, so there's that too. Anyway, I was pretty sure it seemed as if they were from England and by golly, after Dottie drove me home because I was laden with plenty, I looked them up and this is what I found. Here is what they look like as a group:

and here is what they look like in a close-up.

I do have to wonder if Tom, or his mum, Jane, have seen them before as they are from England.  Honestly they are as cute as a button in person. Or so I think they are. So does this woman.  Bruce asked me what the heck was I going to do with them and folks, you are looking at it! Because that bench is slightly unstable, we don't want anyone to sit on it so now they will know it is out of commission except as a perch for my little collection of "Wade Whimsies", courtesy of some kind soul!

Bruce is sitting behind me at his desk as I type. It is gorgeous outside and soon we will be heading to the shops and library. He's working on what he terms, a "takeoff", a construction term for a list of supplies and costs for an upcoming ramp project. You might remember Tom and Jane whom we visited, she of the beaded figurines. 

The report from Orlando on the baby front is all good news. Baby boy Peck is coming along nicely. Fallon is feeling much better and Bill is filled with excitement. In the meantime, we will keep on improving our beautiful home that came to us as such a blessing. Before moving in, I wondered how I would like the kitchen as it is such an important part of my life. Our lives really!

Turns out, I like it just fine. And no plans are imminent to change the stove because, by golly, it works like  a champ! As to having very little counter space, well that just adds to the excitement. Or so it seems to me.

your friend,

Gail