Lakewood 400

Last week we made our monthly trip to the Lakewood 400 antique fair in Cumming, GA. I decided to photograph the holiday displays that we found as we walked around.

This centerpiece was lovely though a little pricey.
This booth had a unique and interesting display!
Yes, those are witches feet hanging from the door...
A beaded satin pumpkin
Another fabric pumpkin made from an old chenille spread...
Outside there were lots of flowers for sale. Let me know if you can identify this one.
Gourds of different shapes and colours...
Lovely blooming hydrangeas
Yard art for Halloween!
Nice festive displays...




A great trip as always! Lakewood is a small but fun and friendly antique fair and occurs on the third weekend of the month. If you are ever in the Atlanta area at that time it is well worth visiting.

Life's Blessings

Listen to the exhortation of the dawn

Look to this day

For it is life, the very life of life!

In its brief course lie all the verities and realities of your existence

The bliss of growth, the glory of action, the splendor of beauty.

For yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is only a vision

But today well-lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness

And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well therefore to this day

Such is the salutation of the Dawn! (Kālidāsa)

Pumpkins in the sun!

We took these pictures after church on Sunday, which was the first sunny day we've had in a long time. It's been raining since so I decided to post them in hopes that maybe they will bring more sunshine to our dreary water-soaked existence. (For additional beautiful pictures of pumpkins visit http://thevictorianparlor.blogspot.com)We have bumpy pumpkins...
Various colored gourds

More bumpy's
And gourds...
Sun drenched pumpkins...



A pumpkin maze (the entrance)
Don't get lost!
Finally an exit - whew!
Two toned pumpkins - red and green - just in time for Christmas:)
Ahh! A white pumpkin peeking out
And more white pumpkins
Here's a great recipe for Roasted Pumpkin Seeds from my mother!

2 cups fresh pumpkin seeds

2 tsp peanut or vegetable oil

1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place pulp and seeds in a colander and run under water to separate out the seeds. Discard the pulp. Sprinkle seeds on an ungreased cookie sheet and drizzle with oil. Bake 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir occasionally. Place in paper bag with salt added.

Life's Blessings

"There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth... not going all the way, and not starting" (Buddha)

The continuing fan story...

A few years ago my daughter and her husband gave me a wonderful surprise. They were visiting from SC and while I was at work they spent the day redecorating my porch. They cleaned, painted, recovered my furniture, bought a new table and chairs, etc, and turned my pathetic looking porch into a warm and comfortable shabby-chic style living area.

But of course not all plans go smoothly. Somehow hubby hit the porch fan and the blades went flying through the air and crashing to the floor breaking into pieces. With very little time, he made a trip to our local Lowe’s and purchased new blades.

Since that time though the blades have, shall we say, drooped! Apparently using indoor fan blades in an outdoor setting results in moisture overload. Everyone who comes to visit has commented on the bowed blades (and yes, they still work) and we have the pleasure of relating the story to them as they stare at the fan and laugh.

As you know, recently the Atlanta area has suffered tremendous amounts of rain and flooding. Shortly after the first weekend of flooding I was sitting on the porch with a cup of tea and looked up at the fan. To my amazement the blades have once more changed. Not only are they bowed, but they are spotted.

I can safely say I now have a cow fan... or perhaps a dalmatian fan... maybe an appaloosa fan?

Life's Blessings

Paths"As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives." (Henry David Thoreau - 1817-1862)

Life's Blessings

Atonement - Forgiveness"And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever." (Isaiah 32:17)

Autumn

Ahh... Autumn, a time to enjoy the serenity of cool air, falling leaves and a general well being.
Well maybe not yet! Actually as the first day of Fall arrives, I see the sun peeking out through the ominous rain clouds that have shadowed our fair State for the past week. In the last three days they are now guestimating that we have received 22-25 inches of rain.

The water came down so hard yesterday that the small lake in our backyard became a gushing river!
As I stood in about eight inches of water outside, I took a picture of my boots as the swirling tide surrounded them. This brought back memories from my teen years in Florida, wading barefoot in knee-high water after a hurricane.
Alas, I will have to wait a bit longer to see the sights of the Fall season and enjoy all the smells and sounds it brings, but it will come and it will be enjoyed by all!

A Tribute to David (1939-2006)

David would have been 70 years old today so I thought I would do a blog tribute to him for his birthday. Married to my sister, David was more like a brother than a brother-in-law. He was always helping us out of tough situations such as towing back my poor wrecked car across three states after my daughter (yes, that would be Kim) nearly totaled it while away at college.

I have wonderful memories of David. For example, when he was dating my sister I used to charge my friends a quarter to watch them kiss in the living room. I know, I was a naughty sister, but hey, money was hard to come by when I was 13.

David, who was dedicated to this country, joined the U.S. Army shortly before he married my sister. I used to make him brownies when he came home on leave and he loved them! He remained in the military, served in the reserves and eventually retired from it. Here he is with my sister and his dad.

David loved many things. He loved his family most of all and when I looked through my pictures, it was hard to find one of him without my sister also in the picture. She was the love of his life and they were married nearly 46 years.

Here he is at a family picnic on Mother’s Day in 1968 and yes, he loved to eat too.

David and my sister at their daughter's wedding

David and my sister both loved the snow and were avid skiers. On the few occasions that it snowed in Atlanta, he and my sister would come over to our house and we would go sledding or just play in the snow and then walk to the Waffle House for something to eat. Back in 1969, I called my sister to tell her that we had snow, and David drove his entire family from Florida to Atlanta over some perilous roads to enjoy it with us.

David spent a lot of time at the beach. I guess that's what happens when you are born and raised in Florida. He loved Jacksonville, FL especially and I believe moved there about three different times!

David left behind his wife, a daughter and son, five grandchildren, a sister and sister-in-law (me) and since his death, a beautiful great-granddaughter!

Happy Birthday David! We love you and miss you.

Life's Blessings

Rain..."Life is like a rainbow. You need both the sun and the rain to make its color appear" (Author unknown)

Rainy Day and Night in Georgia

The Southeast has been deluged with rain for the past week and there doesn't seem to be any letup. The water cannot drain fast enough so Sweetbrier Cottage is looking more and more like lakefront property.

It's drizzling now so I took this opportunity to snap a few photos and do a little yard cleanup.

Standing water, so there must be a clog somewhere downstream.
Nature is so artistic even in the simplest forms. Note the concentric circles that raindrops make.
This is flowing nicely now...
Problems at one of the gates...
Just a trickle now, but a river later...
Here's one of the problems. Leaves and grass had formed a nice little dam at the edge of the property - a slight reroute hopefully will work, but only time will tell.
I checked the forecast and it looks like our next day without rain is September 28, so I guess I'd better get our scuba gear out:)

Life's Blessings

In memory of Senator Edward KennedyOnly a life lived for others is a life worthwhile (Albert Einstein)

Life's Blessings

Life"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that counts. It's the life in your years" (Abraham Lincoln)

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." (Mark Twain)

Life's Blessings

Healing"The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love" (Hubert H. Humphrey)