Jasper

Nikon D90, Nikon 35 f1.8, natural light, artificial hair colour. ;-)

I am in the mood for a little bit of Christmas…

you?

First image: Connecticut Home

second and third: Country living

Making a List, Checking It Twice

The tree is up and I've just finished a ton of early shopping.  There were lots of crazy shoppers (like me) out there at 4:30 am this morning.

 My son and I are headed to New York in the early morning to go see some Christmas displays!  I can't decide which I'm more excited about - the fact that my son is willing to travel with me, or seeing the holiday sights of New York!   

::Full of Thanks::

In so many ways…

Each year moves through…And we never know what the tide brings.

Yet…it seems we are always reminded of the beauty.

If we look.

The true beauty of this day.

To you and yours.

And...Thank you, from the bottom of my heart,

for being a part of my beauty.

Wishing You a Happy Thanksgiving

I love this picture of my niece, Melanie as she takes time at her birthday party to make a wish.  

Today I'm wishing all of you dear readers a happy Thanksgiving as we take time to give thanks for all our many blessings.  

Goo, Goo, Gack!

The Terrible Twos

S IS FOR?

SAYING IT WITH SUNFLOWERS !

Singing out be be snapped on a sunny Saturday afternoon a veritable field of sublime sunflowers. I thought that I would send out some virtual sunshine today to celebrate the second official anniversary of my blog. Thanks to everyone who has stopped by since I started this blog - your comments, advice, wisdom, humour and thoughtful words are oh so much appreciated.

So with a spring in your step why not saunter to ABC Wednesday for more on the sassy letter S !

Traditions….

What is Thanksgiving without

cranberries?

say we.

We have a well loved salad we have been making for years…14 years

Our oldest son has taken over making it

each Thanksgiving.

In our casa, each kidlet makes a part of the meal…Fun!

Part of the fun is pulling out the old recipes…this one was on the back of a calendar back in 1996…

where my writing lists piano lessons and holiday parties...

Your Thanksgiving traditions?

Share.

please.

'Pictures Of Lily'

I was delighted to find a little package lurking in the porch, when I reluctantly set off to do some food shopping on Friday. I placed it gently in the confines of the greenhouse and opened it up as soon as I returned. You know how it is when you are beguiled by one of those mouthwatering descriptions that you come across of plants. After reading nurseryman's Bob Brown's description of the Oriental Trumpet Lilium 'Robina' in a recent edition, of 'Gardens Illustrated' it was a severe case of 'Iwantitness'. Although my nose is sensitive and lilies can trigger severe sneezing bouts, I am partial to them as long as they are out of the confines of the house. 'Robina' is described as having deep pink watermelon flowers ~ Bob Brown scores the plant as a 10/10, calling her 'stonking'. What more could you want?

'Iwantitness' is usually followed by despondency, when I find that I can't locate aforesaid plant for love or money. However not in this case - I found a supplier (a most well known seed merchant) and my bulbs promptly arrived in November, as advised on their website at the time of ordering. Inside the box was an information leaflet. How useful I thought but to quote points 2 and 3 from the leaflet entitled 'Ten Steps To Success' :

"If you have received your bulbs from September to October ...... " and

"If you have received your bulbs from February to April .... '

No mention of what to do with bulbs that are delivered from November - January. Tut - tut, this is rather naughty and puzzling especially for any novice bulb buyers. Just after I had sent my order of course I came across a specialist lily nursery, stocking the same bulb. I noticed at the time that this company
was not sending out any bulb orders out until February, so I am going to wait until then to plant the new arrivals. I have also observed today on their website that my supplier is now not dispatching 'Robina' until February. So now the challenge of finding somewhere cool and dry to keep them over the winter saving the seller from doing that task.

Whilst browsing their website I spied with glee that the specialist nursery stocks a lily that was proving most elusive to find. This is the Longiflorum Asiatic 'Eyeliner', which I first came across earlier this year on 'The Patient Gardener's Weblog' and which I just had to have too. Hopefully next summer between the sneezes I will be able to report back on the progress of both lilies.

The lily in the above photo was this year's 'Muscadet' - an already planted and almost in flower Oriental lily bargain purchase.

Collections

My copy of French Essence finally arrived last week and I was so excited to get it.  What a gorgeous coffee table book.  Vicki included a chapter on collections and in it she reminds us that "one simple purchase can start a collection."  Reading and looking at the photographs of collections made me start thinking about some of my collections.  The first thought that came to mind is my collection of old primers that I've had for many years. These primers aren't just any old primers.  They're from a school in my hometown and are a part of civil rights history.

I'm from a town that didn't even exist until the late 1940's but in 1949 a very strong black woman by the name of Pearl Stephens donated some of her own land so that a school could be built for the black children living in the community.  Before that black children would have to gather in local churches for school lessons because they weren't allowed to attend the schools built for white children.  The primers in my collection are books from the early days of Pearl Stephens Elementary School and are very beautiful in their own way. Click on Pearl Stephens to read about the history of the school.  Finally, thanks to Pearl Stephens, the black community "had its first tax-supported school, furnished with secondhand books. . . ."

Maybe it's because I taught school at one point in my working life, but I think these books are a treasure.  
Obviously the books were used over and over by generations of children and as the original binding wore out, they were lovingly restored using whatever materials that might be available.  I love being able to open the cover of one of the books to find wallpaper with pricing information. 

Textbooks are now being replaced by Kindle-type readers so I guess all textbooks will become a thing of the past but for now I love the old worn out primers that carry with them a part of American history. 

Blue Moon……

If they say the moon is blue,
We must believe that it is true.

~1500’s proverb

Be looking for the blue moon…

At a moon near you. Sunday Night.

Be there or be square.

first image: Athala Carole Bruckner

Sur Les Tables de Stef

  Bougies boules rouges Ikea

I was all prepared to post on something totally different but when I was trying to catch up on some of my favorite blogs, I spotted Stef's latest table and just had to share.   If you've never seen her tablescapes, you need to set aside some time to see her work. 

 

 Be sure to visit her blog at http://lestablesdecorativesdestef.over-blog.com/

 

So if the previous one was ok...

is this one ok too?

... just thought I'd ask.

Photo too Overworked?

The fun of manipulating photographs digitally is all very well, but when does it become too much?

The secret life of bees…

So I thought it was a regular Tuesday…

Everything was humming along…

Really humming.

Little did we know that a honey bee hive was swirling and working and storing

above our heads!

Enter All Bee Inc…

to the rescue!

The saw came out... and down went part of our soffitt…

Mothers hide your children…

Grab your epi pen too while you are at it

Apparently…In our soffit was over 100 Lbs of honey and comb

not to mention 100’s of thousands of workers and one big butt queen!

This hive is over 5 feet long….Oy.

double Oy.

Dripping with honey…

Got toast?

Yes. They were removed…Yes I am still in shock.

They found another one on the other side of the house.

oh goody.

"The Circles That You Find"

R IS FOR?

ROUND!

"Like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel,

Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel,
As the images unwind, like the circles that you find,
In the windmills of your mind!"

I thought that there was something rather reassuring about the repetitiveness of these box balls in the gardens of the Chateau d'Amboise in Amboise, France. Sadly some of the foliage had been ravaged, maybe by the rays of the sun but perhaps replacements will be ready soon.

Run over to ABC Wednesday for rare ramblings on the letter R. 

A Final Fling

A winter celebration took place at the allotment today ~ our last get together of the year. A few of us foolhardy perennials braved the elements for a couple of hours to share lunch and natter. We sat outside well wrapped up against the November chill. There was homemade vegetable soup, barbecued lavender infused burgers and of course cake. Discussion was very much on the subject of plans for a new season ~ some of my more efficient fellow plot holders have already completed their seed orders and have their crop rotation details sorted to the last minute detail.

Before taking my leave I nipped to my own plot to pick some autumn raspberries, which I had noticed somewhat gleefully shouting ' Look ~ we're red Mrs!' at me yesterday. I did not have a suitable container with me to convey them home so had to leave them behind but came prepared today. I had been wondering when they would ripen  ~ whether they all will or not is still subject for speculation. Today though there were enough pickings for a little but oh most delicious feast.

I Haven't Read it Yet

Just received Vicki's book and it's beautiful.  Didn't have much time to read last night but hope to read the book this weekend.

You might be thinking I'm referring to our blog friend, Vicki Archer and her new book, which I'm really looking forward to, but I'm writing about another new book. 

This week work was overwhelming to say the least and unfortunately I missed book club, known as The No-Guilt Book Club.  I'm a new member to the club (April 2010) but it is something that I really look forward to each month.  We are an eclectic mix of women, moderate to liberal, with artists, environmentalists, doctors, lawyers, religious leaders, business owners and representatives from the nonprofit sector. Our book club also represents a number of nationalities, generations and interests - we are diverse in every way with the exception of including men in our group.  This month our book was Your Brain at Work, and I was disappointed that I missed the gathering as well as the book discussion.  The discussions are always stimulating but as luck would have it, I did manage to have an interesting book experience nonetheless.

While riding the train to work early Thursday morning, I managed to find a vacant seat and squeezed in between a large group of travelers with luggage coming in from the airport.  Two of the women in the group were having a very interesting discussion about a new book that will be coming out soon.  I learned that the group on the train happened to be a number of university and medical experts specializing in disabilities who were here for a conference being held in Atlanta.  One of the women I spoke with had been asked to proof a book that is soon to come out, specifically making sure that the book would be accurate as it relates to disabilities.   

The book is called The Story of Beautiful Girl, by Rachel Simon and is said to be "a novel about disability and intertwining destinies that will get right under your skin and into your heart."  According to my new friends from the train ride, the book is fiction but is based on a true story.  Sadly the story of someone who was deaf but completely normal but was institutionalized because he couldn't communicate.  This individual was assigned the number 42, which became his name and the book tells his story.  My train rider friends added that the book has already triggered a movie deal which has already been finalized.

Speaking of movies.  My husband is going home to Beirut to see his family and will be gone for a month.   Yesterday he woke me up to say that he wanted to take me on a date to see Morning Glory.  What a sweet and happy movie!  

I've got one more ridiculously hectic week (headed to LA tomorrow) but then hope to slow down a bit and enjoy the season.  I'm ready to experience moments rather than feeling like I'm check-listing off the to-dos of the day.  Reflecting back over 2010, the months of June, August, October and November were nothing but a series of check-lists.  Time to do some living.

Fall in our corner of the world…

Subtle and telling changes

in our tropical flora

Remind us of the golden hues

of fall…

Mai Tai red laundry room door…

and yet another (40 clam) Habitat lantern

Enjoy your fall….

In all it’s colors

The Hanging Gardens

Q IS FOR?

QUIRKY!

Now why does the letter Q always have me in a quandry quivering over what to post? We came across the garden in question earlier this year whilst on holiday in France.

Quick get yourself over to ABC Wednesday now for some quality quotes and quips on the letter Q! 

It’s Fall….Really and truly FALL!

Ok…so I am a little excited

cause it is A LOT cool and fresh and fallish…this week

So I think I may even decorate for Christmas.

You think I kid?

I do not kid…

This will only last for a few days

then back to the heat

Gotta grab it while I can.

Hot cocoa anyone?