thankful people

Come ye thankful people, come
raise the song of harvest home;
all is safely gathered in,
ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide
for our wants to be supplied
come to God's own temple, come,
raise the song of harvest home.

"My Heart is filled with thankfulness" 
Have a listen:

I'm grateful for blogging friends and the many things we share in common.

I found out that Cranberry Morning and I have the same vintage

1980s H*llmark pilgrims; hers are salt and peppers and mine seem to stand alone. 

Here are mine standing on my computer screen saying hello to their kin as seen on her blog.

Happy Thanksgiving!

winter comes

Yesterday as we worked outside cleaning up leaves I could sense a change coming.

It was a gray day, the trees were nearly bare, the garden seemed tired.

Rain is predicted, followed by dropping temperatures and more rain 

and even mention of  s n o w, which is almost unheard of in November.

Our pansies are planted; they are the sunshine of winter here. 

Even in the worst of our winters they stand bravely.

 Survivors.
Holly bushes are bending with the weight of abundant berries …
I've heard that means we're "in for a memorable winter."

I wouldn't mind.
Come, winter.

See Mary's Little Red House for Monday Mosaics

50 years ago

When I was growing up, we had one radio in the house--in the kitchen. My parents chose not to have a television, so that was our "media," along with a record player of some sort. We would gather in the kitchen every night to hear Lowell Thomas give the 15-minute evening news sometime around our dinner hour. But when we were in bed sick, we had the privilege of the radio being moved to our bedside. Then I would listen to those 15 minute radio stories--soap operas of that day I suppose. So it was that 50 years ago I was in bed with one-sided mumps, listening to the radio as I ate cream of mushroom soup for lunch. The program was interrupted by the news that our president had been shot. I rushed downstairs to tell my parents. They didn't believe me at first. The radio was soon moved back downstairs so all could follow the news more closely.

My father rented a small television set for a few days so we could follow this earth shattering news. How could such a thing happen? I was glued to the TV and the images are still so clear in my mind … Jackie Kennedy's blood spattered suit and her classic pillbox hat (I only knew it in black and white but later learned it was pink), the open convertible, close-ups of Lee Harvey Oswald, Little John standing at salute, the horse drawn wagon carrying the casket,  the casket being carried up the Capital steps to lay in state.

Then came Sunday morning when many were in church. I was still home sick, watching the news, and therefore I was an eye witness to the killing of Lee H. Oswald by Jack Ruby. Live on TV. What an incredible weekend. I'm thankful our father enabled the visual memory for us as it made such an impression. A moment in history never to be forgotten by any. A time when those of us who were old enough to remember, know exactly where we were when we heard the news that day.

obviously not my photo, just off the internet

Just a note

I thought to add a little decoration on these cards, starting with this first one needing to be transformed into a rectangular shape. Didn't want to spend the extra postage required for a square card in the mail! 

If I had time. I would love to write "just a note" to friends before the holidays. I remember  

card stock note paper we used to have that folded into it's own envelope and was called "just a note."

Joining A Haven for Vee'shttp://ahavenforvee.blogspot.com Wonderful NoteCard Party today.

… the box cover ...

nameless

While out and about yesterday, I came across this large round plate. Stunning in my eyes, the eyes of a Dutch descended girl. There was no markings on the back, it could be hand painted, and not so very new. It has a great shiny finish to it and delightful curves around it's circle, I love the deep blues.
 I will use it--how is yet to be determined.

But I will use it!

Any ideas about it?

and back home again

Since we switched our dining and living room around, something hasn't looked quite right to me. I think it was too much dark wood. I've wanted a small buffet server for a long time and now with my "new" dining room, I had space for one. But did I want to get rid of my massive but lovable Salvation Army china cabinet? It was a hard choice.

I got advice from friends, the Gardener and I thought and thought (way too much mental energy used here ...)

And then we began to look.

It was fun. We went to a lot of antique shops we hadn't been to in a long while. It was interesting to see what all was out there.  Buffets are a hot item right now. I found several old ones that looked possible but still something wasn't right. I wanted a small one and found several that would work. But more money than I wanted to spend.

Suddenly something clicked in my mind. Sometimes you have to shop around to realize what you want is right at home. I knew that an old sewing machine table in the upstairs guest room was just the size I wanted. It could stand in as a serving table for a time to see if that's what I really wanted there.

I am so pleased, especially with the price.

And how many times did I empty out the cabinet(s) to move things around? 

I'm embarrassed to say. 

But it all works for now. And putting on a tablecloth helped with the 

all the dark wood. A new chandy and new panels at the windows, 

and a transformation has taken place at very little cost! 

It pays to come back home for another look!

Symphony Serendipity

You know those coupon books? We have one we barely used. It was just that busy of a year, the one that has just passed (if you are going by a September to September calendar). It was a gift and I felt badly it was so neglected. The very day we talked about it we noticed it was the last day to use the coupons.

Putting that thought aside, we went through the day's mail. A flyer for the symphony. The combination I had been waiting years for, saying if that ever came along we would somehow spring the funds to attend. Mozart and Beethoven. Piano Concerto No. 21. The concert wasn't until the following week. Is it possible they would honor a coupon expiring today, for a concert in the future?

I made a quick call. Yes, of course. No they didn't need to see the coupon. They would mail us the tickets. Oh by the way, the symphony overbooked so this concert is not at the performing arts center, but at a smaller, fairly new theatre down the street. First come first serve on the seats and all the same low price.

I could hardly take all that good news in! The tickets were cheap! The theatre was intimate, not a bad seat in the house. Even a lecture before and after. I don't know many names in the classical music world, but I know the young pianist was well-known and just a wonder to watch. Flawless and the music just filled his being.

We sat enthralled, enjoying every moment of a serendipity.

the old chair

Here is the subject for Donna's photo challenge this month. Its an old chair the Gardener found for me, and sits out in the garage on my project list. (I think I may be the only person in the world who does not recover chairs, or at least know how.) I saw it sitting in the morning sun the other day and had to snap a photo with my phone. The little jar contains the original hobnails (?) to fasten the fabric.

I do like to play with some of the photo editing programs out there so have done this before. I can't remember what all I used this time, but I do like the ink or pencil sketch type of editing which you see in #4 of the mosaic. The entire exercise turned messy when suddenly none of the finished products would download to my desktop. I've used these for years and then this week they stopped working. One site kindly told me I needed to upgrade my search engine but I don't even see Safari 7 to upgrade to. Meanwhile I took screen shots to get them to my desktop.

This last one may be my favorite (from ipiccy)

It may have some "grunge" on it!

Be challenged by visiting Donna's Photo Challenge blog and see 

what others have done. There's some real talent out there!

the postman rang

We all know about blog "give aways." I've won a few. But I got a package in the mail a couple of weeks ago that just knocked my socks off as it was a total surprise.

I've admired Lorrie's hand made needle books ever since she showed some of 

them on her blog. I love handwork and I was quite taken by these.

I loved the way Lorrie wrapped the little book in pattern paper! 

And included a sweet note saying she had noticed my interest in the 

little books so decided to send me one. So thoughtful of her!

Now I'm able to admire her tiny hand-done stitching close-up, 

reminding me of my long-gone talents in that area!

If you've never visited Lorrie's blog, Fabric Paper Thread, 

you should stop by! There's much richness and beauty there.

And thank you Lorrie for such a sweet gift!

time changes things

This is the first time in many years that we've turned back the clocks in the house when little ones were sleeping here. We had the grandies (I've adopted this name you call your grands, Shane) here for the weekend, and yes at 5 a.m. one little voice called, "Grandmom." I couldn't talk him into thinking it was still night time but he climbed in bed with mefor a bit before we started a    l o n g   morning before time for church. That's OK, I'm not used to keeping up with two little ones for a weekend so I went to bed early last night, even for the old time.

When we changed the clocks back last night two odd things happened: Our kitchen clock 

that I look at a thousand times a day, probably a mere 30 years old, stopped working.

At the same time my great grandmother's 100+ year old clock started ticking

 and gonging again (after a demonstration to the little ones.)

Photo: The front of a shop in downtown Roanoke, Virginia

Linking to Mary's Mosaics on  Monday.

the three bees

Some of you asked what I purchased at the little destination shop on our mini road trip.

Eight old blocks. I've been looking for some (wishing I'd never gotten rid of our boys' )

and here they were, albeit a bit pricey.

It was kinda fun to search through the pail for the letters we wanted. 

You see above I had to fill one in with marker.

The price was ridiculous, but I almost felt it was courtesy to buy something since

we were the only ones in the shop and had a conversation with the owner who

knows a friend of mine. You now how that is.

Well then the very next day I hopped off to an amazing shop nearby in a house,

only open once a month or so. It was full to the brim of things I love. 

I was met at the door by the proprietor, offered pumpkin muffins 

and coffee, and invited to even shop in the closets.

In the back room of the house I found this:

The whole bucket  not a whole lot more than what I spent on the eight blocks.

It was an "I could kick myself"moment.

But seeing the excitement Little Bro had when he saw them, and how intently 

he played with them, made it all worth it. 

 And, I have a new story to tell.

But it does remind me of some wise words a "saged" couple told us when 

we were new parents. Maybe we were approaching Christmas, I don't 

remember the setting but I have never forgotten what they said.

"Kids need only three things to grow and develop. And they all start with 'B'."

"Blocks, Balls and Books."

The same day as the block play, Little Bro and I spent at least a half hour

with a little bouncy ball, dangerously seeing where it would bounce to

in the kitchen (thankfully it never went in the soup). 

But oh how we laughed.

Uproariously.

My thanks to Vee who encouraged me to post these thoughts.