Good Things Happened: Hello Spring!, Dreams, Moody view

The proprietor of my favorite little antiques / cool stuff shop in Lilburn, Georgia created this homage to Spring, which is almost over.  Sure has been beautiful.

Early last Saturday, the young 'uns were up and at it at the ball field at Mountain Park Park.  I titled this photo Field of Dreams and wonder how many dream of being big leaguers.

And there was a trip to my favorite mountain area the weekend before that.  It was a soggy trip, but I didn't mind.  I read two books on the back porch and just watched the river go by.

The last photo is of the drive up the mountain to my sister's vacation house.  Loved the mist on the mountains there.  Hope you all are well.  I'll be around for blog visits the next couple of days.  Hugs!

Good Things Happened: home, sweet, home

It's been days and days since I posted.  There was a minor medical issue that kept me at home for a few days - all better now.  Being at home with nothing much to do gave me a renewed appreciation of it, as seen below.

On the first day, niece Amanda and her family sent me flowers.  I can't think of the last time I got flowers!  It was thrilling.  I'm still enjoying them.  The delivery man seemed to enjoy my reaction, "I got flowers!!!"

I was looking for something else in a kitchen cabinet and found these two forgotten items.  The one on the left is a handy thing in which you can pull tarragon through the holes to strip the leaves. Stripping tarragon is kind of annoying, so I guess that's why I bought this.  It doesn't come up that often, but when it does, I'm set.  :)

There was clean out the refrigerator cooking.  Do you ever buy stuff for recipes you end up not making?  I made roasted vegetables, using carrots, fennel and the red onion that is in the bowl in the first photo.  (Yum.)  And yesterday, there was still a bunch of unused flat-leaf parsley, so I made pesto out of it.  That's it pictured above.  Parsley, olive oil, toasted walnuts and Parmesan cheese in the food processor.  I'm having some of it on penne pasta for lunch today.

And I enjoyed breakfast on the back porch yesterday.  There has been so much rain in Georgia, that the trees are nicely leafed out now.  It was cool and lovely.  And a hummingbird whizzed by a couple of times, probably to remind me about putting that feeder up.

I'll be playing a little blog catch up in the next few days.  Hope you have a good week!

Good Things Happened: Dog of the week, lilies and blessings

Friends Janice and Chip's dog Chili, at the park, after I asked him if he would like to be dog of the week.  I think the answer was clearly, "Yes!"

I was invited to Easter dinner at friends Laura and Bob's home.  The table was exquisitely set with pretty Easter themed china, crystal and napkins.  I loved the Lilies of the Valley from their yard - so perfect I thought they were artificial at first.

A wee present from Laura at each place setting - these beautiful little "Spring Blessings" packages.  Such a gracious hostess.

I hope you are having a good weekend.  I've finally gotten caught up on some sleep!

Good Things Happened: Bunny, good shopping and glorious

A cute Easter treat that looked so bright and shiny in my kitchen.  "Looked" is the key word.  I needed some chocolate this week and the ears went first.  :)  

I parked in front of this beautiful loading dock door at Builders Steel Supply in Lilburn, Georgia last Saturday, when I was attending the Spring open house at my favorite antique shop up the street.  Amazing door - I wonder where it came from?

I snagged these two wine glasses for $3.50 each at the open house.  My sister has a set that she bought in Germany years ago.  I always liked them, so wanted to take these home.  She says they are Roemer Glass, made to drink sweet wines from the Rhine region of Germany.

And finally a glorious sunrise as I stepped out of my car at 7:15am yesterday morning, as I got to work.  Such beauty in the midst of an industrial area got my day started out just right.

Thank you for visiting today.  I'll be around to yours in the next couple of days!

Drama queen, happy tune and so thoughtful

Having a belated birthday dinner with some friends yielded some very nice gifts, an "Espresso" orchid (hope it lives!) and a bottle of Middle Sister wine.  I'm a middle sister, as is friend Janice, so it's OK to be called a "drama queen."  :)  I think. 

 The plants are hanging in there - the temps have been mostly above 32 degrees, so I'm thrilled they are surviving the winter and will be able to grace the front porch in the spring.  I loved the cardinal who visited the feeder and whistled a happy tune.

A friend who has been very ill left this belated birthday gift of kitchen candle and birthday cake chocolate bar at my front door on Valentine's Day.  So thoughtful!  It had been a long day of work, and then volunteer work.  I was very weary and this perked me right up.

And - I finally got to this book, but actually listened to the audio version in the car during the last few days, finishing yesterday.  It was worth it to hear Reese Witherspoon's lovely voice reading it, but I still wish this book had stayed dormant.  I need to go back and read To Kill a Mockingbird again in order to shake this one off.  So I guess the good thing about it is - I finally got to it.  :)

Hope you have a great weekend, my friends!

Gazing at the sky, stump chair and a grand thing

As usual, I was racing to my car, so I could get in the line up on the expressway for the journey to work. But this sky was so glorious, I had to stop and gaze and moment and capture it with my phone. And then it was off to the races.

Someone cut this tree stump into the shape of a chair. How about that? It was another glorious sky last Saturday morning and I noticed the stump chair when my friends and I were saying goodbye after a walk in the park.

My favorite cookies from Ryal's Bakery in my hometown of Milledgeville, Georgia. A hometown friend, Chuck, posted this pic on Facebook and it made me smile. :)  He also posted a quote from author Agatha Christie this morning that resonated with me:

"I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow; but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing."

Wolf Moon, fun and all good things are wild and free

This is a rush hour photo of my suburb of Atlanta, where Burger is King and there are many cars and power lines.  I still love it, in spite of all that.  The rising moon was gorgeous and that was what this photo was meant to be all about - the January full moon, known as the Wolf Moon.  According to the Farmer's Almanac:

"Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. Thus, the name for January’s full moon. Sometimes it was also referred to as the Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes applied that name to the next moon."

Can you see that claw hand sticking out of my pen and pencil cup there?  (My home office desk.)  This put me a little in mind of said Wolf.  It's actually a back scratcher that was in my Christmas stocking - it's fun, but a little scary looking.  (We have a lot of fun with those stockings.)  :) 

And speaking of this past Christmas - I always buy a little gift for myself when I'm shopping for family and friends.  I just had to get this t-shirt - I love it.

May all Good Things come to you this weekend, my friends!

Beacon, presiding and lost, but now found

The smoke stack, at the now closed (power) Plant Harllee Branch in my hometown of Milledgeville, Georgia, will be taken down this weekend.  The plant closed in 2015, but the 1000 foot smoke stack, with its blinking lights at the top, has remained until now.  It's how I always knew that I was close to home, when driving there from Atlanta to visit my (late) parents.  Approaching the bridge that goes over Lake Sinclair, there was that beacon in the distance, letting me know that I would be there in five minutes. 

What makes that a good thing?  (I got sentimental there.)  There's no smoke coming out of it, due to environmental protection guidelines.  And the photo of it over the water is gorgeous.   (Photo credit - Tanya Fuss Alexander.)

 Back at my place in suburban Atlanta, my neighbor's dragonfly garden stake presides over the wooded area in the back.

I lost the mate to this favorite earring at the end of September, on a day when I was leaving the oral surgeon in discomfort, stopping by the pharmacy for prescription filling, and the grocery store near my office, before heading into work.  I realized one earring was missing shortly after.  I looked all over and called all the places I had been, with no luck.

So yesterday, after work, I stopped by that grocery store, and on a whim, asked the bored looking customer service lady if there were any earrings in lost and found, by any chance.  She walked over and rummaged through a box.  She held up an earring and said, "Is this it?"  "YES!"  I can't believe I got it back.  It was a one of a kind set of earrings, purchased from a gallery in Grayton Beach, Florida.  I am so happy.  It's the little things...

I hope something makes you happy today.  Have a lovely weekend!

Hanging low, impala and latest book

- Waiting at the traffic light at 7pm on Tuesday at 14th Street and Techwood Drive in Atlanta, after volunteer work - I spotted the very low hanging cloud ahead, between the buildings.  Click to enlarge to see it better.  At first I thought it was smoke.  It was an otherwise very blue sky day, which I always call a Good Thing.  :)

- I had a flat tire (again) earlier this week, so decided to go with the expensive Michelin tires this time.  When I drove up to the tire shop, this 1966 Chevrolet Impala was sitting out front.  The owner just purchased it to restore and was amused that I was photographing it.  My dad had one in that same color, back in the day.  I liked that the person who sold it to the owner left a rosary hanging on the rear view mirror.  He said (drily), "It's so I can pray that it keeps moving when it's on the road."

- The manager of the tire shop was smiling at the three customers in the waiting area - all of us reading:  the young lady to the left of me, with a book, the man across from me with his laptop computer, and me with my little Kindle.  The manager isn't a fan of Kindles, but I told him I have run out of room for hardback books in my home, so I either read on the Kindle or get books from the library.  (Still love a regular book!)  These days - I really only buy Karin Slaughter's books, since she is a friend.  The latest one, "The Kept Woman," arrived in the mail yesterday and it went on her designated shelf.  I'll get it signed at some point, like all the others.  Can't wait to read it!

Karin was at book signing with the author, Ian Rankin, a few years ago and got him to sign that paperback book of Knots & Crosses for me.  It's a treasure, too.  

Have a great weekend, my friends!

Last blossom, shadowed and coddled

- Having never been a real fan of summer, I do look forward to fall, with its crisp weather.  But I do lament the passing of my spring and summer potted plants.  I finally got rid of my hanging petunia this week, pictured here in May, and found a lone blossom had fallen off while I was getting it down.  So here it is in a shot glass, gracing my cutting board.  The last blossom.

- At the elevator enclosure at my HMO on Peachtree Street in Atlanta.  Midday.  I went by to pick up a prescription and was struck by the pattern of leaves shadowed on the cut-out in the wall.

- The new addition to my egg coddler collection, found in the mountains at my favorite antique shop there.  Maybe I'll actually coddle an egg at some point.  You know I'll report back when I do.  :)

Hope you all have a wonderful, peaceful weekend, my friends!

Peace and quiet, fits right in and good things

- During our recent trip to the mountains, my sisters and I wanted to visit Smoke in the Mountains Pottery.  We love Rob Withrow's pottery.  We traveled up some winding roads to find his studio and there it was (his kilns are pictured here.)  He greeted us, along with a couple of amiable dogs, and showed us around.  I can't imagine how hot those kilns must get when they are firing.

- Having put myself on pottery restriction, I vowed to just admire the things my sisters were purchasing.  My place is full of pottery already and I own several of Rob's neat coffee mugs.  But he insisted on giving me this spoon rest, saying "You need something, too!"  Such a nice man.  Here it is on my stove - it fit right in.

 - I can't even remember where I spotted this clump of flowers - daisies?  I like their ruffled look.  I just thought they were beautiful and that's always a Good Thing.  :)

Thank you for coming by!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy faces, purple and look at those ears!

It's been a rather dreary several days here in Atlanta, with one appearance from the sun on Wednesday.  And it's been a busy week, with very little photo opportunities.  So again I turn to some photos I haven't posted that have sunshine in them (from late July).  Hope you don't mind!

- At my aunt's home in Franklin, North Carolina - way up on the top of a mountain.  (The drive to get up there is harrowing.)  I like these happy flowers beside the driveway.

- I think she likes purple flowers, as do I.

- And from her sister-in-law's garden - another mosaic offering.  I titled this photo "Look at those ears!"  Handles from old coffee cups, I'm sure.

There's a chill in the air this morning and it's raining.  I'm thinking I need to put away the open toed shoes I'm so fond of wearing.  It's time.  Hope you have a great weekend, my friends!

Smooth as glass, ripples and construction cake

- Just looking at this photo from that Sunday morning, one wouldn't think it would be nearly 100 degrees in Pensacola, Florida, but it was. The water was smooth as glass and there was peace in the air. 

- On Monday, it was just as hot, but a bit cloudy. Love the ripples in the water there. If you click to enlarge, you'll see some gorgeous waterfront homes across the bay, as well as sailing vessels.

- And two little boys had birthday parties that weekend - great nephews Monroe and Sawyer - one on Saturday and one on Sunday. I loved the awesome cake for Monroe's party, made by their next door neighbor. Monroe adores construction equipment and can name all of them.  Pretty good for a three-year old, I say!

Thanks for coming by - I am trying to catch up on blog reading. Hope you all are well!

Border beauty, shovel art and not your typical Greek salad

- I am revisiting the mountains and the gardens beside the river this morning.  The neighbors next door grew weary of all the rain during July 4th weekend and packed up and left on Saturday.  So that Sunday morning, in a break from rain, I walked the garden.  It borders my sister and brother-in-law's property, so I didn't feel as I was intruding too much.  Love the happy profusion of plants and flowers along this border.

- And the shovel art!  Click to enlarge to see the insect-like creature someone made that started with a shovel.  The neighbor is a master gardener and as much as we were unhappy that someone built a house on that corner property, we do love seeing all the flowers.

- I am certain I've posted this salad before, but here it is again, before being topped with feta cheese.  It's Greek Salad with Lemon and Oregano from the Smitten Kitchen.  I adore making this salad and will make it again this weekend - I bought the stuff last night.  And I used Vidalia onion instead of purple onion, because I like it.  If you click on the red Smitten Kitchen link above, you can read her happy news.  It made me smile this morning.

Happy Friday, y'all!  Hope you have a great weekend!

Loving hands, kind hands and special and beloved

- This beautiful fountain adorns the wall at a shopping complex near Grayton Beach, Florida.  Just look at the detail!  I like to think of the unnamed potter/sculptor, who created this beauty, and imagine loving hands putting it together.

- My coworker's three-year-old grandson had to move to a new preschool and on his first day, another little boy was crying, and the grandson went over and sat with him and held his hand.  Kindness at an early, but pivotal age.

- And having a nice telephone conversation with my nephew Doug, also always very kind, who had a birthday yesterday.  He was snowed in with his parents at their home in Virginia, but was getting the dinner he requested:  turkey cutlets and scalloped potatoes, with pecan pie for dessert.  I had a memory flash of him at about five-years-old asking if we could please have turkey cutlets for dinner and we did then, too.  I'm glad he got the dinner he wanted - he's a beloved young man, who I don't post about enough.

It's the weekend already.  Woo hoo!  Hope you have a great one.

Curio cabinet, happy ending and goldfinches

 - The story of my new cabinet:  My sister and I walked by a newly opened antiques shop in Thomasville, Georgia on the day after Christmas.  She said that building had been a hardware store for years.  A hand inside the window waved at us, so we went in.  While my sis talked to the very nice lady who had waved, I walked around and browsed.  Tucked away in the corner was a lighted curio cabinet with a "Sale" tag of $50 on it.  I thought, "$50????  Hmmm...how could I get that home?"  I knew just the spot for it in my dining room.  We left and I mulled it over while we walked around town.  I mentioned to her that I thought I might like that cabinet and she said it would fit in the back of her SUV, so we went back, only to find the shop had closed for the day.  I snapped a photo of the telephone number posted on the door and finally called about it during the last week of January.  The shop lady said she was very sorry, she was using it as a display case now.  Well shoot.  I cajoled and made my case, but no, she was firm - it was no longer for sale.  (It's in the photo above - found on their facebook page. Click to enlarge.  Far left corner in the back.)

- As you can see from this photo, this story has a happy ending - here it is in the corner of my dining room with contents from around my home in place.  I adore it.  :)  Here's what happened:  My sister and I were talking on the phone about her upcoming trip to visit me in Atlanta on the first week of February and I told her my tale of woe about the cabinet, adding "I should have bought it on the spot when I saw it."  She said, "I'm going to Thomasville tomorrow (she lives about 30 miles away in northern Florida) and I'll see what I can do."  She walked into the shop and pleaded my case again for me, by saying that she was coming up for my birthday and would love to surprise me.  She walked around the shop browsing and the shop lady thought about it, "It's her birthday?  Really?"  My sister called me while I was driving home that afternoon, "You owe me $53.50!" :)  The very nice lady had acquiesced.  Here it is and I adore it.  We need to send my sis to Washington, I think.

- Sara says my birds from the last post might very well be goldfinches.  How about that?  And perfect that I am reading the book, "The Goldfinch" right now.  I can hardly put it down at this point.   Click on the red link for Stephen King's review in The New York Times Book Review.  If he liked it, that's good enough for me.

Thanks for coming by!  Have a great weekend!

Feather catchers, unexpected and a perfect gift

- That's the side of my fireplace wall, just beside the sliding glass door that goes out onto the back porch.  I don't think I've ever posted about my feather catchers before.  (Click to enlarge if you can.)  They are wonderful pottery faces that are hollow inside.  The potter named them "feather catchers."  So when I spot a pretty feather on my walks, I bring it home because I have just the place for it.

My sisters and I all bought these at a wonderful shop in Dillsboro, North Carolina over the period of a few years.  The green one above was one of the last ones the potter made - I was told by the owner of the shop that she had a terminal illness and was not expected to live.  And indeed - there were no more in that shop again.  I'm sorry I don't know her name.  And an internet search never brings up "feather catchers" like these, only the Native American "dream catchers."  So it seems we have something truly unique. 

- My sister Jo brought me a beautifully wrapped little gift when she arrived last Thursday evening - unexpected because we generally do not do birthday gifts, except the gift of each others visits.  She was in a shop called The Mole Hole in Pensacola, Florida, where niece Abby and her family live.  She spotted something that goes so perfectly with our feather catchers, that she just had to get one for both of us.

- The face is a little ghoulish, but I love it.  :)  It is known as a "leaf spirit" and was made by a potter who lives in NW Washington State - Nana Thebus.  Somehow it has the same spirit as the feather catchers I already have, so of course it fits right in.  It reminds Jo of how grandson Monroe loves to peek out at her through tree branches.  A perfect gift.