Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Another beautiful day
Is it global warming? We have had the most beautiful warm days lately. In fact we haven't even had our first frost yet which is very unusual for our neck of the woods. I've cut back all the summer flowers and dumped the containers in preparation for colder weather. We've put away most of the summer outdoor things into the shed or basement. So we are ready.
But it is still sunny. Today I cleaned out the inside and outside of my van. Don walked Sadie at Marilla. Now I'm going to read and relax on the porch swing. Perfect day I'd say.
Posted with BlogsySunday, September 28, 2014
The art gallery
I have three best friends and we have been celebrating each toher's birthdays for years now. This year I wanted to do something different for my birthday so we went to Buffalo to the art gallery.
The Albright Knox gallery is a museum of modern art which although it isn't my favorite style had many interesting exhibits.
For instance this huge sculpture that was out front. It is made of canoes.
As you can see the gallery was massive and some of the canvases were as huge as a large wall.
This one of Queen Anne's Lace was my favorite.
We had lunch at their cafe where the food was delicious. I had red pepper soup with feta and spinach and a half of a turkey, bacon and cheese sandwich.
Of course I had to take a selfie with Linda.
Here is yrsa at the wallpaper exhibit.
We all enjoyed walking the spacious halls and viewing the large canvases. We were sorry that the sculpture garden was closed for renovations.
What a fun day!
Saturday, September 27, 2014
A bluebird day
Friday, September 26, 2014
We finally meet face to face, well sorta.
You know that I am app crazy. It is so much fun to play around with all these amazing apps that I have on my ipad. And very easy. This one is called Cinematic and you can make five to fifteen second movies with special effects. (I haven't learned that part yet). So I thought today I'd let you put a face to my blog.
I've had a long day.
Sometimes I swear that Sadie is part human. When I am on the phone she always comes and gets on my lap and listens to everything. I know she is listening because when she hears something that she recognizes she respons by cocking her head and giving me that look. And she realizes by the tone of my voice when I am saying goodbye and immediately jumps off my lap.
But it was uncanny yesterday. We were outside and when I told her that I needed to wash off her feet...she had run up into the woods..bad Sadie..and she went right to the hose and stood there. Now you have to know that it was the first time we did it with the hose. Usually we take her in the kitchen and wash her off. How did she know? And how did she understand what I said?
When my son visits we can't tell her to early that he is coming because she spends all day watching out the front window and barking at any little sound.
Today Sadie and I went for a long walk around Marilla Reserviour. It was another great fall day.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
My very soul is wedded to it
Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love — that makes life and nature harmonize. The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one’s very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. ~George Eliot, letter to Miss Lewis, 1st October 1841 
October’s poplars are flaming torches lighting the way to winter. ~Nova S. Bair
The days may not be so bright and balmy—yet the quiet and melancholy that linger around them is fraught with glory. Over everything connected with autumn there lingers some golden spell—some unseen influence that penetrates the soul with its mysterious power. ~Northern Advocate 
...I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house. So I have spent almost all the daylight hours in the open air. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, 10th October 1842
And neither could I. Such a beautiful day beckoned me to take my camera (and Sadie) out for a walk. We are so lucky to have the trail at the University of Pittsburgh so close to our house. The leaves are just beginning their change.
And of course I needed a picture of Sadie.
Look who visited this morning
Seeing deer in our yard is not unusual but every time it fills me with awe. My ever vigilant Sadie who sits on the back of the couch watching every move made by any squirrels or chipmunks began barking this morning at something out the window
She has much better eyes than I do so it took a moment for me to spot the two deer.
The mother already had the dark brown coat that will protect her for the winter but the younger deer was still red.
They must have been spooked by Sadie's bark and they ran around the house and into the front yard. When mama spotted Sadie at the front window she turned and went the other way.
Our property backs up onto a large wooded hill. For two summers now there have been logging trucks that have raped our beautiful woods of its trees. From the google earth view the who hillside is bare. I wonder how this is affecting the wildlife. I know it is affecting the rain water coming off the hillside for some homes.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
The Table in Autumn
This year the fall table is more subtle in its coloring. There is a touch of orange but muted as well as the greens and browns. 
The runner in the middle is actually one panel of a curtain that I found at Snow Creek Farm near Fredericksburg, Virginia. It sets the stage for the whole table.
For my birthday Don bought me plates and two more bowls to join the two Williams Sonoma bowls I bought last year.
The bronze chargers, brown round placemats and hex printed brown placemats add a finishing touch.
As do the leaf napkin rings and bamboo flatware.
I wish you could see the gilded candle holders lit at night.
In the center of the table is an arrangement that I got at Jan Williams florist in Fredericksburg. I added some glass grapes and a few pumpkins.
I put it all on a plate that my sister had given me one year for my birthday.
On the candle holders I added some white pumpkins too.
Even the candle-ier got some leaves as well as my favorite stained glass votive holders.
I am loving the subdued colors this year.
Being a Scout
What a proud moment. Ryan's son Sean who is in first grade this year joined Cub Scouts. I remember Ryan's Boy Scout troop and how he progressed until he was an Eagle Scout. Now he is a den leader. Ryan is great with children and I know he will enjoy having his own den.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Equinox
Happy first day of Fall. It's official. The Northern hemisphere is tipping away from the sun. The days will be shorter and the nights longer. Soon it will be colder and colder.
And we will adapt. Don't we always? We may complain that the summers are much too short but who can deny the beauty of that first snowfall.
Out come the candles whose burning and flickering remind us of our ancestors huddling around a fire. Warm throws around our legs are like the animal skins which kept the cave men warm on the cold nights. We turn to comfort food to fill our bellies.
The changing of the seasons is perpetual. We have our favorites but each one has its own beauty and characteristics depending on where you live.
We can welcome each one. So welcome Autumn. Come on brilliant leaves, crisp nights and football games. Stay a while...but not too long.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
It's all about the love.
All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
The pashmina story
Jeanne Robertson is a hoot! There are many clips of her southern comedy on Youtube and every one of them makes me laugh out loud. I love a Southern accent, after all I was born in Georgia and all my mother's family is from there. Please enjoy this hilarious video.