Hello Winter ---Goodbye 2024

 

If ever I felt home-sick it was when returning home from a walk, on a chilly winter afternoon... 

Countess von Lauenbrück, "Life in a North-German Chateau," 1867

Winter has come and the end of the year is almost here.  I hope with the coming new year I will have many projects stitched and finished.  

Here's wishing  you a very merry Christmas and a very peaceful new year!

blessings, always, Kathleen

 

The house is full of furry visitors

 Thanksgiving was a wonderful time for us.......I am hoping that it was a wonderful time for all of you as well. 

As most of you know ,the only pet I have now, is our black cat Taboo. When our daughter comes to visit, she brings her three pets consisting of two dogs,

Kaena

and Ruby,

along with her cat, Ellie.

My daughter is on a two week vacation and has left her group with us , trusting them to my care.

The pets are sweet and friendly, and the only hiccup I have is that my cat and my daughter's cat do not like each other and the dogs are over anxious with my cat. So to keep every pet happy and safe, my living room now has two large dog crates and I have managed to make the living room separate from the rest of the house, giving my cat free range in the other rooms.  My daughter's cat has complete reign of the guest bedroom.  My  mornings are taken up with a long and enjoyable walk with both dogs around the perimeter of our property and up the field road and back to the house......then it's feeding time for everyone.......and then I spend time playing with Ellie.  The day goes fairly well with the occasional trip outside to a play yard for the dogs and ends with a late afternoon long walk with them before the day ends. Since our Sophie has passed......it's been awhile since I have taken such long walks and I had forgotten how much time and attention dogs want.  I do realize that although I love dogs, I do not want any for my own.  I have gotten used to the freedom and doing whatever at any time and going anywhere at anytime without a concern .  

How about you?  Do you have dogs and cats?  Do you want more than what you have now?

I would love to hear! 

Wishing You A Very Blessed Thanksgiving

 

image from the internet: Thanksgiving holiday dinner in Tennessee. 1930's

Gather friends and family 'round the table

Remember those we love no longer here

Together take a moment and be grateful

For the joy, for the tears.  

                                     "lyrics....The Bocelli Family"

 

November

 

November comes

      And November goes,

      With the last red berries

      And the first white snows.

With night coming early,

      And dawn coming late,

      And ice in the bucket

      And frost by the gate.

The fires burn

      And the kettles sing,

      And earth sinks to rest

      Until next spring.

Elizabeth Coatsworth (1893–1986)

Happy Halloween!

 

Eat, drink, and be scary.  

                                                Rosie O'Donnell

(Tomato Hornworm)

And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you.

                                                  Roald Dahl

 

We went on a little get away......

 

a small road trip to Fredericksburg,  TX. 

We walked around for a few hours at the trade days looking at 

so many wonderful things.

and then.......we visited a place I have longed to visit for many years........

where zinnia gardens grew in acre after acre.

in every color imaginable........I felt I had died and gone to heaven.

I'm talking about Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg.

I order my seeds from them every year and am so delighted I finally got

to visit them.  They have more than zinnia seed.......they have all of the native wildflower 

seed that grows in TX and pretty much everywhere else, along with bluebonnet and cosmos.

It was a wonderful.....quick getaway.  Just a couple of days filled with 

lovely countryside views.  

Here at home, the moonflower is in heavy bloom

and the chrysanthemum is showing off it's autumn colors.

These October days are pleasant and most welcomed.  I want them to 

stay around for more than 31 days.

Tell me.......what is growing or blooming in your area?  

I would love to hear!

 

My personal new year has recently started........

 

well.......that's what I like to call it.  I always feel that a birthday is a new year, filled with hope, given to a person to explore, live, and enjoy each new day that comes along. We hope it will be a complete full year, yet we are never promised tomorrow......just the day we have at hand.

With that being said, I have decided to spend each day this year.....seeking out some kind of joy.

Whether that day is good, bad, sad, uncertain......freezing, extremely hot, or pleasant with each hour, 

I am going to seek the joy in something about that day.  

I started off the first days of my new year pumpkin shopping.

The joy these wonderful globes give to me each year at this time needs no explanation to anyone who sees them. 

I decorated the porches...

and just these few ......brought me joy.

another source of joy........I do not mention much......

is my vintage shop where I sell vintage dishware, glassware, and embroidered linens.

(in photo: Homer Laughlin Blue Dawn 1948)

My shop sits out on our property and it is very rural........there is never much traffic that drives by.

I always need to post on social media and leave boxes with signs that have printed arrows along the main road to lead customers to my shop. For anyone who is interested in lovely dishes and such

you can visit my Facebook page to see more at this link 

Yesteryear

Drops of joy.....rain.....came to us this whole past week.  It rained solidly for 2 days causing much of our roads to flood.  Much of Texas actually got this much needed moisture.

Now the flowers are still in bloom

Their colors bring much joy.

The moss on the old crooked mesquite trees always shows up so much better when wet.

up from the ground other surprises emerge.......this mushroom looked like this 3 days ago

Imagine my joy and wonder when today, it looked like this!

Another source of joy is the wild birds that come along to feed...... There is not a day that isn't filled with the sound and song of wild birds around our home. Throughout the year they come in different shapes, colors and sizes.  Some live here naturally, some fly in with storms and soon fly away. 

This group of quail have held my attention for the past 2 months

I counted 27 in this group.

When they first appeared......the mother was in the front.......leading a long line of little feathered babies that looked like the size of ping pong balls......and the father kept at the back of the line.

As you can see, they have all grown well.  They come quietly and leave just as quietly and quickly.

Another source of joy is my sewing/embroidery.  After a day of cooking, cleaning, and doing whatever it is that needs doing, I find joy in retreating to my creative corner to stitch the late afternoon hours away.  

I hope this finds that you are having pleasant days filled with your own kind of joy.

 

The sound of waves crashing on a sandy beach......

awakened me every morning for 10 wonderful days.

One particular morning far down on the beach, I heard these people 

singing a very lovely song.........in Hawaiian. They were doing motions with their hands to the sea and I was transfixed in wonder and awe.......it was so beautiful. 

The photo is blurry as it was a slightly stormy morning......and I had taken this photo from my hotel balcony.  In our hotel lobby and out on the pool, Hawaiian music played constantly.  Sometimes there was live Hawaiian music performed in the lobby and at dinner .

Yes.......we have been in beautiful Hawaii.......on a magical trip that our

daughter wanted us to go along with her on.  

She had every day planned with some new kind of place to see.  From Honolulu, Waikiki beach , 

Oahu , and to the big island Kona.

It was a long, but pleasant plane flight from Texas, to Denver, to Hawaii. 

We were welcomed with beautiful leis placed around our necks,

and found ourselves in a land of incredible beauty.  

I fell in love with the mountains there

where clouds sat on top and mist fell down in the form of gentle light rain.

There were just as many flowers on trees as there were on the ground.

This is the Royal Poinciana 

and this is the Plumeria

There were so many interesting trees.......I am not sure but I think this one may be the Koa tree,

and there were banyan trees

and monkey pod trees........

Speaking of monkey pod.......we ate at a wonderful

restaurant called The Monkey Pod

we also had a colorful meal at a luau.....the purple bread is taro bread, which

is a potato bread and very good.

we were also served pina coladas in a pineapple

the luau was a wonderful thing to see and to listen to

we visited Pearl Harbor

there are so many different kinds of beaches........coves with 

large boulders

the Black beach where the sand

is all black from lava

and the waves have so many different hues of blue.

we spent a good part of the day swimming in Waimea Bay.

when the sun was setting......every where...... every night.......the torches were lit.

They are lovely along the beach and along the streets full of shops.

I end this now with a lovely sunset on Kaena's Point 

Hawaii was a wonderful place to visit during the last summer days. 

We are now back and back into our quiet, normal, routine.

We have so many good memories this year from our travels.

as you remember from my previous post, we visited our son in beautiful Washington/Oregon area.

and now we end the year's travels 

with enchanting Hawaii.

So tell me.......have you traveled any where this summer or are you planning

to travel?  I would love to hear