Little Promises

Every season has such joy in it, Summer, the lazy hot humid days, filled with fresh fruit and veggies to eat. My Mark and I spend each evening catching up from the day, sitting on our front porch with a cold beer. On the weekends we seem to end up on the porch with neighbors and friends. Fall brings cooler temperatures that are welcome after a hot summer. Cider, and a pot of chili to warm the soul after a day raking leaves, is such a comfort! Winter brings craziness with holidays, and parties. Hot soups, warm baked breads to rejuvenate after a busy day. And then there is Spring, when the promise of rebirth as all the plants peak their little heads from the earth waking from a long winters nap! Time to plant a vegetable garden and plan what will go where. Chickens will be part of our spring this year. I am looking forward to sharing fresh eggs with those that I love. As the days get longer and warmer, there is excitement in the air of all that is a head of us during these wonderful warm months that mother nature has in store for us! Time to plan to clean, to cook and yes, to decorate!

Cold Weather, makes perfect knitting time

A sweater for the cutest little boy!
A scarf for a treasured friend

A bit of spring color for the dreary days we have been having here in North Carolina! Spring, please chase the winter's cold, grayness away! 
                  Sweet, juicy, delicious, little bits of sunshine right from the grocery!
Can you believe, Robins in January? They are gathered in our little pond, which was partially frozen, but they all seem happy, even though their little feet must be freezing!
The squirrel, hogging the birdseed, the patient cardinal waiting his turn. What a gentle little creature!  
I love this picture of my little feathered friend, he seems to be saying, What the @#$& is going on out here?

I've been knitting, not blogging!

A sweater meant for one of my children, ended up going to another! 
A sweater for a friend of my husbands, granddaughter 
A lace scarf for my Favorite Aunt!
A newborn hat for a new friend of mine, whose son is due to be born in February!
A hat and scarf I was commissioned to knit!

Well, can I just say that I am computer illiterate! Somehow I have done something to all my pictures, although they are still on my computer, I cannot access them to attach them to my blog so that I can publish them! Frustration and feelings of stupidity, well yes, I want to scream! 

It's November, 1 week before Thanksgiving, how it got here so quickly, no clue! We are having some dear friends from NY visit for the holiday, needless to  say I have plenty to do! Cleaning, getting fresh sheets and towels out, shopping to make sure there is plenty of alcohol to drink, and oh yes, food! We always have such a fun time when John and Debbie come to visit. This year I want to have a bon fire, one of my favorite things to do. A chill in the air, the warmth of the fire, delicious s'mores Renee style! (nutello instead of chocolate) A few bottles of wine and maybe even some neighbors will venture over to the smell of the burning wood and join us! 

Even with all the uncertainty in the world today, there is still plenty to be Thankful for. Good Friends, Good Health, beautiful children, precious 4 legged family members, Jobs, I could go on and on, but for me, my family and my incredible husband are what I am most thankful for. 

All Mark has to do, is put his arms around me and I feel safe, happy and loved. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.

Hopefully my computer will let me in soon, so I can get  some pictures on my blog!

September is Here!!!!

September is one of my favorite months of the year! Why you ask? Well let me tell you. I married my best friend, and soul mate on September 10, 1988. My daughter, my first child, was born in September. Here in the South, the air is not quite as humid, so the windows are open and I can hear the birds, and crickets and even the laughter of the children playing outside!

There are less mosquitos! 

Some evenings it gets chilly enough to brew up some lovely soups & stews in my kitchen, and even though the garden is usually winding down at this time of year, (if of course you do not have a herd of deer coming by each and every night,) you can start thinking about what you are going to do differently next year. 

There are nights to have bon fires and sit in the back yard and enjoy the beautiful stars, chilly enough to cuddle with said soul mate, and even think about knitting something warm to wear!

Even though, I do not like winter, okay I really DO NOT like winter, Fall has always been a time of year I have cherished.

where did summer go?

a bird in flight
Ruby on squirrel watch
The window box in full bloom, I should have planted my tomatoes up there, the deer can't climb!
My little garden friend!

I cannot believe that tomorrow, our son Corey starts his junior year of high school! Markie, who left me to go off to college last year, is home and doing a semester on line. My oldest son Adam has also gone back to school to study to be a chef, and my daughter Taryn, is also in school studying to be a motorcycle mechanic and is at the top of her class! So all my kids are in school! Mom and Dad, well we just work! I just don't know where the summer went, why does time fly by so fast? before I know it, it will be Christmas, and cold!

 I already am thinking about my garden for next year, and have got to come up with some ways to outsmart the damn deer who have eaten every tomato I grew! I have bought tomatoes all summer! They ate my roses, and even nibbled on my sedum's. I really am not sure how those creatures can still get up and move they must be so fat! and if they were polite southern deer, they might think about leaving a few tomatoes behind for the growers of their delightful late night meals! 

a trip to NY

Our dear friends, Debbie & John have a pond (size of a small lake) in their back yard, the koi are ENORMOUS! It is a beautiful retreat! Mark and I have fond memories with our friends and I pray many more to come!
Grammy's (Mark's Mom) cat Harley, He keeps her company when we are not there! Thank you Harley!
When we were driving up to NY, yes we drove, but it wasn't too bad, 10 1/2 hours stuck in a car with quiet Mark, anyway, I forget how beautiful the mountains are, I took lots of pics of them
Before we went to NY, we spent a day at the beach! I never get tired of the complete and utter contentment being near the ocean brings to me. 

more of everyday life

                  Mark! hang on, I'm coming!        on our friends boat, Mark getting the latter up.
our breakfast room, but we eat here for all meals! we bought a new bed frame from IKEA and put the iron gates we used as a headboard on the windows. They are hard to see, but they are there!
more wine bottles!
another sweater I made.
me, with Vada, there are never any pictures of me because I am always behind the camera. Mark picked up the camera and took this shot,

Progress in the Back Yard is SLOW!

We save our wine bottles and use them as edging! Other people save wine bottles for us too!
The fire pit
A little corner, it is very shady, and I need more plants! 
Our little pond!

We have huge trees and not a lot of grass! Hopefully in the fall we will be able to seed and mulch! But for now, it is as good as it can get! The mosquitos love it!