world turns even more crazy...

evening, lovelies!  how is your weekend going?  have you been out to look at the full moon tonight?  it's been cloudy here since yesterday when we had a lot of rain.  

because of all the rain, i haven't been able to get into the garden to get back to work on the blackberry patch.  i'm hoping to get the vegetable seeds planted in the veg bed tomorrow.

today i worked on the seasonal tree.  it's taken me some time to get up the energy to do it.  i have a lot of work to do on it.  it's kind of not great right now, but.  i'll keep working on it.

it's in a place that is hard to reach the whole thing.  i don't know how i'll move it around to get to the other side, but i'll figure it somehow.

i can't remember if i've mentioned it before but i've been becoming increasingly concerned about the possibilities of long tern power outages, water issues, etc - what with the state of the world.  so yesterday morning, during the rain i went out and did a thing.

this is something that can run a mini fridge (which i need to keep my insulin and other meds cool), charge phones (which i use for control of my insulin pump) and will also run my cpap at night.  it can be charged via an outlet/car/or solar panel.  

over the years i've had impulses and urges that come out of nowhere and urge me to do something.  whenever i've ignored them or told myself i could do it another day, i've regretted it and sometimes suffered for it.  but when i listen, and do the thing, it always turns out to be beneficial in some way.  so when i saw an ad for a solar powered generator that cost over 4k, i decided to start a search for something i could afford.  yes, i'm slowly (or not so slowly) starting to build up supplies in case the world turns even more crazy.  now i just have to learn how to set it up/charge it/use it.

i've also been working on my clean & clear plan.  i emptied my hall closet/pantry of everything so i could organize it.  but it turns out the three wire racks that are in there all need to be reattached to the walls.  so now i'm waiting on the handyman.

anywho, that's what i've been up to the last few days.  i've suddenly found myself hosting an easter dinner next saturday.  i've tried explaining that i don't celebrate easter, but... so i've got a lot of work to do this week to get ready.  plus, friday is cheesecake day with my sil. :-)

alrighty...i'm done rambling.  tell me what you are up to this weekend.  and also what you think about the being prepared thing.  are you making plans in case of emergency? i'd love to hear your thoughts.

thanks for reading, 

love & kisses & magical wishes

~*~

 

Hello, September...

September 1st - in my head it is the beginning of the Autumn season.  I know it isn't "officially" Autumn until the 23rd this year, but...

August for me is very hard, as you know if you've been reading here for a while.  This August started just as bad as they usually do, but it ended...oh my how it ended.

Those pictures above?  Well...I did a thing.  Something so far out of my comfort zone that I couldn't even see the zone anymore.  In fact, I was two time zones away from home.  I took a trip.  Such an adventure!  I'm going to tell you about it, I promise.

I have so much I want to share about my trip and my time away.  Things that happened, things that didn't happen.  I took over 650 pictures.  Crazy, I know...

But it seemed like every time I turned around the sky changed the way the land looked.  So amazing!  And the night sky!  Oh how I wish I'd had a camera that could capture that night sky!  I have never in my life seen so many stars!  And I saw the Milky Way! (no, not the candy bar! haha)

Truly, it was a magical, mystical experience that I'm pretty sure will stay witn me for the rest of my life.  

But for now, I wanted to say hello.  Welcome, September.  I'm so happy to see you.  I can already feel the change in the air and see the change in the light at dusk.  

How was everyone's August?  

thanks for stopping in for a read...
love & blessings
~*~

 

December...

 (twinkle light reflections on the black marble surround of the fireplace)

(twinkle lights reflecting on my scratched, dirty readers - plus the reflection of the lamp has some pretty cool shapes to it)

December is here...  

Most people probably think of December in reds and greens and bright glittery colors.  Me... I see it in greys, blues, and whites and of course twinkle lights.

I love a lot of things about this time of year.  Things like when the weather turns cold, the skies grow dark and daylight is very short.  I'm not sure why winter calls to me so.  I was a springtime baby and grew up in the south.  Still...winter has a special song it sings to me like no other season.  

I'll talk about what I don't like another time.

I've been glancing around, finding odd little things to photograph.  I'm hoping it will help me keep coming back here.   

Autumn has come down at my house.  Although I still have pumpkins through the house.  I think only one is a cook-able pumpkin (that will happen next week), all though, shouldn't they all be cook-able?  Oh well...

Santa flag is on the pole out front, my greenery winter wreath went on the door today and my Yule tree came out. (I'd mostly decided not to bother this year but...) It's up, but has yet to be decorated.  That's on tomorrow's list.

Tell me, are you ready for December?  Do you go all out with decorations or do you prefer a more subtle look?  Do you celebrate Yule or Christmas or is December just another month in the calendar for you?  I'd love to hear.

Thanks for stopping in for a read...
love & blessings
~*~

 

It is... September...

The air is cool, the windows are open...

I love this time of year. Fall is really approaching and even though the temperatures during the day are heading back up into the 80's, at night, it is a very cool 60's. The moon will be full in two days... mercury retrograde is back in four...topsy turvy, turvy topsy...

I've hurt my foot (the doctor can't tell me exactly what is wrong) but it is keeping me from the garden. I'm going to try to get out there this weekend, even if I'm hobbling. I have someone coming to mow tomorrow or Friday, so I'll only have to weed... weed... weed... weed...
I seem to have the most fertile soil in the county. I can't keep the weeds away.

I've only one pumpkin left... the littlest rotted out. The big one seems to still be safe though. I'll find out for certain this weekend. I'm holding out until at least the first week in October to harvest it. I've not done very well on my vegetable goals this summer. I had wanted to really eat as much as I could that came from my own garden... but honestly, most of it has either been frozen, or gone bad before I could eat it. Next year, I WILL do better.

I'm getting ready to plant some fall/winter crops. I want to plant some more garlic, some collards and maybe some kale.

Last night I dreamed about animals. Bears, deer, and something that looked like cougar, but the eyes and horns were different. The biggest thing I remembered was that I was upset that I didn't have my camera. This morning, I made sure to put my camera in my bag and keep it with me all day. I never saw any unusual animals, but I will continue to keep it with me.

Sorry this is just a bunch of ramblings tonight. My brain is mushy and I'm very tired.

Tomorrow night is the official start of football season, yet another sign that fall is here. I'm going to Charlotte to see the Panthers and Steelers. Hopefully this trip will be much better than the last one.

I'm going to head outside now and see if I can get a few moon photos (and enjoy this beautiful cool weather).

Blessings
~*~

autumn

I don't know about you...but I am ready for the arrival of autumn. It has been so hot lately, I hibernate in my house with the air conditioning blasting. I prefer the fresh air blowing through my open windows, but with the heat... not gonna happen.

I feel like autumn is coming soon. Not just because September is around the corner, but because I can feel a change in the air. It feels thinner and a little lighter. Are you ready for autumn? Ready for the long hot days of summer to be over?

My garden is ready for autumn too. Pumpkins are growing, tomatoes are plentiful, as well as the bell peppers, eggplant and jalapenos. I really hope to have at least one pumpkin from my garden for Halloween.

Maybe this one...


or this one...


As I was picking tomatoes tonight, I saw the prettiest sunset ... it was so lovely I had to run to the house and grab the camera. While I was out, I took he photos of the pumpkins.



Know’st thou not at the fall of the leaf
How the heart feels a languid grief
Laid on it for a covering,
And how sleep seems a goodly thing
In Autumn at the fall of the leaf?

And how the swift beat of the brain
Falters because it is in vain,
In Autumn at the fall of the leaf
Knowest thou not? and how the chief
Of joys seems—not to suffer pain?

Know’st thou not at the fall of the leaf
How the soul feels like a dried sheaf
Bound up at length for harvesting,
And how death seems a comely thing
In Autumn at the fall of the leaf?

Autumn Song
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1883)

blessings
~*~

Spring!

And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.
~Percy Bysshe Shelley, "The Sensitive Plant"


Spring is here. In less than an hour, the first day of spring will arrive. Despite my love for winter and my wishes that here in the south we could have a longer winter, I am ready for spring. I am ready to get out in my garden, to open my windows and feel the breeze blow in to clean out the lethargy of winter.



I am ready to watch the flowers grow and bloom, to watch the clouds as they pass through the bright beautiful sunshine, to feel some warmth on my skin.



I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden. ~Ruth Stout

I feel this way.. I am anxious to be in my garden, working my fingers through the dirt and planting and nurturing in my own way.

I wish you a warm, sunshiny first day of spring...



Yesterday the twig was brown and bare;
To-day the glint of green is there;
Tomorrow will be leaflets spare;
I know no thing so wondrous fair,
No miracle so strangely rare.
I wonder what will next be there!
~L.H. Bailey

knit knit knit

I've been working on the never-ending afghan, again. I finally (after a year!) finished the first of four strips.


Each strip is made up of four different panels. Each panel is a different color and design.


Above is panel number one...


Next, panel two...

Then panel number three...

And finally, panel number four.

Originally, the dark blue of panel four was going to be a light kind of sagey green colorway, but when I started knitting it I decided I did not like all the colors together. I like these colors now.

Last night I started on the second panel. I have three panels and then to sew them all together and add the border. I hope to have it completed in about a year.

In other news, last night was our first freeze warning of the year, so I went out to the garden and harvested some herbs and picked the last of the habanero's and tomatoes and peppers. It is so lovely to feel the chill in the air and to watch as the leaves change. The crunch under my feet as I walk through the fallen leaves. The smell of wood burning in a stove and seeing the curlicue of smoke wafting from someones chimney. Autumn... it even has a nice sound to it.

What is your favorite thing about autumn?

Blessings,
~*~

Autumn is here...

It has finally turned cooler here. Yesterday I woke up to 36 degree temps outside and not much warmer inside as I did not realize it was to be so cold and had left all my windows open. It was very difficult to get out of bed. :-)

I've been wearing sweaters and sweatshirts the past few days which is wonderful to me. I love the cold! I haven't done much in the garden the past few weeks. I need to take advantage of the cool weather and get out there and get the old stuff pulled up and get it weeded and mulched for the winter. I keep wanting to plant winter vegetables, but never actually do it. Maybe next year...

I'll leave you with a picture of another picture like my banner. I took several trying to get different views. Don't you just love autumn colors? I adore them and white pumpkins!


Blessings,
~*~