Day Three Hundred Twelve 2013

Random Pics Of Autumn Beauty And Blessings From The Week That Was ~ HAPPY TGIF!













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

Day Two Hundred Seventy Two 2013

“At the beach, life is different. Time doesn’t move hour to hour, but mood to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tide and follow the sun.”  ~Unknown

Maybe I should just say ‘see previous post’. I’m repeating myself, to be sure. That’s only because each day here is pretty much the same as the one before but in a good way. Lots of sunshine and blue sky, although clouds moved in this afternoon, so the sunset was not as spectacular as the past few days. The wind and waves are fierce at times. The breeze is coolish. We walk on the beach. We sit on the beach and read and gaze at the blue-green horizon and occasionally fall asleep or munch on strawberries or cantaloupe or grapes.  We went up to Kelly’s earlier in the day and watched Knox play with his new obsession ~ Thomas The Train. This evening, we shared pizzas with Kelly and Kerry and Knox at the Mellow Mushroom which is always yummy. Ventured into a beach-stuff store and then into a candy/ice cream shop. Big mistake if you’re trying to lose weight. I guess pizza doesn’t help, either, but oh well. Still slugging back Slim Fast for breakfast and lunch so there ya go ~ it all evens out. And it’s all good.

Day One Hundred Two 2013

T G I F

Trying a new recipe ~ Hearty Beef and Barley Soup in the Crockpot

I bought a very small bag of pearled barley (I want to say ‘Pearl Bailey’ ~ if you’re under the age of 50, you have no idea who I’m talking about ~ anyway ~ I digress) because, let’s face it, who cooks with barley? Not I. But the soup recipe called for it ~ three-fourths of a cup. Lots left, of course. I put the rest of it in this vintage freezer Ball jar. I collect old jars. This one’s pretty rare.

One of the reasons I bought that jar is because of the galvanized lid. The original owner (I’m assuming) apparently put up some cherries and wrote the date on the lid ~ which dates back (way back) to when I was but a sixteen month old baby. Pretty cool. And old.

Neil took the day off to do some much-needed yard work. He bought a couple of truck loads of black mulch and spent most of the day spreading it, which will (we hope) look good and keep the weeds at bay.

Couldn’t have asked for a more awesome day which was a cool-ish 60 degrees. Felt more like spring after the eighty degree heat wave this past week. The rain yesterday evening washed away some of the pollen, thank you very much.

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!" ~Robin Williams

“Tell me the story about how the sun loved the moon so much that he died every night just to let her breathe.”  ~Anonymous

The strong wind yesterday blew petals from our cherry trees around like pink snow ~ a very pretty sight to see but wish they’d stay on the trees a bit longer.

Grandson Elijah after school. He was thrilled that it’s Friday and did a happy dance when he got inside the house.

Grandpa Neil, granddaughter Shelby and grandson Elijah (and moi) treated ourselves to some Mae Pearl’s frozen yogurt. Elijah got a brain freeze.

This is a terrible washed out picture, but the Hearty Beef and Barley Soup turned out great and was pretty tasty. Barley adds an interesting texture and flavor. We’ll have it again. Leftovers, you know.

“There's a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they're absolutely free. Don't miss so many of them.”
~Jo Walton

Happy TGIF, y’all!

Day Ninety Five 2013

T G I F !

Grandson Elijah got to take a stuffed animal to school today to sit on his desk ~ a real treat. He took ‘Cookie’, his new dog he got at Cracker Barrel the other night. ‘Cookie’ was decked out in Elijah’s skeleton bow tie ~ very manly.

Grandpeeps Elijah, Knox, and Shelby are always up for yummy frozen treats at Cream City Ice Cream Shop and Coffee House.

Daughter Kelly says ‘Where’s mine?’ She eventually ordered a scoop of pistachio ice cream.

Shelby got Tennessee Fudge and Cake Batter and shared a lick with Aunt Kelly ~ well, sort of.

Grandpa Neil shared his with Knox. Who knew this kid would love cheesecake and caramel ice cream.

I think Grandpa [Knox calls him ‘Pa’'] managed to get a few bites for himself.

Shelby’s ice cream was lip-lickin’ good. Elijah has been wanting a frozen hot chocolate. That’s what he ordered but he didn’t like it. It was mostly ice and you could barely taste the chocolate.

He got a second chance at a treat he could eat ~ Tennessee Fudge ice cream on a cone. Now that was good.

After our treats, we headed outside to play in the sunshine of this beautiful day. Knox is rarely without his Elmo these days.

All that brilliant sunlight knocked Elijah right off his feet.

They all love jumping on the trampoline. Shelby and Elijah are experts. Knox has gotten the hang of it pretty quickly.

Our cherry trees are blooming ~ my fave in the spring, especially against a backdrop of endless blue sky.

Bouncy Knox ~ and Elmo, too

Elijah flies through the air with the greatest of ease.

When Knox is on the trampoline, Shelby and Elijah try not to jump high or hard so Knox won’t go flying off into the deep blue and beyond. Fun times for these cousins.

Knox’s Aunt Holly bought him some Elmo jammies. What a happy way to end the day.
Happy TGIF, y’all!