So Much To Be Thankful For!

We give thanks to you dear Lord for your countless blessings!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

A walk in the woods

Don't you just love to hear the sound of the leaves crunching and swooshing under your feet as you walk along! It's a sound heard in the fall that just makes me smile.

The colors are so beautiful!

There are always some interesting things to see along the way.

The woods are lovely dark and deep. But I have promises to keep. And I have miles to go before I sleep.

.....................I love that poem by Robert Frost.

I have not blogged in such a long time. I have been busy painting our dining room and hope to have it ready in time for Thanksgiving.
Last Saturday, my girlfriend Nancy and I went for a Soup and Walk at Adkins Arboretum. It is a beautiful 400 acre area of streams, woodlands and meadows. After your informational guided tour through the woods, you are served a delicious lunch consisting of soup, salad and dessert. All 100% yummy and nutritious! They always try to coordinate the lunch with the appropriate seasonal colors of the woods and meadows. I should have taken a picture of the meal. Next time I will do that.

May your day be blessed!

Frost On The Pumpkin

Look and see! We had our very first frost this morning! I just can't believe it!
It's unusually early this fall! We even had sleet and snow flurries over the weekend! Some areas in the north east were hit hard with a heavy snowfall!

My flowers in the garden looked like the edges were dipped in a sugar coating!


Even the water in the birdbath was frozen! I guess it's time to get my heated birdbath out of storage!


The birds also ate all of the berries off of the Autumn Olive tree! I hope that it's not an indicator of a bad winter ahead of us. Usually they eat these berries much later in the season!
Oh well, even though it's only 31 degrees outside this morning, it's warm and cozy in the house and the sunrise was just beautiful!

Have a blessed day!

Crazy Daisy's and Spring Bulbs!

I spent the entire day yesterday planting spring bulbs in the garden. Planting bulbs is such a tedious process! It's truly not one of my favorite things to do! It takes me a long time to decide where I want to place each bulb, and then you must dig to just the right depth for that bulb, mix some bone meal in with the soil, cover the bulb, water and then move on! It is a time consuming process, but the big payoff will come in the springtime and I will be blessed with lots of beautiful, colorful, sweet smelling flowers to enjoy! I can't wait! :)

When I was planting my bulbs I enjoyed the company of these pretty daisy's which are still going strong! I dont know how much longer they will be blooming, but for now I will enjoy them!

Have a blessed day!

The Great Pumpkin!

We took our grandsons to a pumpkin patch this weekend and I noticed off in the distance this "HUGE" fake pumpkin placed behind a shed! It was so unexpected....and it cracked me up!

Hope your day is blessed! :)

Suddenly It's Fall!

Yesterday we had very high winds and during the night the temps dropped into the 40's. Brrr!

The sunrise was so beautiful this morning that the leaves looked like they were shimmering with gold dust! Then I noticed the back porch covered in leaves...and I realized that fall has finally made it's arrival!

Hope your day is blessed!

Pink Ribbon Eggs

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month!
Around our small town we have this movement called "Paint the Town Pink". All of the shop windows are decorated with pink displays and words of encouragement for all who ran in the various marathons and for those who are battling breast cancer! What a surprise I had when I opened this carton of eggs and noticed the pink ribbons stamped on them!
Cute idea for such a worthy cause!

Have a Blessed Day!

Space Spider!

As he sees it!


As I see it.

I couldn't help but notice this very large spider that has made his web from my front steps to the bushes. I put my camera under his web and took a picture of the view that he was enjoying!
It looks like he is lost in space and orbiting the earth! :)
Have a blessed day!

A Fathers Love

I was in the living room dusting the furniture this week at dad's house, when I heard the sound of the lawn mower whizzing by the window. I ran and got my camera and snapped this picture of dad. He is such an amazing man! Always on the move leaving no stone unturned! He rises every morning before the sun comes up and he seizes the day! His energy is unlimited! He has been like this my whole life....always on the move.......always doing something...a hard working man his entire life that provided well for his family that he dearly loved. He took his role as provider seriously. I never once heard him complain about having to go to work. Even though we are all grown now and have families of our own he was and still is a man that wants to protect and be there for his six children. His love for his family is endless. I feel so blessed to have a such a wonderful and loving father! This Sunday he will be turning 82! As he makes a wish and blows out his birthday candles, I will be thanking the Lord for this wonderful man we call Dad.

Have a blessed day!

Empty Nest

We are surrounded by acres and acres of beautiful farmland. On some of these rolling acres there sits empty homes. Abandoned, for one reason or another..left for nature to reclaim.

These two homes that I am showing you are my favorites. One is a mansion of sorts and the other is a sweet little cottage. I have a softness in my heart for these old homes. My eyes are always drawn to them, along with my wild imagination as I wonder about their history and the people that once lived behind their walls. I like to think about all of the different seasons of life that these homes have stood through. Weddings, Births, Christmas mornings, laughter, tears.....if walls could talk!

Hope your day is blessed!

Soup Time

I made a pot of Corn Chowder this afternoon to have for dinner tonight! It's going to be so good with some nice warm crusty bread on the side.
Oh my..... so yummy! :)

Hope you had a blessed day!

Lunch on The Water

I had lunch yesterday in Annapolis at this sweet little restaurant located on the Severn River.

The views of the Naval Academy and the bridge were picturesque! It was a perfect October day to eat outside and just enjoy the sunshine! Even the ducks could not resist soaking it all in!
Hope your day is blessed!

Sunshine On My Shoulders

The rain and clouds have finally moved on out, and this morning the sun was shining for the first time in days! I headed out very early to do some edging and much needed weeding. The weeds pull out so much easier after a good rain. It was such a cool and beautiful morning and I loved the feel of the warm sun beating on my back as I worked.....it felt wonderful! I noticed all the berries on the Autumn Olive Tree...hmmmm wonder if it's a sign of a nasty winter coming? I sure hope not!
I also couldn't resist this bee on top of the electric orange zinnia ...the zinnia's color stuck out like a neon sign and just screamed at me to take it's picture! :)

Hope you have a blessed day!

Mini Pumpkins

Yesterday I spent a little bit of time decorating these mini pumpkins that I wanted to use as a centerpiece for our ladies bible study brunch. We just finished reading the book "Knowing God" by J.I. Packer. I used my "Cuttlebug" to punch out the leaves and then used a gold ink pen to write some of the attributes of God that we had studied onto each leaf. To finish them off, I tied a little piece of raffia around each stem. I had a great time decorating these little guys and each of the ladies that came got to go home with one!
Have a blessed day!

Spit Shine

Having a brunch here on Friday morning with the ladies from our bible study. I borrowed dad's coffee urn to use on Friday. As you can see by the handles and base it is in desperate need of a good polishing. I have been working on it for about an hour now......and I still have the back half to do ....ugh!

Have a blessed day!

It's Raining on My Rain Garden!

Today's weather is just so dreary! It has been pouring down rain almost all day long..... and I mean a hard and heavy rain! They said we could get up to 4" of rain today!

Well, the Rain Garden was finally finished yesterday. There are so many different plants that were put in.... it makes my head spin! We counted 50 plants! We are very happy with the end result and are looking forward to next spring/summer when alot of these plants will be in full bloom. It should be very pretty....... that is if the rain doesn't wash it all away tonight! :)

Have a blessed day!

Shoo Fly Don't Bother Me

Every fall it happens........ the fruit fly population explodes here on the Eastern Shore! I don't know if this phenomenon happens only here out in the country or if people living in the city also experience this problem when the weather turns cool. These little guys are everywhere! I have seen them coming through my screens in droves! My girlfriend recently showed me a neat trick she uses to trap them. Just take a small jar and fill it half full with apple cider vinegar. Then take a piece of plastic wrap and stretch it tightly over the top of the jar. Take a toothpick and poke it through the plastic all the way till you reach the thickest part of the toothpick. This ensures that the holes will be large enough for the flies to enter but they cant get out. Make sure you poke several holes in the plastic. I have caught so many flies using this trap! I just thought it was a great idea and I wanted to share it with you!

Have a blessed day!

Diggin the Dirt

Early this morning I was busy weeding in my backyard garden. My poor flower gardens are really in bad shape! I have not been out to weed in a loooong time. Not to mention that the winds from hurricane Irene really did a number on some of my taller plants!

I really had to hustle because the landscapers were on their way to begin the first phase of installing my FREE Rain Garden. I am excited about this garden for several reasons. First because it free, second because it's good for the environment and the third reason is that I am am hoping that this will add even more interest to my gardens!

What is a Rain Garden you ask? Well, from what I understand, it is a garden where the old soil is removed and replaced with a special soil that acts like a filtration system. When it rains the water will slowly leech down into the soil as opposed to just running off down through the yard and into the creek behind our home. This garden will also be planted with plants native to Maryland.

There is a small creek that runs behind our home which eventually meets up with the Corsica River, which then meets the Chester River which then runs into the Chesapeake Bay. This Rain Garden is a result of grant money that has been set aside for the purpose of protecting the Rivers and Bay. Several of my neighbors are also having Rain Gardens installed this week. I will post more pictures as the work is finished. This is so exciting! :)

Hope you have a blessed Day!

In the Pink!

Today the air is chilly the sky is grey and cloudy. Fall is coming so quickly. It seems like summer has just flown by once again. The leaves will be falling before we know it, and we all know what comes after that. Yuck! I am so not ready for winter! This afternoon I spent a little time walking around my flower gardens and snapped a few pictures. My flowers always seem to do better in the fall than they do during our hot Maryland summers. Anyway, I love to take pictures of my flowers so that during the long cold winter months I can look at them, smile and remember.

Have a blessed day!

Fat and Happy

I spent yesterday afternoon in the kitchen and I made calzones from scratch. They were stuffed with sweet Italian sausage, green peppers, ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. I followed this recipe exactly, except that I added two green peppers to the sausage as it was frying. They were so good, they made my eyes roll back in my head! This was my first attempt to make them and although they took a good chunk of time out of my day, it was well worth it!

Here's the link if you would like to try to make these babies yourself. You wont be disappointed! Have a blessed day! :)

http://www.tasteandtellblog.com/2008/01/cookbook-of-the-month-recipe-calzones/http://www.tasteandtellblog.com/2008/01/cookbook-of-the-month-recipe-calzones/

Remembering

September 11, 2011

GOD BLESS THE USA!

Nothing say's lovin like something from the oven!

Last night for dinner I made pepperoni and mozzarella bread. It's a very easy bread to make and it looks like you really worked hard all day......but you didn't!

It was so yummy! ;)

Cozy and Comfy

It's funny how a rainy day can make you feel either blue and miserable or happy and content! Today I chose to feel the latter. Chillin out on the porch in my favorite chair, with a good book and a hot cup of tea. I could have just sat there all comfy and cozy for hours listening to the sound of the rain pelting against my windows. ....... Sigh! :)

Fungus Amungus

Wow!.............. Because the soil is just so damp after all the rain that fell from the hurricane, there are some "huge" and very "interesting" mushrooms growing all around!

I have a "thing" for mushrooms...I think they are beautiful! :)