Not Quite Yet!

With temps in the mid 60's today I knew if I wanted to get some final yard work done before old man winter was breathing his icy breath down my neck I needed to get busy.  We have had several frosts so I assumed all my plants and garden had gone to sleep for the season.  Under a pile of leaves I found this plant happily blooming and looking as if it was Spring.  What a nice gift in the middle of November.

While pulling up tomato vines I found these three fellows snuggled

down close to the ground under all the dead foliage. 

So I guess it's not quite winter yet.  But probably tomorrow.

Bob & I

I lost my baby brother early this morning to that ugly monster cancer.  He has put up a brave fight since he was diagnosed in late April.  He did his chemo, radiation, had most of his stomach and esophagus removed but that monster still invaded the liver and lungs.  I was twelve when he was born so he sometimes felt more like my child than my brother.  He would have been 59 in March I will miss he so much he was such a good, gentle man who loved his garden and cooking for his family.

This is a photo of him and me when I went home for my Mother's funeral.  Rest now dear brother.

Have You Ever

Have you ever done something so stupid you didn't want to call anyone and tell them you needed help?  This weekend while hubby was chasing the invisible deer through the forest (they must be invisible as he didn't bring one home) I decided to move the furniture around to make it more cozy by the fireplace.  You may have read my previous post where I discussed the fact hubby thought my cute bench wasn't made for relaxing winter evenings.  I decide the love seat in the computer room would make a much nicer seat for fireplace viewing.  If it goes in a room it has to come out - right!  I even measured all the openings to make sure the love seat would fit through the door the way I planned.  I removed all the legs just to be on the safe side.  Through the first door no problem.  Second door in the hall not quite a good fit.  I shoved, I puffed, and said a few not so nice wordds.  But it would not budge.  It was stuck tight.  I finally got up enough courage to call my SIL and asked him if he could stop by and help me a few minutes.  He was very gracious and didn't laugh too long or loud.  We had to lift it straight up in the air until it touched the ceiling because the door frame was 1 1/2" smaller at the bottom of the door then at the top.  Who would of thought?

Here is the poor love seat stuck in the hall tilted on it's side.

This is my door frame after we finally squeezed the love seat through. It will need some serious sanding and painting before hubby comes home.  I guess sometimes it doesn't matter how well you plan it just doesn't work. 

The love seat looks great in it's new place in front of the fire.  Guess I will have to pour hubby a glass of wine and build a fire as soon as he gets home.  Maybe he won't notice the door frame.

First Impressions

I first saw this young man at an estate sale.  As I passed him by I thought how haughty and regal his demeanor.  Certainly not the kind of personality that would fit into my casual life style.

On my second walk through,  I thought you know he would look nice in some one's home that has a beautiful foyer or sitting on a buffet in a formal dining.  So perhaps I should take him home and find him a fitting home through my antique booth as he does have a certain air.

Well, he came home with me and found a home in my living room until he could go to the booth.  As the days went by I noticed that perhaps he wasn't really haughty but probably just a contemplative man.  As you can see he didn't even protest when I deck his immaculate clothing with a few fall leaves to celebrate the season.  So for now he will grace my humble home.  And on second thought maybe first impressions aren't  always the most accurate ones.

Decisions

This Spring while I was doing a little fluffing to make the house look a little lighter and more springlike I brought one of my garden benches inside.  I folded a couple of quilts to soften the wooden slats, covered it with a spring green throw and added a couple of pillows.   

It sat there all summer looking cute but we didn't use it much as it faced the fireplace.  A couple of weeks ago I decided it should look a little more like winter and fall so I headed to one of my favorite thrift stores to see what I could find.

Look what I found in my favorite color. RED!  I found all this bundled in a plastic bag for under $5.00.  It is a bed set for a twin bed.  It included a bed skirt, two pillow shams, a round table cloth, a small square tablecloth and three pillows.  I cut some foam to add to the quilts as you could still feel the slats even with all my padding.  I was so excited by the color it added to the room.  But last night as we sat watching our first fire of the season my hubby said.  "You know this bench isn't very comfortable I don't think we are going to like sitting on it all winter."  So what do I do?  Let him suffer all winter because I love the look or find somewhere else for my treasure? 

Just A Peek

Thought I would give you just a peek at some of things in my booth.

 I liked this fallish looking basket filled with dishes in autum colors.Included is a tablecloth in case anyone wants to go on a picnic.

 This side has a lovely picture with brightly colored fruit and flowers.  An animal print throw and pillows blend with the colors nicely.

This is the cutest little side chair.  It would be perfect in a bedroom or as an entrance hall seat.

I painted two wrought iron charis a lovely lime green and reupholstered the seats in a leafy lime green and turquoise pattern.  I also painted a small half table to match.  This morning someone bought one of the chairs and the table.  I had envisioned them around a small round patio table so I thought people would want two chairs.  The lady said she wanted it for a desk chair for her daughter's room. Now I hope someone else  is looking for one lone chair. 

One Down

I have so many things I still want to do in my lifetime I will probably never get to do them all.  But last weekend I got to cross one thing off my list.  Several times in the last two years I have been slated to take a hot air balloon ride.  But the weather never was right for take off.  Finally on Sat. morning I got the call.  What do you mean meet me at the airport at 5:00 a.m..

We were guests at a magnificent sunrise.  The weather was perfect in the low 70's with a small skiff of mist floating just above the dew laden grass.

Oh look the pilot and balloon are here  Well,  I am not sure I am flying in something that comes in that small of a package. 

This is my hubby and oldest son.  Can you tell they have never done this before.  Just waiting for instructions.

OK, the next thing we do is light a fire to heat up the air the fan is blowing into the balloon.

That didn't take long at all!

The view is exciting from up here and the reflection of the balloon in the Lily pad pond is breathtaking.  The sun is warm on our shoulders and it is fun to wave to all the envious people below who have come out watch us float by. 

Wonder if they would invite me to coffee if I dropped in.

Well it looks like when it's time to land you just pick a nice backyard.

All this really has to back in that bag.

This is the top of the balloon.  It reminded me of a giant spider web.  So graphic too.

Took a lot of assets to get all the air out of the balloon.

This is my granddaughter M.  She really enjoyed her first balloon ride and is taking a little rest before we load the balloon.

This is our pilot Becky Petrehn and the granddaughter.  If you look closely at my granddaughter's hands you can see the leaves she captured as we flew low enough to touch the tree tops.  If you would like to have a balloon adventure contact Becky at Balloon Ad-Ventures.  913-9158150 is her phone number.  She is a

 great pilot and fun too,

Well one dream down only a thousand to go.