Some Missions Accomplished

 I finally found my storage box with my Fall decorations in it!! 

I don't have much. It doesn't take much these days to keep me happy. I don't need every inch of my apartment cluttered with stuff... anyway, I did a couple things. 

This is my table decoration. Yes, I know .... it's not time for the pilgrims yet but she is holding a pumpkin so I guess that counts, right? 

I made this little fall arrangement and set it atop my jewelry cabinet

There's a couple of things sitting here and there but I didn't take pictures of them. 

And, on to other stuff

I stayed awake a lot last night. I am not like most authors who plan out their books, have a notebook filled with ideas of how it will go, know the plot from beginning to end. Most of my chapters are thought out in the middle of the night, one by one. I let my inner voice take me on this writing journey. 

Well, last night I started thinking about the next chapter and hours later I had every chapter written in my head . 

I like the direction it is taking and I am quite excited to move along and get it done. But, I am not telling... not one hint. Sorry, you'll have to wait 'til it's published. 

We got little effects from the Hurricane whatever his name was that hit the coast. By the time it got to us it was just rain and not a great deal of that either. Sure feel for those closer to the coast, though. My son in north alabama wasn't hit bad either. 

I made some new snacks for my football watching on Saturday. It was Pepper Jelly Pinwheels. 

The tortillas worked fine and BTW I used 2 instead of one and it worked great. But, I wonder how they would be using crescent rolls instead of the tortillas. 

Guess that's all for this Monday Morning. Hope you have a wonderful week. 

'Tis Apple Picking Time

 Recently I was bemoaning the fact that I felt a need to perk my blog up a bit. So, I have decided to make Favorite Friday Fotos. Today happens to be Friday so I am off and running with my new idea. I wonder how long this one will last. I do tend to try new things way too much. At least, that's what my daughter says. 

                      This is my favorite photo of that day!

In October 2011, after my husband had passed away in January of that year me, Shirley, her hubby John, her daughter Brittany and Brittany's little one, Dylan drove over to the Charlottesville area of Virginia to explore Carter's Mountain. 

It was a great trip but I was so sad at the number of apples that had fallen off the trees and were just lying there rotting. I wanted to pick them up (bees and all) and bring them home to save what I could.

 They have yummy apple cider doughnuts!! 

and tons of apples to buy

And, the wee one had fun discovering his first patch of pumpkins. 

Memories Remembered

 Lovely weather!! Cool, sunny and I could live in this kind of weather forever!! 

Yesterday I conducted the second session of a Recalling Your Memories workshop here at the Commons. It's just so darn important to record what happened in your life so that your grandchildren, great-grands and so on will know where they came from and who they have as ancestors. It doesn't matter how... handwritten in a notebook, in a computer file, Recorded with your cellphone.... JUST MAKE SURE YOU DO IT. 

We actually are having fun listening to each other's childhood antics as each one reads their notebook entries. And, believe you me, there's some doozies. 

One read about a plane ride when she was young where the plane's landing gear did not deploy so they did a belly landing and had to scoot down those long slides out of the plane.

Another told of seeing a snake crawl into a hole in her flower garden so she got her husband's pistol and shot several shots into the hole hoping to kill the thing. (that was my story)

Another told of relocating a groundhog out of their yard to have it return and they did it again, same results. Guess it liked their yard. It was coming back long after they sold their house.

And, so on.....

I have a large theme binder full of pages of my and my husband's life from birth to now. I wrote down everything I could and he could remember. Our children will have a ball with that. 

My Shirley came today so we could go to lunch and she noticed some OLD letters lying on my dresser. Had a fit over them and I told her I had a whole stack of letters that me and her Dad exchanged from back in the '40s and 50s. They are all tied with a blue ribbon. She made a suggestion that I should have thought of years ago... they need to be in archival preservation.

So, I just ordered the supplies to do just that. That makes me feel good. I am doing something to preserve our past. If you think I want to be forgotten a year or two after I'm gone forget it!!  I've got proof all over the place of all the things that made me what I am today. The rest is up to those I leave behind! 

New Ideas and Other Stuff

 I wish I had more stuff going on in my life than I do so I could entertain you all with these amazing posts but alas I do not. My life right now is consumed by writing and that book is getting interesting!! I am over half-way finished and I am about to add this big mystery to the mix. So, yes, I am super focused on all that right now. Sorry.... 

We did have a cookout last night which was fun. But, no pictures! I didn't feel all that swift and I just didn't get up and mingle that much but the table where I was sitting was a barrel of fun. We laughed and laughed and that felt so good. And, afterward I 'snuck' me an extra hotdog up to my apartment so I could have it during my football game today!! Yep, it's Saturday and Alabama is up against Mississippi State. Lordy, that ought to be a fantastic game. 

Shirley brought down cupcakes to the cookout, German Chocolate and Brownie Carmel... She knows I love the German Chocolate so she had 4 cupcakes in a container. Some of that will Football treats as well.

I do read a lot but if the book isn't all that spectacular I don't' remember much about it later on. Some books just grab you though. I like Charles Martin's writing and Kristin Hannah. Alan Levy is my new favorite. Oh, my gosh, I loved "Theo of Golden" as did nearly everyone who has read it. And, of all things I am now obsessed with Harlen Coben. He's got tons of his mystery books on Netflix. Who are your favorite authors?

I think that maybe I should set up one day a week for a 'speciality' post (the same theme) so that might make me have something interesting to say. What you think? 

1. What's you favorite item (say five or six photos of same theme) and you pick your favorite

2. My favorite photo day

3. Four or Five Flowers 

4. Favorite places I have been

aw, come on... help me out here. What you think? 

Y'all have a fabulous day. And, if you root for a special college football team I hope your team wins!! 

A Nor'easter Week

Fall is here. Can you  believe it? 

It decided to turn cool. This Nor'easter is making my ears and nose cold. I am NOT going to turn my heat on but you can bet I am going to put my feet on the heating pad while I watch my Saturday college football. Roll Tide!! 

My week has been interesting. I am less willing to drive in the rain now at this age than ever. I don't even want to do it in a drizzle. Wednesday I had a dental appointment and guess what... it was drizzling!! I told myself I was brave and I must have believed myself 'cause I took off in that yucky mess and made it fine. Glad that trip was successful! 

Friday was a pretty day. Thank God for sunshine!! My car needed it's yearly inspection and I had an eight o'clock appointment to get it done. I mean, I don't usually get up 'til 8 but once again, I told myself I could do it and I did. Another successful trip. I'm getting pretty good at this!! 

I may pull out my Fall decorations tomorrow and make this place look more seasonal. I don't do much.. there's no storage for a lot of stuff and I just don't have the energy to be lifting and tugging at boxes that hold things I really don't need. We'll see how that goes. 

I spent two days going through some old keepsakes I have stored in totes under my bed. I told you storage was in short supply around here! What memories all of that drug up along with a ton of dust and used tissues I had blown my nose on and somehow they had hidden under my bed. I got rid of that mess and then cleaned up and neatly arranged my keepsakes back to await another day when I want a little trip down memory lane. 

I'll share a couple of my keepsakes that I am so proud of... 

This is my grandfather's school book. He signed the inside of it with his name and date... 1886. 

Another one that I treasure: a V-Mail sent to me during WWII from a friend who was serving in Italy. I was 10 years old at the time so this letter is 82 years old now.  

The envelope that it came in.

I hope you have a fabulous weekend. And, if you are rooting for a college football team I hope your team wins!!

Blessings and Tribulations

 Good Morning all you fine and fancy bloggers out there. It is a good morning anytime you wake up and can still move around, live your life, be happy. Don't you think!!

I've been sort of discombobulated lately. Seems if I get thrown off my routine I struggle to accomplish anything... for days!! I gotta fix that, there's no time to waste being discombobulated. Don't you just love that word! 

I have to tell you that my 'neighbor' who called the cops on me the other day waited a few days after she'd sent the cops on my trail for making noise, she goes to the office and gleefully tells them that SHE is the one who set me straight 'cause she hadn't heard a peep out of me since that policeman told me to behave myself. Guess what, girly, I've not changed a thing I have ever done and I just can't wait until my housekeeper gets here next week and starts doing her thing up here. Do I sound vindictive? Maybe, a tad. I am just so tired of all this mess.

I started a workshop here at Centerbrooke. I am sooooo into preserving our history (family history mostly) so I invited anyone to participate in writing down their memories in a notebook so that their grandchildren will have a sense of who their grandparents are. There were about 8 of us. They were so into telling their memories as they recalled them, of sharing and talking and having fun. And, guess what, I did not take one single picture!! What was I THINKING!!

My son-in-law came yesterday to accompany me to the eye dr. I can't see a blooming thing once my eyes are dilated!! And it takes me forever to get over it. My appointment was at 11... when I went to bed last night I noticed that my irises were still not back to normal but they are fine this morning. I have the best son-in-law. Besides being my DD (designed driver) he also fixed my dead mouse. But it wasn't my mouse at all but my computer had a glitch. He's such a wizard!! I'm so blessed! 

So... I guess I will get busy and catch up on all those chores that I neglected when I was discombobulated. Love that word!! I'll see you again soon.