Happy Thanksgiving

Before I get into the thick of making pumpkin soup and sweet potato pies, I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I am so grateful for the many blessings in my life, and to be spending the day with so many loved ones. I wish you all a day of sharing and caring, of good food and laughter..... a day to be thankful for.

Paying Attention & A Winter Bouquet

Lately, I'm working on paying more attention to the small voice within. After meditating this morning, the voice said "let's create a winter bouquet". Though I'd often incorporated grasses in my bouquets, I'd never fully embraced the idea of a bouquet made out of naturally dried plants, until I was inspired by a Bittersweet blog. It's a rather gray & drizzly day here, but I just dressed appropriately and wandered a bit to see what I could find on my homestead. Besides the various plants, I found some wonderful moss & lichen-covered sticks, acorns & pinecones. It takes a different sort of vision to find the subtle beauty in a fall landscape. I think I'll cultivate it.

Remembering Hickory

My wonderful brother recently sent me a card, just because. He knew I'd love it, given my propensity for big dogs. It makes me smile every time I look at it. I can totally relate to the glee in the little girls face. I lost my sweet dog, Hickory, a little over a year ago. Hickory was a Black Lab/Great Dane mix. Though I am admittedly biased, he was a truly special being. He was the type of dog that, upon coming to my house & meeting him for the first time, people would ever after ask about him when we saw each other. He was a most excellent walking companion, and cheered me during some pretty dark days while going through a separation and divorce. He was, and remains, the dog of my heart.

STARworks

Today I had the pleasure of touring, and meeting several of the wonderful folks, at STARworks. Joseph has been part of the team installing their biodiesel plant. They're a business incubator, and at present include glass, ceramics, a garden and geothermal business at the site, with many more interesting ideas percolating. They're a wonderfully creative bunch. It was a pleasure being around all their good energy. The garden was gorgeous, and amazingly productive so late in the season. Good job, Anne!

Winterizing the House

Joseph has been working hard getting the house ready for winter. He made some thresholds to tighten up two of the doors, and has been caulking between the siding on the house. So, far he's used up 46 tubes of caulk, plus a few cans of Great Stuff for a few really large gaps. The house is noticeably warmer & quieter. Which shows that it really does make a difference, as the house was pretty warm & quiet to begin with. Joseph's Aunt Faye & Pamp came for a visit & lunch on Saturday. It was their first visit, & Joseph had to go meet them & bring them to the house. We do live in a pretty rural area, & they just couldn't find us, even with Mapquest directions. But we all had a nice visit, which included exchanging plants. They gifted us with a banana tree, which we'll keep in the house until spring. Lyle at Piedmont Biofuels got bananas from his this year, so you never know. We did take some time out to go see Men Who Stare at Goats this weekend. We both knew a little about remote viewing, in the military and otherwise. Pretty interesting subject. The movie didn't delve into it with any substance, but it was fun and had a good ending. We enjoyed it. Today I made my first batch of soap using biodiesel glycerine. It looks OK so far. I'll post a picture once it's out of the mold.

Fall Friday & Free Boots

I just found this link for to win free Ugg boots at Our Old Homestead blog while taking a lunch break. Oooh, I've always wanted a pair of Ugg boots! It's a beautiful fall day here. I'm staying outside as much as possible today. Looks like we'll likely get a killing frost tonight, so I'm enjoying the flowers while I can. Happy Friday!

Crunch Time

The past couple of weeks, I've been hard at work making soaps. These will be ready just before Thanksgiving. The weekend following Thanksgiving is the busiest of the year at the local potteries. I'll be volunteering at the Celebration of Seagrove Potters, a great event held that weekend. I've also been working on eye pillows. I'm really wanting to spend some time outdoors weeding and cleaning up, but haven't been able to do more than take a few pictures on my rounds of chores. Recently, I've had some doors close and a few other possibilities open up. Life is always interesting!