Music Monday

In honor of my fabulicious (my new word) weekend, here is a tribute to my dear Gators.

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18 out of the last 21 years isn't bad! Go Gators!

I'll post Halloween pics soon!

Day out!

Last Saturday D. and I started talking about how it had been forever since we had eaten at the Dillard House in Dillard, GA, and how we would like to take the kids up there. We got on there website and saw they were doing a fall/pumpkin special. We also saw they had a petting zoo and horseback riding. We said, "We can do that today!" So, we got ready, jumped in the car and away we went. It was a perfect fall day. The air was crisp with a slight breeze and not a cloud in the sky. We got up there and had an absolute blast. The kids loved the petting farm/zoo. The wagon ride to pick up (not pick a pumpkin, they were just in a big pile) was fun, and the horseback riding was the highlight of Aubrey's week, maybe month. He has been wanting to ride a horse for a very long time. He was so cute, and so excited about it. Mallory only lasted about 5 minutes, but it was more than I thought she would do, so I was very proud of her too.

We wanted to eat dinner, but we still had about an hour and a half before they started serving dinner, so we asked the lady at the front desk what we could do. She suggested Black Rock State Park back towards Clayton. We thought, "Why not?" and headed up there. It was such a pleasant surprise. It is the highest state park in Georgia, and on a clear day (which it was) you can see into South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee from there. It was so beautiful up there. We looked down over Clayton (which Aubrey called "the village" because it was so tiny from up there) and all around. The leaves were just starting to change colors. In a week or two it will be spectacular. We really enjoyed our visit there.

Then we headed back to the Dillard House for a wonderful dinner. D. loves country cooking, and I don't do much of that kind of cooking, so he was in hog heaven! (literally) The Dillard House was recently featured on the Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate for their country ham. It is Alton Brown's favorite. Neat, huh?! You can go to youtube to see it.

Anyway, D. works many Saturdays, so this was a super day of being together and just enjoying life as a family. It was a highlight for me this fall season for sure!

Music Monday

Oh dear. I just can't seem to get it together where blogging is concerned. I thought maybe having set days to do it would help me, but it has actually just made me a little more stressed about bloggins. So, I'm going to blog when I can, and not feel bad when I can't (or don't want to) Today I am at home with a little boy who doesn't feel too well, so I have a little free time. This is one of my fave songs of all time. I would melt into a puddle if someone sang this to me.




I am so sad I never got to see John Denver in concert. It's one of my regrets in life. (although not one that keeps me up at night) ;)

Tardy Tinkering Thursday

Ok, excuse my alliterative title. I couldn't help it. I am late again on my blogging, but I live by the "better late than never" motto. (just ask anyone who has any daily dealings with me) Anyway, I have been a crazy knitter lately. I started working on this shrug for Mallory in June. I put the finishing touches on it a couple of weeks ago. I love it. It is so cute on her too!

While I was working on her shrug I also finished a baby blanket for a friend who just had a baby, and did these three other projects. I did this hat just because I thought the pattern was so neat. It's called Really Warm Hat. It is very warm, but I haven't decided what I will do with it. It will probably be a Christmas gift. I made this baby hat for my friend who just had her 6th baby. I admire her for so many things, and this is just one of them. It is called the Umbilical Cord Hat. Cute, huh?!

I made this scarf for my sister Beth in Arizona. Her son Jake, my nephew, plays football for California Lutheran University and their colors are purple and gold. Beth and Steve go to almost all of his games, many of which are in colder climates. I thought this might help her show her school spirit while also keeping her warm.

So there you have it - all my knitting projects for the last three months, with the exception of the baby blanket which I forgot to take a picture of before I gave it away. (late, of course. It took much longer than I had anticipated, but no worries, it's still too hot here for it.) Now I'm casting on to slippers and a sweater for me! Yippee!

Hope you like my tardy tinkerings! See you Monday! (maybe)

Music Monday - Flower Duet from "Lakme" by Leo Delibes

Once upon a time, I thought I would be living a gypsy life now. I had dreams of being an opera singer, performing in fabulous concert halls and theaters around the world. When I got to Brenau, I got the lead role in our opera that year. I loved the performing, but as I moved along in my major, I realized what an all consuming goal I had set for myself. In order to become a major opera star, it must be your life, and most opera singers don't reach their peak vocally until their mid-thirties. My professors wanted me to go to Italy the summer after my sophomore year. I was in love, having fun in my sorority, missing my family, and just didn't think I could do it. I also realized that my other dream of being a wife and a mother would be put on hold for at least a while as I pursued my dream. So, I decided that the operatic life wasn't for me. I have often wondered, "What if?", but I know that the things I hold dearest to me probably wouldn't be in my life right now if I had gone that route. I still love the music though. You all know that D. isn't really the opera type, so I haven't attended an opera in years. I catch it when I can on tv and recordings. This duet is one of my all time favorites. It has been called one of the most beautiful songs ever, and has been in many movies and commercials. You may recognize it. It just soars, and when it does, your spirit will too.

Tinkering Thursday

I am going to begin another weekly posting to help me stay on top of blogging and also to share projects that I have been working on. I am calling this weekly post "Tinkering Thursdays". As you all know I scrapbook, knit and just generally love to craft, so I will share whatever I have been working on for the week with you all. This summer I did many projects, but one I thought was easy and could work all year long was my tiered planter I made for my front porch. I got the idea Here I pretty much followed the directions, but used colors that worked for me. I also used impatiens, asparagus fern, and spiky dracena in my planters for the thrill, fill and spill. I haven't decided if I am going to use it year-round, but it will be most of the year at least. I love it because it was easy, reasonable in price, classic in design and fun to do and change the plants in. If any of you have done these or do them in the future, please let me know!

Music Monday

In my attempt to get back to regular blogging, I am going to start two new weekly posts. The first is Music Monday. I have loved music - singing, playing piano, listening to many different kinds of music - for as long as I can remember. I sang my first solo in church when I was about 6. I thought it would be my career, and for a while it was. Now I just love it again for the joy it brings me. So, I would like to share with my readers some of my faves. I will share all kinds of music that I love for many different reasons. This first has been a song I have loved for a long time - it's not new, but every time I hear it I'm reminded of the Truth. It is by Christian artist. Sara Groves. She has sooooo many songs that I just love. I love that she writes many of her lyrics and songs. That is such a gift. This song reminds me that I always have exactly what I need to get relief/wisdom/encouragement, etc. for any situation I am in. It's The Word, and God gave it to us so we will always have just exactly what we need when we need it. It will always be more than enough for us no matter what.