Welcome Fall

It is a beautiful sunny day, but with a slightly chilly breeze in the air. With temperatures in the 60's, and an ever so slight change being seen in a few leaves, you know Autumn has officially arrived in the south. We recognize it in a number of ways.

Football seems to usher in the season, but it becomes more real to me by the change in nature, in decoration of lawn and home, changing clothing attire to warmer selections, thoughts of holiday cooking and shopping, and definitely by my boys as they make the necessary preparations for hunting. Yesterday morning as I was enjoying the cool crisp air from sitting on the patio, Collin asked me to help him with a project in the shop. He needed a second set of hands to help finish attaching the motors to his corn feeders. (As afore mentioned, we're getting ready for deer season.) He had also lit our fire pit. I absolutely breathed in Fall as I smelled the "woodsy" aroma and watched several leaves gently float to the ground in the breeze. It was so peaceful and relaxing--it whispered, "Fall."

After some time, Collin finished up and left for the afternoon. Bryan was already gone for the day joining friends to dove hunt. (Again, as afore mentioned--hunting season. The ducks should also be put on alert.) Alone at home, I ditched the idea of shopping in town due to a rainy afternoon and the desire to be warm and cozy rather than wet and cool. I was drawn to the kitchen and the end result was a pumpkin pie. The spicy scent filled the house as an accompaniment to the candle warmers already plugged in and burning in several rooms of the house.  (I should have made the photo right out of the oven.  It was much prettier.)

My house is decorated for the season. Fall colors are my favorites. Around and about, you'll see pumpkins, scarecrow figurines, acorns, leaves, and candles. I'll share a tour of my home on another post. When November arrives, I add turkeys and pilgrams. I also enjoy pumpkins and mums on the outside. Collin has always said that Halloween is kind of the first celebration of the season with many more to come, and as you can see, while we don't make much of Halloween, we are ready.

The best part of the season is family gatherings. We get to see more of our children in the fall and we have more family get-togethers with lots of seasonal dishes. You can't be southern and not have huge meals at family gatherings. Along with the pumpkin pie, we'll add on the pecan pie and the mincemeat just for my mom and dad.

Autumn! What a picturesque time of the year, how inspirational as we slow down to consider our blessings, and how warm that we pause to share love, warmth, and laughter with our family.

Warmest Wishes,

Marcia

Summer Project--Vegetable Garden

We love fresh vegetables in the summer months and we love having vegetables to reach for out of the freezor or the canned jar during the winter. Let's face it--they taste much better than store bought and it cuts down on the grocery bill. Collin and I enjoy the outdoors and gardening is another avenue to being outside, working together, and reaping the fruits of our labor. In fact, gardening is a mental relaxation and stress relief even though it can be a physically tiring at time and a little hot. Nontheless, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and we persevere.

We had a wonderful garden this year with great yeilds. Not only did we have plenty, but we shared with both sets of parents. Besides everything we ate fresh, we canned close to 100 pints of greenbeans, froze over 50 bags of purple hull peas, and 10 to 15 bags of white lima beans. There were cucumbers, yellow neck squash, bell and jalapano peppers, cantelope, okra, and tomatos. We put corn in the frezor, but actually bought it at the market. It's hard to compete with the racoons when it comes to corn.

I wish I had made more pictures of the garden and it's produce, but I still had to work a few days a week and I was busy picking and keeping the grass out of it. Again, it made for a busy summer project, but we'll sure enjoy the rewards this winter.

Marcia

Summer Project--Room ReDo

Last week I began sharing about the summer and focused on our travels. This week, I thought I'd share about one of my home projects and a few photos. When we bought our house nearly 30 years ago, it had one, SMALL bathroom. After being here about 10 years, we entered into a major remodel. With a new bathroom, Micah and Bryan inherited the smaller one to share. Then Micah married and that left the bathroom for Bryan. It had been remodeled one time since, but was in definite need of another facelift. I decided this was the summer to embark. May I say--MAJOR undertaking. It is the last room in my house to have wall paper and the paper had to go.

Mixing this project along with working a couple of days each week, it took me two to three weeks for total completion. It took several days to strip the wall paper. Then there was a lot of damage on the sheetrock because of years of wear and tear. Collin helped me some and we mudded and sanded before ever thinking about picking up the paintbrush.

Here are a few photos. Keeping in mind, this bathroom is Bryan's, it had to be something of his reflection. Knowing his personality, considering some collection peices, and the fact that he is all about the drums, I began pondering. I settled on a shade of gold for the walls and accessorized in brown, crimson, gold, and beige. I purchased new shower curtains and a rug.

I found a framed mirrow that I thought was beautiful,a fantastic bargain at Kirklands, and ditched the old one. 

I added a few bronze pieces for shelving and accents. 

It was time for some new fixtures and faucets which my wonderful husband installed and before you knew it, we had a new bathroom. Bryan collects percussion peices and we utilized those to dress up the room and make it his, yet still be appealing as a guest bathroom.

Next summer, we're going to look at his bedroom. I've purchased the new comforter in the same coloring as his bathroom. You can't get started planning too early.

Marcia

Starting Over and Catching Up

I do love blogging, but somehow got distracted.  It is amazing how hectic and busy life can get.  As I think back over the past eight to nine months, we have had quite a bit on our plate since January, but hopefully, I can begin to reflect on some of our life and get events brought up to date.  I thought I'd simply begin with our summer travels.

With a new job, I have pretty much worked two years straight without any vacation time.  I decided that something had to change this summer.  I needed a break.  Too many projects and needs had been neglected in my house and outside in my yard.  Plus, I needed some time to relax, travel, and enjoy my family.  This being said, on to our summer travels.

School was dismissed for summer as scheduled and that led in to Memorial Day weekend.  Collin and I were packed up and ready to go.  On Friday afternoon, we headed out to Bull Shoals with our RV in tow and stayed on the White River at Copper Johns. Since I had nothing pressing and Collin had a few days to spare at work, we stayed through Wednesday.  We sat in our lawn chairs, watched the river roll by, slept in late, had some great meals off the grill, drove around at night enjoying deer out feeding, and driving here and there, enjoyed reading, just whatever we felt like doing.  No stress, no pressure.  Here we are with the White River in the background at Bull Shoal's State Park.

Micah and Ben came home in June for the express purpose of going to Branson.  Micah hadn't been in years and wanted to go shopping and seeing all the changes in the area.  We headed out for three days of fun.  We had a great hotel in a good location and hit all the malls.  Ben had a stroller to ride in and plenty of snacks and drink so he was a happy little shopper.  We had tons of fun--lots of success in the stores, good food at several restaurants, and some quality time to spend together.  We're already planning for next year.  Here we are enjoying some good food and relaxing in our hotel.

When July 4th came around, we headed to Hot Springs with our new RV.  We stayed at Catherine's Landing.  Again, much needed relaxation.  We camped with friends, Dennis and Regina.  While there we had dinner out and visited with more friends, Neal and Rhonda.  We did a little sight-seeing and a little shopping.

We absolutely could not let summer pass without seeing our sweet family in New Orleans.  It was a road trip to see Rhyne, Micah, and Ben.  Micah and I always manage a little shopping time, we ate at some great places including entertainment from an alligator in the swamp, and lots of playtime with our sweet, sweet Ben.  He's Grammie's boy.  We had more fun!

As the summer was coming to a close, we saw a window of opportunity for one more outing before school started.  We went to Branson in the RV and stayed about five days to get some rest and shop.  One day we even drove into Springfield and shopped Bass Pro.  We had a fantastic time really wishing we could stay a little longer.

And there you have it--a recap of our summer travels.  We absolutely love pulling our RV and enjoying God's creation.  If we are ever blessed to retire, you may just pass us on the road.

Marcia

Christmas Activities

I love everything about the Christmas season.  We have been involved in a number of activities, but I just haven't had time to get to the computer to share them.

1.  The first weekend in December we were at the church helping with the 29th annual Living Christmas Tree.  As most of you know, I am quite the shutterbug, but unfortunately, this year, no picture.

2.  Collin and I attended the annual Riceland Banquet held out the Fowler Center.  I always look forward to this event.  We get to dress up a bit, enjoy a fantastic meal, and visit with friends.   We won door prizes this year.  Collin got a 4-place set of white Corelle while I won a 7X9 casserole with a carry tote.  Both were very nice.  I took my phone with the express intent of having someone snap our photo, but I forgot--no picture.

3.  Tuesday, I decorated and hosted a luncheon for my staff at school.  I thought everything looked nice and went well.  I took my camera to make a few pictures.  I was so busying being the hostess, I forgot until everyone was gone and I was cleaning up.  No picture.

4.  Thursday was our first day of vacation.  I spent the better part of the day in town shopping.  I had a lot to accomplish.  I was delighted that the Putman's senior had invited us to dinner to celebrate with the family.  We had a great visit.

5.  Yesterday, I spent the most of the day wrapping the presents I bought on Thursday.  That was mixed with laundry, making out a grocery list, running to WalMart to buy the groceries, and preparing dinner.  Rhyne, Micah, and Ben came to eat with us last night.

6.  Today, I have spent most of  my time in the kitchen even though I have had a few other jobs.  I've roasted pecans for Bryan, made party mix for Collin, and made vegetable soup for supper.

I think I'm just about to wrap it up and call it a day.  I think relaxing in front of the tree and taking in a Christmas movie may be calling my name.  Only three days left until Christmas.

Marcia

Celebration Time

Christmas is in the air.  After a great deal of time and effort, some things have come to a close for which we celebrate and some things we still look toward and will continue to celebrate.  It is the most wonderful time of the year.

Last week marked the end of a major goal for both Bryan and me.  He took his last college final this past Monday and I clicked the submit button for the last time on Tuesday morning.  Last night we went out to celebrate and had dinner at Colton's.  We didn't participate in official ceremonies, but our diplomas awaits pickup.  Bryan went duck hunting and declared it was much more enjoyable than listening to a speech.  I did laundry, wrapped some packages,  and turned up the Christmas music on the stereo.  I, too, thought it was much more enjoyable than listening to a speech.  We were both happy campers.

Bryan has completed a BS in Agronomy (Plant and Soil Science).  His immediate plan is to rest and relax a little, enjoy Christmas, and stay in the duck blind for a time.  He laughed the other night and said it was his off-season.  We'll see what January brings.  I can't say I blame him--he deserves a little break.

When I accepted the position as administrator at RCS, I still needed some hours in Educational Leadership.  After 20 months, I've earned a second master's degree.  Please, if something else arises that I need more college classes, someone tell me I need my head examined. 

Speaking of RCS, we finish school and begin Christmas break as of Wednesday.  A lot of excitement is in the air.  Classrooms and hallways are decorated for Christmas and the kiddos as well as teachers can hardly wait for a break.  I'm hosting a luncheon on Tuesday as my Christmas gift to the staff.

I'm excited to start my own celebration.  I need to shop and wrap presents.  I haven't even thought about our traditional goodies and snacks from the kitchen, and my NOLA children are coming home this week.  There will definately be a post with pictures of our sweet little Ben.   We're enjoying dinner meals with our families and I always serve Christmas Eve brunch--something else that I need to plan and have yet to find the time.  As you can see, we have much to celebrate. 

Marcia

It's Been a Long, Long Time

My last blog was in March announcing Ben's arrival.  Hard to believe that he is 8 months old and so much time has passed. 

Life has been so hectic since that time, actually since May of 2011.  Some of you may remember I started a new job and started working on a second Masters degree from ASU.  I'm actually on target to graduate in December.  When that happens, you'll know.  At any rate, I hope to get back to blogging on a regular basis.

While much time has passed and I have a lot I could tell, I'm just going to pick up with where we are.  Thanksgiving was wonderful.  It was good to be with family and friends, and I simply needed a change of pace and some rest.

Tuesday afternoon, I went to two basketball games at RCS and came home at six.  Collin and Bryan got out the Christmas tree and decorations for me.  They helped get the tree up and the lights on.  I finished the rest and headed to bed at 11 o'clock.  I was excited.  The transition was on from fall to Christmas. 

Micah and Ben came home early the week before to begin the celebration.  It was good for our family to enjoy Ben a little before the actual holiday.  Papaw and Ben have struck up quite a friendship.

Wednesday, I continued decorating the house and helped Bryan outside for while raking and burning leaves.  Wednesday night, we headed to Grandmother's and Papaw's house to have our family Thanksgiving meal.  All the family enjoyed a great time.

Thursday, I decorated the house a bit more and in the afternoon we all headed to Brookland to celebrate again with Papaw Bob and Mamaw Joyce.

Friday morning, I finished the decorations.  Our NOLA kiddos were leaving for home so Collin and I accepted an invitation to head to the hills with Dennis and Regina for some R and R.  Collin would get to hunt and we would spend some time riding 4-wheelers and enjoying the outside. 

We came home this afternoon and now it's time to head back to work tomorrow.  It will be busy.  There is a lot to do between now and Christmas.  Tis the season to be jolly.

Marcia