Fall in Tennessee

Some photos from my visit home this week. The leaves were pretty much gone, but there still was plenty to see. I love, love, love this time of year!

Art and Life

"Not all are called to be artists in the specific sense of the term. Yet, as Genesis has it, all men and women are entrusted with the task of crafting their own life: in a certain sense, they are to make of it a work of art, a masterpiece." Letter of Pope John Paul II to Artists

I don't believe that God has called me to be an artist in the specific sense of the term. I do believe that he's called me to surround myself with beauty and share it with others.

This is the photo which won The Heritage Award in Photography at our local county fair last week. I've tried for years to win first place. Finally, it happened. This has been a good month for me, photographically speaking. One more thing to mark off the ole' bucket list.

Comments on my Blog

I've been thinking for some time about responding to comments left on my blog. I've always felt rude for not commenting but wasn't sure of the best way to respond; do I e-mail the commenters or comment on my blog directly below the comments?

I've finally decided that the easiest and best way is to just comment below each of your comments. If anyone knows of a better way, please let me know.

So look below your comment if you want to hear my response. Libbyquilter, you said I have my settings at 'no reply'. What does that mean? If it's not a good thing, how do I change it?

What We Need

What we need is not new light, but new sight;

Not new paths, but new strength to walk in the old ones;

Not new duties but new wisdom from on high to fulfill

Those that are plain before us.

Busy, busy days

I didn't post at all last week, because my life right now is super busy; busier than I like it to be. But what do you say when your daughter wants you to keep her four boys for four days so she can have a little r & r with her husband? Yes, of course.

And what do you say when your son calls from Ft. Benning and says that he's coming home for the weekend? Yes, of course!

And what do you tell a twelve-year-old daughter who wants to enter things in the fair which means taking those things there one weekend and picking them up the next? Okay, I reckon.

So now with all those things behind me and my birthday coming up on Wednesday, I'm heading for the mountains! It'll be a short trip, but I don't care. I HAVE to see the mountains in the fall and get apples at Mercier's Orchard in Blue Ridge, Georgia. Check them out on the internet.

After tending to so many family needs these last two months, I'm going home to be pampered by my parents. It's nice to be little again every now and then.

P.S. The photo is one taken last Christmas of us and our five children. It's a photo of a photo, so the quality is pretty poor.

Tea Olive Beauty

I confess that I bought my tea olive bush because I liked its name. Little did I know that it would grow so big or smell so good. It smells like an orange tree or something mighty similar. It's blossoms are tiny yellow flowers that all fall off the same day and make this lovely, mass profusion of petals.
I wonder why it's named Tea Olive? And does it only grow in the South? I've never seen one anywhere else. Does anyone know the history of this plant? Do you have one?

A Tea Olive, An Autumn Bouquet, and Pink Damask

I bought this lovely bouquet at Wal-Mart last week. It was forgotten in the car until the next day when it was discovered with no lasting damage. A quick cutting off of the stems and a little packet of miracle reviver added to the water, and it is good as new.

I treated myself to a slow walk-through of a favorite thrift store yesterday, and I found this mint condition pink damask tablecloth with ten matching napkins. The reason it isn't on the table is because of the 4-H mini-booth you see in the background. I hope to reclaim the table for Sunday dinner as the project has to be turned in to the fair this Saturday.

And the scent of the tea olive is divine this time of year. I can smell it from every room. It grows about fifteen feet high at the bottom of the back porch steps and reaches all the way to the roof of the second-storey balcony attached to our bedroom. I just love the way the blossoms fall like rain and look so lovely on the steps.