Tis the Season for....

~CAMELLIAS~

We have the most amazing camellias surrounding our home! We went around one year & collected 1 bloom from each & found out we have 13 different varieties of camellias! The woman who built this house in 1917 was a great gardener. People tell us about her all the time even though she passed away, I believe in the 60's. She was very beloved around here. A true southern lady. We also have beautiful azaleas, dogwood trees & various bulbs that pop up at different times of the year. These pictures are the first of the camellias to start blooming. It was a nice surprise to find while Georgia & I took our walk. I think it's so wonderful that we have flowers blooming in our yard with every season of the year. Even in Winter!

Fall Clean Up.....

It was a beautiful weekend! Georgia & I worked outside this weekend, starting to rake leaves & sweep the patio. Most of the leaves have finally fallen so I guess it's time. We always wait until ALL the leaves have fallen to start raking! But I really was half heartedly raking mainly looking for pecans to gather. I plan on making spiced pecans for some Christmas presents from the pecans in our yard. I've gathered quite a lot of pecans now the hard part is going to be the shelling! I have a good recipe for spiced nuts but I also want to try the crispy nuts in ~Nourishing Traditions~ by Sally Fallon.

*maybe I shouldn't have posted those pics~What a mess! It doesn't look much better today~haha~

Mama's Night Out...

I did want to talk about the wonderful evening I had this past Monday. I have a playgroup Georgia & I meet with every once in a while. I wish we could go more often but living in this town makes us a little isolated. Which is hard but hopefully in the next year or so we will be moving to our new home on our land. Then I will be close to all these wonderful women! The core group for me are the 3 other women that I went through my pregnancy with. We did what was called ~Centering~ at our midwives office & met in a group. We were all within a month or so of the same due date. It was a great experience. Well from there they started going to the La Leche League meetings which unfortunately I did not attend. About a year ago they started a playgroup separate from LLL. The group has grown & I have met some other wonderful mamas.

Anyways starting this past Monday we are going to start doing the occasional Ladies night. I can not tell you how much I need this! I was so happy I was able to go. It was worth the long drive & late night! I didn't get home til 1:30am!! (then up at 5am~Ugh!) I wish I had a picture from that night to post. But try to picture in your mind a group of 7 women sitting around a table in a cosy dining room. Each having either cups of tea or coffee or a nice glass of wine. Half of the women keeping their hands busy knitting special projects while chatting. Then our hostess suggested going around the table & each of us sharing our life story. In any other setting this would have been something I would really have disliked but it was really wonderful hearing everyone's story, sharing our joys & hardships. It was this safe place of love & support & you felt you could reveal more of your soul. It was a really special night....Can't wait for the next one! I am so incredibly Thankful for this group of women. They are so good for my soul. It's just nice to know there are women out there that I can relate to & have something in common with. Because in this town I have not been able to find that yet...

This week...

Whew! All right! I wanted to at least get Thanksgiving posted since today is the last day of November! How is that possible? Starting tomorrow everyone is going to be in full Christmas mode. It kinda bothered me seeing people decorating for Christmas this week. It's not even December yet!! I know that a lot people usually start decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving & it did come early this year. So there you have it... But I am just feeling kinda "bah humbug" about Christmas this year. Not sure exactly why. I usually love Christmas. I'm excited about getting our tree. Georgia is very excited! But I think we'll wait another week or so. Other than the tree I'm really not looking forward to it. I need to work on that! I will admit that being on a tight budget is getting me down. Even though I know Christmas is not about presents! Don't want it to be about presents!! But still there are things I would like to do but they just aren't in the budget. But my budget isn't the only thing getting me down...So I have been searching for inspiration this week & not finding it! There have been very inspiring posts out in blogland but in my dulldrums I haven't gotten excited. Very frustrating! Ok I need to SNAP OUT OF IT!!

Thanksgiving~cont'd

Here is the PECAN PIE I usually make for Thanksgiving. The pecans are from trees around my house (yes I gathered & shelled them) & a homemade crust. I had fun this year with using maple leaf cut outs for the edge. I hate crimping the crust, I can never get it to look pretty. But I think this turned out very pretty! It was definitely YUMMY!! I made a special crustless pumpkin pie without eggs & used coconut milk instead. It turned out pretty good & she really enjoyed it. She was so very excited to have her own pie! You can kinda see her digging into it in the 2nd pic. How I wish she will grow out of some of these allergies...

Thanksgiving 2007

We had a nice Thanksgiving this year. We usually do but this year was more relaxed. Smaller group of people at my in-laws so it wasn't all crazy. It's fun with a bigger crowd but I think I liked it this way better.

Well I'm not doing such a good job blogging. I have some pics etc I want to post but haven't really had a chance. Hoping to get this blog personalized & have it be my special place soon.

My Hair....

I like my hair, I have been blessed with healthy thick hair. I even like the color brown it is. I really like my hair long as the Victorians would say it's my "crowning glory". But it is also my security blanket & if it gets too long I start to feel like it is taking me over completely. I guess in some way I'm hiding behind it. Unfortunately I have this horrible habit of growing it to almost my waist & then getting it chopped. I just let it get too long that I can't stand it & then get too extreme! I had this idea of how I wanted it. Still long but with those nice layers cut into it framing my face. I even had a picture but alas in my zeal I had her cut it too short. Yes I take the blame. So it's basically to my shoulders now with lots of layers starting chin length. It's cute. But not what I wanted. I feel like I have that "mom" haircut! I didn't want that!! I wanted to update my look, I wanted to look hip & stylish! Hah! Maybe I just can't look hip & stylish! I feel like I have that 90's "Friends" haircut. It's funny, what keeps running through my mind is the last time I saw an old boyfriend. 10 years ago! Can't believe it's been that long. We'd been broken up for almost 2 years. We were on friendly terms. I would see him out occasionally. Anyways this one night I was out with some friends~drinking of course. I was definitely a little tipsy. I had just gotten my hair cut that week. Well on my way to the bathroom I saw him & we chatted. He makes the comment about me getting one of those "Friends" haircuts. He wasn't trying to be mean or offend me but WATCH OUT! In my inebriated state I was completely offended & pissed!! Haha! I was such a complete B****! I stormed off in a huff, oh yes so mature for 24! He came over to me later to talk to me & I wouldn't even hardly acknowledge him! So crazy!! I think that was the last time I saw him. Oh well~he was my ex afterall, plus he broke up with me. So maybe I was still harboring bad feelings.....you think?

Why Blog....?

Well I have started a blog...Strange that. I never thought I would do such a thing. But then I was truly introduced to blogging via Sew Mama Sew . It completely opened up a new world to me! I can not tell you how inspiring so many other blogs have been to me. Among my favorites are Soule Mama & Angry Chicken . Their blogs are amazing. So why do I want to blog? I keep asking myself. I'm not a writer nor an aspiring one. I'm actually a very private person. I unfortunately daydream about crafting etc. more than I actually do anything. But at least I dream, right? So why? Well I think Amanda at Soule Mama has really inspired me to have a place to remember those special little moments, little joys in this crazy life that sometimes get forgotten in the day to day. Life is passing by so fast especially now with a child & I would like a way to document it a little. I need a place I can go to when things have been hard & I'm feeling blue to remember that life is beautiful & good. And I have a lot to be thankful for in my life & I need to embrace it! But it is so easy for me to get caught up in all the craziness & stresses of life & forget. So I think I truly need this. I'm hoping that I will actually do it!