Dun dun it!

Packed up the fairies and moved to the hills.....  ok, I brought Sugar, the Wonder Poodle, and my Sweetie...
Been here for almost a month now..... loving the hills, loving the quiet... We wanted to do this for a long time... and the time finally came.

And we now have a new family member.... her name is Grey, the Wonder Cat!   She came with the house and made us feel right at home.

How Long Will It Last?

The day is warm and the wind is blowing.

My flowering quince is in full bloom.

The bulb garden is flowering in February!

From Here to There.....

Mountains and lakes and waterfalls and mansions.....

.......to the most beautiful collection of orchids I have ever seen!

I was ever so fortunate to take a little getaway trip with my sweetie. We rented and jeep and set our sites on the road heading west..... western NC anyways. We got to Asheville Monday afternoon. We met up with family and friends. We sampled some great farm to table restaurants(Home Grown, Early Girl Eatery, and Tupelo Honey Cafe). We drove the Blue Ridge Parkway and explored the River Arts District (and got to chat with artist Jonas Gerard). We toured the Biltmore Estate and grounds. We took a tour of the Biltmore Winery and sampled some very nice wines and some not for me wines.

The moral to the story is..... it is always nice to get away for a few days. If you are thinking of heading west (western NC, that is) Asheville is a great place to stop. If you are looking for a place to lay your head down while you are there, I definitely recommend the Grove Park Inn. The Grove Park Inn is an historic destination in is own right. Friendly and relaxing place to end up at the end of the day.

PS.... didn't need the jeep.... alas... no snow :)

Kids..... ain't they sweet!

Hello?????

Wow.... yes, me again..... still keeping busy. It is amazing how when you have family nearby, how little time I have to keep up with my blogs.... so here is a few pics of life....

What's Up?

Hanging out at the Homestead......

(whistle) How did that cute tushie get in here!
My, how I love the view!

Watching the sunflowers....
My fav "Homestead" tv channel!

What's the country without...
you got it... a little front porch pickin?

and off to a lovely summer wedding!


Well, that is part of what been goin' on
at the Homestead this summer....

more to follow!

I hope you have had a fabulous summer, my darlings!

The MailMan Honks Once

The Mailman brought me a surprise.
A big brown box.
It didn't say Avon.
That was the only thing I had order recently.
MMMM Marketing Departmet?
Who Markets Meeee?
So I grabbed the scissors.
I sliced open the tape.
.... lo and behold ~ a brown bag with curly ribbon!
It's too early for my birthday!
(It is a month a way.... HINT HINT)
So what could it be?

Well, check it out!
My comment buddy, BarbaraRae, had a little contest
over at her blog, Goal For The Green!
And I won!
Yes, ME!
I won a prize!
I couldn't believe!

Green Batteries!

I thought, ok, I will probably get a pack of AA's.

But, NOPE!

I got a whole bag of batteries!

Thanks BarbaraRae!

Check these batteries out at www.greenfuji.com

They are landfill friendly.
Cadmium Free
Mercury Free
PVC Free

Fuji EnviroMAX batteries!

A ECO-Friendly battery alternative!

What are you up to?

Here it is ~ almost the end of July.... summer is flying away. I just ordered Kyle new strings for his guitar. Sweetie is playing with the dogs on the front porch. Most of all I am enjoying my rare, sort of, day off. There is so much to catch up on. Bill harvested this years garlic crop. It is drying in the barn. The first round of corn has been harvested. We are working on food preservation this year. We have dried corn, carrots, green beans and a few onions. Easy to throw in to a hearty stew this winter.

We are missing Kyle tremendously. He does call when he can. It is hard on his new wife. But the time is passing, just a bit slowly for her. He will be home for his mid tour leave in September. We are all looking forward to that.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer.

My son turns 21 ~ A view from Iraq

Kyle has been in the middle east now for 2 1/2 months.
He turned 21 yesterday! I miss him alot.
Communication is surely different today!
He has his cell phone and computer.
Skype makes it realtime. He called this AM and I missed it.


Happy Birthday, Kyle!