Happy New Year

Okay, we're having a very exciting New Year's Eve here on Circle Drive. Mark is watching his new movie 1941, a Christmas gift from my wonderful sis, and I'm ordering sweet pea seeds!
I know, enough to put us both to sleep before midnight. But these orange sweet peas do look pretty good, don't they? I always order seeds from sweetpeagardens.com. Always order way too many, because I can't resisit the thought of having them everywhere everywhere. And then I can't find enough places to put them. But this year, I'm going to plant several times and try to keep up with PJ, who had sweet peas in September.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum

Very impressive. Isaac went with us and it was great to spend the day with him.

Are You As Tall As Lincoln?

This scene reminded me of a time when Isaac was little and we went to Six Flags. We were going to ride a roller coaster, and there was one of those signs "you must be this tall to ride". I didn't think Isaac would be tall enough, and I was thinking we'd just send Judson and Mark on the ride and Ike and I would find something else til they got back. Well, Isaac marched up to the sign, stretched all the way down from his toes up through his little blond head of hair, and I swear he grew two inches right in front of our eyes.

Christmas Enough

Today mama sent me a sweet e-mail with this sweet picture.   She says:  "Charlie read this to me Thursday, remember you gave me this book before it got famous and became a blockbuster.  This would be Christmas enough for me."

More Christmas

The little hanging snowman is something that PJ sent me years ago and I love it still. The card is from Nan, and it's beautiful. Elizabeth sent me a great picture of the whole Wilson clan. It was so nice to hear from them. The roses in the bud vase went for $11 at the silent auction which is part of our fundraising for employee recognition at the hospital. See the cranberries in the vase? I'm going to make one of these for myself.

Kissing Santas

This is a little paper mache ornament that I bought nearly 30 years ago. Mama was with me at a little gift shop just across the highway from the airport. My former cheerleading sponsor, Mrs. Oliver, owned the shop. While we were browsing, this one fell off the tree and landed at my feet. That's how I knew which ornament to buy that day.

Raggedy Andy

Mama made one of these for each of the boys in 1990. Judson was 7 and Ike was 5.

Stocking by Peggy

There's no way to pick a favorite.

Surprise!

Every year, I make batch after batch of pralines, because I can never get them to come out right. I either don't cook them long enough or cook them too long, beat them too much or not enough, etc., etc. But for some reason, this year they came out right on the very first try. I told mama it's because I'm almost fifty--maybe I've made them enough times to really know how to make them. The divinity came out well too, although I believe that credit goes to the standing mixer that PJ gave me.

Boy Angel

Another ornament by Peggy. Isn't he adorable? This is one of two that mama sent to the boys in 1996.

A Real Live (Decorated) Tree

Well, I have the tree up and it is actually decorated this year. For the past two years, since both Judson and Isaac are away at school, I just haven't been motivated to go beyond putting up a tree with a few lights. But the organizational bug has hit me. We pulled everything out of the basement and attic that was related to Christmas and went thru it all. This ornament was one that mama made years ago. I love her with her little Detroit Free Press newspaper.

Scarecrow Woman

From Hazel Dell School's garden. . . Some of you toured this garden with me after Isaac's graduation. That was 2 1/2 years ago already!

Danger Dog

Gumbo, with his ferocious face.

And More Snow on the Way

We're supposed to get another 4 inches of snow today. It's been sooo cold, but it may warm up into the 30s this weekend.

More Snow

It snowed off and on all day today, but only about an inch or so. Doesn't seem to bother this little guy at all. He's still happy.

Snow!

Kelly couldn't wait to get out there this morning. It's beautiful. Not too cold, about 27, with no wind so it's pretty pleasant really.

Those Boys

Judson found a new hobby--Su Doku, and here's Isaac with Zoey. It was so good to have everybody here this weekend. We had a great time!

Nelly and Cookie

Home for the Holiday

This is Gumbo, who is always on alert.

Happy Thanksgiving

We have eaten too much turkey, too much dressing, and too much pumpkin pie!

2004 Lily

Mark took this is a picture last summer. The squirrels nearly dug them up last fall, so they didn't come back well for us this year. I believe they were Centerfold from Van Engelen.

Nelly and a Stick

Leaves in the Birdbath

Peggy's New Turkey

Isn't he cute??? I love his beak. And the pumpkin. He's a Springfield turkey, because his hat looks like Lincoln's. My ma, the artist!

Last Anenome

This is a little spring-blooming anenome, but apparently it reblooms sporadically throughout the summer/fall. It's so sweet, especially now.

More November Roses

Mama's Turkey

Camouflage

Kelly-dog matches the needles that have fallen from the hemlock tree. She's looking for rabbits here.

November 1st

These were taken Saturday. when Mark did a lot of clean-up in the yard.
Kelly has a birthday coming up--she'll be 12 on November 15.

Planning, Planning

All this talk about cannas today made me think about this shot from 2004. For some reason, I didn't put one of these containers together this year. But it's on next year's list!

Today's Star

Mark took these photos.

Deep Trouble

Okay, so I didn't have an original photo for today's blogging. I came across this on one of the garden web forums the other day and it made me smile. Hope it does the same for you too.

Monday Arrangement

The two concrete leaves in the front are ones that mama made. She and PJ made a bunch of them this summer. I don't have any pictures of PJ's. Maybe she'll send me some pictures for the blog? The arrangement has dahlias, roses, butterfly bush, and mums. You can barely see the little pot that it's in, but that came from the Dish Barn in Nicholasville. It makes me think of Lori and Rachel, who were with me for that shopping trip. Looking at the picture now, I think the pot should have been sitting on one of the leaves, don't you think? I'll try that next time.

Pumpkins in the Park

There were over 2,000 pumpkins in the park tonight. The money raised goes to making improvements to the carrillon. And tomorrow they're selling them all for $5, which also goes to charity. The park looked great and the place was packed with people. The kids loved it, of course. And we did too!

This is a shot of the same fountain that I posted earlier this week. I loved the way they placed pumpkins in and among all the plants.

My Favorite Shot

Dry ice in the fountains made for spooky fog. This last shot is my favorite from the night.

Weather Report

We got over an inch of rain yesterday! And it's still raining this morning! I have complained about lack of rain so much on this blog, I thought I'd make a special announcement.

Back Yard Views

I hope you can see the little robin sitting on the fountain. It is so dry here, we have to fill the fountain a couple of times a day. Sometimes there are four or five robins taking a bath all at once, making a big fuss. The second shot is the birch, with its fall color.

Leaves (and a Few Dahlias)

I wish I could take credit for making the darkest leaves shown. They're the real thing. The red leaves are cast from earlier, larger leaves from the dark plant. I can't remember what that is. Mama started it from seed. It's a wonderful foliage plant and I've enjoyed it all year.