Thanksgiving Decor

Kitchen Thanksgiving



Living room



Dining room table



I always have fun decorating the house for the holidays.  I think Thanksgiving is my favorite.  I just love all the Fall colors, pumpkins and turkeys.  July 4th is my next favorite decorating holiday.  Christmas, not so much and I don't know why.  Maybe it's because I've seen Christmas stuff in the stores since August.  I did start taking down my Thanksgiving stuff last night and drug out a few Christmas things.  I will keep adding decorations as the month goes along.  I try and do something different with it all, every year. 

Fun Treasures



terra cota chicken roaster



Sun room table



Last weekend, we headed to Hartselle because I wanted to look in the really nice "kids store", downtown for some pretty things for Lily Ryann.  You can almost count on finding something pretty there and we did.  ...shhhhhh don't tell Lily Ryann.  As we were walking down the street and looking in the stores windows, there was an antique store that had a sign for 75% off.  Of course we had to go in and check it out and sooooo glad we did!  We found a terra cotta chicken roaster that was $18 but ended up costing only $4.50.  It had never been used.  I picked up a couple of things for $.50 and $1 but our best find was a huge picture of two ducks in a custom frame. I was thinking it could go over Chuck's bed.  It started out costing $25 but cost us only $6.  We stuck it in the car and went down to another antique store.  Well, I found this unique coffee table.  I stood there and looked and looked at it.  It was high and two tiered.  I knew it wouldn't go in the living room but I sure did like it.  We went on home without the table but for the rest of the day and night I kept thinking about the table.  As I sat in the sun room having my tea, I finally decided that was the perfect place for it.  So, come Monday morning, we went back to Hartselle and I was lucky, because the table was still there!  I was so happy.  Came on home and Chuck put the table in the sun room and I fell in love with it all over again.  I love it being high.  It's perfect for serving tea and there is lots of room for books and gardening magazines.  Oh, I forgot to finish telling you about the "duck picture".  When we got home that day, Chuck went on line and looked the artist up.  Well, I have to say...I think this is the best find we have found up here so far.  The print is signed and numbered.  This one is 1570/1950 (the year we were born) Chuck found two of them on line, selling for $400!!!!  We couldn't believe it!  It looks wonderful over Chuck's bed and we now have a story to go with it.   It's so much fun to go shopping up here.  You just never know what you will find.   

SWAG

Author Melinda Rainey Thompson brought her collection of Southern Essays and tall tales to the Lawrence Country Courthouse on Nov 15th.   She shared many of her writings and life experiences and reading from her three books.   Melinda began writing a humor newsletter about everyday trials of being a housewife and mother for friends and family members.  The readership quickly grew to about 5,000 subscribers in 48 states.  Then, she decided to turn them into books. She lives in Homewood (Birmingham) with her husband, Bill Thompson , a judge on Alabama's Court of Civil Appeals, and their three children.   I bought her first book...SWAG (Southern Women Aging Gracefully), which she signed for me. Another entertaining and fun evening in small town Moulton.  

Getting things done.



New Deluxe Bird House



George's house all done.



George waiting for his house to come back.

While I have been working on my "to do list" on the inside, Chuck has been working on the one for outside.  I told ya how he made George a real house so he didn't have to live in cardboard boxes this winter.  Well, he took it back down to the barn to paint it and put the shingles on the roof.  Meantime, George crawled into his cube and took a nap.  I put the cube in the back of the house and his blanket inside, spilling out into the front of the house.  He loves it!  When it's really cold, he curls up inside the cube but when it's not so cold, he stretches out onto the blanket.  If it gets down to freezing, I give him a hand warmer to lay on all night.  What a lucky kitty boy he is!  He picked the right house to come live at 1 1/2 years ago.
   Also on the outside to do list was a deluxe birdhouse to go on the stand that I got at Dave the iron man's. Chuck surprised me and made it yesterday.  He even put some little pots of mums in the flower box part of it.  :-)  I can't wait to plant some pretty drippy downy thing in them come Spring. 

Pro Bass Shop/Outdoor World

Yes, it does exist and Tim Allen works there...lol



This isn't even 1/3rd of the place!





Chuck looking at the fish in the tank



I wish this was the coyote that killed the girls!



Pro Bass Shop...how many times have we passed it and said some day we were going to stop?  I can't count.  We are always in a hurry to get to Gene and George's or to get home.  This time we took 15 minutes and stopped.  Let me tell ya, you can't see it all in just 15 minutes.  It's every outdoors man dream!  It was pretty neat to see for a woman too, but I noticed they built a brand new mall across the street from it...ha.  While the men spend the day at "Outdoor World", the women can spend the day at the mall.  Good idea!  This place was HUGE!!  Two stories of everything to do with outdoors.  If a hunter can't find what he's looking for in here, then it doesn't exist.  There is even a place to eat in there.  I'm sure we will be leaving an hour early on the way to Gene and George's next time, just so we can stop and spend more time in there. 

It must be Fall

It certainly is Fall when the BIG tree has changed it's color and the leaves are starting to drop.  The green house is full and the heater has been turned on.  Yesterday, Chuck and I mowed the yard and winterized it.  I went around and gathered everything up that was made of ceramic, glass or would get broken in the freezing winter.  I took the fountain off of the deck and loaded everything up in Little Red's cart and took it all to the barn.  Then, I pulled up my marigolds and moon flowers so I could plant all of my bulbs.  All 125 of them!  Chuck planted the four Bradford Pear trees and I planted the flat of purple pansies that Lady Melanie had given me.  We even took the four chairs that go to the table on the front porch and put them in the basement. Chuck took down all of the hummingbird feeders.  I think we are ready for winter.  It will be here before we know it.  Another season to look forward too. 

Just Being George

George in his house.



George in my bedroom window box.

George kitty has the run of the land and he comes up with some pretty funny places to get.  I never know where I'm going to see him.  For a couple of days, his favorite place was to lay in the window box, outside my bedroom window.  Yesterday, I had gone over to the TT and had left the door open until the wind blew it shut just minutes after I had gone in.  As I was walking down the hall, I saw movement in the little bedroom and I jumped back for just a second until I saw it was just George.  He had come in and walked past me and I never even noticed.  When I was trying to get him back outside, he went into the living room and laid down on the carpet like that was his new " kitty house".   I know he would like to be an indoor/outdoor kitty but that can't happen with the other two in the house.  He does like his new kitty house that Chuck built him.  He gets in it all the time and especially when it's cold at night.  His house isn't finished yet.  It needs to be painted yellow and the green shingles put on the roof.  That's on the list of "things to be done around here". 

Sad, Sad Day

Halloween evening was a terrible day here at Brambly Pines.  I had walked down to the barn to look for something and on the way, I thought I heard a noise in the woods, like something jumped down from something.  I stopped to look but didn't see anything so didn't think anything of it.  If I go down to the barn, I usually go back and see the chickens but for some reason, I didn't this time.  When Chuck went down to put the chickens to bed, they were all dead, in their mansion.  The screen had a huge hole torn in it.  Our conclusion was a coyote had jumped through the window and killed all of them but didn't get a chance to eat them, because they heard me coming down to the barn.  Chuck had been down there just before me, around 3:30 and they were still ok, in their yard.  So, it happened between 3:30 and before 6:00.  Lydia, our back neighbor had asked me if I had seen the two huge coyotes the week before.  We hadn't but had heard them.  She said they were down at the back of their land which would be behind our barn.  I decided to make a pet cemetery in an area along the path to the garden.  I tilled the area and Chuck dug the six deep holes.  Yes, each girl has their own grave.  I put their names on some sticks so I will know where each of them are, until I can make stepping stones with their names on them.  After all, they were a lot more than "just chickens" to us.  They were pets and gave us eggs every day.  When we were down at the barn yesterday, we both commented on how quiet it was down there without them.  Chuck said it was just weird.  Come Spring, we will decide if we want to hunt down some "fancy breeds" or just go to Tractor Supply and get " plain ole chicks" again.  After all, they were good girls and gave us extra large eggs.   We bought a dozen eggs at the store the other day.  That was sad too.

The Fourth Annual Campout

Raimey cooking the pheasant



Sandy eating her first Alabama smore!





The overnight campers

 Remember the first night that we got here when we moved?  Well, it was the same night that the BNOE had their "annual camp out" in their back yard.  Only it was the weekend of November 8.  Since it has been so cold that weekend, Charlotte has moved the camp out up into October.  It was still cold, but not near as bad as in the past.  It was Sandy's last night in Alabama and we were invited  over for Alabama Smores.  Raimey had gone hunting and had cleaned a pheasant to cook over the fire.  We all got to taste it.  It went pretty good with our wine and smores.  Sandy loved the Alabama smores as much as we do.  How can you not?  It was fun seeing Charlotte's friends and seeing how much all the kids had grown.  Looking forward to the 5th Annual Camp out next year.  I don't think we will wait that long to have Alabama smores again, though.  I'm sure there will be another " bon fire" before winter is over. 

A Day with the Amish



Naomi Judd in the sun glasses




Naomi Judd's car



they were making sorghum



the end of the porch was covered with tomatoes




my beautiful oak rocking chair



The third day that Sandy was here, we decided to go to Ethridge Tennessee to the Amish Community. It takes us about an hour to get there and it sure is an interesting place to visit.  The Amish make their livings by working the land.  They also sell fresh vegetables, molasses, quilts, rugs, baskets, hats, furniture and other hand made goods from their homes.  Before going to their community, we had lunch at the Red Rooster Restaurant. Man oh man! was it ever the best food and so much of it!  Sandy was so nice to buy Chuck's and my lunches. Chuck had walked into the connecting store as I waited for Sandy to pay the bill.  Afterwards, when Sandy and I went to find Chuck, we realized that the boy only charged us for two lunches ($6.99 each).  So, Sandy went back into the restaurant to tell the boy that she owed for another lunch.  Well, a man in line, asked Sandy if she saw Naomi Judd at one of the tables, eating lunch?  Sure enough...it was her!  So, Sandy came and told me and I went back in to see if I could get a picture of her.  I didn't want to walk up and ask her if I could take her picture, while she was eating her lunch, so I took it from across the room.   When we went outside, her Jag was parked right at the door.  I guess you never know who you are going to see when you are in Tennessee!  Our ride through the Amish community was fun.  We stopped at the one house where we had bought Chuck's hat and jams last year, so we could buy some more jams.  The next stop was at a house that sold outdoor furniture.  There is was!!!!!  The most beautiful oak rocking chair that I have ever seen and once I sat down in it...it had to be mine!  Chuck said "yes", so we put the one seat down in the Explorer and there was still room for Sandy..lol.  I now have the most comfortable rocking chair on the back porch, facing so I can see the whole back yard and woods.  What a great day we ended up having!! 

A Pretty Fall Day



old wooden bridge at Sipsey picnic grounds




Sandy preaching at Pine Torch Church




Chuck and Sandy on the dock



The second day that Sandy was here, we headed to the forest.  We went to the Sipsey Picnic Area and hiked the short hike into the canyons.  There was hardly any water in the Sipsey River and none of the waterfalls were flowing.  Other than seeing the beautiful colors of the trees, Fall is not the best time to hike in the forest.  Well, I shouldn't say that.  The weather was perfect.  Next we went to Brushy Lake and had our picnic lunch at a table right there by the lake.  Afterwards, we walked out onto the dock and then down to the dam.  There was no water going over the dam either.  We ohhhhed and ahhhhhed over the beautiful trees of Fall though.  At least Sandy got a small taste of the forest that we love.