We bought a new piece of art while in North Carolina. We haven't bought art in a really long time and hadn't intended to come home with anything this time. But we visited a beautiful gallery and once we were in there, this began to call our names. It was hanging in a very small window within the gallery and we just thought it needed to be liberated and shown in a larger space. So, even though we are trying to pare down our belongings, we decided that we were not dead yet and so bought the piece. We are so glad we did. However, just so you know, we left two of our belongings in North Carolina in order to make room for something new. That's our new philosophy.
We left our old gas grill next to the dumpster at the campground. And we donated a large back pillow (brand new but didn't work in the trailer) to a thrift store at the Crossnore School. More about this school in a future post. It is a wonderful residential school that is creating a place of safety for very needy, struggling children in the North Carolina mountains. In the meantime, we will garner joy from our stained glass each time we look at it.
The Soap Shed is a definite "destination location" we discovered during our mountain explorations. It is not on a main road and you cannot find it without doing some prior research. It's a left turn off the main road, past two houses on the right, and then a hard left up a sloped drive to the main house. Once there, we were surrounded by beautiful gardens frequented by many birds coming to the various feeders. 
Once inside, we were treated to at least sixty different "flavors" of soap made by a former science professor using fresh goat's milk. You select your soap, write the name of the scent on a card, then place both in a small plastic bag for future reference when you get home. One of our friends will soon be undergoing chemotherapy so we bought a type of soap especially created for the skin problems that often accompany that treatment. Our intent was to see a soap-making demonstration. However, the weather did not cooperate so we will do that next time. This is a beautiful place with wonderful soaps both scented and unscented; a tiny turn off the main highway, but a great place with wonderful energy that will be a "come back" place for us.
I am a fly fisherman. I consider it one of my art forms. I love to catch fish but the catching of fish is secondary to my love of casting on serene or moving waters in the mountains. When I am there, I don't worry about alligators or other Florida reptiles. I just enjoy the beauty of the spot, the birds that visit while I fish, and the rhythm of my casting, back and forth, back and forth. I believe that after so many years of practice, I have developed some satisfaction with my casting. My roll cast and side cast pleased me this trip, a rare thing. For me, fly fishing is like dancing; like a ballet on the water. I can stay planted in the same spot for hours because the water changes, even if my location doesn't. As the water laps against my legs and boots, I drop my fly gently on the water and wait for a fish to take it. The fish I caught were small but that's ok. I released them back into the river so they could grow a little larger for someone else to catch someday. 
As I come out of the river, my wet boots gather some of the fallen leaves on the bank. I call this The Remains of the Day. I just love to fish.
Just realized today that my tags are really mini-collages. So here are my latest. These are a combination of an antique weather journal from 1927, illustrations from a 1943 Life Magazine, vintage rick rack from the 1940's, and vintage buttons from my extensive collection.
These illustrations were to honor the work of women during the war effort of World War II. While the men were at war, the women took over many of their tasks. These tags are available for sale on my Etsy site.
Oh, and thank you Libby and Shannon for the tutorial on photography. As you can see, your advice worked for me.
Is it just me or was there just a little tiny bit of autumn in the air this morning? I know I can smell it and feel it when nobody else can but I swear there was a little tinge of coolness in the air. I went out on the back step with my cup of coffee and watched many, many birds cavort at the feeders. My hair was almost rendered even shorter by two hummingbirds who came very, very close. I saw a warbler that has never been here before. My daughter Shannon says I am never satisfied with the weather. I think she is right. However, I am anxious for a little cool weather. So as far as I'm concerned, I think I felt a little autumn in the air this morning.
While I was working and before I retired, Janet and I had an agreement. I would find everything she lost and she would do all my ironing. Now that I'm not working, I don't need much to be ironed. And so the agreement has changed. I still find everything Janet loses but now she just bakes for me. These cookies are by far my favorite. They are oatmeal, Special K, date, nut, raisin, and dried cranberry cookies. She tells me they are very healthy which takes care of all my guilt. I have eaten three so far but the night is quite young.
Now we know that this is not exactly sanitary nor would it pass inspection in a commercial food kitchen. However, for Cocoa, this is just what needs to happen after Janet mixes and packs Cocoa's food for the week. You see, Cocoa is a dog that is fed the Raw Meaty Bone diet or RMB for short. That means that she eats raw chicken every day along with raw mince mixed by Janet. The mince is a mixture of either ground turkey or beef, alfalfa, pumpkin or carrots, probiotics, and various other ingredients. Yes, we know that Cocoa is spoiled. But she is also one of the healthiest dogs we have ever had and has never needed to have her teeth cleaned. But I digress. After Janet mixes and packs the mince, Cocoa gets to lick the bowl. As you can see, she is very enthusiastic about this task, even putting her front feet into it!! I was allowed to lick the bowl from cake and custard when I was a little girl. But my mother never, ever allowed me to put my feet into the bowl.
We bought a new piece of art while in North Carolina. We haven't bought art in a really long time and hadn't intended to come home with anything this time. But we visited a beautiful gallery and once we were in there, this began to call our names. It was hanging in a very small window within the gallery and we just thought it needed to be liberated and shown in a larger space. So, even though we are trying to pare down our belongings, we decided that we were not dead yet and so bought the piece. We are so glad we did. However, just so you know, we left two of our belongings in North Carolina in order to make room for something new. That's our new philosophy.
