Ghostly, not too much and autumnal

- Neighbor Amanda and her six-year-old son delighted in creating this ghostly walkway up to their place.

- Studying the seasonal candy on sale at Rite Aid so intently that an employee asks if I need help. I tell her that I am taking it to the crew at work, but want to make sure it is candy I do not like too much myself. :)

- A lovely dinner with friends that concludes with a autumnal dessert of gingerbread cake and pumpkin ice cream. My treat for the day.

I hope your weekend is full of good things!

Sculpture, mothering and courteous

- This startling sculpture, part of the State of Georgia Art Collection, entitled "Two Swimming Heads." The artist, John Jensen, created this art from a scene at a beach when he was with his family one day. It is currently on display at Georgia Public Broadcasting.

- Hearing a friend and mother of two young men tell how much she is enjoying mothering her motherless daughter-in-law. She always wanted a daughter and now has one, and they are good friends, too.

- Blue lights in the rear view mirror of my car, I know exactly what I have done wrong and admit it to the polite officer who comes around to the window. I did not stop at the stop sign long enough. OK - I rolled through it. But because I was polite and admitted what I had done, he gave me a much lesser ticket. A nice man and nice to know that the Atlanta police department has such a courteous officer in its midst.

Swirly, laughing and gullywasher

- The glory of this maple tree against a swirly sky.

- Speaking with a client over the telephone and commiserating over the tough economy. We agree that the tough economy is not working for us and end our call laughing.

- A big soaking rain day that in the south we call a gullywasher. A great word and fits the description perfectly. :)

October rose, singing and the times

- This lovely rose in neighbor Beth's courtyard, asserting its right to bloom in October.

- Hearing someone on the other side of the wall singing. Such a happy sound.

- From the Tucker Times, laying on my desk at home for days, this catches my eye: The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects the wind; the realist adjusts the sails.

Shadows and light, a red one and just right

- Leaving for home through the church sanctuary after a chili lunch and delighting in the shadows and light the afternoon sun makes through the stained glass.

- Shopping with my mom for a new winter coat for her. She chooses a bright red one and cannot wait to get back to show my dad.

- A lovely fall day on Sunday. The temperature seemed just right, the sky was blue, leaves crunched underfoot. A wonderful day.

They're back, connection and coasters

- My planter that I allow weeds to take over just because, has produced this plant with puffy things just like this time last year. Wonder what it is?

- Excited that I have finally made a connection with the proper marketing representative from a federal credit union and making an appointment for next week, only to find out that he is in Burbank, California instead of Atlanta (an 800# operator had transferred me.) No one is game for sending me to California.

- Driving with friend Leisa to a paper show south of Atlanta and passing a spot in which the tops of roller coasters at Six Flags over Georgia are superimposed over the distant skyline of the city. She says, "Hey, a good blog photo!" I tell her she is reading my mind, but there is nowhere to pull over. So I hope you can visualize it. :)

Have a great weekend!

Bus stop, rosy cheeks and bursting

- Sitting at the intersection of Deering Road and Peachtree Street and smiling at the sight of friend Karin Slaughter's poster advertising her latest book at the end of a bus stop shelter. Only ten years ago she was running a neighborhood sign shop and dreaming of being a published author. (Slightly fuzzy photo because of the zoom and from hurriedly taking the photo because the light had turned green.)

- Three rosy cheeked skateboarders complete with helmets, sitting side by side on the bank beside the condominium mailboxes, munching big red apples.

- Waiting for a flu shot along with two men, both of them bursting to talk. Since I spend so much time doing nothing but talking during the day, I welcome a quiet few minutes, but instead join in the conversation, remembering that I always learn something from speaking with random strangers.

Running out, decadent and drinking and typing

- Mr C's: running out of neon and the letter L, but up on current events. :)

- Rounding up the ingredients for my favorite decadent little lunch: brie cheese, crackers, walnuts, grapes and pear slices. It feels like a picnic in the country, except it is at my desk.

- An email from a friend, in which she cheerfully goes on at length about a controversial subject and then at the end: "Don't try to type after margaritas!!"

Unexpected, lollipops and comfort

- Flowers received unexpectedly. They were taken from a much larger bouquet and left in different places by silent visitors as a surprise.

- Taking the lollipops that had graced the table of my Highland Games Clan tent to work. It was fun to see adults walking around with lollipops and to see the flavors they selected.

- Stopping for a take-out dinner of southern food at Matthews Cafeteria on the way home. In business since 1954, it is comfort food at its best and always enjoyable because of the cheerful staff and wise cracking cashier. And delighted to see that they have my favorite Cherry Cobbler on this day.

Highland games, happy place and glorious

The 38th annual Stone Mountain Highland Games happened this weekend. A not altogether great weather day on Saturday. Sunday was still cold, but SUNNY. It was nice to see our friend the sun again.

- Entertainment of the non-bagpipe variety. The games in general make the park a happy place to be.

- The Virginia Military Institute pipe band near my Clan tent provided entertainment all weekend.

- 31 pipe bands played en masse providing a glorious assault to the ears. We follow the McTavish Clan onto the field for the Clan march. A lovely day.

Mystically magical, listening and a good thing

- A bit of a gloomy photo because of the rain, but this was snapped while creeping behind other cars on an entrance ramp to I-85 north in Atlanta. It is the tents for a show called Cavalia that will begin soon. The tents are all lit up in the early morning when I make the reverse trip into work. They look mystically magical then, as if a caravan has lost its way and settled down at Atlantic Station.

- Speaking to my mother on the telephone while dad is away, I love it that she has the television off and is listening to music. What music? The soundtrack to the film, "Titanic."

- A good thing in an email from friend Jannie Funster: I was next in line at the bank yesterday when the pretty young teller greeted an elderly man (he must've been at least 80) with "Hello! What brings you to the bank today, Sir?" He answered "I've come to check my balance," as he outstretched both his arms and began teetering on one leg. But he balanced very well and we all laughed out loud!

When he was leaving the teller called out "Have a great day!" to which he turned with an elfish grin to reply "Love to help you out with that, but I've already made other plans."

It made her day and mine, too, just reading her account. :)

Into the mist, snack and learning to fly

- Leaving midtown Atlanta around 6:45pm, the tops of the buildings all but disappear into the mist.

- Astounded by a friend's late afternoon snack in her office: pickled peppers, chocolate soy milk, red and pink M&Ms and pickled beets. A jaw dropping array. She is not pregnant, she says, this is just a collection of things she has nibbled on in the last couple of hours.

- A home town friend's mother has passed away. She was a lovely woman. I email to say how sorry I am, but also to share how her mother was my favorite teacher from long ago. When I was in the 2nd grade, she encouraged my precocious reading ability to the point that I ended up in a group by myself. She let me fly. And I love reading to this day because of that.

Stretch, rain and delicious ambiguity

- Mr C's celebrated Columbus Day with the usual Monday accouterments and a bit of a stretch of the imagination. :)

- Rain, rain, and more rain. I like waking up in the middle of the night to light rainfall. And making a plan to go by the nearby Wednesday afternoon farmers market after hearing that too much rain has hampered farmers efforts to get fall crops planted and too many cloudy days have slowed growth down for those crops that have have planted.

- A lovely quote on my FranklinCovey planner this week: Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity. - Gilda Radner

Leg lamp, hat required and nurture

- This leg lamp spotted in an antiques shop in Thomasville, Georgia, reminding me of the lamp in one of my favorite movies ever, "A Christmas Story."

- A casual invitation from a client to join an Atlanta womens' club. "I don't know," I ask her, "would I have to wear a hat?" She says that indeed they do have one event during the year in which hats are required.

- Arriving to moderate a meeting, a friend and committee member who knows I don't feel well brings me some vegetable soup. It's for lunch today.

Cotton fields, Seminole country and Pebble Hill

- Driving to south Georgia and north Florida for the weekend through farm country lined with miles and miles of cotton fields.

- The people down there take their football very seriously. A Florida State University fan on the way to the game.

- A breathtakingly beautiful place for a wedding, historic Pebble Hill Plantation; a place of quiet beauty. The ceremony took place beneath this Live Oak tree dripping with Spanish moss. A lovely day.

The office, extra mile and dance at the wedding

- A Heidelberg Press and a printed journal during its drying time. Another day at the office.

- A very nice man who goes the extra mile to help a frustrated woman get a difficult prescription filled for her father in another town. And he is having it delivered to him for nothing. How about that.

- I held her for the first time one January - a smiling baby with an infectious personality, blue eyes like her mother and curly hair like her aunts. Someone stole her heart and she will marry him on Saturday - maybe outside or maybe inside a barn if it rains. This aunt will dance at Abigail's wedding. *

* A Friday 55 tribute to Abigail's wedding...

Red hatter, no charge and pure contentment

- While pumping gas, spotting a "Red Hat Contractor" in her purple truck adorned with red hat logo. And impressed that this "over 50" woman, wearing a purple t-shirt, but no hat, has her own driveway paving business.

- At another gas station across town, Ryan carefully checks my tires for proper pressure after someone tells me a tire looks low. He sends me off with no charge.

- Finally sinking into the sofa after a long day with a salad of dark greens, steamed broccoli, feta cheese, Kalamata olives and a lemon Dijon dressing. The best part - a white wine spritzer and Grey's Anatomy from last week on the DVR.

Cheery welcome, not today and nature's light show

- This cheery welcome, incorporating hosts, dinosaurs, Georgia's gold-domed capitol building and other points of interest, is the first thing you encounter when you step off the elevator at Georgia Public Broadcasting. Such a nice surprise - the wall before being just kind of blank.

- The woman at the drive-thru at Kentucky Fried Chicken telling me about the $1000 per day sweepstakes I can register for with the receipt. And my non-gambling, doesn't-believe-in-gambling mother chiming in from the back seat, "Don't forget whose car you're driving!" I totally would have turned over the money, but it was not to be...we were not winners this day. :)

- Nature's light show lighting up the still dark morning sky. It is always a relief to arrive to work safely during rain showers and to hear co-workers coming in one by one.

More fun here, delight and all the ages

- No doubt! A 30ish man with shaved head and cool glasses, carrying a newspaper, walks up to unlock the door while I photograph the sign. He looks around and smiles. I wave a thank you.

- Having a discussion with a co-worker about how we should always endeavor to delight our customers. Mr C's seems intent on doing that. I look for it in other places, too. Last evening I called to find out when my favorite employee at Chico's will be in to work. She never forgets my name and for that she always gets my business.

- Struck by this quote from Monday, October 5 on my FranklinCovey planner: "You aren't just the age you are. You are all the ages you ever have been." Kenneth Koch

Movie palace, Paris Trout and angels

- Driving through the heart of my hometown of Milledgeville, Georgia, I am thrilled to see workers sprucing up the long closed up Campus Theatre. It opened in 1935 and showed its last film in 1983. A local accountant kept his offices upstairs and would not consider selling the building until the nearby university purchased it last year. It will be used for occasional performances and as the college bookstore. Hopefully they will light up the marquee again. I have missed it.

- The upstairs offices were the scene of an infamous crime in 1953. A fictionalized account of the story was written by Peter Dexter, who won the National Book Award for "Paris Trout."

- In a less famous area of town, a woman and her son are mowing, trimming and edging my parents' lawn and shrubbery. It is a lovely surprise because no one expected them to do this and they will not let me pay them, saying they do it because they love my parents. I call them angels.

Cheerleader, how good and the Twilight Zone

- This lawn jockey in friend Tim's front yard, all done up as a University of Georgia cheerleader for gameday. With support like this, UGA just might be looking at a fourth straight win this week. The lawn jockey has endless costumes and soon will be done up for Halloween.

- Visiting a fragrance design business and telling them how good it smells in there. They say they do not smell it at all. Most people think the printing company has a pervasive smell of ink, but we do not smell it either. At least not anymore.

- "There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call 'The Twilight Zone.'" Hearing this lovely prose on NPR this morning made me happy, as they paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Twilight Zone!

Abundance, heavenly scent and the gist

- All the recent rain makes the flowers and plants at home look lushious and abundant in early fall.

- Catching the heavenly scent of a tea olive bush makes me whirl around to look for it. At my visit to Columbia Theological Seminary for a meeting on a perfect afternoon, tea olive bushes line the sidewalk of the parking lot.

- Dropping off materials in the very early morning to a mail house, I listen to employees speak to each other in Spanish while I wait, and smile because I realize I understand the gist of what they are saying. Some memory of intense Spanish lessons from several years ago remain.