Off to the beach, birthday boys and fun in the sun

- You'd have to click to enlarge to see the Pensacola Beach sign, which I love for its retro look and the marlin at the top.  We were headed to the beach area for brunch on Sunday.

- It was a warm, breezy day at the beach.  I love the white sand of Pensacola Beach. 

- But the real reason for the visit was to celebrate the birthdays of two precious boys.  Their cousin Kloie made this paper "Happy Birthday" crown for them to share at their party on Saturday.  Cute.

- The very patient and loving Hank, having a rest, after a full day of fun in the sun.  The best part of the weekend was being surrounded by family.

Gulf breeze...

I'm off to be with family in Pensacola, Florida this weekend - it's my two great nephews' birthdays (they were born the same week, but two years apart.)  I'll see you when I get back and will hopefully have photos as nice as this one when I return.

Happy weekend, y'all!

The library, alternate reading sources and love of books

- Did I mention that I love books?  I always have.  My dream job was to work in a library - I found that written in a little paper I wrote in the 7th grade that my mom had kept.  I did work at the county library in my home town during summers and after school when I was a teenager.  Oh bliss - how I loved that job.  These days, I visit my local library frequently and have my own little library at home of treasured books.

 - I resisted the Kindle for a long time, but have found it quite handy to have on trips and at the doctor's office waiting room, and such.  This one fits nicely in my purse and I got it as a "reward" with bank points.  Currently reading on my Kindle Paperwhite:  The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.  I still love a bound book the most, but this one has its place.

- Isn't this a gorgeous quote by Eudora Welty?  I spotted this on social media.  Lovely. 

Peace and quiet, fits right in and good things

- During our recent trip to the mountains, my sisters and I wanted to visit Smoke in the Mountains Pottery.  We love Rob Withrow's pottery.  We traveled up some winding roads to find his studio and there it was (his kilns are pictured here.)  He greeted us, along with a couple of amiable dogs, and showed us around.  I can't imagine how hot those kilns must get when they are firing.

- Having put myself on pottery restriction, I vowed to just admire the things my sisters were purchasing.  My place is full of pottery already and I own several of Rob's neat coffee mugs.  But he insisted on giving me this spoon rest, saying "You need something, too!"  Such a nice man.  Here it is on my stove - it fit right in.

 - I can't even remember where I spotted this clump of flowers - daisies?  I like their ruffled look.  I just thought they were beautiful and that's always a Good Thing.  :)

Thank you for coming by!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Weeknight treat, realism and sticking it out

- A few weeks ago, friend Laura asked it I'd like to attend a play at Serenbe on Wednesday, August 10.  Serenbe is a community south of Atlanta that was created to be "connected to nature."  They have a farm with vegetables that residents may purchase and really beautiful homes to live in.  There's also a lovely inn.  It takes an hour to get there from my home, but I said I was IN!  The plays at Serenbe are put on by their playhouse and performed outdoors with mostly local actors.  I snapped three photos before the show, when the actors slowly started coming out and taking their places.

- I had seen Miss Saigon about 20 years ago at the Civic Center in Atlanta.  There's a prop helicopter usually used in the fall of Saigon scenes, but on this night a real helicopter flew in and hovered.  It was an actual Huey helicopter flown in the Vietnam war, rented for the run of the play.  Very dramatic.  And there were humorous moments from local frogs, who had decided to visit those pools of water for the duration of the play.  Someone came out during intermission and fished some of them out, but the remainder took up their song for the rest of the play.

- This guy, who played The Engineer, stole the show. but everyone was great.  And the live orchestra was inside the red container there in the background.  We were lucky to be on the front row.  And I survived a late night out on a weeknight.

The play was held rain or shine, and there was a little light rain in the beginning, but everyone stuck it out.  There's a youtube film of a demo of the helicopter flight here.  It was very dramatic to see it come in at twilight during the play.

Out and about on a busy week

This is a sort of round up of photos taken during my recent short vacation with my sisters.  I had such a hodge podge of random photos that I thought they belong together.  

 - After I uploaded photos from my phone the other day, I couldn't think at first what this was.  And then I remembered - it's the N5 entrance of Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta  (one of many entrances).  I was picking up my sister from her incoming flight and was afraid I'd forget the direction my car was in, so I took a photo of it.  It's a massive airport, with equally massive parking and everything is letter and number coded.  I did remember this label though - probably because I took the time to snap the photo.

- I do love grits for breakfast.  My sisters and I thought this "10 Commandment of Grits" on the menu at Mary's Southern Grill in Young Harris, Georgia was funny.  :)

- Elvis graces the entrance of the furniture department of Alexander's Store in Blairsville, Georgia, where they sell "everything under the sun."  

- Brasstown, North Carolina, population 240, is home to a rather colorful convenience store, named "Clay's Corner."  The Clay's Corner website proclaims Brasstown as "opossum capital of the world."  Hmm - a dubious claim to fame, but it helps to explain the label on this water my sister brought back from inside the store.  That's her arm there - she was frowning at me for snapping her photo, but I only wanted the water bottle in the picture. 

- We were surprised to see these pink flowers (lilies?) that sprang up, or "volunteered" as our late mom used to say, in the flower bed next to my sister's vacation home, in which a profusion of orange daylilies were growing in July.

That's it.  I decided not to put Elvis in the title of my post, although it's always so interesting to see how many hits a post will get if you put something popular, like Elvis, in the title.  :)  Happy weekend, y'all!

Sister time, rambling around and view at the end

 - The side of the house view from my sister's vacation home in the Nantahala Forest in western North Carolina.  I think of that view all the time when I'm not there and can hear the gentle rushing of the river when I close my eyes.

- The three of us had a lovely time rambling around.  This was a shop porch in nearby Blairsville, Georgia.  I had a quiet moment while sisters were still shopping inside.  The owner had a lovely, big black dog who was very shy.  She said he had wandered up to her home and they never did find his owner.  He's got a great home now.

- This young man is a teacher at the local high school in Clay County, North Carolina.  He and his students grow vegetables and fruit and sell it at the farmers' market on Thursday evenings.  I got one of the $3 watermelons to take home.

- The view from the road, as you round the bend, when leaving the mountain neighborhood where the house is.  We were on our way to a final breakfast out together on Sunday morning before going three separate ways - Georgia, Florida and Virginia.  Can't wait until next year!

Taken for granted (not), sentimental nod and sister time

- More beauty from my sister's home in northern Florida, taken last weekend.  I stopped at this spot and marveled at its loveliness.  My sister says she tries not to take the view for granted - I have to say, I never do.

- You can barely see the old Gulf Oil sign posted on the barn.  When they bought this property, the barn and some other old out-buildings were already there.  They kept them and built their home in the middle of the property.  Their family has always been in the oil distribution business and they started out with Gulf, so the sign is a sentimental nod to the past.

- And another beautiful spot - about eight hours north of there, in the Nantahala Forest.  I ran across this photo when I was looking for something else.  This is where I am today - along with my two sisters.  We are having "sisters only" time. 

And Sunday, August 7 is National Sisters Day, so this is working out!

The wedding tree, yes to the dress and surrounded by love

- Niece Amanda (the youngest, sob!) will be married to her beloved Travis next March under that tree in the middle of the photo.  (Click to enlarge.)  The branch on the left forms a natural arch that they will stand under during the ceremony.  She wanted to be married at home on the farm and the plans are going beautifully.

- I was delighted to be invited for the choosing of the dress and went with the wedding posse to this bridal shop on Saturday morning, where a dress that is very "her" was chosen.

- Four-year-old great nephew Monroe woke on Sunday morning and came out with Curious George in tow, rubbing his eyes and asking "Where's Aunt Lynnie?"  I got the best sleepy hug.

- Travis and his seven-year-old daughter Kloie are already a part of our family.  She knows that I love dragonflies and was so excited to give me this one, fashioned out of paper, that she made for me.  It has a place of honor on my refrigerator, along with hummingbird paraphernalia and Frieda Kahlo.  :)

It was a long, quick trip and I'm still tired from it, but I was surrounded by love all weekend.  I needed that.