So long October, trick and like an old friend

- So proud of my workout calendar that I am posting it for all to see.  I give myself one of those teacher "good job" type stickers for the days I have a three mile walk or work out to an exercise video indoors.  As you can see, I waffle most on Monday and Friday, but I made it a couple of times on those days.  :)

- Funniest Halloween Day experience:  a printing client said she gives an onion or a potato to teenagers who come to her door for treats who are not wearing a costume.

- A beloved old knit night shirt resurrects itself from the back of a drawer.  I had completely forgotten about it and wore it last night.  It feels like an old friend.

It's November!  Time to start on a new calendar and I just did my workout, so I get a sticker.  My boss says she can always tell when I work out before work, because I'm so energetic and chatty.  :)  I hope you all have a marvelous weekend!

We are ready, wonderful legacy and rosemary

- My plastic pumpkin and I are ready for trick-or-treaters tomorrow night!  Last year I only had one child come by, so the mom got a pocketful of candy, too.

- Lots going on in that photo above.  The buffet (along with the out of sight dining table) belonged to my grandparents.  My uncle Carl refurnished their home for them in appreciation (years and years and years ago) after they helped put him through Georgia Tech.  I still can't believe it's mine.  And the painting above it came with it.  The colors in my living room and dining room reflect the colors of that beautiful countryside in the painting.  The blue and white bowl was found at a friend's antique shop years ago and I believe is one of those things one would have washed up in.

- Getting all the plants indoors, but knowing the potted rosemary bush will be OK outdoors for the winter.  And I love the whiff of rosemary I get from it when I walk by it when I'm coming and going.

Flowers, walking and Hamlet

A picture a day from the weekend:

- After an especially busy work week, I treated myself to not exercising after work on Friday;  friend Leisa and I chatted by cellphone during our after-work commute instead - wonderful to have that entertainment.  Plus there was a stop at Whole Foods for takeout dinner and as a bonus, this "Sunrise bouquet" to brighten my kitchen.

- It was 30 degrees when friend Laura and I met up at 8am at the park on Saturday morning; I was quite rosy cheeked when we were done.  And I had this view of my condominium complex's driveway when I returned home.  The neighbor in the yellow SUV waved an apology for getting in my photo as he passed.  Love the shadows there on the driveway and the red maple trees in the distance.

- On Sunday there was Georgia Shakespeare's stripped down production of Hamlet.  There were no fancy Elizabethan costumes or flowery delivery of speech.  There were minimalist sets, and the actors wore urban street clothes.  Loved that.  (It was never explained why Hamlet was barefoot throughout the whole thing.)  And the gravediggers spoke with sort of 'ol boy Southern accents during their scene.  It was great.  :)

View from the couch, OK - I had two and looking forward

- First fire in the fireplace this season.  The temperature dropped into the 40s yesterday evening and there was a distinct chill in my living room when I got home around 6:30pm.  And there is was - the opportunity for a fire.  I love it so.

- A happy printing client brings chewy homemade oatmeal cookies, still warm from the oven, as a thank you.

- A random text from my best guy friend, Steven, inviting me to dinner next week.  We met on his first day at work, when he was sitting at a drawing table working and smiled at me as I walked by.  This was in 1988.  Pretty long, as friendships go.  We are not in constant touch these days, but know each other is there.  It brightened my day to think of having dinner with my handsome and funny friend.

Keeping it simple today and finding the simple things are what make me the most happy.  I hope you find that today, too.  Have a great weekend my friends!

Number 1 Best Friend, good idea and Mom Yoga Now

- The Celtic cross that I was given last weekend at the Highland games.  Some friends (a grandmother, mother and 12-year-old son) to our Clan tent got it from a vendor who makes Celtic woodcarvings and presented it to me at the Clan dinner on Saturday night for being their "Number 1 Best Friend" at the games.  That's what I like most about those games - we are all family for a couple of days.

- They have a loose connection with our Clan and adopted our tent to hang out in.  And I like it when they are there, because they are fun.  :)  The grandmother said (tongue in cheek, of course) that I should hang it at my doorway to "keep vampires away", and that seemed like a jolly good idea!  So there it is, hanging in my foyer.

- And if you have time for a peaceful six minutes, watch this video of a mom and yoga instructor, who lives in Kansas, who makes time for yoga while her children play around her.  It's lovely.

Soul thrilling, jam session and remembering the bonnie banks

- The opening ceremonies of the 2013 Stone Mountain (Georgia) Highland Games on Saturday.  The massed bands playing the pipes and drums never fails to thrill my soul.

 - Slightly fuzzier photos from my iPhone.  Saturday was just a drizzly day, but it didn't dampen the spirits of the crowd.  This group of musicians had an impromptu jam session in front of the tent city of the vendors.

- View from the side of my clan's tent:  the day brightened on Sunday, and we were serenaded all day by this musician, Colin Grant Adams, who sang traditional Scottish ballads.  When he sang, "The Bonnie Banks 'o Loch Lomand" (over and over, it seemed, but that's OK), it reminded me of walking around Loch Lomand several years ago with niece Amanda, who tried not to look embarrassed when I sang that song aloud to her.  :)

I keep candy on the table at our Clan tent for any children that come by.  A favorite moment:  the top of a blond head and a pair of big brown eyes peered over the table.  He put a tentative hand up into the candy basket and looked at me.  "It's OK - they are Twizzlers!  They're good."  He looked back at his mom, who nodded her consent, fished one out and ran over to display it to her as if he had scored pure gold.  Lovely innocence.  

Scarecrow party, winner, winner and runners up

There is one of those community gardens near the Greenway park where I walk on the weekends in which one can rent plots for vegetable and flower gardens.  The "plotters" had a scarecrow competition recently.  You know I loved walking around taking pics of that.  :)  Here we go:  

- It's a scarecrow party!  Here are some of them in a group.  The winners are next, taken the next morning, in order, after the voting.  As always, click to enlarge to see them better.

- This guy with the red bandanna won first prize.  It wasn't the most creative to me, but perhaps it was the most realistic.  And he's a University of Georgia Bulldogs fan.  (That's what "Go Dawgs" means to us in the South.)  :)

- The woman who owns the antique shop with the cat I like, took second place.  I liked her pumpkin head man amid the morning glory vines.

- Third place is a pretty lady.  Love the marigolds at her feet that match her trousers.

- I think this anatomically correct lady was robbed!  Very colorful and happy.  :)

- And if I was a crow, I'd be afraid of those pie tins!  I liked this one, too.  But they were all good, in my opinion.  I had a wonderful time walking around them.

And I hope you have a wonderful time this weekend, no matter what you are doing.  Have a great one!