Last blossom, shadowed and coddled

- Having never been a real fan of summer, I do look forward to fall, with its crisp weather.  But I do lament the passing of my spring and summer potted plants.  I finally got rid of my hanging petunia this week, pictured here in May, and found a lone blossom had fallen off while I was getting it down.  So here it is in a shot glass, gracing my cutting board.  The last blossom.

- At the elevator enclosure at my HMO on Peachtree Street in Atlanta.  Midday.  I went by to pick up a prescription and was struck by the pattern of leaves shadowed on the cut-out in the wall.

- The new addition to my egg coddler collection, found in the mountains at my favorite antique shop there.  Maybe I'll actually coddle an egg at some point.  You know I'll report back when I do.  :)

Hope you all have a wonderful, peaceful weekend, my friends!

Ethereal, yum and once-in-a-while treat

 - These vegetables from my Blue Apron box were so pretty that I snapped a photo of them.  The ones on the upper right are Fairy Tale eggplants.  Love that ethereal name!  They were among the vegetables included in the Summer Vegetable & Queso Tostadas.  Each box contains three recipes and the ingredients you need to make them.  Each recipe serves two.

- I made the tostadas while at the mountain cabin, but didn't take a photo.  I know - that's not like me.  They were yummy.

- And I love how they give you step by step instructions on making everything.  I'm a good cook, but love this once-in-a-while treat.  They only ship to the contiguous United States, but I expect there are other companies elsewhere that do this kind of thing.  It probably sounds like I am advertising for them, but this just seemed like good blog material.  :)

Doing nothing, shimmering and moving on

- I pretty much did nothing but read and sleep while I was at the house by the river last weekend.  Click to enlarge to see the yellow daisies that are blooming away across the river there.  Photo taken early Monday morning as I was planning my departure.

- The water flows gently by.  It's so beautiful, the way it shimmers. 

- Can you see the two young deer munching on the grass there?  I was in the kitchen, preparing to make coffee even earlier on Monday morning.  These were both male - they had sprouting antlers.

- If you click to enlarge, you can see that the one on the left had spotted me.  They turned and ran into the woods - I was rather sorry to have interrupted the munching. 

Labor Day weekend

- Labor Day weekend in the United States:  "Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country."  This fact comes from the US Department of Labor website.

- I'm just happy to have the holiday, in which I'll wake up to this view on Monday, although I think I have contributed plenty.  :)  No matter the case - I love this long weekend.

- The river bank was eroding at the front of my sister and brother-in-law's property in the Nantahala Forest of western North Carolina, so they had this rip rap put in to stop it.  Photo taken on my last visit.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, wherever you live, my friends!

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.