In love with lilacs

They are all gone now, but I enjoyed our lilacs this year so much. I just wanted to share them one more time!

We had a bountiful bloom this year. Probably from having several ice storms during the winter. I know lilacs like a hard freeze during winter to bloom well.

There's nothing quite like the beautiful scent of lilacs!

A Simple Christmas : Natural Gifts

We lean toward the un-slick, the natural, the low-tech.  Give me a good wood cutting board and a sharp knife over another kitchen gadget any day.  I actually saw a "cupcake maker" in a store the other day.  I thought "I have one of those...it's called an oven."  I've never understood why people buy rice steamers, bread machines, sandwich makers....cupcake makers:)  My stove/oven do all of those things.

Not being a "gadget" gal, I love natural things.  I like using them, wearing them, smelling them, and decorating with them.  And the bonus?  Most of these are from small businesses, so you're supporting small, local, sustainable business.

Row 1:  Cherry wood salt cellar & spoon; Handthrown ceramic coffee mug
Row 2:  Organic wool felt dryer balls; Organic soap sampler pack; Linen photo album
Row 3:  Organic natural wood baby rattle; Organic Body Care Recipes book; DIY Moss Terrarium Kit

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's hoping everyone has a wonderful day with lots of turkey, pumpkin pie, woolens, candles, crisp weather and especially - lots of loved ones!

"give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
1 Thess 5:18

Friday Favorites : Fire

Flickr Collage : Fire

1. Fireplace, 2. firepit, 3. Backyard Firepit - 4 October 2008, 4. The Fireplace, 5. Fireplace, 6. Firewood, 7. In the fireplace, 8. Firewood 2, 9. Firewood, 10. Making a fire in the outside fireplace, 11. __firewood__, 12. fireplace, 13. Firewood

Before we moved into our current house, I never really gave much thought to a fireplace or having a fire.  But since the house came with a big fireplace, we used it.  Now I can't imagine having a house without at least one fireplace.  We love to have a fire in the evenings, especially.  Our fireplace has an insert that has a blower on it, so we can use it warm the front half of the house.

Most people I talk to seem to think dealing with the wood is a chore, but we enjoy it.  You really can't beat the sound of a crackling wood fire.

And, what's better than a campfire on a cool evening?  We'll be doing some car camping in New England next spring, and we're looking forward to the campfires and roasting marshmallows!

Do you enjoy a wood fire?

Snapshot Saturday 11.10.2012

Photo Credit : Chiot's Run

A beautiful shot of the Maine coast.

Deep Fall....winter is coming!  (Otherwise known as handknit season). 

Saturday Snapshot 11.03.2012

Lake Ouachita State Park

We had a full weekend of hiking, ending with a trek around Caddo Bend on Lake Ouachita.  It was hit by a tornado last year, and it was amazing to see the damage.  We'd hiked this trail a few times, so we could really see the difference, since we knew what the trail used to look like.

The picture above is looking out from the point at about the half-way marker.  The island you see there to the right is great for camping.  We kayaked out and spent a night there a few years ago in November (and yes, it was cold!)

Take a Hike

It is "Hiking Season."  Like a lot of people, this is our favorite time of year for hiking.  The bugs are gone (mostly), the colors are beautiful, the air is crisp and cool.  It's sweater weather...or at least it's not t-shirt and flip-flop weather.

Shepherd, being the senior dog that he is, always feels it's time for a celebration because he survived another brutal, Arkansas summer!  And after this year especially, I'm with him.  I've never been so happy to see summer go by...and to say, hello fall.

And the best part is...that means winter is just around the corner.

Inspiration Collage : Sheep

1. 3, 2. COTSWOLD, 3. Ovelhas, 4. Wensleydale sheep, 5. Finn sheep - Mum plus 4, 6. Teeswater Lamb?, 7. Bah bah, 8. Larry and Lars, 9. Corriedale sheep in show ring, 10. Corriedale, 11. Dahlia - Brown-White FinnSheep Lamb Sleeping, 12. DSC_0204, 13. P1040250

In case you haven't guessed by now, I sort of love sheep.  Not that unusual for a knitter & handspinner.  But my husband is a true animal lover, so he encourages pictures of sheep all around.  Well, okay.

Sketchbook : Flowers

A couple pages from my sketchbook:

I love drawing flowers.  Never get tired of it and never seem to exhaust the different ways you can draw a flower.  I seem to draw several pages and then go back at a later time and color them in (or not!).  This sketchbook is more for actual sketching, so it doesn't take a lot of water and it's not a bright white, but I like using it.  And I'm certainly no expert at drawing/painting, but I do enjoy it!

However, I might want to draw some birds right now....
I'm sitting here typing this and looking out the window toward my front yard.  I have the sprinkler going on the one patch of lawn we are trying to keep green.  It has been so, so dry here for 2 months now.  The birds are just flittering and flying around the trees where the water is hitting...they must be as tired of the dryness as we are!  I see chickadees, blue jays, cardinals, a mockingbird, a woodpecker and one kind I don't recognize.  Lovely, lovely.