It's a Little Too Quiet Around Here

We have just had a wonderful ten days with our 3 little grandchildren staying with us. They got word Friday afternoon that the power was finally restored in their neighborhood in Houston , so they are on their way back home this morning.


The house was so full of activity and noise, so this morning when everyone left, including my husband who is gone for the whole day, it was too quiet and lonely. So what does a person do early Saturday morning to cheer themselves up? Go to garage sales!


Since it was pouring rain there was only one inside sale to go to. I found this cute little 7" canister. I have one just like it for tea and a large one for flour. Perhaps I'll eventually have a whole set of them. I also got some books. The one on top is a favorite of mine.
I just love the cover of this Christmas Book. It will look nice just for decoration.
Fall seemed to arrive without me even realizing it. I gathered up some nandina berries, paper mache fruit, wicker and a fun little red cardinal and made a little vignette for the dining room table.

I picked some solidago, sedum and holly berries, gathered up a few pieces of wicker , and put it on the center island to bring some fall into the kitchen.

Autumn has arrived here in North Carolina. We have had some crisp cool mornings. The air has that fresh smell I love in autumn and here and there many of the trees are beginning to show a little change of color.
It is so nice to chat with you again. I've missed our visits together. Please be patient with me as I slowly get around to responding to your comments. I'll drop by for a visit as soon as I can.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Rhondi xo

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for being awakened by the sound of little footsteps scurrying down the hall and little voices beside by my bed whispering "Grandma" even though it was just barely 6:00 AM. Grandchildren are so precious.

Don't forget to click on the daisy to visit other bloggers who are posting for Thankful Thursday.

I really miss visiting with all of you, but we're still very busy around here. I'll be back online next week.

Rhondi xo

Thankful Thursday

I showed you this collage before but I just love it. It is my beautiful grandchildren who are on their way here as I write this. I am thankful that there was no damage to their house or property during Hurricane Ike. Since they have no power and don't know when it's going to be restored they have decided to come and stay with us for a while.
So today I am thankful that they were safe and that they are coming to visit us! You might not hear from me until after they leave.


There are a couple of new bloggers joining us this week for Thankful Thursday. Just click on the daisy at the right to see a list of participants.


What are you thankful for today?


Rhondi xo

Colors of Autumn

I am longing for fall. We are still getting summer heat here, and I'm longing for the cool temperatures of fall and that wonderful crispness you get in the air. When we went for our walk early this morning it was already hot and humid.

The other day I just had to stop outside this garden and snap a picture of this amazing plant. I think it's called angel trumpet. It is about 6 feet high and just as wide.
Isn't the color gorgeous? Each blossom is about a foot long.

Pumpkins are synonymous with fall.
I found these mini ones at the grocery store the other day. They are just so cute.
They remind me of a little song my daughter learned in preschool.

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate

The first one said oh my it's getting late

The second one said there are witches in the air

The third one said well I don't care

The fourth one said I'm ready for some fun

The fifth one said lets run and run and run

Woooo went the wind and out went the light

And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight

I wonder how many of you remember it too? Isn't it crazy that you can remember something from over 20 years ago but can't remember what you had for lunch yesterday?

I made us a pot of tea in my pumpkin teapot. Hope you can stay and visit for awhile. Got any interesting plans for this week?
Mmm, that was a good cup of tea. See you again soon.

Rhondi xo

Safe and Sound

Hurrican Ike has passed and my son and his family in Houston are safe and sound. There were a lot of trees down in their neighborfood and some damage to homes, but they received no damage at all. The main concern now is that they are among the over 3 million people who have no power. Thank you all so much for your kind comments and your prayers.

Rhondi xo

Hurricane Ike

I am glued to the TV today watching the news of Hurricane Ike. Our grandkids live in Houston, and it is headed straight toward them. You know how it is where you are worried about your kids, it's hard to do much of anything. Please pray for all those in the path of this storm.
Rhondi xo

Thankful Thursday

I wrote my thankful Thursday post last night and then I realised this morning that today is September 11, so I had to do a second post. How could we ever forget that day?

I am thankful that our government has been vigilant against terrorists and we have kept our country safe for these last 7 years. I changed my music in honor of America.
God bless America

Rhondi xo

Thankful Thursday

This week is going too fast. It's Thursday already! Click on the daisy on the sidebar to visit other bloggers who are joining with me for Thankful Thursday.

Now, let me see what am I thankful for today?I was just roaming around the garden yesterday with my camera and I snapped these photos of some blue blossoms in my garden.

The salvia is still full of blooms. It's been blooming since July!
Every morning there are some new morning glories to enjoy.

The bees are busy buzzing around the salvia. I even noticed some honeybees, so someone in our neighborhood must have beehives. There is a bumblebee in this photo.
So I am thankful for my garden. It gives me such pleasure, just looking out the window, or walking around and admiring the flowers, picking blossoms to bring inside, watching as it changes throughout the seasons.

This sweet little poem reflects my thoughts about my garden:

The kiss of the sun for pardon

The song of the bird for mirth

One's nearer God's heart in the garden

Than anywhere else on earth

What are you thankful for today?

Rhondi xo

Subtle Signs of Fall

It is still very hot here in North Carolina, and I am ready for some cooler weather. Today I found a few signs of fall. The leaves on a dogwood in the woods are changing color. Berries on the dogwood have turned red.
The hydrangeas are turning beautiful shades of rose, lilac and rust. They look beautiful on the mantle.
One of these mornings when we go for our morning walk we will be greeted by that lovely fresh crisp fall air. That is the sign of fall I'm waiting for.
Hope you have a great day!
Rhondi xo

Catching Up

It's been quite awhile since we sat down and had a good visit over a cup of tea. Hope you can stay and chat for awhile today. I picked these flowers when we were on our walk this morning. Here's one of my favorite mugs with the heart shape plate. I didn't have time to make cookies, so I've only got Oreos. They're good for dunking though.
Just a minute while I get the teapot.
Now we just need to let the tea steep for a couple of minutes before I pour it.
So what have you been up to?

For me, this is going to be a week filled with sewing. I am going to teach a quilting class at one of our local quilt shops, Overall Quilter, so I have to get the sample quilt done this week. It's all teapots and teacups! Also I have an opportunity to submit a small quilt to be in a book, so I need to be working on that too.

I picked up a little book at Goodwill, titled Wake Up Calls. The title of one chapter is "Attitudes Are Contagious-Is Yours Worth Catching?" I hope mine is!

Tea is ready to pour. Do you take milk? Sugar? Now tell me what you've been up to lately....

Rhondi xo

Thankful Thursday

This morning I took this picture of some of the morning glories that are blooming. Then when I tried to do my Thankful Thursday post the internet was down. It's finally working again, so better late than never. Don't forget that you can click on the daisy at the right side to link up to others who also are poeting what they are thankful for too.I am thankful that today when my little 2 year old grandson went to the specialist for his appointment regarding his allergies and asthma, that the doctor said there was definite improvement.

What are you thankful for today?

Rhondi xo

Puttering Around The House

Hope that you had a good labor day weekend. Our internet connection wasn't working and we just got it fixed today, so I haven't responded to any of you or read any of your blogs. We just got it up and running late this afternoon and I have a lot of catching up to do!


Friday I got puttering around with my living room and since summer is almost over, I thought it might be fun to make it less summery and more cosy for the fall. The living room was all yellow and blue white and I decided to to replace the yellow with red.


As you can see I already have lots of red in the dining room. I love the look of blue and white with red.
I moved the sofa so that the green wicker table could be seen better.

I made new red covers for the pillows on the couch, with some old fabric that used to be pillow shans.
I put blue and white piping on the pillows.
I covered a lampshade with red toile which I already had. As you can see I haven't actually finished it!
I added some red books.

draped some quilts over the back of chairs

rearranged the furniture

put some shutters in front of the fireplace, dragged a table out of the attic
put the sofa in front of my blue quilt.

and put the church window mirror against the wall.
The white hall table had an encounter with some black spray paint.
I added some "stuff"

more stuff
more..
I brought in an interesting magazine rack.
piled up some books beside the chair.
I rearranged some things on the hall table.

I found this table for $10 at the Salvation Army store.
Here's a view of the finished room looking from the dining room. I think it turned out well.
I probably won't be posting again for a few days because I am hosting Robbi Joy Eklow, a quilter who is teaching some workshops for our quilt guild. She will be with us until Sunday.

Hope you have a good week.

Rhondi xo