Last Day/Night

This is where we have been sitting for the last hour or more…so nice and cozy.  We have been doing our last catching up session for this trip.  Some are getting up early in the morning to get back home.  We plan to leave 9ish and the others plan to leave sometime before checkout which is noon.  There is a cold front passing through so we have been seeing the sky light up through the large picture windows in the lobby.  I think we will hear more of the thunder now that we are back in our rooms.  The crackling fire and all the talking amongst us and others in the room sort of acted as sound proofing down in the lobby!  It has rained off and on throughout the day.  We went out for breakfast this morning…then broke up and each car went where the driver directed it.  Four of us did end up at the handcraft store at the same time.  Then Marie and I wended our way back taking several different roads in search of barns and did take a few photos despite it raining fairly hard part of the time.  We all spent time in the lobby and/or our rooms in the afternoon.  Then met down in the lobby about an hour before dinner and then ate at the grill restaurant here in the hotel.  We talked some more while we ate and then went to the lobby to talk some more.  The smaller of the puzzles that we started did get finished. The 1000 piece puzzle that had been already been started before we got here got more pieces placed in the center of it.  A rainy day well spent and enjoyed!  

Tomorrow at this time we should all be back in our homes in our various states.  It has been fun and refreshing time away.

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

A Little Late Tonight

We have had a busy day.  We went to a nearby town, Helen, Georgia…got there via very curvy roads…beautiful Fall color along the way. Helen is a beautiful, touristy Bavarian-style town.  I’ll show photos another time…am late so I won't mess with photos taken today.  We walked around the town and ate lunch there.  We came back and sat around the lobby with a roaring fire going and talked and worked on jigsaw puzzles that are on various tables around the lobby.  Looks like we all enjoy jugsaw puzzles…everyone put several pieces in and we got the border together of the two that our group has worked on.  It has been another pretty day.  Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy.  I’m sitting in my hotel room with one of those electric fireplaces glowing and warming up this end of the room.  Tomorrow is our last full day…we'll see what that day holds!  

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

We Made It!

We made it to north Georgia and spotted a barn or two along the way!  It has been an interesting trip to this point.  First we came upon a turned over semi that slowed up traffic for miles and miles so that was a major slow down.  Once we cleared that it was fairly smooth sailing and we enjoyed the beautiful leaves along the way.  I hope I have captured some of the beauty that we saw today.  We also took a side road to find a few barns.  I chose to show two of those in tonight's blog…good to be back to taking barns! 

I had a major snafu when we got to the hotel and I was registering.  My card wouldn't clear…and I had taken the time and trouble to stop at the Credit Union and tell them I was going on this trip so they wouldn't question charges from out of state.  Well…come to find out someone had attempted to charge something to my card in the last couple of days and the Credit Union had out a stop on my card for fraud.  Glad they stopped it before it caused a problem…but not the best time to find out.  I will say that I had gotten an email a few days ago from the Credit Union…about the same time that I got the scam call from the supposed Credit Union…so I had ignored it since the other had never happened.  So partially my fault…and, then these SCAMMERS! No words!  I did call the 800 number and they approved it to be used for one charge for the hotel…so I am not having to sleep in a car!!! Not that that would have happened.  All my friends said that they would help!  And, thankfully I got plenty of cash to use for other things on the trip!  I will say as an aside that I almost didn't get much cash and was going to rely on my card…so glad that I couldn't quite give up my use of cash!

Hopefully from this point on, it will be smooth sailing?!?

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

A Sunday Favorite Photo

BOO!!!

It's a rather quiet Halloween evening…my porch light is out…I guess I am a Halloween Grinch!  But we have never had many Halloween trick or treaters at this house.  Where my house is situated…it is easier for trick or treaters to turn down my street but turn down another street before reaching my house.  There are only three houses if you head my direction and it is more advantageous to the candy seekers to not come here and just head down the street with more houses and then go on into the next subdivision. In years past when we did leave the light on, maybe ten at the most would make a stop here over a three to four hour time period…so for some years I have chosen to not turn on the light.  So that is my story and I’m sticking to it! 

This morning Joy stopped by to use my serger…well, at this point that means that Grammy serves something for her.  She has never had a good amount of time to learn how to use the serger.  And, a serger since it cuts while it sews, isn't something one just sits down at and sews away.  She needs to practice on scrap pieces of fabric, not on the garment that she is working on!  She says maybe she will have time over Christmas break or once she is totally through with her Motlow College experience which will be at the end of this coming Spring semester.  We'll see!  But for the time being, I serge the edges of whatever she is sewing on. 

I worked some more on the Christmas ornaments.  I now have ten ready to stuff and the last of the eleven that I stitched on fabric ready for the way I am going to finish it…this one won't be finished with the sewing machine…so I almost have half of the ornaments finished.  The other eleven are stitched on perforated paper and it will take scissors, glue and felt to finish them.  They "should" take less time to finish…we will see…I’m more used to sewing than cutting and gluing ornaments together!

I have done more packing and the suitcase is almost packed…a good thing…since the time for the trip is quickly approaching.  

This evening I am just doing odds and ends towards getting things ready to go.  

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! 

Another Pretty Fall Day

I sat for a little while on the porch…checking camera settings while sipping tea and then ate my lunch out there.  The second photo shows some of what I can see sitting on my porch…you can see that the leaves are thinking about changing at least a little.  I ran an errand today and saw some pretty trees.  I’m just hoping that Marie and I will see more Fall color while on our trip.  

I got my suitcase out and have started packing…still a ways to go, but at least I have started!  I hav left the final decision as to which tops to take and which I can leave behind.  I’m trying to pack layers as it may be a bit chilly, it may rain, it may warm up…so trying to have with me some choices depending on what each day is like.  Hoping that my final choices fit the bill.

I had planned to go to the grocery store for a couple of things and then pick up any specials that have to do with holiday cooking, but when I got there, the parking around Kroger was pretty filled up plus someone had had a fender bender and half of one row of parking was blocked with police cars.  I decided that my few items could wait for another day and I headed home.  

This afternoon I have worked on Christmas ornaments.  I stitched a little on something that needs to go on the back of one…then sewed and turned that ornament…so four are now ready for stuffing.  I got three more ready for their cord hangers.  I have the cords ready to insert so when I have done that I will sew them up and turn them..I am hoping that by bedtime, I will have seven ready to stuff.  That then leaves four of the sewn ones to do…so I’m heading in the right direction.  Slowly but surely!

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Beautiful Porch Sitting Day!

This morning, I put the fall decor back on the porch.  Then I sat and drank my tea enjoying my newly freshened up porch on a beautiful Fall morning. At a point I went back inside and did a few things  in the house.  When it was lunch time, I went back on my porch to eat.  So enjoyed some porch sittin' today.  

I have done a little more gathering of things to pack…still making decisions of what to take and what I don’t need to take. I have talked to several on the phone today…Ruth, my sister, Melany, Connie, and have had several texts so have socialized quite a bit today.  Late afternoon I did get underway with the ornaments.  I have three ornaments stitched together and turned right side out and now ready to stuff.  So ornament finishing is finally underway.

I have been listening to a book while I sewed. I think I will watch some TV while I work on some more ornaments. 

To be continued! Be safe! Be Well! Be cautious!