Vacation 2012

First of all...my prayers are with all of you suffering the damage from Sandy.  It looks just devastating on the news feeds.

Warning......this post will be picture heavy.

I know it has been awhile since I have posted or even checked blogs, but we have been away for the last few weeks.  One of our very favorite things for DH and I to do is to jump in the car and just drive.  Our final destination was to be Iowa where many of my family members live, but we make no plans ahead of time.  We drive until we feel like stopping and just enjoy our beautiful country.  This trip took us across California, across Nevada, through the tip of Arizona, up through Utah and Bryce Canyon.  We continued on through Colorado and headed north through the sandhills of Nebraska (and hurricane force winds), finally crossing the Missouri River and across Iowa.  The trip home took us through the Black Hills and Wyoming when our visit to Yellowstone and the Tetons had to be altered due to heavy snows.  At that point we left our beloved small roads and moved to an Interstate that had snowplows. 

Snow in Bryce Canyon

Lake Powell, Utah

Well disguised Bighorn Sheep

Cows along our newly found favorite road to Cripple Creek, CO.

I hope no cars are coming from the other direction!!!

Still showing some nice fall colors.

Two crops...hay and windmills

Chimney Rock in Nebraska.  Did you ever play Oregon Trail on the computer?  I could hear the music as we visited Chimney Rock.

Sand Hills in Nebraska

My cousin's brand new toy.  It had just been delivered.  What an amazing piece of equipment!

Very fall looking - view from my cousin's patio.

Along a road in Iowa.  Isn't this great?

Loved this car beside the old house.

Entering the Black Hills.

Snow as low as the desert floor in Nevada

Of course returning home after that length of time always leaves much catch up to do.  I had some wonderful mail from friends awaiting when I returned, including lots of birthday cards since I turned another year older while traveling.  It makes getting older so much easier when you have such wonderful friends.

These darling labels were in a card from Maria.  I already have plans for both of them.  Thanks, Maria.

Mug rug and fun goodies from Ida and Irene, our Rugs with Friends "Momma".

A wonderful package from Leona, my mug rug swap partner for Nov/Dec.  Thank you, Leona.

I also received a package from Madame Samm for participating in the Fall Blog Hop party.  Look at all the fun goodies.  Thank you so much.  I will also be participating in the URPriceless hop and my day will soon be here - Nov. 5th.  Please stop back for that.

Lastly.....remember when I showed the fabulous carved pumpkins?  After seeing them we were visiting our grandson's garden.  He had several green pumpkins so we gave it a try.  What do you think?  We just quickly did the name with a scissor blade, but think how much fun it would be with a little Dremel drill.

Harvest Days

It seems like fall signs are appearing everywhere ....cooler temperatures, shorter days, fall colors and LOTS of pumpkins. 

We attended the Savor the Central Coast event that is sponsored by Sunset magazine.  It is an amazing celebration of harvest.  Check out this great idea.

I was told that they go out to the pumpkins in August and carve the names into them.  The pumpkins then scar over and this is the result.  I think that I will be trying this technique next year.

This is another fabulous idea.  Talk about having your salad at your fingertips!!  I have a pallet of strawberries growing here, but mine is just sitting on the ground.  I may have to elevate mine. 

We've been watching little ones lately so there hasn't been much creative sewing going on here, but we have enjoyed the little ones.  Their visit included a trip to the pumpkin patch.

Taking the train to the pumpkin patch.

If my cow had that name, I might be a bit worried about riding in it too.

Even Grandpa fits!!!

The last few days we were in Atlanta for business.  While there we were able to spend a few hours at the incredible Oakland Cemetery.  It is as much a botanical experience as it is a cemetery.  I, unfortunately, forgot to bring my camera so these photos are from my camera.  I just have a couple of pictures, but this cemetery dates back to the mid 1850s.  Among the well known people buried there include Margaret Mitchell (author of Gone With the Wind) and Bobby Jones, the golfer.  The cemetery has sections which include soldiers from the Civil War - both Union and Confederates, buried separately.  As a sign of our history, the plots are also divided into the black section, the Jewish section and the pauper section.  Known for it's statuary, it was an amazing place to visit. 

Granite obelisk from stone obtained from Stone Mountain - the Mt. Rushmore of the South.  This was a tribute to the Civil War soldiers.

I think this fellow must have like trees to have his stone as a tree trunk.  Interesting!

I loved this flower, but I have no idea what it is.  It was just gorgeous.

I'm thinking something like this might be nice.  The cemetery was filled with different family ones.

We had our first measurable rain yesterday with some wild thunder and lightening to go along with it.  We even had a rainbow that arched right over our yard.

Pot of gold?????  Looks close.

Finally, the winner of my Leafs Me Happy Blog Hop was Barb of Mountain Quiltworks - selected by Random Number Generator.  Congratulations, Barb.