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.

Rainy Monday

Wow....what happened to our hot, windy fire season?  It happens to be cold and raining here today and it is suppose to continue for the next four days.  What an interesting year it has been weather wise.

We were in Atlanta for a week with DH's business and I really missed reading blogs and hearing what everyone was doing.  The weather was just fabulous and allowed us lots of time for walking around and seeing the sights.

The hotel was located in downtown Atlanta so it was easy to access the many fun places to see including Centennial Park, the Aquarium and the Coca Cola Bottling Company.

A gorgeous, clear day to be out walking.

Beautiful sculptures around every bend.

Shopping center near the hotel.

Centennial Park with the Olympic Torches.

Look at these huge bottles.  They were beautiful.

We had a rental car so we were able to head out to Stone mountain for a visit.  It is the largest bas relief carving in the world, even bigger than Mt. Rushmore.  The Confederate Memorial Carving depicts three Confederate leaders of the Civil War, President Jefferson Davis and Generals Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee.  As well it includes their favorite horse, Blackjack, Traveller and Little Sorrel.  The entire carving covers about three acres.  It was quite impressive. 

This was the inside of the hotel.  Isn't it impressive?

We also went to visit Margaret Mitchell's apartment and to the Botanical Gardens.  The gardens were stunning so I will share pictures of them in another post.

Needless to say, a lot of sewing did not happen.  I did finish off the hand stitching on my Raggedy block for this month.  I am not ready for block #4.

We returned on Thursday evening and had out of town company for the weekend so there was not much time to catch up on blogging. 

Our niece was married on Saturday and we all enjoyed celebrating with them as they start their new life together.  They are such a cute couple.

Yesterday we had  a big family brunch here for all the kids, grandkids and friends and I was too busy to take pictures.  You will just have to imagine what it looked like to have 35+ people here - inside - on a rainy day. Needless to say....today is cleaning, changing beds and trying to catch up on the laundry after being away for a week.