The last of November

I can't believe tomorrow is the first day of December. Is that incredible or what? The last few days here have been semi-warm, very foggy, rainy and gloomy looking. Today we saw a little of Mr. Sunshine but not much; Mr. Windy sure showed himself today. Tonight there is a possibility of snow. Crazy weather!

I was able to walk outside a take a few pictures of what is left of the garden. This is what I saw.

The pincushion flower is still showing off a little. This plant bloomed for me almost all winter last year. I am hopeful it will again this year. I love the fact that it is an evergreen.

The three upright evergreens I planted this past June are doing great. I think Gloria is enjoying her home here.
These are the sweetspires I blogged about several weeks ago. I wanted you to see the beautiful orange/red color of the foliage. With this rainy, foggy weather they had really stood out. They almost look like they are glowing.
The Arkansas Blue grass is still pretty with it's golden glow. But as hard as it is trying, it can't wake up the sleeping butterfly weed beside it.
Then I discovered my rosemary blooming. This is a nice surprise. My rosemary I had in GA was 4't and 4'w and never bloomed. This little one is tiny compared to that but its smiling at me big time.

Well that is about it from my garden for now. Hope you enjoyed the tour. I do have a current project going on but it has been too wet to work on. I will blog on it when finished. Of course that could take til spring(lets hope not, but I don't like cold weather).

Do ya'll remember my post about the butterfly patches my grandmother made? If not, or you are new to my blog, that post is dated Oct. 27, 2008. Any way this is what I came up with. Many of you gave me great ideas and I thank you for them.

I originally thought I would hang it in one of the spare bedrooms but since I never go in those rooms(much) I decided to hang it in the hallway. Yes, I know that is a pretty bland wall; another paint project, waiting to happen.

And the winner is........

Congratulations Jacquie you are the lucky winner!!! For those who are not familiar with Jacquie's blog she is the middle of eleven kids, hence the name. For a fun read go to her blog here. I noticed you have your e-mail address listed on your profile so I will contact you for the mailing address. Once again congrats!!!

I have to say I enjoyed doing this giveaway a lot. I want to thank each and every one who entered. A lot of you guys left some very sweet comments and I appreciate each and every one. If I don't have another chance to tell you I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Thanks again for entering ya'll.

It's a Giveaway!!!

Decorative paper, shiny bows
All wrapped up, ready to go.
A little package, nothing great,
just to say I appreciate
Your stories, pictures, comments too,
little happies, just for you.

With the holiday season upon us I decided I wanted to help spread a little early Christmas cheer. So, as you can see from the picture everything will be a little surprise. I will give only this one little hint. There are a couple of things that are sure to please the gardener but I think anyone will like these surprises.

To be eligible for the drawing just leave a comment, nothing more. No links to my blog are necessary. The drawing is open until Sunday the 23, 10:00 p.m. I will have my hubbie draw the winning name. The winner will be announced Monday evening. Good luck everyone!

Turkey day apparel.......

With Thanksgiving fast approaching I thought it appropriate to show you a couple of my favorite aprons. As a matter of fact they are my only aprons. This first one was made by my wonderful Aunt Lucy. It's a little blue check with jars of jellys and jars of peaches. She gave this to me while we lived in Georgia. She thought it appropriate since Georgia is the Peach state. Aunt Lucy is always thoughtful like that.This next one was made by my grandmother many years ago. It actually belonged to her and my mother gave it to me after grandma passed on. You can tell how old it is because the material is very soft and faded.

I love both these aprons much because they were both made by exceptional, loving women. Which one will I wear while cooking for turkey day?Not sure but which ever it is I will definitely feel I'm wrapped up in love.

Do you have a favorite you wear for the holidays?

How about a facelift?

Recently I had a little down time so I decided my director chair bar stools needed a little face lift. I know what you are thinking. Director chairs are a little old fashion so yes I have had them for many, many years. At our last house we didn't need them so they stayed in the attic. Here we have a small eat-at bar and so I drug them back out. Okay I hear your moans all the way down here! The pink canvas screams "girlie". I told you I have had these for a long time. These were mine from my single days. So anyway, I purchased two cans of black spray paint and taadaaah!!
They really turned out great! The hardest part was taping up those brackets. Not much fun there. Now my biggest problem is trying to find canvas. I can't find these things anywhere except on the internet which I'm not a big fan of ordering off of but I may have to. If anybody has seen these in stores anywhere please let me know.

How about a little gold?

I couldn't help but notice how the sun was lighting up this Arkansas Blue Star the other day so I snapped a picture. I brought this plant home from the nursery last fall and planted it here in the bird bath garden. I really wasn't sure what I had here but I thought free plant, hey why not. Well it has turned out to be a great plant for all seasons. This spring it was a beautiful springy green color with a nice and airy texture. Then it bloomed little pale blue blooms. And now it is a little mass of gold. So I thought it was blog-worthy. Here's some facts on it:

Botanical name-Amsonia hubrichtii
Full sun to partial sun
2.5' T
2.5' W
Blooms late spring-no fragrance
Prefers well draining soil but it has adapted to my wetter than wet bed
If it gets leggy after blooming just trim back to keep bushy

I like it so well I think I may need to get another or two.

The UBER Award

I've just received a new award. It is from Linda at Meadowview Thymes. Check out her blog and see all the fun things she has. She has beautiful pictures, wonderful quotes, lovely flowers and beds and a gorgeous backyard pond. She is one of the first blogging friends I met after I started my blog and I feel like I have known her a lifetime.

This 'UBER" is an acronym for U've been excellently rewarded. This award is given to sites that:
1. inspire you
2. make you laugh and smile
3. or maybe give amazing information
4. a great read
5. has an amazing design
6. and any other reasons that you can think of that makes them UBER amazing!

I can nominate anyone I choose so I send this award out to anyone who wants it. All my blogging friends have fantastic blogs. If I chose any I would highlight my whole blog roll and paste it here. Everyone is deserving.