A Thanksgiving Table 2021

Are you looking forward to Thanksgiving this year?  I know last year was a letdown for many because of Covid-19 restrictions.  It seems like this year, more people are planning to gather with family members (and friends).  We will be celebrating our blessings at Hal's parents' home this year.  On Friday, we'll visit my mom and have a dinner of leftovers (my favorite kind of leftovers)  :)  at her house.  I'll be taking food to both places, and our son will be joining us.               I set a Thanksgiving table, just because.  Two things made me want to do that -- a new table runner I purchased in Charleston last month and my dried hydrangeas.  I thought about using my Liberty Blue dishes again, since I enjoyed using them with orange pumpkins a few years ago.  But I decided that the colors in my Johnson Brothers "His Majesty" dishes were what I wanted to highlight this year.   

   

   

November -- Dried Flowers, Photography, and Calligraphy

Hello dear readers.  Are you having a good week and a good November?  It has been a beautiful month so far, and I just cannot believe how gorgeous the foliage has been this fall.  I shared with you last week some photos from our drive in the mountains, but really, that didn't begin to touch on all the beauty we've seen the past few weeks.  The colors this year are so vibrant, and they're everywhere.  When we go somewhere (and if Hal is doing the driving) I find myself looking along both sides of the road constantly because that colorful foliage is a sight to behold.           

Our maple tree last Wednesday   
      

Hello November

We've had a nice week here at Forest Manor -- Hal's first real week of retirement.  It has been a busy one.  I thought for sure I would have time to set a fall tablescape, maybe share a fall recipe, but no.  'Fraid not.  😉  Still, I am taking a few moments to pound out this post.  On Tuesday, we decided to go to the mountains for one of our very favorite things to do -- leaf peeping.  The peak of our leaf season in the mountains had already passed, and we knew that, but we were pleasantly surprised at how much color still remained.  This has been one of the most beautiful autumns we've seen in some years.      

  

We decided to stop in the town of West Jefferson, in Ashe County, to eat some lunch, take some pictures, and visit the Cheese Shop (which I posted about several years ago).       

Happy Halloween From Charleston

Happy Friday everyone!  Are you looking forward to the weekend?  Today is officially Hal's last day in the working world; he was initially scheduled to retire at the end of September, but his boss asked if he would work until the end of October to help get his replacement up to speed.  So here we are -- one of those big milestones in life, that when you're young, feels like it's light years away.  Oh how the years have flown!  I'm hoping that since he's worked from home for the last year and a half, that will make this transition somewhat easier for him.  Also, he may be called in next year to do some consulting work there, if he's interested, and I think he probably will be.  😉       So, Sunday is Halloween, and I'm posting some more pics from our Charleston trip last week.  There were some creative Halloween scenes around town, and we took pictures of our favorites.  I realize some people don't like Halloween, but we've never taken it too seriously; it was all in fun when we were growing up, and the same when Will was young.  I hope you find some fun with the pictures, and no offense intended.         

         

A Busy Fall

Hi all!  I'm finally getting a chance to write another post for October.  We returned on Friday the 22nd, from a four-day trip to Charleston.  I know it seems like we go there a lot, but we always seem to find something new to do when we visit.  We didn't go anywhere last year other than a long weekend at Oak Island, so we had this trip to Charleston scheduled for May of this year.  Sadly, we found out Duncan had cancer at the end of April, so we cancelled the trip for May.  My mom was able to get a room for us in October, and we were glad to get away.   

      

Fall Front Porch 2021

I'm very glad to see October -- how about you?  Such a lovely month of changing foliage, early morning mists, blue skies, and beautiful sunsets.  Today we've had Irish weather, as my husband says.  It's been alternating rain and sunshine for most of the day, and the rain has been such a nice, gentle one.     

      

   

New Front Porch Lights

Another week has begun, and our temperatures look to be cooling off this week.  It was quite hot last week and over the weekend, too.  Whew!  I'm done with the heat, folks.  😳  Has it cooled off in your part of the world, yet?  I have a trip to the garden shop planned for this week because I'm ready to get our front porch pots planted.  We installed the new front porch lights over the weekend, and we're both very happy with them.