2010 Giving Thanks! November 1 & 2

I decided to join up with Leah at South Breeze Farm this year to enter her month of November-long Giving Thanks Challenge.  I'm going to keep a list on  my sidebar and try to post something I'm thankful for MOST days, every day if I can.  I think this is a great opportunity not only for myself but for everyone who accepted the challenge as well as all the readers out there in bloglandia to look inward, outward, and upward and really search and find those things that we are truly thankful for.


If you know me, you already know that I'm most thankful for my Lord and His saving grace. AND my family, those are a given. I'm going to try to dig deeper and get down to the nitty-gritty - even if there's some particular aspect of God or family that I can be thankful for and share with you.

Since I'm just joining and it's November 2, I shall have two things to be thankful for today.  Yesterday, as I woke early to get ready for work, my husband and I walked outside to see what the weather was doing. It was still sorta darkish, but it was muggy and warm and the dark clouds kind of enveloped us.  Now here in Texas where we live, there are tons of trees. It's hard to get a good look at the sky sometimes depending upon where you are.  Well, at our farm, the hay pastures are wide open and we can stroll out to the middle of them and see 360 degrees of sky.  I absolutely LOVE looking at that sky. So, yesterday I was SO thankful for the ability to see a complete sky above my head. I can spin around in a circle and see nothing but sky! Whether it's cloudy and grey, starry at night, or filled with fluffy clouds & sunshine - I LOVE ME SOME SKY!!!

Today, since it's on my heart & pertinent to all of us, I'm thankful for our country and the right to vote. I'm thankful for our way of government that we can be a part of putting our leaders into office and we are free to vote for whoever we think would best fit the job. I've already voted absentee, but I know there are many, many people that are exercising that right today.

I hope you'll check out Leah's blog, South Breeze Farm, and see all the others who've signed up for this challenge.  I'll bet each and every one of you can find at least 30 things (or more) to be thankful for this November, the month of Giving Thanks! Hope you'll join in - or at least in your own hearts and minds, find things for which to be thankful in this season of the year!

YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!!!

Happy Halloween Weekend!

Halloween was so fun when our kids were little!  I miss those times when they would get all dressed up and we'd carry them all over our neighborhood trick or treating.  We had one of those great neighborhoods that was chock full of young families and wonderful friends - a place where families from all over our little town would bring THEIR kids to trick or treat!  It was like one big neighborhood party on Halloween! I miss that...  And this is not necessarily a Halloween post.  Just didn't know what to call this 'un! 

Alice has been up to her antics.  Last night she climbed up the giant sycamore tree. I heard her meowing up there and looked for her with a flashlight.  She was WAYYYYY up there at least 20-25 feet off the grown. She wasn't trying to get down, just enjoying the view I guess.  Maybe trying to get away from Jasper (or CB as we call him sometimes - Cry Baby). 

Anyway, there is a big hole in the middle of the truck that we've seen owls get in before.  Alice found the hole, and she was having a ball playing around in there.  I couldn't convince her it was time to come down so we left her up there.  She's good at climbing trees and backing down.  Hayley and I were outside at the fire pit enjoying the chilly autumn evening and the warm fire.

Isn't she cute???

"Alice, don't you wanna come down  now?"  "No way, Jose," she says. "Jasper is still out there on the loose!"

"Come on down, Alice,  we'll give you a treat???"

"Nope," she says.  "I'm going to stay up here and scare away all the goblins on Halloween night!"

"BOO!!!"

Fall on the Farm

Last hay cut for the season at Sand Flat Farm.  The hay is already all sold and that's good. When we get our own livestock, I'm sure we'll be keeping some of that.  Below the sycamore tree is turning golden - I think these are my favorite tree - I love the graceful way the branches grow and the white bark with the different colors of grey and green and brown sheets of bark that peel off.  They kinda remind me of aspens on steroids. I love 'em!

We're starting to see color around here.  I spotted this beautiful red maple on the way to work last week. They don't last long, but they're gorgeous while they last!

There is a new cat hanging around - I have named him Jasper (just for you Aunt Amelia). He is a complete and utter nuisance.  He's a big cry-baby, meowing all the time and he's LOUD, and gets all underfoot.  He sits at the front or back door and yowls and cries for someone to come outside and feed him at all hours, AND he's finicky!  He won't eat the canned catfood that comes in little chunks - he only wants the solid stuff and Meow Mix crunchy food. He'll turn his nose up at anything else.

I'm sure Miss Alice is  attracting boyfriends right now, but she goes to the vet Monday for her spay. I cannot make this Jasper leave.  I'm about ready to haul him off and drop him in somebody else's neighborhood.  You can tell that he's been around people.  I figger somebody dropped him at our farmhouse, too.  If he'd quit waking us up and caterwauling at all hours of the day and night I wouldn't mind him staying - 'specially since Mr. Sam disappeared  :(   I did tell Jasper, however, that he would be making a trip to the vet for an anatomy alteration, too, should he decide to stay...

He's a nice big tomcat with beautiful markings, looks like he's been drinking chocolate milk, AND he's got pretty blue-green eyes.

Alice doesn't like him. She's been either under the porch OR on the roof.  Jasper is very put out that I'm feeding him at the garden shed, and I'm letting Alice in to eat.  He eats all her food, and she's not getting anything. Here she's hiding from him under my wagon full of mums. Very cute!

Now I'll leave with you these beautiful autumn sunsets.  The golden glow of autumn sunsets - it's magical and beautiful to me to see the palette of God streaming across the sky. Enjoy!!!

Margo's Industrial Chic Linky Party!!!

I was excited to hear about Margo's Party to Show Off Your Industrial Chic!  I've never done a linky party before, so I thought I would join in the fun -- only thing is, I'm still stuck in the Primitive/Cottage era, as Margo would say.  She has evolved to Industrial Chic from Cottage.  It IS very cool.  Here's my one and only attempt for Industrial Chic and it's not in my house, but in my garden shed.  I wasn't really trying to be Chic, but perhaps she might include this just for grins!

This is an old display case for metal weather stripping that I bought at a garage sale.  I didn't know what to use it for until I got it home and decided that it would be great to hold my garden tools.  It sits neatly in the corner and keeps them all contained and not just piled up in the floor like they were.  I guess you could say this thing is actually "repurposed" but I guess Industrial Chic is repurposed stuff, too!

 Here's another close-up shot of this display case.  I just love it - AND it's that vintage-y green, too! Can't go wrong with that!  It's got all different sized holes in the top for different size weather stripping - which gives me all the right spots for my tools.

Well, there you have it!  This is my contribution to the Industrial Chic party!  Can't wait to see what the rest of you have to show off!  (Margo, where's the refreshments???)