Christmas is coming!

Christmas is coming...

but I'm still loving Fall!

Cold one day..... warm the next ... a few colorful leaves .... blue skies .... almost the end of Hurricane Season .... hard to believe Thanksgiving's next week! 

The Dogwood tree actually has yellow and red leaves,
but they don't show up so well in this photo.

Love my Turkey Gourds, especially their facial expressions!

Recently received some lovely tags from Dawn Blackstead's 

FALL Tag Swap! 

Thanks so much, Ladies! I just love all the tags - see another detail every time I look at them!  And thank you, Dawn, for hosting this swap!  Really enjoyed it! You were a wonderful hostess!

Dawn really spoiled us - with her darling tags 
and a bag full of "goodies"!

Dawn let us choose: Fall or Halloween - so we have some of each!

My tag

Laurie M. Jackson

Indulgeyourshelf.blogspot.com

Lisa Stanton

Apeacefulplacetobe.blogspot.com

Nora Neeley

 Deidre Kidder

Robin Weins
www.myglitteredlife.blogspot.com 

I think the little extra packet might belong with Tamatha's tag, but I have it in both photos so not sure :(    --- The sweets were delicious, though, and much-appreciated!

Garna Barker

Tami Hacker

Vintageconnections.blogspot.com

Tamatha Kaplan

Snipsandthreads.blogspot.com

I think this packet of sweets belong's with Tamatha's tag, but I'm sorry to say I'm not sure since I have it in Tamatha's and Robin's photos. Such a lovely gesture too!

We're enjoying a little patch of Sunflowers that sprouted from birdseed displaced during one of the tropical storms. Small, but bright and cheerful! 

Happy Fall!

October Fun.....

October is...

Birthday Month for our family - almost too many to count!  

We often have one big Halloween/Birthday/October Fest towards the end of the month to celebrate all the local birthdays - and that's what we'll do this year - if I can recover from these dratted Shingles in time to prepare!

  

October brings Fall weather, a welcome relief after all the hot and humid months of summer. Always enjoy the Fall and Halloween swaps too!  Such fun to see what everyone's making and swapping - so much creativity - Wow!

Kimberly's ArtJoyStuff swaps are always so much fun! This time we made 5 tags and received 5 back, along with some really special Kimberly 'goodies'.

Halloween Goodies Galore!

Look at the wonderful tags I received!

Carol Pohl - Front

and Back - EEK! HaHa!

Lululizinlalaland

Kelly Deal

Constantina

Michele Murray

Look what Kimberly added - this cute clip 

and

this spectacular wooden "witchy" tag!

Oh, Kimberly, you did it again - what a wonderful swap!  Go check out ArtJoyStuff to see all the other tags - over 20 swappers in all!

Hooray for the Red, White, and Blue!!!

Independence Day

July 4

One of our TV stations is showing some of Andy Griffith's own favorites of his shows, so we're watching before going over to some friends' house to celebrate.  Rest in Peace, Andy.

Love these beautiful tags from a few years ago!  

Red, White, and Blue Tag Swap

Jessica Rodarte, Hostess

June 2009

Mary Ann - Andrea

Olenka - The Chateau of Remnants

Sandra - Jenny

SueSue - Bianca - Missy

Sherry - Jessica

Junkgirl - Jane

Molly - Kimberly

Fran - Casabellachic

I'm taking Broccoli Salad and a Victoria Sponge Cake filled with whipped cream, blueberries, and raspberries to our friends.  Meant to try the Victoria cake recipe for the Queen's Jubilee, but didn't get to it then so this seemed like a good time. Must take a picture when I get it put together!

Happy Fourth of July!

"Springing" in the Rain!

More Rainy Days

And a Spring Tag Swap

Another Tropical Storm came for a visit! This was TS Debby -  took days to make up her mind which way she wanted to go! At one point they feared a direct hit on New Orleans, but then Debby switched and moved over to Florida instead.

Lots of flooding and lots of rain across the state until Debby suddenly picked up and swiftly moved on across and out into the Atlantic Ocean. Just a couple of days ago, the forecast was for us to be continuously inundated until "2 a.m. Friday", but then she started moving and bid us  farewell. 

Photo "borrowed" from a friend - flooding in her neighborhood

Today we woke up to sunshine once again, but there was lots of flooding and many roads were closed for a day or two. No flooding at our house, but plenty of rain.  Someone said we had 24 inches of rain, but I'm not sure what part of town. Jacksonville encompasses over 600 square miles, so some areas probably received more rain than others.

I read that, in spite of all the rain from two tropical storms, we're still in drought!  Hope we've had our share of storms now for this year, at least.  It seems strange that TS Beryl came directly here from the Atlantic, and then TS Debby came straight here from the Gulf - hit from both directions in less than a month!

Just wish we could've sent some of this rain out West to help put out the fires!

Found these lovely tags while sorting out some boxes during all the rain!

April Showers Bring May Flowers Tag Swap

2010

Connie - Marian - Jeanne

Tammy - Natalea - Vivian

Grace - Wendy - Kimberly

Linda - Geralyn

Kathy

Jane - Wanda

Sunshine and Blue Skies again!

Leaping Backwards A Bit. Part Two

Still February 29!

Leaping backwards to December and 

my White Christmas Tag Swap 2

The first White Christmas Tag Swap, in December 2010, was so much fun that I just had to do it again for 2011! Wonderful swappers and so many gorgeous Christmas tags!

Chris - Perfectly Printed

 Dawn B

 Dawn T

Jackye

Jessica

Jonnelle

Kathy

Kimberly

Lisa

Susan

Wanda

Wendy - with a crocheted ornament too!

And my tag too!

Hosting this swap was every bit as much fun as the first one in December 2010.  I want to do it one more time, but it'll be better if we can get the tags made before Thanksgiving. It's such a busy time of year. If you'd like to join the 2012 White Christmas Tag Swap, just let me know - and put it on your calendar. Nothing like planning ahead - especially when I'm just now posting the photos!

It's still February - and Love is (still) in the Air!

Love is in the Air Tag Swap

Jacqueline Reed, Swap Hostess

My last Valentine swap - just squeaking in here at almost the end of the month! Jackye was a new member of our White Christmas tag swap in December, and kindly offered to host the Valentine swap. Great job, Jackye! 

All the tags are so beautiful - thanks so much to all the swappers! 

Jeanelle, Jackye, Tami

June, Jonnelle, Maija

Jane, Dawn, Jeanne

Lisa, Laurie, Jessica

Chris - back- both sides are so pretty!

 

 Chris - front

Valentine tags might be the most fun of all!