Getting ready for the holidays...

Shasta was pretty proud of the tree she found.

Putting up lights... the tree was pretty tiny, until Jim built it a booster seat.

So pretty!

Sadly, though she found the tree, her holiday spirit did not extend to wearing antlers for long.

Hi, I'm Alfie!

Say hello to Alfie, our own genius loci of the front porch, guarding our house from all ne'er-d-wells this Halloween.

As you can see he's actually pretty big (and uses up ever scrap of black Halloween cloth that we own).  He's actually made out of half of the old box frame foundation for our bed, including that black fabric underneath.  There's enough left for a few modifications for next year (posable hands and feet anyone?) but all the same, he does a good job of anchoring that end of the porch-bring on the trick-or-treaters!

Fall wildflowers

The yellows and whites of fall aren't as splashy as the pinks and purples of spring, but they're still really beautiful!  

Yellow wingstem (Verbesina alterniflora) native

Butter and eggs (Linaria vulgaris) - introduced

Common mullein (Verbascum thapsus)- introduced

Oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare)- introduced

White aster (Symphyotrichum ericoides)- native

Fall in Virginia

Fall is the best.  

 Oak hickory forests here in VA turn a beautiful yellow and brown and the light illuminates the leaves when the sun comes out.

We often go to the battlefield to walk the dog.  Jim's on the phone with his parents.  This is totally normal Shasta behavior while we're on the phone.

Pie!

New bed!

In a burst of desperation, we bought a bed!  Our old bed was not conducive to sleeping anymore, so we purchased a bed - a queen size bed, which is bigger than our previous full size bed.  

Sadly, the bed didn't fit up the stairs.  The mattress fit, but not the box spring - so we followed the instructions we found on the interwebs and cut the box spring in half.  That was fine, for a little while, but it didn't actually support weight well anymore. 

So we built a new bed!  

First comes the framing with stained boards...

Then we added slats!

It looks good all slatted up!

Legs were the next step.

And there it is!  A finished bed.

Looks good with the headboard we made last year.

Puppy tested and approved!

After a slight hiatus.... the Smokies are beautiful

It's been waaaay too long since we posted!  I guess we've gotten busy.

We went to Asheville and the Smokies on a road trip in May.  The mountains are beautiful.  It was a fantastic break after an intense few months.  Hopefully the summer will bring good things!

Overheard...

Jim: There are rules!!  Unfortunately, not everybody knows my rules.