The Slowing of Summer

               (sold)

The summer Fruit and Vegetable Stands have been without equal.  We have several right by our home, each a bit different.

We have never indulged in so many watermelons as we have this past summer.  On Sunday we ate, perhaps our last for the season, a sweet sun-ripened miniature watermelon.

Cantaloupes weren't as plentiful, but what we had were yummy.  
A nice change from the watermelon we consumed...and easier to cut!

Of course, mounds of strawberries, red grapes and raspberries are always tempting us.

                                                    Pink Pear  30x30  Available

This week the air feels different. Last night we had a storm of all storms...zinging lightening that never stopped, thunder that shook up the pups and adults, pelting rain that I thought would come straight THROUGH the roof. 

We stood under the shelter of the porch and marveled at the display of nature's wrath: after we turned off all electronics and lit candles!!! 

Stealthily sneaking in are the autumn colors edging their way into the thickly leafed branches, an abundance of peaches and ripe tomatoes are sitting center-stage.

Next will come the hearty squash, pumpkins, beets and carrots. 

Down the road from our home...love the women who work here..they place everything with an artistic eye.

Fruit and Vegetable Stands are 
EYE CANDY
for the Soul
Bon Appétit

Pedicures at the Beach Salon

Did you hear? there is a new pedicure salon down at the beach.

Come along we have to hurry it is a very popular place, the lines are forming!

First shed your shoes....hmmmm....boots.

Grab a seat, and drop those toes into a bowl of exfoliating bliss.

Finger tip massage, ahh, that feels so GOOD! Work your magic.

Today there is a pedicure special featuring mud packs, cost: only a few shells, oops, I mean shillings. 

Isn't this divine?  I could stay here all day. I wonder when the stars will come out.  Massage at Midnight....dream on. 

The Seahorse waving a red flag just warned me that there is a long line of hermit crabs waiting impatiently for their turns. 

Gosh I wish those uppity crabs would just crawl back into their holes, 

now I have to swish off my invigorating mud pack!!!! 

Making bubbles at the last minute with their secret ingredient, Sea Flake Suds, the final swish for super soft feet. 

Sparkling waves, blushing pink toes, petal smooth skin.

I wanted to have my toenails painted a soft lavender,

but I was told they are experiencing a challenge working on 
Olivia Octopus, who was ahead of me.

I knew I should have run faster!!

In and Out with the Tides

 We found a new beach to visit.

Actually we can't say we "found" it as it is way too big!

Located in South Carolina, Myrtle Beach is a lengthy, bustling beach with a boardwalk to keep teens and others happy.

(takes some of the crowds from the beach!)

Two of our kids recently moved near MB and we went to visit them and their pups.  It was quite an adventure.

Doestito exploring the Waccamaw River....it was pretty cold!

She is thinking, "HMMM how can I get away and swim wherever I want to go?"

We met up with interesting weather....cold, blustery winds and rain....interspersed with a few days of blue skies.

Gray days are really a photographer's friend....

We found stashes of seashells, mostly battered and broken by the strong waves...but there is beauty in the imperfect and we brought a  bagful home.

View from our heavily discounted room. Not bad!

In the summer we wouldn't be able to afford to stay here.

 One evening we happened upon hundreds of sleepy seagulls, all facing south....I wondered where they would stay as night was fast approaching.  Maybe this was their bedroom with an ocean view. Imagine sleeping with the lulling sounds of waves rustling the sandy shore.

Never have I seen so many birds holding still...this photo is but 1/5th of them.

One day when the sky was brilliant blue we walked the boardwalk. The rides were being prepared for the approaching busy tourist season. 

Sunrise, Sunset it doesn't matter, it is simply a glorious sight.

One of my favorite childhood rhymes is....

She sells Seashells down by the Seashore

Soon will come a posting of the shells.

Thank you for dropping by. If you have time check out 

Kim Klassen's Friday Finds

Kim's own posting is beautiful !  Worth the visit. 

Grandmother's Venetian Glass and Pink Mints

A short, sweet little sharing.

This beautiful piece of Venetian glass, 

reminds me of a carousel ride. 

But it is far more delicate than a decorated horse spinning round and round.

For as long as I can remember, this candy dish sat on 

Grandmother's coffee table...it wasn't so precious that little hands couldn't lift the  lid and help themselves to her homemade pink mints, a recipe passed down from her pioneer family.

When our family would come for a visit, after a 12 hour drive through the Nevada desert, after hugs and loves, they would race to the coffee table: there was always candy, the hard kind that you can suck on forever, in Grandmother's precious glass dish.

She loved to share her finer things.

Bringing back beautiful memories.

Today one of our sentimental daughters inherited this piece.  Just to look at it brings back the warmth of a grandmother

who took great pride in serving us with her very finest.

And hugging us to pieces!

Posting to Kim Klassen, Friday Finds.  

A Visit to the Past

It seems like yesterday, we were walking the cobbled streets of quaint Bavarian villages acting like children given too much candy to eat. Indeed eye candy abounds from  magnificent storybook paintings embellishing stuccoed walls, Hansel and Gretel cottages, crooked chimneys spewing real wood smoke, geraniums popping up like dandelions, feather comforters hanging over timbered railings basking in the sun, bratwurst with German mustard, thick pretzels and lebkuchen cookies, centuries old store fronts beckoning us to enter and indeed we did way too many times.

Each Christmas I pull out my precious little cache of card size German Christmas books. Can't read a single word of German, but the paintings tell their story on the walls of my mind. I am so delighted to share the covers of these little tiny pieces of art and see what your mind conjures up. There was a time in my art career when I painted these types of scenes, but that was so long ago I haven't a single photo to share.

I wish I could take you inside one of these books and share each wondrous  watercolor.   

Take Joy in your own Holiday Traditions.

Posting to Kim Klassen's Friday Finds
Kim is sharing complimentary new holiday brushes.

Popping back to Charlotte, North Carolina

Fresh on the heels of a 22 hour flight, I POPPED back to Charlotte,  excited to  take a workshop with  Lost Aussie on the Loose, Marie Otero. Marie is a warm, soft spoken, friendly, talented artist, photographer and photoshop guru.  Be sure and check out her website to see some GORGEOUS photography, her online classes, workshops and digital artwork.  

It felt a bit like a time warp returning to the US where everything seems sooooo easy: we write and speak English, can count change all by ourself and not always be asking for directions. The time had come to change cultural perspectives and rethink photography choices.
As a side note: I returned to a kaleidoscope of color after all of the soothing greens in Asia; so I just had to share this beautiful autumn photo of a tree in our front yard.

 Fine Art Creative Black and White Photography Workshop was a two day, one evening class held in Charlotte. Mornings were devoted to exploring the wealth of photographic possibilities, in the city then returning to a hotel conference room where we learned various ways to convert our color photos to black and white.  

Marie worked her way between  "students" helping us get correct camera settings, points of view to consider and sundry tips just right to maximize our photographs.  

I HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH CHARLOTTE 
through the lens of my camera.

I have been delighted to live in the Charlotte area these past three years, but with this workshop my eyes were re-opened to its vibrant, elegant, sophisticated architecture; the cohesiveness of the city by the planning gurus; the varied, interesting, and stellar monuments and sculptural pieces; quiet streams, ponds, and waterfalls softened by the fall of autumn leaves; green metal benches lined up along roads beckoning  the walker to sit awhile and  LOOK and SEE what was before them. Ah, so much to see and take in...and a lens truly clarifies just that.

A moment of tranquility in a park.

Queen Charlotte of 4th Street.  I chatted with a few men who were sunning in the warmth of the sun on a green metal bench. This kind soul rescued his dog when it was tossed out of a car on that street in front of him.  He nursed him back to health.  I so appreciated him allowing me to take their photo.  
Capturing the "humanity" in others is the ultimate joy for me.

 To end this little photo-log, I loved this photograph I am calling "reflection upon reflection"...love the  touch of color.

I will share more views of Charlotte...perhaps you will fall in love with the Queen's City, as I have, just remember to bring your camera. 

The world looks different through a camera's lens.

Also posting to another wonderful photographer, Kim Klassen's, Friday Finds.