Mr. Halloween and His Warning ~ DP 11-1-12

This sign was hanging in a hostel where Buddy was staying on his hike in Maine this summer. It may not be the best piece of photography, but I think is has to be one of the funniest. 

Here's Bud as Mr. Halloween for the kiddies Trick or Treating in town this afternoon. What a good sport! He's sitting in the window of the outfitter's store with his candy in hand. 

This post is linked with Lesley's Signs, Signs.

We Survived Sandy ~ Happy Halloween ~ The Great Pumpkin ~ DP10-31-12

This photo was taken so long ago I have had to try to estimate the year we grew "The Great Pumpkin." Gene is 40 and the father of a 7 year old.  Here he looks to be 16-18, so my best guess would be 1990-1994. While the winds were howling and the rains coming down, I searched until I found the picture and scanned it. Here you have it. Our one and only Great Pumpkin. Boy, does Buddy look young. Guess 20 years or so living with me has really aged him :-) Trust me....most of that hair is now gone!

PS....Thanks for all of your kind thoughts about us and the hurricane. We were so lucky. My daughter in Still Pond, MD, and my niece in Arlington, VA, were hit very hard. Gene in Richmond did not have any problems, either. At least the yard and porches are cleared of everything for the winter :-)

I am linking up with Red Wednesday today because all of the trim on the porch is actually red and Wordless Wednesday.

Please do away with word verification.

Sandy Has Arrived in Rockbridge County and Here on the Creek

                  I took this as I was leaving for work this morning. It had rained all night, and it was dark except for the spotlight on the roof over the front porch.

 I hadn't been at school too long when Buddy sent me 

this comparison of Irene and Sandy from the internet. 

The difference in the two storms is stunning.

 Buddy took this picture around 10:30 of the ominous sky over the mountains. 

He was on his way home from town.

I snapped this picture at 3:40...was on my way home from work, and it was pouring rain. Usually I can see the 3 airplanes which are parked here and all the mountains in the distance, but not today. 

After stopping to deliver and pick up the school mail, I noticed what looked like waves on the lake formed by Big Spring. Always it is calm as a cucumber...but not today. I couldn't believe my eyes.

A few minutes later I saw Buddy running along side the road. He is like the Ever Ready Bunny...

he runs no matter what the weather, and he keeps going and going and going. 

When I slowed down, he snapped this picture. 

We were totally socked in .

Now, it is 38 degrees outside. The winds are howling, and the tree branches are blowing back and forth and up and down. It is still raining. I just now received notification that school has already been called off for tomorrow because of the miserable conditions. The big questions now are: 

1. Will we awaken to snow everywhere

2. Will we still have power

3. Will the tree beside the bridge still be erect or will it be across our bridge.

Hope all of you bloggers from here to Maine and west are safe and still have power. The TV reports are frightening. Please be careful. I am so thankful we are only dealing with the wind gusts,
some rain, and maybe some snow. 

This post is linked with Our World Tuesday.

Memories of Last Year's Halloween

I was looking through my Halloween pictures, and up popped this one from last year. I posted it then, but I just HAD to post it again it is so cute. Leave it up to my Gene and Eloise to pull this one off. I am wondering what they will come up with year to top it. Here's hoping "Sandy" does not hit Richmond with such rain and wind that Halloween has to be postponed or cancelled. 

SANDY UPDATE: Only rain last night. No 60 mph gusts so school is session today. Now the weather gurus say the bad stuff is coming late this afternoon, tonight, and tomorrow. We shall see. At least we are prepared. Hope all of you in the northeast - coastal and interior areas/states - are OK and safe. I am thinking of you. 

My Little Corner of the World ~ DP 10-29-12

I am starting a month long online class this week with Kim Klassen on how to work back and forth between Lightroom3 and Photoshop Elements 10 so I am trying to get ahead of the posting game this weekend. I know nothing about my Lightroom3 so it is going to be tough. Working all day and then coming home to fix supper and then trying to watch the videos and do the assignments is going to be about all I can handle. I will visit y'all as best I can. These well used tools are in my workroom spot where I create my crafts and do my quilting. I use them all as you can tell. The last shot is special because of the "4" and the "6." When my family came to celebrate my 70th birthday at Douthat State Park about 4 years ago, my daughter told me since "70" was so special, I needed "7" presents. She put a number on each. I cannot throw them away because they are some of my special little treasures. It is wonderful how the simplest things can mean so much when they come from your children and grandchildren.

 My light weight hammer...one I can handle with arthritis in the old hands. 

I am always hammering tacks and nails on which to hang thread and other necessary items.

I use my plyers all the time...especially in wreath making. One of my favorite things to make for gifts are knotted seasonal fabric wreaths.

So many sissors...every size and every variety...even some that belonged to my mother like her old Weiss pinking shears. Quilters and crafters can't ever have enough scissors, tweezers, and those scissors doctors use to pull out stitches. They don't cut, but boy do they lock in on what I am wanting to remove. You name it, and I have it in the pile.

Finally, the wire cutters are one of my most important tools. I finally figured out I was ruining my good scissors trying to cut small wire with them. So many of the things I make require bits and pieces of wire. I think with my crafting, quilting, and photography I am going to have lots of things to do for entertainment when I finally close the door on my 50 year teaching career in June. Oh, happy day :-) It cannot come soon enough to suit me.

This post is linked with the following memes this week:

Macro Monday

Weekend in Black and White

Shadow Shot Sunday

The Calm before the Storm ~ "Sandy" ~ 10-28-12

This is looking down from right in front of the house. All looks so calm but very dreary because of the gray sky. The water is trickling along, but the creek is really very low. Once the rains hit us, the water will be well above the apple tree, and we will once again lose some more of our bank and our front yard.

The hoo-doos are standing, but I am afraid it won't be for long. Once Sandy's rains and winds  reach us, it will be another story. Lots and lots of leaves, but very little color is left.

Here is a close up of some of the hoo-doos. Gene and his friend, John, are the kings of hoo-doo building as well as sand castle building. How they balance those rocks on one another I do not know. Now, Eloise is becoming a very fine 7 year old builder. From now on work on them will require high water boots. The water is already getting to be a wee bit cold.

This one will be demolished for sure. These cool ones never survive a rushing creek.

                                                                                      

         This is the mess left from the our big wind storm in June. 

A friend of ours who still burns wood in a wood stove for heat came and cut up the major part of the tree which had fallen across the creek, but he left the smaller branches on the bank for us.

Finally, here is what is left of the tree. 

One whole side is gone.

I am wondering if it will be able to stay standing

 if we get 30 mph winds and torrential rains. 

We shall see. Stay tuned.

Now, I am off to the store to stock up on ice and the other necessities.
Hope I haven't waited too long.

Our Bridge to Somewhere ~ Fall 2012 ~ DP 10-28-12

Our Bridge to Somewhere ~ Fall 2012

This picture was taken a week ago. These colorful leaves are all gone now.

This post is linked with Louis LaVache's Sunday Bridges.

All Alone ~ DP 10-27-12

This was waiting for me today as I walked out to check out the creek.

It Won't Be Long Now ~ Weekend Reflections

Days like this with snow on the ground are not so far away. 

These shots were actually taken earlier this year in February.

This post is linked with Weekend Reflections.

McDonalds in White Sulphur Springs, WV~ Shadow Shot Sunday

Last weekend when we went hiking at  Beartown State Park in WV, we stopped in White Sulphur Springs for coffee at Micky D's. This has to be the classiest McDonalds I have ever been in, but considering it is in the town that is home to the Greenbriar Hotel ~ Resort  and the Greenbriar Golf Classic, I guess it has to be pretty nice. The shadows coming in through all the lovely glass windows were spectacular. It was in this McDonalds that I found the "Harvest Time" sign I posted for the "Signs, Signs" meme sponsored by Lesley.

Here is some follow-up information on the Greenbriar 

I thought might interest some you war buffs.

~The Greenbriar Hotel and Resort ~ White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia

~Home of the PGA Greenbriar Classic

~Home of the Cold War Underground Bunker for Congress 

from the late 1950's until in 1992. 

Ted Gup of the Washington Post revealed its secret location in a 1992 story. The bunker had been a secret until that time and had been fully stocked with supplies for 39 years. The classified, underground facility, was named "Project Greek Island."   Immediately after the Washington Post revealed its information, the government decommissioned the bunker. It is no longer used but people can make reservations to tour it. There is still much to see there.

All of my information is courtesy of Wikipedia. There is one definitive and fabulous article about the bunker with it is way too long to include in this post. Here is the link should you wish to see and learn more:

http://www.civildefensemuseum.com/greenbriar/index.html

It tells the story of the bunker in words and pictures and is a fascinatings article well worth reading. Me, I am mesmerized my the story. We had no idea that such a massive and important bunker was located so close to our home.

"Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind."

~John F. Kennedy, September 25, 1961

This post is linked with Shadow Shot Sunday2.

Fall on Swope Lane ~ Fairfield, VA ~ DP 10-26-12

SOOC

This post is linked with Jan and Jer's Friday Fences. 

Peek-a-Boo Fall Sky ~ SOOC ~ DP 10-25-12

There is nothing prettier than fall colored leaves against a backdrop of a beautiful blue sky, but today I am befuddled by one thing. How did I end up with such a different tint to the blue on the right when I did not adjust or edit this picture in any manner? It is SOOC.  There is so much I do not understand about how cameras work and there is so much I need to learn. 

This post is linked with Skywatch Friday.

It's Harvest Time at McDonalds ~ Daily Photo 10-24-12

This little sign was hanging in the McDonalds near the Greenbriar in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. It was one impressive MickeyD's, but I guess it had to be so near to the Greenbriar Resort. 

This post is linked with Lesley's Signs, Signs.

Fall on Mt. Pleasant ~ Daily Photo ~ 10-23-12

Gene Atop Mt. Pleasant

 View from the Top of Mt. Pleasant

This post is linked with Our World Tuesday.

A West Virginia Ride-By ~ Barn Charm ~ 10-22-12

What fun I had with this ride-by capture of the main homeplace and the little barn building just down the hill. First I started with iPhoto, then I went to PSE10, to RadLab, and finally I ended up with iPiccy...I LOVE that free program.  The texture from iPiccy in the first shot makes me think of Van Gogh and his skies with their circular movement. It took an awful lot of time, but it surely was fun. I did not take out the big, bold power lines because I think of them as a part of the "picture of life." Without them we would not be enjoying many of the comforts upon which we have come to depend. Therefore, I leave them and actually like the linear aspect they add to my pictures. I am amazed at the 3 different sizes of the lines.  My watermarks were almost washed out, but I will watch out for that in the future.

I love experimenting with different frames.

This is the main house up on the hill.

This post is linked with Tricia's Barn Charm.

Please consider doing away with word verification. Those of us who are older with eyesight not what it was when we were younger, have real difficulty identifying the words and numerals. I blow them up at least three times, and I still have to click for a new one 3 or 4 times. After I have written a comment and type in the wrong verification numerous times, I finally give up and move on. I am so sorry not to be able to share my thoughts with you. I have had not one problem since I said "No" to word verification.