Busy as a Bee

For as far back as I can remember,  I have made the gifts I give friends and family though this did not apply to the children growing up or to my grandchildren now. I am busy as a bee making my Christmas presents because I need to finish a bunch before our family gathering on Turkey Day. That keeps me from the ordeal of mailing them. I will not be posting for  a little bit, but whenever I have time, I’ll look at yours. I am not as good at multi-tasking as I used to be. Be Back Soon :-)

Fayetteville, WV, Presbyterian Church

Bud and I went to Fayetteville, WV, yesterday for him to compete in a 25K + Trail Run today. While he was running through the woods for 5 hours, I walked all around town looking for churches to photograph. I found quite a few which I will post in the weeks to come. The was the newest of the ones I saw.

This post is linked with Inspired Sunday.

The November Owl Swap

These are the owls I received from A Fall Owl Swap 

in which I participated over at Debby”s Cozy Blanket.

This one was sent from Holly Crowder at cottonpickinfun.blogspot.com. It is precious standing about 6 inches tall. He’s made from felt with a woolen scarf and a fleece cap with a bell. He is just the cutest guy. THANK YOU HOLLY. I love him. 

Debby, from over at cozy blanket.blogspot.com and the sponsor of our little fall owl swap, sent me this adorable owl. He is sitting on a bed of twigs, and a fabric covered Ball jar lid serves as his stand. THANK YOU, DEBBIE.

This sweet little owl was made by Judy over at 20 North Ora. I am going to hang it on my Christmas tree this year. It is a piece of burlap cut into the shape of an owl with fabric added for wings, buttons for eyes, and felt for the nose. It is petite and oh, so cute. THANK YOU, JUDY.

This is my little treasure Debby sent to me...it is a necklace on a remake of a small pocket watch. I always wore necklaces pins all the years I taught school, and I do not seem to be able to break the habit When I get up in the morning and get dressed, I always hang a necklace around my neck. DEBBY...THANK YOU! THNK YOU! THANK YOU! I LOVE IT!!!

Christmas before last I participated in a Swap for All Seasons where we made 25 decorated, small match boxes and put inside of each a tiny little gift. When I received this larger matchbox from Pam all the way over the pond in Norway, I immediately knew there was going to be something small and special inside. Sure enough there was...a baby owl, a little pillow and a precious little bed with lace on it...and they all fit into the matchbox. They are absolutely the cutest things ever...all homemade with lots of tiny stitches. THANK YOU, PAM. I love my owl baby and its little box tree house. I appreciate all the time it took you to put this together because I am a hand sewer, too. It is sososo creative. Be sure to check out Pam’s blog at Winkels Crazy Ideas.

The following are the owls I contributed to the swap.

Indian Rocks Walk on Veteran’s Day 2013

On Veteran’s Day we visited Indian Rocks up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The sky was so blue, but it was dark in the area with the huge boulders. 

There were shadows everywhere. MY imagination went crazy as we walked through the area.

I teased Buddy and called him Chief Foxfire on the way to a pow wow.

I can just see all the tribal elders seated in a circular fashion in this area

 that makes me think of a rock filled amphitheater.

This would have made a great place for the children to play Hide and Seek.

A centinal post???

 The War God Is Watching You

 And So Is the One Eyed God

Why do we always have to have the graffiti?

 This rock formation makes me think of a sculpture 
depicting a mother consoling her child.

More graffiti...why???

Here I am, Princess Baga, taking another rest. I take a lot of these now when we are out hiking around and about. The view up through the trees was drop dead gorgeous, and the rock was cold as ice. My hat is an on 40’s styled one handmade in Seattle where my middle son works. It is wool and is lined with a thin fleece...one of my treasures. Yes, it is red! I LOVE red!

"Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods.

 Wash your spirit clean.”

~John Muir

This post is linked with:

Scenic Weekends

Shadow Shot Sunday 2

Bud’s Baby

“What greater gift than the love of a cat.”

~Charles Dickens

This post is linked with Camera Critters.

November Clouds

This post is linked with Skywatch Friday.

Thank you Yogi, Sylvia, and Sandy for all of your hard work.

Barn with the Green Roof

“There is scarcely any writer who has not celebrated the happiness of rural privacy, and delightedted himself and his reader with the melody of birds, the whisper of groves, and the mum or of rivulets.”

~Samuel Johnson

This post is linked with:

Rurality Blog Hop and Weekend in Black and White

Citizens and Grouches

 As you drive into the little town of Buena Vista, VA, this sign is way up on the side of an old vintage building on the corner but with a telephone pole in front of it. Bud sat in the car shaking his head as I climbed out into the middle of the street to take the picture. 

This post is linked with Lesley’s Signs2.

Debby’s Leis

“I don’t think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains.”
~Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

This post is linked with:
NFBlo-Ma
I Heart Macro

Memories of Days Gone By

This is the college memory book of Marguerite Jett Robinson,

 the grandmother of my three children.It is filled to the brim with treasures and pictures which tell a story of her friends and places she visited.

Fence~Bench~Bike

Bud and I visit the track at my old school on a daily basis. This is one of the benches where students and walkers/runners rest from time to time. It is where Buddy usually parks his bike. He rides the 7 miles down to the track and back to the house, and I drive the car. 

He’s the gutsy one. I’m the old wimp.

I walk a mile or two, and then I rest :-) It was windy and cold this afternoon. Bud ran in shorts, and I am bundled up as I always am.

This post it linked with Friday Fences and Weekend in Black and White.

Long Hours ~ No Pay

On my way to the school where I volunteer once a week, I spotted this sign on the other side of the road and decided to share it with all of you. 

 Proud to Be a Volunteer Firefighter

This post is lined with Lesley’s Signs2. Check it out. You won't be disappointed.

Our Visit to the Peaks of Otter

One of Bud’s and my favorite places to stay for a weekend or visit for a day is Peaks of Otter Lodge up on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Bedford, Virginia. Yesterday was a cool, breezy day so off we went, and here is a collection of shots from our ride and walk around Abbot Lake.

Scenes along the Way

OOPS...I just noticed I put one of the barns in two times. Sorry about that :-(

Peaks of Otter Lodge

When you look across Abbott Lake in the first picture, 

you would see the lodge back off to the left. It sits on that long stretch of land.

Sharp Top Mountain, Abbott Lake, fences, a row boat, clouds, 
shadows, and reflections.

Foot bridges, the tunnel over to the Johnson Farm, lots of shadows, 

and a bit of Buddy in the distance.

 Milkweed

The tree shots were taken while I was resting on the bench. I was pretending I was Georgia O’Keefe lying on the ground drawing the trees above me...but this time I was taking pictures with my old pink Canon point and shoot of the bare trees stretching their arms towards the sky.

This post is linked with:

~Our World Tuesday

~Rurality Blog Hop

~Water World Wednesday
~ NFBlo-Ma

~Friday Fences

~Skywatch Friday

~Weekend Reflections

~Scenic Weekends

~Sunday Bridges

~Shadow Shot Sunday 2