Shadow Shot Sunday

I was photographing jewelry for my Etsy shop the other day. Part of the bead board was in the sun and some jewelry was sitting on it, waiting for their turn. I saw the shadows and thought to myself "hey I should take one for SSS". Here's one of them. To see what the necklace really looks like, click on the photo.

For more shadowy goodness, go here:

Have a great week!

Until next time.....

Weekend Deals BOGO Earrings

Weekend Deal in my jewelry shop: buy one pair of earrings, get the second pair of equal or lower value for 50% off. Either wait for a revised invoice or pay with PayPal immediately and I will refund the savings through PayPal. Sale ends Sunday 12:00PM EST.

Have a great weekend!

Until next time.....

August 27th

I'm finally caught up with harvesting and putting up our tomatoes. (at least for a couple of days)

And I get to spend today, in the studio, finishing up the necklaces that I started, while waiting for the tomatoes to cook. I was able to photograph some earrings this morning and will be listing them throughout the day.

For once, there's not much happening here. Sigh. Breathe. Peace~

Until next time.....

Wordless Wednesday

Summer Garden Sale

Summer is winding down in Tennessee. We have a couple more weeks of summer harvest before the garden starts to peter out. I'll then till it under and prepare the soil for the fall garden. I just love fall greens!

My Etsy shops are reflecting the change in seasons. I have an 'autumn/fall hues' section in my deStash shop, where you can find vintage beads for your autumn designs.

My jewelry shop has an 'Autumn's Calling' section that is filling up with pieces laced with the colors of Fall.

To say farewell to summer I have a 'Summer Garden Sale' section, filled with flowers and fruits from summer harvest.

As I sit here typing this, the windows are open, the breeze is out of the north, I have socks on and a chilly nose. Yep, summer's winding down in Tennessee. It was a wonderful summer. I'm looking forward to the next season~

Until next time.....

Weekend Deal*****Necklaces 20% Off

I'm offering 20% off all necklaces this weekend in my jewelry shop. Either pay immediately and get a refund through PayPal or wait for a revised invoice. Whatever is easiest for you.

If you click on the collage, you'll be directed to my shop.

Sale ends Sunday night at 12:00 PM EST

Have a great weekend! It's going to be cool here. Smells like Fall! :)

Until next time.....

Wordless Wednesday

Nuts + Acorns = Autumn

The Black Walnut leaves are falling. They're the first to go around here. When those leaves start coming down, I know that Autumn is at our heels. The ground, under the trees, are littered with black walnuts. I never acquired a taste for them. I've gone as far as collecting them and putting them in the gravel driveway so we could drive over them to remove the outer husk. But the flavor just doesn't move me. I'm more of an English Walnut kinda girl.

Acorns are starting to drop too. Up at Crystal Lake, we have Chestnut Oaks ~ huge trees with acorns to match. I love those trees. When we move up there, I'm going to hang a porch swing from one of the massive side arms of one of those beauties.

I do love this time of year.

Until next time.....

Shadow Shot Sunday

Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. I was a few years too young to go, but I sure did want to be there. I remember seeing the cars backed up on 17.

I wanted to mark the day with a Shadow Shot from 1972. I'm the one in the shadow of the hat, surrounded by my friends: Mitch and Gary to the sides, and Chris, above me.

Where did all that time go?

For more shadowy goodness, go here:

Have a great week~

Until next time.....

Wordless Wednesday

Tips, Tricks 'n Recipes From The Garden

A few quick tips before I head out to the garden.

Making pesto? Was your local market out of pine nuts? That's happened to me before, so now I buy them way ahead of time and pop them in the freezer until I need them for pesto. I try not to munch on them. That doesn't always work.

I freeze our pesto in ice cube trays, same as our tomato paste. After they're frozen, I store them in freezer bags or containers.

Fall's just around the corner. No, really it is. People rake their leaves and put them in bags next to the road for the county to pick up (in Nashville). We go around in our trucks and bring them home. We add them to our compost pile, mulch our beds with them (topped with pine needles), and turn them into our gardens. We stack bags next to our compost pile to use for mulch between the rows in the garden the following year. It's free gold!

Speaking of mulch and compost. We pick up our grass clippings with a grass bag and add them to our compost pile. We also use them in between the rows in our garden, usually layered on top of the leaves. In the fall, it's all turned under. Our garden soil used to be solid clay and now it's incredible dark, rich soil.

I freeze our bell peppers, whole, to use throughout the year. Simply cut off the top, scoop out the seeds and freeze in freezer bags. If you use them for stuffed peppers, stuff them when they're still frozen.

Planting a fall garden? Start thinking about it now. Since we usually have super wet springs around here, we rely on our fall garden for greens for the year. By the end of August, we'll start sowing spinach, lettuce, kale, chard, turnip greens, turnips, beets and I'm sure I'm missing some. Just make sure to keep them watered, if you go through a dry spell.

That's it for now. I've got a long day ahead of me.

Until next time.....

Shadow Shot Sunday

The top photo is an okra blossom Second one an awakening sunflower.

For more shadowy goodness, go here:

Have a great week!

My 25% Weekend Deal in my jewelry shop ends tonight at midnite.

Until next time.....

Autumn's Calling Once Again

The signs are here. Foggy August mornings. Spider webs everywhere. Colorful sunrises and sunsets. Flowers beginning to fade. Our garden peppers are heavy on the plants. Tomatoes are in full swing, while squash and cukes begin to peter out. We've harvested and put up our corn for the season. And I've been planning the Fall garden, in my head.

I'm beginning to add a few Autumn pieces to my jewelry shop (25% off Weekend Deals sale going on through Sunday night) and Fall hued beads in my deStash shop. I love the colors of Autumn. Rich, warm, earthy.

Autumn's calling once again. Can you hear it?

Until next time.....

Dog Days of Summer SALE

In honor of the ~Dog Days of Summer~ everything in my shop is 25% off this weekend. (Does not include shipping). Beginning on Friday morn (08/07) at 6:00AM EST and ending on Sunday night(08/09) at 12:00PM EST. Write 'Weekend Deals' in the 'message to seller' box during check out. You can either pay immediately and get a refund through PayPal or wait for a revised invoice. Whatever is easiest for you.

Just click on Althea (she prefers 'Cat Days of Summer') to get to my shop.

Enjoy the last few weeks of summer~

Until next time.....

Wordless Wednesday

Super Size It

Wow! What a month July was. I can't say that I remember one like it. It rained more than not. The temps were pretty cool at times too! And our garden has gone wild. It looks great, but almost too great. Everything is huge, like it's been super sized. Take a look and see what I mean.....

This is our Lima Bean trellis. It is so lush that the fencing is starting to buckle under the weight of the greenery. I can't imagine what's going to happen when the beans start to mature. I've trimmed it back some, but there's no stopping it.

This is our Autumn Clematis vine. I've trimmed it with garden shears once, but like the Limas, it's gone crazy. I pounded in two stakes and tied it with landscape rope. It should hold for now. I have cedar poles that I'm going to use to make a new trellis for this plant next Spring. If it can only hold on til then.

And here's those sunflowers that I've been posting pictures of. The sweet corn is over 7 feet tall. Those sunflowers are at least 10 feet tall.

But now it's August and the Dog Days of Summer are upon us. Surely this growth will slow down some. Maybe? Hopefully!

Until next time.....

Summer Sunflowers

One of my favorite summer flowers are sunflowers. Easy to grow and guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. I love watching the goldfinches feast on them. I can hear them outside now, chirping as they fly in for lunch.

Until next time.....