Day 8 Family Fun and Living the Life I want

Day 8 Family Fun and Living the Life I want
Gardening in a new environment, making changes in the yard and in my self.
Sharing the changes over the summer to fall...we started with a charming cottage to rent while getting use to our new home city.  The changes is me are just as important as the yard.  A lot of pruning, replanting and nurturing.  I am able to rest and rejuvenate because of my family.  They have worked to help settle and spend plenty of time with us.  They have feed us great natural meals full of vegetables and family time.  Now we are lucky enough to have our oldest, her husband and little boy stay with us through the holidays.

It hasn't been easy for me to take a look at the past year.  Alot of changes, but well worth it.  So as the yard gets ready for the fall, so do I.  I look forward to the changes we made this summer showing progress to the next seasons, I welcome the change more now than ever.



 Hubby ready for work on the yard, it was very overgrown and weeds abundant.  We had beautiful pots to fill.  Thankfully the patio slate is beautiful and the layout perfect for some grilling.

I had to spend quite a bit of time digging out these herbs, they had embedded into the slate from the herb garden.

The daylillies were perfect as is!

The herb garden was a little over run but the lavender and rosemary are so beautiful.

The herb garden needed work but I put my rabbit in to spruce it up and guard it.

I replanted my favorite succulents in my concrete pot

I redid this cute area with blooming purple passion vine and ivy.  I also planted a pepper plant.

We added our vintage iron table and an umbrella for shade

We planted cucumbers and my helper watered every day

As the weather gets cooler we are eating outside and the greenery has shaped up with hubby's care.  We added red rockers for a pop of color.

A cute table and lights for the downstairs patio to enjoy the view

This has grown so pretty!

Bunny and Atti did a great job on the herb garden.

Wouldn't this beautiful tablecloth be great on my table!http://moderncountrystyle.blogspot.com/2011/10/giveaway-modern-country-tablecloth.html

And now we are ready for fall and cool dinners outside.  Now we will have to see about a fire pit!

Linking up with Donna at her great Saturday night linky

http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/

Safe Travels,

The other loves of my life!

Di

Day 7 Family Fun--Ghosty Times

Family Fun Day 7

Today both grandsons were over.  We made ghosts!

I took an old sheet and cut with my pinking sheers in various sizes.

Then took tennis balls, balls of fabric and balls of paper towels to form the head.

Pick up the frabic place the ball in the middle of the fabric and wrap around the ball tie with twine

With a sharpie if you want a face draw round eyes, round mouth or if you are like my group...make fun or scary face.  We even did a Harry Potter face for the little one.

Then I took the clear thread made a few stiches to hand them up.

The son in law got the big ladder out and hung them around the driveway

We put the spider web material up but it doesn't show up well

Help!

Real Spider as we are hanging up our webs.

Look what we found out in the yard.

We went to Goodwill and the 2010 costumes were there, brand new ($10 versus $30), the spider web $1, sheets and balls, twine free.  The smile on the little ones face priceless...

Day 7 Living in the moment...Treasure the time not the amount of money you spend.

Safe Travels, Di

A morning full of fun.

Fall Outdoor Spaces

Outdoor dinner, 64 degrees, beautiful!

We will add spider webs and ghost tomorrow.

I think this needs a bow, what do you think?

We are visiting Thyme in a Garden this weekend to add some fall punch and get some pumpkins!!

                                   Modern Country Style's

Fall In Love

link party!

http://moderncountrystyle.blogspot.com/2011/10/fall-in-love-link-party.html

and

http://thriftydecorchick.com/

See you soon ya'll, Di

Day 6 Family Fun and Being Present in the Life you Live

Day 6 Family Fun and Being Present in the Life you Live

In Mark Nepo's Book Awakening for October 6th he talks about being still and moving fast, how can you be both.  We were just talking about this with my grandson because he was asking exactly what we would be doing moment to moment after school.  He was moving to fast and counting the time away and not enjoying being with his dad and me.  When we talked about that he amazingly got it.  How do we not get it? 

So my awareness today is to enjoy the moment even when I am not aware that exciting things are going on, I need to enjoy the stillness of just being.  Today I am going to hang out with my daughter and husband and just be.

Matthew Mead Collection

Be sure to take part in all of the fun and prizes and, again, here is the link to our video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fs08ocTDFk

 Be sure to visit Matthew and sign up for his great giveaways!Safe Travels,Di

Day 5 Family Fun; Living in the Moment and being present

Day 5 Seek Life Everywhere
Embrace what the day brings, even if you wake up with joy, sadness, pain or wonder.  Acknowledge the feeling that you are experiencing life..you are alive and connected to the world!

The view from the top of our hill

At the Botanical Garden

I am linking up with several bloggers this week...so much fun going on out there, what's a girl to do!

Modern Country Style's

Fall In Love

link party!

http://moderncountrystyle.blogspot.com/2011/10/cosying-up-for-autumn.html

You can link up ANYTHING to do with Autumn

Oh the smells of Autumn

I am in love with the white pumpkins made out of feed sacks!

http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/2011/10/white-wednesday-120.html

Tommorrow I will be working on this....go take a look.

http://beautifulnest.blogspot.com/2011/09/hello-lovely-friends-how-has-your-week.html

Safe travels my friends,
Di

Day 4 of Family Fun and a Link Up with Fall Projects

Day 4 of Family Fun and a Link up with my Pumpkin Crafting Project

Two projects completed, we finally did our leaf hunt!  Went to

http://www.nickjr.com/printables/leaf-collecting-coloring-pages.jhtml  and printed up a booklet for Ro to look for leaf's. 

We had a blast finding the leafs and looking around the property.  Ro lead the 3 of us all over, up and down stairs and hills.

Okay pick this up and put it in the skull basket

Some weed growing on my plant but looked fun

We went up the hill to our neighbors yard to get the pine needles

Studying the book to direct us

Lambs ear plant, so soft...baa!

Yeah we are finding everything in the book

Oh smell that herb!  Lavender and Basil.

 
I shared my pumpkin making with the Fall Project Link, can't wait to do the next one...outside.  My patio sure needs help with all the cold weather we have had!  I found a lovely site www.pinksuedeshoe.com/2010/10/01/fall-pumpkins-tutorial/.  With her permission with giving credit to her, I made my pumpkins using her template, I changed a few things and use my feedsack, burlap and a 25 cent grain sack from a garage sale and made a bunch of pumpkins.  My little assistant helped stuff so he picked out 2 to take home!

Being Present to the Life I have is being with my family.  The fun is a bonus.

Safe Travels,

Di

Family Fun Day 3

My Day 3 of Family Fun and being present in the Life I have

Accept who you are, say "This is who I am when no one's looking"; for each of us is a fledgling that eventually, if fed, will fly.
-Mark Nepo The Book of Awakening

Ro's First Day at New School

When we talked about going to a new school Ro said he was a little nervous.  I remember that feeling because we moved around when my dad was in the Army.  Ro says he is shy but he is such a caring little boy.  We took a friend out to lunch and the little guy showed her all his "friends" (toys) and sat right by her.  She is recovering from a major illness and this lifted her heart!  It is so good that he can voice his feelings, all of us should speak up and not hide away our emotions.

Doesn't look to happy modeling his aunties handmade hat.  But went to school and met a nice friend who lives down the street from us!  After the teacher introduced them the little boy said "I knew there would be someone name Rowan this year!".  Then had Ro sit by him.  I think his fears of finding a friend might be solved.  Now if all problems could go that way.

No these are not the leafs we collected but Our next burlap project! 

I had fibers all over the place and I still have 3 feed sacks left!  I am going to make a wreath with one.  I will share that project with you on Thursday and have a great link where I found it.

Much heartfelt wishes on this Monday morning,

Di

Family Fun Day 2 - Decorating Fun

Day 2       

I've never felt a pain that didn't bear a blessing.

            -Gene Knudson Hoffman



Moving to Asheville was very difficult because it marked leaving the area I grew up in, my parents home and our home.  My mom had recently passed away which was difficult.  But here it is October and blessings are abundant.  Our kids are all here with there families, we are healthy and I am accomplishing things that I have wanted to do for a long time.

Here in Asheville it is still chilly, so we will be doing some inside projects.  A trip to the local arts and some fun decorating to help our fall festival feeling.  The leaves are falling and the cool weather is here.  We are use to 90's and sweating, so this feels pretty good (I wonder if I will feel that way later in the year!).

 In Ro's room, Mommy, Daddy and Ro decorated skulls.

 Indian Corn for our wreaths

And...what happened here?

We put this up to see if Papa and Ro's momma see this when they come home.

We are leaf hunting this tomorrow.  Ry (Ro's daddy) went to

http://www.nickjr.com/printables/leaf-collecting-coloring-pages.jhtml  and printed up a booklet for Ro to look for leaf's. 

31 Days of Blogging challenge from The Nester
Safe Travels,
Di