Two Favorite Sites I Want to Share

I found Art in the Age  on my last trip to Philadelphia where it is made.  At the time they had Root liquor and Snap liquor.  Root was our favorite.  They now have Rhuby, which I will get on my next trip home.  They are now making Root soap, too!  Completely natural, made by a lady in Austin, TX.  You can purchase Root liquor at Total Wine in Alpharetta.  It's so popular, it's getting down to the South!
Another favorite site of mine is The Anthropologist 
which features an amazing artist each month.  The photography is fantastic and there is always an interesting article to go with the artist.
So now that it's getting cooler, light up the fireplace, sip some Root and watch the Anthropologist!

2011 COUNTRY LIVING FAIR

It was a beautiful day for the fair and, as expected, there were lots of pumpkins

Took photos of my favorite things at the fair

These Adirondack boats are completely handmade and beautiful.  I could picture myself on the lake in one of these and with Bob doing all the rowing as I lay back in my rattan seat and get some sun!

How about a wicker motorcycle for scooting around the lake?

As I was leaving the fair, I turned to see the guys from one of my favorite shows on Planet Green, "The Beekman Boys"

As much as I like "the boys", there was no way I was standing in this line to get an autographed copy of their latest cookbook, even though the asparagus torte recipe looked really good!

Here they are!  I'm not much of a fan of Brent in the pink shirt, I love Josh with the beard and glasses, a former drag queen, can you believe it! 

Some of Debbie Thibeaut's work

These had to be my favorite "new" craft, hand-painted canvas dolls 

Can you believe this mushroom?  What an imagination she has.

I bought one item at the fair that I saw when I first started walking around and thought about all day.  It intrigued me, especially since I collect antique charcoal portraits.  I have never seen one quite like this, a mourning portrait, very rare, especially this size.  It led me to google mourning photos.  Everyone has their own opinion on the subject, but another website has a more upbeat attitude about this subject and says that this is once again being done where children are dying young.

Now that the fair has come and gone, I am looking forward to the Friday night before Halloween where we will do a tour of the Oakland Cemetery at night, the only time of year you can go in at night.  Spooky!!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

Today the girls arrive from Atlanta.  It's going to be a warm day, the steam is rising off the lake.

The sky is clear and the sun is rising.  I'm here to clean up the boathouse in preparation for their arrival this afternoon.

Linda, Vicky, Marilyn and Jordan arrived in time for margaritas and a swim.

First brave soul to jump into that cold water was Vicky.  Marilyn next?

Yep! There she goes!!

Vicky showing off her toned arms from rock climbing and caving.  Geez!

After a wild afternoon at the boathouse, we decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner at the Tea House conveniently located just minutes from the boathouse.

The Tea House has been on the lake for over 60 years and is a large historic log cabin with several fireplaces inside, which unfortunately were not lit since it is still warm and people are dining on the terrace.

Me, Vicky and Linda at dinner minus Marilyn who wanted to take a nap after her swim!

We sat and talked for hours that night, and the next morning "the cook" was up and ready getting breakfast made for the girls, oh, and Jordan.  No dog can resist maple bacon even if it is wrapped around asparagus!

Cheese omelets to go with the bacon, oj, coffee, fruit completed our breakfast.

I suggested a hike, and to my surprise, everyone was ready to go.  Took them to the Palmetto Trail.  Leaves are now starting to change.



Sweet Jordan watching a hiker on the trail.  Asked the hiker if he saw any bear.  No, just lots of turkey, he replied and off he went.



Thank you to my friends who would make the drive all the way from Atlanta, sleep in a boathouse with a broken toilet, swim in freezing water, and make that drive all the way back again.  In the spring there will be another weekend, longer, and we will all go shopping in Asheville, and hopefully this time Carrie will be able to make it from Ohio.  Until then . . .

Cumberland Continued

We stopped to overlook the bluffs on the way to the chapel. The vegetation is very different on the north end of the island, mostly pine and very few live oak.

Hurricane-ravaged trees dot the coast.

The African slave chapel where JFK, Jr. and Carolyn Bessette were married.  You really got a sense of what it must have been like back then, and you also feel sad about the Kennedy tragedy. 

It was very tiny and primitive inside.  Maybe you could fit 40 people inside. 

After getting back from the north part of the island, there was more camping, hiking, and observing.  On the ferry ride back to the mainland, we spotted sandhill cranes beginning their migration north.  Soon they will be spotted by the hundreds flying over my house.  Fall is here!

Had a wonderful time, made some new friends, and plan to go back again in cooler weather.  We have now been to Jekyll Island, St. Simon's Island, and Cumberland Island.  The only island left on the list is Little St. Simon's, but that is a more luxurious trip, no camping, so maybe we'll just go back to Cumberland.