Monday, December 31, 2012

 
 
 
 
[happynewyearfauxbois.jpg] 
 

A happy New Year!
Grant that I may bring no tear to any eye
When this New Year in time shall end
Let it be said I've played the friend,
Have lived and loved and labored here,
And made of it a happy year.
                                
Edgar A. Guest
 

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

 
 
Taking Time To Enjoy the Season
 
 
 
 
May Your Days Be Merry and Bright!
 


Monday, November 19, 2012


~ I Give Thanks With
                           A Grateful Heart~

            For......


 ........my sweet husband, who doesn't
blink an eye when I suggest a
day trip to take in an arts and crafts fair.

 
  .....or a vacation at a cabin in the
beautiful Georgia mountains.

 


.......my precious daughter and son-in-law,
who are so much fun to vacation with.
They love the outdoors
and are always ready to explore.
 
 



.....good health and the best friends
 and co-workers....ever.....
who joined us in support,
walking the 5k Race for the Cure
...in the rain!




.....family near
 
This picture was taken on Easter a couple
of years ago. My sweet mother-in-law
has since gone to be with the Lord, but
we shared many happy family times together
over the years. There is a new baby boy
to add to the family photo this year.
 

.....family far
 

The fourth generation
extended family in Mississippi.
This was taken last Thanksgiving
and this year, there will be another
little boy added to this picture as well!
 
 


.......our cozy little log cabin by
the Cypress Knee swamp, that has
provided shelter and comfort and
a place to call home.
(Oops, I forgot to hang the ferns back up!)


.......the beauty of the State I call home.

.......and for so much more......
my heart is grateful and
humbled to be so blessed.


Happy Thanksgiving Holiday!

                 Aunt C
 


Friday, November 09, 2012


~ TGIF ~

 
 
It has been a multicolored
kind of week.
Mixed thoughts and emotions.
 
 
 
 
For me, there is nothing like
a dose of nature to restore balance.
 
God is still in His heaven! 
 
Have a beautiful weekend.
 
C
 


Monday, November 05, 2012

 
 
~ Color My World ~
 
 
What I see when I turn into my driveway.
 
 
We finally had weather cool enough
for the trees to begin to color....
 
 
Closer to the house the color is
more golden.....
Like my "See Rock City"birdhouse?
I saw that advertisement on
barns all over northern Arkansas growing up.
 



How beautifully leaves grow old. 
How full of light and color are their last days.
  ~John Burroughs~


I do love this time of the year!
(except, I wish I could keep Daylight Savings Time)


Til next time,
C

 

Sunday, October 21, 2012

 
 
~ Beautiful Biltmore Estate ~
 
 

 
I promised a few pictures from our visit to the
beautiful Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC.
 
It was built by George Vanderbilt
in the late 1800's and  the present estate
covers around 8000 acres.
It is still owned by the Vanderbilt family.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Photos are not allowed inside the house,
so I am sharing a few of the amazing
grounds that surround it.
 
 
 
 
Of course, flowers are always my
favorite anyway.
 
 
 
 
Wildflower gardens........
 
 


Formal garden....water gardens....
 this estate has it all.
In the background (with the sun glinting in
the roof) is the greenhouse area.
 
 
All the plants used in the home
are grown here in the greenhouses
on the grounds. Can you imagine having
access to all this to decorate your house?
 Be still my heart!
 
 
 
It is hard to choose a few pictures
to share. It was a perfect day for
a visit and every view was a
perfect picture.
I just love it when that happens!
 
 
 
Shannon & Scott in front of one of the
many lovely trees found on the grounds,
and below, a bloom from the
water gardens near the house.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
It was a three hour drive from our
cabin to Asheville but we didn't mind.
This is the sunrise over the
mountains we were so blessed
to see to start us on our way.
 
Hope you enjoyed this little mini tour.
If you ever have the opportunity to visit
the Biltmore Estate, don't miss it!
 
Til next time...
                Carolyn
 
 
 
 


Thursday, October 11, 2012

 
 
~ Afternoon Drive ~ 
 
 
 
 
The weather was perfect that day.
A cool and crisp autumn afternoon
with a beautiful blue sky.
 
 
When I got home from work, I asked
David to park the lawn mower and
go for a drive and he readily agreed.
 
 
Aren't these clouds just the
prettiest? This is a marina
on Cross Lake.
 
 
 We drove up north a ways to
a little town named Oil City.
It was formed during the oil boom
days has this nice little park
on the edge of town on Caddo Lake.
 
 
Such a peaceful place to spend
an afternoon.
 
 
Kool Point once boasted the
best fish resturant in the area.
It burned several years ago and
has never been rebuilt.
We spent many Friday nights
eating at that place. I am
glad they left the sign as a reminder
of a good thing from the past.
 
 
We are blessed to live so close to
these beautiful lakes.
 We stopped at the DQ for a
chicken basket on the way
 home for supper.
Thanks to my sweet hubbie for
dropping everything to go for a drive
with me. It was pretty much a
perfect afternoon.

'til next time....
           Carolyn

 
(still planning to share our trip to Biltmore in the near future)

Sunday, October 07, 2012


~ Blue Ridge, Ga. ~

 
We recently spent a week in
a cabin near Blue Ridge, Ga.
 
The directions to the cabin
were a little daunting, with
the final turn to be made "where
you see the home made name signs on a tree."
 
You just knew it had to be a great place
with "Ole King Coe" and the "Loonie Bin"
 as neighbors.
 
 
  
The cabin was perfect with porches
that looked over Blue Ridge Lake.
 
 Cool mornings greeted us with a view
of mist rising above the water below.
 
 
We spent most of our time outdoors, doing
some hiking and taking a couple of day trips.
Shannon wanted to see Rock City near Chattanooga.
We had taken her years ago and
our son-in-law had never
been .... so off we went.
 
 
It is a fun place with lots of walking paths beautifully landscaped.
 
Here is Shannon & Scott bravely headed
into Goblins underpass.
 
 
 
One of the most photographed
spots - aptly named lovers leap.
As you can imagine, the view is
amazing.
 
 
A view of the swinging bridge from
below. The leaves were just beginning
to color and were so pretty against the sky.
 
 
Beauty everywhere we looked.
 
 
And near the end of our walk,
this rock called the"witch with pipe".
Hmmm.... the face I see...I think they
should loose the pipe.
I'd rather use my imagination. 
 
 
We had a great day, the weather was perfect
and we enjoyed visiting Rock City with
our "little girl" and her hubby once again :))
 
 
The Biltmore estate was also
on our list of places to revisit.
 I will share some of those pics
later.
 
 
Til next time....
           Carolyn
 
 


Monday, September 17, 2012

 
 
~ REMEMBERING ~
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This picture was taken in September, 2006 while
visiting my sweet Aunt back home in Arkansas.
 You can read about that visit here if you like,
 
Much has changed since that visit.
 
My dear Aunt has since lost most
of her eyesight and is in an assisted
living facility.
 
Little did I know that day, waiting for me
when we returned home would be a message
from the radiologist asking me to come in
for another look at a recent mammogram.
 
To make a very long story short, I had a
needle biopsy... the results were not good.
 I had surgery, followed by six months
of chemotherapy.
 
At that time, I couldn't imagine
ever feeling well enough to
walk a mile, much less a 5k race!
 
This weekend, three friends and I
walked the Susan G. Komen 5k
Race for the Cure held in Bossier City.
 
 
 
The two of us who are survivors
and our two precious
friends & supporters joined with
 about four thousand
other folks seeking a cure.
 
We never know what tomorrow
will bring, but God does and
walks through that day with us.
 
 I've learned to cherish the time spent
with family and friends, knowing
we may never pass this "same way" again.
 
I am thankful for each morning and for
sweet friends who bless me just by
their presence. We had a blast!
 
I didn't make it to the cotton patch
last week....still on my list of things to do.
 
'til next time............
                       Carolyn
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Saturday, September 08, 2012

 
 
~ Weather Report ~ 
 

Sun Sep 9

Sunny
87°
60°
Sunny
 

Mon Sep 10

Sunny
88°
63°
Sunny

 
 
This is so welcome after a week of
100+ temps.
 
 
 
 
Planning a little trip to "smell the cotton" this week.
 Hopefully, I will have
some new "cotton" pictures to share.
 
 
Looking forward to Fall.
 
                  Carolyn