Scribble Picnic. . . . . . . . . .Generous

GENEROUS : Adjective | gen·er·ous 

Marked by abundance or ample proportions

GENEROSITY : the quality or fact of being generous • a person of great generosity • 

a generous act

Such busy weeks! 
Here in the US we spent Thanksgiving Day cooking, eating
and enjoying the usual get togethers with family and friends. We then took 
off for our annual beach weekend which was a wonderful break between 
all the hustle and bustle of two close very together major holidays.
Meanwhile, here at the cottage the outdoor renovations continue on the
 deck, gazebo etc. I really don't know which way is up with workmen 
coming and going daily.
 I'm so far behind leaving comments on friends' lovely blogs and apologize
 for this - hoping to catch up soon.
As we plan to stay home this year I need to start Christmas decorating so 
that really must be addressed. . . . . . . a crawl through the attic is imminent
where "Christmas" is stored is imminent!

Michael's theme GENEROUS is perfect for these weeks ahead preparing
 for Christmas . . . . . . . who doesn't feel the need to be generous and share
what we have and others might need.

For me, NATURE is always sharing and her generosity is amazing.

SCRIBBLE PICNIC should share much today, hope you will stop by
and even consider joining in.

Carolina sunrise. . . . . . . . . . .

With two mornings to awake to scenery such as the sunrise brings, 

I was up to greet the sun from the balcony ten floors above the 

quiet beach. 

Pelicans were already flying in their usual long lines across the pewter sea.

Shore birds were waiting on the beach, seeming to know exactly

 where to stand in the pathway of the golden rays.

Waves rolled in and then foamed onto the sand making really

beautiful designs in colors of molten gold, bronze and steel.

There is nothing quite as inspiring as drawing back the curtains, 

looking due east, and meeting the new day as the sun

 rises on the horizon at the ocean.

Enjoy each day - and these busy weeks ahead as we prepare for Christmas!

Outside the window . . . . . . . .

Views from our hotel room.

Looking down onto Carolina Beach.

Gazing out across the Atlantic Ocean.

I so love the coast in Autumn and Winter. . . . . . . 

Having a grand post-Thanksgiving weekend at the shore.

Coastal call. . . . . . . . . . .

 Early Morning at Carolina Beach - November 2016

Hoping your Thanksgiving was fabulous! 
We are thankful for so much every day.

Today we head east to the North Carolina coast for what has become our short 'annual Autumn beach trip'. 
It's going to be a bit chilly this year I think so I may not be doing much barefoot paddling along the shoreline,
but I do hope to walk off the wonderful meal of yesterday with some serious sand trekking in the promised
sunshine. . . . . . and, as usual, I'll be blowing kisses to family and friends across the wide Atlantic!

Have a great weekend wherever you are.

Giving thanks. . . . . . . . .at Thanksgiving

Today is beautiful outside.

What I would call a perfect Autumn day.

Here at the cottage we have noisy workmen repairing our deck and

 gazebo - wood rots after years of rain no matter how hard you try to preserve it.

We have been somewhat upset with the carpenter - he has not been here every

 day as promised, in fact disappeared leaving his tools behind, so the job is taking

 much longer than planned. Thankfully he is here today and has a helper so things

 are now moving along!

This morning I was totally stressed out and needed to get away from banging,

 drilling and sawing - so off to Eastgate Park just five minutes drive away.

Parked, walked through the woods, around the pond, sat and watched the

 Canada geese, sad that the ducks we loved now seem gone. I took in

 the Autumn colors now at their peak, the reflections in the water turning the 

landscape into amazing paintings only possible by Nature.

May your Thanksgiving be special tomorrow.

Sunday Memories - Cockington Parish. . . . . . . . .

Autumn Sundays. . . . . . . . . and today my thoughts go to this little church of 

St. George and St. Mary - the tower is the oldest part 1210-1230 -

 close to my old English childhood home.  Above is a postcard of a watercolor

 I enjoy. . . . . . below is a photo I took of the church on an October day when

 visiting some years back. 

I've no plans right now for a visit but have decided it will most

likely be in an early Autumn, my favorite time to be at home.

I hope you are enjoying a lovely Sunday.

Fall Fashion ~ Loose and Comfy!

Apparently it's fashionable to don loose, comfy, and often really oversized, 

sweaters this season. Looking through my personal stash from the past few
 years I already have several oversized sweaters in my closet.
I also have classic cut cashmere sweaters and cardigans which really
 never go out of style, so guess I'm ready for all chilly weather situations. 

 I did a quick changeover from Summer warm weather clothes to oh such loved
Fall/Winter items before heading to Louisiana last week - not that one required 
anything heavy and snug there - it was 80 degrees plus and still extremely humid.
 Is it ever not hot and humid in New Orleans?

Have you shopped for new sweaters this season?

This longer loose fitting sweater I love, and the tie bottom elevates it to being a bit

 more dressy than a lot of the oversized sweaters I'm seeing, and wearing! 

Pairing it with the co-ordinating skirt it can pass as a dress. I would find this a

 useful outfit for many occasions. . . . . . . I would however like it more with a

 lowered round neckline, turtlenecks are just too warm here in my area, especially

 when going into shops etc. where the heat is blasting out full throttle.

 The big loose sleeves are wonderful.

This gigantic sweater is rather too voluminous and would
be somewhat annoying perhaps, unless one could size down!
I do like the marled grey yarn, and having a hood would be great 
when taking a woodland walk on a chilly day. . . . . . . . 

. . . . . . . .speaking of which, now cool days are here and the colorful
 leaves are whirling in the Autumn breeze, I must get out and walk 
in the woods. 
Leaf raking will be keeping me busy and providing some exercise in the
 coming weeks so a comfy, loose sweater will really come in useful.

~ New looks from ZARA for Winter 2017/18 ~

Scribble Picnic. . . . . . . .Gift Wrap

What's in the bag?

I enjoy giving gifts, or presents as we always called them in England back in the day. 

Of course I also like receiving them, but in all honestly giving them is more

special for me. . . . . . . and wrapping them has been a lifelong pleasure.

I've always loved wrapping gifts with beautiful papers, ribbons and tags since

 I was a child when Hallmark suddenly added those items to their card offerings.

They appeared in England when I was in my early teens, and I spent a lot of my

 pocket money purchasing gift wrap paper, curling ribbon and other trimmings. 

I recall my family and friends enjoying my efforts and saying things such as,

 "Oh, this package is just too pretty to open", then their curiosity got the best

 of them and they pulled off the wrapping, usually saving just the ribbon.

However I have to admit that when 'gift bags' arrived and offered another way

to share a present for a special occasion, I jumped on the bandwagon right 

away. When it comes to wrapping an unboxed item of an awkward shape or

size, or several small things which could just be gently swathed in tissue paper

and tucked into the bag together, the gift bag is a godsend in more ways 

than one. It also survives destruction on opening which allows it to be

 recycled with fresh tissue paper and a new tag if necessary.

A Christmas gift bag - I wonder what it will hold!

Scribble Picnic theme this week is 'gift wrap'.
I turned a photo of a gift bag into a sketch via PicMonkey
 then added back color with my watercolor pencils . . . . . . . .and
 then suddenly realized it's less than six weeks until Christmas!

Do visit Scribble Picnic today - there should be some pretty 
packaged gifts awaiting.

Yes, there are angels. . . . . . . . in New Orleans

On our early morning bus tour of the city of New Orleans, we stopped at

 the Saint Louis Cemetery #3 (there are three cemeteries). Most of the

 graves are above-ground vaults built in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The cemetery was heavily flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

 in 2005 however most of its tombs escaped relatively unscathed.

Perhaps the beautiful angels on high were watching out for them.

On a sunny morning, before the heat of the day set in, this was a stop
 before heading for the typical local breakfast of excellent beignets and

 cafe au lait at the nearby historic Morning Call Cafe in City Park.

The angels of New Orleans were glorious.