The Frost is on the Pumpkin

There has been frost the last two mornings and we will be on the road before the weather turns colder. The afternoons have been just absolutely beautiful though, and that makes it hard to leave.


I am posting a couple of barn photos that I took just a week or two ago. The barns in Kentuky often stand until they can't stand any longer. There is a certain amount of beauty in the aging structures.

Possum Trot Bike Ride

The Possum Trot Bike ride was in Columbus, Indiana on Oct 20. I didn't ride, but Jo, Hutch and hubby, John did. Instead, I went to old downtown Columbus to walk around and look at the town.

Kentucky Fall

The trees are just beginning to change colors. This tree, growing by the beautiful old Victorian house down the street, is well on its way.

I took this picture in an area where I go for walks. We had a storm last night as well as tornado warnings for a couple of hours, but today it was beautiful.

Bob Dylan Concert

John and I attended the Bob Dylan concert in Louisville last night. Bob Dylan and his band put on a great show, and we had a great time. He looked a bit older and more frail than I thought he would, but we are all getting older. Somewhere in all of us is the young person we used to be, and I could see the younger Bob Dylan. He is such a legend in music. The photo here is the picture on the t-shirt that I bought last night. Take a look at his web site that has all his song lyrics as well as other interesting information: http://www.bobdylan.com/

St. James Court Art Show 2007

This art show takes place in a beautiful old neighborhood in Louisville, KY. The 2007 show was the 51st annual show. We saw some wonderful art, ate some junk food and had a great time despite the hot weather. Next year the show should be even better, as we are hoping for typical Fall weather.

Lincoln Days

Hodgenville, Kentucky celebrates Lincoln Days every October in honor of Abraham Lincoln, who was born on a farm near Hodgenville. I especially enjoyed the quilt show that was housed in one of the churches near the center of town. Of course there is a parade, and the usual craft and food booths. But, the interesting difference is the attention to recreating activities of long ago. Although the Civil War reenactment had to be canceled because only the Union Army showed up, there were other events planned. There was an interesting rail splitting contest as well as demonstrations of bullet making and pioneer cooking outdoors over an open fire. There was a Lincoln look-a-like contest. I was surprised at how many men around really look like Honest Abe. An Army pilot, and Hodgenville native, landed an AH 64 Apache helicopter that was open to the public for a close up look. Other than the unusually hot weather, it was a great event.

Rineyville Days

The Rineyville Days parade was Saturday October, 6. We watched from lawn chairs in the front yard under a large maple tree. The parade started with an Army band from Ft. Knox. Among the entries were tractors, fire trucks, vintage cars and more tractors. It was a nice morning, and everyone enjoyed the parade.






It's all about the tractor.






























And, there are some mighty fine tractors!

The Back Porch

John repaired and painted the back porch that is off the kitchen, and he used the same green metal for the roof that is on the house. The old porch on this little house was in pretty bad shape. He didn't have the time to do this project when we were here last year, but was able to get everything finished this visit, just days before the much needed rain began. We missed the garden furniture season this year so we'll need to wait until we come back next summer to outfit the porch with some comfy chairs and side tables. Now I will need to get busy planting some flowers around it, and it will look like it has always been this way. I think the house looks as happy with the 'new' porch as we are.

Fabric Collage Wall Hanging - Mom

The subject of this wall hanging is my mother's senior picture that was taken at Fulda, MN High School in 1945. It measures 12 1/2" x 23 1/2", excluding the hanger. I used mainly vintage fabrics as well as other vintage embellishments to enhance the piece. The background fabric is a remnant of the new fabric I used for the pillows on the antique daybed, and is the only new fabric that I used. I printed the photograph onto cream cotton, and stitched it to an antique undergarment remnant. Just below the photograph is an antique collar from Japan that is decorated with sewn beads. The flower, at the bottom right, is a large Rose of Sharron from our yard that I dried last year and adhered to fabric with matte gel medium, and then stitched it to the collage. There are three mother of pearl buttons along the bottom, and a mother of pearl buckle at the top that encases a rose print silk ribbon. The same rose ribbon is used for tabs at the top that a wooden spool slides through to make the hanger. A pale green ribbon attached to the spool suspends the piece on the wall in the living room.

Antique Daybed

My husband bought this little metal antique bed/cot last year, and I finally got around to making it useful. I found a local children's furniture store where I was able to order a special cut mattress to fit its odd size, and it only cost an additional $10 to make the special cut. That was a pleasant surprise. I dressed it out with a dust ruffle, pillows and a spread made out of a combination of vintage barkcloth and new fabrics. It will be useful not only for extra seating, but also for an extra bed for a guest.

PS - The wood brace in the before pictures was used to straighten the spring frame and has been removed.