Eyes on the Skies

Mr. Elf and Tom Turkey are ready to travel "over the river mountain, and through the woods, to grandmother's sister's house we go!" But the weather is making this one a nail-biter. You just never know around here...one or two degrees up or down the temperature gauge can mean the difference between a soaking rain or a blizzard. We were under an ice storm warning last night, and completely dodged that bullet. Hopefully the same will hold true tonight. Currently, the forecast for tomorrow morning looks like this:

Tom Turkey makes an appearance every year on the Thanksgiving table, so he's used to traveling. This trip will be an adventure for Mr. Elf, however. He has spent the last 20 or so years living behind the olive oil and protein powder up in the cupboard. My mom made the Mr. Elf cookie jar when I was a child. It's one of those things I don't actually use anymore, but can't bring myself to throw away.

My Book Club friends are of the opinion that he's a creepy looking elf. In his defense, he looks quite jolly and benign sitting out on the counter filled with chocolate chip cookies. But lurking behind the olive oil, in the shadows... hmmm...maybe. And as my niece pointed out, he does look a bit creepy hiding behind the scarf. We may have ourselves a character from a future Stephen King novel here.

Either way, he's not living up to his full potential here, so he's headed to Georgia to live at my sister's house for awhile. If the weather holds out and we can get there. Fingers crossed!

Check out the great dinner I made tonight, inspired by Sam at My Carolina Kitchen. The Spicy Roasted Butternut Squash salad was every bit as good as I imagined it would be when I read her post last week. I added a Maryland Crab Cake and mmm, mmm good - thanks for sharing the recipe, Sam!

The rain on the skylight sounds like sleet. Perhaps I should get up off the sofa and check it out. Lucy is not worried. Lucy is hardly ever worried. She has been laying next to me as I type, snoring little kitty snores. Very cute. Stay warm everyone, and if you're traveling for the holiday - be safe!

Summer, Fall, It's a Blur!

Has it really been more than four months since my last post? My goodness, how is that possible? The months have gone by in a blur! Lots of work, lots of play, but nothing particularly dramatic to report. As summer's heat and humidity gave way to the beautiful crisp days of fall, we got out on the trails as often as possible.

One of my favorite destinations of the past few months was beautiful Crabtree Falls. It was a glorious sight to behold surrounded by the glowing yellow and orange forest. 

Katie has gotten a little too advanced in years to enjoy these hikes, she prefers to stay home now. Her favorite place is in the kitchen waiting for food to appear.

But Lady is still going strong at maybe 8 years, maybe 10 1/2 years of age. She's supposed to be 10 1/2, but I find that hard to believe - she can still jump into the back of the truck with ease.

Back in 2007, the shelter staff told the German Shepherd Rescue that Lady was 4, and her sibling Dixie who had been turned in with her (and was adopted straight from the shelter) was supposedly 1 1/2.

But Lady acted like a 1 1/2 year old then, and she acts more like an 8 year old now, so my theory is some mixed up paperwork! Regardless of her true age, Lady loves hiking and exploring.

Lady's favorite boy came for a visit in September and hit the trails with us, which was great fun. We had a picture perfect day - the only problem was that it wasn't long enough!

Lucy holds down the fort while we're out on these adventures, working with Katie to make sure the house is safe and secure.

We spent a lot of time in Montreat, which is right down the road. I must have a hundred photos of these canoes on Lake Susan in October, but every fall the scene calls out to me and I must attempt to capture it with my lens yet again. After all, the scene is a little different every time I pass by; it's like two snowflakes - no two moments every quite the same!

Will close this brief update post with a photo of Lady, conked out on the living room floor. When Lady is sleeping deeply, after a long day of hiking - and not being her usual vigilant, watchful self - her tongue sticks out a little bit. It always makes me smile. :)

Hope all our blogger friends have had fun this fall, the kind of fun that makes you so "good tired" that your tongue kind of sticks out when you sleep.