I Survived!

I just want to let everyone know that I survived Irene without any damage to my home.  I had lots of limbs, leaves and debris to pick up yesterday, but nothing major.  My electricity is still out as of 10:30 a.m. (since 9:00 Saturday night) Monday.   The winds subsided around 12:00 a.m. Sunday morning.  It was a very long evening! There are so many homes in my area with trees fallen on their roofs, etc. that I certainly can live with the inconvenience of my power being off without complaining.

Waiting for Irene

I've stocked up on water, dog food, cat food and people food.  After some persuading, Lily (my garden lady) is safe in the dining room.  Flash lights and lanterns are sporting new batteries.  So, now we wait!  My area is under "tropical storm watch" which is less severe than "hurricane watch".  We're expecting 4 to 6 inches of rain and heavy winds in Central Virginia.   I fear fallen trees on my house after the ground is saturated with rain.  I wish we could fast forward to Sunday, but we can't, so I'll make myself busy and say a prayer for everyone up the East Coast!

300th Post Giveaway!

I'm getting very  close to my 300th post and it's time to  have a giveaway.  I haven't decided what the gift will be, but I promise you'll like it.  I do know it will include a bird's nest pendant.

Anyone who leaves a comment on this post before August 30th will be included.

Button Necklace

You all know about my love affair with buttons.  Well, I recently found a great tutorial for a button necklace on a blog called Lilly Pilly.   Jo, who writes this wonderful blog, lives in Australia. 


Even though I rarely wear jewelry, it was fun making these necklaces.  What do you think?

The buttons for the necklace below are made from  old  iredescent mother-of-pearl.

By the way, Ellena Elizabeth, from another beautiful Australian blog, commented that Lilly Pilly is a native Australian  plant used for hedges in their country.

Lilly Pilly

Sarah's Key

I read  Sarah's Key last winter and went to see the film yesterday.  It was excellent!  Even though the book is fictional, it is based on a sad, dark time in Paris in the 1940's.  The story is very moving and the acting is superb!  Be sure you take your tissues!

And, I had quite a once in a lifetime (I hope) experience today.  The state of Virginia experienced the largest earthquake since the 1800's.  I was dusting  in my dining room and every piece of china in the cabinet started to rattle.  At first I thought it was a large plane since I'm not  far from a major airport.  But I soon realized what was happening.  It actually felt like my house was moving.  There were no injuries or major damages in my area. However. the epicenter was about 50 miles away and there were damages reported in that county but no major injuries.  Several historic brick structures were damaged significantly.

Lily Has a New Dress

If you're visiting my blog for the first time, Lily is a wooden lady who stands in my garden to greet visitors and watch over the fairies.  She's very elegant and loves getting a new outfit about once a month from the "Boutique of Goodwill"

There's not much blooming in my yard right now but I thought you'd enjoy these pics of my little cowboy boots  running over with "hens and baby chickens".  Aren't they  adorable?

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, Vienna, VA

I hope you'll enjoy these photos my friend took this week when he and his beautiful granddaughters visited Meadowlark Gardens.

This giant hornets' nest was attached to a tree limb hanging over the lake.