We've been adopted!!!

This little gray furball showed up in our driveway last Monday night. I heard it meowing outside and got a flashlight out to locate it. The little gal spent the night on the side porch, and didn't leave the area during the next day and night that she spent ouside our bedroom window.

Lynne finally gave in and offered her a little food from our other cats, and she ate like she was hungry, but not starving. We waited until really cold (for the time of year) weather showed up on Friday, and decided to let her in the house. So,
Skittles has now officially adopted us as her caretakers. She will fit in well with our other 3 gray cats... maybe even blend in!
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Saturday, I went and watched our youngest grandson, John, play in his Civitan League Flag Football game. It's the 2nd time I've watched these little 1st graders play, and have to admit, it's a blast! John offered up some poses between plays, was on defense a lot of the time (they play for fun and don't keep score), and I was lucky enough to watch him score a touchdown!!!










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As Lynne said in her post, we've been pretty busy the last few weeks giving our home a makeover, starting with our master bathroom and bedroom. I've been doing the trimwork, and Lynne and I have shared in the painting. Lynne's sister, Ruth, was down last week, and was a big help with some of the finishing touches. Here's some before/after pictures of both rooms.


The Bathroom.....











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The Master Bedroom.....
















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Fall has brought some surprises out in the gardens. A camellia is blooming early, and there's lots of holdouts that have bloomed long outside their normal season, like a larkspur that should have been done in June, black-eyed-susans, several hollyhocks on a reblooming kick, a daylily, balloon flowers, cleomes and cosmos, all pleasing us with an extended season.








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Two weeks ago, when Kevin, Jenn, and Celeste were down for a visit, Celeste had just been walking for almost a week!!! I checked the timestamps on these 2 pictures, and Celeste is really, really fast when it comes to getting out her toys :) There's less than a minute between these 2 pictures!





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I stopped by for our grandson John's birthday party last weekend, and of course, he made sure I took all the pictures he wanted, so here they are ;) He also wanted to make sure his pets had their pictures taken, so he got his big brother Brad to help out.







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One thing I've noticed since moving away from the coast. There's ALWAYS something going on in the small towns around here, on the East and Southeast side of Raleigh. Festivals, gatherings, antique shows, the various Farmer's markets. Two weeks ago, the Fall Fest in Clayton had a car show, and I drove in to town with camera in hand. Here's a couple of my favorites... I hope my family recognizes one of these cars (HINT --- it's the YELLOW/WHITE ONE) :)





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I don't know why the cats insist on helping out all the time





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Now, just some random shots from around the yard....












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The veggie garden is still doing it's part, still offering us the fixins for fresh salads


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We hope you've enjoyed your visit to our little piece of the Heartland. Please, leave us a note so we know you stopped by.

Tom