confessions of a thinkaholic: Sundays With Buddha

Hello, Everyone!

Happy Sunday. I have really been working on a lot of projects, lately. I had promised a long time ago several posts ago to share the link to my SmugMug account so you could check out more of my photos. I am by far NOT a professional photographer and I use a very modest camera, for now *hint hint*, but I try to capture those moments that make me remember the beauty of the world around us; one of our greatest gifts. I've been participating in Instagram recently and I am amazed at the talent and appreciation for beauty that is shared by so many. If you are on Instagram and would like to see what I've been up to, follow along with me at @nsteindesign.

I still have so many photos of the Smokies to edit and upload, but there are plenty in there, now, as well as many other galleries of photos. I'd love it if you could check out my SmugMug, and you can just by clicking this link!: http://nsteindesign.smugmug.com/

Well, I really do have a lot of projects that I want to start on and share with you. I'm hoping this rainy chilly weather here in (northern) Southern Illinois warms up and dries up so I can get started!

I hope you have a great 'rest of the weekend'. Thank you, in advance for stopping by my sister blog, "Confessions", I hope you enjoy the new series!

confessions of a thinkaholic: Sundays With Buddha: Week One "As a mother would risk her life to protect her child, her only child, even so should one cultivate a limitless heart with ...


Nanette

Winter shots and January outdoor pillow covers

Well, hello, there!

How have you been? Surviving these cold winter months (if you live in that climate, that is)? How about the start of a new year?

Well, I guess it's sort of the end of the start of the new year, huh? I, like many of you, have been busy, as always, but I've still been working on some projects. I can't wait to get started on the really BIG ones, though. I've got some fabulous chairs to refinish, some tables, a bench...a lot on our plates, all while Noah is still remodeling and refurbishing things in the house, like the 116 year old staircase we are re-doing (we wouldn't be if it hadn't already been done with boards, not stair treads, in the 80's). So there is a lot of measuring and cutting going on behind me right now, as a matter of fact...

Anyway, I finally got my winter outdoor pillow covers done, almost just in time to change them for Valentines day, but I finished them Monday. Of course, like all my others, they are playing double-duty. I'm showing you the January/winter side now, and will reveal a surprise in February.

I am hopefully also finishing up some stenciled throw pillows for my couch later today, and I will share those with you soon, as well.

So, I pretty much made these the same way I made all of the others in my Fresh outdoor Autumn porch decor post. I just lay my pillows onto the fabric I want to use and trace with a disappearing ink pen. Before I sew them together I figure out what I want to decorate the front with and assemble all of that on and sew that to the face of the pillow, then I sew them up leaving a very sturdy hemmed opening at the bottom to remove the pillow for storage. I like to use twine for the closures and just hand sew knotted pieces of that evenly spaced to tie shut.

*(View the photos in a separate gallery by clicking on them for better views and to page through like a slide show.)


First I wanted to share with you a few shots I got after the rain froze on our greenery...so pretty...

Now for the pillows...

I wanted to do a white on white neutral pillow using a natural winter theme. I took some of my greenery from the baskets outside (I've left all of the greenery minus the Christmas decor for January in the hanging baskets outside). None of it dried out as of yet due to the rain and soil that's in them, so I had nice flexible branches. I had never done this before so I practiced a little. I definitely wanted the stem of the branch to be in the image and wanted it in white so I poured out some white acrylic craft pain and sponged it on. The first try dried too quickly, as acrylic paint tends to do, so I didn't have the greatest transfer of my image. I mixed in a little water and worked quickly and I think it turned out pretty good. It's a little heavy on the paint in spots, but I decided I kind of liked that. It has a very organic handmade look. Just what I was trying to achieve, really.

I wanted a little more than just plain raw-edged Osnaburg as my decoration, so I decided to pull out some white satin ribbon and detail the edges. I glued the ribbon on, tucking the ends for a tailored look, using Liquid Stitch (it really works!) and let that dry. When that was dry, I decided I wanted a little more of a natural earthy feel to off-set the delicacy of the ribbon, so I pulled out the twine that I was planning on using as the tie closures and measures four pieces long enough to tie together into knots at all four corners. I glued the knots down a bit and let them dry for a few, then sewed each one on with a zig-zag setting on the machine using a neutral colored thread. (I know, I know...a bit more trouble than I thought, especially for an outdoor pillow, but I had a vision, ok? :)

As for the vintage toolbox and lantern...I just left the greenery and pine cones in and left it natural, neutral and wintry.

I just thought it was important this year to keep something fresh and colorful (or natural) on our porch even in these winter months. It gets dark so quickly, and is so cold some days you don't even want to go outside. So, when we do have to go out, and while we are longing for warmer days, it's nice to come home to a welcoming porch, I think!

How have you been beating the 'winter blues'?  Any projects in mind? Anyone out there lucky enough to be taking a vacation somewhere sunny and warm?

Well, that's it for now, but I've got some Valentines projects under way and I can't wait to share them with you! Do you have any special plans in mind for the Most Romantic Day of the Year?

As always, thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend...(and don't forget to stop by my sister blog confessionsofathinkaholic-ns.blogspot, I've just posted some new stories to warm you up)!

Nanette

Our First Snow

Hey, everybody!

Did you make it?

Through the holidays, I mean?

I know this post is a little late, but better late than never, I guess. I just wanted to share some photos of our first snow that we got a few days before Christmas. It didn't stick around long, but was so pretty coming down. That Thursday was pretty blustery. We had to run out to do some last minute errands, and it was so cold and windy. By the time we got back home, though, this is what we found. It was a great day to cozy in and watch movies...

At the time I'm posting this, we're due for another round of snow. So glad we're staying in this weekend!

Have a great one!

Nanette

Breakfast with a Magestic Fellow

Happy Sunday, Everyone!

The other morning while I was driving home from work along the Great River Road I was keeping an eye out for Eagles. This is the time of year when they arrive to nest along our branch of the Mississippi River. I took my camera along with hopes of capturing at least one photo of the iconic bird that perches in this one tree close to the river. He (or she) is not in a nest, but out hunting and keeping an eye on the river and river bank, I suppose. Well, he wasn't there but I noticed a car pulled over on the opposite side of the highway. I turned around and pulled over and spotted this guy having his breakfast.

He has a huge fish in his grip and I now wish I had video of this but I was just too afraid to switch modes on my camera for fear of missing a good shot. I don't have anything fancy, just a Nikon Coolpix L810. It's just more or less a point and shoot, but it has a 26x zoom and quite a bit of great settings for a beginner. Eventually I would love a more professional camera, but I need to learn how to use it before I spend a lot of money on one.

I wasn't really sure if this was a male or female, so I went online last night and found some awesome YouTube videos from a live feed of Eagle watching. You can view the ones I watched to figure out this ones sex here and a very endearing one of a mama Eagle trying to feed her very independent three day old Eaglet here. But be careful...these amazing animals are addicting to watch!

Anyway, I thought this one was quite small when I was watching him, and believed him to be a young male. After watching the very good video above, I believe that to be the case. He's eating alone, too, not taking his prey to a nest, though I don't know if that even has any significance. Males are about 30% smaller than females, have brighter heads and more distinct eyes (or 'guy-liner' as the first video above will tell you). My camera zoom was maxed out, or I would have a much closer look...  

(you can click on the first picture and be taken to a gallery of the pics in this post and they are bigger)

Look at that! This was such an awesome experience. I know of a place nearby where a family has always nested for all the years that I've lived here. I've not checked this year yet, and I know my camera probably will not be able to zoom as close as I would like, but if I get that sweet little family, I'll be sure to post something about them!

These next two are blurry, he was moving so fast I didn't have time to focus. When he had enough fish (or maybe enough of our watching, perhaps) he took off out of that tree and flew right by us over the highway and out over the river. Now, that, I wish I really had on video!

I hope you liked this post, and it encourages you to go out into your own local environment. There is so much to see and learn from nature, as you'll find from the Eaglet video. It really is so sweet. If you have any Eagle watching experience or information to help enhance our viewing experience, please comment! I would love to hear from you!

Have a great rest of the weekend and a fabulous week!

Nanette

Our last hiking day in Tennessee, last night of vacation

 Well, this is the last post of our vacation. I'm so glad you came along on this "little" tour. On our last day we decided to have an easy day of serene walks and nature hikes and taking pictures. We started out in the morning at Grotto Falls. It was a 1 1/5 mile hike up the mountainside. We started in the crisp dry leaves, found many small streams along the way,and by the time we made it to the falls, we ended up in the slushy snow. The beginning of the trail head was typical forest. Large rocks, huge trees, fallen mossy logs. As we ascended the mountain, it got colder, muddier, and we started to see snow. By the time we got to the falls, there was quite a bit of snow and you had to climb boulders and roots on a very narrow path. It was well worth it, though, and people of all walks of life were visiting that day.

(Remember, you can click the first picture and be taken to a gallery for full size photos that you can scroll through with your arrow buttons. My pics should be bigger, and I'm figuring out why Blogger will only let me do the first two. Bear with me, we'll get it :) 



Large boulders at the entrance of the trail head. Look at the long veins of quartz running through this one. These were all over the mountains. So beautiful.

I fell in love with these mossy logs, stumps and rocks. This is a mere few of the pictures I took.

This water fall was accessible from the back. I took so many photos on that day. Where I'm standing for this photo, is the actual trail. Narrow and very snowy. Everyone was courteous and took turns in this great spot to take their pictures.

Down the road from the trail head to the falls, there was another homestead. These little houses were along the roads in certain areas and just there for you to visit and explore as you wish.

After we stopped by the homestead, we decided to take a hike up the Trillium Gap Trail. Just inside the trail head we came upon this little graveyard. It had this lovely mossy stone wall around it, just a very interesting find.

Well, we walked and walked. It really was a pretty hike, but eventually we realized we were really getting far in. The trail was 2.7 miles in and 2.7 miles back. We had had a plan for nice, slow picturesque nature walks, and didn't want to spend all day on this one hike. Boy, we really moved double-time back out of that trail. It was very strenuous challenging and adventurous.

 Once we were back out, almost two hours later, we stopped and took some pictures on the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.

This bridge was right close by. It's an actual fishing stream, and we saw two young boys gearing up to do just that.

The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is a long one-way loop in to many trail heads, including Grotto Falls. It is designed for you to enjoy a nature trail from your car, with pull-overs for exploring. And, that we did. From the car through the trees I saw a large cascade (almost waterfall). We found a pull-over close by and noticed that their was a trail going way down to these massive rocks with cascades and streams. So, of course, down we went. It was really beautiful.

This is just some of what we saw while we were down there.

Later that evening, once we got closer to the Gatlinburg Welcome Center, we found this very cool bridge and, of course, I needed a picture of it.

There were quite a few more lovely walks we took just up until dark. I will post everything to Smugmug (a photo-keeping site) very soon, now that I've finished this series. Thank you so much for sharing in our adventures to Tennessee. We truly loved it, and I hope you enjoyed these posts as much as I did remembering our trip while posting them.

At the time I'm writing this, Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, next week, in fact. I'll have a post about that, and something for my other blog confessions of a thinkaholic about Giving Thanks and having Gratitude.

I truly appreciate everyone who is reading. and wish you a fantastic, abundant ThanksGiving and hope you will be able to share it with your family, friends, and loved ones.

Have a great day!

Nanette

Gatlinburg on Dwellable

A breathtaking sunrise, and a trip to Cade's Cove

Well, since the weather cleared, the mountains were in full view. We woke up early so that we could see the sunrise, and get started on our adventure for the day to Cade's Cove.

Here, the sun makes it's entrance...

               I couldn't believe I was actually witnessing such a beautiful occurrence. It was one of the many highlights of our day.
         

Ok, so, we did go to the Pancake Pantry. I ordered the Black Walnut Orange pancakes. These were buttermilk pancakes covered in my favorite...black walnuts, and served with a little pot of orange syrup. No butter needed, so I left that on the side of the plate. They had powdered sugar and obviously made with love, because they were delish! Pancakes aren't complete without bacon, for me, anyway ;) And, of course, a cup of hot creamed tea. These were the best thing ever! And, no, there was NO way I could finish. Noah had the Spice pancakes. They tasted like Christmas morning, he said.

 On our way to Cade's cove, some people were pulled over taking pictures, and when I saw of what, I got one, too. I really am not sure what this bird is, but I'm thankful I could zoom in and capture it on camera.

    Then, this little guy scampered across the road...

Cade's Cove is one big loop of a road, one way. There are several places to stop and explore, views to take in, and churches to visit. Here are just a few to give you a taste of the little village that used to be inhabited.

Cade's Cove Primitive Baptist church. I took some photos of some of the tombstones here. They were well protected and roped off, as they were so old. Most were pre-civil war.

                                I thought this was most interesting...

                 One of many Daddy Long Legs visiting to cemetery, as well.

            As we moved on down the road, several people were stopped again to get pics of this majestic fellow. He was completely unperturbed.

The second church we visited.

I thought this was a great photo op, not crowded at all. I got quite a few pictures inside this church. I loved the colors and light spillage.

  A view from a parking area to the entrance of a hike to more houses.

This is the beginning of the hike to those houses.

While in the Smoky Mountains, I fell in love with moss. I have quite the collection of mossy logs, rocks, and bridges. I found it to be so magical and beautiful.

Here is a little bridge you had to cross a little stream to continue on to the house.

An old chicken coop

I love how all the primitive houses and buildings have large stones to level them out. The mountains provide for very un-level ground. You had to improvise way back then to build here.

 On another drive and short walk, we came upon this little village. It has a working Grist mill and several out buildings and very old farm equipment. I got some great ones of that for Smugmug.

The working grist mill. There was a man inside, you could actually purchase wheat and corn flour from him. He had it set up inside with examples of the types of grain and what the result of the milling was.

On our drive out of Cade's Cove, we happened upon one of the 'pull-overs'. There are designated parking areas so that you can get out and explore. This is one of the cascades in that area. There are so many of these around, you don't even have to hike.

                            Noah pointed out this little guy basking in the sun on the rock I was perched on while taking pictures.

    On our way out of the area, look what we found right on the side of the road. A posse of turkeys.

     They did not care about us at all...they must not know Thanksgiving is coming...(or maybe everyone around here eats Tofurkey?)

And, finally, back "home" again. Just look at that sun setting on the mountain. As beautiful an ending as it was a beginning.

Thanks so much for reading today. I hope you'll come back for more, because there is so much more to share!

Have a wonderful day!

Nanette

Pigeon Forge on Dwellable