Yesterday was National Coffee Day. Did you have your coffee? I don't like the taste of coffee. I never drink it. Joe says it's an acquired taste. He likes coffee -- black.
If you look on the table you can see my little African Violet now has two fully opened flowers.
I have the treat for Fellowship Time today. I was going to make orange and cranberry muffins but I sprained my hand and couldn't mix up the batter. So Joe did it for me. They turned out beautiful and I am looking forward to having one this morning. It so helps to be married to a baker.
I have been craving pumpkin muffins, so I bought some at Shoprite yesterday. There are six, so I have breakfast for the whole week. 😊
I also got these cookies that were on sale. Have you tried the pumpkin spice Milanos?
They are so good. And they are gone. I loved them so much that they didn't last long. So much for cutting down on carbs and sugar. Actually, I checked and the sugar and carbs were pretty low on these cookies.
I don't feel as though I am losing weight, but my jeans were a little loose on me yesterday, so maybe... I am trying hard for my health's sake to lose the weight.
I want to show you this one picture of Jack that I took. He's forever laying with his front left paw curled under. Just that one. He never does this with his right paw. Such a strange one.
I'm going to get off of here and get ready for church. Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday.
Kathy
We don't have colors like this yet. Probably won't for another 4 to 6 weeks. But I love looking at pictures of the beautiful fall colors. I love fall. I just don't like what comes after fall. And you all know what I mean by that! The awful "W" word.
This evening we had a terrible thunderstorm. The lightening was really bad. It scared poor Jack and he ran away. But since it is over, he has come back and is sleeping.
At least tonight's storm wasn't as long or as hard as last night's.
The rain came down so fast and hard. You can see it pouring off of the awning.
I took a couple of videos so you could see how bad it was.
The sound is of the rain just hitting the awning so hard. The wind was terrible too. It was like being in a hurricane.
The rain was so hard it made a lot of noise hitting the pavement too. The yard was flooded and I haven't seen that in years.
At least none came into the house. Bad as it was, it was nothing compared to the poor people in the Carolinas.
It looks like it is foggy here, but that's the rain coming down so fast.
It lasted about 2 hours and then was over. I was so glad it wasn't worse.
In the meantime, look what I found on my African Violet.
It hasn't bloomed in three years and I am beyond thrilled that it decided to do it this year.
I hope there are more flowers coming. But even if there aren't, I'm happy with these.
Hope you all have a wonderful evening and a great day tomorrow.
Kathy
Isn't this a beautiful picture? It is of The Union League in Philadelphia. What is the Union League? The Union League was founded in 1862 to support the Union and the policies of President Abraham Lincoln. It has given support to the American military in all conflicts since the Civil War. Its motto is "Love of Country Leads."
The members of the Union League prize tradition and represent the Philadelphia region's elite in business, education, religion, arts and culture. It used to be exclusively Republican and very much male. No women were allowed to enter the doors. But this is no longer true. It has, however, maintained its identity as distinctly traditional and politically conservative. The club has hosted U.S. presidents, heads of state, industrialists, entertainers and visiting dignitaries from around the world.
The club's building is a classic Second Empire-style structure with a brick and brownstone façade and dramatic twin circular staircases leading to the main entrance. It was designed by John Fraser and completed in May 1865. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The walls and hallways in the building houses the club's collection of art and artifacts showing Philadelphia's impact on America. There is a Heritage Center that stores and displays the extensive collection of Civil War-related documents and objects. There is also a large library housing more than 26,000 volumes for the use of the members.
There are also three restaurants, each with a distinct cuisine.
But this isn't just a social institution. The club has three charitable foundations: The Abraham Lincoln Foundation which educates the public about U.S. history, the Youth Work Foundation which recognizes student role models in schools and the Scholarship Foundation which provides awards and scholarships to deserving students.
Many years ago I was privileged to actually enter this historic building. I was working for a law office and one of the lawyers was a member there. He was able to use part of the building for our Christmas party. There were two rooms for the ladies upstairs where we could freshen our makeup, use the restroom, etc. Being the history major that I am I was in ecstasy looking at all the historical artifacts and documents that were displayed. I thought about all the many people who had been in those rooms. I actually had met a minister who lived at the Union League. Dr. G. Hall Todd was the great-nephew of Mary Todd Lincoln.
So besides the picture for today being a beautiful photo, it has great meaning. Hope you enjoy this glimpse into one of the historic sites here in Philly. Just one of the reasons I love living here.
Kathy
Even though it was pouring rain yesterday, we had one of the best Harvest Days at church that we have ever had. Some years it is just OK and some years it stands out. This is one of those stand out years. And yes, I took pictures to show you.
Several of the men grilled burgers and hot dogs outside (under cover of course) and we ate inside.
Lots of food and several guests.
Alice brought a delicious cake. Unfortunately she was sick and didn't make it to the cookout.
Believe me, if anyone left hungry it was their own fault. Potato salad, pasta salad, hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, green salad, potato chips, pretzels... Everything was so good.
Rick threatened to cover GG in whipped cream. So funny. Especially her face.
The dessert table was very popular. Besides the cake there was rice pudding, cookies, brownies, cupcakes and a blueberry buckle.
Everyone got something to take home.
Unfortunately Joe was still sick so he didn't get to go. I took some food home for him.
Now we move on to our fall activities. It's always busy at church this time of year.
Kathy
Hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday. It is our Harvest Day picnic today at church. I will be taking lots of pictures to show you tomorrow. We were going to hold it outside in the church parking lot/yard but it is raining. So inside it will be. We will still have fun even if we can't grill out or stand there and invite people walking by to come join us.
I know I won't have time to do much today so I am sharing another Sunday magazine with you.
This is taken from HGTV magazine dated April 2016. What do you think of this front door?
Is this a color you would use? I don't think I would, but to each his own. I didn't even see the door number at first. It sort of blends in. Maybe it wouldn't in real life, but it does on this photo. I like the door mat though. So cute. And the flowers are nice. But I just can't see myself coming home to this door each evening.
So what do you think? Is lavender your color of choice? Do any of you have a lavender door?
Kathy
At 9:54 tonight summer will officially be over. It has been a wonderful summer and I will be sorry to see it go. But all good things must come to an end.
I went to the seminar at church today to take pictures of it. I think I got some good shots. But while I was there I took pictures of the fall décor. Several people asked me to show the church, so I am happy to do that.
Flowers on the windowsills.
This one blew on the floor from the great breeze coming in the window so it was put on the bookcase.
Here is the pulpit and communion table at the front of the church.
And the fabric pumpkin and autumn leaves on the back table near the offering box and visitors book.
The only thing I forgot to take was the wreath by the front door. I will try to get that tomorrow to show you. I think the church is looking very pretty.
Have a wonderful night and a blessed day tomorrow.
Kathy
Is this the last day of summer? Or is it tomorrow? Since fall begins at 9:45 p.m. on Saturday maybe tomorrow is the last DAY of summer. I'm going to go with that anyway. It is still warm here (sometimes hot) and no leaves are changing color so it's still summer to me.
Yesterday I had to go to Dollar Tree for some supplies for church. We are having our annual Harvest Day picnic on Sunday and a denominational conference on Saturday. While Joe and I were there, I spotted these dishes. I was just going to get the bowls. Or just the mugs. But we ended up buying the whole set. Well, for $6 we got a set of fall dishes for us. Look how pretty!
Plates:
Mugs:
Bowls:
And they're heavy china too. Not plastic.
They are in the dishwasher now getting nice and clean. I can't wait to use them.
Kathy
Hope you had a lovely day today. I have so many fall pictures that I decided to start showing them to you a few days early. Isn't this wagon just beautiful? I wish I had something like that in my yard.
But I have something else beautiful to show you. It has been five days since Joe sent me the wonderful flowers for our anniversary. Some of them have really opened up and are even more beautiful. And they still smell so wonderful. Here are a few pictures I took of them to show you.
I know cut flowers usually last about a week. Some of the flowers have seen better days so I will start pulling the bad ones, recut others and fill the vase with clean water. Hopefully this will allow me to get two weeks out of them.
Today has been a beautiful, wonderful, warm day. I smell my neighbor lighting up the grill and throwing on some steaks. Summer is going out with just the most awesome weather. I will miss the warm days. But I like autumn too.
Enjoy your evening.
Kathy
I have my new Julep box. I handpicked what I wanted to get this month and I'm really happy with it. Want to see? Of course you do. I'm always excited when I see this box in the mail.
Here's what I got: nail polish, lip balm and a facial mask.
I like this shade of nail polish. It's called Evanne.
The lip balm crayon is "melon".
I have never used a facial mask before. I thought I would try the deep hydration one. I didn't realize it has three steps, takes awhile and is a little more complicated than I anticipated. I will try it though. Maybe it won't be as time consuming as I anticipate. Have any of you tried one of these masks?
I had anticipated being away so I called off Bible Study for this morning. Instead Debbie, Carole and I went to church to straighten up the sanctuary for the denominational meeting we are hosting on Saturday. Summer flowers gone, autumn set up on the windowsills. Autumn wreath in the entrance. Pumpkin and autumn leaves on the table with the bulletins. It looks really nice. I was going to take pictures but forgot. I will get some this weekend to show you.
Have to run now. I am finally making my pork roast for dinner tonight. Debbie and I went to Shoprite after we left church and I got the things I need. It should be good.
See you all soon!
Kathy
