Patio Pinks

My daughter had some girlfriends over 
on Sunday afternoon for some pizza.


While they were laughing, 
listening to music, 
and catching up on the happenings 
of their first week of school,
I put a little drink station together
for them on the patio.


It was such a nice warm day!

Have to savor the last remaining warm days!

No pics of the girls eating.....
the blogging mom (and dad) 
were both given strict 
instructions not to embarrass!


This time....
we followed the rules.


;)


Oh, to be almost sixteen again.

Work in Progress

It's true....

I am a blogging

"work in progress".

I know I have all the tools

I probably need

 to get the job done,

but there are

still a lot of kinks

I need to work out.

Maybe you can help me with a few

of the things
 that I need to adjust a bit

 and tweak a little. 

Here are the things I need some help with:

1.

How do you keep up

with comments
for all of your blogroll friends?

My sidebar has

the "most recently updated" blogs

shown ...  so when I have time

to sit and visit and leave comments,

I start at the top of that list and work my way down

through each and every blog,

as far as I can get with my time.

 I end up visiting a nice random

mix of posts ..... but is there

a better way to do this?

Can someone tell me

what is the most efficient way

to visit and leave comments
for my dear friends?

2.

Why do some of you have

blogger approval modes on?

It's a hassle and time-consuming when

when you try to leave a comment,

but am I going to be sorry if

I don't enable it on my comment box?

(Will I get a virus or toxic spam?)

3.

When I "Sign In" to the Blogger box....

why can't I stay signed in?

If and when I do, then I am unable to

leave comments for my friends....

what's up with THAT?


UPDATE: Since posting this...
I have taken advice from several of you to 
download Google Chrome. I think you were right,
my Mozilla was running in conflict
with Blogger. This helped tremendously!
Thanks for the suggestion!
Two clicks and it was downloaded. Easy fix!

4.

When someone new becomes a follower,

usually their little photo appears in the top

left hand corner
of the block of photos of my followers.
However, now and then

I find a follower whose photo
gets added somewhere random in the photo box.

Is there a notification place
where I find out
who my newest followers are?

Okay,

that's all for now.

Thanks so much in advance
for your tips and advice you.
I cannot tell you

 how much I appreciate it.

Also...

to those of you super-bloggers
with oodles of faithful followers...
thank you for your comments.

You know who you are....

you amaze me that you find the time

to comment so often.

Not sure when you all sleep,
but I admire your diligence and your passion
for the blogging friendships
that you have and maintain!

And finally...

if you are following me and I have not

followed you back, please see issue #4!

Just let me know

and I will follow you

as soon as I get your note.

I know I may not say it enough

but I love you guys!

xoxox~

Alison

August slips away

There is a chill in the air

and it seems that summer

is starting to cool down

to allow for fall

to take her place.

We've been lucky enough to have

two or three rains

almost every week this summer

to keep things green.

I have never been so grateful for them

until I read so many of your blogs

where you have shared your desperate needs

for rain in your gardens.

It's wondeful to see what blooms

from month to month in the summer.

Just as one flower goes to seed

another one begins to blossom nearby.

Front entry

"Let me enjoy
this late-summer day of my heart
while the leaves are still green
  and I won't look so close as to see
 that first tint of pale yellow slowly creep in.

 I will cease endless running
and then look to the sky
ask the sun to embrace me
and then hope she won't tell
of tomorrows less long than today.

Let me spend just this time
 in the slow-cooling glow of warm afternoon light
and I'd think I will still have the strength
for just one more last fling of my heart."

- John Bohrn, Late August

I am linking to Honey's 
brand new party:

http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/2011/09/potpourri-friday-party-1-and-giveaway.html

Local Artist's Retreat

Have you ever heard of an

American Sculptor and Artist

named Sylvia Shaw Judson?




Probably not, but you may have seen her work.

This is the summer house
of Sylvia and her family.
Her father, Howard Van Doren Shaw,
a famous Chicago architect built it.

Although you may never have heard

of her, you may have seen her very famous

sculpture called "Bird Girl".

This sculpture was used for the cover

of the book titled

"Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"

Do you recognize it?

This is a copy of Sylvia's original sculpture that sits on the property of this lovely estate.

This may be  a gorgeous old home,

but now it is something much more.

Sylvia's sculptures are all over the property grounds.

One sweeter than the next.

Sylvia Shaw Judson

(1897 -1978)

You can visit Sylvia's home, Ragdale,

and the quiet forest

and prairie lands that is sits upon.

It is now an artist's sanctuary.

Visual artists, writers, composers,

and interdisciplinary artists

from every state and around the globe find

what they need to create new work:

time and space.

The property is comprised

of many buildings, barns and cottages.

You can rent a room (for a very nominal fee)

and use the art and music facilities

throughout the compound

during your stay there.

It is peaceful haven

that will inspire your

inner artist.

A magical place to visit

or to stay when you

are in need of a quiet

artistic retreat.

For more information,

you can link to their site:

www.ragdale.org