Thursday Thirteen

I absolutely love good costuming, especially in movies. Tomorrow is Hallowe'en and this seemed an appropriate subject. Here are thirteen favorites that I never tire of. Some are represented by more than one photo because I feel they are particularly deserving, and others have only one photo because that's all I could find (today). I didn't realize that I was so fond of red and white, but there it is. I doubt you'll be surprised by any of my choices, but hey, it was fun.
I know I will have to visit this topic again, and perhaps again. And movie sets would be fun, too.

1. Shakespeare In Love




2. Interview with the Vampire



3. Rob Roy



4. Serenity



5. Dances with Wolves



6. Romeo and Juliet



7. The Last Emperor



8. The Great Gatsby



9. Elizabeth, The Golden Age



10. Star Wars (any and all of them)




11. Marie Antoinette



12. The Sting



13. Amadeus

We go adventuring, part 1

When we went to Anna Ruby Falls and Lake Unicoi with Sarah, there was a whisper of Fall in the foliage, so we revisited last Sunday hoping for some more color. The trees around the lake evidently turn more quickly than those at the falls. We were probably a week too early for the maples, but it was all lovely just the same.
I'm glad we had already seen Helen because it was very, very crowded on Sunday. We made a quick stop at Betty's Country Store for picnic supplies and headed to the quiet lake for lunch. There was quite a crowd at the falls, too, but there were a lot of kids, so it was fun.




































Next year, we'll go back for the maples!

Have a great day, baby sister!

We love you!!

Friday Fill-in

1. Right now, I'm feeling icky. Some sort of stomach thing.
2. By the fire with Rick is where I want to be.
3. How does one endure the time left until Obama is president?
4. Practically nothing keeps me on track.
5. Please don't listen to country music.
6. My family fills me with joy. So does the fact that Tampa Bay won game 2!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to feeling better, tomorrow my plans include swapping out summer clothes for winter clothes and Sunday, I want to go back to Helen and look at colorful trees!

Suggestions of slackery!?

The suggester shall remain nameless, but I can tell you that s/he is very "busy" watching Indiana beat Green Bay (so far), and that s/he has no blog. hmph! Not to mention that I BWO!!

When last I blogged, we were looking forward to Sarah's visit. She arrived on September 29 and was my birthday present this year! We had many adventures during her stay. Herewith is our digital diary:

We hiked up the Middle Oconee River in Ben Burton Park about a mile from our house. (The Middle Oconee runs through our backyard, too.)

Sarah and Rick discovered a smallish water snake trying to make a meal of a catfish half its size. We watched for about half an hour then decided to leave it to its lunch and we continued upriver.
About 15 minutes later, I saw a much larger snake with a smaller fish. We stopped to take pictures, but it soon found a place to hide from us and have its lunch in peace.
Rick spotted several shed skins among the river rocks we were walking on.

By now, we were sort of nervous about the snake population and left the river for dry trails--but we couldn't resist going back to check on the progress made by the smaller snake. It hadn't moved, but the fish was definitely lunch!

We checked the Internet when we got home and found that the snakes were harmless (to humans) brown water snakes.

Rick and I “found” the Elder Mill covered bridge while we were house-hunting and we always take visitors to see it. The Georgia historical society plaque tells the story. In addition to the general splendor, we saw crawdads and a few nice-size fish in the clear, cold pools.

Of course, we showed off as much of Athens as we could.

Best of all (I think) was our trip to Helen. It’s a tiny Alpine-flavored town in the Blue Ridge surrounded by some stunning scenery.

Before settling into serious tourist activity in town, we drove a few more miles to Ana Ruby Falls. The walk to the falls is lovely (and easy!) Two large creeks come together right before they spill over the rock face. It must be thunderous in the spring. We had hoped to see some fall color, but the locals said we were a couple of weeks early. We certainly weren’t disappointed by what we saw, though!

On our way back to Helen, we stopped at Lake Unicoi—also very pretty.









Alas, Sarah has returned to San Diego, but there are secrets in the works that may bring her back!