The Butler Carillon

I have a new favorite place. It is Butler University campus, especially Holcomb Gardens and the Carillon Bell Tower located by the reflecting pond. The reflecting pond is home to ancient koi that can been seen lurking just under the surface, casting a golden glow wherever they are. 

 The Carillon is at the top of a long stairway made of Indiana limestone. We walked around the pond and then up the steps. Every hour the Carillon plays the first few notes of "Back Home Again in Indiana", and then chimes the hour. 

On Sunday I took my two middle grand children to my music group's Christmas party and afterwards we stopped by the Butler University campus. It was a wet and chilly day and we had to jump over mud puddles, but we had such a good time. 

I took pictures and we played hide-and-go-seek around the concrete towers below the Carillon. I told them that the chimes would ring if we stayed long enough, and sure enough, at 5:00, they rang! It was very exciting. 

A self-portrait of the three of us on this happy day.

Biggest and Littlest

It seems little Nolan really likes his biggest cousin, Gavin.

He goes right to him and likes to attack Gavin's face.

Gavin allows the attack, seems to think it's pretty funny.

Gavin is 15 now, and Nolan 7 months.

Nolan loves to bounce!

Okay, maybe it's time to give him back.

My Front Porch

One of my goals this summer was to fix up my front porch, and I pretty much accomplished that!

I found this wicker chair at the Vintage Arts Marketplace, and recovered a cushion I already had.

This butterfly chair used to be purple corduroy. I recovered it in recycled blue buffalo plaid fabric on one side and polka-dots on the other.

I've had this birdcage for years. I wanted to find a chandelier to hang on the front porch, but had a sudden vision one day of the birdcage made-over to be a sort of chandelier. I found the prisms at a craft store in the wedding department, added a votive candle, and hung it up.

I spray-painted my old wicker furniture, and recovered the cushions with recycled fabric.

I also painted the trim around the ceiling and all of the wrought iron, and pressure-washed the concrete floor. What a difference!

I've always loved the mail slot on the house, but it needed to be enhanced - an easy job!

Late Summer Flower Garden

Today is October 9th, and the seasons are a'changin' outside my back door. A couple of weeks ago I walked around the yard and took pictures of some of the flowers and scenes in my yard.

Beautiful coleus.

Elephant ear. I will soon need to dig up the bulb and replant in the Spring.

I love the bright blue of this salvia.

Rosemary. I love to give it a pinch as I walk by.

This poor little African impatient never did bloom this summer, but still looks pretty next to my geodes.

Hollyhocks. I remember hollyhocks growing wild in the alley when I was a child.

Love this picture of mums about to bloom.

Birdbath.

A knot on the sweet gum tree.

Butterfly bush.

Hydrangea.

The Harp

A couple of weeks ago, I took my two middle grandchildren to an event at the Benton House, a historical mansion in a nearby neighborhood. As soon as we got out of the car, we could hear the beautiful notes of a harp floating through the air.

And I think the music set the scene for our visit that day. We toured the Benton House and visited the exhibits set up on the lawn. And then the kids decided we should take some pictures.

We found a little garden and they very solemnly posed for me.

I think it was the music in the air. We felt like we were in a movie. We were all kind of slowly strolling around to the music, just enjoying the day.

This one found a perfect place for an angelic photo!

And this one insisted on a glass of lemonade, but all she really wanted was the strawberry at the bottom.

Who's that knocking at the door?

And as we were leaving, we noticed a man in the tree! Really!

It was SUCH a nice day!       

Antique Show and Flea Market Extravaganza

Today I drove to Springfield, OH, to see what all the hullabaloo was about this antique show. It was a nice little drive and I got lots of ideas there. The show itself was huge - held at their fairgrounds. Here are a few pictures I took with my phone. Some are kinda funny.
Oh, one is for Nellie - the velvet pumpkins!

What We Did On Our Summer Vacation

Well, the school bus has cometh. Our summer adventures are over.

This summer I agreed to watch my two middle grandchildren a couple of days a week. We were worried about being bored, so we made a list of things to do.
SUMMER 2012
WE WILL:
go to movies
go on picnics
go to the playground
tye-dye
go canoeing
play tennis
etc etc etc

Here are some of the things we did.

Tennis!

We had a paddleboat adventure. The boat we rented was broken and we pedaled and pedaled, but the boat just went in circles. Luckily I had my Smart Phone and was able to call for help. We were towed in and it was very exciting.

Naptime.

DS time.

Doing the dishes.

LEGOS!

We also went to several movies, had a picnic or two, and rolled down the hill at Ellenberger Park. We had a wonderful day tye-dying, but it was so messy I couldn't take any pictures.

So now school has begun and I'm feeling kind of lonely for my little companions. I think we will all remember this summer.