old bottle

1. The Deer Hunter was digging a ditch by hand at work the other day in sort of a precarious spot. As soon as he spotted the tiny bottle in the muck he knew I’d love it—and I do.

rocks from warne nc

2. You already know how much Chitter loves the creek that runs through our mountain holler, but the girl can’t stay out of creeks no matter where they are. The three beautiful quartz stones in the photo came out of a creek over in Warne, NC. After cutting, shaping, and polishing the rocks Chitter named them Warne Stone and sold them to a jeweler.

Malabar Spinach on Arch

3. My Malabar Spinach is still going strong. I’m wondering if the first frost will leave it limp, brown, and slimy. I’m still eating it in my daily salad and will be sad when its gone from my yard. I’ve enjoyed the spinach so much that I plan to grow it for the rest of my life.

table singers band

4. Several months ago Paul stumbled on the The Band Table Singers on Youtube. I’ve really enjoyed listening to them. I especially like this video and this one.

Japanese anemone

5. My Japanese Anemone September Charms are almost finished blooming. They multiplied and spread this summer like they’ve never done in all the years I’ve had them. I guess I can chalk that up to another weird thing that happened in 2020. The blooms are a wonderful end to summer.

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18 Comments

  1. Hi Tipper, I want to get to get some Malabar seeds. I love spinach. Is there a site to order these seeds? The Japanese plants are interesting also. You showed some of the polished stones. My daughter asked me to polish stones for her. They should turn out beautiful. I enjoy your Blind Pig and the Acorn very much. Thanks.

  2. Thank you for passing along the Band Table Singers. How great to see young people singing these old style songs. Great voices!

  3. I enjoyed the post very much. Also the BandTable Singers were great as I like southers gospel, country gospel,and bluegrass gospel. Y’all seem to find more things to do, as my town doesn’t do much.

  4. Sometimes stopping and enjoying what some folks may say is “simple things” are the most rewarding. Also enjoyed the The Table singers.

  5. I’m ending my day with this post and must say, what a wonderful way to end day! Loved it all.
    I collect rocks/stones. I need to do with them what Chitter did with hers. I’ll look into that.
    So good to see young people Singing southern gospel! Really enjoyed both songs. Enjoyed it all.
    Yes, has been a weird 2020. Can’t help but wonder what God has on His mind for what’s next.
    Thanks for post!

  6. Oh how I enjoyed the Band! Those young men sound as good as Doyle Lawson’s Band! And I can also hear some Inspiration in there too! Splendid . I also love the Warne stones Chitter found. And is that the spinach on the trellis? Beautiful! The little bottle is a find and those flowers! A great way to end the season. Thanks for sharing Tipper❤️

  7. I’ve been in Southern Gospel most of my life and I really enjoyed the boys. Just curious if you know how they got their name?

  8. I love the love and sweetness of #-1 ♡… and those stones are beautiful , the cutting ,shaping, and polishing just bring out their loveliness more, wonder what type of jewelry piece the jeweler will utilize them for … bet that spinach was tasty, we sometimes even use spinach on sandwiches as a lettuce. Those September Charms are pretty . … Now to head on over to Youtube and have me a listen to the Band Table Singers :)….. it’s another lovely day here cooler and sunny … all the Golden Rods are blooming profusely around here , some say earlier than usual , wondering if it could mean an early winter…but it’s Oct. 1st…. so to me this is about the time they’re everywhere around here. I’ve been reading more about this wildflower, and how people utilize them in different ways. Lots of my family are up at the Land Between The Lakes area camping since the weather has turned beautiful. With all the experiencing of Covid 19 restrictions these past many months , people have been buying up campers, tents, and RV’s as a way to get out of the house and socially distance as safely as they can…. we may pack up and hook up our older pop-up camper and head out too… setting around a blazing campfire is plum pleasurableespecially with marshmallows ,guitars, voices, and lots of love and laughter. the schools here are allowing some kids the choice of attending or still doing school on-line. which has enabled people to still go on camping vacations a little later than usual. Campgrounds have been full to the brim at times.

  9. This is a blog I need to revisit this eve when life quietens. Packed so full of interesting info I noticed two really interesting tidbits! I was amazed at Chitter’s interest in stones, and that she follows up by working with them. I am clueless! We are all so different, as I suppose my favorite interest is family history.
    Also, your patch of spinach reminded me of my wonderful kale patch that survived and provided through the Winter. Be careful, I almost got tired of kale. I love greens, especially spinach. They make amazing spinach and potato soup, Knorr’s Spinach dip, and I have spinach Quesadillas often. I watched beautiful spinach grow up in weeds in the patch of a neighbor gardener at the Community garden, but I could not weed it nor harvest. The spinach just needs to be stir fried and not cooked to slimy, Add it to the tortilla , and sprinkle with cheddar. Sour cream on side. I am totally addicted. I used to add frozen spinach to my spinach dip all the time, just squeezed out any excess water. Also, any stray vegetable when frozen are great added to soup.

  10. It takes someone extra special to think that a bottle full of dirt is a treasure 😉
    (I’m married to one of those who think likewise).

    I enjoyed the Band Table Singers – very refreshing. Thanks for the pointer. The videos you linked to are several years old. Wonder if they still get together? “Jesus is Mine” reminded me of the Inspirations, a group from our area that started performing professionally in around 1966. It was more than the song that reminded me. The boy that plays guitar has an Appalachian accent, much like that of Archie Watkins, who sang tenor/lead for the Inspirations.

  11. Love those Warne stones. Reminds me how I wish I was a good mineralogist. Only one I think I recognize is the white quartz. It was a wish of mine to develop a mineralogy road trip for the North Georgia Mountains. But I think others have already done so. (I noticed the wheat back penny. I have always liked that design better than the Lincoln Memorial one.)

    By the way, has Chitter ever been to the mineral museum at Spruce Pine, NC? It is right by the Blue Ridge Parkway. I was there way back in the 1970’s.

    Your anemone reminds me. I had asked some time ago about ‘artichokes’. Mine are blooming now. They are about 10 feet tall. The single blooms look like golden daisies.

  12. Deer Hunter did good, that’s a pretty old jar. The boys are good and they all seem like sweet boys. Those stones Chitter cut are beautiful and I love that they came out of the creek!
    I’ve eaten that Spinach with you all summer and find it very good and and amazingly productive!
    Sweet flowers!

  13. I just loved your entire blog this morning! The positive was refreshing and it was good news- all of it! Thanks, Tipper! I’ve been going through it this week. A boy I helped raise lost his grandma who raised him. Now I’m going to really have to step up cause he doesn’t have anybody else. He became a good young man. Grandma did a fine job with that young un.

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