Fresh flowers, fluffy pillows...

Usually I decorate for autumn. I didn't get around to doing much decorating this year, but today I am putting a few festive touches around the place.

Bernie's mom, Barbara is flying in tomorrow (B. himself flies in this afternoon...yeah!) so I am putting a doing a bit of spangle work for the occasion.

A fall bouquet for the coffee table; the coleus are from our yard, the mums from the grocery store florist. I'm going to walk to the woods to get some flying oats to add to the bouquet later....

I went squirrely at the garden center yesterday. The pansies smelled so sweet and the cabbages were so ruffly that I scooped them up, totally forgetting that what I really was shopping for was crotans.

I always plant those for the fall as they last and last and look just right until January.

(Oh, and dill. At last it is cool enough I can plant a pot of dill and not have it turn to seed in a blink of an eye.)

I got the last black pansy. Black as coal I tell you, with just a hint of purple on the edge. A little trick or treat looking, but really, isn't it just amazing?

The lady behind me in line had bought an entire flat of them and loads of lime, coral and purple plants that just looked a tad creepy. They will line her walk way tonight; I'm sure the kids will not even notice, but it was definitely a unique combination.

I haven't a clue where I am going to plant the pansies. The coleus is still doing great, so I'm not going to rip them out yet. I guess I'll just tuck them into the patio pots as best I can. I think the black one is staying inside for a day or so, just so I can admire it. It might just inspire me in my hat making or novel writing. You can never tell what will do the trick.

The guest room is tidied up and cat free again. The dresser was Bernie's as a child, and was refinished by me while I was expecting Laura. It matched her crib perfectly.

The International Quilt Festival is this weekend; I always suggest quilting friends come and stay. No one has taken me up on the offer yet.

I even provide a teddy bear in case we have scary thunderstorms, and a nice desk for jotting thoughts in a travel journal.

Laura is going to move in with us for a few months while she takes an assignment in Houston. When we moved in, the whole house had been done by an interior decorator and all the drapery and wall paper used a specific color scheme of deep reds, olive greens, golden rod, sage and cream.

It was just plain dumb luck that I was able to find bed skirts that matched the guest room curtains, and comforters in the right shade of olive.

The comforters are really too heavy for Houston; I provide a light weight cotton blanket for guests as well, but I'm thinking that Laura and I might re-decorate the room while she is here.

The extra long twin beds can be combined to make a queen sized bed, and are long enough for tall guests to stretch out. We seem to have guest fairly regularly, but there is always openings available on our calendar.

Hint, hint....

I'd better get cracking if I want to get the plants into the planters before it gets too hot outside.

Have a good one!