There's No Place Like Home...

Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening (as the case may be)!

It seems like forever since I last said that here...



Boy, it sure feels good, too! :-)



Thank you so much for your encouragement and your prayers. They were an invaluable life ring, both to Mr. Magpie and to me...



As many of you know, my husband had kidney surgery, and while we have had our share of trying (and even scary) moments...



There were light moments, too...



Like when Mr. Magpie, who had been a prisoner indoors for several weeks, asked upon escaping outside, "What on earth is that on top of their [our neighbors'] car?"



My response, "Is it Maxi?"



"No," said Mr. Magpie, "there's something yellow all over it!"



"Oh, those are rain tree blossoms!" I replied.



To which an incredulous Mr. Magpie mused, "You mean, it's fall... already???"



I had to laugh because despite the fact that it was nearing the first of October, fall in Florida doesn't necessarily correspond to fall in the rest of the country...



We do things a little differently here...



We Floridians have a tendency to march to the tune of our own drummer...



If you look at the plants...



With their lush...



Verdant foliage...



And the banana trees...



And the flowers in full bloom, such as these impatiens...



Or the pintas...



Resplendent...



In their various hues...



And populated by bug-eyed...



Bug-eating...



Silly...



Little reptiles...



And busy bumble bees...



Or if you spy stray vinca...



And even a wayward marigold or two...



Popping up in unexpected places like in the middle of a brick driveway...



Or right out of the pavement in the street...



The love children of drifters...



Growing up beneath the flower beds...



You might well think it's spring or summer...



But it's the subtle changes, like the green china berries...



The purple beauty berries...



And the golden blossoms of raintrees...



Pointing skyward on branches...



Or sprinkled earthward, below...



That herald fall's arrival in the Sunshine State...



Our skies offer no hint...



As they are generally a nice shade of blue...



And if the subtle changes in the landscape fail to let you know it's fall, you might know it's fall when some perfect stranger leaves a fall centerpiece on the carriage curb that leads into your front walkway!



A random act of kindness or litter, depending on your taste... ;-)



Speaking of random, I happened to toss a random photograph into the last post, a photograph of a pair of Paul Frank sock monkey pajamas...



I have to say that I got tickled at some of the comments (off and on the blog) where it was assumed those pajamas belonged to Mr. Mapgie...



Of course, there's no way to know unless you meet him in person, but Mr. Magpie is about the straightest arrow that ever came out of the quiver, and his wardrobe reflects it at all times...



Both day...



And night...



See what I mean? ;-)



No, the pajamas in question are actually mine, and unfortunately, they are a little, shall we say, snug??? A bit too much stress-eating of late...



Hence, I'm on a fall diet so I can fit into the pajamas by spring! Nothing like a little lead time. ;-)



Now, before this post stretches into next spring, let me tell you some EXCITING NEWS. The winner of the $50 gift certificate is... drum roll, please...

CEEKAY of the blog Thinkin of Home!

So, Ceekay, come on down and claim your $50 gift certificate from little ole me! Woot! Woot! Woot!



I wish I had gift certificates for all of you, and if I win the Lottery, I will do just that! Remind me when I win, okay? ;-)



In the interim, here's wishing each of you a wonderful day. Thank you for visiting me, and I eagerly look forward to visiting you in return! :-) I also look forward to visiting my friend Sally for Blue Monday, and I hope you will join me in joining her and the other Blue Monday participants by clicking right HERE. Sally, I think I have enough blue in Mr. Magpie's wardrobe, let alone the blue skies, to qualify, don't you??? ;-)



Oh, and if you're wondering (and several people have asked) who that most adorable smiling baby in my header is, well, she's my newest little great niece, Miss E. The shot was taken by the hospital photographer shortly after she was born, a little premature, but smiling all the same and happy to be here!



Is there anything cuter than a smiley-faced, sleeping baby? I think not.

Well, maybe my ruby slippers...



Nah!

Warmly,

Mrs. Magpie (Sheila)

P.S. I'm so far behind on my blogging that I think the best thing to do is just to pick up with your most recent posts, or I will be here until this time next year. Sort of like swimming against the tide...



And if by some chance I'm late making my rounds, it's because we are having some MAJOR computer issues. Hopefully they will be rectified soon. In the mean time, I'm looking forward to seeing what you're doing! :-)

Oh, and I'm sorry I hit "Publish" instead of "Save Now." I was trying to check for spelling errors, and the hour was late! OOPS! So if you have two posts from me on Google Reader, you'll know why.