Cold Day Delivery to Cornelia, GA

Main Square in Cornelia, GA

It was 11 degrees in our Georgia neighborhood this morning and VERY COLD! Of course, not as cold as many other parts of the country (I am thinking of family and friends in Falls Church, VA, Staten Island, NY, Chicago, IL and Cable, WI - ouch). But cold is cold. We delivered a lovely set of refurbished chairs to Cornelia, GA - about an hour north of the city.

I don't think I've been to Cornelia before (I am sure my sister Ellie's ears are burning - she is a "Cornelia" named after our Dutch paternal grandmother).  I checked out the Cornelia website and found the following - love the reference to the moonshine still downtown:

At the close of the Civil War in 1865, the area where Cornelia is located was a typical mountain forest. The spot was so well secluded that a moonshine still was operated without interference at the site of what is now the center of downtown. Cornelia was first a settlement around 1860.  It was situated near the old boundary line between the Cherokee and Creek Indian tribes. In 1872, workers of the Charlotte-Airline Railroad (later Southern Railway) invaded the virgin forest. link to website

 We enjoyed our "tour" of the area which did not take long. Despite the cold, it was a beautiful day to drive around and check out the local sites.

My client's home (graceful Southern two-story home with extensive acreage and a nice pool area in the back) was located a few miles outside of the city. I always like meeting new clients and hope I can make this little trip again soon! She did buy one of my recent favorites - a chalk pain project using chairs bought during a recent trip to Destin, Florida. I love how they turned out and they will enjoy their new keeping room setting!

Buying Day Lilies at Gibbs Gardens in Ball Ground, GA

Tim at the entrance to gardens

On Sunday, my husband, Tim, and I got out of the house early to travel to Gibbs Gardens in Ball Ground, GA link to website and visit the gardens there before the day became too hot. We have four season memberships to these great gardens and had not yet visited the summer gardens.

Upon entry, we noticed that they were selling day lilies from their garden and were instantly interested. Many years ago, we had bought several "bucket loads" of newly separated day lilies from a nearby neighborhood seller. He had basically turned his entire back yard into a habitat for day lilies and had huge, beautiful blooms that are just not available in nurseries. The colors and sizes were phenomenal. We planted them at our last home and enjoyed them immensely. Our big mistake was not taking some cuttings along to our new house. This particular seller went out of business long ago and our current day lily stock is prolific but fairly pedestrian. SO ... these lilies looked pretty good to us.

We bought a dozen and had a very hard time trying to decide which ones to go with - too many great choices. We have now carted them home and will be trying to find that perfect spot (sunny and observable). Who knows, we may be back for more!

Cart with dozen plants

A Visit to Georgia's Governor's Mansion

Walking toward the Governor's Mansion on West Paces Road in Buckhead.

Yesterday was a cool but beautiful day in the Atlanta area of Georgia. We have had so much rain and dreary weather, it was glorious just to get out of the house. A group of neighborhood friends and I traveled to the Governor's Mansion in the tony Buckhead area of the city and took in a delightful tour of the public spaces and holiday decorations.

The Governor's Mansion is the official home of Georgia's 82nd Governor, Nathan Deal, and his wife, Sandra. The Mansion, a three floor, 30-room, Greek Revival style home built in 1967, stands on approximately 18 acres in northeast Atlanta. It was designed by Georgia architect Thomas Bradbury and officially opened on January 1, 1968. link to website

We joined a group of people at the front door waiting to get in and enjoyed looking over the grounds.

The pace of the tour was very leisurely which worked out fine on such a great day!

We were VERY impressed meeting the Governor's wife and she welcomed everyone entering the home - what a nice touch!

One of two trees in the formal dining room.

Mantle in the formal dining room - we loved the huge cones in the fireplace well.

The trees were decorated with many natural items such as these cones and the dried hydrangeas. All the trees were natural resulting in a wonderful woodland smell throughout the house.  

Gingerbread house in the rear of the foyer. 

Colorful formal living room.  I, of course, loved the chairs! 

Extra tall and broad breakfront - one of the nicest pieces in the house. 

More great chairs!

A collection of antique baby carriages were shown throughout the house. All the trees also had these large artificially-lit candles which looked very real. 

Tree in the lower reception area.

As we were leaving, we saw the area for demonstrations of woodworking and other traditional crafts.

This was a very pleasant visit I will want to repeat and only my second trip to tour this lovely home in over 25 years in the Atlanta area. We as a group were very impressed!

Travels in Georgia - Fall Foliage at Gibbs Gardens

Entrance to Gibbs Gardens

Last Sunday was such a perfect day here in the greater Atlanta area of Georgia, that I suggested we take a drive to Gibbs Gardens link to website - about an hour north of our home and located in Ball Ground, Georgia. We learned that their hours start at 9:00 and arrived soon thereafter.  The Gardens are having a "Japanese Maple" Festival through mid-November to highlight the beautiful colors of these maple trees as they are changing - a riotous blend of oranges, reds, and yellows.  We discussed getting an annual membership pass ($100) but decided to just go for the day ($40 for two) and were told this would apply toward the pass if we wanted to purchase before leaving for the day.

The colors in the gardens were at peak - in other words, spectacular. Jim Gibbs, the proud owner of this wonderful setting was holding court in the welcome center and enthusiastically describing his gardens.

Here are some of the 150 photos we took. There were "serious" photographers with "serious" photographic equipment throughout the gardens. After looking through these photos, you will understand that we did in fact convert our day passes to an annual pass. The next big events is the Yellow Daffodil Festival in February - we can't wait!

Lilly ponds near the entrance 

Foliage reflected in the ponds 

"Monet's Bridge" fashioned after the famous artist's bridge in Givency, France 

Multi-trunked tree using green filter on camera 

Entrance to Japanese Gardens at Gibbs Gardens 

Jim Gibb's house on the property - we were invited to "peek in"

I could be at home here! 

Visiting Blue Ridge, Georgia - an Estate Sale and More!

Blue Ridge, Georgia, is located about 90 miles north of Atlanta. A neighborhood friend and her family have a lake home in the area and just love to spend time there - she has been effusive in praising not just the area around their home but also the quaint village/town of Blue Ridge. Therefore, when I saw an ad for a "huge estate sale" in Blue Ridge, I tried very hard to talk a friend into taking the long drive with me. It worked out so well that the day was beautiful and fall colors are still all around!

Take a deep breath and relax…

Surround yourself with beauty, relaxation and natural fun in Georgia’s Blue Ridge, only 90 miles north of Atlanta via I-575 and Hwy 515, but a million miles away from the traffic, stress and anxiety of the city. With 106,000 acres located in the Chattahoochee National Forest, Blue Ridge is definitely the cure for whatever ails you. Rent a cozy cabin or a luxury mountain home, or stay in a bed & breakfast inn or hotel -- and simply relax. link to website

First, the estate sale.  It was pretty bad.  The house was not just old but falling apart and kind of creepy. It was right on the highway, not even in a quaint setting.

Some interesting items but nothing worth buying!

Fortunately, the town of Blue Ridge was just a few miles from this estate sale location, so it was a perfect spot for quick exploration and lunch.  We did love the town and it was quite busy with locals and tourists.  The main street was actually bustling!  We had lunch at "Harvest on Main" - right on their sunny front porch.  We also wandered briefly through some of the shops and up and down Main Street.  Here are some photo highlights.  We discussed coming back with our spouses and making a day-trip out of it - a lovely setting!

Loved this elk overlooking the railroad area behind Main Street!

It was a lovely trip even though the estate sale was definitely a bust!