The bay window and the basil plant...

 The sun is sitting lower in the sky these days...

 ... as it passes by the dining room window.

 It remains to be seen if the Spicy Globe basil will adapt to being inside.

When I brought it in last week because of an overnight frost warning, it was potted in the huge plastic container that sat on the deck all summer.

That just wasn't going to work for two reasons. #1, the pot was humongous and, #2, the pot was ugly. This clay pot is much more attractive and a much better size.

So far, so good. I trimmed a lot of 'brown' off the ends of the basil. I think they had already gotten a bit too cold before being brought inside.

This is a southern exposure window, so hopefully it will be a sunny enough location.

(DR light turned on)

About 20 years ago we had this bay window installed in the dining area. Before that, it was just solid wall.

(DR light turned off)

I can't even imagine the dining room without this sunny window now.

The basil plant can't either.

Completely off topic, I've been subbing in addition to painting and transcribing lately. Being self-employed means never knowing how much work - or how little work- will come in each month, so in addition to painting and transcribing from home, I've been subbing lately. Can you guess what day it was at school yesterday? Yes, indeed - Red Sox Day!

I'm joining Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday today.

I hope you all have a great week!

Donna

Herbs and Orbs....

On Thursday I took advantage of our 70 degree weather to wash windows (if the slider looks dirty to you, it's because I didn't get to it yet!). I started in the dining room and since I had to remove the herbs from the DR bay window in order to Windex away, I decided to just move them into the family room.


I brought this old carpenter's bench in from the deck (and none too soon! Just look at the rainy weather we're having today! That deck was swept clean yesterday and just look at all the leaves that came down overnight!)

I've had this rustic beauty since my prim decor days, and it's always been used out on the deck... To say it is weathered is an understatement.

I'm using a piece of old Battenburg lace valance as a table runner... There's something about the look of crisp white Battenburg lace paired with old, distressed wood that makes my heart skip a beat...

There's also a handy little shelf section on the bottom - just the right size for the basket that holds peanuts for our Sammy's, Chips, and birds (this basket is a treasured gift from my awesome friend, Jill, who got it in Amish country just for me!! How luck am I??)

So after I took my closeups to share with you, I stepped back to take some shots of the herbs in front of the slider. I usually take 2-3 shots of everything now that I blog, just to make sure I get at least one good one!! Okay, so this is the first shot....

(click photo to enlarge)
And then I took this one. Now I sure didn't notice anything unusual in the viewfinder when I snapped, but when I loaded the photos onto my computer there was no denying that I captured something in the above photo! Above the rosemary on the right is either an orb or the biggest flying dust bunny I've ever seen! I may not be the greatest housekeeper, but I'm not that bad!! At first I thought it might have been something flying by on the outside (big bird maybe?)... But it's definitely on the inside because it's blocking my window grids...

So... any experts out there who can help me figure out what I captured here? I've heard that experts can tell the difference between dust, glare, and real energy/orbs! (Oh, and I wasn't using a flash, so it's definitely not a reflection from that)...

And stay tuned for my upcoming posts (which are perfect for the week leading up to Halloween!)... I'm going to share another post just about orbs as well as my awesome day trip to historic Concord, Mass, on Friday (which included a visit to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery!)...

COMMENT UPDATE #1: Our house was built in 1981, so it's not what you'd consider an 'old' home; also, we're the only ones who have ever lived here... And yes, we have had a couple of things happen here but I've just mentioned them to family and friends for fear of what I must sound like when sharing these stories!

COMMENT UPDATE #2: I'm getting chills!! The carpenter's bench is very old. I purchased it many years ago at a junktique shop and it was quite old and weather-worn even back then. I never even thought of there being a possible connection between the bench and the orb! It might be going back out on the deck very soon!!

Donna

Frozen herbs...

Baby, it's COLD outside!!!


I took my herb pots in a couple of days ago because the nights have been downright frigid around here...


For the time being I've put them in my dining room window (although my Christmas cactus is not too happy about this arrangement since it has "lived" in this window for years and years!!)


What's left of the basil is looking a little rough....

The oregano is looking pretty good though...

The rosemary is looking a bit sparse...

Since this is the south-facing side of the house, I'm hoping these will get enough sunlight to keep them going, but that may be asking a lot of this gardener who definitely lacks a green thumb. I wonder if they will require some type of fluorescent lighting above them...

Hope you are warm and cozy wherever you are...

Donna (who is not at all enjoying the c-o-l-d weather)

COMMENT UPDATE: Hi Patty! The banner is a cropped photo of my Mrs. B, the beautiful kitty who graced us with her presence from 1976 to 1993.