Just can't stop looking at birds ....

I cannot stop being drawn to blooming birds these appeared on our roof at work infact

I have started noticing them as silhouettes everywhere a new collection ....

Autumn its official !

It seems extraordinary that we have now been back in Savannah for a whole month, so much has happened it feels just like yesterday. The school quarter has started and it is must be the same the whole world over, Morris Hall has suddenly come alive with the excited voices of new students, greetings of long lost friends, the chitter chatter of summer stories like the noisy little sparrows that appear in my back garden every morning. I am teaching several classes which include graduates drawing skills, it is an exciting programme , I love the classes and the variety of international students from Vietnam, Rumania, Thailand and Equador, it makes for an exciting and creative dynamic. We laugh a lot and realise language differences can prove a challenge "knackered" is not a known word!

Mike and I have been busy cleaning and clearing and making West Duffy Street spick and span and comfortable for Emily and Seth who flew in on the back of five tornados from Atlanta. We hoped they loved Savannah as much as we do, it was a whirlwind of a visit, Emily arrived with her long list of places that the Design Sponge blog recommended http://designsponge.blogspot.com and along with some of our suggestions we ticked them off at a great pace. Dolphin watching round Tybee Island, a personal ghost tour by our dear friend Louis and meeting new friends seemed to be top on the list, surpassed only by a Segway tour with Mike for Seth at the end of the holiday.
I have to admit I thought the dolphin tour would be disappointing but it was a fantastic and moving experience at least fifteen dolphins danced around the boat and drenched Seth when they came up to breathe , opening their blow holes all over him! We celebrated the experience at out favourite little bar. The one treat is a cafe cocktail given to everyone who happens to be around as the sun sets, the owner blows a conch shell and everyone toasts the planet! Before we could turn round it was time for them to go home, it was like that dreadful Sunday night feeling, preparing for school on Monday, I had when I was a child. We all tried to be jolly but tears flowed and I found myself crying on my way to teach. They are now back in UK safe and sound , waking up to find all three cats sleeping next to them, glad to have them home ! We knew they had truly gone the dozen pairs of shoes were missing ! the house suddenly became silent , no banter, no margherita partners, no chitter chatter in the morning, it was like a child leaving home all over again! We miss them.


Autumn has arrived its official but somehow 89 degrees and high humidity does not feel like the scrunchy leaf kicking experience we know in the UK . I am dreaming of a woolly jumper experience even for five minutes! Shops are full of halloween I don't quite know what to think, but our secretary at school told me to go on Martha Stewart to get all my ideas to make a beautiful display for my house.Its real business here and taken very seriously, I am determined to get the drill out and make a pumpkin lantern and I may be persuaded to the witch making workshop next Friday watch this space ! I have heard mince pies are in the shops already ? has the world gone mad...............
We have exotic fruit in our garden we are so excited ! Are they oranges or grapefruit ? we are waiting for them to ripen , we smile each time we pass them ,i t makes us feel we are somewhere truly tropical. We are cautiously observing the plant life to make sure we know what will grow and learning about new fauna and flora. There is a sophisticated water system which keeps it all alive. Mike in true army fashion has improved its performance one hundred fold uncovering inefficient and broken sprinklers.

Back in Savannah !

We are well and truly back in Savannah rattling around in our new abode in the Victorian District. The house is every bit as delightful as we remembered it, Mike in his generosity and kindness lay everything out so we would arrive back to a newly made bed and a kitchen to cook in. Days have been spent re organising the rooms , trying to put our stamp on it , rectifying some of the
bodged jobs that Mike has discovered ! For a practical man like him he has been driven mad by the previous owners silly mistakes we shall simply call them "the dallas cock up"...... blinds fitted upside down, door handles that do not fit, crazy icing grout, painted acrylic bath, fridge which leans the wrong way all small things that take time to put right, so the list continues.
These all seem small fry to me in contrast to the dreadful smell that has pervaded the top of the house, I hate to say it but all it reminded me of was what we called "dirty boy smell" when I taught at Portsmouth ! Mike eventually told me it was bat urine which explained why candles wafting bed cotton aroma burned everywhere to hide the wretched pong when we viewed the house!We are working hard on it to clear the roof, it has certainly dissipated and Emily and Seth have not noticed it!
They arrived two days ago and we have loved them being here, after a late arrival after five tornados that surrounded Atlanta they were happy to collapse with a glass of champagne.
My Dad said I write too much and so I will endeavour to produce more images and less speak !