Little lizards and lots to look at

The weather has changed, well until the weekend at least, and it's like a wonderfully fresh, late, English, Spring day, jumpers are out and there's extra quilts on the bed and it's finally snuggling weather.

Life has been continuing as is now normal, procrastination rules, although I'm hoping to get around to taking the written bit of my driving test this Friday ... probably .... maybe .... possibly ...  I really could get used to this which is why I think I need to get moving, besides I've spent the last couple of days watching CNN which I'm sure can't be at all healthy, although it has shown me one thing for sure, this really is a VERY foreign country!

Another proof of the foreignness, if proof was needed, was finding this little chap in the bath tub.

He was tiny but my attempts to capture just how small he was as he climbed all over Jim's arm on his way back to freedom failed, the bugger just wouldn't stay still, it did make for an interesting photo though.

 It's not just lizard type things either, the wasps make their homes everywhere.

There's a sort of friendly wasp called a mud dauber that feeds its babies on stunned spiders, which makes it a good sort in my, covered in bites from anything that crawls, book. When I was looking under the trailer for shells for the wind chime (they seem to have been used along with gravel as hardcore) I spotted this mud dauber nest, they must have put so much work into it.

Jim and I spent a chunk of Saturday at Margaret's house, Jim making a frame for a very pretty clock made from a square  that Margaret had embroidered...

...whilst Margaret and I moved a big bunch of material around; as far as sewing goes she is the antithesis of me, she is completely amazing, makes the most amazing quilts and clothes and has more material than any material shop I've been to!

A tiny selection of Margaret's stash!

She and her husband Jessie also have a wide array of power tools that Jim used to make the picture frame and we borrowed to finish our wind chime, more about that in a bit.

Autumn has started to set in, leaves were falling like rain in Margaret's garden and the acorns falling on the aluminum roof of her porch sounded like gun shot.

Sunday was warm and Jim was feeling grotty but he still took his cabin-feverish wife for a drive to check the world was still there, most of what follows is just because it was there and I had my camera with me, but it gives you an idea of the world I see.

A sort of fizzy slush-puppy type thing, sold at loads of petrol stations, that despite the brain freeze was surprisingly refreshing.

Not at all sure what goes on here but it seems to involve lots of LSU students having loads of fun and screaming quite a bit of a weekend.

Yoga, massage and gifts, what more could you want?

I love the look of this hotel but it's just beside the interstate, I imagine it must be the most noisy place to stay.

I really am a bit anxious about driving these roads...

...but so many lorries have such pretty, shiny trailers.

Bridge building, there always seems to be a bridge being built here.

There's no shortage of places to eat, there's signs like this at every exit from the interstate.

American optimism, or maybe it depends on the definition of soon?  There's two walls of this building up so far.

Bass Pro Shop, just has to be seen to be believed!

Cajun Crackers and swings...

Pretty Spanish moss decorating trees.

Drive through chemist, why get out and walk to get your diet pills?

I love this bridge!

I really am going to have to learn to drive over the railway lines with my eyes open, it just feels so dodgy but there are so bloody many of them, without gates, all over the place!

Sponge Bob Halloween decorations. (and my favourite photo!)

You couldn't swing a cat without hitting a church here.

When we got home, and after Jim had had a bit of a rest, we got to finishing our wind chimes...

 Not the most sensible way to drill holes in shells...

 this at least kept the drill away from his hand...in fact the shells were almost the biggest bother, the smallest drill bit left a hole that was still so big it meant the nylon thread, no matter how many times I knotted it, just slid straight through.  We didn't want to have to go and buy beads to keep them in place and whilst we were discussing it a lad walked by slurping fizzy through a straw. I still had the remains of the slush-puppy in the fridge so the shells are now held on with little slithers of the straw from that!

 The way the bars are threaded makes it good to look at from all angles and it sounds so pretty (although it has been fairly windy the last couple of days and its not stopped chiming, I'm just waiting for the neighbours to come and complain, or cut it down whilst we're out!)

Really this should say "Till next time" it was a gift and I'm thinking I might look for a little plant or two to go in the trough, possibly...   xxxxxxxxxxxxx