Author: Lisa -Southern Patches

Hello everyone, my name is Lisa I am a southern girl born and raised in East Tennessee. I love discovering new places and things to do. I have a lot of favorites, shopping, traveling, knitting and photography are all at the top of my list. I am married with my fur babies my only children. This blog is actually named after my beloved basset hound Patches. She passed away a few years ago but will always have a huge part of my heart. Come with me and we will explore some wonderful places and discover some really fun things. Are you ready?

Hello Monday

Hello friends how was your weekend? I had big plans for my weekend big plans I tell you. But in typical “me” fashion when I plan too much I get totally overwhelmed and wind up not doing much at all. But oh well isn’t that what weekends and days off are for.

Let me just tell you the weather here has been pretty much perfect. Cool mornings warming up to toasty, but not too hot, sunny afternoons. The leaves are falling. When I am driving down the road I have to stop and get a picture of all the beautiful colors. Sometimes I get caught in a swirl of falling leaves and I just have to stop and watch them. Luckily, I live on a road with not much traffic.

On Friday night the moon was almost full and Mark and I went out to try and get some moon shots. He was using his big camera with a tripod so his shots looked better than mine. I just didn’t want to drag everything out and I used my cell phone. I wasn’t really after a detailed shot. But I didn’t think my little cell phone did too bad.

Saturday was a beautiful day. The kitties were playing by the lake. They love the cooler temperatures with the warm sunshine. They are so active during the day. They roam everywhere. We always bring them in at night because of the bastardly coyotes.

Izzy and Sadie
Sadie
Colors are starting to happen.

I spent some time out on the deck reading and maybe taking a short nap. It was so nice. There was a slight breeze just enough so that the sun didn’t get too warm.

I worked on the temperature blanket. I am getting a little behind on it. I have heard some people say once they get so far behind they don’t feel like they can catch up so they just stop working on it. Remember it is one row per day so if you get a month or so behind you have a lot of catching up to do. I am not that far behind. Yet. Lol.

So many red and orange colors. I am ready for some cooler colors.

I also worked on my Halloween hats cross stitch. I probably spent more time on this than anything. The going is really slow on this. I’ll be lucky to have it finished in time to put it out for Halloween.

This one is coming along so slow.

Sunday afternoon my nephew and his wife brought over this large bench. This bench has been in our family for a lot of years. My sister first had it in her house for many years. She then gave it to my nephew and his wife, and they had it for several years. They decided to get rid of it and I hated for it to be out of the family I said I would take it. So, they brought it over and we put it in our upstairs hallway. I think it fits there just perfectly. I have always loved this bench. I was really glad to get it. I have a thing for benches. The only problem is they take up a lot of room.

So that is about it for my weekend. Grocery shopping and laundry and the usual also. A lot of down time and that was just fine. So how was your weekend?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!!

Friday Favorites

October 7, 2022

Hello and happy Friday. I am back this week with a few of my favorite things. These are things I am really loving or have enjoyed this past week. So here we go:

First up is this amazing lip gloss, lip ink whatever you want to call it. The official name is Maybelline Super Stay Vinyl Ink. Now you may not be crazy about something with vinyl and ink in the name, especially when it goes on your lips, but it is great. An influencer I saw on TikTok recommended it and she said it lasted all day. Yeah, right, I’ve heard that before. Friends it does last all day!! I ordered mine from Amazon because to be honest I just haven’t had a lot of time to shop lately and I really wanted to try this. I got it in two colors. I got a berry color called Coy and a brownish color called Lippy. So far my favorite is the berry color. Once you put it on you let it dry for a minute and then it stays on. If I feel it getting a little dried out during the day I just dab on some lip gloss or even chap stick and it shines it right up. Love it.

The next thing is this facial scrub. I ask my niece if she had one that she liked and she told me about this one. Amazon again. You can use this two or three times a week and it makes your face feel so fresh and clean. It gets rid of all of the dull skin cells and leaves your face glowing.

Before I went on my trip last week to San Antonio I realized I needed a new small crossbody bag to carry when I didn’t want to carry my big purse. I found this one and then ordered an extra strap to go with it. That way you can get a different look without changing out the entire bag. This bag is fairly small but plenty big enough for a wallet, your phone, a small brush or comb or compact or whatever.

This is the purse I ordered, top picture, and the strap below. The strap that is shown with it at the top was included and I really like it too.

I have been using dry shampoo for a few years. To be honest I think it may be drying my hair a little. DUH!!! You think? I try not to wash my hair too often but the dry shampoo is having an effect on it. I’ve tried several different ones. I started trying this texturizing spray instead. You don’t have to use very much and it sort of plumps your hair up and makes it easier to hold. So far I am loving this brand. I got it at Walmart and it smells fabulous.

I got these earrings when I was in Texas and I can’t wait to wear them.

I thought I would also share some books with you. This first book, The Perfect Marriage by Geneva Rose kept me on the edge of my seat. It starts with a murder and ends with a little twist that you won’t be expecting. I give it a 4 out of 5 and only a 4 because it had a couple of things that just wouldn’t happen realistically.

I loved People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry. Two very different friends through the course of many years travel together on a trip every year. They go through a lot of things together but they are very different. I give this a 5 out of 5.

Starfish was a short, heartbreaking book about a young teenage girl who is overweight and struggles to be accepted not just by her peers but by her own family. I could really identify with this, not the family part but definitely peers, I have struggled with weight all my life and it started at a very early age. I give this a 4 out of 5. Definitely worth the read.

And pumpkins!!!! I love them I love the different shapes and colors and making pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread. I just love them that is all.

But the main “favorite” this week is my sweet family and being back with them after a week of being gone. I know a week isn’t that long but I am sort of a homebody and I like being home. Being back with my husband and kitties every night is where I am most happy.

What were some of your favorites this week?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!!

A Week In San Antonio Texas

I spent last week in San Antonio Texas. I had to be in Texas for a work trip. Our National Caves Association was meeting with the International Show Caves Association for the first time that I can ever remember. It was a big deal. This is a chance for show caves to come together and visit different caves and learn things about each cave that might be helpful for their own caves. So last week we met in San Antonio, home of The Natural Bridge Caverns in Texas, to visit and share ideas with each other.

Me and a couple of my co workers left on Sunday morning. We flew through Atlanta and arrived in San Antonio about 2:30 PM. We rented a car and headed to the hotel. The hotel was only about eight miles from the airport but we always like to have a car in case we want to see other things not on our meeting agenda.

We stayed at The Westin Riverwalk, San Antonio Let me just say this is a beautiful hotel. Every single person I encountered at this hotel was super nice and friendly. We were able to walk outside the back of the hotel and be directly on the Riverwalk. Each room had a small balcony. I was on the fourteenth floor so I had quite a view of the city. Especially at night. When we arrived at the hotel we checked into our rooms and took a short walk on the Riverwalk. We had a welcoming dinner that night and we wanted to get back to freshen up for that.

It was so nice catching up with people we had not seen in a few years. We hadn’t attended since 1999 because of Covid and some work issues last year. We had not seen some of our friends for a long time. This is a wonderful group of people and it is always nice getting together with them. I even got to see my sweet friend Kay who follows my blog, we have become such good friends even though we don’t see each other often.

My sweet friend Ann, She is from Pennsylvania. I don’t get to see her often but when I do it is like we were never apart.

Monday morning we started early with a buffet breakfast and a warm welcome from the Mayor of San Antonio, Ron Nuremberg, and our hosts from Natural Bridge Caverns the Wuest Family.

We had a light lunch and then spent the rest of the afternoon watching around the world cave videos from around the world. there were 47 caves represented and It was amazing.
On Monday night we had a special dinner at The Buckhorn Saloon & Museum in downtown San Antonio. Great food and drinks were plentiful and just what everyone needed after a long day of sitting and listening. Check out the museum and saloon here

On Tuesday we visited the Natural Bridge Caverns and spent most of the day touring the cave. I added a lot of pictures to my Wordless Wednesday post last night and you can check it out here: Cave Photos

The hidden wonders Tour was the second tour we did that day at the caverns. It is not open commercially yet but we got a sneak peek and it is truly a wonder!!!!
This was one of my favorite formations in the cave. It’s beautiful.
The grounds at the cave were beautiful with several gift shops and places to get something to eat. There was also a climbing tower but I was too chicken to do that.

We were even treated to a horse show by The Diaz Family. It was great!!! Such talent and beauty.

On Wednesday afternoon we took a boat ride down the Riverwalk. It was hot the temps were mid 90’s F but there was a wonderful breeze and it was just beautiful.

You know how I love church steeples. This one is amazing!!!!

After we finished the boat ride we took a tour of The Alamo. There is so much history here. Even though it is a fairly small structure, compared to what I had in mind from the movies, it is steeped in history. The names listed below are not all of the names on display. I picked some pictures of those because they were from Tennessee.

After our tour of the Alamo we were on our own for the rest of the evening. We split into smaller groups and headed out for drinks and dinner and a little shopping.

Some of my favorite cave friends, Kara and Ann.

On Thursday we had meetings and individual group sessions and then we had Western night. We put on our boots and cowboy hats and walked to the Briscoe Western Art Museum and had a tour and dinner. I didn’t stay out too late because we had an early flight.

A wonderful time and such a learning experience. The week seemed to fly by like it always does. Friday morning came early and we left for the airport at 3:30 AM. We had a very early flight. It was so good to get back home to hubs and the kitties. And to be able to sleep in my own bed.

I loved San Antonio. I had never been in this part of Texas before. I will go back.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!!