Fayetteville 10:00 p.m.

Tonight, Michael, my mother-in-law, Suzanne, and I had a nice night, Fayetteville-style. We went out to dinner and to a movie, afterwhich I convinced Michael we HAD to take pictures of Fayetteville "in the dark." The Square looks beautiful at night, despite my poor photography skills.

View of the North side of the square that houses several gift and antique shops, an old fashioned hardware store, and our old Lincoln Theatre, named after our county.

South side of the square features several antique shops, a quilt shop, a jewelery store, a pool hall and diner, a book store and O'Houlihan's Restaurant, a favorite Fayetteville eatery.

The West side of the square is home to the Magnolia Mall, a great place to shop for antiques, a barber shop, a flower shop, an art gallery and several other businesses.

Another view of the South side of the square and a closer view of the book store and O'Houlihan's.

College Street bathed in street light.

North side of the square (where you turn to go to our bed and breakfast!)

A view of the Lincoln County Courthouse and the gazebo where many community activities take place.

A view of the courthouse with our Charlie Brown Christmas Tree all lit up for the holidays.

A view of the moon over the corner of one of the buildings.

A view down College Street.

This group of kids was walking the square the same time I was and insisted I take their photograph. Not enough light, so they each have four eyes in this shot instead of the customary two.

My mother-in-law's house in the moonlight.

Next door to Suzanne's house is the oldest cemetary in town at the Presbyterian Church.

Another view of the cemetary in the dark.

At Home

Michael and I are so fortunate to own such a peaceful and beautiful home. The property that surrounds our house is shaded by beautiful old trees, and a creek runs down one side. Although we are located within the city's limnits, our one-acre of land is tranquil and abundant with simple beauty.

Today, we've been able to spend some time enjoying that beauty. Our animals make our home even more special and add so much pleasure to our lives. We love the days we get to spend at home enjoying our little place in the world. Thought we'd share some of the images that help to make our lives so special...

Tennessee Sunday

After church today, I had tons of work I could have done. My laundry was stacked up a mile high, I desperately needed to organize our storage room and pull out Christmas decorations, and the leaves in the yard need to be raked. But it was difficult to think about going home to work when the sun was shining so brightly and the autumn air was so crisp and clean. Autumn is my favorite time of year, and I was anxious to enjoy it for a few hours, so Michael and I left our work behind and went for a drive through the Tennessee country side. Max went along for the ride and ended up having an exciting day. He saw his very first cow, and he made friends with a country church dog who greeted us outside a small Methodist church near Coldwater Creek. We really enjoyed our day!!

Off we went down Molina Road in Lincoln County. We couldn't wait to drive out of town and enjoy the scenery!

It didn't take us long to leave our little city's streets behind and find wide-open pasture land dotted with farms.

We hadn't been on the open road long before Max spotted a cow. It was his first encounter with a farm animal, and he was fascinated! We think he thought they were really big dogs.

Old barns are abundant in the Tennessee Valley and they're beautiful in their own, rustic and weathered way.

We spotted this old home on a graveled side road. It wasn't hard to imagine at one time it was a busy place overlooking the beautiful farmland that surrounded it.

We found this beautiful little Methodist church down one of the backroads we traveled. It looked so homey and friendly that we just had to stop for a few minutes to admire it.

What a sweet front entrance with a beautiful fall wreath.

The welcoming committee met our car as we drove up to the church. Max met a new friend and we promised to bring him back again to play.
What a beautiful girl with a fantastic smile!

And what a nice profile!!

Some of the old barns looked as if they hadn't been used in years, but evidence closeby proved that they were very much used. It was just tough to find anyone around on a Sunday afternoon!

Nearby was the evidence of someone's hard work.

This farm is located right inside the city limits surrounded by historic homes and residential areas. Who would have thought...

Max was ready for a nap when we finally arrived home. I bet he dreamed of cows and church dogs.

All Hallows' Eve

It's always interesting to live in the oldest house on the block. It sometimes looks homey and so lovely when dressed up for Christmas or special events. But it can also be made to look like the scariest place in town. Michael and I went to special effort this year to dress up our B&B for Halloween. We have always been told that this house is haunted, so we thought we'd play that up, despite the fact that we never really see anything that proves to us that there really is a ghost here.

So, tomorrow all the scary stuff will come down, the fake cobwebs will be removed, the pumpkins will be taken to the curb and hauled away with the rest of our yard debris, but for tonight...tonight this is the scariest place in town to be!

We took some photographs earlier this evening and posted them here. Let us know what you think, and happy hauntings!