The smallish town where we live in Georgia re-branded itself a few years ago, so now its motto is a place to imagine. Kinda nice, even if I don't know exactly what the heck it's supposed to mean. Nonetheless, we've been here since 1971, and it's always been a great place to live, whether I imagined it or not.
Our town has a bunch of beautiful old homes with sprawling wrap-around porches...
Gorgeous, aren't they? Not that we live in one of them. Then again, we don't have to pay to keep one of those high-ceiling beauties warm in the winter or cool in the middle of summer's sizzle, either. Our modest ranch house suits us just fine.
And in another project, the town was yarn bombed. Colorful crocheted and knitted pieces decorated trees, fences, signs, and light posts. These pictures of yarn-bombed trees are especially for you, Elephant's Child. I hope you like them...
Oh, wait! Wait! I have to show you our frogs, too!
Pretty neat, huh? Whimsical. Yeah, whimsical. I guess that's why I like them so much. So, yeah, I'd have to say our town definitely has a personality. It's ever-changing, but it's never-boring. And in spite of its diversity, if it were represented by a flavor, it wouldn't be mojitas. Nope, not at all. It'd be sweet tea.
On Friday, we're gonna take a look at my old home town... Baltimore. Trust me, it has personality... and spice... out the wazoo. Happy Fourth of July, y'all! I hope you have a bang up time.
[Ooops, didja know a pre-scheduled post will only go live at the proper time if ya remember to set the darned time right? 12:34]
Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.
 |
| If our town had a scent, it would be magnolias. |
Looks like you live in a great little town! I love the whimsical frogs :)
ReplyDeleteIt really is a nice little town. A little old-fashioned and a lotta friendly. And yeah, I love those frogs.
DeleteI agree that different places have different personalities. And I'm always a little amused when a town feels it has to "re-brand." Your town has a lot going for it...love the yarn bombing! What fun.
ReplyDeleteTown re-branding cracks me up, too. Atlanta keeps spending money on these campaigns to come up with the "perfect slogan." Even spent money to have a song written. (A dumb song, I might add.) As if what an area calls itself will change how it's perceived by outsiders, or entice more tourists to visit. Heck, I dunno. Maybe it does...
DeleteYour town looks like an amazing place to live. I love the crochet trees and that frog is fabulous. I live in a large City, multi-cultural. We have the biggest shopping centre for Indian clothes, food and curry restaurants outside India. We also have history that dates back to Roman times.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot to be said about living in a large city, too. I love the energy and humming vitality of big cities. My hubby can't stand crowds, though, which is why we live in a smaller town. (Which also suits me just fine.) What intrigues me the most about Europe are those deep historical roots you mention. By comparison, America is still a cheeky adolescent.
DeleteSusan, I love the way your little town looks ... what fun. You mention Atlanta ... and that is not a small town .... ha?
ReplyDeleteso you live in a small town in the Atlanta area?... that's the best of both worlds.... close to a huge city like Atlanta that has everything but live in a place with small town flavor. love it.
Personality of places is what made me either go on through or stay for whatever length of time I stayed. I full timed RVd and it was always interesting to me what made me say... I think I'll sit a spell... or nope just go on through.
I didn't like cutesy or exaggerated type places to see how cute or weird they could be... but I like your town... the downtown areas always 'got me'... the diversity in your small town ... good stuff
Love those big beautiful hones with the porches ... and you are so right about heating and cooling those high ceiling places.
Savannah was one of those places I wanted to come back to but at the time.. I kept on going ... wasn't in the mood for a City. just kept to the coast and went all the way down to the Keys...
My plans were at the first of this year to go east again but grandbabies made me want to hang here ...
Camped at Elijay ... couple of years ago and meandered on into Atlanta... beautiful city
HA! No, Atlanta isn't a small town, but we're about seventeen miles northeast of there. Our town holds an old-fashioned 4th of July celebration every year, with a big street festival, lots of good food, live music, and fireworks. It has become so popular, shuttle buses will be hauling people in from a couple of nearby churches this year.
DeleteIt's wonderful that you've had the experience of traveling wherever you had a notion to go, and stopping whenever a place struck your fancy. What a fabulous way to really get to know this country.
Savannah is one of my favorite places in the state. I love the old homes, the sprawling oak trees dripping with Spanish moss, and the boardwalk, shops, and restaurants along the waterfront. It has much more of an old "deep south" feeling than Atlanta does.
I think towns take on the personality of it's residents.
ReplyDeleteLove porches! Makes me want to rock and whittle.
Oooh, I like that perspective on a town's personality.
DeleteI'm a sucker for a porch, too. With a porch swing. (But a rocker will do...)
I love your post today !
ReplyDeleteWhen you first posted the blue tree I though it was painted but
love the idea of your town being yarn bombed. I wonder how long it took to knit the full tree. Fabulous !
cheers, parsnip
Thanks!
DeleteYeah, the yarn bombing is pretty bizarre. This is the second year they've done it. Gee, maybe we should "bomb" the trees in the wintertime, when they're shivering without their leaves...
Cheers!
Up until two years ago, I never lived in a city smaller than 200,000 (that includes Toronto, with over 5 million in its metro area). Now I wouldn't think of moving back to the city. I love small towns — and yours looks great.
ReplyDeleteHappy Fourth of July!
I've always loved to visit big cities, but I probably wouldn't enjoy living in one. It's nice to have lots of green around us, and plenty of space between the houses.
DeleteAnd a Happy Canada Day to you! Oops... that was yesterday, wasn't it? I hope you had a good one!
Oh goodness yes I agree with this wholeheartedly. My small town (Berea, KY) has a very distinct personality. It's a very artsy town and that's reflected in the entire culture. I love it!
ReplyDeleteBerea sounds like a wonderful place to live. Very artsy is very good... plus, you have those beautiful mountains nearby if you want more solitude.
DeleteI'm not a fan of small towns, Susan, having grown up in one. I grew up bored and restless as a teen in our hometown.
ReplyDeleteMy sis and her family live in a smallish town in one of Atlanta's burbs, but she works in Atlanta.
It's good to be happy where you live, and I'm happier near a big city. I've always thought Vancouver was a big city acting like a small town. Of course, some developer always wants to ruin that image...
Well, it depends on how you define "small." I've visited friends who live in some reeeeeally small towns. Those places are quite charming, but I wouldn't want to live in any of them. Everybody knows everybody else's name and family history, and considers it their right to butt their noses into everybody else's business. I mean, if a town is so small that a fart in one house elicits a complaint from the one next door... that's way too small for me.
DeleteExactly Susan, weren't those called one-horse towns in the old western days? Blink and you miss them. Great setting for mystery stories, though.
DeleteYeah, you're right. I'd rather be in at least a FOUR-horse town.
DeleteYou certainly live in a charming town - - a place that I imagine (!) is rather Disneyesque. Colorful, quaint, whimsical.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young (or, rather youngER) I used to love big cities, but my idea of a perfect place to live has downsized through the years. I now MUCH prefer small communities.....
........the farther away from Texas the better.......
Yeah, it does have its charms.
DeleteI hope you find, and move to, that small community... far away from Texas... real soon. You can always visit a big city, and then retreat to your small town home sanctuary. That way, you get to enjoy the best of both worlds.
Your town seems so fun! I LOVE the yarn project frogs. How cute. And yeah, those old houses are gorgeous but I can't even imagine the cost of maintaining them. But I'd sure love to have one of those porches!
ReplyDeleteHappy 4th to you, Susan! :)
Those frogs are my favorites, too. Some of the old houses around here have porches that extend around most of their perimeter. Just massive things, with lots of swings and rocking chairs. In the days before air conditioning, a porch was the best place to catch a breeze on a hot summer's evening. And yeah, I'd love to have one of 'em, too.
DeleteHappy 4th back atcha.
Whimsy!
ReplyDeleteIndeed!
DeleteI don't think I've ever seen trees wrapped in yarn before. Or painted blue either. Definitely some people with a whimsical side living in your town. :D
ReplyDeleteHave a great Fourth of July!
Yeah, I suppose this town is pretty whimsical. I fit right in...
DeleteYou have a super 4th, too!
I love the last yarn-bombed tree! We saw blue trees like that in Seattle last year. That last one though really impresses me!
ReplyDeleteIsn't that last one impressive? Enough to make a weeping willow smile.
DeleteSome fun (and different) stuff goes on in your town. I have never seen trees yarn-bombed before. I have considered painting dead trees and calling them art, but never live ones. Hmmmm. Having lived in Augusta, Georgia for ten years, and traveled all over the state, I can say with some measure of certainty that most Georgians love their sweet tea. Magnolia is a great smell for the state. And Atlanta is like a place unto itself that exists outside of the rest of the state. While everything else in Georgia moves fairly slow, Atlanta is always too fast. It simply seems out of step with the rest of the state. But, maybe that is just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteNo, you are absolutely RIGHT! There is Atlanta... and then there is the "rest of the state." You pounded that nail right on the head. There is also a certain degree of distrust from the rest of the state about what goes on in Atlanta. Not, I might add, without due cause.
DeleteYes, most Georgians love their sweet tea... and their buttermilk. I may have been here for more than forty years, but I still prefer unsweetened tea and sweet milk. (Square peg in a round hole.)
I love visiting cities but I'm glad I live in a small town. Mine definitely has personality - especially when it comes to Pumpkinfest (my personal fave) which occurs in October.
ReplyDeleteLove that big old white house - reminds me of the house I grew up in and still miss.
Wow! Lucky you! Those old houses have personality out the wazoo. I'd be happy just to walk through one of them to gawk. (very politely, of course)
DeleteI love those porches
ReplyDeleteAlways wanted one
You'd need a reeeeeally big porch, so all your critters could join you.
DeleteGorgeous old houses but I'm with you on the heating/cooling bills.
ReplyDeleteYep. That's a LOT of windows to wash, too.
DeleteSmall towns are the best
ReplyDeleteNo noise to be a pest
As long as a city isn't too far away
They work for my bay
A city really large,
DeleteOr a town really small,
If the people are friendly,
I like 'em all.
I love a nice downtown - and yours seems to be perfect! Little stores and a bunch of restaurants and interesting, colorful events going on - ideal for walking around with a camera and then sit and eat somewhere.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your pictures!
Me, too. I don't know if our town is perfect, but it suits us!
DeleteThanks.
SUSAN ~
ReplyDeleteDid I miss it, or did you not actually give the name of your town? I was going to look in my road atlas and see if I've ever been through your town but... to do that, I'd need a name to look for.
A lot of places definitely have personality. I grew up in Los Angeles - a city with at least 7 or 8 different personalities, depending upon which section of the city you're in at the time.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
Nope, you didn't miss the name... I didn't throw it. It's called Norcross. If you went down I-85, it isn't far from the Jimmy Carter Boulevard exit.
DeleteI've never been to L.A., but just from what I've read about it, it sounds like there's a huge difference from one part of it to the next.
SUSAN ~
DeleteThe moment I read the name "Norcross", I thought to myself: I don't even need to get out my road atlas, because I KNOW I've been through Norcross."
But I got out my atlas anyway, just to make double-sure, and it's a good thing I did, too, because I've never been in Norcross.
I HAVE been in Atlanta. But the "___cross" I had in mind was "WAYCROSS", not "Norcross".
I drove through Waycross, Georgia, in 1983, with my buddy Eric, en route to the Okefenokee Swamp... where we got lost... at night... on foot... surrounded by alligators... armed only with one flashlight and one bottle of Lowenbrau beer.
I nearly died a short distance from Waycross. But I've never been to Norcross, a town of frogs, not alligators.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
Your response cracked me up. We've been to the Okefenokee, and really enjoyed it, but the image of you and your buddy stranded there with only a single bottle of beer isn't what made me laugh. (Okay, so maybe a teensy bit.) But it's the Norcross/Waycross mix-up that got to me. Ya see, there was a fella who went to our church in MD who was a real pompous pain in the patootie, if you know what I mean. We were always polite to him, but let's just say he wasn't our favorite member of the congregation. Anyhow, after we moved to GA, when we'd go back to MD for a visit, that fella would always pull us aside and tell of his intentions to stop in and visit us in Waycross the next time he passed through GA on his way to FL. Shame on us... we never bothered to correct him. Sure, he could stop in Waycross for as long as he'd like...
DeleteThat is pretty cool... my city of Halifax, Nova Scotia is a city of historical culture as NS is one of the first places for people to settle in when they came from Europe...
ReplyDeleteI love all the culture the city has with the old heritage buildings that are always being worked on to beautify them...
I guess I know a little more about my city as you said... I just needed to think about it... :)
Then I would definitely LOVE Nova Scotia. For many years, Baltimore was also a primary entry spot for Europeans coming to the U.S., and immigrants from each country tended to settle in close proximity to other immigrants from the same country. To some extent, those ethnic pockets still exist there, and provide great opportunities to experience other cultures... and OHHHHH! the fabulous FOODS of other countries. Sounds like NS is very similar.
DeleteSee? Told ya. You know more than you thought you did!
Oh, my. Your town turns all out. The knitted trees cozies are amazing!
ReplyDeleteSomething else I like even more. Tiny white twinkle lights laced through the tree branches up and down the main street. They make downtown look like a wonderland every night. (Like having Christmas year-round!)
DeleteYour town is lovely, Susan. Who thought up the tree cosy idea?
ReplyDeleteThanks. Um, want me to make up a name? (I CAN...!) I have no idea, actually. Somebody in the Ladies' Club, probably.
DeleteI adore your yarn-bombed trees. Thank you so much. Our recently opened Arboretum has been attacked by the yarn bombers. I hope to get out there when the skinny one is recovering from his surgery and take lots and lots and lots of photos. I love your frogs and your stately homes too.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. You said you were curious about the yarn bombing. Oh neat! So your area has been bombed, too, huh? I'll look forward to seeing your pictures. Take care.
DeleteMy UK home town of Brighton certainly has character. Apart from being the gay hub of the UK, it's also known for its large amount of 'artists and actors' in residence, as well as a liberal sprinkling of eccentrics. Just 60 miles south of London, and on the coast, it is 'almost' the perfect place to live in England.
ReplyDeleteI just love those wrap-around porches.
Golly, so why in the world did you ever leave??? As a somewhat eccentric artist, you'd fit right in! Then again, where you live now looks pretty darned perfect to me.
DeleteYour town looks like a delightful place to live! Love the frogs. And the yarn-bombing. And the tree-painting. Fun!
ReplyDeleteYeah, it is a pretty neat place to live. Like a refuge from the big scary city of Atlanta. In fact, once upon a time, it was considered THE place for city-dwellers to vacation. (Not sure why...)
DeleteLove all this stuff, especially the frogs! I totally agree about each city and town having its own personality.
ReplyDeleteHappy July 4th!
Yeah, those frogs are my favorites, too.
DeleteHappy 4th to you, too!
I love your town! Thanks for taking the time to share it.
ReplyDeleteWe just have trolls.
~Just Jill
Thanks. My pleasure.
DeleteTrolls, huh? I like trolls. Matter of fact, I can barely restrain myself from stomping my feet and bellowing "TRIP! TRAP! TRIP! TRAP!" every time we walk over a footbridge.(Even if I don't actually DO it, my hubby always knows I'm THINKING it.)
I love the yarn bombing! I've never seen anything like that before. Fun. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked the bombing. It was new to me, too, but fun.
DeleteHappy 4th of July!
My city has no character, except me. I'm the character. When I was in San Francisco, I loved it that some of the posts where one could lock up a bike were covered in knitted "socks". The Hurricane said someone must have been concerned that the poles were cold.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Well, Janie, I'm sure you've got more than enough character to make up for the rest of your city. Yeah, I hear San Fran has a pretty chilly wind. Can't let those poles catch a cold.
DeleteI fear my town pales in comparison. I absolutely love the frogs.
ReplyDeleteI love those frogs, too, but I'll bet if you think about it, you can come up with something totally unique and wonderful about your town, too. (Hey! YOU live there, right...?)
DeleteBeautiful post and interesting town.
ReplyDeleteI live in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The town has a strong personality. It has a nice historical flavor, a gorgeous riverfront, nice coffee shops, a few art galleries, interesting cultural events, a couple of theaters. I like it.
Thanks. I'm glad ya liked it. La Crosse sounds like a lovely place. Not sure if I could handle the winters there, though.
Deletewow - how fun. I want to visit and stroll. My Texas home - Bedford is a small community, but rather impersonal. The library works hard to have events but things are rather flat. My home town - North Wales PA - was founded in the 1800s - much more unique but I'm 1500 miles away. I love to travel and discover that unique personality. I look forward to your friday post
ReplyDeleteCool! Come on down! We can sit next to one of the frogs and chat a while. On the plus side, if there isn't much happening in your town, that gives you more time to write, right?
DeleteI love the look of that white two storey with the wrap around porch, reminds me a bit of the one in Practical Magic.
ReplyDeleteThe yarn bombing is gorgeous especially on the frogs. We get the yarn bombing here in Adelaide, but usually it's more messy than pretty.
Those old houses have so much character, don't they? (Too bad they don't have much in the way of insulation.)
DeleteI just saw in last night's paper that a town not too far away from here has a big yarn bombing exhibit around and in their museum. Not sure if we'll be able to visit it before it's done, though.
P.S. the yarn bombing has a specific reason, my daughter told me it last summer but I don't remember now what it is. I'll do a little googling...
ReplyDeleteYou mean it isn't because the trees are cold...?
DeleteI really dig the frogs, had a buddy once who ate the wrong mushroom and had a deep conversation with a whole group of the wet green guys.
ReplyDeleteHA! Too funny. Kinda like the guy in whatever movie it was who smoked something potent and spent the rest of the party staring at and enraptured with the "far out" flowers in the wallpaper...
DeleteWe have some of those beautiful old houses in our town too. And like your town, the moneyed folks live in them. I wish we had a British store. What fun! And arts and crafts all over the place! You've got a sweet little town there, Sus!
ReplyDeleteThat British store is really neat, and so are the mother and daughter who own it. They've been stateside for quite a few years, but they haven't lost their accents or British wit.
DeleteI loved your post and all the photos! Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteNas
Thanks, Nas. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
DeleteFun! One of my blog friends lives in Lawrenceville, GA ... is that close to you?
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Eugene, Oregon, and talk about a city with personality! Our little La Pine is the newest official city in Oregon (though it has been here forever), and it is fun to see it receive funding and what the city go-getters figure out to use it on (looks and parks for the most part).
What a fun theme that you are doing though.
Kathy M.
Oh, cool! Yes, Lawrenceville's in the same county as we are. Small world, huh?
ReplyDeleteMaybe you can blog about the differences in the personalities of your towns of Eugene and La Pine. That's one thing I'll say for our county; we've got lots and lots of green space and parks.
Love the yarned trees! They are really cool. And oh my, such beautiful old homes. I lived in MD for 5 years, about an hour south of Baltimore. All of MD is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAren't they neat-looking? With as "crafty" as you are, I can imagine you decorating all the trees in your yard, too.
Delete