Werthan Bag Factory

Our dear friends and hosts Bill and Kaki live in a fabulous three level industrial loft condo in downtown Nashville.....the three windows at the back overlook the city skyline. Their building is part of a huge complex of buildings that was once the historic Werthan Bag Factory. 

The factory started as a rag and repurposing used burlap business and evolved into printing bags for flour....feed and other goods.

Bill and Kaki have an collection of actual printing plates that were used for printing bags....and I was tasked with helping them figure out where and how to hang them. 

Paul and I had a couple hours in the condo on our own this morning so I came up with a tentative plan using paper templates and puzzling them up the stairs. Paul was happy on the couch reading his book giving me tips as I needed them. We all have our gifts.

After a few hours out and about...we got to work.

We moved the dining room table closer to the window creating an opportunity for a music listening area near Bill's expansive record collection. 

After a bit of tweaking...we are all pretty pleased with the result....loving the way the frames compliment the wooden beams in this historic Werthan Bag Factory loft.

Order

Subtitle: Game Changer

I have a string of sequence confetti lights I bought several years ago for Christmas decorating. I left them up until March that year so I declared them as my equinox lights. They go up in the fall...and down in the spring. The evening sparkle is a game changer this time of year.

I mostly keep my main living area fairly tidy. I have been known to clutter up the dining room table...and I do use the guest room as a plop spot. And since I'm the only one who uses the little TV room....I tend to have piles of projects and mail to sort patiently waiting for attention. 

But the upstairs studio is a different matter....it's almost always a wreck. I've been trying to do some organizing lately because I have no open workspaces anymore. I need just a bit of order. Maybe I can be motivated by my current puzzle. 

I said it was a doozy...and I wasn't kidding. Hundreds of colorful rainbow butterflies scattered on a world map. I pulled out all the orange pieces....and fiddled with them for a bit with very little progress UNTIL I came up with a strategy and established some order.

I sorted the oranges into lights and darks. Then I sorted each side into two groups...the long skinny pieces that go horizontally...and the short stubby ones that go vertically. I was mostly able to place them the right right side up because of the bits of butterfly on the piece. 

I started with two pieces that were already joined in the box....I consider that a gift from the puzzle fairy....and started building from there. Because of my sorting and order.....it was a game changer! 

And just like that....I had almost all the orange butterflies assembled and connected to the border. 

And after dinner I did the same thing with the yellow.

Just think what some order would do for me in my studio! 

Especially Special

Jay and Janice are coming for dinner....so that has been my focus today. The menu is seafood chowder and apple crisp....which sounded a little bit like fall! It's always a good thing to tend to the condo and prepare a meal for especially special people.

Adding some festive gourds to my centerpiece was my infusion of fall for today.

This one was unique with a great stem. 

But this stem was especially special.

I love the fall findings on my table!

The Wandering Flowers made a stop in New Albany, Indiana where Cherie and Dale had lunch at The Lady Tron's Diner. They were greeted by Lady Tron, and R2D2.

Cherie said the diner was tiny....with just 10 stools. 

This Guest check reminded Cherie of the doodles her dad used to do on napkins and anything he could get his hands on and leave at restaurants. He seems to leave a trail of creativity behind him everywhere he goes.

If you remember one of Chuck's doodles was featured on the first page in Cherie's joy journal. Such an especially special Chuck moment in the Lady Tron's Diner.

I forgot to plot the St. Louis Flower stop yesterday....so there are two stops today. Next up...the final push for home. Cherie and Dale have been on their adventure since the beginning of August....I'm sure it will feel good to be home. 

Sun Clock

I love the change in the seasons....especially summer to fall. And I'm quite fond of the fall equinox when the light is balanced. It's a moment of alignment.....a turning point...a seasonal shift. It represents a pivotal time in the harvest...and a time of gathering and release. 

A month or so I stumbled on this Sun Clock through an artist's feed. This is a screen shot at 6:23...and the equinox is at 8:05 here in the Eastern Time Zone. 

I'm such a visual person....so I was quite taken with it. When you go to the online site...you can move your curser around and get information about the current light and darkness is live time....in your time zone. 

Did you know there was a morning and an evening golden hour? And there are three phases of morning and evening twilight.

Check it out!  https://sunclock.net/

In preparation for fall....I took a field trip to one of my favorite local garden stores yesterday and shopped for stems pumpkins and gourds. I'm going to take a little time each day to infuse a little autumn into my yard and home....and I'll share some of it here because it brings me joy.

I want my entrance to feel welcoming and seasonally festive.

I knew I wanted this tall skinny pumpkin. Because tall and skinny is fun....but just look at that fabulous stem! The women at the checkout counter totally understood.

Cherie, Dale, and the Wandering Flowers made their way to the St. Louis Zoo...which, by the way is totally free for everyone.

It is next to Forest Park, which is bigger than Central Park in New York. It's also free....and the home of an art, history, and science museum. 

Here are The Wandering Flowers...at the entrance to the zoo. 

Thank goodness Cherie and Dale made the right call to take them back to the car....they were much to heavy to tour around the zoo and park.

The companion flowers were handed off to Ryan and Chase and joined other Chuck flowers at their new home.

So now The Wandering Flowers were on their own in the back seat for the rest of their journey. 

I loved this behind the scenes snapshot Cherie sent with all the other important stuff: snacks, paper towels, and car projects! 

Places and Spaces

Sometimes joy looks like dusting and vacuuming places and spaces in the condo that haven't been touched in a while. We have house guests coming Saturday into Sunday....and I using it as an excuse to do a deep  clean. I didn't do any slow doodling today....but I slow cleaned almost all day long on this rainy day.

This rainbow vessel collection on my mother's antique desk in my dining room is one of my favorite spaces...and now it's all dusted. I did the spectrum cross stitch back in 2012 and it still makes me smile....as does my colorful handmade lampshade on Linda's vintage lamp.

There were also places and spaces in the day where I puttered on a few other things....like my puzzle. I thought I would give this view of my puzzle table from the living with the rainbow display in the background. The puzzle table is smack dab in the middle of our large living space...and that seems just right. When I'm sitting at the table I can see out the patio doors and watch the weather and the birds.

And THIS happened late this afternoon. Emily (my goddaughter) finally opened her Joy Journal while we Facetimed. It was pure JOY! You can get a glimpse inside her crazy joy journal here in this post: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2026/04/a-glimpse-inside.html

Just a Touch

I don't know what I was waiting for...but other than the gourds by my front door I've not done a bit of fall decorating. Until today. (Thanks for the nudge Judy.)

Even just a touch brings me joy. 

These little trick or treaters always make me smile. I've tucked a few other things here and there...but these are my favorites.

This fungi caught my attention this morning. My plant identifier called it Schizophyllaceae and I think it's absolutely fascinating!

And I didn't see the little surprise on this leaf until I uploaded the photo. 

If you look closely....there's a tiny little web in the hole in the leaf. 

Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder. 

E.B. White

I spent most of the day in the garage. It's not really photo worthy...but I'm doing projects I've wanted to do for 5+ years. I'm installing hooks...holders and hangers. I'm cleaning...organizing and purging. I want everything to have a place....most importantly the car for the winter. 

I installed this shelf several years ago for my old bottles....and it make me smile everytime I drive or walk in. I've got some other things to hang too.

The idea was inspired by my dear friend Connie who always had just a touch of art in her garage. 

Just The Right Person

Becky and I can talk for hours about paint colors, rugs choices and room design. So just the right person was here when my new furniture arrived this morning. 

Paul and I gave our old couch to Sam when he moved....and have been making it work  in the living room with a bunch of mismatched chairs since the beginning of July.

Last night Becky and I cleared the living room to get ready for an 8:30 delivery this morning. 

Never underestimate the will and strength of two farm girls. She was just the right person for the job.

This is the 3rd navy couch we've owned....so it already feels like an old friend. And there's my old friend....back at the puzzle table! 

As a matter of fact the very first couch Paul and I bought after we were married was navy...and here we are again.

It will take me a while to settle things in...and I have more incentive now than ever to finish my stripes fabric piece. Maybe. Hopefully.

And to top it off....Becky and I had a fabulous happy hour on the patio with Patty. Also...just the right person to add to the friend mix.

PEMDAS

Subtitle: Order of Operations

Do you remember PEMDAS?  Parentheses, exponents, multiplication and division, and addition and subtraction. I may never use it again...but I don't think I'll ever forget the order of operations for mathematics. 

I felt like I had an order of operations strategy for my Christmas undecorating making it less of a chore and more of a puttering project. We're still enjoying some lights and a few decorations...but I wanted to gradually tone it down and get most of the spaces back to ordinary time. So I created an order of operations of sorts.

I started several days ago putting away the Santas....then a few other things that were more Christmasy. The next day I transitioned my window sill and dining room hutch from Christmas to winter with some snowmen and trees.

Yesterday I took the ornaments off the tree leaving just the lights for New Year's Eve. And just today....the tree is down and all put away. It feels good!

Order of operations was the way to go this year! 

I'll enjoy the snowmen and trees for the month of January.

Happy New Year! Bring on 2025!

Little Bits and Parts

"I like to envision the whole world as a jigsaw puzzle...if you look at the whole picture, it is overwhelming and terrifying. But if you work on your little part of the jigsaw and know that people all over the world are working on their little bits, that's what will give you hope." Dr. Jane Goodall

Jane's advice is helpful for the really important work needed in the world and in our own communities....we all should do our little part. But it also works for actual jigsaws...little bits and parts at a time. 

ALL the windows views...and the street scene across the bottom of Margie's advent puzzle are complete and not one piece is missing!!!

It makes me hopeful that all the pieces might actually be here! I have 3 more little puzzles that go across the top to finish...and they are taking a little more time.

So many pieces are completely interchangeable making the dark blue sky a bit of a challenge. I remember Margie commenting on that when she was working on this....and I'm thinking of her every step of the way.

One section is done...and the next three are getting there.

The end is in sight!

And my Christmas kitchen window scene is all set up. 

This is one of my favorite little spaces.

Really Big Bowl

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."  Albert Einstein

It looks like spring out the window....but with the wind it still feels a bit like winter.  This frosty straw caught my eye this morning....

....and these sticks caught Paul's eye. He was quite taken with the sand imprint of the sticks just a few inches away.  How in the world did that happen so perfectly? And how did the sticks get moved...so perfectly?

I'm going with that miracle thing on both!

Jim was back....and our cherished pew table is about a sturdy as it can get.  Just in time for another art class with Sally and Ida tomorrow....which I'm calling Tuesday at the Table.  I'm pretty excited to be teaching again...and sharing my stash!  More on that to come

I couldn't be more pleased with all the things Jim has done for us and I'm scheming up a few more.

Our precious butter bowl from Paul's grandmother is back on the table. I oiled it up today bringing out the the lustre of the wood. 

Back in the day....once the butter was churned it would be transferred to the butter bowl to be salted and pressed before storing.  These bowls were one of the most useful tools in an early American home.

Now it's a cherished addition to our home....  and when I need a really big bowl...I have one!

And I needed a really big ball for Paul's baseballs under the coffee table in Lexington. 

I have a thing for bowls.....all kinds of bowls....even little ones.