Bittersweet...courtesy of Janet at Housepeepers. It seems that what is scarce in this part of the country grows wild in Massachusetts. I love this stuff! Now I just need to find a little time to construct a wreath and some arrangements with this sure sign of autumn. Thank you, Janet!
Photo: Akron Zoo
This little (?) fellow is from the Akron Zoo. Quite proper, don't you think? I finally pulled out my sweaters for fall and winter this week, and I have a disproportionate amount of varying shades of pink sweaters. All styles, all shades. I obviously am attracted to the pink displays in clothing stores.
While bead shopping (Hobby Lobby sale this week !), I decided to focus on pink beads for earrings, bracelets and necklaces.
They may look spring-like, but at least now I can replace the stand-by pearls with some pink jewelry!
Bunco in Newburgh at my friend Michelle's house...she lives in a beautiful log cabin out in a wooded area. She works part time at The Heart of Newburgh. These are just a few shots of her kitchen, decorated for Halloween. I love the Polka Dot witch (so much, that another friend at Bunco opened up the shop after our evening's festivities were over so that I could purchase Miss Polka Dot on my way out of town!).
Michelle's kitchen is huge--and she has so many charming vignettes scattered throughout the room. I left out one entire side of the are because there were people who did NOT want their picture taken standing there!
Black garland...a nice spooky touch.
The candelabra chandelier above the harvest table...decorated with old fashioned glass Halloween ornaments and black beads.
More Harvest/Halloween items, and a cross stitch made by Michelle.
The meal was wonderful. As an appetizer (as if we needed one), she served a really good apple dip consisting of cream cheese, brown sugar, caramel dip, topped by SKOR crunch. It was killer.
Photo: Country Home
It's Bunco Night in Newburgh this evening...unbelievable as it seems, if I wouldn't have read Michelle's blog last night I would have forgotten about it until sometime this afternoon. How could I forget an upcoming good meal that I don't have to shop for or cook? It's my turn in October, and I've been looking through recipes for months!
Oh...and guess what holiday is just three short months away?!?
Some weeks, Mondays aren't so bad. This is an "off week" for school...I love this program...school for 5 weeks (one class), off a week, then start all over again. The class coming up is Ethics & Jurisprudence...Law & Order, anyone?
Dinner is ready to pop into the oven at 5PM...Bruschetta Chicken Bake (our new most favorite recipe)..and a leisurely evening of reading, tea drinking, and relaxing is planned. Time to settle in for fall.
If I could pick and choose my seasons and live through them year 'round, it would be six months of autumn followed by six months of spring. We'd forget about Old Man Winter and the Dog Days of Summer. Following the prompt from Melissa at The Inspired Room (and don't you just love her blog? Always inspiring (of course), and so chock full of great ideas), here are my 20 little things to treasure in autumn...
We started out early...the Art, Wine & Jazz Fest began at 11:00 AM. In our minds, drinking on Main Street before noon sounded like the thing to do. There were just a few people out and about at that hour, so the big wine tent wasn't too crowded. Venders from local vineyards were in attendance...our favorite was the Oliver Winery.
We stopped at the new Wine & Dessert Bar (to be opening in early November). It's located in the lower level of a new condominium. While we were there sampling desserts (and they were very good), we spoke to the owner of the new complex. He took us on a tour of the penthouse (priced at just under a half million $$), and then on a tour of the more affordable (?) condos, priced at a mere quarter mil.
Megan fell in love with the condo...she now has a new feature to her five year plan...owning one of these.
The condos have wonderful decks and views...but some of the views aren't so great...you're overlooking a parking lot and a uniform supply shop in some cases.
We loved the circular staircase, but agreed that we wouldn't want to be carrying anything too cumbersome up (or down) the staircase.
The circular corrugated span conceals a half bath.
We both loved the built in display/book area and the library ladder.
Nice kitchen...complete with professional gas range, wine cooler, and french door refrigerator.
Murphy bed in the upstairs area.
The view from above...pretty nice.
Here's where I'll be today...a few blocks away on the Main Street Walkway...for the 1st Jazz, Wine & Arts Festival. The Walkway has undergone a massive renovation in the past year or so...they've renovated old buildings (former department stores and financial institutions), and turned them into galleries, loft apartments, and condos. I'll be taking my camera and heading out into a beautiful day.
Hurricane Ike moved through here yesterday morning with very high winds...trees and power lines are down all over the county (and many counties more), and thousands of homes are without power. No rain though. Many area schools are closed today. No damage at my place...just lots of 'thinned out' trees. The only positive...a cold front blew through, and the weather is wonderful this morning.
Bruschetta Chicken Bake
The garden/outdoor plants are really looking a little neglected. I'm a spring and autumn gardener...during the heat of summer, outdoors is the last place you'll find me. This time of year though is perfect for having a cup of coffee out in little garden area. I've transplanted all of the surviving houseplants and tossed the poor neglected ones that didn't make it. After a few scares this summer, the shamrock plant is full of blooms.
I spent lots of time today working on projects for school. It is definitely more work than the undergrad courses from last year; I just have to keep plugging along.
For many years, this was the season for spending lots of time in a hot kitchen canning tomatoes, making jams and jellies, and "putting up" fruits and vegetables to stock our pantry. An amazing feeling of satisfaction would come over me as I opened up cabinets and looked at the jewel-toned canning jars lining the shelves. So far this year, I've made some strawberry jam. In the next few weeks, I'll be making Rosemary Merlot jelly...a favorite among friends and family. Those jars are a great addition to a holiday gift basket. I'll share the recipe when I make the next batch.
It's such a beautiful Saturday...and the weather is great! The angle of the sun is changing ever so slightly and I love the way it looks coming through the kitchen windows.
Not much on the agenda today...a little sewing, a little cleaning, and a lot of working on a presentation for class. My chosen topic--some aspect of Life Coaching. Perhaps because I could really use one...
We're all anxiously awaiting a little leftover rain from Gustav--it's so very cloudy and gloomy today; a great day to sleep in, putter around, and maybe do a little reading and tea drinking. Unfortunately, that's not on the agenda today. One can dream...
Is anyone else eager to get past the November elections and get on with life? Can change happen? Will it just be business as usual? Will the sniping end?
It's still hot and humid here--the daughter is wishing for cool, crisp weather so she can wear a blazer or sweater for the first day of school. Not seeing much hope for that in the 10-day forecast.
The good thing about the weather--it's contributed to a tomato "boom" in our area. My plants flourished early; changing light through the course of summer has left my plants too shaded to produce much. I'm glad I have friends who are tired of the tomato harvest by now--I've been reaping the benefits. Bruschetta last night for dinner--while watching the premiere of the household's latest guilty pleasure--Gossip Girl. I can't decide if the appeal of the show is based on the lack of anything to watch for the past several months, or if it's just time to indulge in 'trashy TV'. For whatever reason, we can't wait until next week's episode.
So far I've pulled a few witches out, some tinsel, some garland, and a few other Halloween items. I'm slowly placing them around the house. The BOO letters came from the newly married Mika, Tina's daughter, at Cherry Hill Cottage. I love the vintagey-looking paper covering the letters. A friend made the papier-mache witch a few years ago. She's just a little scary...not too much.
I've spent most of the last two days just 'hanging out' with my daughter. We did a marathon viewing of season 1 of Gossip Girl on DVD; I'm haunted by the tag line "XOXO, Gossip Girl" that begins each episode...now that's scary! We did the mall thing, shopping for jeans and tops...it's so weird...her taste in clothing has changed so much in the past year or so...she's more career-wardrobe oriented and that's such a pleasant change.
Now if we'd just get some crisp, fall weather...Happy September!
