November Comes

November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.

With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.

The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring.

~Clyde Watson


November brings my favorite holiday and all the cozy warmth of browns and golds, coppers and bronze. We'll not discuss what else November brings.

Winter berries must be harvested soon to use in Thanksgiving and Christmas decor. If one waits much longer, the bears, deer, and birds will have eaten them all up. We got ours from John's property from this very bush, which does not look so full and lovely anymore. Along one of our highways lives a lady who has a giant winterberry bush with a sign that says: Do NOT cut my berries! They do look beautiful against the snow. (No, we have no snow yet. I'm just using my imagination; to imagine snow is not too difficult, unfortunately. Oh dear! And I said that we wouldn't discuss this.)



Have a wonderful weekend, Dear Ones. I'll catch you Monday I hope!

The Last Halloween Hurrah

The pirate outfit is a hand-me-down, but our little pirate this year will not be enjoying a Thomas the Train costume next. I get the distinct sense that my little grandson will be wearing it until it falls apart. He adores Thomas the Train. You've never seen a more angelic pirate who only wanted to nibble candy at his mama's knee or hug his teddy bear.

I've Missed You

I certainly have. Gee, when Lovella's right, she's right. She said that I wouldn't be able to stay away for too long.

Thing is, I don't have a lot to share. Every day we wake, get dressed, eat a quick breakfast and off we go. John works on his carpentering...new door, new wall, new sheetrock, new floor. I work on packing up the remains of his life there bringing it either to my house or to the transfer station. He's also donated a lot of things. This packing up of a life isn't easy. I know he's had some trouble letting some things go.

In the evening, we come home and I try to absorb all that was gleaned...books, clothing, linens, dishes, food. It gets interesting. Course I do love a good yard sale. ;>

Tonight we went to town and shopped at Home Depot for lighting fixtures. I had decided to completely defer to him. I wound up selecting the light for the living room and he selected the lights for the bedrooms. Perfect. Out for a hamburger and home we came where he busily washed dishes while I was at the computer.

Someone asked where John would live — why with me, of course. I think that the wedding may have gone by too quickly for my visitor to have noticed.

Here's a photo of John's long driveway. Good thing that he has a plow because that thing would be a real pain to shovel. Wasn't that a nasty trick Old Mother Nature played on so many this early in the season? And did I hear that it snowed in London today? Whatever happened to global warming?!



Have a relaxing weekend, Dear Ones.

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Ghost story for Halloween...

One night a weary traveler arrived at an old hotel to rent a room. His fourth floor room was right at the top of the stairs. At midnight he heard the creak of the stairs far below and a quavering voice said, "It floats. It floooooaaaats." Frightened the traveler covered up his head with his bed coverings, but still the steps climbed higher and higher and "the voice" proclaimed its eerie message. Finally, when the traveler could take it no more, he screamed, "What floats?"

And in the most cheerful way imaginable the voice responded, "Ivory Soap floats!"

Sorry, it's the best that I could do. Why this is the only ghost story I remember is anyone's guess.

A Creature of Habit

That would be me...one could almost set one's clock by me. For example, though my children were born two and a half years apart, one was born at 4:27 pm and the other at 4:29 pm.

And take last Saturday...I was baking the annual apple pie. No, I took no notice of the day I made last year's apple pie. Would you like to guess how far apart the two events were? Same day. One year apart. Weird. I am.



Baking apple pies from scratch...homemade crust and all...is such a labor intensive affair that it can't be allowed to go unnoticed. Isn't it pretty? Much prettier than last year's photo, too, I think.

I also baked that apple cake that Chocolatechic was talking about last Saturday. Mine was just as pretty as hers except a little darker. Okay, a lot darker and that's why I didn't share a photo because, oh all right, I burned it. How you ask? I was blogging. That's right...blogging. A girl can't do it all all the time. Gheesshhh. Anyway, this is just to testify that, even though it was slightly burned, it was still moist with those cinnamony pockets of apple goodness...special. If you bake one, yours will be very pretty and tasty.

Late yesterday afternoon, I went over to John's house to see how things were going as he is preparing his home to rent. So much to do and the poor man needs my help. I saw it all so clearly. He's overwhelmed with it all. So I am going to be helping him a lot more...he may live to regret this...and that means that I won't be around Blogdom as often. I'll miss being able to check in on you whenever I feel like it. I know that this is not going to be just a week's nor even a month's job, but I hope to be figure out my new schedule soon. I think I might go nuts without you all.

Leaving you with a picture of my autumn leaves in the most lovely shades of silvery sage and salmon...

Enjoy a wonderful Tuesday!

Designing for Life

Kari and Kijsa sure know how to surprise a gal! It was flabbergasting to be included in the list of wonderful bloggers who received the above award from them. My blog has never been so busy and I'm certain that I didn't have things as tidy and neat as they should have been to welcome guests from all over. I didn't have anything delicious to offer anyone...nary a nibble in sight. Nevertheless, I do want to thank each and every person who wandered in from Kari and Kijsa's; it's been a blessing! And most of all, I'd like to thank both Kari and Kijsa for the honor.

This is how the sisters described this award:

And that is our goal and purpose behind this blog...to inspire others to join us on the exciting, thrilling journey ahead. We want to succeed in sparking creativity in the lives of others for that is how we measure our success. In short...we try to each and every minute of every wonderful day be "Designing for Life."

And so...in the spirit of design uniqueness and creativity...we wanted to honor some truly special and wonderful blogs that we felt represented this philosophy to the fullest extent...feel free to share your award with two other blogs who you feel are truly "Designing for Life."

Two...two...only two...

Today I am going to award Ruthann at Warm Pie, Happy Home. Her blog is a wealth of joy in all things needed for creating a warm and happy home. In her case, it does include pie. It also includes a merry heart and a giving spirit.

Next, I'm awarding Suzanne at The Farmer's Wife who does e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. She cooks, she cleans, she sews, she lays tile, she pours concrete, and she writes. (See?!) Best of all, she shares it all with us.

Can't wait to see whom you'll pass this along to, Gals.

Have a great Monday, everyone!