{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}~ September 27, 2015

September has been unusually warm and dry.  Despite the warm temperatures, signs of fall are appearing.

{Pretty} and {Happy}

I have never seen a mum with multiple colors before, but I love it.  It kept me from having to decide among all the gorgeous colors.  I got this at Walmart, of all places!

The leaves are just beginning to turn.

And this unidentified bush is full of berries.

Anyone know what kind of bush this is?

The sky is the deep, clear blue of autumn.

And the woodpile is getting bigger in preparation for cozy winter blazes.

{Funny}

I love it when the squirrels leave evidences of their activities all over the place.  This upright log served as a squirrel's dining table one day last week.

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{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}~ September 20, 2015

This weekend has been perfectly beautiful!  Blue skies, cooler temperatures, crisp nights. . . Lovely!

{Pretty}

Dave worked down by the pond all afternoon clearing out brush piles with chainsaw and fire.  He had a great time!  During the last of the fire, we roasted smoked sausages and marshmallows.

Part of our ever-increasing supply of wood

Anyone know what kind of flower this is?  It's all over the yard.

{Happy}

The two pumpkins growing in our actual garden were bug-eaten when I picked them up, but the volunteers in the compost pile were prolific.  That means the pumpkins I paid attention to (okay, I paid them only a little attention) did not do nearly as well as those I ignored.  Plus there are gourds.  I can't explain it, but I am happy to have these despite everything.

{Real}

What's a cookout without a burnt marshmallow or two?

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{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}~ September 13, 2015

My supply of pictures is pitiful this week.  I just didn't take many, but I will share what I have.  Read on . . .

{Pretty}

The color of this soup is pretty, don't you think?  It's homemade bean and bacon soup. . .  if you count using canned beans and broth as homemade.  It's semi-homemade, maybe?  Anyway, it was better than the canned variety.  I made cornbread to go with it, and we liked it enough and it was straightforward enough that it will go on our regular menu rotation.  Here's the recipe.

{Happy}

Hannah asked me to make her a new quilt for her bed.  Such a large part of the job is gathering fabric (from the scrapbag and from the store), washing it, and finally ironing it.  This weekend I actually had some time to begin cutting the squares and rectangles.  I have a long way to go, but I'm sure I'll enjoy the process, and I'm happy she wanted me to do this for her even though she could make it herself in much less time.  I'll post periodic updates.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

We are trying to decide on a paint color for a very large, very useless room in our house.  The aqua is too overwhelming in the space with 20 foot ceilings (I'm not joking!).  We are going with a neutral because all our accessories come in a wide range of colors.  The gray, which is actually greener than it appears here, is out.  I don't think I can live with gray, even one tempered with green, anyway, though I know it's very en vogue right now.  I'm so happy to be getting rid of the aqua, though!  I haven't shown you this room because it's just. too. much, but I promise a great big reveal when it's all finished.  

Eventually.

{Real}

Our garden this year has left much to be desired.  Ugh.  It had so many strikes against it, the first being that this is the first year we have planted a garden in this spot.  (We moved too late in the summer last year to get a garden going.)  The second was all that cold and rain we had in May and well into June, which caused a late start.  And the third was Dave's broken wrist, which greatly hampered our efforts on many gardening fronts. So our harvest has not been bountiful.  We'd all but given up on the beans when Dave managed to get a small saucepan full.  Wow, were they good!  

So far, we have gotten a total of one tomato, the above saucepan of beans, a handful of carrots, a few leaves of spinach, and enough cucumbers to make a gallon jar of pickles and also some for eating.  There is a field pumpkin and a couple butternut squashes coming on, plus a few mini pumpkins and gourds for decorating.  And we have hopes of more tomatoes if they ripen before frost.  The volunteers in the compost pile are doing better than those we planted on purpose!  

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{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}~ September 6, 2015

Joining Like Mother, Like Daughter for {pretty, happy, funny, real}~

{Pretty}

The past two weeks have been intense prep weeks for my classes at The Potter's School, especially since I had just found out that a textbook I had relied on in past years was not going to be available this year after all.  That left me scrambling, but I think I've come up with a good plan.  Executing it will take a lot of time and detailed planning, though.  So with all that plus what I was already expecting as far as workload goes, this week's meals were quick and easy and the housework got only a lick and a promise.  This week should be better (hopefully!).

Dave understood the added pressure and brought me these beautiful yellow carnations as a treat and encouragement.  Wasn't that sweet?  I added some zinnias from the garden and look what a pretty bouquet they made!  I find that flowers and quilts are similar in this one way~ even when the individual parts don't seem to go together, when you get them together and arranged, it always turns out well.

  

{Happy}

After I met my deadline for school, to relax and blow off some steam, Dave took me to dinner and . . . 

                            

the shooting range!  Though he has gone a few times, it was my first, and I have to say that it was a lot of fun.  First I got a lesson in gun safety and how to shoot, and then it was time to aim at the target.  I did really well according to the instructor!  See?

And you know what?  It was relaxing!

{Funny}

The place we went to dinner is a local favorite with a long history.  It's run by a Greek family, and I guess that this was one of their first impressions of the U.S.~

Sorry the picture isn't better, but it wasn't easy to photograph!

Thanks for stopping by!