Jack O Lanterns

Well, it is the day before Halloween and we finally got our pumpkins carved. We started them around 8:30 pm and finished about 9:00 pm. I remember when we were kids, we couldn't wait to carve our pumpkins and usually did them so early that they ended up rotting before Halloween. Then when the girls were little, it was so fun to watch them and help them get their pumpkins carved, that we got them done in plenty of time. But now it's just the two of us and we are trying to stay excited and involved about the holidays, but I must admit that sometimes it is just hard to muster up the interest and motivation. The important thing is that they will be on our doorstep when the little trick or treaters come by tomorrow evening. I will let you guess which one of us did which pumpkin. I think they are both quite cute!

Three more blogs I love

I was blog surfing and decided that I wanted to add a couple more of my favorites to my blogs list. One of them is another designer and she is just so cosy. I say that because her blog name is Posy gets Cosy and she is just really a lover of life in so many ways and you just really appreciate the little things right along with her. I read her blog at least once every few days.

Another one that I visited regularly several months ago and then lost track of was a gal who lived in the Arctic Circle. She often writes about the weather and takes fabulous pictures of the area. I think she changed her blog address although the name of the blog is the same. It is called The Pancake Chronicles and I was delighted to find her again. She loves where she lives and is fun to read, especially in the winter time.

One more that I want to share is a young mother living in England, taking care of her family and knitting delightful little animals, including Little Cotton Rabbits. She has two children, one of who is an autistic boy and she shares her life and struggles in her blog. She is also an amazing knitter. Her animals are absolutely amazing. One of these days I am going to buy one of them.

My arms are ready!

As the day grows closer for the birth of our second grandchild, this little one, still unseen, enters my mind more and more often. I realize that my arms are ready for an infant. Perhaps you have heard the saying 'her arms ached for a baby'. There is something to be said for that sentiment. To hold that child in my arms and then watch her grow, as I have watched Abby grow will be an amazing thing. They really do grow too fast, don't they.

I hope to take advantage of this opportunity, as well, to spend more time with my Abby. This is an opportunity to make good on all the good intentions that I had with my own two girls.

Sugar and Spice and all things nice - Girls, they seem to come in twos! We would have loved to have a little boy, but how exciting that Abby will have a sister. And we will have another little one to love.

I love pumpkins!!! (at the Circleville pumpkin show)

Saturday afternoon Leon and I ventured out into the wonderful fall air and headed south to the great and renowned Circleville Pumpkin Festival. We have been there a couple of times and it really is a great experience. However, we haven't been there for a couple of years, so it was great fun to get back to our fall routine. I love pumpkins and all the autumn 'decor', the gourds and leaves and crisp temperatures. I wanted to get lots of pictures of the pumpkin display, which is absolutely outstanding and would like to share them with you. Oh by the way... I tried the pumpkin brownie and had the standard pumpkin pie. Leon had a pumpkin burger and we shared pumpkin seeds on the way home.

This was my very handsome date.

Zoe is back for Halloween

This is Zoe, designed by Jenny B. Harris


One of my favorite blogs is "allsorts". It was actually the first one I ever saw and I regularly visit to see what she is up to. Her name is Jenny and she is a designer, as so many of the bloggers are. She has had a tough few months here recently. She lost her mother and her blogs have reflected her grief with their infrequency. However, when I clicked on it this morning and saw that Zoe is back, I was delighted. Zoe is a darling little character than she uses to do screens for children. I have seen a room decoration screen, a Christmas gingerbread screen and today, I found that she had her Halloween screen up. I hope that she is back and feeling better everyday, because I love her blog and whether it is for children or not, I love the Zoe screens and activities. I am adding her to my favorite blog list.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

I just finished another book, which I have reviewed on Goodreads.com. This book touched my heart and reminded me of our Molly, that we lost in March. It gave me another way of understanding her time with us, and her purpose in our lives. Very thought provoking - Dog lovers say they cannot read dog stories that are sad. I understand, but this one is so unique and has such a message. I recommend it! Here is my review......





The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I am not a race car fan and I am not a dog lover, but I loved a dog. This book was an amazing story of a dog and his master. It was a wonderful book and the parallels drawn by the author between the races that Denny participated in and the ultimate race of his life were true and genuine. I was struck by two main issues in this book. First was, as just mentioned, the author's apt correlations between the psychology of driving a race car; and of fighting for the important issues of your life. The second issue that really felt very personal to me, was the idea that once Enzo (the dog), had achieved his purpose in life, that his time to die became a matter of nature. Enzo's philosophy was that he would not die until his purpose had been achieved and once Denny had finished the "personal race of his life", Enzo was able to let go and pass on.


The beginning of the book was a little slow going for me until I got into the feel of the idea of Enzo's narration and the idea that dogs really can reason. The book does nothing but get better and the last third of the book is absolutely spellbinding. My comment to the author would be "I get it!!"




View all my reviews.

Pshewwww- Finally

Well, I have a dress for the wedding. I had taken today off to shop and had one by 12:30, after finding nothing on Saturday or Sunday. I like it a lot. It is very nice, navy blue, long, with long sleeves and some ruching at the waist. I don't know if the spelling is right on that, but it is a really neat feature. I can't show you a picture yet, but I am pretty happy with it.

Somebody else got their dress for the wedding today. Miss Abigail Grace. I caught a sneak peek from a phone picture and it was adorable.

Pretzel Day

Yum, Yum, the final product

Couldn't wait long to try one and look at that luscious inside!!

I have been anxiously waiting to make the pretzels from the mix that I bought last weekend at Freemans farm market. Yesterday got away from me, because I was out shopping for a dress for Melissa's wedding. Unfortunately I really didn't have much luck, but I have the day off tomorrow, with a list of places to check out. I do have one that is online, that I like a lot. I am going to go ahead and order it tomorrow, whether I find something or not, so that I can have a choice or in case the one being ordered is not what it appears to be. That way, I can return one or the other. Anyhow that is a whole other story, so back to the pretzels. I decided to make the pretzels today, so after church and some quick errands, I settled into the kitchen to enjoy my little pretzel making adventure. It really was quite easy and the pretzels were wonderful. For those of you familiar with JoJo's pretzels in Northern Indiana (JoJo's is a step (or two) above Auntie Anns pretzels.), mine turned out nearly as good as JoJo's. I was actually quite impressed with myself. The kit made 10 pretzels and I put salt on 8 of them and parmesan cheese on two of them. I haven't tried one of those yet, so we will see how they taste. I took pictures, so that you could see how fun and easy it was. Leon and I each had one as soon as they were out of the oven and the rest are for later tonight and tomorrow.

Tea time

I got some loose tea at the farm market on Saturday. I love Earl Gray tea and although I usually use a tea bag, loose tea is a fun little diversion from the routine. So on Sunday, I decided to fix myself a cup of tea, using my loose tea and my tea ball, to drink while I read the newspaper. There is something peaceful and basic about brewing fresh tea. It is one of those things that women (and men) have done for centuries. Also, being a descendant of Welsh heritage, tea is a really big part of that lifestyle, from peasants to royalty. So I have a little bit of a renewal of spirit with every cup of tea, and brewed tea just enhances the feeling.

I would really love to drink some of the other teas, but I just cannnot get past Earl Gray, but with winter getting closer, I will drink more tea and may try some different ones. Funny, but I don't really care for iced tea. Also, for those mystery readers, there is a little tea shop series of mystery books. I need to find out who the author is, but will let you know. I have read several of them and they are nice quick little reads.

One more little item. I am practicing for the reception centerpieces and wanted to share just a teaser. The picture I am adding does not show exactly how they will look, but I wanted to see how they look and how the flowers hold up. Overall, I am quite pleased. But I must warn that the final result will be much nicer. I am also shopping for my dress. Busy times!!!

My 'Goodreads' review

I finished my first book since joining Goodreads and thought I would share with you. They are so kind as to give the HTML to add reviews to a blog. So I will probably continue to do this. Kinda Fun!!! I love this site.




The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I picked this one up at Target because it was about knitting and I am currently into knitting as well. I also have a fondness for fluffy little books about women friends. When I first started it, I felt the writing could have been better. Some sentences I had to read twice, to understand. The characters kept me interested, however, and the book gained some 'meat' towards the end. There were some life issues dealt with that impact many women and the author did a pretty good job of addressing them. The end was unexpected, which always ups a books rating, for me. I wavered between three and four stars, but decided on 3 due to the rather awkward writing at times. But I liked it.


View all my reviews.

Fall Saturday

I absolutely love this time of year. Fall is my favorite season and today, we went to an orchard to pick up some apples. I wore my sandals, so we didn't actually pick them, but just getting out in this beautiful weather was nice. We went to an orchard in the area and picked up just a few apples. There are just two of us, so we don't use too many. I got my galas, that I love and Leon got some just picked - winesaps. Unfortunately the winesaps are a bit on the tart side, so we will probably do an apple crisp or something. The galas are the perfect size for me - I like a smaller apple and these are just perfect. After we left the orchard, we went to a farm market where we go once a year or so, that has a rather unique inventory. Lots of bulk type foods and mixes. I got a homemade pretzel mix that I am going to try tomorrow. I will be sure and take a picture and share my success or failure. They have a little ice cream counter, so we got a pumpkin pie ice cream cone. Love that pumpkin!!! The good thing about pumpkin is that is is healthy with lots of fiber and low fat. I only had one dip, but I must say that although it was very good, it does not stack up to UDF pumpkin pie ice cream. I haven't had UDF yet this year, maybe next weekend! I think I will always miss the autumn drives that we used to take in Michigan before we moved here; but we are working on starting our traditions here as well.

I rearranged my fall centerpiece by removing the smallest candle and adding a couple of gourds. I think I like it better. What do you think.

Back to the grind and shower details

My vacation is over and it's back to work and the day to day grind. Don't get me wrong. I really do enjoy working, but that doggone getting up in the morning just kills me. Anyhow, the shower for Lissy took place over the weekend, with a great turn out. It was so good to see family that I haven't seen for a while. There was several things that I did not get done, that I wanted to, but that is just par for the course, I guess. Next date is the wedding in November.

The food was good and she and Chad got lots of nice things. Carrie chose a candy corn theme for the shower with candy corn/nut mix for the favors. My centerpiece was candy corn filled glass pillars with candles. I must have taken the picture before I tied on the raffia. I think I will leave them for Halloween, but I must admit to a missing candy corn or two. For those of you who were here, I want to share the punch recipe with you. The sherbert ring was done in candy corn colors. Unfortunately my ring mold wouldn't fit into the punch bowl, so I had to pinch hit and use a butter dish mold. I looked briefly for a smaller mold, but couldn't find anything at Target. The cake was a hit, as I thought it would be - yea Costco.... and thank God it is gone now. I am including a picture of it for those not there, but really it was the taste that was outstanding.