November of Thanksgiving 2010

Another glorious fall day here in Illinois.  We've had so many beautiful days for which to be thankful and each time I've savored them, thinking they might be the last.  

It's lovely to enjoy the breeze coming through the open windows in November--a rare treat!

I'm thankful for the way a beautiful day can lift one's spirits.

Thanksgiving is a good thing.  Sharing your thanksgiving thoughts with others is a good thing.  I hope you'll join in with me and others in this November of Thanksgiving!

Fall food favorites

Every year my son, Sam, looks forward to oven roasted pumpkin seeds.  I always make them the same way--spread them out on a sheet pan with melted butter and sprinkle with Lawry's seasoned salt.  This year I did it a little different and the seeds are better than ever.  First, I roasted a whole pie pumpkin to make pumpkin puree for my little punkin', Maddie.  Once the pumpkin was soft, I let it cool, then scooped out the seeds (I was amazed that a small pie pumpkin has almost as many seeds as a huge jack o' latern sized pumpkin!) and scraped the pulp from the skin.  I pureed the pumpkin for Maddie and bottled into saved baby food jars and froze it.

The seeds were really easy to clean.  I just put them into a colander and rubbed them under cold water to rinse off the remnant of pumpkin.  Then I roasted them at 350 degrees until they were browned and crispy. They turned out much tastier and the skins were softer and less chewy.

That put me in the mood for another fall favorite--home made cake donuts.  I've got the donuts mixed up and in the refrigerator and I'll fry them up in the morning for breakfast.

And while we're at it, here's a picture of another fall favorite that I made for dinner last night:

What are your favorite fall foods?

Note to Self: first frost

It was very light but it was frost!  : D

Quote of the Week: Shelley

I heard the autumnal leaves like light footfalls of spirits passing through the streets.

Shelley



A peaceful sound

Rain in the downspouts on a dark morning with a cup of steaming hot coffee.

Thinking of fingerplays with Elliott:

The itsy bitsy spider went up the waterspout

Down came the rain and washed the spider out

Out came the sun and dried up all the rain

And the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again

I hope the sun will come out today.  The leaves need raking.  The windows need washing.  But for now I'll enjoy rain rattling in the gutters and images in my mind of Elliott and memories of my own boys when they were delighted with the itsy bitsy spider.

Note to Self: First Freeze

Temperature 26 degrees this morning.  I forgot to bring in my plants from the front porch last night.  So far, they don't seem to have been harmed.

Now the big question is:  Where in the world am I going to find room for my HUGE asparagus fern in this little house?

Note to Self: First Frost

Thirty-two degrees with blue spruce colored frost in open areas.  Fifty-five degrees in the house this morning.  Had to turn the furnace on for the first time to take off the chill.  Tomorrow promises to be almost wintery with snow in the forecast.  Measurable snow. 

Eve didn't want go out.  Ivy was revved up and running around like a crazy dog.

Now the rush begins. The leaves will start pelting down and we'll be washing windows with chilled fingers and tallying up the filled leaf bags as we set them on the curb.

The first frost last year was a killing frost on October 28.

Quote of the Week: Wolfe

Then summer fades and passes and October comes.  We'll smell smoke then, and feel an unexpected sharpness, a thrill of nervousness, swift elation, a sense of sadness and departure.

-   Thomas Wolfe

At LAST!!

From 80's and humid last week, to 60's and breezy this week.

The air conditioner has been turned off with the hope that it won't be turned back on this season and the windows have been cracked--the wind is positively pelting into the house!

I think I'll wear a hoodie.

I was going to spend the day at my drawing board, but it feels like a good day to do some deep cleaning instead.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho. . .

. . .it's off to work I go.

Again.

55 degrees and sunny.  Another glorious fall day.

A Musical Montage

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

More Leaf Art

(Note to Self)

October 28, 2008 First frost--a killing frost.

The grass is bejeweled with sparkling shards of icy frost, glittering in the glow of the lamp post.

I could see my breath on the porch.

I could hear the leaves raining down and clattering in the gutters.

I'm glad I had my slippers on when I stepped out onto the front porch.

It's cold.

Our Little 'Punkin'

Doesn't he look like Jackie Cooper?

Fall Photo Shoot with Elliott

It was cold and windy and wet yesterday but I still managed to take hundreds of pictures of Elliott in our first real "photo shoot."  It was great fun and Elliott was very cooperative in his little blue jeans jacket and deep blue eyes.  Don't you love the shot of Elliott and Beth?  Now you see where he gets his glorious red hair!

We had Elliott all to ourselves last night while John and Beth went to a fund-raiser at Beth's school.  We had so much fun with him.  No pictures from last night, though.  We were having so much fun I forgot to snap pictures.

More Leaf Art

Falling Leaves by Rev. Lawrence Keister

Which the leaf that falleth next?
You can never tell.
Which the one that seekest place
Where the others fell?

Frost has touched them all alike,
And the rising sun;
Gentle breezes had their part,
Then attraction won.

Lifeless there upon the turf
Lie the forest leaves,
Mission ended, work all done--
Nature never grieves.

"Thousand summers kiss the lea,
Only one the leaf,"
Yet how great a task is done
In a life so brief.

Friendly little alchemists
Working day and night,
Building maples, elms and oaks,
Trees of girth and height.

Storms of summer you withstood,
Holding on with might;
Now with sudden impulse fall
Careless where you light.

More Leaf Art

More Leaf Art

THE FLAME OF HIS PRESENCE

A bush that burned though unconsumed

Once caught the eye of Moses;

And so the flame that in us burns

Affects each one who knows us.

As Christians we should stand apart,

Because we live like Jesus;

Because we shine with holy light

For every one that sees us.

No less impressive than the bush

In desert life and story,---

The ministers of God who preach

His presence and His glory.

Rev. Lawrence Keister

The Shining Pathway

More Leaf Art

More Leaf Art