Outdoors in October

Something red caught my eye as I started out on a walk the other day.

Bending down for a closer look, a photo opportunity presented itself.

Here our fall color change is just getting underway which makes me want to be outdoors enjoying the show before it comes and goes for another year.

A fall outing to the local pumpkin farm put me in the mood for decorating my outdoor spaces.

The coleus by the front door were looking a tad scraggly.

A few gourds and a happy scarecrow were added to cheer things up.

This year that wreath is a bit bittersweet.

Around this time last year a neighbor friend made it for me.  She had so much talent with making wreaths and floral arrangements.  Shortly before Easter she passed away unexpectedly.  She would never take payment for her creations.  Instead she requested a homemade apple pie for Thanksgiving.  She will be remembered as I am preparing my pies next month.

It won't be long until my house plants will be moving back indoors for the winter.

In the meantime, I added a few pumpkins to the patio to herald the season.

I added a leafy garland and a pumpkin to the patio table.

The garland lights up adding nice ambience to the evenings.

Over the weekend we took a walk through the woods and noticed that somebody had been decorating in there.

In the woods there is a tree house built around a large old tree.

It's a popular destination for visiting grandchildren.

Small pops of color to be found here and there.

I see many more woodsy walks in our future.

Somehow I always seem to pick up treasures on my woodsy walks.

Pockets and hands are filled when I get home.

There are some really cool nut pods that are partially opened.  I think they might be hickory nuts.  Might have to pop them all in a basket for another fall decoration.

Fun Fall Projects Courtesy of the Local Thrift Shop

One summer day I was strolling through the thrift shop and came across this lovely loaf pan.  My thoughts turned to autumn and how nice it would be to make a loaf of pumpkin bread that not only tasted good, but looked pretty too.

I know the Nordic Ware brand makes some beautiful baking pans.

Having never used one before, it seemed like a good opportunity to try it out.  The pan looked as if it had never been used and the price was only a few dollars.  An internet search tells me that they go for much more than that at places like Williams Sonoma.

Once home I hopped on the Nordic Ware website and printed off this recipe for a Spiced Pumpkin Loaf.  I tucked the pan and the recipe in the cupboard and waited patiently for autumn's arrival.

Today was the day to pull it out of that cupboard and spend a little time in the kitchen baking.

There you have it.

One pretty and tasty Spiced Pumpkin Loaf.

Brett & I shared a slice to see how it turned out.

He claimed we needed a few more slices just to be sure we liked it.

;D

Before we got carried away and ate the entire loaf, I put it under cover for safekeeping.

That domed cake stand was another recent thrift find.

I decided I wanted one and the next time I was thrifting, there it was.  Just waiting for me.  

The dome part is very heavy.  Perhaps that is so we think twice about how hard we want to work before going back for another piece?

Another recent thrift store find was this silicone squirrel and acorn
mold.  When I saw it a little light bulb went off.

A little more time in the kitchen to make some little fall soaps.

I had some simple soap making supplies from another time I made soap.  It was just enough to do these.  Since they are white, I added some grated nutmeg to give them little flecks of brown and to add a subtle fall fragrance.

A Very Happy Thanksgiving To My Canadian Friends.

🍂

                                                                         

From the Herb Garden to the Autumn Kitchen

Happy Fall Y'all

As the heat and humidity of a southern summer has loosened it's grip, we welcome cooler temperatures and sweet, fresh air making it's way into the house through open windows.

That cooler air seems to give me a burst of energy that was in shorter supply over the summer.

Last week I used one of those bursts of energy to empty out my herbs and spice drawer.  The drawer got wiped out and each jar was gone through to see what needed to be replaced or tossed out.  Once that was done I organized it in a more logical fashion.  It felt good to have that accomplished in time for all of the cooking and baking that will be taking place in the coming months.

For the first time, I decided to dry chives from my herb garden.

After washing and drying them, I snipped them up and set them in shallow bowls on the kitchen counter.  In a few days they were dry and ready to make a tasty addition to scrambled eggs, potatoes, soups or just about anything that could use a hint of mild onion flavoring.

I recently learned about drying herbs in a paper bag.

With this method I washed and dried the herbs and then put them into a paper bag leaving plenty of breathing room around them.

From there they went into a dark closet.  Every few days I would give the bag a couple shakes.  In a week or two they were dried beautifully.  No oven or dehydrator required.

I successfully dried oregano, parsley and lemon balm using that method.  The next thing I will be doing is mint.  Sometimes the mint seems like a nuisance as it is taking over and growing rampant.  But then something makes me remember how delicious it is.  In this case, it was the other evening after having a rather late and heavy meal for dinner.  I prepared a cup of mint tea and enjoyed it on the patio.  Darkness had set in, the autumn air so refreshing, solar lights adding color to the darkness and the nocturnal animals heard, but not seen.  We rarely sit outside in the dark.  This turned out to be an enjoyable after dinner ritual, particularly now that the patio is screened and the mosquitoes left Brett alone.  The tea was better than an after dinner mint and seemed to work wonders in helping to settle that heavy meal.

My dried herbs have also been making their way into new uses.

Sprinkles.

Something I learned about from this book:

Combinations of herbs and spices that can be mixed together and sprinkled onto our food to add beneficial health benefits.  

I have learned so much from this book.

It has made me want to appreciate and use the herbs I grow to the fullest.  I have also become familiar with herbs and spices that I had never heard of.  Her knowledge and presentation (like the thoughts above) really resonate with me.  A fairly simple way to work at keeping myself and my family healthy.

The Week That Was

 

Last week was a good one containing many pleasant moments along the way.  The community we live in now is considered an active 55+ community.  There is an emphasis on staying active and engaged as we navigate the senior years.  Just about any activity you can imagine is available.  It would be easy to find things to do all day, every day if you chose.  On the other hand, if you don't care to participate, that is fine too.

Periodically over the summer they have held outdoor concerts.  The bands are typically tribute bands playing music recognizable to our age group.  Last week it was the Liverpool Legends.  I had to chuckle at how concert going has changed since my younger days.  For this one our neighbor across the street drove us in their golf cart.  A line of fellow concert goers followed behind us as we made our way to the venue.  There was still singing along and dancing, although not quite as wild as our younger days ;).  The weather was beautiful.  The band took us from the earliest days through the highlights of their career with several outfit changes along the way.

This is my Cardinal Climber Vine (aka:  hummingbird vine).  

I planted it from seed in the early summer.  I have watched it grow and grow and grow.  When we returned from vacation it had started growing across the patio and attached itself to every nearby shrub it could find.  It seemed to be growing like Jack's beanstalk without a bloom in sight.  I had to give it a haircut and have given it weekly trims since.  It seems to grow a foot overnight :D.

Last week I finally started to see some blooms.

Just in time to help nourish those sweet little hummingbirds before they begin their migration in a month or so.

My sugar water feeder is in amongst all those vines.  I enjoy watching the birds take a few sips of the flowers before darting into the feeder for a few more sips.

Friday was an afternoon of boating.  At 90 degrees it was hot unless you were in the water or the boat was moving.  Mid-afternoon we heard a crack of thunder and the wind picked up.  It felt delightful, but it is always a concern to be on a boat with a thunderstorm threatening.  Brett put the pedal to the metal and raced us across the lake to a less threatening spot.  We watched as the skies went from blue to dark and cloudy with rays of sun peeking through here and there.  We hung out close enough to the marina to make a mad dash, if necessary.  In time, the rain threat passed and the cooler temperatures were much appreciated.

Soon boating season will be over for another year.

Last night we were invited to a neighbor's house for an end of summer/50th anniversary celebration.  We have fallen into a comfortable routine with this group of everyone bringing a dish to share.  My plan was to bring a Caprese Salad.  While it was a casual backyard gathering, I felt I should elevate my serving utensil from the everyday one I always bring to these events.  A 50 year anniversary seemed to call for something a bit nicer.  Rummaging through my kitchen drawers I came upon this very tarnished silver pie server.  Fairly obvious that it hasn't been used in ages.

Since I did have a jar of silver polish, I decided to see if it could be shined or if it was too far gone.

After several rounds with the TarnX, it was transformed.

After seeing how pretty it looks all shined up I had to wonder why I let it get to that horrible state.  Silver really is beautiful when it shines.  

I never seem to remember to take a photo until I'm rushing out the door as was the case last night.  That salad made with red, yellow and orange heirloom tomatoes with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic glaze and a sprinkling of chopped basil was simple to make.  It disappeared fast too.  It seemed fitting for an end of the summer salad as before we know it the tomatoes and basil will also be done for the year.

This week there's only one thing on the calendar, which is okay with me.  My personality enjoys being busy/social, but requires time to regroup for awhile.  How about you?  Do you prefer a busy social calendar or not so much?

🌞

Chit Chat

Since returning home from vacation we have enjoyed some downright delightful summer days.  Lower temperatures accompanied by low humidity is almost unheard of for August in these parts.  Consequently, we have been enjoying being outdoors every chance we get.  The hummingbirds have been providing great entertainment.  The solar hummingbird lights pictured above were a gift from our Florida kids.  They bring a touch of magic to the evenings as the lights change colors.

Since returning from vacation we've also been busy.  Very busy.

One of the things keeping me busy was putting together a little ladies night get-together for some neighbors.  I had so much fun getting ready for it and thought it might make good blog fodder.  Since I only took one photo of the dessert plate, there went that idea.

The days leading up to the event became a bit hectic when the refrigerator decided to "go on the fritz".  Luckily we have an older fridge in the garage so everything got crammed in there.

The repairman has assessed several problems that will cost $900 to fix.  I guess I will be dating myself to say that I am a bit shocked at this for a refrigerator that is only 4 years old.  To further date myself I will tell the story of the fridge we left behind in our Michigan house.  It was over 40 years old at the time and still plugging along with no issues.  True the ice box was smaller than our microwave and had to be defrosted, but it did the job without ever requiring repairs.

I guess in our current times I am just glad the parts are available and the repairman will be back tomorrow to do the job.

While in Florida, Amber familiarized me with the air fryer.

I have been curious about them, but unsure if we would use it enough to make it worthwhile.  Brett became intrigued and ordered one.  Last night we gave it a trial run.  Happy to say that we successfully made roasted potatoes and Garlic & Herb Chicken Skewers.  These were recipes from the book that came with it.  Both turned out well and tasted delicious.  I've noted a few other recipes that I plan to try soon.  If you use an air fryer, I'd be curious to know what you like to make in it.  Now that it's just the two of us most nights, I can see how this could be better than heating the oven for certain things.  The clean up was simple too which is nice.

This is shaping up to be another busy week around here.

Wednesday will be a concert of the Liverpool Legends (Beatles tribute band), boating on Friday and then a neighbor's 50th anniversary gathering on Sunday.  All happy things as the summer season begins to wane.

Hope your week is a good one.

                                                                     

Summer Vacation

While it wasn't a train trip,  we recently took a southbound vacation.

It was our first travel since Covid began.

First stop:  This nice bed and breakfast inn located in Savannah, Georgia.

Our room could be accessed right off of this pretty courtyard.

It was pretty to look at, but far too warm to make for enjoyable seating.  Since we weren't going to be in Savannah long enough to sit much, we checked in and walked for blocks and blocks until we found a place to eat dinner.

Dinner was served in a giant plastic bag.

Any guesses as to what was in there?

A mixture of shrimp, sausage, potatoes and corn on the cob.

More commonly known as a low country boil.  A very popular dish served in this part of the country.  We had eaten it many years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was just as good as we remembered this time.

After that big dinner we walked and walked checking out the interesting shops along the Savannah River.  We enjoyed the beautiful sunset before it was time to head back to the inn.

Savannah wasn't the destination for this trip.  Just a stop along the way to break up the long drive.

The next morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast before heading for the next stop.

St. Augustine, Florida.  Also known as the oldest city in the USA.

We spent two nights here.  Did a lot of walking and enjoyed fabulous fresh seafood in outdoor restaurants.  For some reason my only pictures were taken at the beach.  After dinner both nights we took long walks on the beach.  It had been a long time since we have been to the ocean.  After the stresses of the last few years, it felt so freeing to feel the sand between our toes, the waves crashing at our ankles and the breeze blowing through our hair.  I wished I could have bottled it up and taken it home with me.  Instead I selected a few shells to serve as a reminder.

After leaving St. Augustine, we could hardly wait to arrive at the real destination.  A visit to see our son and family.  They were scheduled to visit us in June to celebrate Jaxson's birthday.  Those plans were cancelled when Brett came down with Covid.

So, we had a belated birthday celebration and enjoyed lots of pool time.  Jaxson has become a little fish since we last saw him.

He especially enjoyed water games with his uncle.

Fourth grade will be starting for him this week.

Yikes!  How is this possible?

We went out and got his school supplies.  His mommy got his homework desk set up and I requested a photo.  Looking very grown up and studious in his new glasses.

Like all good vacations, this one went by too fast.

Today it's back to reality.

Catching up on work, checking in on my garden and lots and lots of laundry to be done.

Until next time, I hope you are enjoying your summer.