Documenting October

October has been such a lovely month here this year.  One sunny day seems to follow the next bringing with it the highly anticipated autumn leaf color change.

It occurred to me this morning that I haven't done a single post to document the month.  By this time next week we'll be into November.

So, before the last few days slip away, a few notes to remember October...

I don't do much in the way of Halloween decorating, but this small display houses the pieces I have held onto through the years.  The little ghosts are Gurley candles that were from Brett's childhood.  The others were things I bought when my own boys were kids.  Looking at them brings happy memories.

The other day I went looking for a few hydrangeas to dry.

Most of them looked well past their prime.  I was pleasantly surprised to find a few on the backside of one plant.  They were at the bottom and pressed up against the house.  Once I wrangled them out of there, I was rewarded with four large blooms sporting pretty autumn colors.  They are now on display on the foyer table.

While I was out there I took a look at all of the plants.

Another nice surprise was a few raspberries ripening.

Somehow knowing that the frost will be coming anytime now makes these berries even more precious to me.  I will be watching them closely as they ripen in hopes of eating them before the birds find them.

When we brought the lemon tree back to the patio in April it had five green lemons on it.  They have only recently turned yellow.

Soon it will return to it's winter home in the garage.  This time it will have 8 green lemons and many blossoms.

The last of the furniture arrived this week.

It will be so nice to all be able to sit at the table for the holidays.

In celebration I made cauliflower ham soup and a batch of pumpkin muffins.  Brett and I gave it a test drive and declared it all good.

Ready to head into November and the holiday season.

 

The Nesting Season Has Arrived

Another Autumn season has arrived.

A season for warm drinks, soft throws, good books and . . .

nesting.  Plenty of feathering the nest to make things cozy for the cooler months ahead.

As the family room furniture continues to trickle in, it has been fun to come up with some new fall vignettes.

I have done away with a coffee table in favor of two ottomans.

I like the versatility of being able to prop our feet up on them or move them around for additional seating, if necessary.

With the days getting shorter, it was time to pull out the candles and put the batteries back into the battery operated candle lanterns.

So nice to warm up the evenings or the cloudy days, like today.

I enjoyed rearranging the hutch a bit.

I've ordered a new dining table that will better suit our needs in this house.  No more pulling odd chairs from here and there when the family is all here.  The table is supposed to be delivered in a couple weeks.  

While waiting for the table to be delivered, I've been playing around with how I will set it for the fall season.

I found the prettiest plates at the thrift shop recently.  It's hard to tell in the photo, but they have a bit of leaves, corn, gourds and acorns on the border.  Made by Pfaltzgraff and only 49 cents a piece was a deal that I couldn't pass up.  The glass turkey, pumpkin soup bowls and candle holder were also thrift finds from previous years.  To me the fun is pulling them together to make a coordinated, collected table scape.

Nesting at it's finest.

:-)

My nesting instincts often spill over to the thrift shop.

While there last week I overheard someone say that a tree had fallen over the road I needed to travel to get home.  It landed on a car and brought down the power lines with it.  Traffic would be stopped both ways for hours.  Oh dear!  To pass the time while waiting I went around filling the cart with fall themed treasures from the past.

These two yellow ware bowls with the brown bands weren't right for my house, but I will always love them.  I think they lend themselves to beautiful wood furniture, gourds, pumpkins and sunflowers.  All things that could be found there on that day.  I set up a little vignette and snapped a picture.  It satisfied my fall nesting interests while passing the time.  It still took me an hour and a half to get home.

Thankfully nobody was injured in the car that the tree landed on.

I have no idea why that tree fell as it was a lovely evening.

I rolled down the car windows, cranked up the radio and enjoyed the (long) ride home.  By the time I got home it was dark.  So nice to have the cozy candle light to greet me.

Happy Fall, Friends!

Busy Moving

Big changes have been taking place here.

A large portion of our furniture made it's way into this moving truck headed to our son's new home.

We've been getting by without family room and dining room furniture.  It was a wonderful opportunity to give the floors and baseboards a good cleaning.  New furniture has been ordered.

Once we got everything moved to his new home, we helped him get his condo in the city ready to sell.  He moved here after graduating from college and starting his career.  That was 12 years ago.

Once the place was empty, I felt a bit nostalgic thinking about how much has changed since he first moved here.  Another one of those "where does the time go" moments.

Even though he is now a grown man, I asked him to let me get one last picture with the city in the background.

The new furniture has begun to trickle in.

So far I am very happy with how it looks and functions.

If I ever get nostalgic for the old furniture I know where to find it.

Fall Inspiration at the Furniture Store

Well, it's still HOT here.  The kind of heat that has worn out it's welcome as far as I'm concerned.  So, while I have nothing against summer, I am just yearning for the cooler temperatures to arrive.  I want to be enjoying the outdoors without melting.  

Yesterday we escaped the heat and spent a few hours in the air conditioned Hickory Furniture Mart.  One of my favorite stores to visit is an Amish made furniture shop.  The craftsmanship of the furniture is so impressive to me.  I also enjoyed how they had decorated for the fall season.  This large dining table with seating for 12 greeted us when we first walked in.  I could just picture each chair filled with family members enjoying Thanksgiving dinner together.  A fire would be crackling in the fireplace and, perhaps, the snow would be falling outside the windows.  Ha!  On a blistering hot day, one can dream.

I would love to curl up in this bed with a good book.

Unfortunately the scale of this furniture was too large for the guest room we are trying to furnish.

I'm not quite ready to decorate for fall.  I did, however, enjoy gathering inspiration for when the time comes.

Sitting by a campfire on a cool, crisp evening sounds heavenly right about now.

This display makes me anticipate fall baking and those delicious fall flavors.  Pumpkin Spice, Apple Everything, Cinnamon, Cloves & Nutmeg.

All of these pretty fall decorations are getting me in the mood to start adding a few touches to my own home.  This week our temperatures are forecast to drop into the 80s.  One day the high is only supposed to be 79.  Woo Hoo!!!  I think that might be all that's needed to start the decorating process.  I may begin with the hutch.  I like the simple way they decorated the one above.

I'm nowhere near being ready to see Halloween decorations here as they look out of place to me when it's full on summer outside.  When the leaves start to change and cooler temperatures are here to stay, that will be the time for jack o' lanterns.

I did have to laugh at this display in the Amish buggy.

While we didn't find furniture at the Amish shop, it was fun to wander through and be inspired.  

We did find what we were looking for in one of the other shops.  Awaiting furniture delivery will be a pleasant way to pass these late summer days.  My son has recently bought his first house.  We have donated some of our furniture to him.  I now feel right at home in his house :D.

Enjoy this last August weekend!

What Happens in the Courtyard

When we created this courtyard patio space, we planted jasmine at the base of the trellis and watched it grow and fill in nicely.  Just what we had in mind to offer privacy from our close proximity neighbor :).

This is how it looked last summer.

A late winter freeze threatened to do it in.  In fact when spring rolled around it was totally brown.  It was a bit devastating to lose it after watching it thrive for a few years.  Brett was set to dig it up until I noticed a few green leaves at the base of each plant.  Rather than surrender it just yet, we decided to see if in time it would rebound.

Knowing that it wouldn't look too impressive this season, I planted a row of morning glory and moonflower seeds along the base of the trellis.  For some reason only the seed on each end germinated.

As summer has evolved we have been watching these vines climb up the trellis.  Not quite as pretty as the jasmine, but at least it's green and growing.

Since they haven't bloomed, I'm not sure which flower to expect.

The other evening I went to see if there were any buds yet and was surprised to see this:

~ Ipomoea Alba ~

One big beautiful moonflower.

For a relatively small patio situated so close to the next house, a lot goes on out there if one is paying attention.  In the spring this cardinal was a daily visitor.  Flying from window to window banging his beak into the window, it was easy to tell when he was here.  Oftentimes his mate would be out there with him.

This sweet little chipmunk has discovered the bird feeder.

I enjoy watching him along with the birds while drinking my morning coffee in the living room.

Apparently someone else is visiting the patio during the night.

On a recent morning the feeder had been knocked to the ground and I spied the little chipmunk wondering where his food source had gone.

Standing on his tippy toes for a closer look.

Behind him grow our two tomato plants.

Upon closer inspection I found the night visitor had helped himself to several tomatoes along with the bird food.

This visitor is my least favorite.

You have to really be paying attention to spot him there hiding between the patio and the siding on the house.

I know that snakes have their place.  I just wish it was nowhere near my place.  One day I was stepping onto the patio from the house to water my plants and nearly set my foot down on him or one of his many, many relatives.  EEK, I'm not sure who ran/slithered away faster from that close encounter.

🐍

Summer. . . So Far

This week my grandson will be heading back to school which has made me realize that despite the soaring temperatures outside, summer is beginning to wind down.  Before it's gone for good I thought I'd take a moment to document some of the highlights.  Like, for instance, finishing my first 2000 piece puzzle :D.  It was a challenge that was well suited for those summer days when the heat and humidity made being indoors much more desirable.

In July we travelled to Michigan to meet the newest member of the family.  Our nephew's first child is such a happy little guy.  We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him.

With family spread around the country, it makes seeing one another a bit more challenging.  When my sister and brother-in-law organized this family reunion, we couldn't wait to go.

My brother and sister-in-law flew in from California for a few days.

Not the best picture, but apparently the only one I took.

As a child our summer vacations were often spent in Ontario, Canada.  My Dad was born there and although the family moved to Michigan when he was very young, he had many cousins still living there.  Crossing the border via the Blue Water Bridge always seemed a bit adventurous to me back then.

One day we drove to Port Huron as my son wanted to see one of the great lakes while in Michigan.  Port Huron is located on the Michigan side of the US/Canadian border and runs along the St. Clair River.  Here you can see the Blue Water Bridge in the distance.

The St. Clair River connects to Lake Huron here which provided an opportunity to walk along the beach and listen to the waves hitting the shore.  I was transported back to childhood days of enjoying long summer days in that water.

We enjoyed a long walk along the river enjoying the sights and the periodic signs and statues providing historical information.  Apparently Port Huron is the boyhood home of Thomas Edison.

Soon after returning home from Michigan our Florida family came for a visit.  Brett's brother and our sister-in-law joined us for dinner one evening.   One day Jaxson made an innocent observation about my aging neck which prompted a conversation among the ladies about what the heck happens to our necks during/after menopause.  Ha Ha!  This would explain why we are using his arms to camouflage our necklines.  :D

Here the timer feature captured all of us bare necks and all.

***

During much of this time I wasn't checking in much with blogging.

When I took the time to catch up on things, I was so sorry to learn of a great loss to our blogging community.  Vee of A Haven for Vee was well known to many of us.  She was one of the first to leave a comment on my blog many years ago and has been a faithful commenter ever since.  Her blog was one I always enjoyed reading.  She had a love for home and family and was gifted with putting her thoughts into words in such an interesting way.  

While I don't think the blog world can ever be the same without her in it, I know that she is now at peace and reunited with her dear husband, John and, if blog reading still happens in heaven, I send my love and thanks to you dear Vee for your friendship through the years.  You will be missed.

💕

A Row of Roses

Hello

I'm dusting off the blog (once again :) today.

Are you enjoying your summer?  Is it hot where you live?

Last week I was back in my home state of Michigan where the weather was delightful and such a welcome reprieve from our high heat and humidity.

Before vacation and before the heat set in, we tackled a little garden project.

It involved roses...Drift Roses to be exact.

Just when I had come to the conclusion that there would be no room for roses in my garden, the drift variety presented itself.

I didn't know much about them until reading an article on their special attributes, in particular disease resistance and maintaining a small size.  In fact, they are considered ground cover roses.

We purchased four of the Peach Drift roses and planted them in a bed behind the house.  This spot receives full blaring sun all day which is something these roses will thrive on.

Between the roses I planted a lavender plant.

I received it for Christmas a few years ago and didn't have high hopes that it would survive in our climate.  It was a pleasant surprise to see it blooming this spring.

With plenty of room to fill in I think these roses will be ideal for completing this bed.  Originally there were hydrangeas planted here.

They were receiving way too much sun and have since been relocated to the side of the house where they are much happier.

Behind the roses is a row of Otto Luyken Laurels and under the window is a purple clematis.  Once everything is established and in bloom, I foresee a beautiful combination of colors.

A real bonus is that the roses also have a lovely rose scent.