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The notice has been posted.
We are armed and ready.
Let the onslought begin! Happy Halloween to all. I have heard that eating a few "fun-size" candy bars before the door bell starts to ring optimizes the fun of trick or treating. I am going to start with a Kit-Kat and do a Reece's Peanut Butter Cup chaser. I like to live dangerously.
Hard frost has arrived.
Which is why I was forced to set aside my regular program of rabbit stitching for a much needed pair of fingerless mitts.
These maine morning mitts work up really fast AND are also a small project you can take anywhere. I like working with double points, especially in public because people think you really know what you are doing when you knit with them.
I have one done and one to go. I used Trabjajos del Peru yarn because I've made another pair of mitts from them and they are warm and toasty plus they don't itch. Itchy mitts are a nightmare. Trust me on this one.
I finally had the chance to check out Oddly Correct this week.
I am going to admit from the get-go that I went with a teensy weensy bit of concern and a small bag of sugar in my purse. Yep. At this place they believe that coffee should be enjoyed for the pure unadulterated flavor of a straight-up cup of Joe. I am a cream and sugar girl. I also believe in being prepared.
This place has a good vibe and the baristas are skilled AND friendly. I decided to go with a cappucino and Joan got a latte. We sipped and went "mmmmmm". Joan said "do you taste molasses?" I said "I taste GOOD". It went back and forth like that for a few minutes as we let the silky smooth concoctions roll around in our mouths.
Maybe it was the use of the whole milk. Perhaps it was the perfect temperature. It could also have been the correct ratio of espresso to foam. Whatever. I can admit to the possibility that in this world there exists a cappucino so perfect that it does not need sugar ... because I have now tasted it.
In the midst of all our rhapsodizing this woman walked in and sat down for a pour over and a cruller. It was all I could do not to stand up and yell BRAVO at her sense of style.
I'm going back soon to try the pour over myself. I will of course get the cruller on the side. If I can't look like Lyndsey I can certainly follow her lead on the menu.
Angie turned 85 this week so we had a little party in her honor. Dinner planning included a salad with greens from the farmers market. Nothing better than that.
Pumpkins, gourds and mums made the perfect centerpiece for the party table.
Angie and Dottie and Chris and I were the only invited guests at the party. We like to keep it all in the family. Just in case we want to tell stories that we wouldn't want anyone else to hear.
Dottie happened to stop and pick up some Bob's 47 for us to have before dinner. Just a little liquid refreshement to get the appetitie stimulated.
Because the most important thing about the dinner was Chris's famous "Shrimp Pasta". Shrimp, tomatoes, garlic, a bit of cream, salt, pepper, linguine... simple and absolutely divine.
Angie could not be bothered to respond verbally when I asked her how it was. But she did give me the thumbs up.
There was ice box cheesecake for dessert and coffee. Angie told me I made it too strong. She always makes a funny face when she tastes my coffee and tells me "Carol, it's so strong!" I tell her to put more cream in and stop complaining or I won't send any left-overs home with her. She says "this cheesecake is the best you have ever made." She didn't get to be 85 without learning something along the way.
Fall colors have arrived at last... and I must say they were worth waiting for. I snapped this shot on the way home from the market today.
I did find some great pumpkins at the market, however, the true object of my affection today can be found below.
I have seen this lady at the market before. But this morning when I saw the garlands hanging behind her I slapped myself on the forehead. Just like in the V-8 commercial.
Gourds, cinammon sticks, dried water lily pods, red beads, devils claw, milk weed pods, almonds, buckeyes, wine corks, dried corn husks, and sweet gum tree balls all came together to make the PERFECT fall garland for above my table.
I am still going to make felted acorns but as my sister and I often say, the only purpose for making a plan is to break the plan. I could see no reason this morning not to snap this garland up, bring it home, and settle in with my new over-the-table-decor. Which I am head-over-heels in love with. Plus... it is perfect for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Years day, Three Kings day, and Groundhogs day.
On our way to Asheville last week (has it already been one whole week since we got back?) we stopped to meet Allie Grace Moss.
She's got a million expressions. Each one more interesting and endearing than the last. She is a big fan of the pumpkins on the front porch and rearranged them at least 52 times in the course of an hour. I let her. Great Aunts get to do things like that.
We made the annual pilgrimage to the local pumpkin patch last weekend. We try to get there every year and it never fails to give us something to smile about. This year we liked the pumpkin matching dog. You walk up to the pumpkins and he sniffs out the one you were meant to have. Well that's what he did for me anyway.
I got some decorative squash and a whole bunch of gourds in addition to the pumpkins. I always think I am buying too much and then I get home and realize that a few more pumpkins on the back porch sure would have been nice.
Hopefully the Knuckle-head pumpkin man will be a the farmers market again next weekend, so I can get one of these for the back porch too.
He also had some squatty, kind of flattish, red-tinged pumpkins that were interesting to look at. I sure wish I would have gotten his name last week so I could call him and tell him I am coming back this weekend. I just know he is going to want to answer more pumpkin cross-pollinating questions.
I got out the Nostepinne the other day and started to wind up this yarn that I bought last year. These colors are what fall is all about and I am feeling the need for a new vest. Nothing fancy. The yarn is plenty fancy all by itself. Just a nice boxy, wear over a white shirt with some jeans or khaki's vest.
I'm going to name it the Blue Ridge Parkway vest. Everytime I wear it I will remember the purplish mountains, the orange leaves, and the blue sky.
I have seen some darn cute hand-crafted pumpkins this year. Starting with Mary Stanley's rug hooked pumpkins that I saw on Pam's blog and ending with the velvet pumpkins, glitter pumpkins, and now the doily pumpkins that she featured today from Allyson Baker. Holy Moly - it's a pumpkin palooza!
I bought these at MADE in downtown Lawrence. A store that features hand-crafted items. When I got home I realized that I did not have the name of the person who made them. Dang they are cute! I had to get 3 because I couldn't decide which one I liked the very best. If I wasn't otherwise occupied making felted acorns I might have tried to make these myself. Then again, supporting local pumpkin makers is as important as making them yourself. Right? I love the colors and patterns of the fabrics used for these pumpkins. They are going to look just perfect mixed in with the gourds and pumpkins I will be getting soon.
Before I left for Asheville I rolled up a few balls of yarn to take with me for knitting on the plane. I had great plans to make some headway on the Lizard Ridge afghan. Behold the squares for August, September, October, and November. All done while traveling over the last week. When I am not distracted by other projects I can flat-out get some knitting done.
This brings my grand total to 15 squares completed.
Just nine more squares and I will be ready to block ... then seam. There are lots of images out there for the Lizard Ridge Afghan. So interesting how everyone does it a bit different. I look forward to laying all the squares out and deciding which configuration is the most pleasing to my eye.
Brrrrr.... it was cold at the market this morning.
Even the dogs had their coats on.
The vendors are dwindling in numbers as it gets colder, but there were gourds and pumpkins and mums to be had. I came home with a totally gnarly looking pumpkin for the table on the front porch. The guy I bought it from told me it was a "knucklehead pumpkin". Warts look surprisingly good on a pumpkin.
I also brought a couple of mums home.
When the pumpkin rolled over in the trunk on the way home it knocked the mums down. No matter. I snipped the broken parts and put them in a vase in front of the kitchen sink.
And after this arranging I proceeded to make a key lime pie. In October. Because Angie told me today she was running low on sweets and she thought it sounded good. And I agreed with her.
We found plenty to do in our 3 days in Asheville, North Carolina. Mountain views, fall colors, quirky shops, crazy-good southern cuisine, interesting history, friendly people, hiking... there was something for everyone. I am happy to report that my brother can no longer claim to have never set foot in a yarn store before.
We stayed at Asheville Cottages. It was the perfect place to put up our feet at the end of the day and regale each other with tales from days gone by. When we were kids... and might have occasionally gotten in trouble.
These cabins were stocked with everything we normally have to stop and get before we can settle in for the first night. Plus the kitchen had great dishes, glassware, cookware, and a Keurig coffee maker. Kudos to the owners/managers for doing a vacation rental the right way.
It was 41 degrees and rainy in Lawrence today. Perfect for snuggling in with a cat who was very, very, very, very, very, glad to be home from the vet.
We are now luxuriating in our "rustic" cabin which has all the comforts of home. Except we are surrounded by lovely trees, and views of mountains and sky.
The forecast has shifted from sunny and clear to foggy and misty. Perfect for the personalized seance we have planned after the poltergeist tour of the Biltmore Estate tomorrow where we hope to conjure up a spectral apparition of the black sheep of the Vanderbilt family.
On September 25th I reported that to the best of my ability to calculate, I was 3/8's of the way done with my rabbit. My enthusiasm for this project has not waned one iota since I started it. I have become a needlepoint junkie.
So much so in fact, that I want you to see the back of my rabbit.
By looking at the back it is easy to see I am about 2/3 of the way done. Yes, the back is a bit on the messy side, but how else are you gonna know this is handmade?
As I stitched I sipped on my new favorite fall beverage. Mmm. It's a good balance to all that sweet and salty mix. You know the one. I won't call it by name.
My sister got me hooked on the white coconut tea and now there's the pumpkin spice chai. The good thing is its hot tea! I actually think it's probably good for you. I got to sipping and stitching and before I knew it... we were at days end. Another one of those softly perfect fall evenings. Love. Love. Love.
Today, I did it.
I took down my Valentine Garland. The one that has seen me through Valentines day, Presidents day, St. Patrick's day, Palm Sunday, Passover, Easter, Tax day, Arbor day, Cinco de Mayo, Mother's day, Armed Forces day, National Maritime day, Memorial day, Flag day, Fathers day, Independence day, Senior Citizen's day, and Labor day. Whew! That was one hard working banner.
It will be hard to replace. But I will do my best. I got out the roving and collected acorn caps. I started to make felt balls using the hot water/friction method and found it to be most unsatisfactory. I then tried the needle felting method and am having much better luck.
I took a needle felting class with my sister-in-law a few years back. Luckily one of us was able to locate the class materials.
I am being extremely careful as I repeatedly jab these 5 very sharp needles into the roving as it sits atop the big brush looking thing. So far there have been no injuries.
I went to the Nordic Festival last weekend hoping to see some Vikings.
I heard some lovely music, saw traditional costumes, and watched a woman turn straw into thread using a special machine. I followed my nose to the Krumkake making area and then wound around to see a woman spinning yarn and finally got to the Nordic knitting display.
My favorite thing was watching this viking in training as he endeavored to learn to knit. He had all the focus and concentration of a bomb squad technician. I think he must have been around nine or ten years old.
After about 5 minutes under the watchful eye of Mary he said "Hey I am KNITTING!"
You gotta love a manly Viking that can knit.
My morning glory volunteers are taking advantage of the red husker penstemon foliage. I think they are trying to make it up to the sky.
Down below they are climing up the stems of the hosta flowers that have long since bloomed and dried.
It's a nice little touch of color while I wait for the trees, shrubs, and grasses to do their autumn thing.
We haven't seen much changing of the leaves here yet. I can't decide if I am being impatient or it's happening later than usual this year. Probably the latter.
These are my apples from the farmers market on Saturday.
I bought apples because I saw an instagram of an apple muffin on wingandaprayerfarm which I found when I was looking at housewrenstudio's photos of her Vermont get away. I also bought these apples because I could not walk by the couple selling them at the market without buying something. Luckily they were selling something I wanted. They were happy to tell me the difference between Jonagold and Liberty apples and offer me a taste of each so I could be sure I got what I wanted.
I used the recipe from King Arthur Flour because it is the recipe that wingandaprayerfarm used. I wanted my muffins to be just like hers. Except then I added walnuts to the recipe, and I did not put brown sugar on top - I used a sprinkle of sugar in the raw instead because I like the crunch it gives. I also added a bit of ground nutmeg. It is hard for me not to to doctor a recipe a little. I almost put raisins in but stopped myself.
The big chunks of apples are completely delicious. This is a perfect muffin. Not overly sweet and very moist. But the very, very, very, best thing about them is everytime I take a bite I think of the nice man who sold me the apples on Saturday telling me "a couple of them were picked on Thursday, but I picked most of them on Friday."
Have you ever changed the settings on your camera in an attempt to get a decent shot of a super cool lightening storm?
And end up not being able to get a single halfway decent shot of the lightning? Have you had that experience?
And the very next morning, have you by chance gotten up early to go to the farmers market because you have not been able to get there for the last 2 weeks? And you take lots of pictures as is your normal modus operendi.
And then when you sit down at 9:30pm to happily select the best of those great images you captured you look at the pictures and say "what the %$#^ is going on?"
And only then does your mind go back to 24 hours ago when you were flipping dials and buttons on your camera. And you finally realize that you did not return those dials and buttons to their normal settings. I'm only asking because I would hate to be the only person who has ever done such a thing.
Storms are heading in our direction tonight.
But I couldn't care less. My attention is 100% occupied in another area.
It's time to break out the candy corn and cocktail peanuts. Oh sweet mother of all that is holy, thank you for the perfect union of salty and sweet.
Stitch, stitch, munch. Repeat until the rabbit is done or the candy container has been emptied. Whichever comes first.
Did you notice the heart healthy sign on the peanuts? Do not bother yourself with anything about the glycemic index of candy corn. That is just for researchers.
"If you wait a long time between sessions of messing around in your sketch book you are bound to feel a little awkward when you start again."
This is what my alter ego told my unconscious mind as I dabbled with the paints tonight in a rather ungainly fashion.
In my defense, I was imagining sitting in the apartment in Amserdam with my sister eating stroopkoeken and sipping tea at that little table by the window. No matter, it's all about the fun, and I can repaint over it all if I want to.
Drawing fish scales on a giant letter C is what I did after the coffee cup and the buildings of Amsterdam (which you will have noticed I was quite loose in my interpretation of.)
Finally I resorted to writing letters and coloring them in after which a border was added that could also be colored in. All very good therapy when you are wishing with all your might you were exploring a city 4,483.5 miles away. I have been assured that we will return to this very location in 2014 or 2015 and retrace each and every step. Sister, I am holding you to it.
While exploring for fall garland options, I took a trip to my own basement to see what was down there that could be used before I went and bought more S.T.U.F.F. I did not find any immediate inspiration.... but I did find my cross stitch halloween crafts from 1998 and 1999.
They were hung up straight away. They're practically heirlooms. Raise your hand if you have done one of these yourself.
I also started on a new afghan square thinking it would be good meditation for fall garlands. Exactly 17 ideas were hatched in my brain while I stitched this portion.
My favorite idea so far is making felted acorns. I saw a couple of tutorials about how to do them and there are lots of tree's around here that I can get the tops from.
Hmmmm.... construction paper garland + felted acorns + some kind of painted paper cut up. I feel it coming together. I better tell Chris to get his drill out. I will be assigning him to acorn cap attaching duty.
It was hair cut day at Tall Tales headquarters yesterday.
Pruning must be done "to improve structure as well as to get rid of crossing or rubbing branches, sucker growth from rootstock, water sprouts from limbs, and other objectionable growth."
That was not me in the tree in exhibit #1, nor was it Chris. It was someone who has extra training in how to trim the right branches, at the right spot, while simultaneously not falling out of the tree. Money well spent if you ask me (which you did not but I feel compelled to tell you).
My little weeping cherry got a cut reminiscent of the bang trimming my sisters and I got when we were 3, 7, and 9 years old. I told the tree the same thing Angie told us. "It will grow out."
It's October! Get out your orange stuff and let the Halloween decorating begin.
This also means I am going to have to take down the Valentine garlands from over the dining room table. I hate to even think about that. I am going right this second to get my mind to work on a garland for the fall. Chris suggested bats or spiders. I have vetoed both of them.
