Halloween Family

They were married on Halloween in 2003. The guests were dressed in especially creative costumes for the big day. The groom's mother (my sister) wore a Christmas tree that she made from some sort of crispy material cut and sewn together with sparkles and a big star on top. Since that day four children became part of the family, every member creating, carving, and making a ritual for every day throughout the entire month of October through the 18 years! I have an image collection of hand-carved pumpkins, and way too many craft projects to show you here. The photos below were not taken my me, but are treasured by me!

Please enjoy the season! Click on image to enlarge!

Keeping Busy

Or at least trying to! It is very windy and only 42° at 11:00 AM. I have baked a dozen sugar cookies this morning. Yesterday I baked a loaf of the good frozen bread. White this time. The wheat loaf I baked about 10 days ago is almost gone. The thing with these breads after baking, is that they have to be stored in the refrigerator as they don't contain preservatives and I don't consume them quickly enough at room temperature to keep the mold away! The best part is that I won't run out of bread when I need some. This frozen style bakes really well and is easy peasy! Rhodes is the brand. There are packs of either 3 or 5 frozen loaves in a bag. The cost is about $1.00 per loaf and it is very good! 

The images below are from the internet

I  haven't tried the dinner rolls yet!

Child-like

I'm having a grand time experimenting with the forgotten application I have rarely used on my computer. Today I drew, painted, messed up, but had a lot of fun trying different tools. 

you can look closer if you will tap on image

Rainy Day

I drew and colored this leaf with an old application I forgot I had, called ArtRage Lite. Then I put it into a free internet application called funny.pho.to. It just fit the day here! Autumn Rain! 

Please tap image to experience raindrops.

It took me two hours of work to make it! That helped pass the day!

Bowl Update

I received a couple of photos via FB messenger today and want to share how the bowls fit right into another environment. The the biggest surprise though, was the red and white checkered drapes! Who knew we both have an affinity for this pattern! It really surprised me. The bowls made themselves right at home there and look better than ever. 

In the meantime, I soon realized that I have two Keller's advertisement ironstone butter dishes. I use them every day.

After a little research, I learned that they are vintage 1960's! I do remember getting two so when one was empty the other was ready to go! Stuff around here is really aging as am I....

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Interior Decoration

They hung on the wall above the stove since 1997 when we moved from the big house into the cabin. That is 24 years! I had purchased the set of four in 1996 and they came with a certificate of authenticity. Ever since Kellogg's was available it has been a family breakfast cereal and I just had to have them!

There was a time several years back when I was sharing Shutterfly pictures of my "treasured vintage" items to a family member and she said she loved these bowls. She, who I have known practically since the day she was born, came to visit me last week and went home with them. She had no idea that they were hers ever since her remark years ago. 

The blank wall called to me for several days afterwards. "Put something here! I am feeling naked!" Then I remembered a set of mugs I had made of my photo images of things I have baked and cooked. Each cup has 3 different pictures! I liked the red and white pattern, but they have been hidden in the cupboard since 2013. Out they came and up they went! All is well. Everybody is happy. (If you noticed, two are a bit different. They were "freebies" because the pattern didn't go all the way up and I fussed.)

By the way, I cleaned my cupboards and rearranged things in there; almost forgot what was up on the top shelf! A couple of surprises!

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Nightwalker

Nope! Not hunting for worms! Actually I thought I'd try to capture the Hunter's moon last night at 6:30 pm when I first saw it through the dining room window - it beckoned me to give a try at a capture. I didn't bother to set up a tripod and just went out there, camera in hand.

Hunter's Moon signals the time to hunting in preparation for cold winter months ahead. Yes, I'm resigned to the fact that winter is coming. I've been trying to prepare in my own way.

It was really dark out there and the car was gone and I soon realized that I always used it to guide me from the side door to the corner of the cabin. Believe me, I was VERY careful! Two shots and back in safe. Yay! It was REALLY dark out there!

My results are not spectacular but I did it! Can you tell where the sky ends and the lake begins? I cannot!

For a closer look, tap image.

Gone...

The Sunset metallic red car no longer sits in the carport, rusting away without use. I have sold it and it was a successful and satisfying endeavor. I never drove this car. My shoulder's lack of good movement due to much scar tissue is the main cause. I just didn't think it was sensible to try driving when the shifter was on that side of me and it could also be very difficult to steer and buckle up. The market was in my favor and the load of insurance costs and fear of rust is gone. It is a relief.  Someone got a very nice 2016 car with under 25,000 miles. Goes great in snow too!
My haircut is a tiny bit hard to get used to. My waves and light curls seem to be gone, but it was very convenient to have it done right in the living room, with a sheet under the chair. The gal just scooped it all up when finished and there was no muss or fuss for me involved at all. It is still very thin and fine but just not as wispy and difficult to care for.

I made a scary picture of me for the season. Full moon tonight! Look out - I might be riding my new straw broom and come visit you.

Weather or NOT!

A cold wind and rain blew through here yesterday and season's change is not well accepted by me. I like to be warm. Big time cool down! I took a short ride around the lake this morning in the golf car and was miserable. My hands froze, my neck froze, my nose froze, my toes froze. I thought I had dressed well. It is after all, only 45° and there wasn't even a bird or critter or pretty leaf to be captured by my camera. In fact there are so many conifers here that not a touch of yellow or orange or red was in my sights. Many of the summer residents have left the area now and just a few of 'we perms' remain to stick it out. I should have stayed in. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house. All that cold, cold wet day."

~Dr. Seuss - The Cat in the Hat

>>>>>>It's coming!!!! I must think positive...

"No winter lasts forever;

No spring skips its turn."

~Hal Borland

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

This and That

Marinated salmon filets for dinner last night! With sautéed brussels sprouts too! Yum!

This morning I cut up the three very large remaining Cortland apples into chunks and bagged them in a gallon bag for the freezer. They will be used later on in the season for a pie or apple crisp . The owner at the orchard says she does this often and they will be just perfect after thawing for the bake. 

I had to put the Macoun apples in the refrigerator as the weather is too warm for them to keep well. I eat one a day!

Oh! and I made another spooky creation.

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Change Ahead

Well I've decided to bite the bullet and have my hair cut short. It hasn't been trimmed or touched by a hairdresser for over 3 years. I simply cannot manage this fluffy wild straight and thinning mane another week!

In the past (about 30 years ago) I had a wonderful gal who worked as a hairdresser on the lower level of her home and she really had a knack for making my hair go into nice natural waves and shapes. She used a razor for layering. It was neat because her newest family addition came along and was placed in a carrier near the chair when her mom worked in the shop. I have just re-connected with her!

When we went to our SC place for so many years, I found another lady who was talented and comparable to my PA woman. It was a really lucky choice and I always felt secure and safe with her, again cutting and shaping and layering with a razor!

The local hairdresser of so many years ago, now goes to homes for the homebound people and is coming here. We have set a date and time. We have re-connected. I am excited, can you tell? 

2012

2012

2012

2012

2017

2018

2020

Today (2021) it looks like it did in 2012 only much thinner and straighter.

2021

The time has come! 

Apples

For so many years in the past The Mister and I made large batches of applesauce for the freezer. He would cut them in quarters, I would core and cut them into pieces and put them in the large kettle. It took us all morning. Then they were cooked down and mashed until I deemed the consistency was perfect. The kettle was brought to the counter and the OLD Foley Food Mill was attached. As I ladled the hot stew into the mill, The Mister did the cranking. When the bowl under the mill was full, it was poured into another very large container until the milling and cranking and ladling and pouring was finally finished. A touch of cinnamon and nutmeg was added. The skins left on always made our applesauce be very pink in color and the flavor was outstanding. The resulting sauce was then ladled into jars and containers and two bowlfuls were saved out for us to have later when still warm. Cleaning up was my responsibility, but I never could have cut and milled so many apples by myself. We did a couple of batches every year!

This year I am just eating one a day and dehydrating the rest. No more applesauce. I do NOT use a corer but just my handy sharp knives. (Not as much waste.) The day has come to back off and it really is OK. Time moves on. 

Well that was only four and I have EIGHT more of these larger Cortlands to process! I shall finish this project in two more days. 

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