Halloween 2017. . . . . .

~ Halloween night  ~

Wishing you a night full of scary moments, goblins, witches and ghosts

at your door, no smashed pumpkins. . . . . . . . . . and lots of sweet treats.
Trick or treat?

Thankful for no serious injuries . . . . . . .

It was not a great weekend for us.

Yesterday we were involved in an accident, a hit and run!

My car was not hit but granddaughter Jasmin was behind me in her car. 

We were both stopped for a traffic light when a crazy driver came up behind her 

at a high rate of speed, weaving, not braking, and crashed into her rear! 

Thankfully she is apparently not hurt, and somehow her car missed hitting mine

 by about 2 inches, so we are OK too! Her car is another matter and we are

 hoping it can be repaired.

BUT. . . . . .here's the amazing part, this insane driver threw his vehicle into reverse

after hitting Jasmin, screeched backward across the road, turned and took off,

 leaving part of his front grille, headlights and other debris in the road behind us!

Insurance - doubtful, and probably why he left the scene.

Inebriated or texting, possible.

It all happened in what seemed the blink of an eye.

We three stood for almost an hour in the rain awaiting the Police.

Later Bob and I drove around in hopes we'd find the damaged car parked

somewhere, but didn't.

Just thankful we have no visible injuries, especially Jasmin,

but our stress levels are definitely up.

Thinking how driving is no longer a pleasure within the city.

I'm thinking of staying home today where the most dangerous thing is a kitchen knife!

Pumpkin and pies. . . . . . . . . . .

This is what's sitting on my coffee table today. . . . . . . 

. . . . . . . one of my favorite birthday gifts, this amazing recipe book. 

Again, my granddaughter Jasmin picked something perfect for me.  

Looking through this beautifully styled book this morning I was

 completely in awe. 

If you're not familiar with Linda Lomelino's baking, and her amazing

 photography, be sure to visit her beautiful blog

Call Me Cupcake

Linda has taken self-taught culinary skills, and enhanced her basic,

 high school photography classes, to produce an amazing body of work

 ~ on her blog, and in her gorgeous books ~ from her Swedish kitchen.

I admire these young people who follow their passions and dreams. . . . . . 
and I can't wait to try some of the recipes.

Enjoy another lovely autumn weekend.

HOME for my Birthday!

I've enjoyed doing a makeover of our living room over the past few months.

Replacing the 'shabby chic white' look with lots of color has been fun.

I'll share more of the changes later.

This year I'm enjoying celebrating my Birthday here at home today.

No big trip to a faraway place as in several past years.

Speaking of 'years' - they are flying by fast now that I'm in my seventies,

 but I'm very thankful for every single one.

A beautiful sunny day here, starting out cool and crisp, promising to 

be calm, warm, and as perfect as a late October Birthday can be.

Scribble Picnic . . . . . . . . BOO!

This week's theme for Scribble Picnic is BOO!

A little help from PicMonkey and my colored pencils enabled me

 to come up with a fun version of Halloween night when a favorite

 word will definitely be BOO!

I no longer do a lot of outdoor Halloween decor - remember I'm trying to

 scale back on stuff which requires storage.

So this year, mostly real pumpkins and candles tucked safely inside lanterns

 so the little Trick or Treaters can see their way up the front steps for their

 candy treats on Halloween night next week.

Stop by Michael's SCRIBBLE PICNIC today - I just know there will

 be some scary looking art from our talented group.

A new little one - - - - - -

 A big question for us has always been "why do we never see any baby squirrels in

 our garden?". 

We have dozens of these furry creatures who nest in our big oaks, then appear

 at the feeders, chase one another up, down and around tree trunks, sit on our

 deck rails gnawing through iron-hard hickory nuts, bury acorns hither and thither, 

drink from the birdbaths, clatter across the cottage roof etc. . . . . . but they're 
always fully grown, some very old with battle scars and sometimes even
 open wounds. . . . . . we've just never seen a cute little new one. . . . . 
 . . . . . UNTIL ABOUT A WEEK AGO!

It's hard to show a size comparison because this little guy always comes to eat

 alone - no parents, siblings or buddies apparently.  He/she is about half the

 size of the adults so I'm presuming perhaps several months old. I can walk up

 close while it nibbles on bird seed and crumbled suet cake (have not seen it try

 to tackle the feeders yet!), then it runs to this tree trunk and hangs out until I 

move away, then back to nibble the seeds. Talking to it doesn't scare it away

 either, it seems to listen intently to all I say!

This cutie is the perfect little bright-eyed grey squirrel - no cuts, scrapes, 

missing chunks of fur . . . . . . . and sports a beautiful bushy tail.

Of course I know it will grow larger and look just like all the other squirrels out
 there - but I do hope I can continue to recognize it and that it will stay in our garden.

I'm scattering a few tasty nuts under the feeder - perhaps it will then
know it's very welcome.

I'm thinking of a name for this new visitor - any suggestions?

Pumpkin Squash Pasta. . . . . . . . .

Friday I made a great, quick and easy dish calling for pumpkin or squash.

I actually used what I'm calling a 'pumpkin squash', a bit of a rogue harvested

 from the fields of our farm friends, the Johnsons, where we visited a few weeks ago.

Apparently this year, one of their regular pumpkins also grows this curvaceous beauty

on the same vine!  Similar to a butternut squash but easier to cut through for me.

All seeds are in the bulbous end so with such a long neck you get a lot of

flesh from there. The flavor is mild so I roasted along with chopped garlic, 

red onion and a couple of slightly hot peppers from my neighbor's garden.

Tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper, 40mins. in the oven brought all the

flavors together nicely.

I cooked a short pasta, Garafolo brand from Naples which I really like, added just 

enough of the excellent pumpkin and butternut squash sauce - a real steal from

 Aldi - freshly chopped parsley still being snipped from the garden, toasted

 chopped walnuts, topped with creamy burrata cheese and course some

grated parmigiano reggiano.

We enjoyed this meal immensely - along with a robust red wine - in the gazebo on

 what was a perfect autumn evening. Nothing stirring but the numerous late diners

 at the bird feeders, a few squirrels enjoying the seeds on the ground, and the

 sunset glowing in the west beyond our huge oaks.

We have a new little friend in the garden - I'll share some photos soon. 

Last evening, while relaxing on the front porch at dusk, we had a huge rabbit

 sitting in the center of the lawn when a young fox passed by within yards of it,

 not even giving the rabbit a second glance, thankfully!

Hope you're enjoying your weekend and have good weather to

get outside and revel in autumn's beauty. We worked endlessly in the 

garden both Friday and Saturday in what currently is perfect weather, so 

evening relaxation has been extra special here at the cottage.

Scarves, wraps = elegant, inexpensive warmth. . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . a new season of dressing has arrived.

My neighbor and friend said she was busy

 "getting her scarves out" which made me realize

 those cozy necessities for autumn/winter days

 and evenings are longing to be pulled from drawers

 or storage boxes NOW!  

So I'm packing away my light silk and linen scarves 

of summertime, and organizing the pile of pashmina,

 woven wool, hand knit, and cashmere.

Makes me happy - nothing lovelier than a beautiful

warm scarf to wrap, wind, toss about the neck,

 around the shoulders, even over a jacket or coat.

Here are a few new favorites I would love to have.

Are you a scarf person?  

About how many do you have?

Own up now - I must have at least fifty - and always want more!

Thankfully, inexpensive beauties can be found, although every 

gal needs at least one in pure cashmere - add to your 

wish list now!

Do you knit scarves?  They are my go to cool weather

craft - always have one easy pattern (so I don't have to look

 too closely) on my knitting needles so I can do something

 worthwhile when watching TV, and keep my old fingers moving.

How about you?

Scribble Picnic. . . . . . . Fill in the Blank

. . . . . . . . I craved one for a while. 

Then I wanted grey. 

Now, I'm not up for a kitchen remodel/upheaval at all - so will stay with 

my original natural wood cabinets, enjoy them, save thousands. . . . . 

and guess what, brown wood is being loved again!

This week's theme for Michael's Scribble Picnic is

Fill in the Blank.  There's a choice of two shapes, as my screen shot

above shows (I'm using the version on the right), and you get to see our 

 handsome host Michael too!

Like me, he's a British ex-pat so we have a lot in common, despite

  the fact I'm old enough to be his grandma! We love, tea, toast, marmalade

Victoria sponge cake ~ and Bob and I are hoping next year to meet up with

 Michael and his lovely, talented illustrator wife Alexandra, to sip and nibble

 while we talk about England.

Come and join us on Scribble Picnic days - you don't have to be

 an artist per se. I'm definitely not, just give your creative side a little push,

 it's fun, and you meet other creative people from around the world,

 thanks to Michael!

A chill in the evening air. . . . . . . . .

Midtowne, Raleigh, NC 

Last evening the sunset was amazing.

Walking to a restaurant, then doing a 

little shopping in our neighborhood, we

at last felt a difference in the air.

Bring on autumn. . . . . . . sweaters, jackets, harvest moons,

pumpkins, goblins, falling leaves, warm and fuzzy friends, 

~ via Anthropologie ~

~ via Anthropologie ~

Fifty five and counting!

No, NOT my age, although reverting to such a younger age would have its benefits!

Would I really like to be younger?  In all honestly yes. . . . . . .and no!

Definitely mixed feelings on this subject. To what age would I want to return?

A lot of thought will have to go into that question. . . . . .perhaps for another post.

Today it's 55 years since I arrived here in the United States of America as a
legal immigrant. An entire day spent at the American Embassy in London early
 in 1962, several months prior to getting my paperwork in order to enter this country,
included interviews, medical exams, swearing to uphold laws, signing papers
 and such. I was sponsored by an agency who would place me in a job.
 I was almost 19 and planned to come for a year to work as a secretary in 
Washington D.C., save some money, travel a bit, then return to England. 
What happened?
 His name is Bob, haha!!!!!

The United States Capitol building in Autumn - Washington D.C. 

My favorite month - October. . . . . . . . .

Recently at the pumpkin farm I also found a small bunch of the last of the
 golden sunflowers. This pumpkin above is a roasting pumpkin - to be used
 as a vegetable - I need to get chopping soon!

This weekend I'm hoping to start cooking autumn inspired foods in the kitchen.
With the cottage rehab finished, and the weather just starting to cool off,
 I'm ready to settle in for autumn. This will include enjoying the falling
 leaves - through my now sparkling clean windows - as the fragrance of 
comforting foods waft from the kitchen.

Have a great October weekend wherever you are.

Scribble Picnic - my 'art'. . . . . . . . . . .

Some of my 'artwork' from recent months.

I've enjoyed my weekly involvement with the small art co-op SCRIBBLE PICNIC

for many months now.

 Hosted by Michael in beautiful Colorado, our small but dedicated group creates 

the most amazing art for each new theme. Michael definitely stretches us and is 

generous enough to even allow those of us who aren't great at drawing, illustrating

and painting, such as yours truly, to use other creative ways to show our love of art.

 A love of photography has been my way to join these talented artists. Editing 

and adding watercolor and pencils to my photos has enabled me to join the group.

This week you may have noticed we're taking a little break. We'll all be back next 

week with quite a challenge - it will be interesting!  If you would like to join us, and

 we'd truly love to have you, check Michael's blog HERE for all details.

Early morning and dirty windows . . . . . . .

I'm up early this morning. 

Another watery, pale sun is rising over the housetops to the east down

 the street, and above the changing autumn trees.

The renovation work is done on the cottage but the windows are so dirty. 

The window cleaner is due here at breakfast time. 

Coffee is made. Perhaps a croissant will be warmed and the pot

 of homemade fig jam offered.

"Rain, rain go away, my window cleaner is coming today."

Watch out for garden fires!

Still decorating with pumpkins!

The weather over the weekend was dreary, hot, humid. . . . . . . thanks to the latest

 hurricane which, although far away from here, still sent signs in the clouds and a

 few rain showers. We do need rain, especially for the trees and gardens.

We are wondering if the brilliant autumn colors will come this year, all seems

 stagnant, almost lifeless after such a long dry spell.

Did you know that garden mulch can catch fire?

We had a scary incident on the last day of painting on Thursday - when the 

painter was working on the front porch posts. For an hour or so we could

smell burning in the air but couldn't pinpoint it. When the painter, kneeling on

 the flower bed noticed his drop cloth was scorched along one edge, he pulled

 it back and saw smoke coming from the ground close to the foundation of the house! 

He pulled back the mulch which was smoldering and very hot!  We immediately

 saturated the entire bed with the garden hose, also the second bed in front of our

 bedroom window, just in case.

Both these areas are where we had all the shrubs and ground cover, other

 than the hydrangeas, removed to do the work on the house. The soil/mulch

 is now exposed to the sun which has been constant and very hot every day.

With no rain for several weeks, the intense sunshine on the thick layer of 

built up mulch - ours is mainly shredded pine bark mulch and nuggets which

 break down into a rich soil - caused spontaneous combustion and underground

 burning as it turned into fertilizer.

I was online in no time flat looking up what was happening in my garden, as

 nobody seemed familiar with such a situation. What I read about houses/buildings

 actually catching fire from similar situations was really frightening.

I'm writing this as a brief heads up if you also have a build up of old

 mulch in your garden beds. If exposed to sun and there has been little rain,

you may want to get out there with your hose and do some watering.

We are planning on restoring our front beds - will have the old mulch 

dug out and removed, perhaps changing to decorative stones for 

ground cover. Any tips regarding the best way to mulch garden beds will

 be appreciated. 

~ Thanks ~