A big Thank You!

How can I begin to thank you all for the kind words, the heartfelt good wishes, the prayers and support I have received after my last post? I feel lifted up. Loved. Cared for. Blessed. There are many of you who are going through tough times of your own. I am praying for you. It is so good to know people care, and the thought that so many who I have never even met, care , well it brings tears to my eyes. Thank you. It doesn't seem enough but it is all I have. Another thing that brought tears to my eyes, I received this package in the mail today from Penny Carlson. Seems that our dear BJ won the Nie Nie auction on Penny's promise of a heart and instead of getting it for herself, she sent it to me. It is perfect. I can see the care and kindness from these two dear friends in each piece that Penny placed just for me. Thank you BJ and Penny. Penny included a beautiful handmade lavender soap and a card with a special greeting. You know, when I started this blog I had no idea that you all were out there or that you would find me. I saw a blog and thought it such a good way to stay in touch with out of town relatives. It has become such a blessing to find so many kindred spirits out there. Lovely women who form a network of caring and support. We have seen it in the outpouring of love for the Nielsons and I have experienced it first hand. Thank you . I consider you all another way that God shows his love for us:>)

I'm hanging on to this promise. Friday sweet husband was laid off from his job. We knew it was coming but it is always a bit of a shock when it comes. He works in the building industry and we all know how that has been going. I am not sure what is next but I have faith that God will not only see us through but that He will provide all our needs. So if you keep a prayer list, feel free to add us to it. Our health insurance is paid up through October, after that....we better stay healthy. Fortunately none of us have any chronic illnesses, we have always been pretty healthy and it isnt unheard of for Earl and I to go a year between doctors visits. We will look into buying a school policy for the girls. I know there are people out there who are in a lot worse shape than we are financially. We have a small nest egg put away for a rainy day and I am back at work at the school. I truly believe that we will be ok, it's all a faith journey at this point. So say a little prayer that he can find work. I'll keep you updated as God provides.

Melissa at the Inspired Room is encouraging us to post 20 things we love about Autumn. I am sure there will be a lot of repeats, we all love so many of the same things, but here are the first ten of my favorite things.
1. Color. The only time of the year that I love orange. The trees, the pumpkins, the berries, all swirled together with bright yellows and reds and greens. The warmth of these colors signals the nesting, cozying parts of my brain and makes me do things like actually weed my flower bed and mulch for spring. It's a miracle that only happens once or twice a year.
2. Fires outside with hot dogs on a stick and sticky marshmallows and hot coffee and chocolate. We sit and watch the flames and talk and talk and talk. Sometimes we just sit and watch the flames.
3. Apple orchards filled with fresh fruit and mums and candy apples and cider.
4. Hayrides, at night, under a clear fall sky filled with bright stars, ending with a bonfire.
5. Sunny days that make the leaves look like stained glass as you walk through the woods.
6.Football mums. Do they still sell these for homecoming?
7. Small town homecoming parades. I don't care about the football, but who can resist a parade?

8. The rustic warmth of piles of pumpkins and squash and apples displayed like pirates gold. I thank God for the blessings of bounty we have in this country. I am afraid we take it for granted too much of the time.9. The glow of candles at night.

10. The first gleam of anticipation for the coming holiday season. Whether you love Halloween or skip ahead to planning Thanksgiving, the next three months will be a whirlwind of decorating, baking, and family time. The best time of the year!

Happy first day of Autumn! I keep wanting to blog more but the past few days have been hectic! Tonight I need to bake bread, harvest the basil and make pesto, and finish the laundry. I still haven't started dinner and it's almost 6:00! And yet here I am writing a quick note. I hope I can do more tomorrow if I can just get caught up tonight:>) Enjoy the warm sunshine my friends! I have the windows thrown open and soon the smell of fresh bread and pesto will fill the kitchen! I'll see you soon:>)

What's New?

Well this little guy for one! I had some requests for more of the little Ravens sitting on pumpkins so I made this one. She had a sister, but it's already flown the coop. This is probably the last one I'll make this year so get her while you can because she is the last of her flock. You can find her in my etsy shop.
Also new, these beautiful vintage earrings. They were so pretty, but who wants to wear scew backs? So I reworked them onto sterling silver french wires and they are in my etsy shop now. This is actually the third pair I have remade but my daughters snagged the other two! Naughty girls:>)

The photo really can't capture the sparkle you get with these vintage rhinestones. They just catch the light so beautifully. I am working on all kinds of new things and feel so excited to be doing something a bit different, and some things the same. I will be making more hearts, more birds, and some surprises. See you soon:>)

It's beginning to look a lot like...Autumn

Since the weather has turned cooler and the leaves are beginning to turn I have decided to embrace the season... Yes, the calender may disagree but in my head it is officially Autumn, and in my head is where it really counts isn't it? I have pulled out the silk flowers for the wicker cone on the front door and added a skeleton key and a cute charm of a little girl baking a pie to the bow. I think I want to stain this basket a darker color. Maybe later.
I have bought my first pumpkin at the farmers market and placed it in the urn by the front door. Bye-bye summer flowers. Their sad, leggy little blooms are now gracing the compost heap.

And I have added some silks to the top of the entertainment center. I am thinking I need a little more up here and when I get a moment I will add something. There is the model of the little church in town that Earl's great grandfather built. I just love it. The church is still standing, and although it has been remodeled and spruced up, the shape of it is just the same as this little folk art church. A great piece of history that I saved from a church clean-out without even knowing Earl's grandfather had made it! His mother came for Thanksgiving that year and told us about it. Anyway, it is decked out for fall along with some pretty baskets I have picked up at garage sales. This is all I have done so far but it makes the house a little warmer. I have pulled out some candles and begun lighting them at night, a sure sign that fall is here! I am working like mad on items for the etsy shop. It has been neglected long enough I think! Now back to work, I hope to have something fun to show you soon:>)

What I love about Autumn

Last week I wasn't ready. I couldn't throw in the towel on summer. It was too soon to give up the warm nights and fireflies. I couldn't think why everyone was ready for fall. What I was really doing was dreading what comes after fall. Cold, snow, sleet, short days, grey. Well, I just can't think about that right now, why? Because I finally remember why Fall is so grand. Color!
Rich Gold, Deep velvet red, a thousand shades of green. Rich, vibrant, exhuberant color!

And what better place to find it than the farmers market? Who can resist a small pittance for an armload of this beauty? Don't you want it all? I do! Click on the pictures to enlarge, you're in for a treat:>)

Uh huh, glorious!

I got some of these pansies to refresh my window boxes on the front porch, the deep red ones.

And of course I had to have some of the zinnias. Of course. Earl bought these for me, isn't he the best?

While I'm here I need to acknowledge an award given to me by the lovely Karen Harvey Cox.

This is such an affirming and sweet award. Just a simple "I love your blog", but that kind of says it all doesn't it? By the way, we are a mutual admiration society because I love hers too. It's one of my every day visits.

And Jan at Jan and Tom's place, tagged me to tell seven interesting things about myself. Goodness! I am sure I could find a zillion boring thngs about myself, but interesting? Hmmm. I've done this a couple times before so excuse me if I repeat myself, there just isn't that much interesting stuff to choose from...

1. I can pick up things with my toes. Not just easy things, teeny things. My toes are practically prehensile. My husband finds this endlessly fascinating. He is either easily bored or there really isn't a whole lot of other things that are interesting about me.

2. While many of you have moved numerous times (Jan has moved 43 times since 1982!!) I have moved only 4 times in my 50 years and have never moved outside of Michigan. We have been in this little home for 27 years. (I am really reaching, did you find that interesting?)

3. I have always loved little animals and sometimes they come to me. Like the 4 baby squirrels that ran up to me and climbed in my lap when I sat down, or the baby chickadee that flew into the basement window while I was painting a picture and landed on my knee. Really. I had a pet racoon when I was a kid and when I was 5 I climbed into grandpa's hayloft and sat for the longest time just waiting to hear where the new kittens were hidden. I found them too!

4. I hate to wear shoes. My feet feel smothered, and it makes it too hard to pick up things with my toes:>) Earl's grandpa used to call me "hillbilly" when we went over to visit, usually while he was barefoot too and with a big smile on his face. He loved me, bless his soul:>) I have been known to go barefoot in the snow. Not for long, but it has been done. Should this list be called seven strange things about me?

5. I love flowers. I love my gardens but I hate weeding. Weeding is a necessary evil and I will force myself to do it at least once a year, whether the garden needs it or not. Unfortunately, it usually needs it.

6. I never thought I would use my sewing skills to make money! My grandmother taught me to sew when I was little, about 7 or 8 and the first thing I sewed she made me rip out and fix the mistakes!!! She was teaching me the importance of getting it right, a lesson I wasn't too thrilled with at the time. For years I didn't sew at all. I picked it back up when my girls were small and it was so much fun to make all those little dresses. Now, I use it to make goodies for my etsy shop. In fact, I plan to do some more sewing tonight.

7. I don't do those emails where you send me 10 names to send a recipe to and I will eventually end up with 147,596 recipes sent to me. I. hate. those. things! Or the ones where if you are a real Christian you will pass this on? Aaarrrgh! God doesn't require spam as a sign of devotion! I'm sure of it! How fascinating was that? Have you had enough? Are you glad I didnt have to come up with 10 interesting things? Me too, you can see I was really reaching with that last one. It is more of a pet peeve. Now if you wanted 10 of those I bet I could come up with them.... but you really don't want to go there.

I hope everyone has a brilliant weekend:>)

This morning Autumn seemed more a reality than summer. We had slept with the windows open and the temps dropped to 43 degrees! needless to say, I turned the heat on to warm things up a bit as I sipped my vanilla, strawberry, rose tea (Celestial Seasonings) and caught up with the latest postings! The morning sun is streaming in the windows though, and it is beautiful! I haven't been very productive lately but thought I would share my autumn bird that will go on etsy this afternoon after work. She's thinking autumn too, and couldn't resist perching on a couple of pumpkins! Yikes! Got to run! I'll see you all later:>) Have a great day!

Windows

Today Cielo is having an enchanted window party. I thought it was a good chance to show you the latest update of my bedroom windows. These are my favorite windows in the house. They face south so I get plenty of bright sunshine, and my computer is to the right of these so I can look out and see the deer in the backyard and the garden full of lavender and roses right outside. The lavender and roses are a bit bedraggled this time of year I am afraid, but my back yard is very private so I enjoy the view even when I am not looking at the garden. This picture was taken very early this morning and is a bit dark, it is hard to photograph windows isn't it?
These lace sheers were a steal on clearance from Domestications. $23.92 got me enough of these sheers to filter the light and give a little privacy to 4 windows.. I might go for another set to make them fuller, we'll see.

You can tell I love lace. This window is in the dining room and faces north. It is one of the few old windows left in the house and will need to eventually be replaced. I find it ironic that it works better than the newer windows we added to the house only (?) 20 years ago. I say only because these older windows are probably from the 40's when this part of the house was built. These look out on the front porch and you can kind of see the window boxes hanging on the porch rail

to the left. I also have a big basket of impatiens right in front of the window because this is a very shady corner. I love the little stained glass hanger in this window and the way these look in the north light. Now stop on over to Cielo's house in the roses and have a look at some other pretty windows and views:>)

“Lord, help me to do great things as though they were little, since I do them with Your power; and little things as though they were great, since I do them in Your name.”

~Blaise Pascal

She is here.
Autumn creeps in softly,
like my cat when she wants to invade my lap,
stealing slowly closer, stalking me
until I shout NO!
She stops, motionless, only long enough for my attention to falter
then slides into my lap, soft and warm, and looks at me with gold-green eyes
I can't help but throw my head back and laugh in delight,
for although it is cold when she leaves me
I do love her after all:>)

Check out all the great Autumn decorating ideas at The Inspired Room this week! It is a nonstop fall party that will have you decorating faster than you can say, brrr!

We dropped Victoria off at school yesterday. I was alright for all of about 10 miles on the trip back. Then, not so much. I miss her already. I want my morning hug. I can't wait to send her first care package. Did I mention I miss her?