Today

1. I had hidden a large box of Tootsie Pops from the boys under my desk. This morning, Nugget found it! He chewed it open and was enjoying unwrapping a few suckers. He chose green ones to unwrap. I thought that was odd until I remembered that he is vegetarian, after all. :)
2. I shopped all day for my gift basket making. The dining room is now an assembly line and workshop. Mrs. DoLittle has turned into Mrs. Claus for the week. :)
3. It's been pouring rain for days now. There's a new pond outside in the yard!
4. The last of the Thanksgiving leftovers turned into turkey and rice soup.
5. The last of the rolls turned into chocolate bread pudding! Google Paula Deen's recipe if you're interested.

What did you do today?

♥

Mrs. Woodpecker

Mrs. Woodpecker in my backyard 11-27-11

Even the woodpecker owes his success to the fact that he uses his head

and keeps pecking away until he finishes the job he starts .

Coleman Cox

♥

Me Time

view from my desk windows

Looks like even though I'm not quite ready to decorate for Christmas, Mother Nature is! I snapped this picture of one of our pine trees showing through the golden crab apple tree. Doesn't it look like Christmas lights on a tree?

*******

I considered this last day of Thanksgiving Vacation as a little calm before the storm of my busy gift basket week. I also just noticed I have a couple of appointments this week and an auction on Wednesday! Good grief! So I took some time for me today. Girl time. I slept in, gave myself a facial, conditioned my hair, whitened my teeth, and yes, even a pedicure. The fun kind, by sitting on the kitchen counter and soaking my feet in a sink of hot sudsy water. Thankfully, Mr. Neighbor Man didn't catch me. haha. And to top it all off, I ate the last piece of pie for breakfast.

♥

As November Ends

X marks the spot, whether it's a buried treasure, a kiss, or where two paths crossed in the sky. A lovely November sunset as seen from my front porch.

******

One more day of relaxing and then I head into my busiest week of the year. The gift basket business does get busy throughout the holidays! I'm happy to be able to not only create beautiful gifts but do it from my home, sometimes in my jammies and slippers. :) And nothing beats being the boss, you know? ha. I created this business 21 years ago and it has been so much fun!

*******

Once this week is done I'll turn my efforts to putting up the tree, decorating the house and doing some Christmas shopping. I feel a little behind after dear friend, Pat, announced he's all done with his shopping and even has a few feet of snow to make it feel all holiday-ish. But that's ok. We'll just have to be looking Thanksgiving-ish around here until then. hahaha. :)

♥

Thanksgiving Highlights

click on photo to enlarge

1. Pumpkin and pecan pies. Wednesday I dropped my 9 inch deep dish glass pie pan with the crust in it and it broke. It was for the pecan pie and since that is my favorite, I was determined to finish the project. I did, after all, have the filling mixed and waiting! The crust was salvageable and I managed to piece it back together and slide it into my springform pan with removable sides. It did just fine, thankfully. It looked like a deep dish tart!
2. My version of the salad I saw in the coupon flier. I used pomegranate seeds instead of dried cranberries. The feta, praline pecans and balsamic vinaigrette were the perfect touches. I'll certainly be making this again.
3. My Light and Fluffy Rolls. I made them smaller but of course they were just as yummy. I had a few turkey and cranberry 'sliders' on these as a late night snack last night.
4. Putting the finishing touches on the table. I got to mix my auction treasure white dishes, including the little butter pats, with my blue china. Fun!
5. A Thanksgiving sunset, clouds with pink linings. A lovely ending.

I did roast the turkey upside down. The white meat was super juicy!

One of the best parts was Alex sitting down and eating with us.

He couldn't get enough of the cornbread and sausage stuffing.

He even requested it for breakfast today. ha.

Hope you had a lovely day and counted your blessings.

No Black Friday shopping for me.

I slept in and had pumpkin pie for breakfast!

♥

Gratefulness

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than houses.

No Americans have been more impoverished than these who,

nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.

~H.U. Westermayer

♥

Over the River and Through the Woods...

I always sing that little song when I drive to New Carlisle, Ohio to the Amish Turkey Farm two days before Thanksgiving. Not sure why as it really has nothing to do with going to a turkey farm. ha. The trip has become a little tradition that I really enjoy. If you live in Ohio, you should visit Bowman and Landes. They are the best.

1. Today was pouring rain, foggy and just plain gross. It is the weekly curse of mine that this kind of weather always lands on the day I go to the grocery and run errands. Sigh.
2. Heading out to the turkey farm, I did get to pass one of my favorite barns.
3. This place is really busy during the holidays. They even have men helping you park and directing traffic. He looks grouchy, doesn't he? He actually was nice and smiled but I'm sure the rain was an inconvenience. I was glad I wore my raincoat with the hood today!
4. A look at some customers coming out. I spent a few extra minutes inside, enjoying looking at all the yummy Amish goodies. Along with the turkey, I bought some extra turkey broth, a loaf of cinnamon bread to eat for breakfast on Thursday, and some yummy homemade cheeses. We had Garlic Herb Yogurt Cheese melted on our grilled burgers for dinner tonight. Yum.
5. The bird. 12 lbs is more than enough for us, plus a few packages to put in the freezer. How do you roast your turkey? I usually stuff it lightly with onions, garlic and salt. Coat the skin with butter, salt and pepper and place it in one of those clear turkey roasting bags. This year I am going to roast it breast side down which is supposed to let all the juices settle in the breast meat, making it extra juicy. I'll let you know how it turns out!
6. Taylor left today with girlfriend Lauren for her home in Pennsylvania. First holiday ever without my firstborn! I sent him with a hostess gift ~ an amber glass bowl full of my chewy ginger cookies. I'm going to miss him!
7. Yesterday I baked and decorated this 6 layer cake for a friend who's daughter is having a birthday party tonight. They picked up the cake this evening on their way to the party. Happy Birthday, Abby!
8. And finally, the rain let up and there was a beautiful sunset!

I also did the grocery shopping, stopped by work to have a staff photo for the auction Christmas card, gave Taylor a haircut, chatted on the phone with a dear friend, did 4 loads of laundry and made dinner.

I'm pooped. haha.

Hope you have had a wonderful day!

♥

Three French Hens ~ A Creative Tuesday Entry

click to enlarge

Three is the theme at Creative Tuesdays this time. The number three is no stranger to me. :) Things break in threes at our house. We give birth to babies, three at a time! Even our house number starts with a three! With the holidays about to start, I thought I'd give a try at drawing the Three French Hens from The Twelve Days of Christmas. And it was a really easy way to get a bird in the sketch at the same time! :) Last entry I figured out how to make pine cones look realistic and they were so much fun I had to make sure I included them in this entry, too. It's all in the shading, isn't it?

Black and red ink with colored pencils.

The three theme is due Tuesday, November 22.

Click HERE to join in or see more entries.

♥

Friends and Enemies

I let Tiger come inside for a few minutes to let he and Nugget

continue to become friends. They just looked at each other like "Oh, hi."

Maybe it's the size. Nugget is actually bigger! I guess he doesn't feel like he might become dinner.

No, it was actually the parakeets that Tiger was most interested in.

In fact, he started chirping like a bird himself and eventually had to be

pulled off the cage. :) His mom did raise him on bird, after all!

click on photos to enlarge

♥

Random Thoughts

view from my desk ~ the neighbor's backyard

1. You know how things break in threes? Yesterday our furnace, Taylor's car and the clothes iron all broke! Furnace and car have been repaired. The iron still sits there cold and lonely. ha.
2. There isn't a single cloud in the sky today. Gorgeous, even though it is cold!
3. And speaking of cold, we had temperatures in the 20's the night our furnace broke. I slept with the blankets over my head. ha.
4. The skunk sprayed in the backyard. I've smelled all four cats and they smell fine, but something out there got sprayed! I don't know if it is a bush, furniture or a rug but it is BAD! And when we open that door, the smell comes right into the house. How do you get rid of a skunk without smelling like a skunk yourself?
5. Taylor is off on his annual trip to Nashville with blue-grass-loving-friend, Daniel. They are again staying in good friend Rhonda Vincent's home. Always a good time for them!
6. After he left this morning, I ventured into Taylor's room armed with vacuum, dust cloth, wet soapy rag, Windex, and trash bags. It is a college dorm room in our house, after all! The sheets are in the wash, and everything is clean. Two bags of trash were removed and I found 3 lone socks whose mates have been waiting in the laundry room for weeks. lol.
7. Spencer has lost 19 pounds in 3 months since we took his 1 pound per day cheese obsession away. He looks great!
8. I have five Christmas gifts purchased!
9. It's the weekend! I'm going to be baking a cake for an order, watching Nascar, and managing the men. I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing few days!

Treasure Map

click to enlarge

Treasure is the theme for Theme Thursday! It reminded me of the treasure maps my sisters and I would make when we were kids. Here's how we did it:

1. Crinkle up a piece of paper; make creases by folding. Tear a few spots.
2. Stain it with tea to give it that aged, yellow look. Let it dry.
3. Burn some of the edge. Not sure why, but when you're a kid, it makes it look really cool.
4. Smear some of the ash on the map for dirt and variation of shade. Use the match tip to draw parts of the map, lines for water and land.
5. Add what you want, including a compass, landmarks, and of course, the big X!

click to enlarge

Looks like Jack Sparrow could have carried this around in his pocket!

To see other treasures, click HERE!

♥

What I Did Wednesday #14

1. Looked through some holiday magazines for Thanksgiving table centerpiece ideas.
2. Did the dishes...twice. (so far) ha.
3. Cleaned the oven, vacuumed out the ash when it was done, oiled the rack supports so they slide easily, placed foil in the bottom to catch drips and cleaned the grill on the stove top. Now I'm ready for holiday baking. :)
4. Packaged up an Operation Christmas Child box.
5. Talked to the new mother cat. She actually didn't run for the first time. I really wasn't this close..had the zoom lens going.
6. Picked up this tiny hanging planter from the auction leftovers a few weeks ago. I replaced the ratty twine with ribbon and planted a few remaining sprouts left over from one of the outside flower pots. Maybe it will do well hanging in the kitchen window this winter.
7. Did the weekly grocery shopping.
8. Filled the flour, sugar, brown sugar and powdered sugar canisters. Ready for baking now!
9. Noticed those new little kittens have bloated bellies. A Google search confirmed my suspicion of worms. Yuck. Stopped at the pet store today for some de-worming drops to put in the water outside.
10. Noted weird hand sculpture while out and about. Not sure why, but I think it's creepy. ha.
11. Enjoyed chocolate hazelnut coffee, a gift from a dear friend.
12. Laughed at Mustache and that huge yawn.
13. Smiled at blue sky and pretty cloud pattern after the dark grey and rain blew over.
14. Oops on that number. :) Moved my wicker drop file cart back out to my desk. I need to look for some recipes and decorating ideas in the next few days.

It's been a lovely Wednesday.

I hope your day was lovely, too!

♥

Thanksgiving Salad

So, I'm thinking of the Thanksgiving menu. I have all the usual suspects listed, but it looks boring to me this year! With all of that heavy comfort food, we need something fresh and light to balance it all out. I saw this salad in the Sunday paper's coupon flyer, of all places. A pear half on a bed of lettuce, topped with dried cranberries, pecans, feta and balsamic vinaigrette. Yum. I think I found a new addition that will be beautiful, autumnal and tasty.

Are you adding any new dishes to your table this year?

♥

The Zoo Is Now Full

For the first time, I called all four cats into the house tonight. I'm usually trying to prevent them from coming in! Mr. Skunk was on the porch with them, munching away on their food! I didn't want any of them to get sprayed! Interestingly enough, none of them seemed afraid of the skunk, nor did they mind him eating. It was if they had all met before and were friends.

Then the little kittens from that new litter showed up to eat. Obviously, they had all met before, too! But I'm not happy at all to have a skunk on the back porch making himself at home! There are limits to what this animal lover will tolerate. lol. But you know, if he stays and I have to name this skunk, he will be named Don. I knew he looked familiar. :) Don King, famous boxing manager.

Yes Mrs. DoLittle, the zoo is now full.

♥

And Then It Was Gone

I took these pictures from my desk in the kitchen on Friday. The last of the fall colors on a grey, rainy day. The winds came through and blew all weekend and it was gone! I'm glad I took the photos when I did! The last bit of autumn color! It was a gorgeous season! The next beautiful thing will be snow on the branches, but I'm not quite ready for that just yet!

Did you have a nice weekend?

♥

Whiskers Girl

Some invitations are just too hard to refuse!

♥

Gourd ~ A Theme Thursday Post

art by carolyn reed barritt

Gourd ~ a noun. The hard-shelled fruit of various plants, especially those of Lagenaria siceraria (white flowered) and Cucurbitaceae (yellow flowered gourds). Their shells can be used for bowls, utensils, musical instruments and ornamental objects. The flesh can be eaten and the seeds roasted.

............Calabash

........pUmpkin

.......cuCumber

....lUffa

.........biRdhouse

.......Banjo

.....trIploid

spagheTti.........

.....mAracas

crookneCk...........

watermElon........

squAsh...

ornamEntal......

Favorite one to eat ~ spaghetti squash.

Favorite ornamental ~ birdhouse gourd.

To see other posts on 'gourd' click here!

♥

What I Did Wednesday #13

1. Enjoyed probably the last of the color as the winds have removed a lot of the leaves!
2. Did a neighborhood mailing for the Leukemia Society. I said yes once and now all the societies call me. But I don't really mind. It only takes a few minutes.
3. Refilled my coffee bean canister.
4. Watched the rain.
5. Put pennies in my new loafers. Bass Weejuns. Now that takes me back to my college days!
6. Peeked out this morning at three cats sleeping in the chair on the porch. Then noticed the little lifeless furry gift they brought me. Gee, thanks, guys! Actually, I am thankful that it didn't get into the house!
7. Cleaned off my desk. What a mess it was!
8. Found Marmalade in the kitchen! Um, how in the heck did you get into the house? Nugget and Marmy had to sniff each other before he would go back outside. Funny thing was, Nugget approached Marmy!
9. Started filling my Operation Christmas Child box.
10. Chatted with Harry for a few minutes. Or should I say Chatted at Harry. ha.
11. Wrote a few notes for snail mail.
12. Sharpened some new colored pencils.
13. Made myself some lunch.
14. Noted dark grey skies and gold leaves. Lovely!

An extra quiet day here today, but still beautifully ordinary.

Hope your Wednesday has been wonderful, too!

♥

Getting and Giving

At the end of last winter my slippers were so worn that I threw them in the trash. With cold weather coming I had to get new ones! You know how I love grey. :)

And with a nice, sturdy shoe box left over I thought I'd recycle it and participate in Operation Christmas Child. If you don't know about this annual event that is part of Samaritan's Purse, click HERE. You could provide a shoe box full of little gifts to a child on the other side of the world...probably the only Christmas gift they will receive. And you don't even have to ship it yourself. The website lists collection stations all over the country. One just happens to be right here in my little village. Now how convenient is that!

♥

Marmalade And The Other Litter

1. Remember the mother cat with the kittens that has stopped by to eat before? Well, she comes and occasionally brings her kittens, too. Sometimes there are only five. This time only three. Marmalade was on the back porch and immediately looked inside to see if I knew we had company.
2. He was very curious and watched them eat, inching closer and closer until he could sniff them as they ate. He was so cute to watch with them!
3. That little grey one is still looking pretty sweet!
4. Marmalade finally caught my eye. :) I had to stand back in the shadows of the room or the kittens would run!
5. This little one is cute! The dad has that white nose stripe. I didn't see Mustache's twin this time, although he has been up to eat all by himself before.

After they ate and were leaving, Marmalade tried to play with them. He rolled in the grass and playfully pounced all around them. He is still a kitten himself, after all. But they just looked at him like he was silly. :)

They all slipped through the fence and disappeared.

These new little ones will need homes before it gets too cold. I can't guarantee when they will be here but if you live close and let me know you are interested, maybe we can work something out. Just keep in mind that they are wild, never been touched and mom will be watching. ha.

♥

Thanksgiving ~ A Creative Tuesday Entry

please click on picture to enlarge

The theme at Creative Tuesdays this time is Thanksgiving.

I thought I'd try my hand at drawing a cornucopia, spilling out it's bounty of

autumnal fruits and leaves. Of course I had to add some Indian Corn, flowers,

pine cones...and a bird or two! Thanksgiving is almost here! I haven't drawn up the menu yet but I did order the fresh, free range turkey. The faces around our table change every year as we look for those without a place to go, so I don't yet know who will be here or how many that will be! But that's alright since I tend to make too much food anyway. This holiday remains a favorite of mine. It's relaxed, has wonderful meaning and hasn't been ruined by commercialization. A time to count our many blessings and give thanks. I also love it when there are leftovers to last through the weekend!

If you'd like to see more entries or join in yourself click HERE.

This theme is due Tuesday, November 8th.

No talent required, just some imagination. :)

♥

Kiwi Berries

I was looking for quinces at the grocery store so I could make Gloria's yummy looking recipes. But I couldn't find any! Don't worry, Gloria, I'll check some of the other grocery stores! I did, however, find some kiwi berries. Since I had never tried them or even heard of them, I brought home a container. They look like a kiwi inside but the skin reminded me of a grape and the inside texture and taste reminded me of a blueberry.

Pretty and delicious, too!

♥

Face Lift

The hail storm that hit our area last May did a lot of destruction. I remember it being the first time I was actually scared during a storm! And we have tornado watches and warnings all the time! The hail beat on the house so long and loud that I thought the windows were breaking! We had our house inspected for damage and not only did we need a new roof, but new gutters, downspouts, window screens and a skylight! Monday the roofers came. A team of 14 men swooped down on our house and got the entire job done in a matter of hours!

I made them cookies!

Gutters came today!

♥

Gadget ~ For Theme Thursday

A small imaginative............

mechanical....

......device,

....an ingenious or

novel........

...tool.

Gadget is the theme this week!

To see more gadgets, click HERE!

♥

What I Did Wednesday #12

1. Transferred my stuff over to my new thrifted purse. Yeah, it's probably a knock-off, but it's a good one!
2. Refilled my lotion dispenser that sits on my desk. Reaching for hand lotion is one of the first signs of cooler weather and I've started doing that this week!
3. Had a yummy breakfast ~ homemade mix of cereal, dried fruit and nuts.
4. Made my own pumpkin spice latte with coffee, vanilla, pumpkin puree, cream, and pumpkin pie spice. Yum!
5. Washed a couple of throws from the living room couch. One had ketchup on it, among other things which could not be identified. lol... They smell so much better, too. ha.
6. Packaged up the vintage buttons I got at the auction for Jill. Thanks, Jill for wanting to take them off my hands! They will go in the mail on Thursday! :)
7. Gave Nugget a good brushing and scratched those long, soft ears!
8. Noted some remaining golden crab apples from my desk window.
9. The burning bush is turning red quite nicely as well!
10. Directv had to come out and reset our dish.
11. Ordered the Thanksgiving turkey. Fresh, free-range and raised on sunshine. Yum. This place is the best!
12. Made the house smell nice with a pumpkin spice scented candle.
13. Told Whiskers that I definitely gave her a fitting name!
14. Brought in some remaining sprouts of cilantro and replanted them inside. They look a little wilty now, but hopefully they will spring back to life and give me some yummy tasting Mexican food this winter.

It's a gorgeous fall day in Ohio!

Blue skies, 65 degrees and sunshine.

I hope you're having a lovely day, too!

♥

November

from the back yard November 1, 2011

• Nip in the air
• Orange leaves
• Voting citizens
• Embers burning
• Mulled cider
• Blessings Counted
• Evenings darkened
• Roasting turkey

Mug Shots, Better Known As School Pictures

harry, spencer and alex

Any parent who has a child with autism knows how difficult it is to get a good

photograph of them. You can get lucky with a candid shot, but professional portraits are the worst! We've had some hilarious school pictures in the past.

They have shut their eyes, put their hands over their ears, looked like they were

in pain...you name it. :) This year, although only one is smiling, they don't look

too terribly bad! At least they are all looking at the camera!

This is as good as it's going to get!

♥