Simple Pleasures, Simple Joys

I'm relishing simple things.

The beauty of the changing season.

 Fall is the perfect time for impromptu scavenger hunts -- "Can you find a red leaf? Can you find a green acorn?" Stashing acorns in a jar kept the munchkins surprisingly busy while I sat on a blanket with my knitting.

The joy of watching our backyard "visitors" grow up.

This was a solo visit -- I have no idea where its mother was, but they showed up
together a few days later!

The delight of watching my own littles changing and maturing.

How did she get so big? She talks incessantly now.

Sweet and simple.

Saying Goodbye to Fall

I know that Winter doesn't technically start until the 21st, but for me the beginning of December signals the coming of both Winter and the Christmas season. And with so much to look forward to in the near future, I'm excited to welcome one of my favorite seasons!

Still, I can't help feeling a twinge of regret as Autumn fades away. It's such a lovely time of year, a time of reflection and peacefulness.

This was also the first year that I had tried my hand at pumpkin carving (Pablo is a veteran, having done it at least once before...)

The beauty of Autumn never ceases to amaze and captivate me.

Spring is an outpouring of life, when all of nature is a colorful riot of new growth. But Fall -- Fall has a quieter, gentler type of abundance.

As the leaves continue to fall and the temperatures cool (however temporarily -- our area is rather fickle in that regard), I am so grateful that the Lord blessed us with such a wonderful, memorable season -- a beautiful calm before we embark upon our second year together and undertake the rigors of a new season of life as parents.

Three Reasons to Love Autumn

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Going Natural

When the Fall decorating bug bit me last week, I started looking for ways to do some simple projects. I have tons of Indian corn from a Walmart sale a few years ago, but figuring out what to do with it is a different matter! I tried tying a few pieces together and hanging it from the front door, but it needed something else.

Something like a grapevine wreath. But at that moment I had no transportation, and no desire to shell out a few dollars for a wreath. What I do have is several miles of wild grapevines in the back yard.

All I needed for this project was a pair of garden shears, plenty of grapevine, and some patience (stripping the leaves off of a vine is not exactly a thrilling occupation).

This was actually much easier than I anticipated! Just wrapping the vines in a circle and tying them off with softer pieces of vine did the trick. As I progressed, I would alternate -- I'd bend one piece of vine in a circle along the wreath, and then I'd wrap the next piece of vine in a spiral around the wreath. Once the wreath had a little bit of body, I'd just insert the ends of the vines into the wreath to secure them.

My wreath is still a bit thin, but I was ready to call it a day -- I can always add a few more vines next year, if I want to. A few pieces of Indian corn and some raffia, and it was ready to go!

All the Delights of the Season

Today is a grey, quiet sort of day. Perfect for puttering, reading, and baking. There's a batch of bread in the oven and a pumpkin carving party with friends to look forward to this evening.

I've been reveling in the beauty of my favorite season. And to my delight, we've had a month of some *perfect* Fall weather! This is my first Autumn in this particular nook of Florida, and I think the seasonal changes are more obvious here. For one thing, the wildflowers in our backyard have been absolutely gorgeous. And the adolescent maple in our front yard has been showing off its finest shades of amber.

Best of all, maple foliage makes for simple fall decorating.

Yesterday I started pulling out the Indian corn and the Sycamore achenes (some furry, some bumpy) and paired them with a candle for a centerpiece. Because candles just seem necessary for fall.

But these are not the only Delights of the Season -- not by a long shot.

Because there's Pumpkin Crisp, still warm and ready for the pumpkin carving party tonight. When I was deciding on a dessert, Pumpkin Crisp immediately popped into my mind -- but my mom had the recipe, and I knew they were leaving in less than 24 hours to go to New Zealand. Not the best time to ask her to dig it out for me...



But despite not remembering the name of the recipe, I was able to find it online.

Notes: I ended up only using half a cake mix for the topping, and half the amount of butter -- which is good, because two sticks of butter are good neither for the figure nor the grocery budget! I'd also recommend covering with foil for the last 20-30 minutes, to prevent excessive browning.

If my memories from the last few years are remotely accurate, this will definitely qualify as a seasonal delight.

Now to find a creative way to decorate the front door with Indian corn...

A Real Tearjerker

So beautiful, it makes me sniffle and brings tears to my eyes:

Well, maybe it's not its *beauty* that renders a handkerchief necessary. But the cheery yellow ragweed in our area really has been lovely this Fall!

Season of Harvest

As I read various blog posts yesterday celebrating the coming of Fall, I was inclined to be grumpy. It was sweltering hot, and everything in our yard was depressingly green -- except the grass!

But as Pablo and I took a jaunt around our "domain" and made plans for future landscaping (most of which went something like, "When it gets cooler we'll ..."), I grew excited as I noticed green buds on our little popcorn tree.

A closer inspection showed that some of the buds have already "popped!"



And I knew that Fall had come, really and truly -- that wonderful season of "mists and mellow fruitfulness," the season of hot apple cider and indian corn, the season of harvest.

Speaking of which, it will soon be time to harvest the popcorn. So handy when you don't even have to microwave it!



I'm looking forward to seeing our spade tree covered in "popcorn," and also to watching its now-verdant leaves turn glorious shades of yellow, orange, and red. If we could just get some cooler temperatures to go along with it...

Oh, and before you begin worrying too much, that harvesting comment was more than a little tongue-in-cheek. *wink*

For Our God is a Consuming Fire

One of the wonderful things about the house we're renting is the wood-burning fireplace. The warmth, the crackle, the delicious aroma of burnt wood -- it's one of my favorite things about this time of year (even in Florida)!



Fires also remind me of our heavenly Father. One of my favorite chapters in the Bible, Hebrews 12, ends with these words:

"Wherefore seeing we receive a kingdom, which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, whereby we may so serve God, that we may please him with reverence and fear. For even our God is a consuming fire."



I love the image of our great God as a consuming fire -- though I suppose it's a terrifying image to those who do not belong to Him. But for His people, for those who rest in the death and resurrection of His Son for their salvation, it is a comforting fire. A protective fire.


"And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might go both by day and by night. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people."
~ Exodus 13:21-22 ~


Praise be to God for His beauty, His holiness, and His love!

(Verses taken from the 1599 Geneva Bible, available online here: The Geneva Bible)

Caramel Apples

My father is the king of caramel apples. While he was attending Covenant College on Lookout Mountain, he worked in the Candy Kitchen at the top of the Incline Railway. Two elderly ladies owned the shop then, and they got a kick out of the way he pronounced "pecan" -- "Are they peekin' at you?", they'd ask.

But they also shared their recipe for caramel, and even though it's been a few decades, my dad still isn't rusty:



Sweet, sticky, never-give-up caramel apples -- after eating half of my apple, I had to give my jaw a break to finish the rest!

Just another thing to love about fall. And long live the king!

Get Lost!

No, that is not meant as an insult to my kind readers -- rather, it's a description of what I did a few weekends ago! Fortunately, getting lost was the whole purpose of the outing.

Does this give you the idea?



Tiffany, Pablo, and I headed out into the country and met up with a few of Pablo's friends and coworkers at a corn maze.



We were concerned by the appearance of the corn field -- short, ragged stalks that couldn't be considered green by any standard!



But as it turned out, it was still a fun and challenging adventure!

The weather was just right -- sunny, crisp, and cool. It actually felt like fall (compared to this week's 70 degree temperatures!).

One of the occupants of the field, which we toured via hayride:



We finished it off with a turn each at the corn cannon -- yes, someone has invented a way to shoot ears of corn out of tube using compressed air. Go figure.

Yours truly:



Tiffany (notice the ear of corn in flight!):



There were Corn Cops present to keep the marksmen under control:



And this, my friends, is an ear of corn whizzing past the moon:



Unfortunately, it didn't whiz past the target...

We've decided to go back next year -- but a little earlier in the season!

Creative Inspiration

I always look forward to our town's art festivals -- row upon row of booths set up in the quaintest and loveliest park in town.



I'm always amazed by the variety of different talents that are represented --photography, glass blowing, knitting, pottery, art, wood carving, jewelry, basket weaving, and everything in between!



It's especially fun when you get to go with family:




Ironically, the only thing I bought at the art festival doesn't really count as "art."



I love realy vanilla extract, but it's so expensive! So when I saw "Perpetuals" at an herb booth, I was thrilled.



All I had to do was cut the three vanilla beans in half, fill it up with vodka (which I already had, since I use it to make scents with essential oils), and wait for four weeks! Every time you use it, you just add more vodka or rum. Supposedly it lasts for several years, and when it starts to weaken you just add more beans. Loverly!



Now I'm inspired to take up dozens of new crafts -- but I think I should just stick with the (too many) crafts that I already pursue!

Toadstools

I think Fall is finally on the way in Florida! The weather has been absolutely delicious over the past few days -- and while we have a few warm days ahead of us next week, I think it's safe to officially welcome Fall.

And what better way to do that than with toadstools?

Little ones.



Medium ones.



Big ones.



Unfortunately, while our yard had various types of fungi on display, I couldn't find a single gnome! But I'm keeping my eyes open...

Festive Fall Dinner

My sister, Tiffany, and I decided to make a "fancy" dinner tonight, inspired by the butternut squash sitting on our counter at home and the reduced sourdough loaves we found at the grocery store -- the perfect size to use as bread bowls.

 

Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup ~ 3 c. peeled, diced butternut squash (about 1 small squash) ~ 2 c. thinly sliced carrot (4 medium) ~ 3/4 c. thinly sliced leek or chopped onion ~ 1 T. butter or margarine ~ 28 oz. chicken broth ~ 1/4 t. ground white pepper ~ 1/4 t. ground nutmeg ~ 1/4 c. light cream Garnish options: ~ Dairy sour cream ~ Toasted pumpkin seeds ~ Fresh tarragon sprigs Instructions: 1. In a large covered saucepan cook squash, carrot, and leek in hot butter over medium heat about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer covered for 25 to 35 minutes, or until vegetables are very tender. Cool slightly. 2. Place one-third of the squash mixture in a food processor or blender. Cover and blend until almost smooth. Repeat with remaining squash mixture. Return all of mxiture to saucepan. Add white pepper and nutmeg; bring just to boiling. Add light cream; heat through. If desired, garnish each serving with sour cream, pumpkin seeds, and/or fresh tarragon.

This creamy orange soup is absolutely delicious, and a perfect Autumn dish. Just the thing to take the edge off these crisp Autumn days!

Time for hot chocolate!

Fall has finally arrived, accompanied by leaves blowing in the breeze, acorns falling from the live oak trees, and cooler temperatures. I have been reveling in all of the sights and sounds of one of my favorite seasons. One of my favorite pastimes is changing out my summer and winter wardrobe (a little premature, perhaps, but I still have some warm weather clothing in my closet!).

While stopping by our church on Friday afternoon, I snapped a few pictures as I experimented with my camera's different shooting modes:

The little acorn cap looks exactly like what I could see a little gnome or a flower fairy donning for the cooler months!

While I was fiddling with my camera, a group of squirrels in the oak trees above me were scurrying about furiously. They might have been chasing each other, but I think I was the unlucky offender that they were shaking their tails at threateningly! And I'm still not entirely sure that the showers of acorns that landed nearby were not aimed at me...