Artsy-craftsy stuff

I've been feeling rather artsy/craftsy lately, and, not having any money to blow, I've been looking at decorations and centerpieces at different places, and then trying to figure out how to make similar things at home. My first attempt was an autumn spray for my front door. I've been trying to download the picture, but can't seem to do it. Anyway, I showed it my mother, and she liked it so well she wanted me to make one for her too. I bought most of the flowers at the Family Dollar, as well as the autumn leaf garlands, and then wove them through the back of a plastic flat from the greenhouse.

My next project was a cute little thing I saw at Wegman's grocery store. It was just a bunch of raffia tied together, then spread out with little fall decorations in the middle. I put it on the fireplace hearth with an arrangement of squashes and gourds.

I have all kinds of projects and ideas I wanted to do, and have not felt pressed for time to get them done. Now this week I'm scrambling because I just got offered a job! No more goofing off all day, I'll have to actually plan my time. sigh Oh well, it's a job I'll love I'm pretty sure. Just wish is wasn't full time.

3-seater outhouse

I'm a huge fan of Halloween. I love decorating inside and out, and now with our new place I actually have a large yard to work with. I had this brainstorm ~ build a haunted house in the yard that can be seen from the road! Not the kind of haunted house where people can actually walk into it, just a Halloween prop, viewed by passersby.

Bob and I were walking in the woods a week or so back, and came across a tumbled down shack of a building lying among the trees. I could swear I saw an animal of some kind scurry inside as we got closer, so maybe it was home to a few critters. On closer inspection we discovered it was an old outhouse! I thought it would be perfect for my haunted house! So we got permission from the owner of the land to tear it apart and bring it home to be reconstructed. Turns out the outhouse (a three-seater!) belonged on our property years ago. Three brothers lived here, and while they had electricity, they had no running water or toilet facilities in the house. We left the triple seat in the woods, but tore apart the building as carefully as we could, loaded it on the truck, and brought it back home.

I meant to take a picture before we got started dismantling it, but of course I forgot. Bob says he's going to get started this week, trying to reconstruct it. He'll need some 4 x 4s for the frame since the originals are mostly rotted away, but if it turns out half of what I'm imagining, it'll be soooo cooool!

Family Ties

I just passed a very enjoyable evening with sister Dawn and her family, husband Ted, son Trevor, daughter Rachel, and son-in-law Rob. The original plan was for them to come over and play board games with us, but I thought dinner would be nice too. My dad complains that I cook too much "big city food" and I'll have to learn the hard way that people here don't like that kind of stuff. So, true to form, I made big city food, consisting of a dish called Quadrettini (a glorified sort of goulash made with the usual ingredients plus spinach, carrots and celery), and homemade basil garlic bread. It was a big hit, everybody going back for seconds and sometimes thirds. The bread is gone but for one end piece. I had intended to make pumpkin pie, but we drove past an Amish baked goods stand earlier in the day and I couldn't pass up the apple and raspberry pies, so we had those for dessert instead.

After dinner we broke out the games. Pictionary is always fun, considering none of us can draw worth a darn. Then we went on to Pit, a loud game of trading cards where Trevor (who appears to be shy and quiet - don't let him fool you!) beat the pants off all of us! Then on to Anybody's Guess (or something like that), a game of guessing the word in the fewest number of clues. About halfway through Pictionary Trevor suggested we have pie. Actually, it was more like, in a lull in the conversation we heard the word, "PIE!" So we broke for pie, went back to games, and Trevor got up and helped himself to more pie, and chocolates passed around... I feel like a swarm of locusts have hit my house! LOL Seriously, it was good to see Trevor eat, and to know that everybody liked what I served. Very gratifying, Dad.

This and that

I like this blog site a lot better than the one MSN has to offer, so I've switched over. The other site still exists, but only until I figure out how to delete it.

I've been job hunting and found an office job at the local newspaper. I'm really excited about it, cuz that gets me a foot in the door to start getting my writing published. I've sent my resume and cover letter in, so hopefully I'll hear something soon. I'm not crazy about working fulltime, but since we really need the money right now, it'll have to do. I was rather enjoying my leisure time - maybe too much. Time to go out in the world and contribute something.

Fall is Coming!

I've been watching the hay fields all summer. Well, not exactly all summer, but ever since they mowed the fields and rolled the hay into giant rolls. I've been fascinated with them all season; they're like large, brown, moist rolls of Shredded Wheat. They've lain haphazardly in the field until this week, when they were moved into neat rows, waiting for the fork to lift them into the hay wagons. I'll be sad to see them go. I've watched them in the early morning light and the setting sun, and at all hours of the day; they've become like old friends to me, familiar, with no need to speak.

Likewise, I've been fascinated with the corn field behind my house. The tiny shoots emerged from the groundin the spring, seemingly too fragile to sustain themselves, but in time grew to over seven feet high! I could watch the growth progress hourly in the early days, and now they spent their time maturing the ears of corn, the tassles turning ever more golden brown. The corn will be used for sileage for the dairy cows next door. As a matter of fact, the tractor made it's first pass yesterday, cutting the stalks at the ground, feeding the entire plant through the shredder and throwing the ground up bits of those magnificent plants into the trailer behind. Even as I write this, the tractor winds its way up and down the rows, leaving bare earth in its path.

The grapes have ripened, almost ready to pick. I can smell the heady sweet aroma in the air, even though the nearest vineyard is several hundred yards away, beyond the corn field, past the trees along the meandering creek. I have no real use for the Concord grapes that grow here. I don't jelly or can them. I don't make the syrupy sweet wine that comes from Concords. I just love the smell of them. Soon I'll pick a few bunches, bring them into the house, and let them release their potent scent to fill the house.