"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking successive autumns." Author: George Eliot


Autumn is certainly here with its bright touches of orange kissing the leaves. I'm trying out my new camera today with a few pictures. Tonight we are having some out of town company for dinner, a small repeat of the fish party.

PLAYING AROUND WITH PHIOTOSHOP

hERE IS THE PICTURE OF THE SCARECROW ENHANCED.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

I have decided that my life is in constant flux. As much as I like decorating it seems that I never get it done. I keep changing. It might be just seasonal decorations I'm putting up or at other times I change my whole decor. Above is a picture of the new material for kitchen curtains. The floral will be the valance and the heavier check, the tiers.(they look pink in the picture but they are green,rust and tan. I've been looking for some fabric to match the new cinnamon colored walls. I am not a seamstress by any stretch of the imagination, but I think I can sew a straight line and make these curtains. I just have to find the time.

Today I went up in the attic to bring down the rest of my fall decorations and sort through them to decide what I can let go of and take to Linda's sale in a few weeks. Letting go is hard for me, but I need to do it. Especially letting go of country items I know I'll never use again. It took me hours of sorting, purging and cleaning up afterwards but I feel it is a beginning. I'm trying to keep only the items that I will use. I used the scarecrow and some of the other fall things down at my lightpole.

What a busy fall!

I must say I haven't been keeping up this blog lately. With the advent of fall my nesting instincts are taking over and there are so many chores to do around the house I've been busy. It seems everywhere I look there is something out of place that needs tending to. By the time I get home from workout and coffee and errands my morning is spent. I guess I should prioritize better. Or add a few hours to the day. Anyway, here are a few pictures of Ryan and Jenny's new house. It is a ranch house with a big fenced in back yard. It's only ten years old and layed out so well on the inside with the master suite on one side and two bedrooms and bath on the other. It has a workshop/ room in the basement for Ryan to do his projects.

How well do you know your husband?

1. he's sitting in front of the tv, what is on the screen?
The History Channel, the Discovery channel or an old movie

2. you're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
blue cheese


3. what's one food he doesn't like?
cooked carrots

4. you go out to the bar. what does he order?
Pepsi or Vodka collins

5. where did he go to high school?
Bradford, PA

6. what size shoe does he wear?
12

7. if he was to collect anything, what would it be?
coins

8. what is his favorite type of sandwich?
ham and cheese

9. what would this person eat every day if he could?
pork chops with gravy

10. what is his favorite cereal?
none

11. what would he never wear?
a colored shirt other than blue or brown

12. what is his favorite sports team?
not a sports fan

13. who will he vote for?
obama

14. who is his best friend?
Tim, Jim, and Bill

15. what is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do?
complain about others

16. how many states has he lived in?
2

17. what is his heritage?
GErman/French

18. you bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?
chocolate

19. did he play sports in high school?
no

20. what could he spend hours doing?
fishing

Blogging from Tennessee

I'm having a ball with Sean. Today I got to watch him while Jenny and Ryan worked. I gave him a bath in the morning and we played all day. Last night we went to the Red Lobster for dinner and tonight we are going to a Japanese Steak House where they prepare the food right in front of you. I'm taking pics but haven't had a chance to download them yet. Tomorrow Jenny and i are going to see her new house and shop in Knoxville.

20 Little Things To Treasure in Autumn
Quiet dinners by the fire
Reading mystery novels in darkened rooms
Flannel sheets at the end of a long day
Candles Flickering
Smelling cinnamon, oranges & cloves
Pumpkins
Roasts, Potatoes & Carrots
Chicken Pot Pie
Fluffy feather beds on a cold night
Watching movies snuggled in soft blankets
Cozy socks
Pie in the oven
Warm crackling wood stoves
Squash with buttered brown sugar
Chili and corn bread smothered in honey
Wind blowing through leaves
Glow of lamps through windows
Laughter filling a room
Carmel apples
Family

And here are some more:

The crisp "snap" in the air; warm enough to lift your face to the sun & glory in the warmth, but cool enough to need that jacket.

The changing colors of the leaves; the waves of colors on the hillside as you drive into town. The rich reds, golds, oranges and browns with a smattering of green still holding on to the memories of summer.

Comfort food that takes hours to simmer: stews and sauces, filled with the goodness of "fresh from the field" produce.

Bonfires. Complete with S'mores.

Snoogly sweaters pulled from their summer slumber.

A nice cup of Earl Grey while curled up on the couch with the cat after a long day.

. Soups. I could live on soup. And a crusty French baguette.

The Full Harvest moon that seems to take over the entire sky.

The first night that it is chilly enough to light a fire.

Sleeping with the window open & the blankets piled up.

Winding down

Here we are winding down from the party, just hanging out and talking. It seems Top Gun wanted to see what he was missing because he jumped up on a chair at the table.

It's Fall

I couldn't help myself! I had to get out some fall decorations. It's beginning to feel a lot like fall here in Bradford. Some trees are just starting to show their orange leaves. I read once that in the fall the trees lose the chlorophyll that makes the leaves green and the leaves turn their original colors. It's always a spectacular sight that we sometimes take for granted. I put some mums out on the courtyard to add some color.

A WATERFALL AT LAST

What a project the pond has turned out to be...but what a result! It is so beautiful and the sound of the rushing waterfall makes me feel like I'm at a resort in the tropics. It's too bad that summer is over and we won't get our full use from the courtyard. But wait until next summer! Today we're getting ready for our "fish party" Don just got the waterfall finished yesterday and it has rained all day today. He and tim have been working on it all week. The landscaping is not all done yet but it still looks nice. I'm hoping for nice weather tomorrow for the party.

Finding time for blogging

Don and I at Salvatore's Gardens
The large mum plant I bought at Lowe's.
The pumpkin pick and beautiful shimmering ribbon to tie on the back of my dining room chairs.

The little metal wheelbarrow that Yrsa gave me for my birthday.

Sorry I have been so negligent about my blogging lately. It's been so warm and these last nice days have me outside enjoying the weather. We are still working on completing our pond and waterfall. It becomes increasingly clear that there are professional landscapers for a reason. They know what they are doing. We, on the other hand, have to think and rethink how we go about doing each thing. Therefore, it is taking us twice as long. But we will have the satisfaction of knowing that we did it.

I had a wonderful pre-birthday celebration yesterday. Don took me up to Salvatore's Gardens, a beautiful restaurant in Buffalo. We first went to the Galleria where Don bought me a deep chocolate brown twin sweater set . It will make a perfect backdrop for all the jewelery I've gotten for my birthday from my sister and Kay. I also have some great animal print scarves that will look so nice with the sweater.

I hit Macy's during their Estee Lauder gift time. That is when I purchase my moisturizer every 6 months and and get the free gift. It was a large makeup bag with a small plastic bag plus free lipstick, night repair cream, mascara, perfume, and eye shadow. While I was in Buffalo I stopped at Michael's craft store. You know that I do not , I repeat, do not need any more fall decorations, but I found the cutest pumpkin picks to hang in the back of my dining room chairs with gorgeous ribbon. (I just can't help myself!!) After those shopping stops we met Aline and Jerry at Salvatore's for a divine dinner. It's hard to describe the difference in atmosphere, service and taste that an upper class restaurant has. It was the most enjoyable meal that I've had since the last time we ate there. I'll just describe my food and wish that you could have tasted it. Home made bread load dusted with butter and parmesean cheese, Caesar salad with crumbles of blue cheese, mashed potato tower , fresh seasonal vegetables, filet mignon butterflied topped with carmelized onion and a dijon-herb sauce. If that wasn't enough, I couldn't resist the Snickers pie for dessert which I split with Don. The sparkler that was lit on the top when they brought it out made it even more special. It was a great way to make me feel loved.

Today Yrsa and Kay stopped out to give me some presents. Yrsa bought me a cute white iron small wheelbarrow that I had been admiring in the gift shop where she works along with a seasoning package to make a red pepper dip. Kay had picked out s necklace and earring set with the help of my sister Linda. I am so lucky to have such great friends.

LETCHWORTH PARK

Here is Dan juggling the heavy bocce balls.
We were fortunate to see the hot air balloon take off from near the Glen Iris Inn. It floated above the falls and continued on down the valley.
We stopped along the way home for an ice cream treat.

These are the huge middle falls.

We saw a train crossing the large railroad bridge as soon as we entered the park.

Don at the upper falls.

We had a great day at Letchworth Park on Sunday. Chris, Dan, Scott, Don and I rode up to to the park in New York state which is about 1 hour and 45 minutes from home. We spent the day hiking around the trails looking at the three large waterfalls on the Genessee River. The weather was perfect. Later on in the day we had a picnic lunch. After lunch we played frisbee and bocce ball before heading for home. It was a great way to finish off the summer.