Autumn

Well according to the calender, autumn is officially here. But by looking at the thermometer, it would be hard to tell. We almost broke a record yesterday. It was 95*. Not the kind of record I care to break.

It's very dry around here. We haven't had any of the rain that came through middle TN and the stress is starting to show. The garden soil is dry as a bone. Trees are losing leaves before they even change color. They say that we're going to get rain and cooler weather next week. Let's hope they're right.

I can't wait until we can head up to the mountain and enjoy camping in the crisp autumn air. I'm bringing my hammock so I can tie it to the trees and watch the leaves fall.

I dragged out some pictures from past years of our trees at Crystal Lake to remind me what lies ahead.....somewhere in the near future.

Until next time.....

New Necklaces

New necklaces in my Etsy shop, with more to come.

Until next time.....

Black is Black

It's that time of the year to start bringing back the black clothes and accessories. I love to wear black, but ever since we adopted Althea, it is almost impossible to leave the house without white cat fur somewhere on me. I don't want to go out looking like the crazy cat lady, which I am not. Seems like by now, I should own stock in pet hair rollers.

I've been stocking my bead shop with black beads and have listed some new black jewels in my jewelry shop. Just in time for Halloween; one of my fave times of the year.

Until next time.....

Pumpkin Latte

A couple of years ago when I was hanging in Etc, on the Etsy forums, some folks were talking about Pumpkin Latte from Starbucks. It sounded good! I love everything pumpkin. I had no desire to go to Starbucks to try one. Never been there. Why start now? So I hit the internet to see what I could find. I did find several recipes, got the gist of it and came up with this. Give it a try. It's easy and oh so good!

3 heaping tablespoons pumpkin puree
2 Tablespoons vanilla syrup*
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice**
1 cup milk - works with any kind of milk
1-2 shots espresso
-In small saucepan, stir puree into milk. add vanilla syrup* and spice. heat gently and stir occasionally just until steaming and foam begins to appear. If you like it sweeter, you can add more vanilla syrup.
Pour into tall mug and pour espresso over it.
Top with whip cream and dash of spice.

*Vanilla syrup:
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
-Bring water,sugar and salt to boil on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved.
Boil until mixture becomes thick and syrupy. It took about 10 minutes when I did this.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Cool.
Store in frig.
~I didn't make the whole recipe. I may have made 1/4 of it. I read that it stores in the frig for a couple of weeks. You might want to google 'vanilla syrup' or 'sugar syrup' to see what you find out.

**I make my own pumpkin pie spice and keep it on hand. We love cinnamon, so I'm pretty heavy on it. Adjust to taste:
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
a little under 1/4 teaspoon cloves
a little under 1/4 teaspoon allspice

Until next time.....

Autumn Jewels

Just a sample of some of the new jewelry being listed in my Etsy shop. My shop's landscape is changing just like the landscape in TN. Here the leaves are starting to turn color and fall. Ironweed and Fall Asters are among the flowers that are in bloom. And when the sky is blue, it is really blue. I'm enjoying every minute of it. As a matter of fact, I'm heading outdoors to work in the gardens.

Until next time.....

When I Grow Up

When I grow up, I want to be Althea! This is what I see while I'm working. She follows me around most of the time, like a dog, and sleeps at my feet. Her life hasn't always been this good, but I know for a fact that it has been since we adopted her several years ago.

Have a great weekend!

Until next time.....

Falling.....

I love this time of year! Summer slowly starts coming to an end and Autumn begins to awaken. It's my favorite time of the year. After a long hot summer, I get to sit back and enjoy the fruits (and veggies) of my labor. Cinnamon infused desserts start to fill our home with added warmth.

I have more time for my online shops. I've had fun making a few Halloween themed earrings. You can see them in my Etsy shop. Just click on the collage above. They are all OOAK.
I've been stocking my deStash shop with autumn colored beads too. I've really been into skull beads this year. I mean, I've always been into skulls (Dead Head), but this year I've been searching for them and adding them to my stash. I am parting with a few though. You can find them in my shop. Just click on the collage below.

It's 6:15 PM. It's been raining today, so the sky is grey. It's fairly dark outside. Althea is curled up in the corner, sound asleep and snoring with a smile on her face. We're both waiting for Papa John to get home. He doesn't know it, but tomorrow I'm baking him a pie with some of last years pumpkin that I put up. I can't wait to smell the cinnamon.

Until next time.....

Shining Stars

This time of year, the vining flowers really shine. When most flowers are played out, my morning glories, clematis, cypress vine and cardinal climbers explode onto the scene. They escape their trellises and attach themselves to anything that they can reach. Vines gone wild! I love it. And so do the birds and the bees.

Enjoy these last flowering days of the season.

Until next time.....

Wordless Wednesday

Where was my camera?

We took a quick trip up to Crystal Lake this past weekend. It was so nice to be back on the mountain, camping out under the stars. I could easily stay up there and never come back down.

I had several 'where is my camera when I need it' moments.

When we took the tarp off of the woodpile, we found a beautiful copperhead napping. She was about two feet long. Maybe I can get a shot of her next time.

I was sitting next to the water and a butterfly landed on my arm. Blue/orange/black wings inches from my eyes. With the sun out, the shadow the butterfly made was amazing. It would have made a great 'Shadow Shot Sunday'.

A scorpion lives in the stones of our fire pit. We saw him, but alas.....no camera.

Back down from the mountain, I went out to the garden to cut some basil. Something waddled out from under the basil. It was a young dove. I sat down and started talking to it. It turned and came closer, scratched around in the dirt and made itself comfortable. Three feet from me. You guessed it. The camera was in the house.

I can't complain. I do capture some wonderful surprises. The top photo is John walking on top of the dam.

Bottom collage: hot peppers, cardinal climber, autumn clematis in full bloom

Until next time.....

End of Summer Sale

I'm looking forward to this weekend and to saying goodbye to Summer. The weather promises to be beautiful!

I added a sale section to my Etsy jewelry shop. Stop on by and see if there's something that you've hearted, or should I say 'favorited'? Who knows, you may even find a gift or two for someone on your holiday shopping list.

Have a great weekend!

Until next time.....

Signs of Autumn

Remember me? I've been MIA for a while now. Sometimes life gets in the way and the blog goes on the back burner. But, Fall is in the air and I should have more time to blog once again.

I'm typing with 9 fingers. Yesterday, while drilling through bullet shell casings, the drill slipped and well, I'll save the details. Good news is that I had a small bit in at the time and I didn't drill all the way through my finger.

I've got lots of news to tell, but will save that for another day.

I'm so glad that Autumn is making her appearance once again. It's been a long, hot Summer.

Some signs of Autumn in my neck of the woods:

Cool mornings

Double digit temperatures

Foggy mornings

Open windows

Blue jays are back

Peppers are ripening

Summer garden is winding down

Garden is tilled and ready to plant the Fall garden

We will be able to go camping again!

Autumn banners in my Etsy shops

Fall colored beads in my deStash shop

Autumn themed jewelry in my jewelry shop

Labor Day weekend

So, what are the signs of Autumn surrounding you?

Until next time.....