Autumn 2020

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And just like that, summer turned into autumn. 

My annual Autumn Jewelry Section can be found here. Acorns. Pine Cones. Warm, earthy tones. All perfect for sweater weather.

Trick or Treat

The jewelry in my Autumn's Calling Collection is on sale until October 27th. Enjoy 10% off. The discount will show when you add items from that collection to your cart.

Spider Web Season

Summer's ending and spider web season is beginning. I love seeing all of the different kinds of webs. The ones in this photo remind me of flying saucers. They float on the branches of our pine trees.

One of my favorite vintage beads are spider web beads. They are glass beads, referred to as Cherry Brand beads, and were made by hand in Japan between 1945- 1952. I have a large collection of them and enjoy using them in my designs. I love their organic look. You can find them in the shop in my 'Vintage Laced Jewelry' collection. 

Fox Squirrel's Bounty

These acorn canister lockets come in three finishes and are available in my shop. What would you squirrel away in it?

Hello November

The trees in middle TN are gorgeous this year. Mix a summer full of rain and a proper frost and freeze and the results are spectacular foliage color for all to enjoy. It's been a wonderful Autumn thus far. Time to enjoy the bounty of our harvest and slide peacefully into the holiday season.
Until next time.....

Whoa There November

Wow, is this month flying by or what? Thanksgiving is in a few days. Christmas is just around the corner. And I thought October zipped by! They say that the older you get, the faster time goes. Well, I say that they are right.
Until next time.....

Wordless Wednesday

Autumn Morning

The perfect Autumn breakfast. Pumpkin muffins and strong coffee. Warms the soul before heading out to harvest what might be the last of the summer garden.
Enjoy your weekend.

Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence
~Paul Simon



We spent the weekend on top of the mountain at Crystal Lake. Camping out under the stars. Cool weather. Wind blowing through the trees. But this time the wind was different. It was an Autumn wind. Chestnut oak acorns fell from the trees. Believe me, you don't want to get hit with one of those! They are about 2" long.
I sat out at night, staring at the stars. The Milky Way swept across the sky above us. I didn't want to come back down. Never do. It clears the cobwebs of my mind. I love it up there. Being surrounded by trees. And darkness. Like going home to old friends.
Until next time.....

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.....

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.....

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.....

Wordless Wednesday

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.....

Dreaming of Autumn

We've been wanting to head up to Crystal Lake, but it is just too hot! This weekend they're predicting high 90's. Even with our two battery powered fans, it would be miserable trying to sleep in the tent.

I really don't like rushing summer, but part of me is ready for fall. Camping in the cool, crisp air. Campfires. Brightly colored leaves.

But alas, we have yet to meet the dog days of summer.

Until next time.....

Citrine Hues ala Vintage Glass

November's celebrated birthstone on Etsy is citrine. What a sunny gem for an Autumn month that is already bursting with color. I have a few pieces in my shop to warm the hearts of vintage lovers. All of them are one of a kinds, so when they're gone, they're gone. Click on the jewels above to get to my shop.

You can also find a growing variety of shades of citrine by visiting the Gift Guides on Etsy.

Until next time.....

Crystal Lake in November

We just got back from a quick 3 day trip up to Crystal Lake. I love camping in Autumn. And I really love camping when the moon is just about full. It seems like the night critters come out in full force then. We heard one of the owls, but never heard the other one call back. We heard coyotes, lots of coyotes. One of the packs sounded like it was real close. And we also heard, what I thought was probably a bobcat.

We got a lot of work done up there and came back tired, sore and happy.

See the butterfly in the collage? It showed up in the middle of the woods when we were cutting wood. No flowers or anything with color in sight; except for our weed eater string. I hope it found something to eat along the way.

Until next time.....

Pumpkin Pancakes or Waffles

I was on Twitter this morning, drinking coffee and reading tweets, like I do most mornings lately. lillyella tweeted about pumpkin pancakes. Well, that got my attention! She asked for my recipe, along with a few other folks, so I decided to post it here.

I will be baking our pumpkins and freezing the puree soon and I'm looking forward to my first batch of pumpkin waffles. I prefer waffles over pancakes, but you can make either with this recipe.

In one bowl whisk together:

1 cup flour (unbleached white, whole wheat or a mix of both)

2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of salt

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon each allspice and clove (optional, but I like them spicy)

In a separate bowl blend:

3/4 cups pumpkin puree

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons canola oil

1 egg

Don't forget to buy maple syrup!

And while you're eating your Autumn treat, check out lillyella's blog. It's truly a feast for the eyes.

Until next time.....