Autumn

 Hello, Dear Friends, I hope that you are enjoying this beautiful season. 

Here in the foothills of Mt. Rainier, the trees are turning, the breezes 

are full of falling leaves, and the light is wonderfully golden. 

I've been busy gathering, crafting, decorating and tending to the last of the flowers. 

I'm sorry that I have been away from you so long! Time has slipped away 

from me. I had an incredibly busy summer with family (5 little grandsons), 

keeping all my gardens tended and watered in a very dry season, 

the Mr.'s many, many projects (I am help-mate),

and dealing with getting older and fighting my limitations. 

I have actually been looking forward to the shorter and cooler days!

I love fall. 

The crisp air. 

The falling leaves. 

Hot coffee, tea and cocoa.

Pumpkin spice everything. 

Apples, squash, pumpkins and pears. 

Sweaters and flannels. 

Candlelight, a good book and cozy throws. 

Baking. 

Home-made soup. 

And, of course, crafting and decorating!

So, come inside and I will share some of what I have been up to. 

xx

The living room is filled with soft, golden light this time of year. 

This is my Mom's ceramic owl candle-holder from the 60's. 

I recently found this little vase that goes so well with it,

in a shop called 'Lucky Home'. 

Don't you just love that name? 

The books are from the late 1800's. 

So 'Harry Potter', don't you think? 

My Dad made these hand-cast flying ducks for my Mom

 when he was a young man. 

He was a tool and die maker all his life. 

Such a sweet reminder of him, especially this time of year. 

Some fall gatherings from my property. 

I've had the printer's tray for years

and finally had the Mr. hang it for me. 

I found the type letters at a flea-market recently. 

My little owl. 

He looks real! 

More gatherings from the property. 

The pen and ink prints are vintage 1950's. 

I found this magazine cover at a flea market a few years ago

and just put it in a frame. 

It caught my eye because it was done by my favorite vintage 

illustrator, Jesse Wilcox Smith. 

I've collected her prints and her illustrated children's books for years. 

The date of this issue is November 1929. 

The stock market had just crashed October 24th, 1929, resulting in 

The Great Depression. 

No doubt this issue was printed before this catastrophe, 

as there is no mention of it in the cover features. 

My grandparents, on both my mother and father's side, 

each raised eight children during the depression. 

It was a time of extreme hardship and poverty. 

I think of the blissful ignorance of this magazine cover, 

and how life can change overnight.

I am reminded again and again through recent wars and natural disasters

to never take life for granted and always pray

for peace and compassion for mankind,

especially the innocent victims, who, through no fault of their own 

are caught in the crossfire of life's circumstance. 

xx

I've kept the daybed neutral but added two more botanical prints. 

Gifts from my daughter. 

I love how the vintage needlework pillow matches so nicely. 

I sewed the rest from feed sack fabric. 

The light is so pretty in the morning this time of year. 

It makes me so happy. 

I sewed the sweet sunflower basket fillers and filled them with lavender. 

My Dad crafted the crow whirly-gig years ago. 

I found the wood pumpkin cut-out at the grocery store for $3! 

I love the hanging pottery colanders my daughter 

gifted me for Mother's Day. 

The tea-towel on my pantry door was from my Sis-in-law. 

My kitchen window with the pressed wildflower candleholders I made. 

My daughter found the glass tray to match! 

They look so pretty with the gourds and pumpkins. 

I made her a set of candleholders in return. 

I put them in a fall-themed gift basket for her birthday. 

She loves bees and lavender, so I painted this watercolor for her. 

I found the idea on Pinterest. 

You can see the original on my 'watercolor' board. 

I sewed these from felt overlayed with old lace from a damaged tablecloth. 

I was on a roll, so I whipped up these little black cats, too. 

Aren't they fun? 

I had an old black wool skirt that I used for the fabric. 

Something to do on a rainy day. 

My applique' berry basket came out of the linen drawer for the season. 

I sewed this little kite scene years ago, too. 

I hung it on the stair landing to my loft bedroom. 

Sorry for the bad lighting...

I used to make and sell applique' 'pictures', dolls, and crafts

 through a nearby shop years ago. 

Don't you just love sunflowers? 

I managed to grow some from seed this year. 

I grew these, too. They are called 'Canary-bird vine'! 

Can you see why? 

They are related to nasturtiums, which I also grew from seed. 

The hummingbirds loved these! 

They are so sweetly scented, and they are still blooming! 

Some more fall flowers...

A tub of brightly colored Gaillardia, and Marigold in the ladder. 

Artemesia and pink Yarrow look pretty together. 

Rose colored begonias match the Japanese maple and geraniums 

on the ledge. 

I enjoyed all the flowers this year, but the summer was so hot and dry

that it took a lot of work to keep them all happy. 

xx

For the last few weeks I have been shopping, decorating, cooking and crafting 

to host a scarecrow-making party! I had just cooked up a big batch of chili

and some autumn spice cupcakes when the Mr. announced that 

the septic system had backed up. 

He said it so calmly and matter-of-factly, that I didn't 

believe him at first!

Until he had me look in the bathtub and the shower. 

Yup, it was backed up, all right, disgustingly so, 

and my party was scheduled the next day. 

I was so disappointed. 

I had to tell everyone the party was cancelled. 

It was the weekend, so we had to wait to get things squared away. 

The day of the canceled party, the Mr. worked at digging out the septic tank cover 

so it could get pumped as soon as possible. 

(Smiling so sweetly while doing the dirty work :)

xx

I decided to make a scarecrow to salvage my disappointing plans. 

Meet Sammy the Scarecrow! 

Here's how I made him. 

I had gathered thrift store children's clothes, sewed a burlap 

sack for the head, and had the Mr. make me a 

framework cross out of scrap lumber. 

We actually had multiples of all of these for the party :(

After stuffing the head, arms and legs, I inserted the frame. 

Bags of fiberfill are so expensive now, so I bought 

cheap bed pillows and used the stuffing! The fiberfill at the 

craft store was $10 for a small bag, while a standard size 

bed pillow was $5. Twice as much for half the cost! 

You can buy burlap gift bags if you don't sew, too, and tie 

two sticks together for the frame. 

I secured the head to the frame by wrapping it tightly with garden twine. 

Then I pinned the pants to the shirt with large safety pins

and stuffed the body. 

To add 'straw' to the arms, legs, neckline and 'hair', I cut 

raffia into 6-8" lengths and used a strip of packing tape over 

them to hold it all together. I then folded it over and inserted it into 

the openings and tied the ends of the sleeves and legs with twine, 

leaving the raffia to poke out like straw. 

Use hot glue to add it to the head for hair and around the 

neckline before buttoning up the shirt. 

Then comes the fun part! Make the face with felt and hot glue in place. 

Add a hat and scarf! 

Fabric 'patches' look cute on the knees and a little fake flower glued 

on the pocket or the hat gives it the finishing touch. 

How cute is this little guy? 

Of course, I have to keep him someplace dry, so he is best kept on a 

covered porch or inside. 

If you want to make one that will survive the weather, stuff it with 

straw, not fiberfill. 

xx

I'll try to reschedule the party, but I might have to wait for next year, as the weather 

is turning cold and making scarecrows outside in the rain and cold is 

not very fun! 

Everything is running smoothly once again, and we have lots of chili to keep us warm!

Some pretty scenes from a recent drive. 

xx
  

Late afternoon sun out my window. 

A beautiful sunrise on Mt. Rainier. 

xx

Enjoy these fleeting, golden autumn days, dear friends. 

Thank you for your kind visits and sweet friendship. 

I promise I won't stay away so long. 

xx

"Just that you do the right thing. The rest doesn't matter."

- Marcus Aurelius - Roman Emperor

"The measure of a man is what he does with power."

- Plato - Greek Philosopher

"Compassion is the basis of all morality."

- Arthur Schopenhauer - German Philosopher