Good Times, Good Food, And Good Memories Made...........Happy Thanksgiving!

 

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!
~Grandpa Jones

I listen to the sound of crunching ice

from Sophie's feet as she  hurriedly runs ahead of me in the early morning woods,

that lie in a mixture of light snow and sleet. The ice  stings my face as I walk behind her.

In no time she has found a scent and has bounded out to the cotton field, where some creature has made it's way earlier.

After a while, the wind started blowing the ice harder and Sophie realized.............

it's cold!

It didn't take her long to leave the frozen grounds and to  find her favorite place to warm up.

While she sleeps,

I think I will get busy in the kitchen.

 

Knowing that we were due an ice spell, I gathered up the remaining pumpkins from the patch. I plan to cook down a few of these for fresh pumpkin pie making. The rest will be split and laid out in the woods for the critters to enjoy.

There is a certain quietness to the woods when it lies underneath a blanket of frozen white...........

no matter how many times I have noticed this...........

I still feel "in awe" of nature and her amazing ways............

I love the words of  Lady Bird Johnson

a genuine Texas Lady,

as she quoted.............

When I no longer thrill to the first snow of the season, I'll know I'm growing old. 

Lady Bird Johnson

 

Hoping this finds you having  a warm weekend............

even if it is snowing.



A few weeks back, an archway, made from vintage ornamental gingerbread..........

sat out in the yard of a vintage shop and found it's way into my heart.

The next day, it was riding home with me

where it was placed onto the ground and into  the process of making it pretty again began.

 

I thought it was pretty the first time I saw it...........

but it had so many layers of gunky paint that the detail in the flowers and leaves were hidden.

Because of weather and other tasks along the way, I applied stripper and hand stripped away at this for a few weeks.............

until finally, it was time to paint

and to see each detail

and all of it's beauty come  through.

Now it stands out in the garden space that I am working and planning on.

The grounds look so barren and dry..........but I am planning on creating a vintage country garden , filled with other vintage items, as I come along to find them, as well as  roses, wisteria, Italian Jasmine.........and of course...........Zinnia, my favorite............. With this archway.........

opening on the path to it all. Decorating the garden will be the easiest and most fun...........getting the plants to agree to grow and remain there will be the hardest........especially with the hot and challenging elements of our area.

Whether I am successful or not...........one thing holds true. This piece will always be here, inspiring me to pursue my dream.

Another dream of mine is also in the making.............

as most of you know,  my work is hand embroidery...........

Flowers are one of the things I love most to do............

I am currently working on opening up my vintage shop to sell my glassware and dishware. I am also creating matching linens to sell along with it.

To find out more just visit my embroidery blog by clicking on to this link

Yesteryear Embroideries

 



Just A Thought

I know where the mother mouse hides her babies.................

a place of comfort and peace.

It's the same place where the butterflies flutter in and out

and where the prairie shows off it's blossoms.

Its where the most colorful

and unique creatures come

to visit me.............

or each other.............

or to sometimes get a drink when the earth is parched and dry.

 

It's a place where the crooked trees are host to a couple of owls who call to each other in the wee hours of night............

where to woodpecker stashes away it's treasures for a meal later on.

Sometimes, it's  a hiding place for creatures

who are lost

and are in need

of a helping hand.

It's a place where the woods awaken with vibrant life

and  go to sleep in the most comforting

and beautiful way.

It's where I look up to the heavens in gratitude and praise...........

It's home...............

Home Sweet Home.

This is the first year , that in my pumpkin growing, I still have green vines in the patch and blooms..........

however, I know that soon the cold nights and cloudy days are going to take their toll and all will be dried and gone.

As most of you know by now, I have fallen in love with working with cement and that one of my favorite creations are my cement pumpkins. Since the first time I learned how to make these, a plan started forming in my head..................

a plan to have a cement pumpkin garden that I can enjoy all year long!

I am slowly adding to it every day until I get it the way I want it to look.

I have made different colored pumpkins............

and I used the real pumpkin leaves from the patch to make the leaves. I made those in different colors as well and added a few splashes of color.

What do you think??

On the patio, there is a round area where a tree once grew. After the tree died, I used the area to plant flowers and another tree. That tree did not like living there, so the area lie in wait with grass taking over it. This is where I decided to create my cement pumpkin garden. It greets guests as they come to the door and I can see it every day as I step out onto the grounds.

As you can see I have a lot of more pumpkins and leaves to create to completely cover the area.

 

I am also making more feeders for the grounds around the house. We have so many feathered visitors as they migrate to their destination.

I have also made some more  pots and planters............some I hope to sell when I get my vintage shop opened.

This old watering container has sat out on the grounds for a long time, because I could not decide on what to use it for. The bottom is rusted and the drain plug is missing. I decided it would look cute sitting beside our yard windmill.............

and after dragging 27...........5 gallon buckets of dirt to it and filling it.............

I planted roses in it.

They are doing so well. It's November, and I still have blooming roses.

The morning glories are also hanging on and blossoming.

I finally found a vintage door to place on my vintage shop that I hope to open next year. It is perfectly weathered and rusted!

You can read more about this and the items for my shop by visiting my embroidery blog.

Just click onto this link

Yesteryear Embroideries

Also, I just posted a wonderful potato side dish recipe on my cooking blog.

I made this dish to go with grilled steak the other night. It is so wonderful and delicious.

Click onto the link for the recipe.

My Country Kitchen

Now tell me................

do you have any garden blooms hanging on..............

or are you under a blanket of frost or snow?

I would love to hear!