Sigh.

Today I finished off my last box of pears.   It yielded a batch of my signature Cinnamon Pear Jam as well as a batch of this year’s experiment:  Cinnamon Pear Syrup.  YUM!  The last Rustic Pear Tart of the year is in the oven, filling my home with it’s lovely aroma for the last time this fall.  Soon it will be tied with a bow and on it’s way to a friend.


I always finish my fall canning with the same mixed feelings.  I feel a little sad that it’s over, but also anxious to pack up my canning supplies, reclaim my kitchen counter, and get ready for the bounty of Thanksgiving.


I also feel a sense of accomplishment, a sense that all is right with the world when I finish tasks such as this.  I love the way canning makes me appreciate the simple beauties of fruits and vegetables.  It’s part of my fall nesting, a wonderful way to prepare my heart for Thanksgiving.


For today, this lovely wood box filled with jam claims the position of honor as a fall centerpiece.  It’s too lovely to put away just yet.  I still have some apples to take care of, and then I think I’m done.  Hooray!

Falling into Fall

I wandered outside the other day to appreciate the beauty of fall, and to hunt for a lost pair of shoes.  I’m so glad I took my camera, because I had no way of knowing that later that day the wind would sweep in and carry most of the leaves off the trees.  I love my neighbor’s tree.  My children spend much of their time in her yard.
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And the carpet of leaves!  What a sight!
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Ah, yes, the shoes!
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My heart sighs.  What a season!

Then the children came home from school, the wind picked up and the clouds moved in, and the fun began!
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Rides in wheelbarrows…
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Leaf angels…
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really deep leaf angels…
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Leaping into piles…
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and hurling them to the wind.
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As a mother, I ask this question:
How can I bear to call them in to do their homework?

Free fall decor

I was parked in the parking lot at my husband’s office the other day when I noticed some cool weeds in the field behind the lot.
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The thought struck me that I could find something to do with them, so I cut a few and took them home.
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I really like the deep, rich brown of these weeds.  It’s so pretty.
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After some thinking, I decided to try filling my urns in the kitchen.  I have two linen cabinets that sit on either side of the doors to my husband’s office, behind the kitchen table.  I keep my sugar scuttles and an large urn on each of them.  Usually these urns are empty, which doesn’t bother me because I think they are beautiful by themselves.  A few times I’ve gone hunting for something to fill them, but I haven’t found anything I love for the right price.
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I got out a couple of spools of fall-ish ribbon and tied a length of each around the urns.  I decided to add a little ribbon flower to the knots.
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Lastly, I just cut the weeds down and filled each urn.  I didn’t want it to look too tailored.
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I placed each urn back in it’s place and ta-da!  Fall beauty for free!
Here’s one cabinet:
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And the other:
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I just had to put that picture in to keep things real.  I’ll freely admit that I was so excited about my project that I didn’t even notice there was a diaper on the cabinet until AFTER I took the picture.  Oh well, such is my life right now.  So, we’ll try that again.
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Much better.
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Very pretty, and it will look great at Thanksgiving!
I wonder, what kinds of great weeds will you find near you?

HH

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