Because it's worth it!

Hi Folks! Things are kind of busy around here right now . . . I'll tell you all about it in a few days . . . but until then, I thought you might like a reminder of one of my favorite cool weather recipes. You can find the recipe for my Camellia Cottage Tuscan Chicken Soup right HERE!

I posted this recipe just over a year ago, and have gotten many good comments from folks who made it. The girls (above) even love a spoonful poured over their dry food for dinner.

Now, as soon as I can, I'll come back and let you know what I've been up to these last few days. I can tell you this . . . it's been fun! Blessings folks, Becky

The Fall Project - Phase One Completed!

Do you remember this???



From the other day when I lost the needle and thread. Well, I found the thread, but no needle yet - and there's no telling where it is by now! Anyway, here's another pic from before . . .



Circles of fabric approximately 11 inches, 9 inches and 7 inches across, leaves cut from an old avocado tablecloth, got any ideas yet???



A cinnamon stick stem, and paper covered wire vines. It's a pumpkin of course! I got the idea from a website, and took the things I had and ran with the idea. This is the 9 inch (approx.) circle of fabric. And all you do is baste all the way around the circle, using fairly large stitches, most of mine were 1/2 inch or so, and when you get almost to the end, start pulling it tight and stuffing with poly fiber filler. When you get it tight enough, leave a hole just large enough for the cinnamon stick. And one tip that really makes it easier for me is to use button/craft thread. It is in the same display as regular sewing thread, but it's heavier weight. And it comes in colors. I have brown, beige, white and black, but it also comes in others. Each spool costs about $1 each, dependidng where you buy it. When you are stuffing and pulling the thread, it holds up better.


I used hot glue to hold the glue stick in place, wound the wire around it, and stitched AND glued the leaf. Oh, and the leaf pattern came from a website - I used the small/medium one. The old avocado tablecloth is one my mom gave me a while back. The edging is coming off and raveling, so I thought it would be great to use it for these. I stitched around the outline, filled it very lightly with fiber fill, then stitched the veins, stuffed it a bit more and hand stitched it closed.

I have three more (one 11 inch and two 7 inch) ones stuffed, but haven't got them finished yet. I hope to put them in my grandmothers dough tray for the center of my dining table. If you want them larger, just cut the circles larger. I really want to do a couple about 17 - 19 inches across.
And I'm sorry I can't tell you where I got the wire - I bought it about 5 or 6 years ago to decorate my VBS classroom, and I just can't remember where I got it!

So, that's my mystery fall decorating project. As soon as I get them finished, I'll post a picture of them on the dining table. Thanks for visiting! Becky

Decorating for FALL . . .

~Front Door Welcome~

We don't do halloween here. I do decorate for the autumn/harvest/fall/Thanksgiving season, but you won't find any ghosts, goblins, jack-o-lanterns, evil spirits or that kind of thing here at our home.

~Sweet, spicy candle that smells like fall~

So many people put more emphasis on 'celebrating' a day that was originally about the dead and spirits, but don't even acknowledge or are insulted by my favorites Christmas, Easter, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving. and since when did halloween become a holiday??? I won't be capitalizing it any time soon.

~End table in living room - can you tell I love birds?~

When I was a child in the 50's and 60's we dressed up in scarecrow, cowboy/girl, gypsy type costumes made of things in our closets and then visited a select few friends in the surrounding area. We lived in the 'country', with a few neighbors, but not many very close. So we went 1/4 mile down the road to my grandparents, then out the road about 1/4 mile in the other direction to Claude and Lively's place. If they had them, they usually gave us colorful Araucana chicken eggs (and yes, for halloween), as well as some candy. Next was the Manns, and maybe one or two other folks within a couple of miles of our house. And that was it, and it was fun and 'enough' for my brother and myself.

~Coffee table with fall magazines and stacked fabric pumpkins~

Now my hubby and I live in a small subdivision of about 65 houses and lots of kids who wouldn't even speak to us on the street if they were made to. But come October 31st they are here with their hands out and get upset if you don't give them what they want or as much as they want. And let's not even mention the area below our subdivision where someone hooks up a wagon to their tractor and brings a couple of dozen kids from another neighborhood to visit us - just this one night a year.

~Fall flag outside front door~

So a few years ago we just turned out the lights and pretended we weren't home. A few made their way down the dark driveway and found the doorbell button, but not many, and there have been less every year. This year we have plans, and will not be here at all, and for that I am very thankful!

~Wood Scarecrow~

And yes, it is partly a religious thing, and I know there are some wonderful alternatives out there! Before we moved to our current home we helped at our church's 'Trunk or Treat' for several years, decorating our car in a theme like harvest, camping, etc. and giving out candy to children as they walked around. There were rock climbing walls, moonwalks, games, hayrides, and all kinds of fun things for kids to do in a positive, loving atmosphere. And we had literally hundreds of kids from all around the area. And we had a BLAST!!!

~Mr. Crowe sitting in the front porch rocker. He's 54" tall, but without a spine or bones, he prefers to sit!~

Thankful, grateful, joyful, that's how I like to spend my fall/harvest season. Preparing for a Thanksgiving with family and being grateful for all our many blessings. That is so much better than dressing up like something or someone 'wicked' or bad, and going out and acting like your values and beliefs don't matter for just that night.

~Old Tom Turkey in the other rocking chair; he is also 54" tall~

Please don't be offended by my words here today. I am simply stating my position on halloween. And I hope you have a wonderful one, however you celebrate it. We live in America, and we can celebrate any day we want, and isn't that a wonderful thing!

The pictures above are most of my fall/harvest decorations. The are scattered around the front porch, living room and dining room. But before I go, I want to share one last decoration with you. It's a paper mache' pumpkin on a bit of moss under a cloche. BUT, it's not really the pumpkin I want to share - it's the cloche! I bought that cloche (bell jar) not including the footed cake plate at a yard sale this summer. It's about 15 1/2 inches tall, and a tad over 11 inches across at the base. It's made from hand blown glass, and has a few little air bubbles in the glass. The lady who was selling it showed me the catalog she bought it from, and she paid $80 plus shipping. It was still in the original box, which had never been OPENED!!! I opened it, made sure everything was intact, threw it in my car and skedaddled out of there! Why? Well, because I was afraid she would realize what she had done. I mean, surely selling an $80 cloche for $10 wasn't one of her brightest moments! :o) But I sure was pleased to take her up on it!

~Cloche on cake pedestal with paper mache' pumpkin and moss~

It's going to be a pretty week here for a change, so I think I'll be starting my pre-holidays cleaning. The coat closet and linen closet need straightening something awful, and my kitchen needs a good scrubbing from top to bottom. That's what I'll be doing this week, what about you???

Have a great week everyone! Becky