Well now, look who's back! It's the old gobbler hen. I turned around and there she was, lurking at the window and peeping in with that beady little eye. Scared the heck out of me--she just seemed to loom up out of nowhere. Boo! Gobble Gobble. . .
I was busy straining the cold brew. Our new obsession. If you haven't tried it yet, you don't know what you've been missing. Besides the convenience, the taste is amazingly smooth and rich. All you need is a mason jar and your favorite fresh ground beans. (The coffee-maker is off the counter and put away). Steep overnight in the fridge, strain, add hot water to about 1/4 cup brew to your coffee mug. So much better than instant when you just want one cup. The particulars are easily found by searching online for 'cold brew coffee'.
Stepping outside, I greet another visitor who is caught nibbling the pineapple mint. Since most mint always needs trimming I welcome this, but I've never known deer to like it much. You just never know with them. Like people, they do seem to have individual tastes. His friends were on the other side of the fence eating comfrey and weeds. That made me happy too. I guess I shan't shoo them away today.
Besides they are so lovely to gaze upon.
It was 34 degrees this morning--yes indeed, the frost is on the pumpkin. The fall colors are just beautiful this year. This area out front has filled in nicely. From left to right we have a pair of chase trees, spirea shrubs, and a redbud tree, called 'forest pansy', which has dark purple heart-shaped leaves all summer. It's quite a dramatic transformation.
And look what I found while rummaging through some boxes. Some of you may remember this little project. Blogged here in 2005. Now that's going back a ways in the turkey feathers archives. Have I been here that long? Oh my. How many years is that anyway? Never mind. Let's not go there.
So with that in mind, it should come as no surprise that the Mister and "the girls" (now grown young ladies) accompanied me to a local doll show recently. (Nothing like lovely little dollies to make a gal feel young again!) And thankfully, I was not alone in that. We met so many enthusiastic ladies of all ages and chatted a good bit about the things we love. Most of the dolls were of the older variety, collectibles and antique types. However, not one rare (1972) Blythe doll anywhere to be seen, which was slightly disappointing.
But . . . we soon got over it when the Mister won a doll!
It was so funny. When the door prize numbers were called, the girls and I were checking our tickets, noticing that ours were only a number or so off and prompted him to check his ticket. He finally pulled it out of his pocket and when he realized that he was the winner--he quickly shoved the ticket into my hand!
Once we got over our hysterics, we were then directed to a table with about a dozen dolls to choose from and I chose this lovely little 8" doll, mostly because of those adorable red boots. She has a soft body with porcelain appendages, and the marking T.C. 1997 across her back. And that's all I can tell you about her. I am not an avid collector of dolls in general, but this was a nice surprise.
Especially the red boots! So cute.
Right now she is keeping an eye on things in the workshop. And there has been a bit of activity happening in there. I know I keep promising to show you something I'm working on, but I have been up to my eyeballs in tomatoes that needed my prompt attention. It was cucumbers before that, and pickles!
It was a great year for these however, and we filled quart jars with stewed tomatoes and made marinara sauce with others. Some were dried. Actually, a lot were dried. Those will be nice additions to pasta dishes later.
As the last tomatoes on the vines were picked, my kitchen sills pretty much looked like this all month.
With lots of animal watching while they ripened.
Here she is again . . . gobble gobble.
Sweetness.
And now all this apple goodness is upon us.
Just so no one gets the wrong idea that we eat apple pie every day, we do have our healthier moments. Proof: my lunch yesterday. French lentils are my new favorite. This vegan dish has a base of rich Miso stock. Delish. So. Got everything ready, sat down at the table with a stack of new fall catalogs to peruse and shock...Country Curtains is going out of business? Wha? My brain just won't accept it. The upside is they're having a HUGE sale.
With that, November is nigh--with some fun crafty stitching to look forward to. Don't forget to check out the November Bonus Transfer. Um. Yes, there is another squirrel. Thinking about it now though, it should have probably been a turkey in an apron. So there you go. Enjoy!
FREE Turkey_embroidery_pattern
To see more animals in aprons visit the PatternBee website here.
My goodness, how wonderful it must be to have such a variety of wild creatures dropping by! Such an amazing abundance of beauty that surrounds you. What great use of all that produce too. You are wealthy in all the good things life gives Vicki.
I know, I ordered many yards of fabric from Country Curtains during the sale, and I am so grateful to have ordered new living room curtains from them over the summer. I sure will miss them.
Posted by: Account Deleted | October 31, 2017 at 07:42 PM
Your post is so full of so much goodness. Those deer are amazing and that huge one....wow! I'm jealous of all your tomatoes and apples... enjoy. I had never heard of cold brew coffee, but I'll bet it's delicious.
Posted by: Little Penpen | November 01, 2017 at 06:03 AM
What an inspiring post! I love all your photos and my, you have been industrious! I love the little dolls on your mast head, they are adorable! Have a wonderful day!
Posted by: Mickie Heist | November 03, 2017 at 03:40 AM
Love the pictures and all your four-legged friends (and two-legged--obviously they heard about your healthier moments and are trusting those to remain through the holidays). That soup looks excellent. I'm off to find a recipe.
Posted by: Karen | November 11, 2017 at 03:43 PM