Tag Archives: fall

fall =apples

Oh my goodness … over a week since you heard from me.  Shame, shame.  Please.  Let me explain.  Here are my excuses (in no particular order)…

Have a big holiday show coming up in less than two weeks (yikes!) AND my (naughty) computer has been giving me SO MUCH grief!!!  Frustration at a new level.  And just when I need it to be my friend.  Murphy’s Law… right??  We’ve all been there.   And then there’s that “P” word… If you are “in the club“, you know what I’m talking about.  My mom knows.  My daughter knows.  They are in the club.  The word, my friends, is P-R-O-C-R-A-S-T-I-N-A-T-I-O-N.  Yep.  See – I even procrastinated by typing it out that way; therefore taking longer.  I have a (bad?) habit of getting sidetracked.  Really sidetracked.  I think creative people are just born that way.  Yep.  That’s it.  Anyway – those are my excuses, and I’m stickin’ with ’em..

Anyway – it’s fall – but it has been cold the last couple days like WINTER!  Ugh!  Not ready for that.  OK – NEVER (ever) ready for that.  But it IS still fall, and I think that apples = fall.  Don’t you agree?  Well, our friend, Martha (Stewart) sure does.  She hs over 50 recipes to share with you that all revolve around the beloved apple.  OK – confession (yes… another one…!)  I realize this is very un-American… but I (gulp!) don’t like apple pie…..  I know, I KNOW!!!  What the heck is wrong with me??  But for those of you who do, there are a ton of variations of the “all-American apple pie” in this link.  Along with some super yummy treats for those of us who prefer the “other” goodies.  Like BBQ Pork & Apple Kebobs, Apple Cheddar Frittata and Quinoa & Apple Salad with Curry Dressing…!  Hungry now?  Ya – me too!  But no time for eating now, my friends.  I have got a “things to do” list for my show and I need to FOCUS!!  And I will.  Right after I make some apple muffins…

falling into fall

This past Sunday was a glorious fall day.  Perfection really.  Cool sunshine and the trees ablaze with color.  The rumor, this year, was that the drought was going to rob us of a beautiful autumn… but, oh my, I beg to differ.

I love fall.  Crunchy leaves, brilliant, glowing color, pumpkins and hot apple cider, sweaters and cozy blankets, soup and comfort food, sipping wine by an outdoor fire…  If there has to be a downfall to autumn, it is the fact that it is never, EVER long enough.  Winter just isn’t my thing. At all.  Let me say that again.  AT ALL.  I considered this on Sunday.  As beautiful as the trees were that day, I knew that it was only a matter of time, and a little wind, before our trees were naked and primed for (gulp!) the inevitable….  With that in mind, I grabbed my camera and started exploring, in a desperate attempt to somehow capture, and retain, the moment.

Today was a blustery “Winnie-the-Pooh” kinda day – and COLD!  The wind howled outside, blowing huge gusts of crunchy leaves in circles outside my windows.  Looking out, it was impossible NOT to think about Sunday.  Glorious Sunday; when the trees were lush and full and saturated in brilliant color.  No longer.  The grass was now a carpet of fresh fall foliage.

Lucky for me, today I had a stay-at-home “things to do list” that only seemed to multiply as the day went on!  You know the kind – Cross one thing off, add three more!  So I threw another load of laundry in, gathered my IPAD, laptop, phone and my “to-do pile” and parked myself on our glassed in porch.  Warmed up some apple cider and started the fire while the wind continued to howl outside.  Looking out at my half naked trees, I closed my eyes and hit the rewind button.  Yes.  I remember.  It was Sunday.  Glorious Sunday…

susie squirrel

OK.  Woke up this morning (early) with an “out of control, too much to do, Help!  It’s Monday!!” sort of feeling.  You know the kind.  Don’t even think about maybe going back to sleep. Ha! Like that’s gonna happen.  But your body is just too tired to get out of the bed.  And the blanket of darkness outside?  Well that’s certainly not helping. I don’t feel like my feet should even touch the floor before there is sunlight.  Lots of sunlight.  This, however, is the stuff that fairy tales are made of.

The hubbie wanted decaf this AM; but I knew that this was not an option for Moi.  Made a short pot for him, and a pot of the leaded stuff once he was out the door to work.  OK.  Confession.  It was actually “half-caf”, but that was only so that I can drink MORE and not bounce off the walls.  Let’s just say right up front that caffeine is not exactly my best friend.  Sometimes, however – it is a necessity!!  This morning was one of those times.

So I was sitting at the kitchen table working on a grocery list for the week, minding my own business, when I saw something out of the corner of my eye out on the deck. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was “Susie Squirrel” .  Now Susie is not really a welcome visitor on our deck.  She took it upon herself to  “remodel” our roof in the form of a huge hole.  I was instantly glad that the hubbie was already off to work.  He is not Susie’s biggest fan.  But as I watched her darting back and forth in her hyper, erratic sort of way, I realized that Susie had an edge on me.  She had absolutely no issues with her energy level on this Monday morning.  She was on her game.  No caffeine necessary.  A puzzling thought crossed my mind.  Oh my gosh… Was I actually jealous of a squirrel?  The thought was quite troubling, so I opened the porch door and (politely) asked Susie to relocate before going upstairs for a nice hot shower.  I needed to clear my head, and a shower always seems to help.

It was a cold morning and the hot steamy water cascading down my back was an instant “Ahhh…” moment.  Out of the blue, an image suddenly popped into my mind. It was this (squirrel) pic from my pinterest board.  Ha – That’s it!   I just need to think like a squirrel!  Still in a towel, I grabbed my list and began writing.  I suddenly felt ready to tackle the “to do’s”.  The sun was up and shining brightly and the air was crisp and cool.  A beautiful fall day, and a perfect night for soup.  Ya – things are lookin’ up.  So, thanks to Susie, I’m off and running on this Monday morning – ready to conquer this crazy list.  (Task #1:  Gather nuts for winter…)

live happy…  laugh, love, dream, create

cinderella soup

Some days are just “dress up days“.  The entire process of getting ready is well thought out and deliberate.  You select just the right outfit days (weeks?) in advance.  Your clothes are clean, pressed and hanging in delightful anticipation.  You light a scented candle.  There is soothing music and a long hot shower or bath…  perhaps a little “spa-like sugar scrub” first to smooth out those rough elbows and heels?  There are shimmery lotions to indulge in; your hair and make-up… flawless.  You feel like Cinderella going to the ball…

And then there are the days like today.  You have a laundry list of things to do, including laundry, and there aren’t nearly the hours in a day to complete your task list.  You feel good about the fact that at least you brushed your teeth and showered.  The best that you can do are torn up jeans and a clean t-shirt.  You will be going nowhere today.  There will be no make-up… flawless, or otherwise.  (You are feeling a bit like the BEFORE version of Cinderella…) After some time and (hopefully) several “check marks” later, your thoughts turn to a rather challenging matter.  Dinner.

It’s a beautiful fall-like day.  Soup would be delish.  Let’s see… Where to start?  What’s in the fridge – Any leftovers?  Nope.  I find a bag of “soup mix” for a corn chowder in the cabinet.  It looks boring.  No worries – Let the challenge begin!  I oven roast some potatoes and veggies, defrost some frozen leftover chicken, add in some diced tomatoes, a few slices of crumbled smoky bacon and a jar of Trader Joes Spicy Corn Salsa.  A sprinkling of fresh ground pepper and chopped herbs from my herb garden and… VOILA!!  We have ourselves a little dinner well on the way without ever leaving the house…“cinderella soup”.