Dinner making these days is utterly satisfying to me, going to the garden to see what is for dinner depending on what is ready for harvesting, and then, while getting it to the table having the stupendous realization that the entire meal is homegrown. Ham and Cabbage. Boiled potatoes, carrots, and onions. Canned cinnamon applesauce. Rosemary steeped vinegar.
I can't help but take a picture of it.
For my less cultured children, it is less impressive. Adele' just wants to eat it already!
Remember how I said I wasn't ready for fall? I am now. Utterly.
I light candles every day again. I love the spicy ones especially, like pumpkin or cinnamon, and almost always have sweet ones like vanilla or buttercream. yuuuuuuummmmmmmmm.
I begin to look forward to cold weather food, like ham and cabbage and hot soups for lunch every day. I start thinking about making homemade bread again (something I gave up in the heat of summer, I admit.) I crave sitting under an afghan and doing some handiwork. ANY handiwork! I haven't had time for handiwork of any kind all summer long and oh-my fingers miss it.
I am soooooooooo with you on this. We went to a high school football game tonight and it was just cool enough to not be hot in short sleeves. We are supposed to get some major storms tomorrow evening to usher in a cold front with next week's highs in the 70ies and lows in the 50ies. Just in time for me!
ReplyDeleteI'm ready too. very ready. It's supposed to be "cool" (68) today, so bring on the french onion soup for supper.
ReplyDeleteI'm coming to eat at your house. Well, someday.
(so did the apple tree pruning work, and those are your apples?)
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ReplyDeleteI am so so not ready, however you pictures exude the beauty of fall and it makes it not so bad that it's knocking on the door these days :)
ReplyDeleteI have wanting to burn candles as well, but only have one. I refuse to pay such high prices for them. Do you have a secret on where to purchase candles that won't brake the budget? I have even considered making my own, but am not sure that will be cost effective.
ReplyDeleteJennifer-
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what kind of candles you like, but Root brand though pricey last a LONG time (or the one I was given did anyway: ) ). I just buy cheapo scented tea lights from W*mart. About $2 buys a box of 16. I like the mulled cider, and stock-up for fall and winter.
You can also buy tea-lights at the dollar store and add a few drops of essential oil to the wax once it starts to melt. I've made candles, and it's hard to get the scent strong enough. Fun to do, but not really worth it in the long run.
Just butting in with my $.02 worth : )
Oops, I forgot- the tealights last about 5 hours before they burn out.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteI just LOVE it when we eat a meal that was all homegrown! It's so satisfying. :) Love the oil lamp! I need to use ours more often "just because". In fact, I'd love to use them all the time.
ReplyDeleteI'm ready for fall, too! It doesn't seem possible that it is September already but I do LOVE this time of year. Candles, I need to use them more often, too. Now that we have our own bees I'm looking forward to making our own hand-dipped tapers!
I'm anxious to see your handiwork! I'm working on a list of handmade gifts for fall birthdays and Christmas. Right now I'm working on a sweet little gift for a certain cousin's baby whom you see every week. :D
Jennifer~ I usually get my candles from craft stores like Michaels, ACMoore or Hobby Lobby. If they aren't on sale already, I can use a coupon! A $3.00 very large jar candle doesn't seem all that bad to me-especially all the ambiance that $3.00 gives back to us! I never buy the expensive ones. ALTHOUGH-the other day I discovered at ACMOORE a more high quality candle in the candle-making department that are in those canning jar cups with handles (you know what I mean?) and the scents are AMAZING. They are a bit more pricey-but again with the coupon! PLUS- when they are done, I am TOTALLY keeping the cup! :-)
ReplyDeleteBonnie~ I never thought to use scented tea lights!
Leah T~ I am SO jealous of your bees. I hope to convince Matt someday to get them. Right now, he thinks we could just use maple syrup for sweetener. But BEES give HONEY! And BEESWAX! And POLLINATION for our gardens and some-day orchard! AND HONEY!!! ;-)
And I'll have you know, I sat down last night during movie night and started to crochet. Mine is a baby gift as well.
More reasons to get bees: honey never spoils, and can be used as medicine (sore throats, put on cuts etc.)
ReplyDeleteAnd much less work than maple syrup...
Bonnie~ totally true! (And we use honey all the time for medicine. I should have thought of that!) But I laughed when you said it is less work because Matts argument is that it is MORE! (I agree with you...)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I forgot to write that no the applesauce isn't from these trees, it is from last years fall canning. Apples aren't quite ready for picking just yet and even if they were, I don't think the trees will be producing anything worthwhile for another year or two. They look HEALTHIER though. :-)
Lovely dinner :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I've been lighting my Vanilla Cinnamon Brulee candle every day. I want to be cozy now!
You can also look for candles at thrift stores and get them relatively inexpensively. I like candles but do not like scented ones (I know, go figure) or at least not very many scents. Ikea had unscented candles a couple years ago and I need to see if they have them again (they did not last year).
ReplyDeleteIf you ever get a chance to buy a Woodwick candle, it is totally worth it. The wick has wood in it and it snaps and crackles like a fireplace and gives off a faint wood fire smell (that one I do like), They are in a jar and last a long, long time.
We put several fat pillar candles in our non-working fireplace and close the glass doors, both to keep any draft from the chimney out of the living room and to keep our inquisitive younger cat out of the candles. It makes the room glow and feel warmer, even if it's not.
oh boy- all this talk of candles and fireplaces.... has me feeling toasty inside!
ReplyDeleteWe are looking forward to lighting candles, and to cooking and eating warm stews and soups.
ReplyDelete