Octobery

 

~ I took a picture because the counter was clear.  For about 15 seconds. ~

~ one of my quarantine projects was to get more soap made.  The first batch worked beautifully and got me excited to do more.  The second and third batches failed miserably and got me determined to figure out the problem.  The fourth batch and the rebatches worked better than nothing.  And now I have a lot of soap... but not many bars that I love.

So naturally, I need to make more!  Any very reliable soap recipes out there anyone is willing to share?

The black eye happened when he pulled out the drawers to the standing jewelry box and then climbed them like stairs.

Not only did the whole thing kerplunk down upon him- but the leftover water glasses standing on top doused him to soaking.

And I think he will probably not try THAT again.

~ making cookie pizzas saved me a lot of cookie making effort this summer. ~

 What girl goes outside with her pan of hot roasted squash?

The answer is me.

Oh!  Those little footprints!  

The boy sleeps in some pretty crazy positions.

~ I got tired of having multiple jam jars almost empty in the fridge taking up space, so I slathered all the leftovers on a batch of dough and rolled it up like cinnamon bread. 

I didn't hear any complaints at breakfast. ~

Matchy Matchy Misters

~ Ineke, my little mint gatherer. 

Leftover flowers before frost.

It has been dreary and gray outside for days.  The rain comes, the wind blows and I find it all overwhelmingly cozy.  It means the outdoor chores can be put off for a bit and for a while, the 'things that must be done' list is smaller.  Which means my level of guilt at not getting EveryLastThing done is lessened.  ;-)

The fur blankets are out and about to wrap up in.  The tea pot boils on the stove and tea boxes are on the grocery list every week.  (ONE teabag a day, children!)  Socks cover toes, and they feel warm and toasty; not stifling, like before.  The candles are lit every day.  We got our bulk apple order in so we are eating fresh apples every day and the house smells like crisp apple.  We eat our meals in the dining room once again, where the sounds echo from the walls and make dinner loud and boisterous...much different than porch suppers where the sound heads to the hills.  (More sweeping, too.)

The teensy amount of tomatoes left (almost all cherry) sit on the island ripening, waiting for Moses to sign "more" when he sees them.  Soon, they will be all gone and Moses will be very, very sad.  The only fresh flowers left are the buds of cosmos whose protective shells kept them warm and sheltered against the frost.  

Homegrown pumpkins line our porch and make for wonderfully cheap fall decorations.  Orange, yellow, moss, copper, burgundy or flaming red in all directions.  The rain makes the colors fall, but while they last it is marvelous.  

We haven't yet started our woodstove and have no other form of heat- so I bake breads and make soups to warm our chilly bones and heat up the house in the freezing mornings.  I am more inclined to knit or crochet and have started a few new projects, and picked up a few older ones too.  I finished a bunch of dishrags recently.  It is shameful how much cotton yarn I have.  Dishrags make such wonderfully quick gifts, especially when paired with a bar of homemade soap.  I am also working on some baby gifts.  Most recently, this simple garter bonnet.  I am finishing up Willa Cather's O, Pioneers! and listening to Dante's Divine Comedy on audiobook.

I have quite a lot of pictures from summer time that never were plunked on the blog that just don't fit in  this new season of cool weather.  A lot of naked babies.  A lot of summer fun.   I am going to work on getting them up here so that I don't feel further and further outdated.  I am ready to call summer quits, if I must, and step into the present.  Whatever that may bring.

If you find the blog deluge overwhelming, paddle downstream.