Anyone for Corn?

Pirates Afoot!

O'hoy thar, matey!

















Me blogger mates have asked for pictures of our Pirate Party at our church! My camera is still broken--arrrgh! But several other shipmates took pictures. Pictures are not that clear, but I think you can get the idea. (Another mate is a pretty good photographer, maybe I can get show some of her pictures later!)





Shiver me timbers, thar be the "crew" above and my hubby on the left.






My daughter, Elaine, the Family pastor and the "Captain" of the event! Another with the crew members of the church staff.










Then thar was my other daughter and her family. She's a wonderful seamstress -- HerApronStrings on Etsy. They are wearing the costumes that she designed. She said she was the "dread pirate Roberts." Pretty cool, huh?

Halloween at My House

I'm not much of a fan of Halloween, but I did decorate some this year. Thought you might like to see my handiwork.

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I made a little candle mat for my entry table, and decorated it for the season with a little pumpkin instead of a candle. Candle mats available soon in my shop. Watch for them! I will have some for Christmas decorating.

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Next is my Halloween wall hanging. This is my first attempt at pioneer points for edging. I think it turned out pretty good! they are really very easy to do! This is my version of a patchwork pattern I found in Lots of Scraps: It's Time to Quilt by Jeanne Stauffer & Sandra L. Hatch.

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This book has several great quilt patterns to try if you are a quilter! I can't wait to try several other patterns in the book!

Harvest Bazaar

Well, I guess the vacation from blogging is over . . . . . . and that's good! I have missed all of you, my readers! This dialogue is so fun!

The big bazaar that I was working on, has come and gone, and I have no photos to share because I was ill for the last two weeks and didn't even get to participate while it was on! Also, I have had the sad experience of loosing a friend and my uncle in the last two weeks. It's been a very difficult two weeks! But I am feeling better now, and since I have no photos of the bazaar, I will share with you a few of the items that I had in the show.

Harvest Coasters, Harvest Season Pillows, and wall hangings that also double as a table topper, if you prefer.

Abby's House Guest

(This is part of an on-going story that I write from time to time in this blog. If you want to "ketchup" start with the January 4th post.)

The house had never been so "lived in" in such a long time! Toys on the oval rag rug between the wing chairs, and in the chair. Sasha didn't know where to plop herself down in the evenings. Crayons on the kitchen table with lots of artwork tacked on the refrigerator and on the walls. Dishes in the sink--not rinsed and put in the dishwasher. Towels and pint-sized clothing items to pick up from the bathroom floor, guest towel to hang back up on the rack and shampoo lids to return to their originally planned positions.





It wasn't Patricia's fault at all, there was just so much activity right now with the beginning of harvest season. It was nice having little "Patty" stay for the week, but we had been running all week and things needed to get done! New laborers were showing up needing direction. The storefront was opening this weekend, shelves still needed to be stocked and new applicants for the sales position were arriving in response to the sign in the shop window. Last minute deliveries needed to be signed for, and in the midst of all this, a house guest from Thomas House! Whew!

"But, then, I knew if I was going to do this, the only time for it was before the harvest season, I just didn't think about it being the last week before the season started!" Abby argued to herself, "And, Patty had been such a delight! But my Paddy was a little confused having a "Patty" around; they have had so much fun playing in the yard, hunting for caterpillars and bugs between doing the chores. I'd call out "Patty" and they would both come running!" She smiled at the thought as she picked up the toys from the chair and placed them in the small cupboard. "I'd do this again . . . next year--next spring or after harvest season."

Reminiscing about Yesteryear and Apples

Abby rose from her nap a little hungry,

"Working the fields yesterday wore me out! Guess I'm not a young as I used to be."

She reached for a apple from the fruit bowl on the kitchen counter. She always had a fruit bowl filled with bananas, apples, oranges, kiwi, and clementines or whatever was in season. She laughed,

"I remember this fruit bowl when my boys were growing up. They were always hungry. Three teen aged boys at the same time. Whew! I was tired of them going thru a whole box of cereal at one sitting or carving off of the ham in the refrig before I got home from work to bake it! So I told them if they had to eat between meals, they must chose FRUIT! Just fruit!"

She took a bite of her apple and pleasantly smiled.

"This is good! I'll buy this one again!"

She'd bought a new apple at the store, one that she had not tried before. It was a Jazz apple. A little research revealed that is was a new apple cultivated first in New Zealand from a Breaburn and a Gala.

"I've always loved apples. I remember, as a kid, eating an apple every day, if my mom had them. The old saying was: An apple a day keeps the doctor away! I'd grab one and head out the back door to play. I'd eat it, throw the core in the 55 gallon drum barrel at the far back of the yard, and run off to play some more! No sitting around for me! But back then we only had a few choices. Delicious, which I really didn't like, Jonathans and McIntosh and "green" apples as we called them. My mom told me the green ones were Pippins and that they were the very best for making pies. My sister and I knew when we saw our mom buy green apples at the store that a pie was in the making!! My mom still makes the best apple pie that any of us have every tasted."

Pippins are an 'old' apple variety. The Newtown Pippin is from the 1700's and was made famous by none other than Thomas Jefferson, who grew them in his orchard at Monticello. One of the first US apple exports to the UK which originated in Newtown, Long Island, NY. Sometimes known as Albemarle Pippins. The well-known Yellow Newtown Pippin is a close relative.

"I wondered if Suz has any Pippins? I know she found a supplier on Sauvie Island in the Columbia River. Or did she find them at the Hood River Fruit Loop? I'll ask her, I feel like a pie . . . ."

(An earlier post was about autumn on a Sauvie Island farm.)

http://pruitthandcrafts.blogspot.com/2009/10/weekend-fun.html

Autumn Decorations and Halloween Clearance!

Halloween is over but Autumn is not! While I do have Halloween items at rock bottom prices in my handcrafts shop,

I still do have decorations for Thanksgiving and Autumn. It's not too late to decorate for the season!

Autumn Quilted Wall Hanging

Or how about a new apron for all of that Autumn baking and cooking?

This apron is reversible with a turkey fabric on the bib portion.

(Click on the picture to see more about this apron!)

Weekend Fun!

We went with the family to a local farm to visit their pumpkin patch! After a hayride out to the patch, the young ones picked out their own pumpkin, tramping all over the field to find just the right size for the intended jack-O-lantern. We had German sausages, roasted corn on the cob, apple pie and spiced hot cider and enjoyed a huge bonfire! Enjoy the pictures!