~ Wooden letter blocks ~

Another easy craft I made for Fall were these lettered wooden blocks.

The wood blocks cost $ 2.29 for a package of 6.

I painted the blocks burgandy red. then

I cut patterned paper squares and glued them to the blocks.

I cut smaller squares out of scrap linen material and raveled the edges a bit.

Glued those on...

then printed large - font letters on tan colored paper, using the computer...
cut them out, glued, finished !

On the reverse side, I chose the word " WINTER "

SPRING and SUMMER are also 6 letters, so you could do any combination!

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Listen ...

The wind is rising

and the air is wild with leaves.

Winter is an etching,

spring a watercolor,

summer an oil painting,

and autumn ...a mosaic of them all.

STANLEY HOROWITZ

~ Autumn's Last Leaves ~

~ Autumn’s Last Leaves ~

Spiraling downward how quickly they go,

Dancing and twirling as winter winds blow,

Withered and dry, all crinkled and crushed,

More battered and bruised with each frosty gust.

Torn from their perch to doom and decay,

The treetops wave as they’re carried away.

Another season is rounding the bend,

Another autumn is nearing it’s end.

Farewell, farewell once beauteous leaves,

Your vibrant colors have dressed our trees,

You offered us shade from hot summer sun,

Alas, farewell…your work is done.

Sandra Combs ~ Plymouth, Massachusetts

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"I love fall!

 Fall is exciting.

It's apples and cider.

It's an airborne spider.

It's pumpkins in bins.

It's burrs on dog's chins.

It's wind blowing leaves.

It's chilly red knees.

It's nuts on the ground.

It's a crisp dry sound.

It's green leaves turning

And the smell of them burning.

It's clouds in the sky.

It's fall. That's why...

I love fall."

- Author Unknown

10 minute pumpkin....

I found this pumpkin craft somewhere on the internet and I thought it was a clever idea for only ten minutes of my time.

I bought 20 inches of pumpkin material (45 inches wide) and cut it on the fold

giving me two pieces. (One for you and one for a friend).

Grab a roll of toilet paper and sit it in the center of one piece of fabric.

Tuck the fabric into the center hole of the roll (no need to glue anything)

cut a piece of brown paper bag about 12 " long and fold accordion style.

Add some raffia, if you've got any, fold in half and push it into the center.

I added a piece of green plaid fabric for leaves.

And there you are!...a instant fall decoration!

Dollar store finds....

a pumpkin and an old - style honeycomb decoration...

" HARVEST" pumpkins and crows and cornstalks....

two heavy - duty tea towels in fall colors....

~ FALL ~

"I love fall! Fall is exciting.

It's apples and cider.

It's an airborne spider.

It's pumpkins in bins.

It's burrs on dog's chins.

It's wind blowing leaves.

It's chilly red knees.

It's nuts on the ground.

It's a crisp dry sound.

It's green leaves turning

And the smell of them burning.

It's clouds in the sky.

It's fall. That's why...

I love fall."

- Author Unknown

~ Adoring autumn ~

Here's just a few of the many photos that I've taken recently....

(just click for a larger view)

"October's poplars are flaming torches lighting the way to winter."- Nova Bair

"The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the farm country slowly

changes from the summer cottons into its winter wools."- Henry Beston, Northern Farm

"When the bold branches Bid farewell to rainbow leaves -Welcome wool sweaters."

- B. Cybrill

Enjoy !

So much color...

So little time !

**EASY PUMPKIN CAKE**

Take any white cake mix & mix as directed.

Add 1 c. of canned pumpkin

Add 2 Tbsp. of pumpkin pie spice

Mix & cook as directed on the box.

**FROSTING**

Make a cream cheese frosting,

add 1/2 teaspoon of orange extract to the frosting.

Mix & spread.

PUMPKIN COOKIES

Ingredients:

1 box of Spiced Cake Mix

1 15 oz can of Libby's Pumpkin

1 cup (or more:) of chocolate chips

Directions:

With a mixer, beat together the cake mix and pumpkin.

Add the chocolate chips and bake at 350 degrees for 12 min.

Enjoy the Fall...Y'all!

What happened to Summer?

With this crazy weather, It seems as though it just got started and as quick as a flash ...it's over!


I kept waiting for the flowerbeds to fill up and it didn't happen. Come to think about it, we only had to cut the grass about 4 or 5 times.
 I was driving home from work two evenings in July and the car was so chilly that I had to put the heater on. What's with that???

I demand a re-count...there's an awful lot of 90* days missin' somewhere.

I'm missing this.........

"Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world." ~Virgil A. Kraft

“Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.”

Doug Larson

“Never cut a tree down in the wintertime.

Never make a negative decision in the low time.

Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods.

Wait. Be patient.The storm will pass.

The spring will come.”

Unknown

How about you?...

Show me what you're missing.

Happy first day of spring !!!!!

Brrrrr...it's cold outside.....

Not just outside...but inside...

It's 11 degrees outside and 52 degrees in our house. For the second time this week, the furnace has stopped working and I'm waiting for the repair man.

So I've got three layers on, a shirt, sweater and a heavy robe. I even put a tousle cap on, because they say that you lose a lot of heat from your body through your head !

I've heated one of our Thera - hug bags that we make as a home-based business and keep it on my lap.....that makes a big difference. And I topped everything off with a quilted throw.

I'm getting hungry but I'm so bundled up, I don't want to move to go make some breakfast!

Maybe I'll just take a nap.

PS. I just heard that the temperature today in Denver is 67* and Orlando is 57*... What's up with that ???

Not what I hoped for...

I've been trying to attract more birds to the back yard, so that I can get some pictures.

I know that the red birds like fruit and berries, so I took an orange that had been in the fruit basket for a while and cut it into sections.
I wired one half to a tree branch by the feeder and sliced the other half and put it under the feeder on the ground. The red birds seem to gather there.
Instead of red birds, I attracted this guy...

He took all the pieces and hid them somewhere for later....

What a colorful spring....

Does anybody have any idea what this shrub is?
It only gets about 2 feet tall and and blooms in late April or early May. My grandmother had the original bush in her yard for many years and called it a " Martha Washington " bush. The blooms are two-tone pink and the leaves are smooth and pointed. Let me know what you think.

I think this has been one of the most colorful spring seasons we've had in years. Maybe all the snow we got had something to do with it?
Crab apple....

Tulip tree...

????

Dogwood...

Hope you are enjoying Springtime too!

~ It's that time again ~

At the end of the season last year when I was emptying the flower containers on the patio, this is what I found...

I couldn't believe how large the tubulars from the sweet potato vine had grown! The large one was about 6 or 7 inches long. It was about an inch when I planted it.

Time to decide what I want to put in the patio containers this year. Zinnias and Geraniums for sure, they did well last year. I had some African Daisies that were different.. more sweet potato vine...green... and I saw some purple, almost black that I really liked.

It's that time again !!

~ Wordless Wednesday ~

click here to view more "Wordless Wednesday " photos!

This Christmas...

Mend a quarrel,
Seek out a forgotten friend,
Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust,
Write a letter,
Give a soft answer,
Encourage youth,
Manifest your loyalty in word and deed.

Keep a promise, forgo a grudge,
Forgive an enemy,
Apologize,
Try to understand.

Examine your demands on others,
Think first of someone else.
be kind… be gentle,
Laugh a little more.

Express your gratitude,
Welcome a stranger,
Gladden the heart of a child,
Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth,
Speak your love then speak it again.

Christmas is a celebration, and there is no celebration that compares with the realization of the true meaning of Christmas...with the sudden stirring of the heart that has extended itself unselfishly in the things that matter most.
Howard W. Hunter

" God bless us ... everyone"

Fall Sunset through the trees~

"Wordless Wednesday"

To view more W.W. photos....click here!

This week's theme is : RED

For more " Saturday photo hunt " entries...click here!

Being a Christian....

is like "being a pumpkin." God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then he cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc., and then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good..." Psalm 100:4

*~*~*~*~*~*

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today.

Have you used one to say "thank you?

William Authur Ward

*~*~*~*~*~*

Thank you...

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

Ralph Waldo Emerson