Loving This Time of Year!

I know from reading every one's blogs that we are all up to the same thing~~crafting and decorating for Autumn! I thought if I started even earlier this year that I would be well ahead of myself but when your mind is working faster than there are hours in the day, you still fall behind! I hope my mind is always overflowing with ideas! 99% of my Halloween stuff is up as is all my Autumn stuff too. I have to start working on items for my Halloween party. That's the next projects up for me. I have some new ones this year which I will be sharing in future posts. I hope you do like the photos I've posted today. The "ladies" aka as the three witches occupy my foyer to greet everyone who enters. My favorite movie is Hocus Pocus so I was happy to find a sign last year that read Hocus Pocus Three Witches! These three ladies are among my favorites of all my Halloween stuff and the foyer is the perfect spot for them. If you see the photo of my wooden witch, I got her for free when we up to the flea market in Stormville. Her hat had snapped off. All I had to do was use some wood glue, and she was perfect! Not bad considering her price was $35! FREE to me! :)

The little witch I got at a garage sale in a box of Halloween stuff last year. She is just like the Christmas elfs only she's a witch. I think she's so cool and I treasure her cause I had never seen one like her before. I put out some of my decorative wooden plates and then out came another item I treasure and that is my Warren Kimble "Pumpkin Dreams" plates and mugs. LOVE them so much; I get a happy feeling just looking at them. I always wanted the flag of "Pumpkin Dreams" but could never find it. Another photo is also in my foyer of my table and mirror. More to come of my decorations. I'm constantly tweeking and fixing.

We enjoyed some time at Hicks Nurseries a couple of Sundays ago. I have shown you this terrific place in past posts such as the Hicks Flower Show and at Christmas. We enjoy visiting so much and once again they had fun things for the kids to do with the wooden cut outs and incredible crafts and displays. They host a children's Halloween walk through diorama every year that is tradition for us. I just love visiting Hicks. There was a Thanksgiving tin sign I loved but didn't end up picking up. It was a little too expensive but I loved the image of the little girl. My husband with his "date"! Isn't she a little skinny??? And checkout the rooster and owl---I loved them as a decoration and when I went up to read the tag, I discovered they were decorative fans! Very nice!

Back to reality, we had our five trees taken down as I had mentioned last post. My son and my brother-in-law split all of it! My backyard (view from eating area kitchen window) shows my wood supply. I think I'm good for wood this Winter, what do you think? :) We would make Charles Ingalls proud. I love seeing it out my kitchen window. I just realized that the photo of it didn't come out so clear so I will post a photo of it next time. Believe me when I tell you that the wood pile is as long as a school bus. I am in such a nesting mood. I've already freshened up all our quilts and afghans for the Fall and Winter too. Seeing that firewood reminds me of woman who lives in St James (nearby) and she specializes and teaches hearth cooking. All that firewood makes me want to cook over my fireplace....I won't but I think it's so interesting. She was anolder woman and she has been cpotlighted in many country magazines in the past. She would also demonstrate at restored villages. She cooked this way in her home as well. Oh well, just made me remember her looking at my wood pile. What an art to cook over a fireplace, right?

For the anniversary of 9/11, I had mentioned that Commack High School had decorated the entire corner and block for the month of September with American flags. Here is a section of that . I can't tell you how beautiful it is to drive past and see our flags waving elegantly in the breeze. One of those flags has my Girl Scout Daisy troop tag on it. We purchased it as a troop with the money benefiting the families of the victims and some of it for the Commack Scholarship fund. I wish they would keep the flags up all year. It's such a glorious sight. This is very close to my house so I see it often. They come down tomorrow. :( I'm sad for that but October is my favorite month so I'm looking forward to so many nice things coming up in the next couple of weeks. We have a tentative date with my husband's sister and husband, a trip upstate for apple picking and pumpkin picking with family, a haunted house in St James to visit, and a Halloween party! I've also been enjoying my club at church. It's a Ladies Club/Bible Study. We are covering the book of Daniel and it's eye opening to say the least! If you are familiar with Beth Moore, you will know what a riveting speaker she is. Her videos and her study have made us laugh and learn. We are all living in a "Babylon" in this world today ( so to speak) , and I think us blog ladies are smart enough to realize that and we run the other way!

Well, I'm gonna go now. I have some packages to ready for the mail early next week and I want to get them set! Plus, I have a new batch of scented pine cones to get going. I am making it with the pine cones from the trees that we had taken down in the yard! I hope they come out good!

It's Feeling Like Fall!

Good Morning to you all! It is a beautiful Autumn-like morning here on Long Island! I have certainly been away for a while--over a week, and I've certainly missed blogging with all my friends. So much has happened around here that I haven't had the time to sit and write about it. I have been reading most every one's blogs though and haven't lost touch! I am truly enjoying this cool weather; I feel refreshed and rejuvenated and ready to tackle all I want to that the Summer heat won't allow! I feel sluggish in warm weather and not very motivated. This is the season for me! Summer came to a very abrupt end with Hurricane Irene and the effects of her still linger. After being without our power for a week, it took a while to get back into the "groove." SO much clean up, and I felt as though I was walking around in circles here! We sadly had to take down 5 trees in our yard. Two had already fallen from the hurricane and two more were tilting precariously towards our house and shed. With the Winter approaching, it made sense to take them out. All we would need is a blizzard wind and that's it! We also took down a tree that had been dying for some time and although I was sad to see them go, it has opened our yard to more sunshine, space and a clean palette for some plans we have next Summer for the yard.

After Irene, school started and we just segued in very nicely. My son loves all his teachers, thank goodness. In 7th grade they change classes. Billy is a good student, a good reader and he just started right back into his routine as if Summer vacation never happened. He didn't want me to post his first day of school picture though.....which I understand. He's growing up and some things are just for Mommy! :) Caitlin, of course, gladly posed, and she went off to school with a smile. First grade for her. It's a challenging year, but we know she will do well. Between the greatly experienced teacher she has, our wonderful school and of course all her support from home, she will have a great year. She also started Sunday school and I started Bible Study every Tuesday so between school, church activities and everyday things it's been fun and very fulfilling.

I have started my Fall decorating. As you can see, Robin has made himself comfortable in one of my cartons. Thank you, Robin. Let me also tell you that he never moved out of it for many hours and so I was forced to work with all my other boxes until he finally climbed out around dinnertime. I've been working on some arrangements with Fall flowers and in my next post I will show you the wreath I am working on. I have been cutting out squares. It isn't the rag wreath where you tie on the material; it's the one where you poke the squares into a styroam ring. My sister-in-law and I have been working diligently on them on Saturdays. She is working on a Halloween one; I am working on a year round one. I've been picking up Halloween goodies here and there as I see them. I have to buy two of everything as my friend Mary does the same for me and when we find something interesting, we buy one for each other. At this point both of our Halloween decoration collections are so large, we don't jump on every item...BUT when we find something we love it's one for her and one for me. As I've posted many times, Halloween is my favorite holiday but NOT horror style. I love TRADITIONAL Halloween with it's amazing orange and blacks, black cats and witches and ghosts. Nothing scary.

One of my favorite arrangements I did this year is in a little milk can from my Mom. I have two of 1970's orange items. These weren't for Halloween---back in the 70's an orange kitchen was super cool :). My Mom had both these items --a cat lantern and a milk can--in her kitchen. I have them many years now, and I love them though I usually have them out in the Fall only. SO I did an arrangement in the milk can which I think came out nicely. I also redid a basket for my front door and hung it in front of a wreath I had. I loved how it looked! Another simple thing I did was just fill a jar with pumpkins. How can something so simple be so cool? Simplicity is magic, that's why! With all my crafting go on, oh and I also started two Halloween pillows!, Caitlin also has the crafting bug and when I was in AC Moore last week, I found her the most adorable needlepoint! We'll be starting that tonight! She is very excited!

I wanted you to see my little raccoon buddy again. He came the other morning to eat. He is very polite but the funny thing is, he seems to need to eat a little more before he goes to sleep for the day so he comes in the morning (very early) for one last meal before he retires! He sits and waits and enjoys his food on a plate. We enforce table manners in this house after all!

I'm gonna start my work now. I want to finish my cleaning so that I can move onto more decorating! Have a great day!

After The Storm

After almost one week without electricity from Hurricane Irene, last night at 7:30 we were "on" once more. I was so grateful and relieved as things were getting a little tense here without it. A day or two is fine but that many days was just making life too difficult and to make matters worse our streets still had many branches and trees down. There is still somewhat of a mess out there but at least it's a manageable mess and that's fine with me. I have so much to catch up on. I've been reading some of the blogs I've missed, and I can't wait to get back to work on my own projects here. I tried working on some at night but it got pitch dark at 7:15 every night and working by lantern and candles was not working. Plus I have now started using magnifying glasses when I read and craft (it's like one morning I woke up and suddenly couldn't see anything small :{ so I wasn't very successful in the craft department this past week. We are also preparing for the start of school on Wednesday. Caitlin got a letter from her new teacher with a very cute idea in it to relieve the "night before jitters" . It was a lovely poem about the start of school and having a jittery belly the night before. The teacher included a little baggy of "magic confetti" to sprinkle under her pillow which will make her dream of the wonderful school year ahead. Caitlin thought this was wonderful and plans to do so the night before. I love those little special touches. She's starting 1st grade and Billy is starting 7th. He is anxious for school to start because there are so many things we do in the Fall that we enjoy and the kids just want to get to them! Pumpkin picking, decorating, a weekend trip are all in our plans.

Other things that have happened since my posts before Hurricane Irene....I went to a garage sale and got some items to paint and redo. One is an adorable wooden scoop that is also a mini shelf for only .25! I finished two rag wreaths that came out so nice but unforunately I gave them away before I photographed them. My sister-in-law took both; she really liked them! I've narrowed down my crafts I'm making for my Halloween party and started purchasing the supplies. Billy started taking down all my Fall boxes from the shed so that I can go through them and decorate. I need a head start!!!!!! oh, and my little raccoon family that I feed every evening came out early on the day we were waiting for Hurricane Irene to hit. Animals have that 6th sense, and I guess they knew they were not gonna be visiting for a few days so they came out early to eat. This little guy sat patiently waiting on our rear porch till I passed by the full view door and saw him. I fed them all and away they went and ya know I hadn't seen them again till just last night. They must've realized I got my power back :) and yes, I had to post another photo of Robin who thinks the chair I redid is just for him...well, maybe it is but I'm not telling anyone else.

Have a great Saturday! Caitlin and I are going to our rear neighbor's home for their annual "end of Summer" outdoor party this afternoon. It's a lovely day for it. My husband and son are working but will be by this evening. My husband is teaching my son to do concrete today. We will soon have to change the name of our business to W. Stone Contracting & Son, Inc.

Still No Power Day 5

Just wanted to pop on quickly using a friends's computer...we have no power still and our generator broke down so until Long Island Power Authority clears away the trees, I am not online or anything :( We have one power cord going to another neighbor's generator for the fridge. Living like Laura Ingalls is not so fun. I miss everyone and will catch up on all the blogs. Gina, I have to catch up on bingo too!

Hurricane Irene Has Left the Building........

Good Morning! Hurricane Irene visited us, and she wasn't a very pleasant guest. She took down two of our big pine trees in the backyard with her high winds and uprooted many others. She also took down a huge tree on the corner of my street which was so sad because I live on a tree-lined street, and I hate losing ANY trees. Thank goodness we are all safe, but we have no power so I am typing this using the power from a generator which we keep on several hours a day and then shut it down. Thank you so much for all the emails inquiring how we fared through all this. I am happy it's over and now we are just cleaning up after the wreckage. I am also grateful that when our two large pines fell into the yard that they missed not only my house but the concrete table! I love that table with its surrounding benches; I've had it for many years. Our wonderful neighbors have all come together sharing their generators with anyone who doesn't have one by plugging in to it with extension cords so each of us can have some service even if it's just for the refrigerator. We have no phones or cell service but that's okay. Everything will be fine and everyone is safe! I think this means we got a jump on Fall clean up cause a great deal of the leaves are down! I will write soon!

An Unwelcome Visitor This Weekend

Long Island is hosting an uninvited guest this weekend; Hurricane Irene. She'll be visiting the northeast coast from Saturday afternoon till Monday morning. Please don't be offended Irene....I usually am a very welcoming type person ; I love visitors, but you are creating a lot of extra work for everyone. Why couldn't you just visit us as a thunderstorm with some gusty winds? I love a good thunderstorm. But since you've decided to ignore my suggestions and visit beautiful Long Island in a very harsh way, I've been forced to batten down the hatches (as they say) and stock up on comfort food. Oh and put away every last thing in my yard that your high winds can take with you north of us to Boston! Every flower pot, every cute sign and decoration that took me all bloody Summer to find just the right place for. To stack up my chairs and collect my resin rabbits, squirrels and other assorted stuff out there in the garden that I cherish. Bill is busy putting away our patio table and chairs, and diverting our drain pipes far away from our house since we've heard you may drop 10-15" of rain upon us. I have stocked our home with the necessary supplies, and we will have lots of good things to eat even if we lose power. I have wonderful reading material of back issues of country decorating and craft magazines to read, Halloween craft books to look through, board games to play with the family and crafts to make. Lots of candles too. We will nest in our home till your worst is over , Irene and since you are coming and causing so much distraction may I just ask that you not overstay your welcome? Two days/one night is quite sufficient.

Some New Projects! and Plans in the Works!

Good Morning on this very beautiful day from Long Island! The humidity level has dropped significantly, thank goodness, and it is actually cool this morning! The whole week is only going to be in the high 70's -low 80's! Yippee! In my mind, it's already Autumn! I am dying to start my Fall decorating but I'm holding off till school starts on September 7th. I have started many Fall crafts though and started shopping for my supplies for my Halloween party. If you don't remember from last year's blog, every year I hold a kids Halloween party with friends and family and have done so for more than 15 years. It's been a great part of my life and something I look forward to more than I can put into words. It's amazing how the party has transformed from a small gathering of 6 in my original kitchen back in house Bill and I had in Smithtown in 1989 to it's most extreme with 93 people back in 2003 and now to a relatively workable number of about 25 which I much prefer. The party has evolved from niece and nephews who are now approaching 30 to my Caitlin and a whole new generation of cousins, friends and people I love. Every year I do many of the same favors for the party, which I will show in future posts, but I like to add at least one each year to keep it fresh, and I happily already found one. Hint: I need red cellophane...A simple craft but so much fun for me to create and Caitlin will help me too. Even Billy, at 12, still looks to work with me on the party, and he is now running the games for me! We even created two new games this year. My neighbor's daughter who is now Billy's age said something very sweet to me a number of years ago when I was crafting for the party and had thought of retiring one of the party favors I do every year (the ghost lollipop), thinking I need to eliminate some of the old standbys. She said "It wouldn't feel like your Halloween party if things are missing." That sure showed me how much she depended on consistency besides some new additions and it meant the world to me that she would even notice or care or realize for that matter! From the mouths of babes......Well, before I go on and on about my party, which I tend to do, let me move on to what I have been doing.
Like I always say, my blogging friends are huge inspirations, and seeing blogs such as Gina's -Cat Nap Inn Primitives, is always what gets me rolling! First off is my big reveal....drum roll please...I picked up this wide -seated chair at that house my husband is working on, remember when my sister and I were rummaging in the garage? Well, it's kind of beaten, the pictures don't show the damage so well and the seat cushion was damaged and dirty and smelly :( soooooo I recovered the seat and did a redo of paint in my favorite burgundy w/black and there she is!
I also did a redo of this little pumpkin planter that I picked up at a garage sale replacing the plastic flowers with silk leaves, The pumpkin guy has the cutest face! Coming up, I plan to use these little felt farm animals for a craft. I picked them up at AC Moore about three years ago, forgot I had them, found them and have decided to either blanket stitch them to a pillow or I have been studying some Amish crafts that are pieces of material to create scenes. I can use them in that. You've seen these projects before; I actually showed one of my favorites many posts back...they are a scene inside an embroidery hoop. These farm animals were so cute I couldn't pass them up at the time and knew I would find a use for them. They have strings attached to them as if they are ornaments so I think when I bought them I thought I might make a lighted themed farm tree. I love making decorated, lighted table top trees.
My Girl Scout Daisy Troop doesn't meet until October but that didn't stop them from being creative and generous. I mentioned before how our troop is working on the service project making doggy gift bags for the dogs who responded on 9/11 to search for injured and deceased when the towers collapsed. The dogs and their handlers are being recognized for their valiant efforts. Our troop,along with many others, decorated bags filled with treats for them. They are going to be shipped to the canine units. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of their artwork before I drop the box off at Girl Scout Headquarters.

That's about if for me! Time to start my day! Hope you have a good one!