Fall ramblings - This and that

Did you ever have one of those days or weeks when your mind just rambles and you need to stop, take stock and put it down on paper or you loose it all? I seem to have those more and often as I age. It's that mentalpause at work! LOL This post is some of the ramblings that went on in this little ole' mind since my last post. These are in no particular order. That would take too much effort today and my effort went and up and left me.

I really enjoyed some cool weather Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Thursday I took off looking for a small rug to go under the living room coffee table. I have a gorgeous wool rag rug that we used in there for years, but it no longer works because it is a trip hazard for some members of our family. I wanted something just big enough to anchor the coffee table and dough box. I tried a few shops close by and nothing. But because it was the perfect late summer day, I headed to Sturbridge and found just what I needed at the Handmaiden. (Oh how I wish they had a website - but NOPE!) It is just enough to break up the expanse of hard wood floor, without being a trip hazard for my dad or Brady. I love the neutral colors.

On my mind this weekend are the brave men and women who are employed in positions like police officers, firefighters, the Armed Services and other First Responders. Of course the devastation from Ike is on my mind along with everyone else reading this I am sure. In addition to the entire population in the path of Ike, I thought about what First Responders would find. So many chose to NOT head the pleas to leave and now they are trapped. It is so scary and so sad and just so awful. I worried about a dear 72 year old Angel friend of mine who lives in Corpus Christi , Texas. Betty recently found love again after being widowed for several years. Her love has a home in East Texas so they were both at risk for the storm and I was so anxious to hear how they made out. They are fine!! The new corporate office of the company my DH works for is in Houston, so those folks were on my mind. We know they left but we don't know at this time if the building sustained any damage but they are surely without power for some to come. And of course our sweet friend Mary from Gettysburg Homestead blog was deployed to the gulf and along with her partner, they packed up their ambulance and on 9/11 began the drive down from Ohio. She arrived safely in Baton Rouge after some serious vehicle mishaps on the way down. In her last post said she was waiting to see if she had to do search and rescue. She is on my mind big time as are all the other First Responders and victims of this devastating storm.

Another reason this brave group of people were on my mind is because of a phone call I received on Friday from the State Police. I need to back up to Sunday the 7 th. DH and I were driving home on the highway after attending a party, and as we were a few exits from home, a small SUV sped past us. The three lanes ahead were blocked by three cars going about the same speed so there was no place for that car to go. It slammed on it's brakes and soon began zigzagging across all three lanes. It would back off a bit, then speed up and ride the bumper of one of the cars. One driver realized what was happening, and pulled over to let that car go by, but once again it was trapped. When it was not purposely zigzagging across all three lanes, it was not staying in one lane at all. It almost sideswiped a few cars several times and almost went off the road. It was the most frightening driver we had ever seen. Reckless but also clearly impaired. We decided we needed to call the State Police, and when we got the license plate number, I did just that. They were appreciative of the call. I was shaking when we pulled into our driveway - wondering if anyone was hurt by that erratic driver. I thought about it a few times during the week but had no idea what happened, until I got the phone call. It was the officer who was able to find the car and arrest the driver because of our phone call, description and make of the vehicle and the license plate number. I was so relieved the officer called and even more relieved to hear that driver was indeed stopped. The officer couldn't divulge very much, but he did tell me the driver had an alcohol blood limit almost 3 times the legal limit as well as other things in her system. I was so very thankful I was able to thank the officer for his work in keeping us safe.


I also wanted to share the cute wool star and sweet note card I received in the mail on Friday. Rondell, over Tomatoe Creek Prims sent them to me as a thank you for the pattern I shared with her. It was not necessary but very much appreciated! This little star will look great on one of my prim Christmas trees. Thanks Rondell. Speaking of Rondell and Christmas, we have been matched up in a Christmas Stocking Swap we joined. I am so excited to have her as my partner - she shares my love of colonial primitive decorating style. I already have a few things put aside and some plans for more. This is going to be fun!



Because it was so cool on Friday, I decided it was time to do a little baking. My DH LOVES Hermits - he could eat one every evening with a cup of coffee. For those that don't know what a Hermit is, they are a spicy cookie bar with raisins. They are the perfect cross between a cookie and cake. The dough is spread in a long rectangle - maybe 4 by 12 and then after baking, cut into short bars. I have looked for a good and easy recipe for a cookie that replicates the taste, but none came close to the right texture and flavor. Then I saw this post by Linda, over at LPB Sews and she shared a recipe for soft molasses cookies and it seemed like the perfect balance of spices. I decided to add raisins to mine and not roll them in sugar to better imitate a Hermit and I have to say, both DH and I thought they tasted great and do make a great substitute for the beloved hermit. If you see the picture on her post, her cookies spread out nicely, while mine stayed fairly round. I am thinking that there was just a wee bit too much flour in my recipe. I tossed the raisins in flour before adding to the batter and that may have been too much. Next time I will toss them in some of the flour called for - not extra flour. It didn't really matter too much though because these came out great, they will get devoured, and I will definitely be making again when the weather cools off - again.


I also want to thank Lura, also known as Grammy Staffy over at Grammy's News. She has been so kind to me since she found my blog - leaving me the sweetest messages. I love stopping over a her blog and I especially love the picture of her in her profile. What could be better than holding a grand baby??!! The other day Lura honored me with the I Love Your blog award you see posted over on the left - thanks so much Lura!! It is much appreciated.

I am so excited for another really sweet blogging friend. Joanne over at The Carter Clan just announced the grand opening of her Etsy and her 100th post with a really cool giveaway. Please stop on over and see what this talented friend is offering. You won't be sorry.

Back here and here, when I posted about bittersweet, I promised I would take more pictures of it growing so people in the north east can look for it (it doesn't grow in the south or past the Midwest), and I haven't forgotten. Here are three pics but when it ever turns more yellow, I will take more - that's when it is really easy to spot. These pics were taken at the perimeter of two different shopping mall parking lots. In the first two, the arrows point to it growing up and choking a tree and in the third it is growing over the edge of chain link fence.

DH and did some yard work this morning and afternoon - despite everything still being wet from all night rain. Sometimes you have no choice. It seems like overnight things get over grown or are passed their time and it's a big chore to cut them all back. After cleaning up a lot of my perennial garden and window boxes and some planters, I got just a few of my outside fall decorations out. I still need several mums, pumpkins, cornstalks and bales of hay, but I changed the front door decor and got out my funny little scarecrow that sits on my front bench. It's just a little start but along with a cleaned up garden, it's beginning to look like fall outside as well.



That's it for this post!!

Tonight we relax our achey bones, and tomorrow afternoon we are headed to a 50th birthday party for our DIL's dad Jim. It should be a fun time as long as it doesn't get too hot (as is predicted unfortunately) . The humidity is back with a vengeance.

As we go through the lovely season of Autumn together, my wish for each of you is this ...

Rich vibrant colors.
Clear sunny days.
Cool crisp nights.
Endless star filled skies.
Until next time - hugs, Linda