Thanksgiving Ahead

I set aside my Grandma's Rug to make

four cardinal ornaments for friends.

The design is my own. But super simple and cute.

The glue spots near the eye beads

will be removed before giving!

The bittersweet had a banner year.

Because I will be travelling much of the next month

and a half, I chose to let the birds have at them.

The berries continue to cling to the vines even after the snows

began to come.

Scottish terrier, Lucy, was enchanted.

That will be a feeling that will not carry her through the 

whole winter, poor pooch.

And as we gallop toward Thanksgiving for

 you folks in the US, I'll post my ab fav recipe for quick bread.

It is best left to cool, then cover and refrigerate

6 hours, allowing the flavours to marry.

Harvest Loaf

1 ¾ C flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp ginger

¼ tsp cloves

½ C margarine or butter

1 T vegetable oil

1 C brown sugar

2 eggs

1 C canned pumpkin

¾ C chocolate chips

¾ C chopped nuts

Oven to 350. I insert an extra loaf pan with boiling water in oven to add moisture during baking.

Grease a loaf pan. Combine all dry ingredients well and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in oil. Add eggs and pumpkin slowly. Beat. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients. Add nuts and chocolate chips.

Bake 65-75 minutes. Cool. This is the important step: Let stand 6 hours in refrigerator before removing and slicing. Does not need refrigeration after this. 

The bread tastes much better after this step.

October Trip

I've been hooking away at this mat by

P is for Primitive and have come this far.

I like the way that the images come right up to the borders.

Last weekend we took our rv

on the last trip of the season.

We drove down to Boothbay Harbour, Maine.

What a lovely lovely spot!

And what lovely lovely people!

We had planned to set up camp there and then

drive into Camden, Maine to hike but there were

AMPLE paths around Boothbay.

There are so many little causeway roads to small islands

which are covered in pines and craggy rocks.

Lucy is limited due to arthritis but she had a blast

as well!

And here is a tip-- take a wander into thrift shops in the place

you are touring.

Often you can find local pottery and art for a fraction of the prices 

of the area boutiques.

The thrift store I went into had paintings of ships and

lots of lobster knickknacks but look what else I found (and bought):

The Heirloom Rug design is old and on burlap

but for $2 is a bargain.

I will trace it out onto linen.

The book was $1.99 and will be donated to our

hooking group's library.

Scores!

A Fredericton friend dyed these pieces of wool

All I know is that she used both fresh and dried leaves

and old iron nails soaked in something.

I'm very attentive.

Ha!

Aren't they works of art?

Unfortunately our home is still on the market.

We get less than 5 trick-or-treaters each Halloween

and I want to live in a neighborhood with loads of trick-or-treaters

which means kids and community.