Friday, October 31, 2014

Macbeth's Three Witches

Don't scream, y'all…

Here is R.H.'s photo of Macbeth's Three Witches…




Pretty frightening, huh? 

"Fair is foul, and foul is fair:

Hover through the fog and filthy air."

William Shakespeare
Macbeth Act I Scene I



Happy Halloween!


I hope you liked the Three Witches.
R.H. can't bear to throw an old mop away.






Thursday, October 30, 2014

Nearly Here

Trick or Treat time is nearly here!

Some of us begin early…


This year our little grandchick was
Angelina Ballerina--hadn't put on her tutu yet!
Her beautiful mommie has put tiny mouse whiskers on Nora.

Last year she was a darling Tinker Bell. 


Oh, how Trick or Treaters grow in just one year!

All of you stay safe tomorrow night
and have fun!


I had so much fun last year posting pictures
of my little Trick or Treaters over the years.


A Happy Halloween to all and
for a really scary post check back tomorrow!



Wednesday, October 29, 2014

It's Almost Here!

This little munchkin can't wait for Halloween!


Have you seen some of the tacky costumes in the news
that some people are wearing this year?
I'm not talking about Tacky Party tacky
but extremely poor taste costumes
that cash in on harrowing current events
that have happened to real people?

Wouldn't it be refreshing to go back to
a simpler time when a costume like the little sprite
above is wearing?

That's all from my soapbox, folks.
I'm packing it away,
just like my big Moon plate I found at Goodwill.


After Halloween the pumpkins will stay until December
but the plate will go back in a cupboard.

I don't know why I connected this plate to Halloween
when I saw it, but I did.


I have to tell you about the green shutters on the front porch.
We had lived here a year before we painted them green.
The fronts were plain paneled but the backs
had this quaint little cutout.


Needless to say,
this side stays front out now.
What were the previous owners thinking to cover them up?

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

A Cook Full of Stories

My favorite cookbooks tell stories
and Nathalie Dupree tells good stories.


Her Matters of Taste is full of good stories
and recipes that never fail
including the sexiest story ever about tomato soup.

"After he ate the soup, they worked together,
she on one side of his desk, he on the other.
The sun filtered through to her work in a golden beam,
moving around the room as they worked.
He taught her so much that the small,
hard part of her soul became plump and tender,
like a raisin soaked in wine.
Without a touch or a word of love,
they had each given the other a new world.
She never made the soup again
without thinking of him."


That makes my toes curl under with passion
as much as a romantic movie scene.

Today I tried another of Dupree's recipes,
her Apple Crisp from her chapter on comfort foods.


I set a dessert table for two with glass snack plates
shaped like apples.


I peeled and sliced 3 organic Granny Smith apples
and 4 McIntosh apples.

I tossed in a cup of cranberries and 
a little chopped crystalized ginger.


Nathalie said to sprinkle with a 1/4 cup of water
but I doused the fruit with Boiled Cider
from King Arthur Flour's catalog.


I topped that with a mixture of 1 cup sugar,
1/2 teaspoon each of nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt,
1 1/2 cups of flour, stirred and 6 tablespoons of butter
cut into the dry ingredients.

I put the dessert, covered, into a 350 degree oven
for 1/2 hour, removed the aluminum foil and
continued to bake for….
the recipe called for another 1/2 hour.


At least an hour later I realized my timer 
had not gone off.

Tears, frustration and much wailing to R.H. later,
we decided to eat it.

Can you believe that it was delicious?
The apples were like a condensed applesauce.
I'll make this again but next time?
Next time I'll be sure my timer is working.





Monday, October 27, 2014

Father Tim



I felt that I was "somewhere safe with somebody good" reading Jan Karon's latest and long-waited for novel about Father Tim and his wife Cynthia.  In times when news about church leaders is not always good--and Karon tackles the very subject superbly in this book--Father Tim represents the many who year after year continue to serve God and their flock.

Years ago I was reading a small book by Phyllis Nicholson, written in 1947, called Country Bouquet. I was reminded of Father Tim then when Nicholson wrote about the contribution a member of the clergy has on the village where they live, and even more so after reading Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good.


"How profoundly clergymen affect the parish in which they work, and how subtle are the secrets of their influence. To be good is not enough; goodness, without the backing of personality, seldom attracts or holds the interest of a mixed body of persons. What, then, does? A standard of living and appearance to command respect and invite imitation. Unfailing endeavor to put the crooked straight. You can't 'look up' to any individual who is carless in dress, or gobbles their soup and frowns upon black sheep. Almost everyone admires and responds to a practical attractive manner of living. They appreciate a well-cared-for home, good food, the kindness and understanding that lifts every day life from drabness into worthwhile experience."
From Phyllis Nicholson's Country Bouquet


Wow! That's a lot to live up to, isn't it? But fans of Karon's Mitford books probably all agree that Father Tim lives up to it, could be true of him, personifies him.

What? You say that Father Tim is not real, he's a fictional character? Not to me, he's not, not to a true Mitford books fan! 

Although some Mitford residents do take objection to the sight of Father Tim running down Main Street in his summer jogging gear. 

Well, nobody's perfect, are they? Not even the clergy. Why do we expect them to be?

Wasn't there only One who was perfect?









Sunday, October 26, 2014

What's Cozy?

























When asked by House Beautiful,
"What's Cozy Now?"
interior designer Milly de Cabrol answered:

"Cozy for me is giving up on any diet and having
a nice spaghetti Bolognese
with a glass of red wine,
wrapped up in my favorite chair,
watching--I have to admit it--American idol."
Milly de Cabrol



[Chez Milly de Cabrol,

That's cozy for me too,
with a substitute of The Voice instead.
Cozy for me this October also is
one of these fabulous Cinderella pumpkins.





Friday, October 24, 2014

Halloween Mantel







































My Halloween mantel last year was just a tad creepy, in an elegant way, I hoped.


Pretty scary, huh? I had fun with that mantel but it was a lot of work, especially finding just the right quotes for it. 

I'm aiming for a simpler mantel this year, more of an Autumn mantel than Halloween. Maybe Sammi Gayle won't be scared of this one. 



Here, Sammi, here Sammi. Don't be scared. This one's not creepy at all.



Now, isn't that better, Sammi?



That's a good kitty!

There's a time for going all out--we've all done it--and a time to spritz a little windex and polish, put a few loved pieces out and call it a day. 



This was the time to put up one little white pumpkin, the beautiful cross Christy gave me, a couple of sunflowers that were fading from her beautiful arrangement I showed in the last post, stuck in a white ceramic star Mom gave me that was in our home at Christmas when I was a little girl, and my favorite old platter.



I've had this platter at least 30 years. It's English Staffordshire by J. & G. Meakin and is part of the Country Life pattern. However, it is much older than most of what you find of that pattern on eBay. I've had a watch on it for years and never seen another one until this week.

Unbelievably, it's beginning bid price is $15. 

Here is a link to it, just in case anyone is interested.

Mine is a beautiful piece with more vibrant colors and worth much more than what this one is listed for, but that seems like a low price anyway. And no, I'm not friends with the seller. At my age I simply do not need another platter. Bye for now.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

The Big Letdown


It's the big letdown after a happy family event.

They've all gone home.






























The party's over.


We waited in anticipation.


It was a happy time together.


There was dancing.


Lots of good conversation.


Walks together at Valley View.


Tractor rides.


And then they left.


They did leave flowers.
One of the many lovely arrangements my daughter
did for the big event came home to me.


They help because it's either the big letdown,
or I'm sick with a lousy sinus infection.

As Ronald Blythe wrote in Word from Wormingford,
my head feels "like an old flock bed with a 
sewer running through it."
There's so much I need to do in these autumn days.
Could it be that I'm really just lazy?
Whatever, the party's over but I still have these flowers.



"My feet feel mired and my head feels hazy.

I hope I'm tired but I fear I'm lazy."
Jane Merchant

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

More of Our Lovely Weekend

After sharing these photos with family on FB,
I just had to include them here on Dewena's Window.

Here is another beautiful photo that Defee
took of the adorable bride & groom,
Alex & Melissa.

And in no particular order are photos 
taken at the rehearsal dinner.








Just had to insert here that the rehearsal dinner and the wedding were held
at a beautiful farm belonging to the bride's aunt and uncle,
and for the rehearsal dinner there were food trucks that were so much fun.
Isn't this a cool picture that R.H. took of one of the trucks?




















Whew! I know I've left out someone--like Defee for Pete's sake, but it's really not my fault!
R.H. was in charge of the camera.

Here's my last one, our little grandchick, 
who was a flower girl the next day at the wedding.
Two guesses as to who is with her…


That's right, her Mimi.

And it's my blog so here's another one.



Want to bet that hug made my heart sing?