~AHHHH-CHOO!~

I'm sneezy!

I'm really grumpy!

I'm a little dopey from meds.

I need to see the doc!
I will be so happy when I feel better!


I'm very sleepy...

'NUFF SAID...GOOD NIGHT!

~PUTTERY TREATS CHALLENGE!!~

How many of you read Brocante Home? Hands up! ... okay, those of you whose hands are not up, you are missing a delight! Brocante Home is hosted by Alison - a most amazing woman, homemaker and mother in the UK. He blog is fun, colorful, girlie, vintage and creative. Just now, through November 15, she is having a "puttery" competition. Puttery? you say. Not to worry, I didn't know what puttery was either until I began reading Brocante Home. This lady has the most delightful ways to pamper yourself, treat yourself, create a warm, cozy, homey environment, and ways to make your life scrumptious! .... PUTTERY TREATS!

Go over and check out Alison's CHALLENGE. So many of you are creative and have such inspiring ideas for making a snuggy, comfy atmosphere and you are very good at journaling those ideas.

Now, what are you standing there for?! Go over and check it out!! There is a PUTTERY TREATS LIST for you to choose from to post about.
Follow the rules - great gifts! I can't wait to see how you answer ALISON'S CHALLENGE.

NOW GO!!!

~Giveaways!~

SANDY
is giving away a piece of her artwork in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. And she is generous enough to ship it internationally!

Go leave a comment QUICK!
She will pick a winner the morning of November 1!


AND
another giveaway over at
MOCKINGBIRD HILL.
Another international shipper! Her Paula Deen Cookbook giveaway is part of the
Fall Y'all Bloggy Giveaway.
She will pick a winner on November 4.
Hurry!

~Autumn in Tacoma~

I love Autumn and I miss the autumns we had when I lived in West Virginia...many years ago. We actually don't have much in the way of Autumn colors here in our part of North Carolina this year. I had to go to Washington State to bring home some brilliant yellows and blazing reds. Hope you are enjoying this fall season wherever you might be - if not, enjoy my photos!










Mount Rainier, a spectacular, majestic active volcano, has the greatest single-peak glacial system in the United States consisting of several glaciers. At one time, Mt. Rainer was probably 1000 feet above the present summit height which rises 14,410 feet above sea level. The upper portion of the volcano's cone was likely removed by explosions and landslides.
(Information taken in part from the Mt. Rainier State Park website)




This is the view from our hotel. How I would love to wake up to this view each day.

Leaving for a few days...

I'll be away for a few days ... going to Tacoma and Seattle this morning until Sunday. Please feel free to come on in while I'm gone - I'll leave the door open! See y'all Sunday!

~ode to the pomegranate~

One of many things I love this time of year,
pomegranates magically appear

Leathery thick skinned, red
Cut into it - looks like it bled!
Hands dyed with the bleeding juice,
juice of love that can seduce

Break it open. Walled clustered nuggets tumble out,
fall onto the counter rolling about
Luscious intoxicating ruby gems
that so inspired me to write this hymn

A mouthful of exploding fruity marbles
hide tiny bitter seeds that draw the jowls
Worth the addictive nectar that stains my lips,
the scarlet liquid that from my mouth drips

Would that I could grow the tree
that bears this fruit that so pleases me

Deborah
Copywrite




The pomeganates are in the stores and I'm getting my share! I love them!

Sandi at Whistlestop Cafe is hosting "Centerpiece of the Month" (COTM) this month. If you have a centerpiece you would like to share, send her your photo and the name of your site before October 29.

~IT'S A GOOD DAY!~

Yes, it has been a good day! Would you believe I won a giveaway!

Kim at Vintage Pretties hosted an Autumn Giveaway. She drew my name for this :



Susan Branch books are the best! ...comfy and cozy books and I LOVE AUTUMN!

Thank you so much Kim! I am so excited!

~AN AWARD!~

I have received my first award! ... which implies that others will follow. Perhaps not ~ so, I have received my one and only award! ...and I could not be happier!



AMY at PETTICOAT LANE passed the "You Make Me Smile" award on to me! Thank you for thinking of me Amy - YOU made ME smile!

Amy says I should choose others to pass this sweet award on to. This is so hard to do. Everyone I have met since I began blogging deserves the "You Make Me Smile" award"! I did think of a few of many to pass this award on to:

Mary at Across The Pond
Allison at Brocante Home
Heather at Orange Blossom Goddess
Penny at Lavender Hill Studio
Ree at Pioneer Woman Cooks
Kim at Vintage Pretties
Lizzie & her FOUR babies at Kindred Spirits

PASS IT ON GIRLS!

~TASSEL TALK~

The word 'tassel' comes from the Latin "tassau" which meant a clasp (as for the neck of a garment). This word was also later served to denote string ties, which ended in increasingly elaborate tassels. Today, tassels, or liripipes, are found on mortarboards during graduation ceremonies and possibly upon the shoes of the men at graduation. The tassel is a universal ornament is seen in varying versions in every culture around the globe.

These are some of my tassels and the way I use them. You can click on the photos to enlarge them.



















A tassel is a binding of plaited or otherwise gathered threads from which at one end protrudes a cord on which the tassel is hung, and which may have loose, dangling threads at the other end. Tassels are normally decorative elements, and as such one often finds them attached, usually along the bottom hem, to garments, curtains, or other hangings.










~PASSEMENTERIE~
In this craft a tassel is primarily an ornament, and was, of course, at first the casual termination of a cord to prevent unraveling as its ends which were tied in knots with the remainder of the cord hanging as shreds of it. As time went on, various peoples developed greater or lesser variations of this, until by the time of 16th century France, there was constituted the first Guild of Passementiers who formulated and documented the art of passementerie (pronounced: pahs/mahn/TREE). This art form had the tassel as its primary expression, but also included fringes (applied, as opposed to integral), ornamental cords, galloons, pompons, rosettes, and gimps as other forms. Tassels, pompons, and rosettes are point ornaments; the others are linear ornaments.


~COMPONENTS OF A TASSEL FROM TOP TO BOTTOM~

Its suspending cord
Its body, which is usually made up of one or more moulds
A skirt of fringe or other ornaments.


~MAKING A TASSEL WITH YARN~

(Information taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Is there anyone here who makes tassels?

~WHERE WOULD YOU LIVE?~

Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, was the Ambassador to France succeeding Benjamin Franklin in 1785.

At age 77, Thomas Jefferson began to write his memoirs and facts about himself for his own reference and for his family. This is from those notes.

To himself: "So ask the traveled inhabitant of any nation, In what country on earth would you rather live? -- Certainly, in my own where are all my friends, my relations, and the earliest and sweetest affections and recollections of my life. Which would be your second choice? France."



(Autobiography, 1821)



A few days ago my husband asked, "If you could live anywhere besides where we live now, where would you like to live?

My answer: FRANCE


Tell me ... where would you like to live?

~Poetry That Touches My Heart~

“A Yellow Pansy”

To the wall of the old green garden
A butterfly quivering came:
His wings on the sombre liechens
Played like a yellow flame.

He looked at the grey geraniums,
And the sleepy four-o’clocks;
He looked at the low lanes bordered
With the glossy-growing box.

He longed for the peace and silence,
And the shadows that lengthened there,
And his wee wild heart was weary
Of skimming the endless air.

And now in the old green garden,
I know not how it came,
A single pansy is blooming,
Bright as a yellow flame.

And whenever a gay gust passes,
It quivers as if with pain,
For the butterfly soul that is in it
Longs for the winds again!

Helen Gray Cone (19th Century)





I remember the first time I read this ... I remember the tears coming and I remember thinking about the scene for several days after. Even now, each time I read THE YELLOW PANSY, I pause to think and my heart grieves for the yellow butterfly.

~Collection de Poulet~

I have always loved chickens, hens, roosters, chicks ... and baby ducks. When I was around seven years old, living on a hilltop in West Virginia, we had a chicken coop and I loved gathering the eggs from the warm nests.
I've collected all sorts of chickens since I was married forty-three ago. In recent years, I have pared down my collection quite a bit and kept only those I love.






My Jadeite Hen on her nest.


My three egg dishes displayed on my chicken/rooster rug.


A very special one - a large hen and nest that my mother bought for me. This is our goodie hen where we hide the candy!


I love this one too - my Fitz and Floyd covered veggie dish. See the baby chick on her back?


My colorful pretty little hen and one of my favorite childhood stories - The Little Red Hen.

This amber color one I've had for a long time.

Another one from my mother - a tiny little gold hen - even has a tiny spoon with it.

This French Blue hen was a gift from my brother, so it's very special to me.