A Sentiment

God knew what He was doing when He sent a gentle breeze and brought a lovely butterfly to set my heart at ease. The happiness of your friendship and the gentleness of your words have touched my life in special ways and now I feel assured. Thank you for your loyalty and for reading everyday. I only hope you find things to make a happy day.

Friday, October 29, 2010

October Memories


Our new Lang... Birds in the Garden calendar came in the mail yesterday. It reminded me that we were coming to the end of yet another year. I sat on the couch and decided to look through the calendar. I usually don't look ahead to the beautiful bird pictures because I like the surprise when I turn to a new month, but this time I did. What colorful bird pictures. It will hang on the wall by the patio doors...where I look out at the bird feeders. October is coming to an end. Today is my friend, Nancy's, birthday. When we were at their house last week, I said, "You have the cutest Halloween things." Beanie babies, pumpkins of all kinds, graced every nook and cranny.. The kitchen table was set with Halloween mats ....everything was in orange and black. So colorful! She said to me, "That's what happens when your birthday is at the end of October." Her kitchen table looks out to her porch and the yard beyond. We ate lunch and watched the birds come to her birdbath on the porch rail. It's heated, so the birds visit all year. She's getting older, like me, but she still decorates her home for every holiday. I like to think that bringing out the decorations keeps us young and in tune with the year. So, today,I wish her a Happy Birthday and hope the day is calm and peaceful for her.

October has increased my energy with the temps being cooler. I have always loved the colors of autumn. I guess that I am a fall person.( I do love spring though.) I started out loving the leaves as a child. I would walk in the crunchy leaves... kicking them as I went. I would find special ones and take them home to my Mom to decorate with. They would last a couple of days and then crumble and be tossed away like the dandelion bouquets in the summer. Once in a while she would let me use the iron and two sheets of waxed paper to make placemats for our table. I would put the leaves between the sheets and press them with an iron. Do they do this anymore? Some years I would hang multicolored corn on the front door. I have an black wrought iron corn holder that I would sometimes use. I've always made a new wreath to put on the house..for fall. It wouldn't be fall to me if there was no bittersweet. In my old town, there was a woman who grew it and sold it in the fall. She had bittersweet everywhere...and she made it a full time job for herself at this time of year. Handmade signs on the highways advertised for her sale...I would drive up her driveway and we would visit for sometimes an hour. I took my bittersweet home and used it to decorate with. My old neighbor, Ruth, moved to Georgia and didn't have bittersweet the first year there. I remembered this...and the next year I sent her a big box of it. There's nothing quite like a bouquet of bittersweet in a copper container or spilling out of a wooden box.... I have tried to grow it, but have never had luck with getting it to give me any bouquets, so I just buy it. It's time to think about using our fireplace again. I used to have two wood burning fireplaces, but now we have a gas one and it is much neater...I have to confess. We use our fireplace every once in a while. It makes for a cozy evening. We lie in bed in the morning and hear gunshots in the distance. Hunters near the river will be shooting at water fowl again. We are planning two family dinners for the next two months. My family in November and Joe's in December. It's too hard to get them all together for one big dinner, so we are doing it this way. I've been into my cookbooks checking out a fall menu. We are so thrilled that everyone will be able to make it. Something to look forward to. I hope you have a wonderful weekend...go out and enjoy fall, while it's still here. Winter is waiting in the wings.
Balisha

8 comments:

Margie's Musings said...

What a lovely post this morning, Balisha.

Lona said...

Hi Balisha. What fun memories. I do remember ironing leaves between wax paper too. Our science teacher always had us collecting leaves and ironing them to make books with all the different leaves in the area.
Bittersweet is so pretty. I love to see it in arrangements. You cannot find it around here anymore. People started coming in in the fall and pulling it up to take home with them or to sell and now it is so scarce. I should plant some vines to have it around to decorate with in the Fall.
Thanks for the memories.

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Balisha, enjoy and smile at how you decorate. I stopped this years ago. Do have some decorations in the middle of the table, mums on terrace and usally a pumpkin for the little girls. Passed on to Jamie many things I use to display. She has a cornhusk doll on her mantel that I bought when she was a baby.
I am so far from others that no one has ever come to my home in country during this time of yearI have two holiday dinners coming up also. It will be for me sad since many will not be here to join us.
Continue to do all you enjoy.
Have a wonderful weekend.

Anonymous said...

I plan to rake leaves all day tomorrow. They are piled up against my doors and blocking my sidewalk. We had 60 mile an hr. winds with a storm the other day and they all became like little crowds of leaves! Have a good weekend.

Anonymous said...

That is a beautiful plant, it would be so great in the garden at this time of year with all those colors. Have fun perusing your cookbooks. :)

Balisha said...

I had forgotten that Dixie Carter passed away. Thanks for reminding me. I loved her in Designing Women. Balisha

Tolentreasures said...

What a nice post! I too, love fall, but don't like to think what it ushers in! Winter!

Cathy

Meadowview Thymes said...

What a wonderful post. You have such a way with words...and I DO remember pressing leaves! I like fall, but it always seems so sad to me. But I do love spring so very, very much!!! :)