Autumn …

dream cottage ...

Summer has slipped away and Autumn has swept in with a flurry of leaves to be raked…or not. Actually, they look lovely all scattered about, and so I will make biscuits today instead of raking leaves. Good excuse..eh?

Autumn here in Oregon is so very special. The ferns in the woods are still green and the dreaded poison oak vines that wind up the trees are scarlet. The moss is puffy and green or silver, depending upon the variety. Deer love the moss and I see them nibbling away from my cozy spot in the warm house.

Autumn is always a dreamy time for me.. as for many. It has the most wonderful feeling of transition. The sun is low in the sky. The shafts of late afternoon light seem to just “golden” up the garden.

My body is entirely off ice cream and longing for squash soup and pumpkin muffins. What fun!

One of my favorite parts of Autumn is that one has to pay attention. The leaves are changing quickly and tumbling off their branches with the first winds. One has to “be” there to catch the ever changing colors. Of course, the pumpkins are wonderful and just last week I used a real pumpkin to make pumpkin soup. Usually I just use squash, but this time, it felt perfect to make soup of that bright orange creature! Here’s a little tip given to me by a new friend from Holland. She made this soup and it was divine. She steamed up the pumpkin pieces. Then, magically, she braised a lovely onion, added half a jar of Tai green pepper sauce, poured in a tin of coconut milk and blended this all together with the pumpkin. Wow.. so good on a cold evening!

pumpkin soup

yummy breads...

hot chocolate with red pepper

Hot chocolate is, I believe, the preferred drink of the Angels. I found the best brand ever. Equal Exchange organic hot chocolate comes in a spicy version. Oh My Heavens! There is both cinnamon and chili peppers in this warming delight.

I have added their link to the supplies list – right hand column. For an Irish lass, I’ve really gotten into that spicy taste this Autumn. Perhaps I should experiment with paprika and the like, but I do have a bit of fear when it comes to adding chili pepper myself. Might be the Irish heritage. Salt and pepper feel safe. Chili’s rather terrify me.

 

 

 

 

Something “triggers” in my dna during early Autumn. It says, “Start thinking about making things!” “Enough already”, I reply.

There are projects everywhere. I’m getting ready to stencil a line of French themed pillow covers. That should be great fun and my friend Kathy and I will even try to sell them. Heavens! What a good idea.

Then there are the ostrich eggs. Yes, real ostrich eggs waiting to be painted. I am thinking of painting the patterns of blue and white china on the eggs. Logically, this seems like one of the most impractical items one could produce. But hey, somewhere in the world there just might be one person who is wishing for a painted ostrich egg. Let us pray.

Quite a lot of the summer was spent at my drawing table. Great friends commissioned a children’s book and the illustrations are almost complete. This has been a most heartfelt project. I am finding that there is such satisfaction in these more personal projects. I love illustrating and will post pitures when the book is published.

my midnight snack..hehe

perfection...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And so it goes…. Season to season.

Have a beautiful Autumn time!!!

Joni

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