~Autumnal Metamorphosis~

 

~Summer mantel morphs into Autumn~

Faux fireplace mantel as it looked during Summer 2010.

Metamorphosis

For more about how we assembled the faux fireplace mantel, click HERE.

Breakfast room harvest table for Autumn.

I said I was going to wait until September 1st.  However, we had a wonderful week of pre-Fall weather that sent me spinning into Autumn decorating mode. 

Besides…the older I get, the slower I get.  If I wait until Fall is officially here, I would finish the Fall vignettes sometime around December 24th!

HAPPY AUTUMN MEMORY

PHOTO FROM FALL ‘99 or 2000

My friend Terri of Lakewood Manor, purchased a new red convertible, over the weekend.  When I saw a photo of her new Sebring, it brought back happy memories of eldest daughter’s Sebring convertible.

  One particular memory; a trip to Eckert’s Orchard (Illinois), in September, about 10 years ago, during apple picking time.

Oldest granddaughter Xanti and her cousin Sasha built a scarecrow at the orchard.  After a discussion, about how to get the fellow home, it was decided he should ride in style.

The photo was taken at Pere Marquette Lodge, Grafton Illinois.  We can’t make a trip to the orchards or Grafton, without a drive up to Pere Marquette State Park and the lodge.

Xanti is the taller of the two girls. 

Standing behind the girls is yours truly, 10 years and several pounds ago.

Linking to Susan’s Metamorphosis Monday.

CLICK ON GREEN HIGHLIGHTED WORDS TO VISIT LINKS

ANSWERS

The black iron dish rack, seen in A Kitchen Vignette, was found at Home Goods.

The paint color in the kitchen is Valspar Laura Ashley Gold 3

The paint color used in the master bedrooms at home and the lake is Sherwin Williams Antique White.

The pumpkins and other Fall items, used in the vignettes are faux, with the exception of the lotus pods.  The pods are from J’s Aunt Ruth’s lake.  The lake is no longer in existence.

THANK YOU

I appreciate your wonderful response to Saturday Photo Fun. 

I hope to have Part II ready for publishing next weekend.

I’ll try to answer more questions in that post.

I am enjoying the project.

~Lakeside Lunch~

Our daughter spent some time in Taiwan, for work, recently.  T has done lots of traveling to places around the world, but this trip was the longest flight.  She did okay on the trip there, but when she returned home, she had quite a problem with “jet lag”.  When we drove to the lake, early Sunday, T decided to follow us down for a couple of relaxing days at the condo.

While she was at the lake, I prepared the lunch, featured in this post. 

This is my contribution for Foodie Friday.

 

 Tomatoes, from our daughter’s garden, fresh Basil from potted plants on our back porch, and Mozzarella Cheese from Trader Joe’s.

Lunch ingredients from Trader Joe’s.

 

I usually make my own sauces for pasta.  This time, wanting to spend less time in the kitchen, I tried Trader Joe’s Tomato Basil Marinara.  This sauce is delicious.  I will buy it again.

I added sauteed mushrooms and grated cheese.

As I type, it is Monday afternoon.  The temperature is a delightful 81; great for deck sitting and dining.

Happy Weekend!

~To Market…To Market~

 

 Monday morning, we decided we needed to do a little shopping at Mannino’s Market. 

Mannino’s carries a particular brand of deli meat and cheese, we like.  There are two of the family owned markets, in our area. The nearest is in a small village, just about 10 miles from home.  We can arrive at the market, quickly, by taking the big old 4 lane highway. 

As you know, we prefer the back roads.

With Molly and camera in tow, away we drove. 

Two hours later, we arrived back home, with sandwich fixings, lots of photos, and happy memories of our Monday morning drive to Mannino’s.

Along the way we saw…

Delores’ Farm

During the 19th century, J’s paternal family arrived, in America, from Germany.  Eventually, they made their way to Missouri, where they began farming.

 

Two brothers established farms on either end of this road. At that time, it was a typical dirt farm road, where the brothers traveled between their homes. 

At one time, the road crossed what is now highway 40/64, at Lake Saint Louis.  J’s great great grandparents’ farm was at the end of the road that is now a part of Lake St Louis.  Family still farms there.

The farm at the opposite end of the road, began with the ancestors of Delores, who lived on the farm all her life.

  

Delores was the last descendant of that branch of the family.  The Missouri Century Farm was bequeathed to Saint Charles County Missouri, to be used as a park.  The farmhouse, barn, and other buildings will remain as they are.

 

 

 Pete’s Barn In a round about way, Pete and J’s dad were sort of distant cousins.  This barn is on the farm where Pete’s family was raised.  

In later years, Pete wiled away the hours, shelling pecans.  J stopped by, once in awhile, for a visit.  After these visits, J always brought home a bag of fresh shelled pecans. Better than the pecans, were the stories Pete shared. 

My stepdad, Charley, was a great story teller.  We loved hearing his stories of logging in the Ozarks and other life tales.  Sometimes, there were campfire chats; others were porch swing talks.

If you know someone like Pete or Charley, I recommend engaging him in conversation.  J and I have wonderful memories of listening to these two special people tell their stories of what it was like, when they were young, in rural Missouri.

The Cuivre (pronounced quiver) River, seen through a railroad bridge.

This little post has been a very pleasant endeavor, for me.  It’s nice to take a break from home and garden projects, now and then, and just enjoy the world around us.

~Bokeh Bouquets & Other Favorites~

raindrops on roses…

A few storms rolled through, this week.  Wednesday morning, the sun peeked through the clouds; perfect for camera practice. 

While J and Gabi (visiting a few days) were occupied with bike riding and other pursuits, I shot a few photos around our patio. 

Lots of practice, definitely needed.  I learn something new from each of these practice sessions.

Points of light, in the background, are known as Bokeh.

Hosta…

 

 

Rainy day view, from the master bedroom bay window, Thursday May 13.

Culinary Delight 

Remember these berries from Sunday’s post?

warm cobbler with ice cream…

Celebrations

 Pre-Kindergarten Graduation 

Most of the family was there to celebrate, when Gabi graduated, Tuesday May 11th. Her cap, tassel, diploma, and a rose from one of her bouquets are seen in the photo, above. 

The KC kids were unable to attend, due to time and distance. Even though Xanti’s parents and brother, Noah, weren’t there, she was.  What a joy, she is.

Family celebrations are shared with my daughters’ dad and step-mom.  They were there, Tuesday evening.  We always sit together, at functions, as a family.  We know this isn’t always the way it is when parents divorce.  We are all very grateful parents, to share in celebrations, together.

As with everyone, life hasn’t always been easy, for J and Pat.  We’ve paid a few dues and we are, appreciatively, reaping the benefits, in our golden years.  One of those benefits is being a part of special celebrations.

A Rainy Day Dining Room View

Small changes are taking place in the dining room.  More about that, soon.

This post is added to Laurie’s Saturday Favorites.

Hope your weekend is beautiful.

***I used my Canon Rebel Xti Camera and Tameron 18-200 Lens, for the rose and hosta photographs, in this post.  The setting was AV, ISO 400.  Most of the other photos were done with the Canon G11 Powershot.

~Byways of I-70 and Other Tales~

 

 

I practiced with my camera, on the back porch, Thursday morning. 

We have the paint for the wicker chest and hope to have it painted by Monday.  The wind is very strong, today.  Rain is expected over the weekend.  We may just bring the chest indoors for  painting.  I can’t wait to get it finished and on the back porch.

In the meantime, while we wait for the paint to dry…photos and collages of photos I took at Crane’s Store, Williamsburg, Missouri, where we stopped on our way home, from the lake, Wednesday afternoon.

As you know, we firmly believe in leaving the busy interstate highways and exploring the countryside.

  Wednesday morning we stopped in Holts Summit, just outside Jefferson City, Missouri.  Aunt Ruth “needed” to see what there is to see at Calena’s Fashions.  Of course, I agreed with her. What a wonderful shop! If you travel highway 54, north of I-70, be sure to stop at Calena’s, if you haven’t before and if you have, you may want to stop again. Aunt Ruth and I had a great time exploring Calena’s, while J and Molly went for a walk.  We found a couple of things we “needed” and brought them home with us.

Our next stop was Apple Wagon Antiques and Home Decor, east of Kingdom City, on I-70. Remember my quest for a gate to complete the vignette over the hearth room fireplace?  Found one, or at least a section of decorative fence that sort of resembles a gate.  I’ll post a photo when I have it in place above the mantel. 

The antiques in the museum are not for sale. 

Crane’s store is located off Interstate 70, at Williamsburg, MO.  These photos show only a small sampling of the antiques and memorabilia found there. 

There is a an antique shop, plus a gift shop, the museum, Carhartt Clothing and a restaurant in the building.  There is another Crane’s store nearby.

We had lunch at Marlene’s Restaurant, located inside Crane’s.  Our orders were; a Cheese Burger, for J, a Bratwurst Sandwich, for Aunt Ruth and a Reuben Sandwich, for me.  As I looked across the counter, I saw a malt mixing machine.  Yes, indeed, you can have a real malt at Marlene’s, mixed in a stainless cup, just like the good ol’ days, and served in a glass ice cream soda glass. I simply had to have one of those malts.  J had a Root Beer Float.  Aunt Ruth’s drink was a frosty glass of Root Beer.

Pat’s Chocolate Malt

Some of the tables and chairs are formica and chrome.  It was almost like sitting in a 1950’s kitchen.  There was a red and grey formica and chrome table, in our home, when I was a teenager.

Visit Crane’s Museum online Here.

This is my third post, in a week, with the first post of the week published last Saturday.  As I mentioned, in the previous post, I think this arrangement will work well for me.  However, since my decision to do only three posts per week, my mind is swimming with ideas!

Friends

JoAnn and Patty

1940’s

These photos were e-mailed, from JoAnn, to our high school e-mail group.  I thought you would like to see these photos after seeing the photo of us at Bennett Spring Lodge in the previous post.

Have a wonderful weekend!