Evening Visitors

Under a cold spell for the past few days the resident deer have been showing up at the water trough.

A group of eight does, mamas and their babies.

All fat and healthy, they have quite a variety to choose from in the nearby pasture and woods.

My arborvitaes  however, seem to be their favorites.

 

 

A List Of Goodies

The English Christmas goodies have started to arrive.

I shall have to hide them, from myself.

Years ago,  it was almost impossible to find English Christmas foods in the U.S. but nowadays with the click of a mouse, or a stroll to the import aisle at Publix, they are easily found.

It surely makes those memories of Christmas in England around the table, feel so much closer.

 

 

 

Happy, happy Christmas,
that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days;
that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth;
that can transport the sailor and the traveller,
thousands of miles away,
back to his own fire-side and his quiet home!

~Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers, 1836

 

 

 

Farewell, Mr. President

A Life Nobly Lived.

                                                  George H. W. Bush (1924) - (2018)
                                            41st President of the United States of America.


                                                                " Mission Completed "
                                                                       Godspeed

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

 

 

Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat

Please put a penny in the old man's hat

If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do

If you haven't got a ha'penny, then God bless you!

~ Tradition English nursery rhyme

 

 

 

Making A Start

The Christmas decorating has begun.
A little here, a little there, and before you know it, the house is transformed with the magic of Christmas.

Later this evening, the tree will get decorated, sparkly faerie lights, dried apples and orange slices, baubles and red wooden-bead garlands.
Rust-colored Christmas bells, and  grape-vine mini wreaths.
Ornaments from seasons past,  reminding of treasured memories.

Hot chocolate simmers on the stove, as two portly felines watch with interest.

'Tis the season.
                                                                         

                                                                             🎄            

                           

Special Delivery

Our precious granddaughter and our new great-granddaughter Ensley Kate.

We are blessed beyond words.....

 

❤ 

 

 

Sleepy Days

Just as predicted, cold weather is upon us.

I requested the help of two kitties in helping with a little decorating, so far this is the response.

It appears I am on my own.

 

 

 

November Moon

Brightly the moon like a jewel is shining,

White in the west she is slowly declining,

Beautiful Moon ! Which beams gorgeous and grand

Over the homes of our own Native Land.

~Charles Nevers Holmes. 1926.

 

Turkey Talk

I came across this Johnson Brothers Barnyard King plate at one of the local antique shops several years ago.
One plate all by itself, I could only imagine what an entire dinner service would have looked like.
Each Thanksgiving it takes center-stage on my buffet, the colors on this picture do not do the piece justice, all hand-engraved and made in England.
Barnyard King, what could be a more fitting name.

From our home to yours.....A Happy Thanksgiving.

A Little Bit Of Brit

Settling in for a night of English television programs.

Our local Public Broadcasting Corporation airs three British shows back to back on Sunday evenings, I would be happier with them spread out throughout the week, but I'll take whatever I can get.

Especially when the main character in Poldark is the handsome Irish actor Aiden Turner.

 *drool*

 

 

Sunshine Returns

 

“It was one of those sumptuous days when the world is full of autumn muskiness and tangy, crisp perfection: vivid blue sky, deep green fields, leaves in a thousand luminous hues. It is a truly astounding sight when every tree in a landscape becomes individual, when each winding back highway and plump hillside is suddenly and infinitely splashed with every sharp shade that nature can bestow - flaming scarlet, lustrous gold, throbbing vermilion, fiery orange.”

        ~ Bill Bryson

Nesting

Several of our western counties were blanketed with snow today, luckily we were not included.

There's a cold, blustery north wind blowing, and rain has saturated the ground for the past three days.

Birds are hunkered down in their nests, the ones who are brave enough to venture out, are flying sideways.

The cats are happily sleeping, they have started putting on their winter bellies, as with the rest of the household.
*sigh*

 

 

Hobbit Days

Goodness the weather has turned cold and damp.

The wind has howled, and temperatures dropping to a wintry mix later tomorrow.
The town is full of sickness, colds, flu and lots of pneumonia, I've been trying to stay home as much as possible, since I tend to be one of those 'susceptible to bronchitis' types.

I made a hearty homemade beef stew today, chocked full of vegetables, with an aromatic tomato base, and spices.
It's a Southern recipe, easy, and delicious.

 

 

Always best accompanied by a skillet of buttermilk cornbread. Or a hearty loaf of crusty bread.



Nothing fancy, just basic Beef and Vegetable Stew.
One and a half pound of stew beef, or hamburger meat
A large onion chopped
Two ribs of sliced celery
Cut up potatoes
Sliced carrots
A large can of whole peeled tomatoes chopped up in bite sized pieces
Can of chili beans with the sauce
Can of sliced green beans
Can of peas
Can of corn if I have it.

Beef or vegetable stock
Chili powder
Bay leaves (2)
Garlic powder
Parsley fresh
Salt and Pepper to taste
Most anything you like to throw in the pot....sometimes I add cabbage.

Southern Cornbread
1 1/4 cups of buttermilk or milk
1/4 cup of vegetable oil or solid shortening (melt if solid shortening)
2 cups of buttermilk cornmeal mix
1 ounce of melted butter
1 beaten egg
Oven temp 425 degrees

Place a cast iron skillet, or cake pan with a small amount of shortening inside the oven until the shortening melts and pan is hot.
Add mixture, bake for 15 / 20 minutes until golden brown

 

 

Lest We Forget

They fell, but o'er their glorious grave

Floats free the banner of the cause they died to save.

~Francis Marion Crawford

 

God Bless  all the service men and women, without whose unselfish commitment, our lives would be forever changed.

 

The Turning Of The Leaf

Finally, a little Autumn color has crept in.
Just in time for a blustery wind, to blanket the ground with autumn brilliance.
Raking leaves now sits at the top of the "to-do" list.

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 


...I see
the turning of a leaf
dancing in an autumn sun,
and brilliant shades of crimson
glowing when a day is done...

~Hazelmarie "Mattie" Elliott, "

 

 

Fall Back

 

This coming Sunday at 2 am our semi-annual clock fiddling takes place once again.
An hour backwards from Daylight Saving Time, affording an extra hour of sleep on these colder mornings.

Just enough time to remind us, that the year is winding down, and soon, a long sleepy winter will be our companion.

A time to regenerate our weary souls, and make new plans for the coming year ahead.

A time to dream.

 

 

November

It's a windy and wet start to November.

The Halloween decorations are being returned to their storage boxes for another year.

Meanwhile, Mother Nature is treating us to her own spectacular autumnal display.

 

 

“The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the farm country slowly changes from the summer cottons into its winter wools.”

~ Henry Beston : Northern Farm

Trick Or Treat

We'll leave the light on for you.

 

" By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes,
Open, locks,
Whoever knocks ".
 
Shakespeare / Macbeth 1606