to paint a pumpkin

On Monday, we had a gorgeous, sunny, warm day – one that was much more reminiscent of early spring than of mid-autumn. Add to that the fact that Nana was down for a visit and it seemed like the absolute perfect day to bust out some good ol’ fashioned pumpkin painting fun.

We’ve had a few pumpkins laying around since the day we went to the pumpkin patch, where Evalyn chose and brought home two to call her own. I kept thinking about carving them sometime but, honestly? That idea gave me anxiety. The mess and the gunk and the toddler who would inevitably spend the entire activity reaching out and trying to grab the knife – it just didn’t sound like something I was interested in doing with her quite yet. Maybe next year. Or the next. Or something. I decided that leaving the pumpkin intact, without any sharp objects present, would be a more enjoyable activity for us all.

So, we took advantage of the warm, sunny day and spread a plastic table cloth out on the driveway. I filled a plastic container with finger paints, dressed the tot in clothes that could be made messy and let her go wild.

And go wild, she did. She kept her interest in this activity for almost an hour. That is like, at least 16 days in toddler attention span time. She had so much fun! Talking about the colours, mixing them around, painting our names, different shapes and patterns, and, you know … sitting ON the painted pumpkin. She was happy to get her chubby little fingers all messy and paint covered. She was happy to see Mommy and Nana getting messy with her. She all around had a blast.

Since then she’s been asking for more painting again and again and again. So I guess that means it’s a good thing I left the pumpkins sitting outside on the patio table overnight. When it rained. And totally cleaned our (washable finger paint) painted pumpkins off.

They are good as new. So guess what we’ll be doing again on our next sunny day?

Let’s call this The Great Pumpkin Patch Fail of 2011

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving! I know many of you reading are from the country to the south, and are not celebrating Thanksgiving today. But in Canada, we are. Unfortunately, this year, we’re unable to be with our families for Thanksgiving because of Evan’s work commitments. Last year we missed Thanksgiving too, because we had a brand new babe and had to travel the weekend following Thanksgiving so decided to stay home. But, both years, friends who are like family to us took us under their wings and ensured that we would get to celebrate Thanksgiving properly. So we’re looking forward to a feast with all the fixings later today, thanks to the gracious invitation extended to us by Wilma.

Now that the wee babe that entered our life last autumn is now a wee toddler, it’s time to start creating some seasonal traditions and making memories. Of course, heading to the pumpkin patch has to be one of them. This year, we decided we’d try to skip out on the formal pumpkin patch experience and do it at home. There is a field at the very back of the property that, in past years, has been rented out and planted with pumpkins. I figured Evalyn would enjoy this experience just as much as the real deal. And I would save myself a few bucks that could be better spent on pumpkin spice lattes.

We, like many places, have been experiencing weather that is uncharacteristic for this time of year. Basically, it’s summer. Which is nice. Kind of. I’m all for great weather, but at the same time, we love us some fall around here so I kind of feel like we’re missing out. I want to dress her in cute fall clothes. I want to feel the tip of my nose getting rosy when we’re walking outside. I want to drink apple cider and bake pumpkin stuff. But anyway. I digress. I knew the weather man was calling for another roaster today so if I wanted to do the pumpkin patch thing in fall clothing, we’d have to go out in the morning. When the ground is covered in dew. So, I grabbed a blanket to keep her dry. Which I’m sure was a fabulous idea since my child hasn’t stayed in one spot for more than .562 seconds in about five months.

So, there I was at 8:45 this morning, with my child dressed in clothing that was far too warm for the weather, my running shoes on, sweat pants rolled up in hopes of staying somewhat dry. I loaded her up in the stroller with a dolly, my camera, some tissues (hello, runny nose season is back) and a blanket. I was smart enough to take the stroller with me because a) I would need a way to get the pumpkins back, b) I didn’t want her to get soaked and dirty on the way out and c) I didn’t want it to take fifty hours to walk to the back of the property.

We started the trek – which was quite a trek, I might add as my faithful Graco doesn’t do so well on the bumpy terrain – through the orchard to find the pumpkin patch. We were singing. We were chatting. We were pointing to everything we saw and saying “ball”. Along the way, we did find a ball. Or a giant mushroom, rather. Even though I have small’ish feet, the comparison still shows that this guy was a honker. Of course, Evalyn was none too happy when I continued on our journey without letting her touch, hold, smell, or eat this “ball”. (Sidenote: anyone want to guess her favourite word right now?)

By this point, my feet were soaked. My rolled up sweatpants had come unrolled and were also soaked. I was sweating. Dolly had dropped to the ground multiple times and was covered in dew and grass. But, we were almost there. And it would be so worth it. Because the end result would be amazingly cute photos of my sweet daughter frolicking in the pumpkin patch. Running around to her heart’s delight. Selecting the very best pumpkin to bring home to show Daddy this evening and carve up in time for Halloween.

And then we got there.

And found this.

The “pumpkin patch”.

Apparently I should have sent the Daddy out ahead of us to scope out the situation. Because “the pumpkin patch” was nothing of the sort. It was more like, the ridiculously unkempt field of some type of creepy crawling plant. See those fines in the top right hand corner of the photo? That is the only evidence that there is, in fact, anything planted in this field. But upon closer inspection, I discovered they weren’t even pumpkins anyway,but some kind of squash.

So, fail.

At least we had fun. Or something.

Any locals know of the best pumpkin patch to visit with a little one?

A Valuable Lesson

I learned this morning that if your husband gets up at 6 am to brave the freezing cold and enter the wilderness in search of a wild beast to harvest and you cannot get back to sleep that the result may be a very productive Saturday morning.

After a week of gloominess, sickness and all together blah-ness, it was wonderful to get some productivity in my system and get something accomplished!

It's 10:44 am and so far I have:

• Narrowed down the possibilities for our Christmas cards
  
• Baked bread to put in the freezer for hubby to take when he goes hunting for a week
• Done dishes
• Cleaned and disinfected the entire kitchen (including pulling out the stove and cleaning the sides of it and the floor behind it - um, yuck)
• Cleaned our room
• Cleaned the spare room
• Dusted the whole apartment
• Planned the next two week's menus

It feels GOOD to be productive ... even if it was at the expense of sleeping in on a Saturday morning.

What are you up to this beautiful Saturday? I'm heading out to enjoy the sunshine and babysit some sweet kiddos soon!

Feather Your Nest

As this is the first week of autumn, some wonderful bloggers are hosting a fall festival of fun, food and friends. Today's question is posed by Hoosier Homemade: What do you do to feather your nest for fall?

If I haven't made it obvious enough already, fall is my favourite season. I love all that fall entails. I love the sights, the smells, the tastes, the colours, everything. The only thing I don't love about fall is that crazy white stuff that comes next ... but we just try not to think about that.

There are a number of things I do to get ready for fall. Many of them I have already written about so, I decided to recap my "nest feathering" in a short list.

• Decorate - I am obsessed in love with seasonal decorations. Autumn and Christmas especially. You can see most of my autumn decorations here. I just might have to write a second post about this though, since I have already picked up a few more goodies since I wrote that post. I like to decorate early in the season so that I can enjoy my decorations for a good length of time, before I put them away and bring out the Christmas stuff!
• Preserve - this year we planted a much bigger garden than we have in the past. Yesterday, I finished with my tomatoes but canning more diced and stewed tomatoes. The cellar is stocked with jars upon jars of goodness to get us through the winter. Along with canning, I also freeze a lot of produce throughout the summer and fall such as peaches, blueberries, strawberries, zucchini and peppers.
• Organize the freezer - along with the preserving, I take some time in early autumn to reorganize and take stock of the freezer to be sure that all of those older items are being used up before new stuff goes in.
  
• Clean - I tend to do my major spring cleaning in the fall. There's just something about having the patio door open with fresh air streaming in that makes me want to clean. Also, the dog sheds a LOT less starting in September. This might make you think I would clean less, but it actually makes me clean more because when her hair covers every surface of our home in the summer, I often fall victim to the "what's the point of cleaning when it will be covered in hair in 5 seconds" mentality. So, I enjoy a clean house much more in the fall when I can enjoy it for more than a day or two at a time.
  
• Light candles - autumn scents fill our home at this time of year. I go through oodles of scented candles.
  
• Bake - I love to bake treats with pumpkin, apple and other fall flavours.
• Make a schedule - autumn marks the return to school for me and so it also means getting back on track and setting a more rigid schedule for myself than in the summer months.
• Swap clothes - I keep all of my clothes out all year because I have big dresser and a closet but I do like to go through and reorganize everything so that the items I will be wearing more often are more accessible. Also, I put the FD's off season work clothes away so I will be switching them up very soon.
  
• Begin planning for Christmas - call me crazy but a big part of this season is planning for the next. I am a planner by nature and so it is necessary for me to begin budgeting, planning and shopping early so that I can avoid the seemingly unavoidable stress of the Christmas season.
• Say goodbye to my hubby - autumn is also the FD's favourite season, but for a very very different reason.
  

I think that covers most of the things I do to get ready for this most bestest season of the year. What do you do? Head over to Hoosier Homemade to tell us about it and to see what other's are up to.

An Autumn House

The chilly weather we had today made me wish I could have to all in for a cup of tea and a nice visit. But since that can't happen, let's just pretend while I show you some of the autumn decorations that are on display in our home right now.

A lot of our everyday decor is "autumn-like" because of our colour scheme, so when I bring out the seasonal decorations it all ties in really nicely and makes me just love love love it.

I heart scented candles, as well. I don't burn them as often at other times of the year, but I always have one burning in the fall. Right now, the scent of choice is granny smith apple.

We also opt for lower, dim lighting in the evenings, especially once it is time to start having fires in the fireplace! Eeek, I can hardly contain my excitement!

So, without further adieu, here is our autumn home in pictures.

Let's start with the kitchen.

At the stove, things are mostly the same except I bring out the good ol' autumn tea towels. The fabulous dude receives harsh scolding any and every time he attempts to dry a dish, wipe a hand, or clean up a spill with one of these. Doesn't he realize that they are just for show? Seriously...

On the wall opposite the stove, my rooster measuring cups are put away for a few months and the Harvest sign is displayed on the rooster shelf, above more JUST FOR SHOW tea towels. Those pictures are there all year round, but they definitely do stand out more with the other autumn decorations around. The pictures are from a calendar the FD's aunt had a few years ago and he made the frames to fit them because they are an irregular size. They both have scriptures and sayings that reflect the theme of the harvest and giving thanks to God for our bounty.

The cookbook shelf is my second favourite autumn spot. I love the wildflowers we picked on our walk in the woods and the scarecrow family that is holding harvest bounty! The wicker balls look stupid in that red basket - it will eventually hold apples, I just don't have any yet. And of course, a scented candle.

Moving into the living room, you will find my very favourite display. The fireplace. I just love it although there are a few more pieces I would like to add to it at some point. The wooden blocks that spell "Give Thanks" seem to look too small for the space in the photo, but they don't look too small in real life.

The wreath is new this year ... from my grandma for my birthday.

The rest of the house just has little bits and pieces scattered throughout.

The pumpkins my mom got me for my birthday (which will likely end up on the patio once I get to it).

A pumpkin nightlight on the dining room hutch. I scored this baby for 3.00 last year.

Wild flowers and potpourri (but not the tacky kind)...

Autumn coloured baskets...

Scarecrows everywhere! On the deacon's bench..

On the doors...

And on the couch.

I just realized that I forgot to take pictures of the centrepieces on the dining room table and living room coffee table. They are boring anyway, so you're not missing much. The dining room has a green table runner that is there all the time, with a clear glass bowl holding the same potpourri as in the wagon in the bathroom. The coffee table has a scented candle (what?) with a small wreath around it.

The only thing that hasn't had its fall makeover yet is the patio. We'll likely get to that later this week and then I will show you. Because I know you are dying to see it.

This post is linked to Kelly's Korner's Show Us Your Life - Fall Decorations Edition. Stop by to see how everyone else is decorating.

Family Photos

Last weekend, Evan and Laura were visiting. On Sunday afternoon, we spent the afternoon at Balls Falls and Evan took some "family" photos of our wee family. Here is a slideshow with some of my favourite shots.



To see some more of my brother's photography, take a minute to venture over to his blog. There you will be able to see some of his best shots as well as a link to his Flickr account.

Fire in the Hole!!

I am sitting here on the couch at the end of a long day breathing in the warm, delicious smell of wood burning in the fireplace. Yup, that's right. The first fire of the season. I love the warmth that the fireplace adds to our home on chilly fall evenings. This morning when I woke up and realized the furnace had kicked in, I knew it was time to bring in the wood and start up the fire place. As I am typing, Evan has carried in some wood from the shed, lit the fire, caused the smoke detector to go off and now, at last, it's burning brightly. Ahh, have I mentioned how much I love fall?

Tonight I also swapped our summer clothes for our fall/winter clothes. Goodbye flip flops, capris and tank tops. Hello sweaters, scarves and boots! I was so excited to wear boots for the first time yesterday (For any who don't know, I have an unhealthy obsession with boots ... tall boots, short boots, lined boots, unlined boots, pointy toes, pointy heels, flats .. you name it, I got it). I basically don't own shoes aside from my runners and a pair of flats. I go from flip flops to boots and that's it.

On another note, two of my toenails fell off last night and another one is just about ready to go. I think I permanently damaged my feet on the walk. It was well worth it though. I don't think that this particular detail has anything to do with my love for autumn, I just wanted to gross everyone out. I thought about adding the picture of my nail-less toe that my brother made me take and e-mail to him but I will let you use your imagination.

This weekend I am looking forward to attending the Apple Harvest Festival in Meaford. Since Evan and I have been together, I have never been able to go and I CANNOT wait to go to the craft show for the first time this year. I am hopeful that I will not be disappointed. I can't wait to see the beautiful changing leaves and smell the beautiful, rich autumn smells.

I just absolutely love everything about autumn. Well, ALMOST everything. The only bad thing about autumn is what comes after it!

My Harvest

Today, I spent my evening making and canning tomato sauce with a portion of the tomatoes from my garden. (Or should I say ... Evan's garden ... see this post). I say a portion of the tomatoes because I still have a gazillion more waiting to be diced and canned. Thanks to my dear friend, T, for motivating me and giving me a few tips on how to make the sauce.

I started out by washing the tomatoes in sink.


Then I started chopping. I chopped and I chopped and I chopped. I loaded them up in my big stock pot and began to stir and boil.


As the tomatoes were cooking I drained the juice off and kept it for later. When they were done boiling, Evan came in and helped me puree them.

Then we transferred the sauce into the jars. We added some extra spice to the leftover juices and returned it to the pot to boil some more. We then used this to fill the leftover jars. I will be able to use this yummy base to add to soups and casseroles throughout the year.


Now, a couple hours later, as I sit here on the couch, relaxing and watching a movie, I am pleased every few minutes when I hear another pop and I know that the jars are sealing! Looks like my first attempt at canning was successful. Hopefully it tastes as good as it smells.

Falling For Fall

It is starting to feel like fall. And I am not just talking about the weather. In fact, the weather hasn't really started to feel much like fall, aside from a few cooler days that we've had. Instead, I am talking about many other things that have been occurring that are a sure sign that fall is nearing. Fall is my favourite season and so there are many enjoyable things that I associate with that season. This weekend and today, much of my time was spent doing "autumn" things. I have made a list of some things that remind me of fall and things that indicate to me that fall has arrived/is arriving. Many of these things can be and are done at all times of the year, but for some reason I have strongly associated them with autumn. Don't ask me why. Anyway, here's my list...
~ Apple Crisp (I can smell it baking now)
~ Leaves changing
~ Homemade soup
~ A fire in the fireplace
~ Sitting on the couch, curled up in a blanket, reading a book (not sure why I associate this with fall when I do it nearly every day, all year?)
~ Autumn leaves
~ Decorating my house with scarecrows and pumpkins
~ Chilly weather
~ Squash
~ Back to school
~ Having no lights on except candles in the evening (Also not sure what this has anything to do with autumn, but we seem to live on candle light quite often in the fall)
~ Harvest meals

And the number one way to tell that autumn is coming....

~ HUNTING SEASON HAS BEGUN!!!!!! Yes, that's right, goose season opened a few weeks ago and later this week Evan will head North for an eleven day moose hunt. I always know that autumn is here when Evan is not! :D