“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It Goes On.”
Robert Frost
Showing posts with label October. Show all posts
Showing posts with label October. Show all posts

Saturday, October 12, 2019

It's October...



It's October, time for pumpkins, black cats and tricks or treats!  I must celebrate my best furry friend and all time favorite Halloween decoration, my cat Guy Noir!  We've gotten through the worst of it together without our best furry sidekick Dot.



I took Guy to the vet the other day and he was afraid and didn't want to come out of the cat carrier. He always used to just bounce out and run around the exam room. It's the first time he had been to the vet without Dot in several years, so maybe he was just feeling insecure that his big sister isn't around to back him up anymore.  Otherwise he is doing well and thankfully got a clean bill of health!




Pumpkins and gourds are just everywhere aren't they?!  Snapped this photo at the market the other day.  Some of these are so unusual! Anyone remember back when pumpkins only came in that orange color?


And now how about a TREAT!

'Witches Brew'- A Halloween Cocktail

 Witches Brew - A Halloween Cocktail

This 'Witches Brew'- Halloween cocktail is so stunning. The vivid color is dramatically beautiful, but with a dark eerie feel perfect for a Halloween party.
To rim the glass
  • 1 fresh lime
  • 3 drops purple food colouring
  • 1 tbsp sugar

For the cocktail

  • 1/2 cup vodka
  • 1/3 cup lime juice (see note 1)
  • 1/4 cup raspberry liqueur

Instructions

  • Start by preparing the shot glasses.
  • Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice together into a saucer.
  • Add the purple food coloring and mix with a cocktail stick.
  • Place the sugar in a second saucer.
  • Dip the shot glasses into the lime juice and then into the sugar.
  • Set to one side.
  • Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Add the ice.
  • Shake well.
  • Strain into the prepared shot glass.

Notes

  1. To turn this shooter into a long drink replace the 1/3 cup lime juice with a 1 cup of citrus soda and serve in a highball with crushed ice.
  2. Click for more info... (source

TRICKS, as in the Design kind.....

Fall Decorating Hacks! How to decorate your space for the fall with DIY ideas that will save you time and money. Why haven't I thought of these before? 



Hope everyone is having a wonderful autumnal season. We've already had a few snow flakes! Would like to see some warmer days again before winter sets in for good!

Happy October!
🍂 Diane


Friday, October 5, 2018

Poetry and Pumpkins





The Pumpkin  
John Greenleaf Whittier, 1807 - 1892

"Then thanks for thy present! none sweeter or better E’er smoked from an oven or circled a platter! Fairer hands never wrought at a pastry more fine, Brighter eyes never watched o’er its baking, than thine! And the prayer, which my mouth is too full to express, Swells my heart that thy shadow may never be less, That the days of thy lot may be lengthened below, And the fame of thy worth like a pumpkin-vine grow, And thy life be as sweet, and its last sunset sky Golden-tinted and fair as thy own Pumpkin pie!"




Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins!

October screams PUMPKINS! I love them! My baking takes on a very Pumpkin theme until after Thanksgiving and then I move on to Christmas with other ingredients. Check below for my Pumpkin recipe!







Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
                        Crust
  1              box  Spice cake mix
  1              stick  butter -- softened
  1              whole  egg
           
                        Filling
  8             ounces  cream cheese -- softened
  1             stick  butter -- softened
  2             cups  sugar
  2             whole  eggs
  1             teaspoon  vanilla
  1             can pumpkin puree (15 oz.)
  2             teaspoons ground cinnamon
  1             teaspoon ground nutmeg
  1/2          teaspoon ground ginger


For the Crust:  In large mixer bowl blend the cake mix and butter to combine.  Add the egg and mix until it forms a soft dough. Spray a 9 x 13 glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Press the dough evenly into the dish. Set aside and make the filling.

For the Filling: In large mixer bowl cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth.  Add the sugar, eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined. Add the pumpkin and spices, mix well. Pour over the crust.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.  Center of dessert will be gooey but not runny.

Cool at least 20 minutes, cut or spoon onto serving dish and top with whipped cream. Serves about 12.


The Harvest Moon
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807 - 1882


It is the Harvest Moon! On gilded vanes
And roofs of villages, on woodland crests
And their aerial neighborhoods of nests
Deserted, on the curtained window-panes
Of rooms where children sleep, on country lanes
And harvest-fields, its mystic splendor rests!
Gone are the birds that were our summer guests,
With the last sheaves return the laboring wains!
All things are symbols: the external shows
Of Nature have their image in the mind,
As flowers and fruits and falling of the leaves;
The song-birds leave us at the summer’s close,
Only the empty nests are left behind,
And pipings of the quail among the sheaves.



Hope you enjoyed this bit of Pumpkin Palooza! 
Happy Fall to All!
Diane

🍁🍂🍁🍂
🍃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🍃




Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Black Cat Awareness Month

 I couldn't let October pass without talking about ...

 
The Black Cat

Humane association workers say black cats still encounter a certain amount of discrimination in the world, and many arrive every year at pet adoption centers because someone didn't want a black cat around the house. Luckily this perception is changing and black cats are now regularly finding good loving homes across America.



 My very own adopted black cat, Guy Noir.











 Guy posing as a black lion, perhaps?






 Stalking...... and that's why he wears a harness, collar and leash!






Black cats have been stereotyped for centuries. The "Halloween" hissing black cat with the familiar arched-back was the standard for those images. However, times are changing and most of the superstitions have fallen away.  Many black cats enjoy their time with a loving family and are no longer considered scarey.









Black cats and dogs are still some of the last animals adopted.  If you find that you are going to be adding a cat or dog to your family in the future, please consider a black one.  Please share any stories you have about your own black cat! 
~~ Diane and Guy ~~

Next time I'll be sharing more photos of autumn leaves and some scarecrows that I saw at my recent visit to our arboretum!



Thursday, October 10, 2013

October Throws Herself Before My Feet

Yes, she does! All you have to do is gaze down at the ground and in most places you will see beautiful leaves twirling about in the breeze. Leaves of gold, crimson, purple, brown and even a few green.



Leaves in my back yard..... ash, maple and oak.


Today I'm sharing a few internet photos of glorious October and to go along with them, a song from a few years ago that is set in October and whose first line appears in my title today. I enjoy this unusual song by Irishmen Kevin May and Mick Lynch (Guggenheim Grotto) called "The Universe is Laughing". It is an acoustic song with ukelele accompaniment and some wonderful lyrics.


Fall Canopy



Here are a few of my favorite lines from the song.....
  
October throws herself before my feet
and the sky goes powder blue
holding her breath for me.....

And the galaxies, the galaxies are howling
The silent moon, a kick of pink and gold
and the whole damn universe is laughing
and all a boy can really do is watch a boy unfold...




pink moon















October moon






October Skies

Thank you for joining me today. 
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
~~~Diane~~~

Click on the photos for the linked source.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Elf-light, Bat-light . . .




 

 Dream Song by Walter de la Mare from Poems for Boys and Girls


I simply love the imagery in this poem by British poet Walter de la Mare and Lois Maloy has illustrated this book in such a beautiful way. Sadly, I could not find anymore information about Lois. The little bats and the owl make this a perfect poem for this month of Halloween posts!



The image for 'Dream Song' has been enhanced using the Pixlr, photo app.

Hope you all enjoyed the quirky poem!
~~ Diane ~~

Friday, October 12, 2012

A Beautiful Fall Morning...


Our weather has turned quite cold already, but the sun somehow always makes me feel a bit warmer on these blustery days.  The steady breeze made it look as though it was raining leaves.




Guy was enjoying some fresh air and sun while keeping an eye on our other cat Dot.








I love looking at the leaves and their various shapes and colors. I'm always amazed at how beautiful something that may seem so ordinary, is so beautiful. Guy enjoyed playing with them and even brought one in the house to keep as a souvenir.  It lasted about ten minutes before he had it shredded and scattered all over the floor.







Guy Noir

Guy Noir turned six months old this month.  He is a very nice looking boy and he has the most beautiful long tail.  He is very sweet and loves to play and get into all sorts of mischief.


Red Oak




The sugar maples turn this glorious yellow-gold color. I just had to get a few pictures looking up at the bright blue sky.  I don't believe there was a cloud anywhere in sight!






Our little lake is pretty quiet now.  The resident egrets and herons left several weeks ago and the ducks left last week after several nights of freezing temperatures. Now we will only see a few stragglers passing through headed on down to warmer states like Arkansas and Louisiana.

White Birch

Guy was quite amazed at the leaves that were raining down on him.  I have to remind myself that this is all new to him and the first time he has experienced autumn and a changing season. He spied our small crab apple tree and decided today was a good day to try climbing it.  He was very proud of himself and after climbing back down, climbed it again!
Happy Birthday little Guy Noir!