Dear Log Cabin friends:

Hello glorious October!! The days are now shorter & it gets dark much earlier. I love this time of year. The autumn chilly nights, warm afternoons, harvest, apples, pumpkins, & fall colors has arrived & the soup pot is on. I impatiently await Oct. 1st or the first frost, whichever comes first, to make the first pot of soup. (Today, Tuesday, was THE day as I scraped frost off my windshield at 8 a.m. getting ready to leave for an appointment). I make soup a lot in the fall & winter as it is one of those comfort foods that we thoroughly enjoy – so now the nutritious black bean soup is simmering on the stove. We never tire of soup served with a slice of cornbread or home baked wheat bread. Memories are made of days like this.

Our twin grandsons turn 12 in October – they have grown up so fast. We’ll look forward to celebrating this birthday before they turn into teenagers. :-)

We spent this last weekend in Kansas. My daughter Tamara & I attended the 7 a.m. weekly Farmers Market in downtown Lawrence, Ks. It is always enjoyable to meet the people selling there. Daughter bought peanut squash & I bought several spaghetti squash. I also found elephant garlic which I will break apart & plant each clove this weekend. We grew garlic successfully for the first time this year. Garlic is planted in the fall, mulched over the winter & harvested the following summer. We use lots of garlic for its flavor in food, roasted with other veggies & it is so good for one’s immune system.

In Kansas we have a 35 ft. trailer/camper we have parked on daughter’s property (awaiting our cabin to be built). The barred owls serenade us nightly (yes barred, not barn). One night we counted 5 visiting with each other in the woods. They are literally a “hoot” & we love listening to them. If you have never heard what they sound like go to: www.youtube.com (type in barred owl- it’s the one that says “amazing vocals”). Wonderful!

Enjoy the simple country pleasures of an October autumn where you live. Blessings, Twila

Birdbath decorated for fall

SUE’S QUICK CHILI SOUP
2 # ground beef, browned
2 cans Campbell’s tomato soup
2 cans (15 oz) Bush’s medium chili beans
½ can (8 oz) water
To taste: Lawry’s seasoned salt, pepper
If you like it mild, don’t add chili powder as the beans have chili in them. Otherwise add the chili pd. if you want a stronger chili. This is really good!

A falling leaf is nothing more than a summer’s wave goodbye. - unknown

OCTOBER CALENDAR

October 2 – Friday – OPEN 4- 6:30 for pickups/shopping
October 15 – Thursday, Applique group # 1, 6: 30 p.m. Refreshments: Mindy & Joan
October 16 – Friday, NO UFO – canceled for October
October 19 - Monday, Newbies Woolkeepers, 6:30 p.m. Refreshments: Nancy & Lynette
October 21 – Weds., Applique group # 3, 6:30 p.m. Refreshments: Sue H.
October 22 - Thursday, Applique group # 2, 6:30 p.m. Refreshments: Sharon M.
October 26 – Monday, Oldies Woolkeepers, 6:30 p.m. Refreshments: Cathy P.
October 27 – Tuesday, Herb Study group, 6:30 p.m. Refreshments: Diane J. & Cathy P.
October 31 – HALLOWEEN – The first Halloween was in Ireland. The holiday was started almost 3000 years ago! Some things have changed. For example, people used to carve Turnips – not pumpkins.

Log Cabin Rug Hookers – reserve Dec. 14 for our annual Christmas party

Notes on above calendar:
GROUPS - Bring a flashlight with you to evening groups, as it is dark here in country.

APPLIQUE groups: please remember which group you are in, as the calendar falls differently each month. Please be alert to this & blame it on the calendar! We’ll be doing Block # 2.

UFO : There will be NO UFO in October. I need to cancel – we’ll meet again in November.

HERB STUDY GROUP: topic will be flu and herbs, demos, show & tell

Shop is closed to the public now, but my groups still meet here. If you need to pick up an item, a book, candle, or layaway, call or email me to make arrangements. I am still stocking many things. Just make an appt. for weekdays/ early evenings (not weekends). I can open before a group meets.

First shipment of The Settlement book has now arrived, Judy C. book is here & Maggie’s book is due in Friday (we hope).
I’ll open THIS Friday evening from 4-6:30p.m. for pick ups.

PECAN BARS
1 pkg. yellow cake mix , but not lemon. A butter pecan cake mix works well if you can find it.
(Note: take out 2/3 c. dry cake mix & set aside)
1 stick butter
1 egg
Mix together & press into the bottom of a 9x13 pan (no smaller) & bake 15-20 min. at 350 degrees
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While the crust is baking, mix
The 2/3 cake mix( saved back ) with
½ c. dark brown sugar
1+1/2 c. dark syrup
1 t. vanilla
3 eggs.
Mix together. When crust is done baking pour mixture over the baked hot crust & top with 1 c. chopped pecans. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

THE CREATION OF A THOUSAND FORESTS IS IN ONE ACORN – Ralph Waldo Emerson

MY THOUGHTS ON DECORATING FOR FALL

I don’t decorate for Halloween – it’s too short of a time & most of the “stuff” to decorate with is imported. But I decorate for fall which includes the time from Labor Day up to & including Thanksgiving – a very long season. There is nothing more special than a big oblong bowl sitting on the table, an island, or in an entry, loaded with small pumpkins, green hedge apples, bittersweet branches tucked in & a crow perched on top. It is very impressive. Having seasonal décor around us reminds us of the seasons & its pleasures.

I hang a gourd garland on the fireplace surround. On the mantle add some small pumpkins, gourds on their side, some bittersweet & I use a mustard/clove covered light strand in & around it all. (we have those light strands in the shop) I also have a garland of dried pomegranates, & other naturals draped across my big window in the dining area.
A customer called wanting some candles & when she arrived she admired the birdbath near the front door of the shop. If a birdbath is cracked grow mosses in it, & come fall add a pumpkin to the top & a few sprigs of bittersweet around the pumpkin – it is eye-catching & so very simple.

Do you have something special greeting your guests on your front door? This time of year, the gourds are special hung together or a big flat basket with bittersweet/twigs. I’ve found I need to be careful what I put on the door so there is not a lot of “fall out” from seeded grasses & such.

Whatever you are decorating, remember to always use naturals as much as you can – whether fresh or dried. The difference is “day & night” between the real & the faux & truly a key to decorating – it’s all in the details.

I love pumpkins! They can be used in the house and by your front door as nothing says autumn as much as pumpkins with their richness in color. A friend came by with a really great & neat idea as a centerpiece for a get together or a family dinner. Cathy stuck a jar into a hallowed out pumpkin, & added fresh flowers & berries in the jar – a perfect idea. I sat it in a small old wooden bowl & put a crow beside it on my kitchen island - a simple country pleasure. Thanks Cathy.

Here’s another idea (see picture below) from Cathy – a container filled with fall dried pods, grasses, flowers, herbs etc. Try your hand at making one yourself.

End of October, 2009 letter

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