Home and Gardening With Liz: October 2016

October 30, 2016

Happy Halloween!

I've already lit the candles in my pumpkin luminaries!

Having some pre-Halloween fun!

Sorry these aren't better- I used my cell phone.

The leaves have been piling up. There will be plenty more to come!

I didn't carve any pumpkins just used my luminaries!

I turned on the patio lights. The big maple is glowing. It's a super pleasant evening.

We went downtown to an area where the older homes are here in Traverse City. Sixth Street is a very popular place on Halloween night! Most everyone on this street really does it up!

How cool is this!

So creative!

If you look on the porch walls of the house you can see some creepy pictures they hung.

This house played homage to the Day of the Dead

Isn't this fun!

Look to the right side of this picture. A witch is suspended between two houses. The wind was blowing and she kept disappearing and reappearing- it was perfect!

This is a grand home with a wonderful porch.

At Christmas it's so picturesque.

Love the big display of orange lights, pumpkins and ghosts!

This was awesome. Notice the big dragon on the top of the roof above the porch. The wings were opening and closing and the wind was making the ghosts below fly! It was perfect!

I love this display- they always do a great job. The skeletons in the wagon are so fun! The house is also decorated to the side but I didn't capture any pictures.

Happy Halloween!

Joining:

Dishing It & Digging It

October 28, 2016

This and That This Week #11

Hello everybody! I fell off my own wagon and stopped doing my This and That This Week posts around the time my Grandson was born. He's already a month old- hard to believe! More about him in a bit.

Last Sunday I posted by "Halloween Extravaganza" tablescape- I hope you visited it and if not here is the "link". I'm a big kid at heart and though no one is here to share it with us I enjoyed creating it.

Fall has hit us full force and we even had a brief bout of snow a couple of days ago. Thank goodness it didn't stick!

I did a post called "Fall Benefits" about fall colors and a little shopping fun as seen "here"

We stopped in Gaylord and visited one of my favorite spots. It's called The Old Spud Warehouse and it offers a collection of small deco items for the home, some humorous items like funny books and little signs, a custom furniture line and some unusual lamps and fixtures they make in-house. Dan jumped in the chair so I snapped a shot!

Okay I hid behind the chair so I could hide me a bit!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have to tell you I've been in a sad mood for a while because both my mother and Dan's are going down hill fast. Both are plagued with dementia. Unfortunately Dan's mother recently took a turn for the worse and is now in a nursing home. The very days we were there for our Grandson's birth in September his mom was admitted to the hospital and further testing was done to determine her level of needs.

2016

My Mom is 94 years old and while she still knows who we are and pretty much understands what's going on she just can't keep track of things any longer. She sleeps most of the time these days and I feel her drifting away.

2006

Dan's Mom, Norma who is 91 now was always an active woman on the farm. When I met her in 1973, I was so impressed with her drive. She canned her own vegetables, kept a large vegetable and flower garden, still raising her last child that was 8 at that time.

Dairy farmers that did their best to make it.

I did a post about the farm and you can see it "here"

I made this in the early 90's

My husband and his sister drove down to see her at the nursing home yesterday. It was a difficult visit especially since she's just not herself anymore. One of the sisters who lives closest to Norma had some things of their mom's that she sent home with Dan thinking we may went them.

Tea died lace on the neck, hearts on the lace along the shirt placket, rosebuds on the skirt fabric, buttons for eyes and hand sewn nose and whiskers.

I never expected to have this back but she's come home to me after 25+ years since I made her. Back in the early 90's I was making soft sculptured animals and dolls and this rabbit is one I made for her. Norma always decorated in a country / farmhouse way and the blue and mauve colors were the rage.

The rabbit's hands are a knot because it was designed to hang on a door knob. She never was hung on a door knob but was the center of their bed with pillows for a long time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a much brighter and happier note…

I found the little booties (they rattle too!) and the bib at Cracker Barrel which says Baby's 1st Halloween. I know it's silly but I couldn't resist! I came across the orange "fox eared" hat on my last trip to Petoskey. They can use it anytime but the orange coloring caught my attention for his outfit. He's doing very well, gaining weight and growing all the time so we are grateful and blessed for that!

We do FaceTime with them so we get to see and hear him. It's the next best thing to holding him! I'll see him later in November- can't wait!

FUN STUFF

Isn't the cutest! It's a card I bought at Cracker Barrel a couple of years ago and I just found it again. I bought it because I loved the image!

Thanks for visiting and if you haven't started to follow me please do! You can join up with my Google friends where it says "Follow Me" or through e-mail. Links are on the side-bar.

Wishing you all a Happy Halloween! I will be watching the creepy silly movies and probably eat a bunch of popcorn while I'm at it!

October 25, 2016

Fall Benefits

Fall colors are at peek up here. I took a few shots in my backyard. My little garden bench has

become a lap for leaves!

The Japanese Maple is still turning to its fall color but with the sunlight behind if it made for a pretty picture!

We have a lot of yellow in the trees on our side because it's so shaded. Out in the sun you'll see much more color!

This was a shot I caught out across a field with the classic warm russet tones.

We went for a drive to see fall colors and this was one of the few images I captured. The clouds moved in more and more and stole the sunlight so it ended up being a bit of a shopping day in Glen Arbor where we were headed.

We had a late lunch here at Bone Docks which is really a hub in this town. They have a huge outside decking area with lots of tables and a big covered bar area complete with tv's for the sports fans and plenty to drink if that's your desire. In the summer it's truly a hot spot! In the fall the tourists are less than half but the good thing is the sales at the shops. Some of them have 50% off since they want to clear the shelves for the winter. A great deal of these shops literally close up for the winter.

Right after we left the restaurant I ended up at a cute story called the Cottonseed. They have a wonderful selection of clothing (more appropriate for the younger generation) and I found a sweet skirt and blouse for my daughter but I can't show it in case she reads this!

I spotted this coffee mug at another store and just had to have it. If you know me you know I like to garden and I do play in the dirt!

I spotted this basket at one little shop and nearly passed it up. I'm glad I brought it home which prompted me to play with it.

I remembered I had this napkin (after reading a post by Calypso In the Country) the other day. I thought I'd see how it would look in the basket.

Then I added a wine cooler to the center.

So of course I had to try it with a bottle of wine and it works! This would be a cute way to present a bottle of wine for a luncheon or dinner! It's a very strong well made basket so it can take being used like this.

My first idea was to put fruit in it so of course I had to try that too!

I dug out some placemats and set the basket on the table. I love it! I have a thing for chicken wire so this was an automatic draw to my eyes! I have some Pottery Barn pieces from several years back that this looks surprisingly close to! So my fall benefits were the sales!

Joining:
Share Your Cup

Thoughts Of Home On Thursday

October 23, 2016

Halloween Extravaganza! (T)

Winnie and the ghouls welcome you to their Halloween Extravaganza!

Please join us and let's see how the table is set!

Winnie sits atop her purple glittery cauldron inviting you to Trick or Treat!

Designed with black branches and purple flower accents.

Her sign has been posted "The Witch Is In"!

The ravens keep guard over the event- party crashers will be dealt with!

Leo lost his head so he's keeping company with the candy jar!

Everyone enjoys coming together for Halloween!

Clarence will help guide your way!

Little Crissy here would love for you to tell her a story- but be careful of what she's hiding behind her back! Can't always trust the cute ones you know!