It's a BOO-tiful morning!

IT'S COOL OUTSIDE!  I felt like pulling a Julie Andrews this morning as I took in deep, chilly breaths.  True, we're supposed to be back in the upper 70s in a few days, but this morning it was in the thirties.  At last, at long last!  The hills are alive!!

The leaves, too!  I'm loving the colors that we're finally, finally starting to see.

Our dogwoods are showing the most change...

...but most trees are just barely tipped in color.

Todd and I were finally able to sit comfortably by the pond and watch the rain.  Yes, it rained (insert another Julie Andrews spin here)!

It's so nice to be outside again, checking out interesting fungus...

...and watching the insects!  Here is a syphid fly, a bee mimic.

Acorns are falling like crazy...maybe even more than last year! 

I'm keeping a very close eye on our camellias.  They've got some beautiful buds...maybe we're within a couple of weeks of full bloom!

Our early bloomers are already popping!

Meanwhile, our cats are falling into their regular cooler-weather rhythm.  Seeking out sunbeams...

...and, when the heat is on, sleeping on the registers under the couch to maximize their comfort.

It's nearly Halloween!  I ordered our cards...

...and baked Oreos.

Our scary movie marathon has already begun!  Hooray!

I have been trying to knit, but it is just killing my hands.  I finally switched back to Portuguese mid-sock, but it's slow going.  I think I should finally have these socks done within 2 weeks.  I've been doing my usual sampler quilt project, trying to complete one block per day.

And, I started a new quilt.  I know, I know.  I have a queen-sized quilt waiting to be sandwiched and quilted, plus this sampler quilt.  But here's how the rabbit hole of quilting goes.  I got an email from a fabric store, indicating that the fabric I bought recently...

...had gone on sale.  Hmmm.  I'd bought a pre-cut lot (half yard, I think) and had no idea what I was going to do with it, but maybe I ought to take advantage of this sale?  What if I needed sashing?  Binding? Quick, pick a quilt design, just to see if I had enough fabric or might need a little more.

This is perfect.   Four fabric patterns per 12 inch block.  I have 20 different fabrics in my pre-cut bundle, which equals out to five different color combinations.  The block is simple enough, and would show off the fabric well.

Maybe I ought to just make one to see how it looks...

Before I knew it, the whole first row was done and I was cutting up the fabric for the second row!  It will be mix-and-match...seven blocks of each color combination of four, plus there's enough leftover fabric from each color combo to create a few random ones.  I didn't intend to start another quilt, but I did, and now I'm alternating one sampler block with one welcome block.  I never did take advantage of that sale, either.  I'll just see how it looks once all the blocks are completed.  I LOVE the peach, navy, and cream color combination, and this fabric has birds, feathers, and flowers.  Love!!  It will be a great winter project. 

Happy Halloween!

It will taste awful...a mailable waffle!

There's nothing like starting the day out with a delicious waffle breakfast, right?

Well, that's not what I did today.  This is not an edible waffle.  Do you remember the mailable foam-and-caulk cake slice I made last year?

This is a waffle version!  I bought some air-dry clay...

...and pressed it into my waffle iron.

Two point two pounds of clay yielded three 'waffles' and some leftovers.

I bought a small package of yellow clay and shaped butter pats.  I spray painted these waffles with yellow and brown spray paint and affixed the butter pats with hot glue.

I mixed glue and brown food coloring for the syrup.

It gives the 'syrup' a nice realistic quality.

A circle of cardboard is spray-glued to the back and written on like a postcard.  Let me tell you, there were puns aplenty!  "Butter" believe..."syrup-titious"...etc., etc.  Unfortunately, I did not take care to make the first mailed waffle tidy on the address part, and it was never delivered.  I'm sure it's nailed up to a post office wall somewhere!  But I was more careful on the second waffle, and it was delivered in just a few days.  There will be more mailable food in my future!  :)

The turkeys, having made it through Thanksgiving none the worse for wear, spend a lot of time hanging outside my office windows.  I love watching them.

 

I finally got a few 'action shots' of them flying across the pond.  They're really beautiful!

 

Besides working and watching turkeys, I had two holiday parties to bake for this week.  I made a big spread...

Brown sugar bundt cake from the Back in the Day Bakery, Oreos (recipe blogged here), a funfetti cookie cake (recipe blogged here), chocolate chip cookies (too crispy for my taste), snickerdoodle cupcakes (eh, not as good as other recipes I have), and a pumpkin roll.  I used my M1 tip for making both buttercream roses...

...and the frosting 'stars' on the funfetti cake.

I used Brown Eyed Baker's pumpkin roll recipe, but added a handful of cinnamon chips, of course.  The chips made it harder to roll the sheet of pumpkin cake, but it still worked.  The basics of making any kind of jelly or cake roll are the same.

Bake your cake in a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet.  Carefully turn the slightly cooled cake onto a clean damp towel that's been generously dusted with powdered sugar.  Roll it up and put it in the refrigerator until it's cool.

Unroll and dollop your frosting on top.

Spread it out...

Roll it up.

Done!

I didn't get to taste it, but Todd said that his co-workers gave it high marks.  I'll probably make another one in January so I can have a slice myself!

After all that baking, the kitchen was absolutely destroyed.

Oh, well!

Have a great week!

Beautiful Bogs

Recently, the South Carolina Master Gardener Association hosted another plant sale at the Botanical Gardens.  I didn't want to go, because I'd just spent a fortune on live plants and bulbs from Bluestone Perennials.  But somehow, pulled by an unseen force, we found ourselves there last Saturday. 

Once again, I was drawn to the bog plants.  They are just so cool!

Each interior plant surface is covered in little sticky hairs...

...perfect for catching hold of tiny legs.

I believe these plants emit a sweet smell, too.  We saw lots of insects visiting.  Mostly bees, who tested the waters...

...before drifting headlong toward the danger zone.

(Soundtrack available here:)

The bee gets too far in and slips down the long stalk.

Unbelievably, some bees are able to chew their way out before being dissolved:

These bog plants come in lots interesting shapes...

 ...and colors.

Many even flower.

The bog plant I bought in the spring is barely hanging on, mainly because it just didn't get enough sun this summer.  I'm hoping my new bog plant will do better!

The beautyberries around the house have all ripened.

The toad lilies I planted in the spring are blooming.

This 'mystery plant' has bloomed...

...and has proven to be the first camillia of the fall.

We have oak trees, so we have acorns.

I've been collecting them, because I'd like to make an acorn wreath.  I love them at this stage.  Some have started to turn brown...

But most are that lovely Granny Smith apple-green color.

I think I'll have enough soon!

I've been baking again...TWO batches of homemade Oreos...

...and I finished embroidering those pillow cases.

The main thing I've been doing, though, is studying.

That's right - I'm going back to school.  I'm going to apply to the Master's program for Entomology at Clemson University next year.  I've loved insects for years, and I just need a change.  The only problem is that I'm a little lacking in the math department.  I goofed off in high school and never took anything beyond Pre-Algebra.  It took me two semesters in college to pass Algebra, and I muddled through a senior-level Stats class and Finite Math, also as a senior...but I've never taken any other math class.  Ever.  So now I'm teaching myself Algebra (note:  it's not just like riding a bike), and then I'll teach myself Geometry.  Fingers crossed that I'm able to get a decent score on the GRE this winter and move forward!

Hope you're having a good week!