The Stone Rabbit

What is it Wednesday?

 Do you have any idea what is wrapped up in the blue plastic?

Guess.

Come on.....GUESS....and DON'T scroll down before you guess....OK?

Really...what do you think it is?

If you need some help, I'll give you a hint...now you can go to the next photo!!  :)

 

Does this photo make a little light bulb come on in your head?

NOOOOOO.....it's not the pumpkin!

 

If you guessed "It's CORNSTALKS"....you'd be right!!!  :)

Now, are you wondering just WHY I'm bagging up the cornstalks?  

It's because they have been in our garage....upright...in an empty trash can...since the first of December!!   My pal Bonnie said I could "store" them in a building they have on their property...so I could reuse them in the Fall.  She's doing that with hers.  Sadly, I never got them to her house....and my hubby was losing his patience over seeing them every time he pulled in the garage.

SOOOOOO... 

yesterday, I  wrapped them up to keep them in our attic (which is easily accessible) until next Fall!!

AND do you think he even noticed they were not in the garage when he came home from work last night?

NOPE.  :)

THE STONE RABBIT actually gave me the idea to wrap them up and store them here. . . he's so smart!!!

It's really an experiment of sorts.  Those corn stalks are really dry right now....it will be interesting to see what shape they're in when I unveil them next Fall after they've roasted in a hot attic all Summer!   They may be like "cornstalk confetti" when I take the plastic off!! 

I'll let you know!  :)

DANA

FINDING PINK AT THE "SOUP PARTY"

 

Right off the bat I have to apologize for the poor quality of these photos.  They were taken with my "dropped-one-too-many- times" point and shoot camera.....just as the sun was about to call it quits on a recent early October evening in Missouri.

One of the annual Fall Events that our family looks forward to is: The Soup Party.

The Soup Party is hosted by a couple who have been our friends for a VERRRRRY long time.  In fact, the husband and my husband have been friends since childhood days. . . so that tells ya how long this friendship has been around!

I am sorry that I have forgotten which "annual" this year's soup party was.. . .but I have to say, there have been MANY. . . and I my husband and I have attended nearly every one of them.

Over the years, The Soup Party has evolved into a spectacular event, filled old and new friends and with the most wonderful variety homemade soups!

 

The guests are encouraged to bring a pot of soup or a side dish. . . usually a bread or a dessert.

As you can see, the soups are labeled and arranged atop this amazing metal grate.... which hovers above a bed of coals.

 

 

 

 

This year, I had a fall sale on the day of The Soup Party, so my hubby took charge of our food offering for the evening.

I was sooo impressed with his "beef stew" contribution!  He totally made this delicious dish himself! (however, I'm pretty certain sodium and saturated fat levels were not a concern for him as he prepared it.  :)

His concoction was a hit.   I observed many of the men really enjoying his beef stew. . . and I also have to say, I enjoyed it, too!  Great job!!

 

 

Once guests have dined on their fill of soups, breads and desserts, they gather around the "camp fire"!!

This photo shows just a small portion of the crowd that attended The Soup Party 2011.  Actually, folks are all around the entire periphery of the camp fire. 

As much as I love the camp fire, the challenge has always been to be on the side that does not get nailed with the smoke!  :)

Did you notice the tee-pee in the  upper left section of the photo?  It's authentic .

 

Our friends live on about a huge lot. . .so there's lots of room for The Soup Party to spread out.  The event is situated in the back yard area. 

I don't recall when they added this amazing group of musicians to the evening, but I have to say, their soft and soulful blues music just puts the frosting on the night!  

The name of this group is the KC RAIN DOGS.   You would really enjoy going to their web site (CLICK HERE) and listening to the video sampling of some of their work----then just imagine them singing outdoors on a glorious fall evening!  It's a slice of heaven!!

This year, The Grand Girl was so taken by their music that she spent quite awhile spontaneously dancing and moving as The Rain Dogs entertained us.  In fact, after the set ended, the lady with the wash board came over and put it on her,declaring how much they enjoyed watching HER experience their music!

 

And speaking of The Grand Girl. . . she was wearing PINK sparkling nail polish on the night of The Soup Party!

That little one knows how to add just a bit more fun to an already fantastic evening!!

 

I have to say that I am not an expert soup maker.  In fact, the food I always contribute to The Soup Party is a dessert or a bread.  However, my hubby raised the bar this year with his great beef stew, so from now on. . . he's the one in charge of "what we're bringing to The Soup Party"!

On the other hand, I do have to say I make a mighty fine chicken noodle soup. . and it is pretty healthy, too, as I keep the sodium  and saturated fat levels down pretty low.

Earlier this week, I had a bit of a tummy bug (fortunately I didn't have it as bad as my son, DIL, grands and daughter did!!!).  THE STONE RABBIT, who helped me create this great soup recipe, took it upon himself to cook a batch. . . cuz he knew it would help me feel better.

And it did!!!

 

Be sure you put a visit to Beverly's blog, HOW SWEET THE SOUND, on your "to do list" this week!!  She will have loads of other bloggers all set to share their great PINKS with you!!  

Happy Pink Saturday!!!

DANA

Whew. . . .what a week. . . .

 

On Monday, Patty hosted a wonderful Halloween Brunch at her home for the Breakfast Bunch!

 

Her table was set in just a festive manner. . . putting all of us in the "spirit" of the season!

 

For some reason I decided, in a weak moment, that my hubby and I should host a Halloween Party this year.

Actually, I do know the reason was because for the first time in  years, that weekend was finally open for us and I wanted to actually enjoy a gathering in honor of the occasion. . . and it was also a huge motivation for me to CLEAN MY HOUSE!!!

I have been on a cleaning rampage this week. . . . ceiling fans. . . woodwork. . . .blinds. . . . I even cleaned my oven this week.  OK. . . if you look closely you can see that I didn't clean the racks. . . but the rest of of the oven looks amazing!

I find that I open that door about 22 times a day, just to see the sparkle and glow coming from the clean metal!!  :)

I've really been a slouch about Fall decorating this year.  SO, having a party inspired me to "get with it".

My pal Bonnie gave me some wonderful corn stalks.

 

Yesterday, I had this really great idea to put the cornstalks on the front porch, but I couldn't get them to stand up.

After a bit, I came upon the plan to use a couple of old metal plant stands as  bases onto which I could anchor the stalks!

I pushed the stands against the brick wall on each side of the window on the front porch.  Then I stood cornstalks around the plant stands and secured them in the middle with jute.

I had to enlist the "weighty" help of one of THE STONE RABBIT'S concrete bunnies to help secure the base of the plant-stand.

I added some birch branches and bittersweet, then wrapped burlap ribbon around each group of stalks.

 

Some time ago, Marian and I signed up to take a pie making class on The Historic Independence Square.  Well, last night was the night for that class!

Sally, our teacher, was fabulous!  She gave us such great directions for making the perfect crusts, then demonstrated how to fill a fruit pie and a custard pie.

 

She then turned us loose to make our own pies to take home and bake!

 

I couldn't think of a better item to bake in my pristine oven than the little cherry pie I had created with my own two hands!!

THE STONE RABBIT was really impressed with my new found pie making skills.  It didn't slip by him that I had nibbled away on the crust.  :)

What a wonderful treat. . . .homemade cherry pie. . . .with the perfect amount of pinky-redness!!

Hmmmm. . . .Twiggy was pretty impressed, too!!!

 

Please visit Beverly, at HOW SWEET THE SOUND, for a long list of other bloggers who have Halloween or Fall or PINKS to share with you!

 

Happy PINK SATURDAY!!!

 

DANA

IT'S CERTAINLY FEELING LIKE FALL!

 

It certainly is feeling like Fall this morning!

It's been raining and the temps are in the mid-forties...with highs predicted to be in the fifties!!!

It's chilly in the house, but we haven't turned our furnace on. . . heck, the A/C was running just a few days ago!  It's that transition time of year, isn't it?  We'll have a few days of cool temps, then the 70s return. . . just as they are supposed to do this weekend!

If you look closely, you can seen little rain drops on this pretty mum I picked up yesterday!




Because it's a cool, damp day. . . THE STONE RABBIT suggested cooking turkey tenderloins in the slow cooker!!  I added lots of onions to the pot and later. . . 

some carrots and baby Yukon Gold potatoes will be put in, too!

 

It was also a very COLD morning last Saturday when I ran the 5K portion of the Kansas City Marathon---thankfully, there was no rain!!  

It was in the low forties a little after 7:00 a.m. when the marathoners and half-marathoners took off.  The 5K started about 15 minutes after that.

Do you see me?  I'm right in there some place!!!  :)  My hubby took this picture of the runners heading north on Grand.

 

Here I am shortly after I'd finished my run!  I had left my gloves at home and my hands were like blocks of ice and so numb at this point, but I was grinning like a fool because I'd just found out my official time!!  I ran the event in 31 min. 18 sec.. . . .which was my personal best time!!!  What I was really happy about was the improvement I'd made over running that same event last year, when my time was 34 min. and 58 sec.!!  The course was exactly the same, so it's really a great way to check progress!

 

Today is a scheduled "run" day for me.  I'd toyed with the idea of getting it out of the way this morning, but when I saw the rain. . . I'm thinking I'll wait and see what this afternoon brings!!!  A serious runner would be out there in the elements. . . so I'm guessing that tells us that perhaps I'm not THAT serious!  :)

Enjoy this Fall day!!

DANA

IT'S TIME TO PULL OUT THE "WHEAT DISHES"

Today, I am linking up with Jillian of BELLA ROSA ANTIQUES for "Second ChanceTuesday".  I hope you'll visit her blog to see what others have to show us!  I know I will be!!

I am sharing a few of the photos from a November 2008 post in which I featured a table-setting where I utilized some of my Golden Wheat dishes.

A few years ago, I had decided I wanted to have a set of "fall" dishes.  I  recalled the Wheat Dishes my mom used to have when I was a kid and started looking for them in antique stores and flea markets.   My friend Patty became interested in obtaining some of them, too.  Over time, we each amassed quite a collection of the dishes.  In fact, we had so many, that we were able to "let go" of the ones we'd initially "found" that weren't in great shape. . . keeping the ones with the shiniest gold bands and the best images of the wheat. 

As a child, I recall that mom got the dishes out of detergent boxes.  When I looked on line, I found out that the Golden Wheat dishes were offered in the 1950's as a premium in boxes of Duz detergent.  Each month there would also be an additional sized plate, bowl or serving piece added to the boxed Duz, thus enticing customers to buy the soap as an affordable means to acquire the dinnerware, which was made by the Homer-Laughlin Co. 

 

 

The silver-plate  belonged to my mother-in-law.  I remember she very fond of these pieces.  As a young bride, I loved her little collection of silver-plate, too.  It was so much fun to help her polish the pieces as she prepared to use them for a special meal. These days, that silver-plate is used at our house for holidays and other important occasions.  I cherish it so much.  As I bring it out and prepare to use it, I'm filled with great memories of my MIL.  

I found the little amber glasses at the Salvation Army Thrift store.  Since these photos were taken, I've also added Fostoria amber water glasses to my fall collection of dishes.

The candelabra is an item I bought at a flea market years ago.  It's wrapped with a fall garland and draped with a seasonal ribbon.

 

As usual, THE STONE RABBIT was helping me out as I set the table.  He was in charge of pumpkin polishing. . . he's very good at that!


Thank you, Jillian, for hosting this event!!!  

DANA

 

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A LIGHT UP TURKEY?

In the middle of October, My Friend Bonnie and I, took a little trip to northern Arkansas to attend several arts and crafts fairs.  The leaves were just beginning to turn and the weather was very nice, as the rain was gone by the time we arrived.

A couple of the largest sales are held near the War Eagle Mill area, which is located near beautiful Beaver Lake.  The cars full of eager shoppers formed a long, snaky line as we slowly drove, bumper to bumper,  on the winding road that took us to the sale!

 

We shopped this show and five others during our stay in Arkansas. . .  plus we hit some antique malls, flea markets, and . . . .

garage sales!

We both love vintage light up decor, so when we saw the array of toy solders, nutcrackers and gingerbread men lined up on this driveway. . . . we just HAD to stop!

 

Yes, we bought 'em all - - - well, MOST of them!  

As we added the plastic bounty to the rest of the treasures we had collected on our trip . . . 

we agreed we had experienced a most enjoyable getaway!

 

I also found THIS great light. 

Have you EVER seen a light up turkey?  I spied this prize at one of the roadside flea markets we hit.

I could hardly wait to get home and plug it in!!!! Oh my. . . it was as gorgeous as I had hoped it would be!

Twiggy and Frankie were really excited, too, and had to check out the new addition.  Well, it seems Frankie was more interested in the turkey. . . . I'm not sure what Twiggy found interesting at that moment.

However, Twiggy did tell THE STONE RABBIT that she thought he looked even more handsome than usual when he sat in the glow of the light up turkey!

THE STONE RABBIT asked me where I was going to place the shining bird and I told him I'd thought about . . . .

hanging it outside on the wall next to the front door!  However, once I placed the light up turkey on the hook, I realized the dangling electric cord seemed to take away some of the charm of the decoration.

Hmmmmm. . . . .maybe the vintage decor would look better . . . .

in the fall grouping I had on the floor of the porch. 

However, I soon realized there were a couple of problems with leaving such a fine decoration outdoors. . . . unattended.  First, a strong gust of wind could send that piece of vintage plastic sailing across the  street!!  Second,  I just might lose that light to some envious neighbor who felt my handsome bird should be spending time at their house for Thanksgiving!

That was it.  The turkey light must remain in my house!

Yep, the light up turkey looks perfect in the entryway. 

What a fabulous way to greet our guests during the next couple of weeks . . . I'm certain they will love the vintage light up turkey!  

THE STONE RABBIT agreed!

Oh, I think I forgot to tell you about the PINK price sticker, didn't I? 

I was pretty excited when I saw the amount  plastered on one of the plastic tail feathers . . .honestly, I thought it was a great price!   However, a seasoned bargain shopper, like myself, finds it really hard to pay the amount the seller places on an item.  So, after picking up the plastic turkey and turning it this way and that. . .  and scratching my head a time or two,  I said to the vendor,  "Is that your best price?"  

He grinned and replied, "How about three bucks?" 

I couldn't get my money out fast enough!

Now I''m pretty sure that many of you folks are no doubt scratching your heads and wondering what I think is so special about a vintage light up turkey.

The answer to that is simple.

You see, every time I plug it in,  and that turkey starts to glow, I get a big old smile on my face. . . . and so does THE STONE RABBIT!

 

Here's someplace guaranteed to put a smile on YOUR face . . . . . . just visit Beverly at HOW SWEET THE SOUND.  She'll have a long list of other bloggers who all have PINKS to share, too!

HAPPY PINK SATURDAY!  

DANA

 

 

GLORIOUS AUTUMN

This is the scene in our front yard. 

Our four year old trees have been a gorgeous shade of reddish-orange for the last few days. . . and now the leaves are starting to fall to the ground.

I have a mixture of feelings.

First, I do believe  our leaves, this year, are the most beautiful they have been since we planted the trees . .

I really hate to see their short lived, colorful splendor come to an end so soon.  However. . . 

 

as I gaze at the young beauties in our yard. . .

 

I know it won't be very long until . . . .

 

they will be big enough to unload tons of leaves and once again, we will be raking and mowing and mulching,  just like we did at our old house that was surrounded by seven very mature trees!

So, for the time being, I will enjoy the beauty of these amazingly warm and clear autumn days. . . and our young and beautiful trees,  as they show off their fall finery.

Then,  when THE STONE RABBIT has finished taking in the sunny fall afternoon,  from beneath the limbs of one of our trees,  he and I will do something he looks forward to all year long. . .

 

we will play in the leaves.

 

We have just the right amount, too!!!

 

DANA