Fall Baking

 

Self-cleaning the oven

  Tomorrow begins the season to bake for this household. I have been thinking of all the things I want to bake.... banana bread, apple pie, scones. I had plans in which to get the oven ready for all the work it will be doing, so I turned on the self-cleaning function of the oven. The house became an oven itself and the oven did not really clean, so I will be using  oven cleaner in the coming week. I wanted the oven to be sparkly to bake the Banana Bread, once I bake it I will share with you.
     I do want to show you the Table Collections. As you can see I have the same items but arranged in a new way.


    Have an awesome week,
                    Mia

Table Collections on the Move

Techno support

 

   My son-in-law made this banner image for my Random Thoughts, Thank you Gerardo. Now I just hope it looks the way it should. If not I can finagle an extra visit from them. Three of my children live in the Big City, an hour away and my oldest even farther, 5 hours. So visits are hard to make happen with work and their home. At least we all have cell phones, Thank you Inventor of the Cell Phone
I am really excited about this gift (the Banner) that I was trying to wait for Saturday to share but I couldn't.


                            see you on Saturday, Mia

Traditions

Christmas Tea

              
              I am a person that likes Family Traditions. I think because I never thought of them as a child as traditions. Growing up our Mom always took us to Grandma Mable's for the major Holidays and for things like Valentine's Day or The 4th of July, not really much was going on. So when I began my own Family, I thought of what where the things that was always done. I began making my own, we had Christmas Tea, a week of Easter instead of a weekend, making our own Valentine's cards for each other. As life goes on my siblings find what they had liked most about the holidays and family gatherings. My brother loves to cook and we all expect him to make his ham for the holiday meal. I have noticed that the men in my family aren't afraid to use a sewing machine. That we expect our kids to be goofy and celebrate along with them.

A goofy Nephew Ryan

          What is important is that when we hear that "Grandma Mable done this... " or that "Granny did that..." and that it become part of what we teach to our children. With both my Grandparents gone, I let the next generations know that Grandma Mable always had a Cardinal on her Christmas tree keeps Grandma Mable alive and well in our homes.

Cardinal under Glass

          Traditions start from the heart and are handed down from generations to generations to be loved and treasured. Not just the holidays but the everyday stuff that keeps us connected to the ones we love and the future generations know we love them.

The Ham ... I mean my brother

       It seems that there is another tradition in the works.... Auntie Mimi (that's me) weekend babysitter. I am at my brother's house helping with his boys and not being able to bring the story I wanted to you, so next week be ready for some baking and the dishes in which to serve them it on.


                            have a blessed week,   Mia

Table Collections #1

          Dressing up a table is my way of encouraging me to sit down at the table and enjoying a meal. Most often you will find me standing at the kitchen counter having a bowl of cereal or a PB&J, makes for a quick and easy cleanup. Then I'm back at whatever it is that I'm doing. I want to get out of this habit. To sit down and have a cooked meal with a table collection that will soothe me.

want pumpkins and books but needed something more...

add some leaves move things around a bit ...... pretty

                  until next time,
                                 stay blessed,
                                             Mia

Morning Coffee

        Last week when I wrote, I wanted to share with you was of a special place; the tree in the backyard.  Over the Summer I had the luxury of enjoying my morning coffee sitting under the tree a few times. With the beginning of School the opportunities to relax there, feeling the Morning Song of the Raising Sun have not been possible. Oh, how I miss this ritual, to slowly wake, smelling a cup of coffee and to watch the sun rays slant across the yard, feeling the morning sun warm upon my skin and hear the birds sing is truly to know God's love.
      Realizing how much that space is calming to me I will be making a date for coffee under the tree often. I also wanted to share with you this important time of quietness. Everyone needs that time in which to unwind, to reflect on your weeks past and the week to come. I have practiced quiet time for a while now and I believe that it has kept me nicely balanced. Not that I have it all down to a precised part of my life but I know when it is missing. Things get unbalanced and out of focus for me. Making the time to be quiet, things began to focus, goals are forged and journey's start.
           I realized that even though summer is over and schedules change, so as cooler weather comes I will bundle myself up to sit there or make a spot in my room for just that Quietness Date. I hope you will make a Quietness Date for yourselves, I know I will.

roses making things pretty

coffee & breeze

coffee filter roses I had made 

                               " I want to make pretty things that make a difference!"
                                                                           Ali Nelson

                have an awesomely blessed week,
                                                    Mia
                                                   
                                                                                  PS check in on Wednesday a see my new table
                                                                                               collections. Thanks!  :)

Saturday's & Tables

 Sunflowers

                         Hello Saturday,  how has your week been? mine has been fine, not awesomely, but I still believe it to be blessed. Wed & Thu I was just tried, blah you can say that all the little things that happen those days, just made me want for Thurs evening to come. That is the evening  our Small Group meets and being in the presence of these friends is Love. If anyone knows the feeling of being with family and friends that just makes you smile because of a hug or smile.... that is this group, Love.
             One of the Little Things was that on Thu I had my Midpoint homework due. It is about this blog progress (keeping me on task/goal) and I plan to post it today. Only, I accidentally, some how published it Wed night. I thought why type the homework and the post separate, just type it all here and print, let the post sit in draft till Sat. Nope my 'techieology' skills failed me.
            Now what to post today you say? well, I have had this thought: Tablescapes and today is the perfect day to introduce you to my collection of things for the table. So along with my Saturday post, I will begin to post on Wednesday of the Table Collection.

 New Table Centerpiece

 table almost at full size, has a seat 4,6, & 8 but we've had 10 seated here

                               have an awesomely Blessed week,

                                                                             Mia

Midpoint Homework

   life at school.......

campus library before the start of the semester

    This post is about the Midpoint Progress Report on homework for my Health class. The 15 Step Goal I wrote of several weeks ago(the goal) has changed, and the steps I wrote became useless. Enter new Goal: 'Create 10 stories to Post on my Blog' is much better. I wanted this blog to be about how I journeyed from the girl that lives in her sister's house & going to school to the girl that has a career and home that is comfortable for me and my guest. I totally am impressed of this way of doing things, even though I may not have perfected the system; I know that with use and time it will be second nature.
             

1 of the 2 stories I am working on

          Since the beginning of the 15 Steps Project I have already published 2 stories (Fall on 10/3-  and this one) and am working on the next 2 at the moment. 



                 I am also thinking of another for a December story - has to do with lights, one I found through a Step: community events.

the other story which will be ongoing about tablescapes

One step you won't see, it is my filing system. The policies, story ideas (along with a Step Guide to produce) and a master list of the stories and pictures (still working on a good system since my pictures all willy nilly stored). I've never been much of a filer so this will be a nice adventure, it could become a story too.

     
      

Fall Season

  

Greetings

    Welcome to my favorite time of the year; when the weather begins to cool:    FALL
   It also means that I get to fill my home with seasonal decoration. The staple of my decorating, is leaves; the  yellows, oranges, and reds of them is the inspiration. The past 2 weeks I my have had a few knick knacks out but not in any order to say ' ta da ' . And if you remember my wreath has been out for at least 3 weeks but now the door is complete. Now that the leaves are scattered about, I can say that Fall has arrived at home.

this years table notice the leaves,

lights and leaves

2012 idea, leaves and scarcrows

hanging lights with Levi the Kitty

Levi the Kitty

up the ladder we go

a lonely placemat found a new use

last year's table idea coming together, trying a new color with the leaves

leaves and pumpkins 2013

another arrangement from 2013

 Noticed this table picture have no leaves.... it didn't sit very long on the table

2013 putting some ideas together, the flowers belong to my wreath... now some leaves

Fall decorations stay for 2 months so the rooms gets 2, 3 maybe even 4 new looks, something new is bought and the decor moves around. Like as I am writing this my sister tosses me a pretty orange sheer ribbon to add somewhere.

Leaves everywhere from 2013

   As you can see nothing is ever the same each year but the leaves. What is your staple to Fall decorating?

                                      Happy Fall,     Mia