"...it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all..."~Laura Ingalls Wilder

Sunday, October 25, 2015

corn...........

........loving this time of year and everything it brings.......I try to get my husband to hold off on mowing the leaves as long as I can, I LOVE leaves laying on ground, and do not care if it covers the grass....it is natures beauty..........we had a much needed rain yesterday and it has cooled off, more leaves have fallen, as do the walnuts and our corn awaits it's harvest......the raccoons have enjoyed the corn and I enjoy the cobs they leave behind.......I have gathered some to put in wood bowls, lay in the trencher and hang from the corn drier......so I searched pinterest for more ideas.......some of the following pictures are from pinterest, and they are beautiful in the simplest way.......till next time...smiles, Linda
 above picture, is out my window & below is some corn cobs I have gathered.....
 all the pictures below are via pinterest,  ENJOY !!!!!



Friday, October 16, 2015

walnuts.........

...........yesterday was a productive day.....not that everyday needs to be productive, but I feel a bit better if I think I accomplished something......I got up just a little later than normal and enjoyed a quiet cup of coffee and the computer.......normally, I would be dressed and doing something !!!  but, when the sun got to shinning, I thought, enough wasting this day !!! I almost hurried and  got dressed, made the bed, straightened out upstairs and proceeded to the basement and straightened out my storage room......done a load of laundry.......fixed some lunch.......made a pumpkin cake, which was awesome....then took a walk to gather black walnuts.......I think gathering the walnuts was the best part.......the weather was beautiful and the leaves are quickly turning......when I got to my walnut tree, a squirrel was busy gathering him some walnuts too.....I almost felt guilty taking some of his food !!!!  but there are plenty more trees......I even have a walnut tree in our front yard and my husband gathers the walnuts for the squirrel and puts them in a pile for him at the base of the tree !!! the walnuts look so pretty in an old wood bowl.....I found some corn cobs that a raccoon enjoyed too.....so, all of us....animals and I, get to enjoy what mother nature gives us.........till next time....smiles, Linda

Thursday, October 15, 2015

pumpkin cake, a bit healthier......

warning, NO pretty picture, or photo shoot etc, just a piece of cake, lol...so...can pumpkin cake be a little bit healthier, I think so...or least in my mind I feel like it is.......in the current issue of A Primitive Place magazine (Fall 2015) there is a pumpkin cake recipe that I tweaked a bit.......for the cake the recipe calls for :
~16oz. can of pumpkin
~2 cups sugar
~1 cup vegetable oil
~4 eggs
~2 cups flour
~2 tsp. baking soda
~2 tsp. cinnamon
~1/4 tsp. nutmeg

...mix together well and put into a greased and flour 9 x 13 pan.......instead of the 2 cups sugar, I used 1 cup Truvia Baking Blend, it has 75% fewer calories.....AND, instead of 1 cup of vegetable oil I used: 1/2 cup applesauce and 1/2 cup sugar free apple butter....
......the cake turned out wonderful, not a light and fluffy cake but more dense......now if I could figure out how to make a healthier cream cheese icing that would be awesome........

for my icing I used:
~1 stick of butter
~1 large package of cream cheese
~1 box powdered sugar
~1 tablespoon vanilla extract
~and some milk, just a tablespoon at a time, until creamy and spreadable

enjoy....and until the next time...smiles, Linda


Friday, October 2, 2015

a good day, for a good day..........

........perfect fall day...cool and crisp & leaves starting to turn......the house is quiet and a perfect day to work on a project.......so I prepared my drink of choice, coffee......shut the TV OFF !!!.......gathered  my current rug hooking project, and oh yes,  open the windows just a crack, so I could feel the cool breeze and hear the birds, chickens and cows........what a simple pleasure,  creating and working with your hands.......enjoy your day...till next time...smiles, Linda