in the kitchen, as usual.

the quote on the chalkboard is a summary of wendell berry's larger quote: "Eaters, that is, must understand that eating takes place inescapably in the world, that it is inescapably an agricultural act, and that how we eat determines, to a considerable extent, how the world is used."

check out this article from wendell berry about eating.

the large squash by selva's head is a cushaw.

jeremiah surprised me with this small (large) gift yesterday.

supposedly it cooks up like any other squash or pumpkin.

i think it will be feeding us for a while.

my staple breakfast is made up of a few, simple ingredients.

old-fashioned oats, local honey, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg (not pictured).

i cook the oats (1/2 cup oats to 1 cup water) on high to medium heat until they are nice and soft.

then i add a spoonful of honey and a little bit of everything else to taste.

yum!

jeremiah went with a redskins logo for his pumpkin.
i went the more traditional route.
happy halloween!!

slowly getting our belongings tucked away.

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cold air came upon us in the night.

leaves are falling. 

crows are sitting in the treetops talking.

winter is starting to call.

time to settle in. to build warmth in our homes for the season ahead. 

doily gift wrap.

starched doily bowls. idea via.

furoshiki gift wrap using a vintage scarf.

vintage pillowcase tote bag. idea via.

gift tags using stamps, vintage buttons & paper doilies.

doily table runner. idea via.

this past weekend i had the privilege of teaching a class at a local church's women's crafting event.
my class was called "a vitnage christmas" and focused on how to reuse doilies, hankies, buttons and other vintage-y items to make gifts and decorations for the holidays.
these are a few of my favorite ideas from the class.

we live in a small "village" as the locals call it.

our house and land is located on a very large block in the village.

this is the house we share the block with. obviously vacant.

its crammed full of so many antiques. 

a few beautiful iron beds and one iron baby crib. lovely moulding and fixtures. glass door knobs. cast iron sinks. and much more, i am sure.

it's sad to see a house wasted. abandoned. vandalized.

it makes you wonder what happened. what went wrong. especially when so many possessions are left behind.  

morning light.

yesterday, i blanched and froze about 20lbs. of tomatoes. needless to say, i will be happy not to touch a tomato for a while.
i also made a batch of granola bars using ina garten's (the barefoot contessa) recipe. these bars are really hard to resist! next time i may scale down the amount of honey and sub maple syrup for brown sugar.
today has been a fruitfully good day!
i went to the green bay open air market. i was hoping to find a lot of local food and it did not disappoint!!
the woman who heads up the entire market works day and night to supply locals with fresh, pesticide-free produce from around the area (including the Amish community nearby).
today i got: zucchini & squash, eggplant, sweet potatoes, a turnip, green & yellow beans, butternut squash (yum!), gala apples, another type of apple for baking, onions, spinach, red peppers, free range eggs, sourdough bread and molasses. all for about $30!
she also sells different cheeses, butter and milk. all local.
i cannot even begin to tell how elated i am to have such a resource nearby! what a huge blessing and an answer to prayer!
the last picture is a tasty look at my snack today: a fresh (local!) gala apple with organic, crunchy peanut butter.