halloween

Decorating for Halloween was not something I did before we had children.
But now, I have one little boy who loves this holiday, which has made it fun to incorporate some spooky into the everyday decor around here. Hope you enjoy the photos.

Halloween at the old house-

- my mom found this vintage store sign, $4 -

- halloween mantel - handmade garland with pine cones from the yard -

- windows 1 and 2 - a different view than a year ago -

- garage sale find, $2 - the sweet lady said her kids played with them when they were little -

- festive and free bird - the owner of a local gift shop gave him to me -

- terrarium pumpkin patch - these pumpkins sprouted up in all of my indoor plants - find them here -

- all set - we hosted a happy hour last saturday for our neighbors -

- the old house dining room, halloween table -

* * * * *

in the details:

yes, that's a new rug in the dining room - but, we have since decided to switch it with

the more traditional rug that was in our family room

check out rugsusa.com

most of the halloween decor, i have collected over the years - please ask about anything you see!

paint and patience

Last week I got caught up in what should have been a small project-

strip the paint off the original, solid brass switch plate in the vestibule. Let me back up. I painted the vestibule late at night a few weeks ago. My Dad taught me how to paint, and when you paint, you take care to REMOVE switch plates and outlet covers and anything else that should NOT get painted.

The old house has a few original toggle switches (very cool, by the way), but over the years
they were all painted over. It makes me so mad! I was not sure what the end result would be, but with a little hard work, I knew that removing the many (seven to be exact) layers of paint from this original piece
could be rewarding.

I spent two hours one evening, using mainly my fingernails, to scrape paint off the pearl inlay,
push-button toggle switches. It was really fun. The middle switch was different and would not clean up,
so off I went to visit the architectural antiques guy. He saw me three times last week... with all three children in tow each time. You can imagine the store... super kid friendly, not packed floor-to-ceiling with
antique fixtures, hardware, etc. Ha.

First visit, out of frustration, was to buy a restored-by-someone-else brass switch plate. The next to return said switch plate and buy an old replacement toggle switch. The final visit (for this project anyway) to exchange the toggle switch for a smaller size. Nothing was standard size 93 years ago.

I wired the replacement switch myself. It was easy, actually, but once I had it wired I could not get it back in the wall. Needless to say, I had to call the electrician. He even had a hard time, but he got it done.

- though this is not a photo of the vestibule switches, this is what it looked like before -

- restored by ME! -
- we will eventually replace the left switch (pearl inlay is sadly missing) -

- you get an idea of the new paint color in this photo - still a bit of trim work to finish -

I may have been lacking patience with this process. I mean who PAINTS OVER something so pretty?
It's not a .97 white, plastic switch cover (though I wouldn't paint over that either), it is old and solid brass!

I want to be clear; our switch plate was not this shiny after I removed the paint.

Sensing my frustration, the architectural antiques guy asked me to bring in the plate. He took it to the basement, gave it a buff and there it was. Restored. I was in shock. I really didn't think it was possible, but I will never forget what he said to me. "When you start with something of true quality, that's what you get."

The old house must be something of true quality.


* * * * *

orchards part 2

 Our family is almost as crazy for apples as we are (I am) for pumpkins. We eat apples every day,
so when we get the chance in the fall to eat them right off the tree, we go pickin! Our first round of apples
was all honeycrisp, and they didn't last long at the old house.

On another trip, we went with friends to an out of town orchard.
We got the full experience- we ate our warm, cinnamon-sugar bathed apple donuts on the hayride out to the fields. We wore our hoodies and breathed in the crisp, cool air. We picked (and sampled) our apples,
and upon our return, realized we probably had too many. I would never admit it though. We had just enough to eat (for a few weeks) and to make a heaping apple pie.

I can almost smell the apples just by looking at the photos-

- we picked these after we picked raspberries - honeycrisp is our favorite variety -

- the first fall orchard trip was E's class field trip -

- rows and rows of trees filled with apples - aren't they beautiful! -

- these kids were tired when it was time to go - such a fun day -

- this is E, enjoying the hayride -

- best 19.99 i ever spent - old timey apple peeler! -

- dutch apple - and homemade pie crust -

- streuseled and ready for the oven -

- done, and i am happy to report that every piece was enjoyed -

* * * * *

A note about this pie- I'm not sure if I'm allowed to give out my sister's husband's family recipe, but I will say
it is easy. I think the secret to good pie anyway, is the crust. People get intimidated by pie crust,

but it is so simple. Butter, flour, salt, cold water. I use a food processor, too. Done.

in the details:

check out these two must-haves for apple pie and pie crust:

pastry cloth - i do not wash mine, after use i seal it in a ziplock and store it in the fridge

apple peeler & corer - i purchased mine at a local kitchen store for 19.99

plant friday: orchards part 1

 I've been out to pick apples, raspberries and pumpkins five different times this fall.
Obsessed you say? It's true. I love raspberries for raspberry jam. I love apples for apple pie, apple crisp and keeping the doctor away. But I may love pumpkins most of all. Pumpkins are so friendly and colorful.

They scream fall and cozy! Don't you just want to knock on the person's door who has them beautifully piled up on their front porch and invite yourself in for dinner and a glass of wine?! Or is that just me.

Here are some of our adventures in raspberry picking photos-

- with raspberries, look for low hanging, bent over branches - that's where you find the treasure -

- i had to lay on the ground for this photo - aren't they beautiful -

- koko and his buddy - he ate ten berries for every one i picked -

- this amount of raspberries makes 6 smaller jars of jam -

- canning jam really is easy and makes a great gift during the holidays-

A few notes about raspberry jam-
Jam is made by cooking the whole fruit (chopped or crushed, but using the whole fruit). Jelly is made with the juice from the fruit. In the old house, our favorite is raspberry jam.

I use this recipe to remind myself of the approximate ratios and canning steps.
I do not weigh my berries; I use about eight cups. I use only 3 1/2 cups of sugar. Pectin is not needed in raspberry jam. Pectin is naturally occurring in fruit and when you cook it with sugar at high temperatures,
you get the gel effect. That's how I understand it anyway!

 * * * * *

in the details:

thanks, Kim, for a fun morning with our boys at the orchard

Kylie, you are my jam/canning inspiration

and, yes, sitting on the old house's front porch is a bountiful display of gourds and pumpkins

more vestibule

Much of our September spare time revolved around restoring the old house's
original vestibule doors, and I am happy to report that the doors have officially been installed. I feel I must qualify this statement though; these lovely doors still need help.

I will not give you every detail, but I will tell you that finding nearly 100 year old hardware to fit the doors was not easy. We've learned a few things along the way; for example, to remove layers of paint from
old brass hinges, soak them in ammonia overnight. It really works! If you Google it, there are other methods, but this worked great for us. And you know how you can go to a big, box store and buy nicely packaged, sets of door hardware?... not the case here. Every door is a little different, as is every piece of hardware.

After getting the doors up, we realized the stationary door is too tight. We don't get overly frustrated about stuff like this anymore, as we have come to expect complications with every old house project.
This particular issue is settling. The old house has settled just enough that we are not able to close this door. It is not my favorite thing to do, but planing a door is something we have much experience with.
We hope to get some time to work on it this weekend- I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, here's the before and a few progress photos:

- when we moved in - view photos in previous post here -

- left door is the stationary door - it will close a little more than that, but not much -

- from the other side -

- wood that was used a long time ago to fill in the hinge mortises - kinda cool, right? -

* * * * *

disappointment

Why do we set ourselves up for disappointment?

Why do we expect the worst, but hope for the best (fingers crossed)?

I know I am writing about something that has long been pondered. I can sit here and list off numerous situations in my life when I have wrestled with expectations, or tried not to have any.

We tell ourselves not to have too many expectations or too much hope and excitement.

But, are we any less disappointed, crushed or hurt when it doesn't work out? Is the pain of rejection, miscarriage of a baby, failed cancer treatment, forgotten or neglected important days, and the pain of things not working out as we thought they would, eased any by our preparedness? For me, the answer is no.

But I believe disappointment serves a purpose. Without it, we lack resilience.

Without it, we lack motivation and perseverance. I do not want to dim my hope to guard against the pain or sadness of disappointment. Perhaps, when we do this, we are robbing ourselves of the full and pure joy
we can experience when our hopes and expectations are fulfilled.

What I know:  We all face disappointment, and at times we may feel like we cannot escape its grip.
Even in the face of disappointment, we have hope.

* * * * *

You know, I have hesitated over publishing this post for a few weeks now.
I am not sure why. Maybe it's because all of those we's are really I's, and that is personal; it is more
personal than most of what I share.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18

* * * * *