Hey, October . . . Who Invited You?

Without my noticing,
the month of October muscled its way onto my
calendar, and pretty much KO'd Summer.

See the little guy, below?

That's Rudy, our ghostest with the mostest.

Rudy tells me to get over it, to gracefully relinquish the long days

and soft nights of Summer, and accept the flamboyant decay of Fall.

Okay.

In a few short weeks, our yard will look like this - 

colorful, and messy:

It's not all bad; I do have my favorites in the Fall.

Like, pumpkins.

 I'm looking forward to another pumpkin carving smackdown with

my daughter Anne, in which we will each take a round orange orb,

scoop out its guts, and turn it into an artistic masterpiece.

 I'll do something like this:

And . . . Anne will do something like this,

totally humbling me.

 These were our 2012 initial attempts.  Anne just got better with practice.

I got more ambitious, and more disastrous.  And, okay - ridiculous.

Then, there are the tomatoes.

What is it about tomato plants, that as frost approaches,

they just start pooping out more and more of their product?

Even at That Old House, our hardscrabble tomato plants

are still pumping out the goods, 

although I'm leaving most for the local critters now.

Cold weather coming; they need to EAT.

I do love me a good farm stand in October.

Who doesn't like piles of warty, ugly gourds?

And, inside the house, it's time to break out the orange.

Vintage lustre cream jug and sugar bowl,
hand-painted, Japan. So cute. I found them at Somerville
Center Antiques, before I had a booth there.

Including linens, like this big tablecloth.

Hand embroidered pure vintage cotton,
also found at Somerville Center Antiques.

And dishes like Johnson Brothers Fresh Fruit pattern,

a Craigslist bargain from 2 years ago.

(I'd tell you how little I paid for service for 8, with lots of extras,

in mint condition, but I'm almost embarrassed.  Almost.  Okay, since you're my friend: $20.)

 Fall does have its good side.

Fall decorating is crazy easy, because pumpkins and mums

and cornstalks and hay bales and orange and yellow and

gold and brown and red and purple - yes, purple - are so photogenic.

You kind of can't miss.

Which means that tomorrow I probably should get

those boxes marked "Autumn" up from the dungeon cellar,

and start falling for Fall.

But I'll still miss Summer,

and I'll never get used to the days shrinking up.

Wow, I am really stubborn, aren't I?

I hope your Thursday is a good one,

and maybe I'll see you here tomorrow; I've got some furniture to feature.

Best wishes to you all -- Cass

Autumn actually used to be my favorite season.

Now, it signals the end of another year,

and I guess the older I get,

the less I like that.
Paging Doctor Freud . . . .