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 . . . .

Letting Go Of Summer

Okay, I admit it.
It is Fall, and it's time to think of Fall things.
Like, what to do with these:

Pay no attention to the shutter that's off its bottom pintle.
It's been set to rights.  Just make believe it is straight.

Back in late Spring, I bought 3 Boston ferns at Trader Joe's for $9 apiece.  

Think I can find space for them indoors when the weather turns ugly?

They are ee-NOR-moos.

This must be said in a charming Italian accent, and no, I won't explain why.

Then there's the balcony geranium, which was fuller and 

more bloom-y a few weeks ago, but is still churning out the goods.

I need a bigger house.  There's not enough ceiling to hang them all.

There are also two nice asparagus ferns, in iron plant holders on
either side of the front door.  They too are growing their little hearts out.

I hate to think of tossing all these gorgeous big plants!

And speaking of turning outside stuff into inside stuff,

how 'bout them hydrangeas?

Lace caps, on the side of That Old House,

in full bloom back in July, during that heat wave.

Pink and blue flowers on one plant.  Neat-o.

And as they are now.

Kinda peaky.
Although tastefully pale and interesting.

Do you think they'll look good dried?  
They are almost there already.

I used to dry the big mopheads every fall and they'd last all winter.

But my 3 mophead bushes yielded ONE bloom this season.

This was it, our entire crop of big hydrangea blooms:

I guess it couldn't hurt to try with the lacecaps, huh?
Nothing ventured, and all that jazz. -- Cass

Just found out I'm working tomorrow at the antiques center.  See you Friday!

Link Parties

At Savvy Southern Style, it's Wow Us Wednesday.  

I'm not sure I've wow'd anyone, but I'm jumping onto the link wagon anyway.  Click here!

Outdoor Wednesday is the Link Party at A Southern Daydreamer.

Join Susan and her guests . . . just click here!