What a treat!

A trip to Martha's Bloomers.

Featured in Southern Living magazine's list
of "Top 50 Shops" and list of "Top 10 Tea Rooms in Texas".
And home to the world's largest teapot!

Lovely blossoms

and blooms

everywhere you look.

And a cozy tea room

to enjoy lunch.
(I had the quiche and roasted red pepper soup!)

A pot of Martha's Bloomers famous

orange spice tea,

and lovely desserts

complete the visit. :-)

It's the first day of fall!

No matter how busy the day,

there are a few simple things that are

first day of fall traditions for me. :-)

using autumn paper plates at breakfast

drinking hazlenut coffee

eating honey crisp apples for snack

listening to my favorite
"autumn soundtrack"

making the house smell like
apples and cinnamon

and putting out a few more fall decorations

like this beautiful leaves and acorns plate
that my sister made for me last year

What do you like to do to celebrate the first day of fall?? :-)

Autumn Spice Muffins

Autumn Spice Muffins

12 servings

1/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup milk

cinnamon and sugar

Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk until combined. Fill greased or lined muffin cups half full. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm and enjoy!

Supper Menus
September 21st-26th

Monday
cheese tortellini, caesar salad, sour dough bread
Tuesday
beef and chicken fajitas, spanish rice, pinto beans
Wednesday
leftovers
Thursday
autumn chowder, country white bread, apple dumplings
Friday
out for supper
Saturday
spiral pasta salad

A "made up" cake!

chocolate cake mix

butter

cream cheese

coconut

chocolate frosting

I just made it up as I went along...

Turned out pretty tasty! :-)

"The real things haven't changed.

It is still best to be honest and truthful;

to make the most of what we have;

to be happy with simple pleasures;

and have courage when things go wrong."

~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

Blueberry Morning

I've been tweaking a blueberry muffin recipe.

I added sour cream to the batter...

Wow! :-)

Supper Menus
September 14th-19th

Monday
jalapeno chicken enchiladas, refried beans, tortilla chips, picante sauce
Tuesday
fried chicken tenders, mashed potatoes, brown gravy, fried okra, baked beans, dinner rolls
Wednesday
spaghetti, tossed salad
Thursday
tortilla soup
Friday
grilled steaks, twice baked potatoes, lettuce and tomato salad, dinner rolls, chocolate coconut cake
Saturday
out for supper

The 9/12 Project

Mr. H. and one of his brothers took part in the

September 12th

March on Washington.

A few other people were there, too. ;-)


"No people will tamely surrender their Liberties,

nor can any be easily subdued,

when knowledge is diffused and Virtue is preserved.

On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant,

and debauched in their Manners,

they will sink... under their own weight

without the Aid of foreign Invaders."

~Samuel Adams, letter to James Warren, 1775

"Qui tacet consentit"

Never Forget

September 11, 2001

Summer's End

Tonight's supper was

end of summer harvest soup
from

a year of slow cooking

It was rainy this evening

and it really hit the spot. :-)

Mr. H.'s ATV Adventures

Mr. H. has been 4wheeling again!

On the mountain ATV trails of beautiful New Mexico.

Just a bunch of guys doing guy things.

And having a great time at it! ;-)



Mr. H. never forgets to take a few scenery pictures for me. :-)

Welcome home! We missed you!

Magazine Storage for the Magazine Addicted ;-)

Most organizational books and popular television programs about organizing and decluttering are likely to tell you that one of the best things that you can do to clear out some clutter is to get rid of all those magazines laying around. The ones you never read and that are gathering dust and taking up space. "Get rid of all but the latest issues!" they tell us.

Well, that happens to be one organizing tip that I have never followed! ;-) I keep lots of my old magazines because I do refer to them for inspiration and ideas. In order to do this, though, I need to keep the magazines stored in a way that will make getting to and using the magazines practical for me.

I store my magazines in six rubber maid containers. This keeps them safe from dust or potential water damage. In the containers, they are organized by month.

I keep all the containers under the bed. They are easy to get to, but are also hidden from view. The key to making them useful is to take out a few issues of each magazine for each month.

I store these in my nightstand. I have about two dozen "September" issues in the drawer right now, just waiting to be looked through in the evenings or when I have a little extra time. The articles, crafts, recipes, and ideas will all be relevant to the season, and if I didn't get to something last year, maybe I will this time around. At the end of September, I will put these back in the containers under the bed and replace them with October issues.

My monthly Taste of Home issues are stored in two binders in the kitchen so they will be handy for menu planning.

If you are a maggazine addict like me,

I hope this gives you some ideas

for keeping your magazines around a little longer.

Happy magazine reading! :-)

I just couldn't end this post without sharing how I acquired these binders. They are very special to me. :-) I purchased them with a $20 gift certificate that Riemann Publications sent me for contributing to an article in Country Woman several years ago. It was about funny things that children say and I shared a story from our supper table when my son was about three years old. We were having spaghetti that evening, and as soon as we sat down, my son quickly reminded me that I hadn't put everything we needed for our meal on the table. He requested the "pizza sugar". It took me a moment, but I soon realized that he was asking for the parmesan cheese! ;-) We had a chuckle that night and down the road it earned Momma a gift certificate for a storage solution! :-)

Caramel Apple Crisp

Caramel Apple Crisp

12 servings

3 cups oats
2 cups flour
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup butter
8 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples
1 package (14 ounces) caramels, halved
1 cup apple cider, divided

Combine oats, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon; cut in butter until crumbly. Press half of the mixture into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Layer with half of the apples, caramels and 1 cup oat mixture. Repeat layers. Pour 1/2 cup cider over top. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes. Drizzle with remaining cider; bake 15-20 minutes longer or until apples are tender. Serve warm and enjoy!