Mantel Mania

Delicious temperatures, the first of the changing leaves, and the date on the calendar all have me ready to “fallify” my house.

My mantel, so cool and restful in the heat of summer, now looks cold and forlorn.

Not to mention the plant is dead.

The lone sad pumpkin added by DD#1 last weekend needs friends.

Exploration of blogland has yielded some inspiration.

Wire bird cage filled with old books.  Yum.  I love this simple, classy mantel from Oh Write.

Over at my blessed life, the famous dollar store apothecary jars are filled with gourds and cinnamon sticks.  The background has old book pages and scrapbook paper accents.  Be still my heart.

Y’all know how I feel about color, but I LOVE the combination of textures on this monochromatic mantel from Tracy’s Trinkets and Treasures.  Thinking, thinking—the wheels are turning for making this work at my house.

Finally, my sweet bloggy friend Elizabeth  made this adorable burlap banner to accent her already gorgeous mantel.

I’m off to the basement for a shopping trip!

Be blessed!

Ginger

Calling All Shutterbugs

I need your help!

I am in the market for a DSLR.

I don’t want to pay a fortune, but this camera has to make me happy for a l-o-n-n-g-g time.

So….

Nikon D3000?

Canon Rebel T2i?

Olympus something or other?

What makes you happy about your camera?

For me, great prints are the deal breaker; I don’t care about video.

Thanks!

Be blessed!

Ginger

Odds and Ends (More Odd than anything)

I have about 15 seconds to write this post, but I wanted to throw some stuff out there for the world to see.

1. First, a shout-out to my new followers!  I’ve noticed your arrival over the last few weeks, I appreciate you so much!  Thanks for reading.  I promise to one day make sense. Pinky-promise.

PS I heart comments. ;-0

2. The Apple Bistro Pizza was fabulous! ( You should trust me, Kristy!)  A tad less garlic would have suited Big Red, but overall, it’s a winner.

3. Local gals: Nov. 13 is the Fall Ladies’ Gathering at our church.  Please join us! I’m speaking.  Pray hard.

4. Kinda makes you want to say hmmmm……  I read an article that pointed out a bizarre phenomenon: both Oprah and NBC hosted discussions on improving education featuring “experts”—but NO teachers.

Um. An expert in education who isn’t an educator.  Let me ponder this while I grade papers, plan lessons, wait until my planning time to go the bathroom teach.

6.  I’m done fussing, promise.

7. For now.

8. My one-year blogaversary is coming up soon!   A celebration is in order.

9. One day soon it will be autumn and stay autumn for more than three days.  I wait expectantly.

10.  That’s all for now! Be blessed, imaginary friends! 

Ginger

In the Night Watches

For several weeks, insomnia has been my steady, unwelcome companion.  A completely new schedule this school year has changed our family’s lifestyle drastically, and my body needed time to adjust.

For this morning girl, it hasn’t been fun.

Over the summer, our Sunday School class has studied the armor of God, and like any good teacher with unlimited resources, God planned a field trip.

In my night watches, I see the shadowy figure of my enemy, crouched just out of view.

I strain to hear the heartbeat of my Champion, my Knight.

There He is. 

The dawn of His face pierces my night vision.

(photo from wallpaperbase.com)

He illuminates treasures scattered on the ground:

enthusiastic students

the tender affection of Big Red

friends who cry and laugh

words of Scripture and of song that leap from the page.

I run into His arms and await the Light.

I will give you the treasures of darkness,
       riches stored in secret places,
       so that you may know that I am the LORD,
       the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

Isaiah 45:3

Be blessed.

Ginger

In this Season

In this season at our home,

there is

little cleaning,

much chaos,

little sleep,

much of the Word,

little grocery shopping,

much prayer,

little organization,

much worshipping.

Someone Should Try This

Recently I discovered Hobby Farm Home magazine.

Have you all been reading it for years now and failed to mention it to me?

Homey and practical, it gives this displaced farm girl a chance to reminisce.

In the Sept/Oct issue, there’s a recipe that would definitely have never made it onto my mother’s table, but it sounds deliciously intriguing.

(Some of you are thinking that food should never be intriguing, even deliciously so.  Stay with me here.)

Now that local apple house brim with first fruits, this unique dish will make its appearance on my table this weekend.  It has all sorts of yummy things I love but have never put together.

Try it first and let me know how it goes. ;-)

Bistro Apple Pizza

1 12 inch prepared pizza crust

2 tsp. garlic, minced

2 T olive oil

2 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach

1 1/2 cups cored, peeled, and thinly sliced apple

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1 cup blue, Gorgonzola, or feta cheese

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 tsp dried oregano

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Sauté garlic in olive oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Brush olive oil blend onto pizza crust.  Distribute spinach evenly over crust.  Sprinkle apples on top.  Blend cheeses and distribute evenly over apples.  Sprinkle with oregano.  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until cheese bubbles.  Makes 8 slices.

See, I told you it was intriguing.

Be blessed today!

Ginger

 

Somewhere in the Top 200…

. . . of my new favorite songs is this new one from Casting Crowns.   Watch it for the visual of the woman at Christ’s feet, with His hand on her head.

That would be me.

 

Be blessed.

Ginger

Family Portraits

I painted our family portrait on a plate back in 2005:

Here’s the one I painted this summer:

My, how we’ve grown!

Praying you’ll know how blessed you are today,

Ginger

Romancing Autumn

A week of temperatures more reminiscent of October than early September has gotten us all in the mood for fall around here.

(Well, most of us.  There is that one family member who thinks all seasons should be spent at the beach.  Today she did have a pumpkin spice frappucino, a concession to September.)

Saturday mornings are made for yummy, special breakfasts.  To honor a gorgeous, deliciously cool weekend, DD#2 whipped up Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Waffles.

She took our basic waffle recipe:

2 cups self-rising flour or

2 cups flour, 1 T baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs, separated

1 1/2 cups milk

5 T. shortening, melted

and added

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 T sugar, optional

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt, if you don’t have self-rising.  In a small bowl, beat egg yolks, milk, and shortening, pumpkin, and spice.  Add to dry ingredients.  Beat egg whites and fold into batter.  Pour into hot waffle iron, sprinkle with chocolate chips (if desired, and who wouldn’t?)  and cook.

Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Yum.

DD#1 is wondering where the pumpkin cinnamon rolls are. I haven’t made those yet this year; I’ll save those for the leaf change, still a few weeks away.

Be blessed!

Ginger

Linking up to Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesday Tastes. Tuesdays at the Table

10 Good Things about a Week that Kinda Wasn’t

1.  I hid these in my cabinet.

2. The color of homegrown tomatoes makes me smile.

3. Temperature on my porch every morning this week (with highs today forecasted in the upper seventies!):

4. This man sweats on my deck every Saturday after his run.

5. Pumpkin-chocolate chip waffles with whipped cream and nutmeg:

6. Sleeping a total of 18 hours the last two nights after 10 days of insomnia drove me here at midnight to avoid waking Big Red:

7. After wrestling with a broken sliding glass door all summer, I want to open and close this new paned one 10 times a day just for fun.

8. Tiny rows of collards in our mini-garden:

9. Spotted on a maple tree in our yard:

10.  This Word remains sure and strong, no matter what:

Psalm 62:11-12 (New International Version)

¹¹ One thing God has spoken,
       two things have I heard:
       that you, O God, are strong,

¹² and that you, O Lord, are loving.
       Surely you will reward each person
       according to what he has done.

Counting my blessings,

Ginger