THERE'S A PUMPKIN IN MY CLOSET!

No really!

Way in the back...you know that sweater you never wear because it's too shrinky, bally, stained, buttons missing, outdated, etc??????

Tis the season to turn it into a harvest pumkin! If you are fresh out of unfortunate sweaters, you can find some el cheapo at your local thrift store.

The concept is simple and requires no sewing!!!! You just need 2 elastics, your sweater, stuffing (not Stove Top silly!) some jute or wool and your trusty glue gun if you want to get fancy.

Lay out your sweater flat. Now measure up from the bottom of your sweater about 12 -14 inches and cut through both  layers. Turn inside out and gather the top (cut edge) of your piece into an elastic band winding around til nice and tight. Turn inside out again and stuff with fiberfill, then gather the remaining finished edge with another elastic. See, it's almost done!

 You can use jute to wrap around your 'pumpkin' to section it into 6 pieces so it looks more pumpkiny and also wind it around the stem, securing with a glue gun. 

All the ones I have seen are fairly plain, but I like to gussy things up, so added embellishments, like silk leaves (buy a dollar store garland and take off the leaves), bits of artificial fruit, pine cones, birds, ribbon, feathers etc. 

I have also made these with part of a sleeve. They are miniature size and perfect for fall dinner placecards with a paper leaf with the guest's name written on it and tied to the stem. (You know you want to do this!)

Here are a few of my creations.

This one is made from a cardigan with a ruffle down the front

Happy closet hunting!

REAL TEARS

After 27 years of being a single Mom, I met someone 5 years ago.

The circumstances were somewhat unusual. I was happily content and not looking for a relationship.

One day, I was busy at my Tea Room when 3 people came in for lunch. They identified themselves as children of an elderly couple, now deceased that I had known for over 40 years. I had known of their children but had never met any of them. These children had known my ex-inlaws for over 50 years and had also known about me. (How strange is that?)

They were from out of town and had gone to the nursing home to visit my ex-mother-in-law. She told them about me, how I cared for her all those years and about my little store......so they decided to visit. She passed away 3 days later, so if they hadn't visited when they did, we may never have met! (People had often suggested that she was no longer my responsibility, but I loved her and she needed me and it was the right thing to do.)

Because of that serendipitous meeting, and several other 'chance' encounters I am now married to Art who was one of those Tea Room visitors. Once again God showed me how he rewards our faithfulness when we do what he asks us to do. 

I wrote the following poem for Art when we were finding each other.

Kleenex advisory....it's a gripper!

Real Tears

Real tears were cried in the course of today.

Eyes swimming,
 brimming.

Drops sliding,
 colliding.

Healing tears washed over me today.

Wound bathing,
 abrading.

Scars tracing,
 erasing.

Beautiful tears filled me up today.

Heart tended,
 watered,

Soul lavished,
 cherished.

Small sips at first today,

Testing the feel of love.

Showered,
 then empowered
 by love today.

Sweet tears……….
 Because of you.

Psalm 30:5 Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning.

           

A piano story

   ….to the tune of.....

 ‘God loves to surprise us.’

 

Did you ever want something so badly and couldn’t think how in the world you were ever going to acquire it?

Well for me it was a piano.

 I spent my childhood and teen years pouring over the keyboard, emoting the classics and then the songs of the church. Sadness and joy erupted on those ivories. It was my go-to place for solace and expression.

Years later my daughter showed some interest in learning to play, and even though the idea of a piano was out of the question for a just-surviving single Mom, somehow I knew that God would grant this desire of my heart. (Unlike today, where people leave perfectly good pianos curbside, or post them for free on Craigslist, we actually had to purchase them. I wonder if someday they will prove valuable again)

I prayed. 

It was fall oozing into winter. I wondered what extra I could do to earn money. My thoughts went to making gingerbread houses to sell as that was something I had always done for my kids. I had made elaborate ones….a 2-storey dollhouse embellished with rose-strewn wallpaper made from frosting and furnished with gingerbread furniture and lit up for Christmas, and office buildings, and circus trains and mail boxes stuffed with Christmas cards. But they took days to make…. No one could ever pay me for the time it took.

Then I had an idea. 

(or did that idea come from somewhere else?????)

What if I made little individual houses, so each child in the family could have their own? I could market them as a little Christmas eve treat. I figured I could make 10 houses out of the same amount of dough as for one big one. I could make a pattern and create them assembly line fashion and even personalize them with specific candies to the child’s liking.

Well I started.

 ……up early every morning to make the dough, cut out the pieces and bake enough for 10 houses…all before going to work. At night, I assembled 10 houses, decorated 10 from the night before, and wrapped 10 from before that in cello. I took them to work, to craft fairs, even sold wholesale to a couple of gift stores. My sister-in-law Celeste had me make tiny white churches, with stained-glass windows and steeples to give out to each family at the Christmas Eve service at her church.

I was exhausted come December 23rd

 but $1200.00 richer. 

I had looked often in the paper but had been discouraged to see that all the pianos were quite expensive, a long way away and of recent vintage. In my mind’s eye, the piano would be an antique with rich dark wood…a little ornate.

It seemed like my dream of a piano for Christmas had been a bit ambitious. I sat down after supper that evening and picked up the local paper not really expecting to find anything. I was shocked to see a piano for sale for only

…..guess what??? 

Yes!

 $1200.00!!!

 And it was only 3 blocks away!

 I hurried over and when I saw the piano, I’m sure I gasped. 

It. was. the. one. in. my. head!!!!!

 And to top it off, it met a dire need of the couple who owned it. Two Christmases were blessed by this one piano! I hadn’t really thought of the logistics and cost of transporting it home, but I needn’t have worried because as it turns out, the owner's brother was a piano mover and the move was included in the price. (Of course it was!)

 Thank-you God!!!

I won’t soon forget the look on my children’s faces as that piano was rolled into our home on Christmas Eve, 

nor the amazing sense of excitement,

 gratefulness,

 joy

I experienced.

The piano is now gone these many years later. It was sold to provide for another need but it will always remain a concrete example to me of how God knows us intimately and as we are faithful to him, he often takes delights in surprising us with the desires of our hearts.

Chapter 2.

Recently, my sister-in-law passed away, and her boys have decided they want me to have her piano. I’m rusty, my fingers not nearly as nimble, but it comes back quickly and I’m anxious to rekindle that special relationship I had years ago with an inanimate piece of wood that sung my heart and soul and dreams and made beautiful music with just the touch of my hands.

Once again, I feel like a child …a child who is loved and valued, 

whose parent takes joy in fulfilling that impossible wish.

 I am secure and safe and blessed among God’s children.

It’s Christmas all over again!

                                                          

                                                                            

MARCHING INTO FALL……gaining perspective

Fall.

It's a crispy kind of season.

 It offers crisp air, crisper leaves and maybe even apple crisp.

It feels good to start pulling out the woollies…they have so much more substance than our flighty summer togs, speaking comfort and warmth and curling up by a fire…tweed jackets and angora pullovers and leather boots and fleece-lined coats.

We know cold is lurking (actually it’s the rain and damp for me where I live), so every morsel of sunlit warmth and blue sky takes on a magical quality. We revel in it, although a month ago we were taking it for granted …perhaps even voicing complaint when the thermometer rose too high for our liking. We have a new perspective now. We have moved into cherishing mode. We see what we are losing and we grasp and enjoy and hold on till the last bit of juice is gone.

Sounds a bit like the rest of our lives, doesn’t it? We complain that our precious beautiful children are so much work and wish their lives away hoping to speed them more quickly into self-sufficiency. Then one day we wake up and their adorable little selves are gone and we are staring into the acned faces of creatures that are now capable but at the same time seemingly incapable (or at least reluctant) to find their way into adulthood. We reminisce about the good old days when the children were small and so cute and went to bed at a decent hour and a time when there was still a thing or two we knew more about than they did. And so we hang onto the vestiges of those childish charms that surface every once in a while and perhaps decide to enjoy the remaining days these young adults will spend under our roof.

Workdays, we complain about getting up early, about the traffic, of being over-worked and under-paid. We dislike our bosses and feel under-appreciated. But then suddenly we are unemployed and we would give anything to have that job back. Or retirement comes and we are bored and disconnected and fresh out of any sense of purpose. We remember our working days differently perhaps. Our days were full then and we had ideas and interaction and were productive. It’s like we counted back then. Now we’re not so sure.

How many of us return with nostalgia to a place in our minds when we were first starting out, where our furniture was cobbled together from our parent’s cast-offs, second-hand stores and an assortment of planks and cinderblocks? We remember how happy we were, living on love and pork and beans, proud to be able to pay the bills and make it on our own. Now we live in our grand homes and stress about paying the mortgage and keeping our décor current while working longer hours to keep our heads above water and seldom remembering to carve time out for the simple pleasures of just being together.

So I guess what I want to say is……………

find your pleasure,

 your purpose,

 your joy in today.

You have been given today.

 There is no promise of a tomorrow.

Love  and value every moment.

Love everyone in your day. Hugs are good.

A SNOOP AROUND MY BOOTH

Just a few pics of things I have in my booth at the Fort Langley Antique Mall. It is one of 55 booths so there is always something to look at. Mine are mostly vintage items that I fall in love with.

My selection changes regularly (one hopes) My spot is called LUCILLE'S 

(what a co-inkidink!)

If you are ever in the Vancouver area and want to come out to Fort Langley, let me know and I will meet you there. We could do serious damage!

My email is : marianneloades@shaw.ca    (please don't spam me!)

CAN'T BUY ME LOVE

..........Goodness knows I've tried! Well not with money....but you know what  I mean don't you?

I remenber being in Grade 2 and befriending a little girl whose name was Lynda. I noticed that she was always alone......no gaggle of 7 year-old girls clustered around her. She and I often went to her house right by the school to eat our lunch. She started offering me things. One day I brought home a little Golden Book she had given me. Mother said something I will always remember, "Give it back to her. Tell her thanks, but that she doesn't need to buy your friendship."

Friendship, like love is something we freely give. If it is co-erced, pushed, orchestrated or manipulated then it is not real. It is hollow and the sound and feel of hollow is well.....hollow!

I have experienced both real love and friendship....the kind where words are extraneous.....where a look in the eye or a hand on the arm says everything. I have been in hopeless situations where people who know how to love gave of themselves and their resources to rescue me from despair. I have friends who know my very heart and soul and the connection we have goes deep.

But I have also tried to buy love. I have been the doormat,trampled threadbare by unwarranted criticism, my self-esteem oozing out of my pores by the minute. I've also perfected the art of the silent martyr..."I'll just try harder" although aready taxed to the max.

I have stood up for myself demanding respect and love, expressed my needs, loved unconditionally, cried buckets......all to no avail.

In the end, we all know that love or an offer of friendship involves a decision. We choose a person as a whole package, admiring or identifying with certain traits, but also accepting their less than finer points. We can't make others love us. They either do or they don't. Eventually we make a decision whether to keep caring in spite of how we are treated or to walk away.

I have heard stories of women who have acted in love to a lesser than stellar husband, often starved for any morsel of kindness or expression of caring. They have purposed to love no matter whether that love was ever returned and have gradually seen an amazing transformation take place in thier husband's lives, and have gone on to have rich, rewarding marriages.

Not everyone is capable of that but maybe we should lean in that direction. Our love, our friendship can change the world for hurting people who are stuck in and responding to old wounds that are still gaping We can be their salve.

That's what God does. He loves in spite....not because. There is no price to pay, no measuring rod, no list to follow.......just love freely given. He loves everything about us, delights in us when we use the talents and abilities he's gifted us, adores us when we mess up, waits patiently till we turn around and see him for who he is, tolerates our ingratitude, forgives our shortcomings, desires us.

Not a bad model to follow

FALL'S BOUNTY

Well so far on the west coast we're not feeling very fallish. But it is the perfect time to nab some of that fresh autumn produce and put some warming soup away in the freezer.

One of my favourites is:

  PARSNIP AND PEAR SOUP

First of all, sorry there are no pics. I made this and the puffs for dinner but got too excited to eat and forgot to immortalize them....so sad. So fire me!

Even if you aren't totally in love with parsnips you will love this soup, sweetened with pears. I like it for a first course for an autumn meal or as a main for lunch served with pear and cheese puff triangles

 (recipe below)

Melt 4 Tbs butter and saute 2 cups chopped onions and 1/2 cup chopped celery til tender.

Combine above in a large pot with 1 lb. (about 5 medium) parsnips peeled and cut up, 1 lb. (about 3) pears peeled and  cut up along with 4 cups chicken stock (or water) and cook til tender.
 Puree with an immersion blender or a regular one.
Add s and p and1/8 tsp. each of nutmeg and cinnamon.
Stir in 1 cup of cream (milk if you must) and heat through.
I also like to add some fresh thyme. Taste and add more salt if needed or even a bit of brown sugar.Serve with a swirl of cream, a thin slice of pear, a sprinkle of nutmeg and a sprig of thyme.

If you want to add a nice sweet layer of flavour to this soup, simply rosat the whole parsnips for 20 minutes or so then add halved pears and onions and roast another 30 minutes or so til tender and browned before making the soup above. You can roast a bunch ahead of time and freeze for the  days you're feeling 'soupish'.Then all you have to do is add stock and seasonings and you're ready to go.

FRUIT AND CHEESE PUFFS

Roll out one square of puff pastry. (it comes in a package of 2 squares)
into a square.
Cut into  4 pieces (squarish)
Saute half a sliced onion in butter til nicely caramelized.
Top each piece of pastry with some onion, overlapping pear slices (you don't have to peel) and some sharp shredded cheddar cheese. (a little fresh thyme is also nice)
Bake at 400 til pastry is nicely browned and apples are tender
Cut each square into 2 triangles for serving.

These also make great appetizers if you cut the dough into tiny squares. Just chop the pears smaller and mix with the cheese and onions and put a spoonful on top of each square.

I also love these with apple slices and gruyere cheese or nectarines and a light cheese like monterey jack or mozzarella.



This is also the perfect time to buy green onions and  red peppers while they are inexpensive and chop and freeze for recipes in the winter.If you freeze the red peppers in 4 cup bags, you will be ready when I post my Red Pepper Soup recipe.

 Next week I will post the recipe for Easy  (and I do mean easy) Bread and Butter Pickles courtesy of my sweet sister-in-law May. These disappear quickly so you will want to make lots.


Remember to be thankful!

measuring up

Someone recently said to me, "You know, you're smart. You could have been successful."

I eloquently responded, "wha-a-a-a-a????????

Someone: "Well you know. You could have been an executive or something, been really successful."

Me: (mouth agape, eyes bulging) "I was successful."

Someone: I mean you could have been really successful....made a lot of money."

Me: " I was.........I am successful.

 I'm a good Mom, Grammy, friend, neighbour.

 I use the gifts I've been given to help others, to bring joy.

 I was able to make a living doing things that were my passion.

.

 I  provided for the needs of my family.

 I have had many opportunities to serve others.

 I have loved unlovable people.

 I have picked myself up and moved on from hard places.

I have triumphed in the midst of storms.

I have come to know myself and be content.

I have peace in my heart,

 joy in my soul,

 sense of purpose,

 love,

 mercy

 and forgiveness from my heavenly father

 and assurance of my eternal future.

Now I ask you, What part of any of that has to do with money?

SHEESH!!!!

How do you measure up? Do you gauge yourself by the expectations of demanding parents, an unreasonable boss, a superwoman girlfriend, a fashion magazine? 

We all have to live our lives among people and perform to the best of our ability. But if that means always living your life in a way to please others,or selling your soul to get that promotion or working to the neglect of those you love to earn the big bucks, or staying in a job that robs your very spirit than I say.....no matter how successful you look on the outside,

 you're really not.

Being successful means fulfilling the unique task of becoming the best one and only you you can be. Who knows what that looks like better than you?

Who will be you if you don't take it seriously? 

The world will be robbed.

I like the scripture's definition of success in God's eyes....

to act justly,

 love mercy

 and walk humbly with your God.

Now that's what I'm talking about.

THINGS THAT MAKE ME SWOON.......

There are special things that pull at our heartstrings. We prize them not so much for their value but for the thought, the emotion, the sentiment, the giver and the way we feel when we lay our eyes upon them (I've never actually seen anybody lay down their eyes on something and not sure I could stomach that but I think you know what I mean.)

These are some of my faves:

This tiny cup and saucer has double meaning for me. It first captured my heart some 57 years ago when it was gifted to me by my dad. I don't remember ever receiving a gift apart from a birthday or Christmas, but this time Dad had been away for work in Niagara Falls and he brought this home to me. Actually, I lie. It wasn't this one but one very similar with a Niagara Falls logo on it. I adored it

mostly because he gave it to me and because I know that he knew I would fall in love with the little bird handle.

Dad passed away suddenly a couple of years later and the little cup and saucer became even more precious. One day, many years after, I broke it, and that broke my heart. It seemed such a betrayal and I mourned its loss.

Many, many years later, my dear friend and business partner at the TeaRoom, Carol and I were lined up early, early one cold fall morning at a collectible sale at a thrift store. While we wiled away the hours waiting for the sale to begin, we viewed the articles in the window and chose our favourites, hoping they would still be there when it was our turn to enter. I espied the little cup and saucer pictured above and I jumped up and down with excitement. When our numbers were called we ran into the store. I headed straight for my treasure, but it was already gone. I found other things to buy but somehow the allure was no longer there. 

Later we met back in the car and I expressed my sadness at not securing the little duplicate. It was then that Carol handed me a little parcel. I wondered..what in the world? Well you guessed it.... She had bought it for me!

Now you know why I love it. It has little monetary value but it is a symbol of love....twice over. Don't you just adore this story???

Chenille. I love the colours and designs and the cosiness, but I probably love it most because it evokes a memory.......yep, that big iron bed sported one. Oh for those simple, carefree days!!!

 

A September bouquet from my garden.....rose, hydrangea, sweet pea, geranium, chive blossom, bluebells, begonia in a precious vintage vase.

My dining table set for no reason. These dishes are part of a vintage set I recently aquired for $35.00!!

A glimpse into my sewing corner.

My Kitchen Aid mixer. I have had one for over 35 years and use it most days several times. This red one is extra special because it was gifted to me by the sweet ladies of Sunshine Ridge Baptist Church on the occassion of my wedding four years ago. LOVE THE RED!!!

Tomato ware. All thrift store purchased! Doesn't it make you smile?

My cherry apron. I love anything cherries! This strapless, boned beauty was a gift from my daughter-in-law, Christy. Ooh-la-lah!

A red and white quilt....my first defense against winter.

A corner in my garden. Love the new turquoise spray paint job.

An old bike in my front yard....... only $5.00 and it's red!!

Aqua mason jars/vases lined up on the sill.

Little chairs

More little chairs

Dollclothes on the line. Sorry....finding it hard to grow up!

This liitle bag held a gift from my friend Susan. It blessed and humbled me. I truly want to be that person.

This is the perfect example of a thoughtful gift. When we bought the little vintage trailer, my main squeeze brought home this little glitzy, red (of course) key chain for my keys to the trailer. It was better than flowers!

My tin toy kitchen appliances. Just what every big girl needs!!!



Well, that's a start. There are so many things I love that I
 may have to do a swoon #2.

Question: Do you think I am crazy??????

Judy.

I used to be taller than her

 She’s my sister......and my bestest friend

           We live on opposite coasts of Canada, but our brainwaves have no difficulty traversing the miles. We are only 14½ months apart in age and were virtually raised like twins, sporting identical dresses long after it was remotely cute. Everyone said we were like two peas in a pod, but as a mater of fact, neither of us resembled any kind of vegetable, let alone each other.

            In our early years we shared an old iron double bed, the one where I was routinely pummeled for inching a toenail over the centre line. Judy was the youngest (still is) but was as tough as nails, and I alternately feared, loved and admired her. She was the hero of all the neighborhood boys, being an innovative fort-builder and fearless adventurer. This, while I put yet another stitch in a doll dress or arranged the bedroom furniture ...... again, or re-read Little Women on the front steps. I have almost forgiven her for cutting holes in my prized chintz fabric to make a ghost mask so she could scare me half to death.

            We made most of our own fun, skating on the beaver pond behind our rural Ontario house, putting on plays every Saturday night in our attic bedroom (I wrote, she starred), playing house in the converted chicken coop (she was always the Dad, I planted flowers,) playing church on Sundays (she preached, I played the piano). We sang duets at events around the countryside, tooted in the school band and double-dated boys whose names we are trying not to remember.

             Today she parachutes and bungee jumps (did I mention she’s a preacher? and a chaplain, missionary, teacher, prison worker). I do cross-words, sew, bake and, you guessed it, re-arrange the furniture. I have co- owned a gift store/Tearoom...... flowers in front, pies in the oven.

 Despite our differences, our shared history has given us a bond that has endured and can never be broken.

            Together we faced the humiliation of wearing Mother’s hand-crafted creations, enjoyed the hilarity of long summer holidays, spoke secret languages, unmercifully teased our younger brother, stood side by side as young teens at our father’s graveside. Even now, I can taste the tears where the pain and laughter of those years have merged.

             

            Today we know just when to call. We share successes and fears, joys and sorrows, dreams and memories. We are each other's 'mutual admiration society.' That’s how it is with a friend. You find your thoughts are not just your own anymore. Someone else thinks them too.  I find comfort in knowing that somebody who knows me so well with all my warts and blemishes  understands me and loves me still....no matter what.

 Too bad she  lives 6000 kilometres away!

Wahooo!!! She's coming to visit next month....to celebrate an auspicious birthday...but mostly just because. Love you Jude.

Maybe we should go……..BACK TO SCHOOL

     This is one of my most favourite pictures ever…….my little grandsons re-united after the first day of pre-school/kindergarten last September.

    They (unlike your children or grandchildren...the little darlings) may have been squabbling on the way in the car, but those few hours apart reminded them of their deep brotherly bond. They leapt into each other’s arms and tightly hugged.

    What about us? What quarrel, pettiness, resentment, jealousy, envy, unforgiveness keeps us from embracing those we once held in high esteem? How did we get from shared secrets, side-splitting laughter and heart-to-hearts, to silence, stuffing away memories, punishing one another with unspoken condemnation?

    Sometimes, we simply drift away from people. We move, our family dynamic changes, our values collide, we are consumed by life. Often we outgrow one another. And that’s okay. Nobody says that every friendship need last a lifetime. Many relationships are for a season in life and it’s natural that we move on.

    But it’s the broken relationships with our close ties….siblings, parents, in-laws, life-long friends that trouble us most. Often we feel helpless to begin mending fences because the other party refuses to communicate or stubbornly holds firmly to misinformation or assumption.

    Is it even remotely possible that some of the blame rests with us? Has the distance grown so far for so long that we fear ‘rattling the cage?’ Could the other person be wary also? Do you even remember what estranged you from one another?

    Bringing to mind shared experiences from the past may set the stage to mellow your emotions somewhat. Do you remember sharing a bedroom with that sister, giggling over your teenage exploits? Or what about the time your best friend proffered her shoulder and let you borrow her new mohair sweater when that young Lothario broke your heart? Can you conjure up a time when your Mom showed pride in you or sacrificed for you??

    Perhaps you are the mature one. You have faced difficulty with grace and triumphed. But not everyone has your ability to squarely meet conflict and purpose to come to resolution. Not everyone is willing to swallow pride, admit their contribution to the enmity, make the first move.

    And so maybe it comes down to you. Yes, it requires grit and prayerful approach and thick skin and a soft voice. But maybe, just maybe, it will be the start of something precious, a re-kindling of old sparks, a coming-together that will have you wishing you had made the move sooner.

    Not everyone it seems is capable of forgiveness, or giving an inch or even wants reconciliation and so you may not succeed, but that will be their loss.

    If you do succeed, it will be worth it. You’ve got to try.