Fall color

 This is a year that the fall colors are really outstanding. So many lovely shades.

The warm colors are my favorites but they are at their best displayed in nature.

I was taking a photo of these red berries, then I looked closer...

A perfect little nest remaining.

These trees are all maples, in and around my property.

This is sumac, I think.

Puss gets a nice view with this window seat...

Colorful weeds and grasses in the field next door.

So pretty! Wish these fall colors could last a bit longer!

I brought a few leaves inside to display with my Halloween decorations.

Getting dark earlier too, though, as the season changes.

Odds and ends

 I have an indoor plant blooming...the Aloe Vera.   It sent up a long stalk over the past few weeks and now the blooms have opened.  Hard to get a good photo...

Here is a close up, little pink trumpet shaped blooms.

This was unusual...five of these planes flying over in a line one afternoon. I couldn't get my camera working fast enough but you can just barely see the first ones off in the distance.

And notice the field next to my house. Earlier this year they had cut and cleared it.

I was worried about what might be built there, but so far, nothing.

It's quickly growing and filling in. I have to say I enjoy having that view.

I made soup...cabbage, ham, and lima bean.

The Sasquatch came over to help test out my new meat grinder.

He uses a grinder attachment for his KitchenAid mixer and makes sausage, so he had some good tips on what works best.

He slices and freezes his roasts to help them feed through the grinder more smoothly.

It's a bit of extra trouble but good to see what goes into your sausage.

The Sasquatch has made loose sausage but has also bought intestines to make sausage links. Both are very tasty!

Dirt grading finished

 I was beginning to think the dirt moving man was never coming back to finish leveling out the ground after the new garage was completed.

I called him a couple of times to remind him. The second time, I asked him about spreading more gravel on the other driveway while he's here. 

He agreed to that and told me to order a load of "dense grade aggregate"

So I called "Quality Stone" and they very patiently helped me place my order. They said the truck would hold 24 tons!

  I thought that would be a massive amount of gravel. I wondered where it could all be dumped.  Well, no worries...it's not that much.

Delivered the same day I ordered, too.

So, in a few days, the dirt moving man showed up with his dirt mover and smoothed the driveway out a bit then began spreading the new gravel.

I was surprised how much coverage he got from that amount of gravel.

He worked carefully and quickly.

He then leveled and contoured the dirt around the new garage, leaving low areas for drainage.

Nice work!

I decided not to bring gravel all the way to the garage for now...since it's mostly for storage.  I can always have it done later if needed.

I wish it was earlier in the year so I could have put down some grass seed. But it's a long way from the water hose so I wouldn't be able to water, anyway.

I'll wait for nice rainy spring to spread the seed.

In the weeks before the dirt man returned, a  wild bumper crop of Datura, or Jimsom weed, grew.  I think the seeds were unearthed and spread when he first leveled the area for building.

These photos are from July.  Pretty plants but poisonous. Some purple color on the stalks and pretty blooms open in the evening and are visited by nocturnal moths.

The dirt pile pushed aside for finish grading was covered in the plants.

This photo is from August. The big seed pods are developing.

Later they turn brown and split open...releasing many dozens of seeds.

Fast growing plants. I'm sure there will be even more springing out of the ground next summer.

Free...or is it?

 I was excited to receive an invitation for the Amazon Vine program.

If you haven't heard of it - it's a program where one can pick out free stuff from special pages on the website.

In exchange, they expect honest and helpful reviews of the items. The invitations are only issued to those who have written helpful reviews on past purchases.

There is a wide range of things on the list of choices...some good quality and useful things, some parts for machinery or electronics, decorative items, party supplies, pet supplies, clothing, and much, much more.

It's difficult not to get carried away choosing items!

It would have been so much fun getting free things earlier in my life...when I needed more things and couldn't afford much. Now, I am a point in life when I'm leaning more toward getting rid of stuff.

The fun part of ordering these items is affected by the fact that Amazon keeps a record of the dollar value of things you get for free...which gets turned in to the IRS. So, that spoils things a little. Taxes will have to be paid the same as if it were income.

Another negative aspect is accumulating stacks of empty boxes...quickly!

I have a special place in my heart for empty boxes and it's hard to throw them away.

Oh, problems, problems.

In other news...the craft class at the library this month was little refrigerator magnets.

We cut out cardboard circles with words or pictures and attached them to clear magnets.

I made two Santa's sleigh ones and two others.  Simple and fun.

Here's a photo I forgot to show earlier.  This turtle was crawling across the yard on October 3rd.  I was surprised to see him so late in the year.

He'd better be finding a warm spot before cold weather!

New stove

 My stove (range) was getting unreliable. The burners worked fine but the oven temperature seemed to fluctuate during baking...mostly overheating to burn things to a crisp in a short time.

I've had the stove since 2008. I guess that's getting to be an old age for a stove.

I'd been planning to switch to a gas stove when this one needed to be replaced but that would mean some gas line work in the basement. With that and also hearing lately that gas stoves release a bit of carbon monoxide in the home, I decided to stick with electric.

Here is the beautiful new GE double oven range...with convection and an air fry setting.

I actually just picked it out online without actually seeing it in person. I knew I wanted the double ovens so that narrowed down my choices.

I ordered this one from Costco. Free delivery, cord is included in the price and they'll haul away the old appliance.

They delivered on time...polite uniformed delivery men.

I had to cook a few things to test it out.  Chicken, bean, and tomatoes soup.

Parmesan crusted chicken strips.

A mixed veggie with cheese casserole.

Then another day, ham, broccoli, and cauliflower soup.

Everything seems fine with the new stove.

This one should last a long time. I don't cook as much as I used to.

My fridge and dishwasher are actually a bit older than my old stove was. Maybe I should be researching models and prices for when one of those two kick the bucket.

Late summer

 

Summer is winding down so I scheduled the pool company to come out and close the pool.

They are reliable and fast workers.

It's sort of sad to see the pool covered up now, but I'm glad to have it done before leaves start falling.  

I've been sorting through my scrap fabric bins...cutting the small pieces in to 1 1/2 squares.  Anything smaller than that is thrown away...it's too small to use.

My plan is to sew the small squares into blocks, maybe 6x6, and eventually put them together into a quilt.  It's a long term project. There is a lot to cut!

I tried a recipe for Kardashian Salad...supposedly a salad that the Kardashian celebrities eat at the restaurant, La Scala.

Salad:

• 1 head iceberg lettuce rinsed and finely chopped
• 1 ⁄4 lb italian salami julienned
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 15 1/2 ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and well-drained

Dressing:

• ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup grated pecorino romano OR parmesan

    *******************************

I thought it was pretty good except for the garbanzo beans. There's a lot of them and they are so waxy tasting. I ended up picking them out of my bowl each time.

I probably won't make this again.