Potluck

Desert first... Pumpkin pie. Yes, I know it's not a bland yellow like a regular pumpkin pie, that's because even though I use the recipe on the label (from the pumpkin can) I triple the spices they say to add... and then I grate nutmeg into it too. It's just better that way.

So, I wouldn't call this a great photo. This is the soup I took, the Potluck was last Sunday, and I'm still getting compliments about it. It's so easy to make too.

My Grandad's Favorite Bean Soup

chop up one extra large onion (or 2 regular sized onions) and put that in the bottom of your "big silver pot" with a little olive oil and just a pinch of kosher salt.

Let that go for a while while you open up all your cans.

First add:

2 cans cream of celery soup

12 oz chicken stock (or bullion and water)

Then add the cans:

1 large can Navy beans
1 small can Pinto beans
1 small can Black beans

1 can sliced potatoes

Plus a box of frozen (now thawed) chopped spinach.

And slice up some Butterball smoked turkey sausage to go in the soup as well.

Simmer for an hour or two, put it in the fridge, pull it out simmer some more for dinner the next night, put it back in the fridge, take it to church and simmer the during the service until the potluck.... this soup just gets better and better until it's gone.

Pink Saturday (Color Series part 2)

Happy Pink Saturday. For those of you who have no idea what a Pink Saturday is... well then, you need to visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. (There's over 100 people posting pink on Saturdays.)

...and now for the Pink:



The stems of pokeweed are a bright pink in the fall to warn that this is a toxic plant. The berries, which turn a dark purple, are eaten by birds though; and the missing berries reveal a small pink flower shape.

Color Series Part 1

Pin Oak and Blue Spruce

Aren't you glad I found my camera again?

The Busy Season

Autumn seems to be a busy season for me. Gathering nuts, burying them in small holes around the house, forgetting where those holes are. Flying around south and north and westerly then south again. Yup, very busy. Too busy to have had much time for more quilting projects. But I've been taking my camera with me and snapping pictures of inspirational color combinations.

I was going to begin posting those photos. But....

In all my autumnal business I have *cough* temporarily mislaid my camera. I will find it again, and when I do I will be able to download to my computer and then upload to this blog the color combinations that fall is providing. The shades of oak and evergreen, the burning bush and frothy asparagus fronds, the pokeweed berries on their bright stems....

So it's DIY color-inspirations for now. Look out your window. What colors paint your view today?

When you burn a brush pile, always call it a bonfire. It makes it more fun and not a chore.
When you burn a brush pile, dead dry pine branches will go up quickly. And when the fire slows down, the willow and sycamore branches will make dancing shapes of flame (some of which can be captured on your cell phone).

Oh, and when you burn a brush pile, remember to have lots of water handy for putting it out. It's been a dry year.

Vote

Hopefully you're voting for my favorite candidates -- but even if you're not -- VOTE.

Participate in the process.

Exercise your rights.

Those who do not cherish their rights will most certainly wake one morning to find those rights taken away.

My Voting Selection Guidelines:

1. Which candidate is most likely to surround themselves with advisers, appoint judges, etc. who will carry out God's will for our nation?
2. Which platform upholds the moral principles outlined in Scripture?
3. When I pray about this election, who does God move me to vote for?

Texture for Tuesday

Storm Clouds Brewing

Tea Leaves Before Brewing