My Favorite Old Movies - Seasonal Selections for Autumn

 

Today I thought I would share some of my favorite classic movies that I enjoy watching during this season. I love old movies year round, but I do have a number that I set aside for each individual season, and this time of year there are a number that we enjoy watching. No one in our family likes horror movies or anything too witchy, and even though a few of these movies do include witches, there is nothing dark or scary about them, at most a few of them may be a bit suspensful at times, but they are all light-hearted and fun movies to watch.

*Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Arsenic and Old Lace is a screw-ball comedy crime film direct by Frank Capra and starring Cary Grant. But for me the two most loveable characters in the movie are Aunt Martha (pictured above left) and Aunt Abby (right). With the exception of their habit for helping forlorn old men to pass on to a better life, they are completely loveable, everything one could want in a doting old aunt. It's a perfect movie for the season, warm and cozy with just a hint of suspense.

*Bell, Book and Candle (1958)

Released in 1958 and starring Jimmy Stewart, Jack Lemmon and Kin Novak. The perfect romantic movie, and just a little witchy! 

*I Married A Witch (1942)

A charming comedy which went on to inspire the TV series Bewitched.

*The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966)

This is our favorite go-to classic movie for the season, and we watch it every year on All Hallow Eve! I absolutely love Don Knotts, and of all the movies he made this one is my favorite!

If you've never watched any of his movies before I highly recommend them. The Reluctant Astronaut is very good, too, as well as How to Frame A Figg.

*The Private Eyes (1980)

Another great movie featuring Don Knotts joined by Tim Conway, so double the laughs! A comedy/mystery perfect for the season.

*Young Frankenstein (1974)

Directed by Mel Brooks and starring Gene Wilder, Young Frankenstein is another family favorite this time of year. I would recommend using discretion when watching this movie with younger children as it has quite a bit of secual innuendo. Marty Feldman as Igor is probably my favorite! 

So there you have it, my friends! Maybe I've put you on to a movie you've never seen before, or perhaps you have some classic favorites that aren't on my list. If so, I'd love for you to share in the comments! I'm always looking to add to our collection!

❊

* We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program,

and this post contains affiliate links. When you click through and make a purchase

we receive a small commission from Amazon.

We appreciate your support

On The First Day Of October . . .

"Days grow shorter now, the nights chillier. Crisp mornings call for buttermilk pancakes and maple syrup, with country sausage on the side; at supper the popovers are almost too hot to hold. The trees kindle with color, a few at a time: small flashes of scarlet appear in the swamp, and the sugar maples begin to glow, as the great wave of autumn glory slowly rises to full tide. Leaves start to fall; I pick one up. It is cool to the touch; a hint of pink lies under the gold. As it dries, the serrated edges curl inward and the leaf turns to tawny brown. I think, I am holding autumn in my hand."

- GLADYS TABER

Good afternoon, friends, and a warm welcome to the first day of October! Isn't this a lovely image? A sweet homestead in New Hampsthire taken a few years ago when my husband and went on an extended New England road trip. I fell in love with New Hampshire and would move there at a moment's notice, although I am certain I would miss my beloved Blue Ridge Mountains. I often reminisce about living for short periods of time in various places, even Washington D. C. and New York City, though I doubt they would hold my attention as long as the mountain villages and countryside homesteads that I prefer. Still, big cities hold their own enchantment, and to live for awhile in Washington D. C. and making weekly trips to the Cathedral, now that would be enchanting!

I'm writing today from my newly refurbished office/craft room. I've shared a few pictures over on Instagram, if you're interested.  I still have a few things to do, primarily painting and leveling my desk, but with all the rain we've experienced over the past week (which does not lend well to painting), I haven't been able to find the time.  That and acquiring some sort of rug for the cement floor and then this space will be pretty near perfect.  Even as it is, I'm enjoying a small space to seek quiet and solitude.

I've been enjoying reading a few of my favorite books by Gladys Taber in this season,* Stillmeadow Seasons and *Stillmeadow Calendar. Have you read any of her works? If you haven't and love stories and depict sweet images of home and cottage living I HIGHLY recommend them!  Knowing of my love for Taber, a friend suggested I read* Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Stevens. I downloaded the Kindle edition and I'm going to give it a try, It doesn't sound much like Taber, but several of the reviews were promising. Apparently for some it takes a bit to get into but you just might end up loving it, so we'll see. In my perusing I also discovered that there is a sequel, Cold Comfort Christmas, which might be fun during the season, depending on how I liked the first one. Have you read either of these books? If so, I'd love to hear back from you. 

I discovered in downloading Cold Comfort Farm that the November edition of Country Living UK is available, and I still need to peruse both the October and September issues.  Having access to these magazines with one click makes paying monthly for Kindle Unlimited worth every penny, at least for me. Like books, I would much prefer to hold an actual copy in my hand, but being a bit of a life-long magazine junkie, I simply can't afford the near $10 cover price for every publication I enjoy reading, so for now at least, Kindle Unlimited  is much more affordable. I've also found that reading them on my iPad rather than my phone is a far more enjoyable experience.

Aside from reading I've been busy cross stitching for my upcoming birthday in November and for Thanksgiving.  As usual, I'm getting a late start so I'm not completely sure I'll finish everything I hope to in time, but I'll do what I can. Every year I say I'm going to work on pieces a season ahead, the problem being I'm not much inspired to work on stitching pumpkins in June and July, and here I land again at the eleventh hour. Thankfully I plan to use most of the pieces for both occassions, so there's a chance I just might succeed.

I've also been playing around with some lovely diffuser scents and wanted to pass on a few of my recent favorites.

❊ FALL FARMHOUSE

- 4 drops pine

- 3 drops cinnamon bark

- 2 drops orange

- 1 drop peppermint

❊ PUMPKIN PATCH

- 2 drops cinnamon bark

- 2 drops ginger

- 1 drop cardamom

- 1 drop clove

- 1 drop blue spruce

- 1 drop nutmeg

I particularly like the Fall Farmhouse blend!

Before I close I want to direct you to a lovely blog that I've followed for a couple of years now, Inkberry Hill Cottage. She is hosting a lovely October series, Autumn Notes From Home. I've thoroughly enjoyed just about anything Elizabeth shares and particularly look forward to her annual October offerings, so be sure to click on the link and visit!

And now my friends I'm off. I've got a new recipe for Chicken Alfredo in the crock pot that I hope turns out nicely (I'll let you know!), and it's time to check on it!

Until then . . .

❊

* We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program,

and this post contains affiliate links. When you click through and make a purchase

we receive a small commission from Amazon.

We appreciate your support

Three Cozy Videos To Usher In Autumn

Cozy Days of September
A Cozy Rainy Day At Cinnamon Cottage
Welcoming Cozy Autumn Enjoy!

Delightful Autumn Reading - Brambley Hedge/Autumn Story

It's been some years since we homeschooled, even longer since my girls were young enough to truly appreciate picture books. But there are a few books that seem to transcend time and appeal to all ages, and Brambley Hedge is one. The illustration above is from Autumn Story, which is my favorite of the seasonal series.

Autumn Story finds the mice in Brambley Hedge working tirelessly to finish the harvesting aheaad of a storm. Primrose sincerely meant to help, but being a bit of a daydreamer, she somehow manages to find herself in Chestnut Woods, and to her dismay finds that she is lost. The story continues on with describing the heroic efforts of her friends and family as they search to find and bring her home. It's such a sweet story, as is every book in the series, but even more than the stories what makes these books truly special are the illustrations.

Jill Barklem is the author and illustrator of this delightful series, who sadly, passed away in November of 2017. But there is a lovely website where you can learn more about her as well as meet all the mice! There's even a lovely Autumn Story coloring page!

You can pick up a copy of the books for around $10.00, but way back when, we were first introduced to them through the library (although I almost immediately added them to our personal collection). So  if you don't want to purchase them you might check with your library, but to make it even easier there's also a lovely reading of Autumn Story on You Tube.

Also on You Tube is the television series which aired in the UK on BBC in 1997. I discovered these a few years ago, but the quality wasn't very good. So I was very delighted to find that someone else has posted them as well, and the picture is clear and crisp. I plan to watch it one day this week, with a nice cup of tea. 

I was also delighted to find that Cobble Hill Puzzle Company has released all four of the books in the seasonal series as 1000 piece puzzle. I purchased the Summer Story puzzle back in June, but it was such a busy season I never got around to piecing it together. And then just last week I purchased the Autumn Story Puzzle, and this time I plan to be very intentional about getting it done. Isn't it just lovely?

The Brambley Hedge books are truly delightful, and as I said, I still enjoy them today and read each book in it's season. If you've never read them I highly recommend them, and the video, and the puzzles! Personally, I can't get enough!

Until then! 

❊

* We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program,

and this post contains affiliate links. When you click through and make a purchase

we receive a small commission from Amazon.

We appreciate your support

Small Things - On The Cusp of Autumn Edition

"Life is not, for most of us, a pageant of splendor, but is made up of many small things, rather like an old fashioned piecework quilt. No two people have the same, but we all have our own, whether it be listening to Beethoven's fifth with a beloved friend, or seeing a neighbor at the back door with a basket of white dahlias. Or after a long, hard day, having the family say, "That was a good supper."

- GLADYS TABER

1. Keeping a Commonplace Book

I've been a collected or words for years now, and one of the things I loved about a Charlotte Mason Education was the keeping of a commonplace book.  I started a new one recently, and I'm really enjoying it. If you are not familar with a commonplace book, you might find these articles helpful, Keeping A Commonplace Book and How To Turn Any Notebook Into A Commonplace Book.

2. Apple Fritter Bites

I love a good apple fritter, but to be honest, very often I find the size of them just too much. So when I saw this recipe for apple fritter bites I thought this might just be the best of both worlds!

3. Early Autumn Diffuser Blends

And speaking of apples, here are some lovely diffuser blends as we look toward autumn!

Come, Fall

- 3 drops wild orange

- 3 drops cassia

- 2 drops of douglas fir

Apple Orchard

- 2 drops bergamot

- 3 drops wild orange

- 3 drops cedarwood

4. Seasonal Home Maintenance Checklists

To help better maintain our home, I've added a section in my home binder for seasonal tasks and found these lists from Better Homes and Gardens helpful.

5. On The Cusp of Autumn

I really enjoyed watching this video, On The Cusp of Autumn form Poetry of Slow Life

6. It's Your 20th Television Anniversary Charlie Brown

Most of you know I am a big Peanuts fan, so when I came across this never before seen video this week, I was pretty excited. It originally aired on May 14, 1985 and features highlights from specials over the previous twenty years.  Of course by now we're nearing 60 years of Charlie Brown specials, and I've loved every one!

Welcome To My Home!- The Family Room & Dining Area

Good afternoon, my friends!  As promised, and now that I am **just** about done with my deep autumn cleaning, today I thought I would take you on a little tour of our family room and dining area, and we will begin with the first thing you see when you walk inside the door.  Since our house is relatively small, I have done my best to make this small space welcoming. This wall is the dividing wall between the kitchen/dining area  and the family room. The first thing you may notice is the small bookcase which holds a few antique books (I am always on the look for old books with red and green covers), and the bottom shelf holds part of my collection of Gooseberry Patch cookbooks. The chalk board is a treasure I picked up last year at a yard sale.  I typically write something seasonal on it, but that is one thing I haven't got around to yet.  And then the black divider is a piece we found at the dump.  It was a very ugly brown, but I knew the minute I saw it exactly what I would do with it!  There are few things a little black paint and some distressing can't fix for me.  The little pine tree and white pumpkin are sitting on a small black stool which I had to cut out to size my images right. And speaking of the pine tree, something you should know it that our decorating theme is mostly salt box houses and pine trees, kind of a cabiny feel, and so we keep a number of lit trees up year round, and when Christmas rolls around we decorate them, so yes, I suppose we are "those people" who keep their tree up year round, but they are really only Christmas trees once a year, at least, that's the way we see it.

And now if you will turn to the right you will in fact, see the first of those trees I mentioned.  The door you see is technically the front door, but we don't use it as we prefer the side door off of the covered porch, so this door stays locked year round. It made for the perfect spot to put our Christmas tree the first year we were here and, well, then we just never took it down. The old ladder is one we picked up at a yard sale. I have fun decorating it with seasonal decorations, and then to the right of that you can just see the entertainment center and bookshelves. My husband built these pieces for me several years ago and I still love them! The white rug you see is something I am hoping to replace. There was a propane stove on the wall where the entertainment center is now and we didn't care for it so we took it out. It sat on a tile foundation, and when we took the stove out, the tile came with it. We did have some matching carpet remnants, so we put that down first, but it sinks in just a little in that area, so I ended up covering it up with this rug.  I don't mind needing a rug, I would just prefer something that isn't quite as contrasting, but for now, it works.

This is the view of the family room as you come into the house, looking down the hall where the bathroom and two bedrooms are. We got this furniture set at ReStore, which benefits Habitat for Humanity. The cushions were blue and burgundy, kind of a southwestern pattern, but we had them professionally recovered in buffalo check. They have held up so well over the years and I still love them! The recliner is new to us, we picked it up from Facebook Marketplace. The book shelf by the recliner houses all my devotional and daily reading books, found at a yard sale a few years ago for $3.

To the right of the recliner is one of the few walls in our home that didn't get painted. We left the hallway cream to keep it from being too dark, but this wall is technically part of the family room. The shelves you see were there when we bought the house and match perfectly with our furniture. Most of the items on these shelves stay the same year round and I just add seasonal touches.  The antique sewing machine belonged to my husband's mother and is a treasured piece. My husband's father worked for Singer for many years, so it's a little nod to our family history. And then, as you can see, we have two small trees in this corner, as well.

This is the view of the entertainment center and bookshelves from the other end of the room. You can just see a little bit of my pot bellied stove, which belonged to my mother. It's probably my favorite piece. I like to keep a candle lit inside of it, especially in autumn and winter to give the appearance of a glowing warm fire.

And then, if you turn to the right we will move into the dining area. This is a better view of the dividing wall which I extended a little with the black room divider. Also just on the other side of the chair you can see our antique radio. We love adding unique piece to our decor, and this was our anniversary present to each other last year. We keep a blue tooth speaker on top and often listen to oldies from the 40's, 50's and 60's.

On the left side of the dining room we have this hutch.  My husband built this piece, as well which we originally used as a pantry in a house where we had very little cabinet space.  Now it holds all of my dishes, everyday and seasonal.  The red dishes you see on the table are ones I use in September each year. I still have some seasonal touches to add to this tablescape. The fan is sitting on top of a little heater. I got it at a yard sale last year and painted it, and then to the right of that is a little chest I also got at a yard sale for all of $20.00. It holds my table linens and a some seasonal decorations. My original plan was to strip it and paint it black, and I may still do that, but in some of the places where it is scratched you can see that the original wood color looks like it might be pretty, so I may just leave it natural. That is a project I hope to have completed by the end of the year. Also, you can just see to the left of the black cabinet the antique telephone. This was our anniversary present to each other this year, albeit a bit early, but we couldn't let this one pass us up. We just hung it earlier this week and I just love it!

Here is a better view of the white hutch and the little heater. The other side of the dining room opens up into the kitchen, which I posted about here, if you missed it. 

At the far end of the dining room there is a door that leads out to the back yard and a window. I just finished the second panel of these curtains and got them hung this week. They are double sided, a pretty rusty red pattern on one side and black and tan check on the other (see below), but when the sun shines through they look rust.  The old churn was a gift from a very dear friend of mine, and another piece I treasure, and once again, another tree! I warned you we had several! The little black bin holds potatoes on top, onions in the middle, and part of our vast array of coffee cups in the bottom. We have a problem when it comes to coffee cups, I've added two more in the past two weeks!

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this little tour of our family room and dining area.  I completed all the deep cleaning I wanted to do in the house this past week, but I still have my office/craft room and the cellar to do.  They are both rooms that are not accessible from the main part of the house, and my office/craft room is not air conditioned, so it will be a project for a cooler day!  The only room I haven't shown is the bathroom, so I'll try to get that posted next week. I won't be posting the bedrooms as ours is still a work in progress, and I won't post my daughter's bedroom to respect her privacy.

Until then . . .

❊

A Simple Life

"It is not bad thing to celebrate a simple life."

- J. R. R. TOLKIEN

I hope your week is off to a great start! I'm still deep in seasonal cleaning this week, which makes finding time to post a bit challenging. But my husband is going out of town next week and I am hoping to have everything done and then be able to take a week to relax, and that prospect is motivating! I'll be back to chat with you regularly very soon, so stay tuned!

❊

Cleaning and Cross Stitching - An Update

Good evening, my friends! Whew, has this week been a busy one! On Monday I deep cleaned the dining room (pics coming soon), and yesterday we were away from the house all day in meetings and running errands. Today I began in the family room, which I honestly thought I would be able to finish in one day. But on top of the fact that I got a late start, I forgot how tedious it can be to take everything down off of two shelving units, dust them and everything on them, and then put it all back.  That combined with the fact that I rearranged some things to make the entryway to look a little more welcoming, and before I knew it, it was 2:00 and time to think about dinner. 

The rest of the week is going to be busy as well. My plan is to finish up the family room tomorrow and then on Friday I'm going to give the bathroom a quick cleaning, but aside from that I hope to take most of Friday as my Sabbath, which I typically take on Satruday. But this week our church is having an event  that I am volunteering for and is pretty much all day, then church on Sunday and afterwards we're having lunch with friends.  But next week my plan is to only be away from home for one day, which like this week will be onTuesday. It will be a full day, but my goal is try to get as much done while I am in town as I can so that I can be home the rest of the week.  Next week I'll tackle deep cleaning the bathroom and our bedroom, and then if things go well  I might even get to my office/craft room and get it cleaned out and organized. That room will be quite the undertaking as it is currently a huge mess!  After that all that will be left is to clean the patio and then all the deep cleaning for the season will be done.

In the evenings I've been doing quite a bit of cross stitching. It's my favorite hobby and one I've been out for more than thirty years now. I do through periods where I cross stitch almost every night and then for some reason at times, I'll realize it's been awhile since I've picked it up. But it brings me a lot of joy and I've had a number of projects that I've wanted to finish for a bit now and so I've slowly chipping away at them. The picture at the top are two small projects I finished this week. I really like them! With that, I need to begin thinking towards Christmas and decide on any gifts I want to cross stitch this year and start on them soon.

And speaking of, I think I'm going to put on an old movie tonight and start something new! I'll try to hop back on here on Friday with some pictures of our dining room and family room, so stay tuned!

Until then!

❊

Welcome To Our Home - The Kitchen

If you recall in my post earlier this week I menitioned that I was beginning my Autumn / Winter Deep Clean this week, and true to my word, I began today. You may also recall that my original plan was to tackle the kitchen and dining area first, but I felt that since the kitchen is often the room that requires the most work, that I might be being optimistic.

I was correct. :)

Not only did I not get to the dining room, but I didn't even finish  the kitchen. I did get a lot done, however, so I thought I would share what I accomplshed and what still needs to be completed. 

The first thing that I did was to clean out the refrigerator.  This is actually a task that I complete every week, as the kitchen is the room that I focus on Monday's. There tends to always be a lot of food and leftoevers that accumulate from the week before and in particular over the weekend, so on Monday's I like to clean it our and start fresh.. But today I did a little more thourough cleaning. I went through all the bottles of condiments and other things and threw out anything that was expired, and gave the inside a good cleaning. I also had it on my list to clean the freezer, but I didn't get to that, so I'm bumping that to another day.  I also cleaned the top and the outside of the refrigerator.

Next I took everything out of the cabinet you see above and to the left of the refrigerator, wiped it out and organized and replaced everthing. I took the items off the top of the small counter you see to the left, gave it a good scrubbing, dusted all the items and replaced them. Still on my list is to take everything out of the drawers,wipe them out and then organize and straighten the contents. 

Next up is the stove top/oven and microwave. I lifted the top of the stove up and scrubbed the inside around the burners, took the drip pans off and cleaned them, cleaned the top of the stove and then replaced everything.  I had planned to clean the inside of the oven. I did not that too long ago, but to make it easier to keep it clean I was going to do it again, but I ran out of time. Then tonight I was making a batch of chocolate chip cookies and when I reached for the pan I burned my finger and dropped it inside the oven. The broken cookies fell all over the heating element in the bottom and caught on fire. It ended up making a HUGE mess! Needless to say, I'm actually thankful now that I didn't get around to cleaning it. It will be a much bigger job now, but at least I don't have to do it twice! I also cleaned the inside and outside of the microwave, and took out the glass tray and washed it.  

As with the other cabinets, I took everything out of all the upper cabinets around the stove, wiped them out and organized and replaced the contents. I also removed all the items from the countertops, scrubbed them down, dusted things off and replaced it. Tomorrow I'll be tackling the lower cabinets. 

I gave the sink a good cleaning, and then swept and mopped the floor and called it a day.  Along with the other things I mentioned, I still need to clean the toaster oven which you can just see to the left of the sink, all the lower cabinets and drawers still need to be wiped out and straightened, and the pantry (the white doors to the right of the refrigerator in the first small picture above) needs to be organized, so there is still a lot to do. I got started a little later than I had planned today, as well. My husband and I got into an interesting conversation over breakfast and lingered a little longer than usual, which I don't regret at all.  

In case you're wondering about the Christmas Tree Farm sign hanging above the sink, we keep that up all year round. It's not so much a Christmas decoration, and more because we like a wintry/cabin feel in our home, and decorate with a lot pine trees, saltbox houses and stars, which may sound like an odd combination, but we like it. Our color scheme throughout the house is deep green, rusty red and black. I made the valance above the kitchen window and I'm currently working on curtains for the dining room window. 

So anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this little tour of my kitchen. I've been meaning to share pictures of our home for some time now, and I figured since I'm deep cleaning now would be a good time, since it's looking its best!

We are bracing for Tropical Storm Debby which is scheduled to hit our area some time tomorrow. They are calling for 4-6 inches of rain and high winds (30-40 mph) between now and late Friday, early Saturday, and some areas could see as high as 8" inches.  Thankfully we are situated at a higher elevation, so flooding shouldn't be much of a problem for us here at home, but it could present some problems with traveling. All  the rain combined with high winds will  likely mean downed trees in the area and power outages. We're prepared in the event it happens, but if you don't hear from me for a few days, that is likely the reason!

Until then!

❊

My Portable Office:What's In My Cart And How I Use It

If you happen to be a person who enjoys posts about planning and organization and learning about systems that other people use, then this post if for you! And if not, feel free to pass this one by and hopefully in the coming days I'll post something that will interest you. This post will be image heavy and perhaps over-explained, but since I am a person who enjoys these types of posts when I come across them, I thought today I would share!  The picture above is my rolling cart. I bought it a few years ago from Amazon, though it doesn't appear that this particular model is available anymore, which is frustrating because I was considering purchasing a second one for all of my Bible study supplies, so I guess for now, I'll stick with my current system (I'll discuss that in an upcoming post!).

I think the best way to explain what is on this cart and how I use it would be to simply start at the beginning with the top shelf and then work my way through until we reach the bottom, and so with that, let's begin.

SHELF #1 - TOP SHELF

This is a picture looking straight on at the contents on the top shelf.  

In the very front is where I keep my Ipad.

Behind that I have a small hanging file folder basket where I keep my seasonal, monthly and weekly files, although I just realized my Autumn file, (I've already switched from summer), which would normally be in the very front, appears to not be in here, so I'll have to look for that tomorrow. Never the less, for now the first file you see is August, and behind that there are files for Weeks 1-5, and since we are in Week 1 it is currently in the front. Typically this time of year I would still be in summer, but I've been a little lax with my filing system this year, and I never finished it out. That is why I've already switched over to autumn but I am still working my August files. Behind Week 1 there are files for Sunday-Saturday, and these files get rotated daily bringing the current day to the front. At the end of the week, I will bring the Sunday folder back to the front and then rotate the weekly folders to Week 2 and place Week 1 in the back. I will do this all through August, and then at the end of the month the file for September will come to the front and the August file will be moved to another hanging file folder basket I have that houses all of the out of season files until the following year. Hopefully that makes sense. :)

I don't use these files as heavily as I once did when we were homeschooling, but enough that I appreciate having the system in place. I've used this system for years, it's familiar and it works.  I use the daily files most of all, it's where I keep things like receipts from any shopping I've done that day, mail that I want to keep, notes about upcoming appointments or fun events I want to attend, among other things. I work my files every Sunday afternoon, and as I go through my daily files for the week everything that has accumulated in them gets filed to a more specific place, and then I start the week fresh with empty files.

The picture to the left is a top view of the same shelf.

Behind my hanging files is my planner which I use daily, and it deserves a post of it's own, so I'll be sharing more about it soon.  And then behind that is my clipboard filled with notebook paper (college ruled!), because I am a writer and I write down everything! After that  I have some clear pocket sleeves, which is a new system I'm trying out. I have seven of them, and they each hold a print out of my daily routine. I also have this in my planner, but I found that dry erase markers were not working as well as I would prefer on the cover sheets, and these pockets are designed to be used with dry erase markers. I tried it for the first time last week and so far I'm liking it. And then behind that I have an accordian folder where I keep important papers and files. I don't have nearly as many files as I once did and most of them fit easily here. I do have a small plastic filing box in my office where I keep my archived files, but most anything I need access to is in this accordian file.  Then on the side you can just see a couple of pairs of scissors, and there are a few pens in a little pen cup, as well as a whole punch, a couple of rulers, just a few basic office supplies at the ready. I also have another small accordian file on the side next to the hanging files, and another small spiral notebook with some 3x5 cards inside of it. My plan is to use this to keep track of all of my passwords. I currently have them in a note on my phone, but I decided that probably isn't the safest solution, so I plan to take some time to write them all down and keep them in this little notebook.  The small accordian file I've had for a couple of years now but still haven't found a use for. I've considered tossing it a couple of times, but I really like it and I think eventually an idea will come to me and I can put it to use.

SHELF #2 - MIDDLE SHELF

The second shelf is where I keep most of my notebooks. I have a notebook for blogging, which you can see more clearly in the first picture at the top, a notebook for a book that I am and have been writing for a couple of years now, my recipe/meal planning notebook, and a notebook for our house/homestead, which I haven't used as much as I thought I would and I may end up repurposing, but the other three I use regularly. I have two other notebooks that I use for Bible study. One notebook is dedicated to the my study of the spiritual practices, and another houses my individual studies of each book of the Bible as well as other studies I've done in the past. I would like all of them to fit on this shelf but they don't. I currently use a morning basket system for the Bible study supplies, and I suppose for the time being I'll just continue on with that. 

In the back you can see a black and white striped magazine holder and that holds a good portion of my scrapbooking paper, although I don't scrapbook, at least not in the traditional sense, anyway. But, I do like to keep little journals that I make out of cheap composition notebooks. I used to make and use these all of the time and I've kind of fallen out of habit with that practice. But I'm in a stressful season of life right now with a lot of unknowns and struggling to find the balance, so I think I might try to resurrect that idea, and . . . that will have to go on the cart somewhere as well, so I'll have to figure that out. Anyway, I use scrapbooking paper to cover the front of these composition books and to decorate the insides at times as well, and since red and green are my favorite colors . . . . as you can see, most of my scrapbooking paper are Christmas designs, but the biggest percentage of these patterns, the florals and plaids, work for me year round.

On this shelf I also have three journals. The two black ones are my dump journals and typically I carry one of these with me wherever I go. The world is filled with inspiration, and so often when I am out I'll see a quote, or hear a song, or find a neat recipe in a magazine. Just the other day I came across some sauces that Ranch is making, they have  Garlic Ranch, and a Hot Honey and Jalapeno flavor, but I don't see those two on Amazon. Anyway, I want to look up recipes for ways to use them and maybe try a few, so into the notebook it went. Sometimes I will take a picture on my phone, as well, which I did with the sauces because sometimes a visual helps. But if it's just a quote or an idea that comes to me that I don't want to forget, I try to immediately get it out of my head and into the notebook. Then on Sunday afternoons I go back through my notes from the week and move things to another location, like my commonplace notebook, or if it's an idea for a topic I want to discuss here, I'll make a note in my blogging notebook. As I move each item I draw a line through it in my notebook so I'll know it's been processed. And as for the Snoopy journal, I  recieved it as a gift and I've had it for several years now but so far Ihaven't written a thing in it! But, I loved the gift and the giver so it's not going anywhere. If it's Snoopy, it's a keeper!

And finally . . .

SHELF #3 - BOTTOM SHELF

This shelf is where I keep additional office supplies, envelopes, post it notes, 3x5 cards, a larger three whole punch, a stapler, glue sticks, tape and my small collection of washi tape which I use to decorate my journals, as well. 

I also have two bags of pens and pencils that usually lay right on top of everything else. I have a small bag that I was keeping in my planner, but it got so full that it wasn't allowing the cover to close and that was driving me crazy. So I need to sit down and purge it so that it will be functional again. The larger bag is where I keep my surplus, and if you are or ever have been a homeschooling family, then you understand what I mean by a surplus of pens. I could probably never purchase another pen or pencil again and still never use all that we have. But alas, I have my favorites and they do run of out of ink, so it seems I am will always be adding to the collection!

The black bag is the one that I like to keep in my planner and the plaid one, which is actually much bigger though it doesn't apper to be in the picture, is my surplus. 

And there you have the contents of my portable office/rolling cart. I really love this system, and even more so that it's portable. I love the flexibility of keeping it near me whether  I want to spread out no the couch and work, or sit at the dining room table. Once we get my office/craft room finished, then I will probably move it there, but I haven't decided yet. I do have a desk out there, so I may just keep a few supplies there and leave this as it is, I'm just really not sure, but thankfully those are all decisions for another day.

Tomorrow begins my seasonal deep clean. I've decided to stretch it out over several days/weeks, and I'm beginning tomorrow with the kitchen and dining room, or it may end up just being the kitchen because things tend to always take longer than you originally planned. The pantry needs to be cleaned an organized, I'm taking everything out of the cabinets and giving it all a good wipe down, so the dining room may get bumped to another day. The plan is to do the family room on Friday, but since I think that may be an easier job, I may try to lump the dining room/family room together. And then next week is the bathroom, our bedroom the porch and my office.  My plan is to l take you along, share some pictures of our home and how I have things set up and the way things function, so if you liked this post and you're interested in more like it, then follow along! Summer is winding down and it's time to prepare for the 'ber months, my favorite time of the year!

Until then!

"The greatest wealth is to live content with little."

- PLATO

❊

The Small Ways and Ordinary Days of August

It's hard for me to believe that we have passed the half way mark of the year! We have arrived at August, and in thirty short days the autumn months will be here!  This week I've been doing a little pre-season planning and thinking ahead to the coming months and days, but today I want to focus on the time at hand, the lovely month of August.

"August brings the sheaves of corn,

then the harvest home is born."

- SARA COLERIDGE

Here are some small ways I plan to spend the ordinary days of August . . .

- Complete my regular daily and monthly tasks.

Over the summer months I typically set aside my more disciplined schedule of tasks for keeping our home neat and tidy.  The yard and garden take up much more of my time in this season, making indoor tasks harder to accomplish. The necessary day-to-days are seen to, but a good bit of dust does build up over the summer months, which is why late summer and late winter have always been my preferred times to deep clean.  I'll be seeing to that here in just a few weeks, but over the next week or so, there are a few outdoor projects that I need wrap up.

- Switch Out Files / Update Planner

I have a rolling cart were I keep 3 months worth of daily, weekly and monthly files. I used this system heavily in my homeschooling days, and while I don't need it as much now as I did back then, I still find it helpful in keeping things moving along at a smooth pace. As with other things, however, it's sat untouched over the summer, in fact, I never even switched out the spring/summer files! So today I'm going to take some time to clean it and straighten it and get it ready to serve me for the rest of the year.

My planner is actually updated, I did that this week! :)

- Make a list of outdoor tasks to be completed by September 1

I still have a few things on my list that I would like to complete this year. We have so-many-outdoor-projects, and about 80% of those fall to my husband.  But this year I discovered that I like landscaping, and I'm fairly good at it. My nemesis, of course, is weeds. I've tried pulling them, and had some success with that, but the largest percentage of them just grow back. To my detriment, I tend to be a touch it once and done kind of girl, and gardening does not lend well to that thinking. Come to think of it, not many other things do, either . . . laundry, cleaning, cooking. If only. I had hoped to accomplish a lot more than I have this season, and I may still piddle away at a few projects here and there come September, but the 'ber months bring with them a their own list of to-do's, so anything outdoors that requires my involvement (at least on a large scale), needs to be wrapped up this month.

- Deep End of Summer / Autumn Cleaning

I'm not sure at this point which week I will schedule this for.  I briefly considered the first week and to then set my mind to outdoor tasks. But, since so many of those outdoor tasks track dust and dirt into the house, it seems more fitting to move this to the end of the month. My husband is going to be out of town for a week at some point later in August, and that might present the perfect opportunity. It will keep me busy and we won't have to work around each other.  In the mean time, I'm going to begin making a list of all-the-things that entails beginning this week. 

Fun Ideas For the Month of August

This week I sat down and did some seasonal planning, including filling in my calendars from now to the end of the year with all the fun days ahead!  Here are a few that are coming up in August.

- Today!

August 1 is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day, which is and always has been one of my favorites!

August 2 - National Watermelon Day, this one is on my Summer Bingo Challenge, which I need to review and update, but I know I haven't marked this one off yet.

August 3 - National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day - hands down, my favorite cookie! I think I'll make up a batch for the coming weekend and be sure to eat some on Sunday!

August 9 - Booklovers Day - I've had Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright on my summer reading list for a couple of months now, maybe I'll try to tackle it in my spare time this week and write a review.

August 12 - National Vinyl Record Day - I have a turntable and a small collection of vinyl records, but when we moved I somewhow misplaced the power cord to my turntable.  If I have time maybe I'll try to locate it and spin some tunes!

August 17 - National Thrift Shop Day - I used to a do a lot of thrifting, and while I still enjoy it, I decided it was high time that I do something with all the items I had already thrifted before I brought anything new into the house. But, I do have a few things I'm on the lookout for, so maybe this would be a good day to peruse a few shops.

August 18 - National Fajita Day - this one is easy! I LOVE fajitas and I have a couple of wonderful recipes for beef and chicken fajitas! I really love throwing shrimp into that mix, too, so maybe I'll splurge and do all three!  I'll share my recipes in time for you to make up a batch if you want, too!

August 30 - National Beach Day - my daughter and I do have plans to go to the beach this month, and by beach, I mean a local beach at a nearby lake. While my daughter would prefer a trip to the ocean, I am definitely not a sun and sand kind of girl, and I won't even get in the ocean! The man made beach at the lake suits me just fine, and thankfully she enjoys it as well!  We have been going to this particular lake since she was a child, so it holds a lot of memories.  We didn't get there much last year, and this summer we promised ourselves we would be intentional about going at least once a month, and we've been three times already! One more to go!

August 31 - National Eat Out Side Day - the weather towards the end of August can be pretty hot, so we'll have to see about this one. If nothing else, maybe we'll eat under our covered porch? We typically do this on Labor Day Weekend, which is the official end of the summer season in our home, so we'll probably just wait until then. It's a nice idea though!

"The long, languorous days of August have cast their spell over the earth. Little by little, nature yields to the seductive influence and sinks into her summer sleep. Lazily-languid like southern beauties, the hours follow each other in slow succession. "

~ SISTER MARY BLANCHE - from "A Summer Siesta," Idyls and Sketches, 1916

I'll be sharing more in the upcoming weeks about my plans for my seasonal deep clean, my yard and garden projects, and my daily homekeeping routines, so if you are interested in things like that, be sure to meet me back here! What about you, do you do a deep clean this time of year?  What are some of the to-do's on your end of summer list? Let's chat in the comments!

❊

From Grandma's Kitchen: A Recipe From My ChildhoodPotato Panckes!

 Last week I was watching a video on You Tube and came across a recipe I had completely forgotten about and remember fondly from my childhood, Potato Pancakes! I hadn't had these, as far as I can recall, since the last time my mom made them for me for breakfast and if my memory serves me correctly, that was probably when I was in elementary school!

Potato Pancakes are a great way to use leftover mashed potatoes, and since that is one dish I tend to make enough of to feed an army, I almost always have plenty on hand! And as it happens, I had just made mashed potatoes this past weekend, and so this morning I fried up a batch for breakfast!

These are so good, especially if you like potatoes as a side with your breakfast, which I have always loved!  This brought back such fond memories from my childhood, and I'm so happy to have been retintroduced to them, I wanted to share the recipe with you. I looked up several recipes and finally arrived at this one and I don't think I'll change a thing. They tasted just as I remembered!

POTATO PANCAKES

2 cups leftover mashed potatoes

l large egg

1/3 cup all purpose flour, plus more if needed

1/2 tsp. salt, plus more for sprinkling

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Vegetable oil for frying

Sour cream, grated cheese to serve (optional)

In a large bowl, mix together the mashed potatoes, egg, flour, salt and pepper until well combined. The mixture should be moist but not wet; check to see if you can form a small amount into a pattie without it sticking. If the potatoe mixture is too wet, add more flour 1 tbsp. at a time.

Add oil to a large cast iron skillet until it covers the bottom by about 1/4 inch. Heat the oil on medium high (on my oven that is between 6-7), and fry the potato panckes (in batches if necessary) until golden brown and crispy, about 2-3 minutes on each side.

Drain on paper towesl and sprinkle with salt. Serve hot plain or sprinkled with grated cheddar cheese, chopped green onions and dollop of sour cream.

A Cute Little Printable

This week I have an unexpected pocket of time to do some paperwork, filing, seasonal planning  and research that I have been putting off, wanting to do for some time now, and I'm really looking forward to getting things in order and preparing for autumn, which will be here before we know it!

One of the things I often do like to do is to make my own note pads, and when I came across this image over the weekend I knew immediately that I had to do just that!

As you can see from the picture above, I've already printed out several and swiftly put them to use!

Since this week is presenting a little differently, I've opted not to follow my regular housekeeping routine, or rather, to loosely follow it, and so I'm using these little sheets to write down reminders of things that still have to be done, dinner plans and other reminders. I am just in love with the way they turned out. The size is perfect for my needs and the design is just so me!

If you like this design as well, you can find the link to them **FREE** by following this link. They are two to a page, so you could easily print out a dozen and begin using them yourself!  If you do use them, let me know how you liked them! I have several other printables I've made for my own personal use over the years that I'll probably share soon, so again, if you like them, be looking for that!

❊