A Cozy Halloween

 

I admit it.  I love Halloween, but not so much the blood and gore and scary horrors.  I like fall and pumpkins and black cats and orange!!  So, though I have no children I indulge my inner child and decorate just a bit for fun. 

Obviously I just pick up cheap trinkets and Halloween decorations that I use to accent a small table in the foyer--nothing like my friend Jenny who makes the most delightful dolls and Halloween decorations.  I am orange with envy.  To see Jenny's blog about her original Halloween creations, click here.

 

 

Halloween is a day when you don't want to be trying to prepare supper while answering the door to all the little goblins and Ninjas and princesses.  So, in keeping with my Slow Food efforts I'm observing a crock pot soup day.  Yesterday I filled both my crock pots, so today we're serving split pea soup with corn bread.

 

Or, if you would rather, you can eat navy bean and ham soup.  And, of course, a fat piece of homemade corn bread!

Note the gourd Jack-o-Lantern I bought at the Farmer's Market in Little Rock.  I couldn't resist the big guy.

What about you?  Do you have any Halloween traditions that have carried over to adulthood?

 

Hello Again

I've been busy lately.  I had some computer issues (had to replace hard drive, router problems, Adobe Photoshop issues) and I've been on the road (Virginia to visit my family and Little Rock to a young friend's wedding). 

I was about a week too early to experience the full splendor of the fall trees when I was in the mountains of Virginia.  However, the view from Bill Clinton's Presidential Library in Little Rock featured some lovely red maples and a skyline view of the city, which helped assuage my disappointment. 

 

 

I'm in charge of  the Holiday Tour of Historic Homes in our National Historic District neighborhood.  How did Christmas creep up on the calendar so quickly?   If you're in my neck of the woods, save the dates of December 7 and 8 and step back in time to visit some charming historic homes.

Autumn and the hint of cooler temperatures motivate me to enter my kitchen again to start cooking, so I've been on a "Slow Food" kick .  My sister in Virginia really started me on my recent Slow Food initiative.  She sent me back to Louisiana with potatoes grown in their garden and apples from their apple tree.  I was inspired to make an au gratin potato and ham dish similar to what we ate in France when we visited friends in the High Alps region a couple of years ago.

Then I made an apple pie with caramel sauce.  Duly inspired by my successes, I was up early Saturday morning when we were in Little Rock so we could go to the Farmer's Market there.  I came home with yellow crookneck and zucchini squash and some Arkansas Black apples.  I see another apple pie in our future!

 

Apple pie with caramel sauce

Lastly, as you may have seen on this blog, we got a new puppy--the infamous Treble (often pronounced Trouble) who requires almost as much time as a child.  I set up play dates to socialize him, take on daily "poop" walks to the park (pack paraphernalia for clean-up), and shop at stores I never entered before.  My husband claims Treble is a charter member of the Toy-of-the-Week Club.

Treble at 6 months

Some of Treble's toys!!

But I've missed my blogger friends and my blog so I'm going to start putting something on the page.

I may even find time to read a book!