Fall Tour

I have been trying to post some things on here when I have a second, but the great programs on my computer that are supposed to make it easy just aren't working. So when my moment in time has flown away… it is a rare moment for me to be able to sit down again and get everything in line to post again! We are alive! We are active! We ARE!

These are from two weeks ago, again just some journal entries I made for myself. So they may be a little unedited! Hope you are enjoying your own Fall Season!

Trying to make his car say cheese! That lamp is a pair of palm trees... he was there to rescue a cat who happened to be stuck up there at the time. The pumpkins on the bottom have many teeth marks. You would think after one bite, he would quit. It's the joy of making mom cringe that he gets out of it I guess. The table at least still has the runner on it, although the scarecrow and pumpkin that once graced this area have found new homes... I think under the couch. Putting out things that were not extremely important to me was a key to decorating this year. Makes for happy mom and boy.

I like the little leaf garland from the Dollar Tree on my Home sign. This little wall on the room makes me smile every time I see it. With the glow of the little brown lamp and the candle lit up on the wall, it is a cozy feeling. Fall just seems to create that. At least at the beginning... until you've been so cozy inside together that you go stir crazy... I am not relishing the thought of those days! A friend of mine came over one time and said how much she liked our house and decorations... she said I must like Fall. I told her I didn't. My small collection started at Mississippi when there was no Fall... so one must improvise and bring it into ones house. Now I just keep supplementing the collection because it brings an air of doom with it. Stuck. inside. Wind. biting. your. skin. Miserable. But if I can make at least look a little pretty, like it is a good thing on the outside... then maybe the happy inside will follow. Maybe!

Our house is full of different little spots of Fall, I can't say it is completely sweeping over the house. I know some people will go and change their pillows, slipcovers... the entire make of the room. One day, should I be so endowed with the finances and lavish amounts of time... I may consider it... or not... because then I would have to clean it all and put it away for the next season. And all our little spots are jus that: little, in our little house. But it's happy. This is one of my favorite spots. Underneath are Isaac's toys, which will be covered in a nice little "skirt" someday when all the other baby projects are done, now that I have the fabric and supplies to get it done. The mirror is dressed with a small Fall candle ring, hung on ribbon. Something I saw somewhere on a blog I'm sure. And the basket below has been a true favorite of mine since before Isaac was born, actually when we first moved here I bought that basket. I was young and naive then about Fall, and collected anything and everything I could. Because something about the change of the season makes you want to pick up a leaf that you have never seen just that color before, or a pince cone, or an acorn. And this year I was anxious to put it out to see what Isaac would do. He enjoys it, and being the boy he is... he naturally wants to collect things. Almost anything. When the pinecones first started fallwing, we had to get them and instead of letting them behind and breaking his little nature-loving heart, we bring them to our basket and save them as treats to spy when we may not be able to go outside. There are several times during the week when he asks if he can peek inside at his treasures.

I have started projects, and started projects and started projects. I am just now learning to let them go... just do a little so that something, anything... is done. And these little cans are one of those things. I would love to keep embellishing them with ribbons and buttons, and Bible verses. But in the time that I had... this will have to do. And I am okay with that, because I am happy with the whole purpose behind them. I saw this on a blog somewhere. And actually the family who suggested it did it for the entire year. Now that I have the cans, we could too... next year. But for this Fall I cut long strips of Fall scrapbook paper to be used later in the season to make a paper chain decoration. One can holds empty, blank strips, and the other is where we are putting our things we write down. Isaac was in love with all the paper. So, after pulling the entire stack out of his hand for the umpteenth time I decided to tell him I was so glad he thought they were nice... and would he like to know why Mommy put them there. He said, "Ya!" So we went to my desk, he picked two papers he liked them best, and I asked him that from now until Thanksgiving we wanted to collect papers that tell what we are thankful for. I read him some of mine that I had already done. I asked him what he happened to be thankful for, anything from that particular day. I didn't think he would say anything really... what does a two year old understand, right? He took the pen in his little hand and said, "Hmmm... da paw-k." We had made a special trip to the park that day. So he scribbled his words on the paper and I tried to keep my mouth shut from shock. Then on his next strip of paper he quickly doodled that he was thankful for his grandparents. And almost immediately that was it. He hopped off my lap and was happy with himself. I was a little proud too. What a blessing!

As you can see it is lots of pinecones. We found one acorn that had not yet been split open by the squirrels... and sticks... Isaac loves sticks too. And each one is just special, right? He's into the leaves now. So thos are making their way inside too. Soon I'm sure we'll have so many things in here we'll have to make a type of garland or some fun craft out of them. I have in the past "baked" all our nature stuff to make sure there were no bugs or yucky things on them. This year, I have done that with about half of what we have but they come in our house so quickly I haven't been able yet to snatch them up and clean them all like that. I peek on them and they seem okay. There have been a couple I have snuck back outside because I saw spiders, lots of dirt, or webs.

I am so proud of myself for this, I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner... scrapbook paper in my wall boxes. I love it!

I wasn't sure about this garland, are you supposed to hang this stuff? What do people do with it? I got it on clearance last year at Hobby Lobby and since it was about the only thing left I thought I should snatch it up in case inspiration struck me on what to do with it later. This is as creative as I got with it because even taking it out of the box all the berries were falling off. So I did not feel like wrestling it into a wreath shape lest I lose more leaves and berries. And I like it. I really do. And I can't think of anything else I would rather do with it now.