You knew we lived in the midst of a forest. You knew that there are mostly evergreen trees in the forest up here. But did you know that some evergreen trees lose bits and pieces of their needles/branches? Here’s a snap of a nearby Cedar tree… each fall, all the cedar trees have sections that turn a rust color and eventually drop off – normally during the wind and rain storms that come in November. There. An autumnal bit of etcetera.
Hey, it’s great living in a forest! You get to see lots of wildlife… like these very tame and laid back deer, lounging in our next door neighbor’s back yard a few days back. Some days I think the deer are cute. Some days I’d like to make them all into deer jerky. 
This happy little photo is of the mommy deer and twins that have spent the entire summer going from home to home, devouring every edible flower, tree, and plant in the vicinity. They look so content, don’t they?
Last week, on one of our truly glorious autumn days, we took a drive with our neighbors Irv & Elaine over to Anacortes, WA. They took us to the top of a large hill where Cap Sante Park is located. We’d never been there – and on a nice day (like we had) the view is stunning. Here is a photo of our good friends with Fidalgo Bay in the background. 
Irv and Elaine are now back in Florida, where they live most of the year. You may remember we went to see them last March and had a fantastic visit! Today we woke to 32 degrees and saw that it’s in the 70′s in Florida. I’m going to try not to think too hard about that.
Here are a couple of shots of our cat, Jinx. He wanted to show off his Halloween “Beastie Bands” collar so I told him, “just turn your head the other way so we can see it, Jinx”. And he did. By the way, in my humble opinion, “Beastie Bands” are simply the nicest (but definitely NOT the most expensive) cat collars. Jinx likes to change his neckwear as the seasons change 
I absolutely love Autumn. It means I can start making more homemade soups and stews, roasts in the oven, and baked goods. So far, I’ve made a pot of chili and an apple crisp. I’m thinking tonight might be a great night for my homemade potato soup. Lots of evenings in the fall and winter, we’ll make our dinner on soup and bread. I still am intimidated at the thought of making my own bread… not so much in the technique exactly, but in the time it takes. Ok, I’ll admit it, the technique scares me a bit also. At any rate, I love to buy (at Costco in a pack of six) the small sourdough baguettes that are not completely baked. They need about 20 minutes in a 375 degree oven to finish them off to perfection. This time of year I keep them in the freezer to go along with the soups and stews.
Here is a snap shot of an open-faced sandwich I made for lunch a few days ago. I got the idea out of my favorite “Everyday Food” magazine – I think it was in an issue about 5 years ago. 
They are cheese, apple, and bacon on a nice whole grain brown bread. I cooked the bacon first, then assembled the sandwiches and baked them in the oven at 350 for approx 12-14 minutes. Long enough for the bread to get sort of crispy and the cheese to melt. I used extra sharp cheddar and golden delicious apples. You could use any cheese that you like and even change the fruit to thinly sliced pears. Yep, that would be soooo good too!
On the subject of food, I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of The Pioneer Woman and her website, and all the great food she makes. Well, she’s started another website, the Tasty Kitchen- described as: “Favorite Recipes from Real Kitchens Everywhere!” – where anyone can submit recipes that are tried and true family favorites. It’s a great website and if you enjoy cooking like I do, you may discover a great recipe or two there!
The final subject for todays “Autumnal hodgepodge” is painting. An eight-letter word that describes perseverance and determination. We moved in to our new home (yes, it was actually new when we moved in) in 2003. The builder, bless his heart, painted (with a spray gun I am sure) every wall and ceiling in this house the famous off-white color. Five years ago we ventured into the world of color and painted the guest room a sort of ‘whole-grain-mustard’ gold. Sounds horrible doesn’t it? Well, it looks okay and goes well with the “African” theme we sort of have in there. It took two coats of color to cover the off-white walls. Fast forward to 2009. Finally, hubby and I agree that we absolutely must update the walls in our “great room” – which encompasses the living room, dining room, and kitchen. I kid you not, we made FIVE trips to Home Depot and Lowe’s before deciding upon the two colors. The painting has been in process for much of this past week. It is not yet done. But here are a few shots of the prep and beginning of the debacle!
Taping in the kitchen
The big wall in living room area
Let the painting and 'cutting in' begin~
Obviously, I’ll post some “after” pictures once we are done. Having the house in total chaos is a yucky feeling, but it was definitely a must. All I’ll say is we are very happy with the outcome — so far!
