Enjoying the Warm Fall

Hey there ... I haven't been doing too many posts lately for lack of material I guess. I thought I'd just pop in to say "hello"! Our American friends are gearing up for Thanksgiving, but since we had our Canadian Thanksgiving way back in the beginning of October, it's all kind of moot to me now. I have been enjoying our beautiful fall weather though. It's been so warm here, usually hanging around 15C each day and so sunny! Today ... not so sunny, but still mild.

Apart from playgroups and storytime at the library, I've been taking the daycare kids into the woods for little adventures each week. I thought I had taken more scenic photos during our walks, but I only had a couple and the rest were photos of just the kids (which I won't post here, although they were really cute!).

This is at a conservation area just north of town. So pretty early in the morning with a slight mist in the air. The leaves are pretty much all on the ground now, making a lovely golden carpet. This is one little stretch I always admire, and I know I've shared photos of this spot before. It's the way the sun is just up over the hill in the distance, and the tall pine trees are dark in contrast leaning over the steep hill on the left. It makes you stop and sigh at its beauty.

Another very tiny wooded area is at the very southern part of town along the Waterfront Trail. This woods was saved through an effort of local people and is quite pretty. There are some big white pines in here towering way above us. These trees rival some of the white pines we see far up north in logging country. Many of these pines were logged in the early days and used for ship masts in England!

Later this week ... Friday to be exact ... I'll be joining some ladies in a "Friday Night Sew-In" run by Wendy B of Sugarlane Designs in Australia. I haven't decided what I will be working on just yet. I thought it might be fun, until I remembered that Australia is about 14 hours ahead of us here in Ontario, so I won't exactly be sewing at the same time. Oh well, I need more connection with people and this is one way to do it, right? Running a home daycare can at times be a lonely business. Here's the link for the November sign-up if you're interested in joining the sew-in yourself ... did I mention there's a giveaway? More details on this night can be found through the button link below.

Not much happening around here. We're planning our yearly shopping trip into Toronto for the first weekend in December. Something my family of four tries to keep going ... a happy tradition you know 😉 I've got "Christmas" on my mind a lot these days with projects I want to work on as gifts. I probably should have started on them a month ago, but I can never decide on what to make! I seem to work better under pressure anyway ... gets my creativity running rampant, then I never have time to complete everything I come up with!

Hope things are well with all of you ... I have been visiting everyone and enjoying seeing what you're all up to. A busy, but fun time of year. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Thanks for stopping by!

Wendy

Raven Dance

Playing around with my raven photos tonight.

... and a toadstool ...

Tea Cup & Mug Exchange - Fall Edition

I joined Stephanie of The Enchanting Rose for her very special Tea Cup & Mug Exchange again this fall. This is the second time I've participated in this fun exchange. Thank you so much Stephanie for hosting! 

What's not to love about this exchange. You get to collect together a mug or teacup and some goodies to send to a new friend, and you in turn receive something from another. This fall I was given the name of Andrea of Saskatchewan to send a mug. Andrea has a beautiful blog My Everything Corner and I quickly looked her up and read quite a few of her posts to get to know her a little bit more. Since it was close to Thanksgiving here, and the fact that she made a note that she "loves pumpkins", my task was a relatively simple one. Here's a sneak peak of what I sent to Andrea, although you can visit her to see more.

When my own parcel arrived in the mail, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was sent from Stephanie herself! I was quite honoured to have received the package from the organizer of this well-run exchange. The box was beautifully put together, even on the outside! When you receive something that has been packaged so creatively, you know there are going to be good things inside :)

There were lots of pretty details throughout with the packaging and the gifts themselves. There was a predominant theme of autumn in everything that Stephanie sent. There was even maple leaf and pumpkin confetti sprinkled generously inside the box ... so cute! Every time I pulled another item out of the box, a flutter of confetti came out as well :) 

As you most likely know Stephanie does some beautiful sewing, and I was so very, very happy to receive some of her handmade items. First were her signature teacup coasters in fall colours ...

I love all the special details Stephanie adds to the smallest of items. Don't you love that lace and those yo-yo flowers with pretty button centres?

Next an adorable mug rug with a beautiful little pocket  holding a vintage serviette and a packet of green tea.

A close-up of the shabby flower ... can you see 3:00?

This is my friend Judith's afternoon tea time ... "always make time for tea", says Judith ... 

seeing this clock made me smile :)

Isn't the serviette so delicate? I love vintage things, particularly linens.

Look how prettily this tea towel was wrapped!

When opened up, it's a very generous size of thick cotton. I do quite a bit hand washing with my favourite dishes (I have quite a few dishes that just don't belong in the dishwasher), 

so this will come in very handy.

Beautiful sunflower details and brown rick-rack ribbon across the bottom.

It's more fun to dry dishes with something pretty, don't you think?

And a tea wallet! 

These come in so handy when you visit someone's house where tea is not 

the hot drink of choice (or you just want to bring your favourite tea with you!).

It's so beautifully made! I love your work Stephanie ;)

And look at the details of pretty ribbon and yo-yo flower ... lovely.

Inside are lots of lace (beautiful lace!) pockets to store your favourite tea 

... mine being Earl Grey.

The personal card from Stephanie had a recipe on the back for cinnamon rolls, which I will be trying sometime soon (yummy cinnamon!). The card came together with a matching recipe card for me to write a special recipe on it. I'm still thinking of which recipe to choose, and then I'll put it in my recipe box.

... again, it's the details that I loved ...

But it wasn't all handmade items. Here is a beautiful pumpkin plate that we used for our Thanksgiving dinner. I had made a pumpkin pie for dessert, but added some cookies to the table as well using this plate. It got lots of comments!

Isn't it pretty? I love that shade of green.

Some of the cookies I served at Thanksgiving were also provided by Stephanie!

Inside the paper bag were packets of more Earl Grey tea ... yummmm!

Here's the pumpkin pie I made ;)

Stephanie also sent these two beautiful decorative pumpkins ... so adorable!

I added them to my pumpkin display on a small side table for Thanksgiving dinner.

All these pumpkins have been gracing our kitchen table since then.

The beautiful glass pumpkin was a birthday gift from my daughter this year.

And last but definitely not least, is the adorable mug! 

I'm glad that owls are so popular lately because I have always loved owls, 

and now I see them everywhere!

Isn't he sweet?

And on the reverse side are some sunny sunflowers!

A beautiful mug for fall :)

Once again, thank you so much for everything Stephanie! 

I was quite in awe of all that you sent my way!

Everything is beautiful and very much appreciated!

Be sure to stop by The Enchanting Rose 

to see what others have been sending through the mail for this exciting exchange.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Wendy

the whole kit and kaboodle