Pumpkins...isn't it time for Autumn yet?

Once again it is time to participate in "A Few of My Favorite Things Saturdays" with Laurie over at Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie. She has a great blog - check it out!

Pumpkins...I love pumpkins...hence the name of my blog (genius - I know!) I love Fall...how does that happen when you live your entire life in Central Florida? We certainly don't HAVE experience the autumn season. Generally it's still hot when the leaves are changing elsewhere...we don't have pumpkin patches (aside from the ones hosted by the local churches where you can't get a pumpkin for less than $20), we don't have apple orchards to go pick apples and make yummy crisps and tarts. Crisp and cool mornings and evenings? Maybe in mid December...

So how is that it's been my favorite season for as long as I can remember when i've NEVER experienced it? Sure I get a little dose when we go to Georgia or up to the cabin for a quick trip...but when it's a week at most, it's not the same. 

I was obviously born to yankee parents and it's in my blood. My mom was born in North Carolina, but grew up in Ohio, my father grew up "in the shadow of the Golden Dome" in Indiana.  That may be more "mid west" but they say "pop" up there, so it's definitely yankee territory - not that there's anything wrong with that...just sayin' - besides, I'm born n reared in Florida...the southernmost yankee state. Native Floridians don't say "pop" just for the record. It's Coke. 

As I was saying - Fall...Autumn...I can't wait for the day that I get to experience it every single year. I will go apple pickin', I will go to the fall festivals and decorate my porches for the season, hay bales, corn shocks, tons of pumpkins and giant baskets of mums! I love love love it all...

I have pumpkins out in the cottage year round. I have more packed away for fall decorating...but since I picked up a new addition to the collection at Goodwill yesterday (I know, i'm weak...) I thought i'd share some of my beloved pumpkins for Favorite Things day...

My new pumpkin tureen from Harry and David's. I have no idea what it cost originally, but I paid $14.99 for it. I did find reference of it on the web from 2007 where someone got it on sale with an additional coupon discount for $14.00...so I'm guessing I got a decent deal. It's BIG and in perfect condition so I was happy to hand over the cash for it.

Pumpkins on a board....and on a stack of towels

Tall and skinny wooden pumpkin with beads and metal leaves

Beaded pumpkin on a candle stand

PUMPKINS! Well a sign that SAYS so...

Salt n peppa shakers from Hallmark a couple years ago

Pumpkin Pie plate and cover

Pumpkins on canvas!

Pumpkin folding 3 tier server... (currently folded closed)

Another pumpkin on cavas

A big hollow metal contemporary pumpkin from Broyhill...

Not sure what this one is made of...sort of feels like wood, but it's not very heavy...

And a funky mirrored mercury type glass pumpkin...

A pierced clay pumpkin...

and one of my very favorites...it usually sits in the middle of my kitchen table - this is a pottery pumpkin that my mom purchased for me at a local craft fair a few years ago. The top comes off - I guess it could be a cookie jar.

On that note, i'm off to make dinner - fish on the grill!

Parmesan Flounder

2 lbs flounder (or sole or tilapia)

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 C grated parmesan cheese

1/4 C butter / margarine, melted

3 tbsp mayo

3 tbsp chopped green onions / scallions / spice of choice

1/4 tsp salt

Coat a piece of heavy-duty foil (about 14 in. x 14 in.) with nonstick cooking spray. Place fillets on foil; brush with lemon juice. Shape foil to form edges. Put foil flat on the grill (do not seal). Grill, covered, over medium-hot heat for 4 minutes. Mix parmesan cheese, butter, mayo, onions (spices) and salt; brush over fillets. Grill 3-4 minutes longer or until fish flakes easily with a fork. 

 

Wow! Fabulous giveaway I just have to share!

Miss Mustard Seed in a Box

Miss Mustard Seed has a fantastic giveaway going on over at her blog - a whole big box of vintage goodness!

Tea towel, Bakelite, ironstone, and silver - OH MY! 

And these birds...

I'm certain my mom has (or had...she may have sent them packing to Goodwill when she sold her credenza a few months ago - booo!) a pair of these...I know they were in the credenza and not on display somewhere. Hmmm they would be fab in the birdcage that is waiting on paint....I know you're reading this mom...did the birds fly the coop? If not your
most favoritest daughter wants them...

Yeah, so even if you aren't interested in her giveaway - you should check out her blog - it's a good one!

On that note...i'm off to the shed to find some primer....I have painting to do!

Sometimes I see myself in other blogs...

Today I was catching up on some blogs and I ran across this post by Beth over at The Quilt Ladies. 

She found this  little uhhh mail organizer (?) at her Goodwill...

And with a waive of her magic creativity wand (and a little paint) she turned it into this...

Aside from the total cuteness factor and my love for organizational things...I had to post a comment on her blog because she inspired my project for this weekend (since i'm broke I gotta use what I have already)...

Here is my comment

~Robin~ said...
You've inspired me - I swear I bought the exact same one at my local Goodwill maybe a year or so ago. I'm a sucker for anything organizational. I tossed it in the closet for a rainy day (or whenever I figured out what to do with it)...I will dig it out tonight and see what I can do with it this weekend! I'll be sure to link you up as my inspiration! Thanks :-)
July 30, 2010 11:24 AM

Yep...I was sure I had picked up the exact same piece at my local Goodwill sometime last year (pre blog)

So I sent myself an email reminder and a link to her blog post so I would remember to go hunt it down.

In all of it's drywall dust (yes - I am still cleaning up drywall dust from that Spring remodel project) covered glory...it is indeed IDENTICAL! Seriously?  Pardon my messy desk...obviously I didn't take the time to crop the photo or take a fancy "before" shot.  How freaking hilarious is that?!

Tomorrow i'll be hunting down my beloved Heritage White spray paint, clear coat and a sanding sponge. Stay tuned for my finished project...I hope it turns out as well as Beth's did!

Ever feel like today is just NOT your day?

Evidently the powers that be don't feel that the threat of my cabin sliding off the mountain and having no air conditioning for some portion of a Florida summer is not enough of a test for me.

Nope...now my car is acting up and I have an iguana in a funk. 

My little girl hasn't been herself lately. Today she was very clingy. She's not eating much and I noticed that she has a bit of a bulge on one side of her gut and not the other.  Normally I would think she's got eggs...however it's not mating season and more importantly, she was spayed when they did the surgery to remove the paper clip that she ate. It will be at least $35 to take her to the vet. Standard office visit. I don't recall how much x-rays are...but that's probably going to bump it up somewhere around $80. 

$80...that's what's been spent on my car today trying to figure out what's wrong with it. For those of you that drive a stick - you know how it acts if you're in the wrong gear? Like you forgot to put it in 1st when you stopped and you try to take off in 2nd and it's jerky and sluggish and beh? Yep...that...only it doesn't matter what gear, what speed, what RPM. I checked the fluids. Oil was recently changed. Spark plugs are fairly new. Mr. Paisley generally doesn't believe me when I tell him something isn't right. Hello - I drive it every.single.day...if it hiccups, I know!  So he took it for a spin and at first it didn't do it, but then it did - HA! So there!

He replaced the fuel injectors (since we had a spare set with very few miles on them), the fuel filter and the spark plugs (again)...still does it. His next thought was the fuel pump...or some coil. Anything outside of fluids is foreign to me in the engine compartment of any vehicle with a computer. My '65 mustang? Let me at it...I used to scare the neighbors when I was a teenager...they were sure I had no clue what I was doing...not to worry...it's all good under the hood. Not so much anymore.  I don't want to know how much that costs...my guess is that he's going to replace it rather than take it to the mechanic to find out what's wrong with it...find out that it doesn't fix it and then still have to take it to the mechanic. 

The car is almost 8 years old (Dec 13) now. My how time flies...it really doesn't seem like it was that long ago that the dealership called to say it had been delivered - come and get it.  I guess that means its time for it to start falling apart - oh wait, it has. The driver side front seat needs new leather. The weather strip around the back window flaps in the breeze at the bottom when driving at high speeds. The power ports quit working (i'm sure it's just a fuse, but can't find any info about it and Mr. Paisley doesn't seem to think it's a big deal that I can't charge my cell phone or use my GPS because I HAVE NO POWER). Oh and Mr. Paisley drove it one day and when I got in it the next day the arm rest / door handle panel (it's kinda all one piece) was popped out of the door and won't go back in...and has since cracked. Speaking of cracked...the AC vent on the dash by the windshield pillar on the driver's side cracked in half. Add to that the fact that a few years ago Mr. P redid the brakes and didn't tighten the lug nuts on one wheel and the disappeared somewhere in the 11 miles of interstate I drive to work each day. So those are replaced with crappy (rusty) generic ones...and the front bumper needs to be replaced (again) and it and the hood need to be repainted (again) from when a parts driver from our local auto parts store ran him off the road and into a fence. 

If there's one thing I hate, it's crappy looking cars. I don't care if it's old. I like it clean and in good repair. I hated the faded paint on my first Jeep. Drove me crazy, but I was young and broke...so I kept it clean (not that you could tell). When my dad sold his truck and took the Jeep until he figured out what new truck he wanted, his first stop was Maaco for the $399 Presidential Paint job...yeah he didn't like it looking all oxidized either. 

So i'm out of money people...if you know the winning lotto numbers please leave me a comment with said numbers. 

I have changed my ways. I have had breakfast at home every day this week (I used to get a mushroom and cheese omelet with 2 slices of bacon at the cafe in our office for $3.99). I have had lunch out twice this week. Monday my friend Julia took me to lunch (so no money out of my pocket) and Wednesday I ended up going to Wendy's because the leftover spaghetti that Mr. P packed for me had like no sauce on it and it was horrible. I tried to eat it...it was just bad (it was good the night before...but not leftover...). That was $6.39 and I paid cash for it. Then I went to Big Lots and bought Mr. P a $4 pk of socks because it seems too many pairs got left in TN and now he doesn't have any here. I think it was $4.28 with tax.  So there you go...i've spent less than $12 this week (outside of picking up $38 worth of groceries).

Our plan of action is $50 per week for each of us to do whatever we want with...breakfast, lunch, shopping. $150 a week for groceries (really? how long has he been grocery shopping with me? $150 is enough for the month with the exception of weekly refill items like milk, bread and Nutella). Although I might revamp and see if I can pull off a week of meals at home and work for $150 AND follow my low carb diet...I dunno. I might have to take the George Foreman to work...

So if you run into me and i'm not really chatty and seem a little down. I AM. In fact i'm already at the "i've given up"  "what's next" stage...(hello depression). One of my in-law's has called twice today and I didn't answer the phone when I saw the caller ID. Mr. P was out the first time and in the shower the 2nd time...i'm just not in a talking kind of mood.

So if you care to spare a prayer for this insanity to stop before it pushes me over my limit - The Paisleys would be thankful. 

A few quick shots between rain storms...

As always Susan is hosting a blog part at A Southern Daydreamer

I had a few minutes to spend in the yard this morning...here's what I found.

Some of the mini glads are blooming again! That was a surprise...

And the one sunflower seed that came up is still going strong - although I need to tie the plant up.

And the ginger has exploded - it's never been so thick! It's also flowering...

The flowers are prettier when the "cone" turns red. They're great cut and stuck in a vase.

And one lizard in the midst of a major shed LOL or is it summer molting?