I Love November

The weather has been wonderful! Bluest skies and briskly blowing autumn leaves.

I love November....
It's been great to get out on the beach after a week or more of cooking and cleaning! The shoreline is very empty though...no birds, no seashells, a few dog walkers...and me. Only a few interesting textures to tuck in my pockets..

What sort of seed is this???

                         

...before heading for the dunes where a tiny surprise grows each autumn. Dune mushrooms!

Apparently indigenous, these little mushrooms crop up,

---usually solo in the sandy areas of the dunes!

I've even found morels!

                              

  You'd expect mushrooms in an autumn woods...

...but on the beach? Wherever did they come from? When?

                     

I loved mushroom hunting in my family's Cape Cod woodlot.

 so many kinds...

such fascinating colors:

My dad loved the fairy circle of Indian Pipes (not strictly a mushroom, but a fungus that grows on dead wood....His magical circle grew under big old oaks, among the brown oak leaves and acorns...

                 

And he always scolded, "Don't touch!" as if I was six still...and yes, some varieties are poisonous.

 It's always fun to find the Autumn sand mushrooms...signalling the final days of summer. Fall has come at last, winter soon to follow.

What about you guys? Have you ever mushroom hunted? Did you dare to eat them?

love

             lizzy

.......gone to the beach

Sunset: November

A foggy and gloomy Thanksgiving has finally given way to a rosy sunset on Black Friday...and I managed a crisp, brisk walk before the very early darkness closes in.

I didn't even think about hitting the mall! (Did you?)

Spent most of the day putting away the party dishes...

I know the "in thing" this year was for natural browns and blues for Thanksgiving. Laura at my fav blog 52 Flea does it so well!

...but I was sort of already committed to traditional colors with a touch of glitter and gold.

I think it looks pretty....and festive.

My Staffordshire in the autumn colors is my inspiration....

Then I added gold-leafed and glittered pumpkins

...and a wonderfully faded mercury glass beaded table thing---placemat?--- from Target,

with mercury glass votives....

My wedding china is maybe out of style, who knew? But I think it looks so pretty, with my greatgrandmother's trousseau linen tablecloth, family treasure wine glasses, and silverware...plus the flea market linen napkins and a little chocolate turkey for everyone...

The turkey was pretty good...the Martha Stewart chocolate pumpkin cheesecake was excellent. The wines were great....except the dessert wine, an ice wine that tasted like Robitussin! eeeeew.

But for some reason all that turkey and fixin's makes me long for a pot of spaghetti Bolognese! Yes! Red meat sauce, made with sausage and mushrooms and the leftover wine. Lots of fragrant parmesan! Yum, right?

a pretty dolly to greet my friends

My mother always said the day after Thanksgiving she longed for a Big Mac! (And we'd get takeout at Wendy's, have a Thanksgiving aftermath picnic at Fort Hill overlooking Nauset Beach and the lighthouse, on the Cape.)

I know just how she felt!

homemade cinnamon potpourri to make my entry hall fragrant

How was your holiday? Hope it was joyous....

love
          lizzy 

gone to the beach....

Thanksgiving Blessings

Hello everyone!

I'm gonna be very grateful here...you'll see!

My oven has rust holes the size of quarters...(I know! Why did I clean it???)

The dishwasher just broke...

The beach chairs and coolers are still in my dining room...

The contractor finally arrived to rip out and repair my deck, just in time for---um, winter?

My Jeep needs an oil change...now! [or so the dashboard readout says...]

Turkeys still don't come with six drumsticks...

I can't find cornbread Stove Top stuffing anywhere ( 6 stores! Is it no longer made? It's my fav for the beginning of my stuffing creations.)

I have a migraine...

Oh and I hate to cook!

But nevermind, I am very thankful because, who knows...

things could be a lot worse, right?

I am so very thankful for my wonderful children and dear friends---live in this wonderful country. At the beach....

love

      lizzy

         [ gone to the beach.......]

The Quilt Ladies

Hi! Just had to tell you that the ladies with the pretty pink quilts were at the flea market today. For the past month or so I've had my eye on the quilts they use for display.

 This time I went there first, just in case: maybe I could buy them and they'd undo her display by the time I left? (I thought, I hoped.)

Both quilts are 30s-ish pink. One is a miniature Bow Ties, I've never seen the block done that small---3"?  Great backing, red and yellow flowers, faded so prettily. And the other is a Lady of the Lake, I think: Large triangles edged in teeny tiny triangles. Hard to see under all the old crystal and tchochkas they sell. 

I got her attention, asked if the quilts were for sale...and was rudely, adamantly, answered NO! I tried to give her my card, "Just in case you change your mind?" and she said the quilts were from her collection and NOT for sale.

Oh. Okay.

I can't imagine having nice quilts like that in my "collection" and having them be so dirty! eeeew. And sure, this is NY but usually quilt collectors are friendly and interested even if they don't want to sell their quilts. (And why bring them to the flea market if they're not for sale?)

But at least I got up the nerve to ask this time. I think the previous week when she/ they ignored me so obviously, she could tell I was interested in the quilts and didn't want to bother telling me no.

 I didn't want to make an offer and start a bidding thing, she has to want to sell them or she won't give me a decent price. And for all I know they'll disintegrate when I wash them.

I'll keep going by her booth though! Til end of December....because maybe, someday, she'll change her mind? The Bow Ties quilt was very special....

I passed up a pretty (and pretty expensive!) Mexican silver cuff bracelet, a large disk of turquoise with faceted aquamarines at the side. My colors!  And there were a couple nice crocks but I was too tired to carry them to the car. So---a nothing-found day, but fun to be out in the sunshine, right?

Hope your weekend was fun and more successful!

PS The quilts shown here have nothing to do with today's pink quilts! They're just quilts that DID get to come home with me...and are loved. I had them out deciding which ones to use for the holidays....they are my success stories.

love

           lizzy

 gone to the beach.......