As I Said Before: I Love…

by Carole Brown

Autumn. But I also love Thanksgiving. 

As I’ve grown older, I’ve learned the value of appreciation for who we have in our lives, for what I’ve accomplished, for where we’ve been privileged to visit, for small blessings and huge ones too. So…November is the perfect month to share gratitudes and blessings.

Here’s one idea of how to create one type of jar, but there are plenty more! (Check out Pinterest for lots of ideas):

Pick your jar:

• Personalize it. Love country? Mod podge some artificial leaves to the outside, tie a country-themed ribbon or some raffia around it.  Like more traditional? Why not spray paint your jar a favorite color? Add some sprinkles or fancy lettering to the outside. If you want a bow, pick some classy ribbon. Or leave it plain…

 

 

• Fill those mantles and shelves.  Containers you seldom or never use, your candle stock, animal figurines (porcupines, owls, birds, turkeys, etc), pictures that might express what you want to convey or that fit with your scheme, certain toys, glasses or dishes, candle holders topped with gourds, small pumpkins, acorns, baskets, seeds, grains, sacks (paper and burlap), unusual sticks, autumn flowers, Indian corn, etc. 

 

• Collages.  Why not take old picture frames or window frames and make a “thankful for” collage? Notes, pictures, special items or collectibles: anything that brings back memories of things or people for whom/which you’re thankful. 

 

I Thought I Told you…

by Carole Brown…that I LOVE October.  So to spread a little cheer, I’ll share a few quotes and pictures that will have you smiling and thinking and maybe give you the urge to shuffle through some autumn leaves yourself. Enjoy!

October Loves:

• Brick walkways and streets
• Rain 
• Lamp lights

 

 

 

 

 

 

“October is the fallen leaf, but it is also a wider horizon more clearly seen. It is the distant hills once more in sight, and the enduring constellations above them once again.” 

October Loves:

• The clear starry nights
• The transition between warm days and cold ones
• The colorful trees that encourage us to look UP!

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”  Anne of Green Gables

October Loves:

• The colors of Autumn
• The harvest of Autumn
• The sense of Autumn

 

“October is the month for painted leaves…. As fruits and leaves and the day itself acquire a bright tint just before they fall, so the year near its setting. October is its sunset sky; November the later twilight.” ~Henry David Thoreau, “Autumnal Tints”

October Loves:

• Children at play
• Snoopy loves Fall! 🙂
• Bright cheeks

October is crisp days and cool nights, a time to curl up around the dancing flames and sink into a good book. ~John Sinor

October Loves:

• Fresh Apple Cider
• Pumpkins
• Crisp Apples

Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter. ~Carol Bishop Hipps, “October,”

 

May you all have a blessed rest-of-the-October, and may your work be fruitful and abundant.