Happy Friday: Butternut Squash Soup

Summertime I LOVE my salads and Fall/Winter I LOVE soup! I found this slow-cooker butternut squash and apple soup HERE. I was trying to multi task (having trouble with this lately) and forgot I already added the crème fraîche so a bit more was added then needed, making the soup a little thick but still very good.

Have a safe, fun and Happy Halloween this weekend!

Enjoy and make it a golden one.
Hugs,
Joyce
xo

A grandmother pretends she doesn't know who you are on Halloween.

~Erma Bombeck~

Corner View: Pondering

I often think and reflect if I am doing what I should be doing with the life I was blessed with, treating others well, making a mark in life etc… These questions pop into my head more often lately.  

I feel our life is not ours to choose, but to listen to what we should be doing with it. I sometimes get anxious and busy looking that I forget to take the moment and listen.   

But when I do, my best places to listen and ponder my thoughts are in this room or outside hanging near a bay of water or near the trees.

For more Corner View pondering thoughts visit Theresa . Thank you Juniper for a great topic!

Have a golden day!

Hugs,

Joyce

xo

Listen a hundred times; ponder a thousand times; speak once.”

~Turkish Proverb~

Halloween Treats

As rumor has it the kids run down the hill to hit our house first, so every year I try to come up with fun ideas.

 

Thank goodness I saw Dawn’s wonderful idea, so I took a page from her book (as I like to call wonderful ideas) for this year’s Halloween treats.

I purchased the personalized stamp, orange ink and tags from her shop Butterfly Fly Stamps. She also has a wonderful blog HERE filled with great ideas. The color coordinating orange divine twine came from Whisker Graphics

photo taken by Flashing Blinky Lights
As you know from HERE and HERE, I also like to include something that glows or blinks for our little goblins, so they can be seen running from house to house. Also, just in case there is a child that is a diabetic or has food allergies.  The last couple of years my flashing pieces have come from  Flashing Blinky Lights.

Thank goodness I have a whole year to come up with next year’s treat or move!

Have a golden day my friends!

Hugs,

Joyce

xo

I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion.

~Henry David Thoreau~

Happy Friday: Garlic Parmesan Skillet Bread

I found this recipe at  Sunshine and Bones . It is so easy and great to make if you are in a pinch. It goes perfect with a warm bowl of soup or a salad. Oops I forgot to remove the wooden spoon from the photos it was used for the butternut squash soup I made. Yum...

Garlic Parmesan Skillet Bread

Ingredients:
1 can flaky buttermilk biscuits
3 Tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 tsp Italian seasoning or Carrabba's bread dip seasoning

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

8" cast iron skillet/saute pan

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

1. Melt butter in saute pan. Add garlic, parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.

2. Cut biscuits into quarters and toss in saute pan.

3. Place whole pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and slide onto platter for serving.

Have a golden weekend my friends!
Hugs,
Joyce
xo

“With bread and wine you can walk your road”

~ Spanish Proverb~

Corner View: Vacation/Holiday Photos

The topic for this week's corner view had me thinking, it will be a year next month since our last vacation.

You might remember, we went to Ft. Lauderdale Florida for our friends Brittany and Doug's wedding. It was also my big debut behind the lens. I took loads and loads of photos of their wedding and the weekend.  

Some of these boats were so big

and so inviting

If we weren't walking around the piers

there was the pool to sit by and relax

I think it is time to start thinking of another vacation. In the meantime to see more wonderful vacation/holidays spots stop over by Theresa's blog to see the list of our corner view friends.

Thanks Ian for this week's topic.

Have a golden day my friends!

Hugs,

Joyce

xo

“Laughter is an instant vacation”

Indian Summer

I hope you had a wonderful weekend.

The last two weekends in our corner have been warm, beautiful and colorful.

I know these warms days are limited, so I’m going to sit back and enjoy them.Have a golden day my friend!
Hugs
Joyce
xo

When the bold branches

Bid farewell to rainbow leaves

Welcome wool sweaters

 ~B. Cybrill~

Friday: Soups On

The other day I made this tasty cream of tomato soup. I found the recipe HERE The only downside to the recipe it didn't make enough!

While I was in the kitchen, my love walked in wondering what was I doing. When I mentioned I was making cream of tomato soup, his response was” why go through all this work, why not open a can of Campbell soup?”

Hmmm... as you can see by this last photo the soup was slurping around the bowl not because of an earthquake, but by the man who said to open a can of soup pulling at his second bowl of soup!


Have a golden weekend my friends!
Hugs,


Joyce
xo

P.S. BTW I love Campbell Soups.

"There is nothing like soup. It is by nature eccentric: no two are ever alike, unless of course you get your soup in a can."

 ~Laurie Colwin~

Corner View: My Love Of Green

This week’s topic is the color of green and our relationship with nature. If you have been reading my little blog you know how much I love and appreciate nature and the beauty it paints for us.

As far as I can remember, nature has always been part of me and the place I would run to, in happy and pondering times.  As a child I loved laying on the cool grass watching the clouds and once I was able to drive I would go to a local wooden park or sit on the rocks overlooking Lake Michigan

Today I am lucky enough to be living among the trees that surround our home and a stone through away from endless miles of beautiful forest preserves

I enjoy my walks (and look forward to doing this again soon) in the forest preserves among the trees, and the grass under my feet. It gives me a sense of peace, happiness, and to share a secret or two among the wind and the trees.

Green happens to be one of my favorite colors

I even like to add a splash of green among nature’s green

And bring a shade of green into our home

Photo by PvE

This beautiful art piece, by the talented Patricia will be finding a new home on our wall adding a splash of green.   If you are looking for that special gift or holiday card contact Patricia, she does commission work too.

Thanks again Otli for this week’s corner view choice. To visit more about green and nature visit THERESA’s   corner.

I hope you have a splash of green in your life my friends!
Hugs,
Joyce
xo

"If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees."

~Kahlil Gibran~

A Day At Harvest Time

Over the weekend we managed to make a small visit to a pumpkin/apple farm, called  Harvest Time

Bo couldn't believe his ears, he was actually going to his first apple/pumpkin farm. I don’t know how he does this, but sometimes when he gets over excited he flips his ears.

We took home some fresh apple cider, apples

and warm apple cider donuts

Who would think bundles of hay could be so much fun?

Bo actually did real well with all the activity around him

he wasn't fazed to see these two little ones giving a mirror image

Or these two walking side by side.
His training must be paying off, or it simply was a good day for us.  

I hope today is a golden one for you too, my friends!
Hugs,
Joyce
xo

Autumn is the bite of a harvest apple.

~Christina Petrowsky~

Happy Friday

I hope your weekend is filled with a smile or two!

Have a golden one my friends!
Hugs,
Joyce
xo

No Spring nor Summer Beauty hath such grace

As I have seen in one Autumnal face.

~John Donne~

Corner View: Color Orange…

 …radiates joy, warmth and energy through the beautiful things around me

The leaves in their shades of orange

A beautiful fall sunset bursting in shades of orange

A simple orange

Or three

Memories of spring through the petals of a poppy flower.


Thank you Otli for picking this week's topic. To see more shades of orange visit Theresa to see the list of our corner view friends.

Have a golden day my friends!
Hugs,
Joyce
xo

"There is no blue without yellow and without orange.”

~Vincent van Gogh~

Time To Get The Soup On

Burrr... It was sweater weather this weekend.

I spent some time yesterday going through my file of soup recipes. Do you have a favorite soup recipe? Until I pick a couple of my favorties... have a golden day!

Hugs,
Joyce
xo

"Soup is the song of the hearth...  and the home."

~Louis P. De Gouy~

Happy Friday And October 1st!

Welcome October! I can't believe how fast you came.

As you know we don't have children, but I so look forward to visiting the pumpkin farms in the area. I enjoy seeing the smiling faces of the little ones and hearing them squeal with excitement. Or maybe it is my squeal I hear! It always add a smile to my love's face to know I'm still young at heart (this is the only thing not aging!). I hope we can find a farm that will let us bring Mr. Bojangles, he loves hanging out with us. Besides he seems to attract his own following.

Have a golden weekend, my friends!

Hugs,

Joyce

xo

No Spring nor Summer Beauty hath such grace

As I have seen in one Autumnal face.

~John Donne~