The smell of Autumn

Fall arrived here in the valley of northern California on Saturday, in the form of  a downpour in a lot of areas, complete with thunder and lightening. The rain began fairly early in the day, and we received about a half inch. Not too bad for our first storm of the season. It inspired me to clean out the fireplace and start making preparations for winter. It will be here before we know it, so this next weekend, I will have my husband move some firewood closer to the back door in a sheltered area where it can stay dry. I just love that the air seems like it had a bath, and you can just feel the temperatures beginning to dip lower in the wee hours of the morning.

I took my chances, knowing it was supposed to rain, and went to a local vintage and antique fair. I still had a few 'holes' I wanted to fill in on my living room walls, so I thought this might be the perfect opportunity to pick up some things I might could use. The first vendor I came to had a perfect frame in the size I had been looking for to make a chalkboard out of. I was so happy to have found it and couldn't wait to get started, but I knew I needed to walk the whole fair first before I went on my way. As I came back down the other side, without spotting anything else I just couldn't live without, I decided to stop and take one more look in the first vendor's booth again. I needed just the right height side table for our living room, and there it was, off to the side all by itself! It wasn't exactly the color I wanted, but that can always be changed. I also found a cute little tray, and a bust of a girl.
It seems chalkboards are all the latest rage in the designer circle these days, and I had a lot of fun practicing my lettering. It could use some work still, but I love how it looks on our living room wall, and I love the fact that I can change the message everyday to whatever I want if I choose to. What fun this is going to be!!

 

This little French side table might eventually get a new coat of paint on it in a different color! The little tray I got is on the bottom shelf, and the bust of the girl is in the top picture. I am pretty happy with my latest acquisitions!

Over the weekend, I also made two more chemo hats for www.halosofhope.org., using the same pattern for both. Since I can crochet at the speed of light, I decided to crochet them in order to get them to the recipients sooner. The pattern I used is called Olivia's Butterfly, and it's a free pattern on www.ravelry.com. The only mods I did was to crochet two extra rounds of round 6, in order to make it a little longer. I'm still working on the buttonbands of my little grandson's cardigan. I hope to have it finished tomorrow!! I also did a little spinning yesterday, and it felt wonderful to be at my wheel again. I haven't had much time to spin, so this was a real treat! I'm still working on the eight ounces I got at Retzlaff Winery, which is a yak and silk blend. Double treat!!

I will leave you for now with this quick update, and hope to be back very soon! Until then....take care and enjoy your week!