The Simple Things

Linked to The Simple Things photo challenge at Rebecca Cooper's blog.

How to Make Clay Pot Jack-o-Lanterns

During a recent trip to the Pediatricians office, I was intrigued by the jack-o-lanterns they had decorating their office waiting room. The jack-o-lanterns were actually large clay pots, turned upside down and painted to resemble carved pumpkins. They had painted faces and a stick stuck through the drain hole to look like the stem of the pumpkin.

I decided that it would be fun to try and imitate the pots myself. After all, the jack-o-lanterns we make with our real pumpkins end up rotting on our porch within a couple of days of carving them.

The first step was finding the clay pots. Since this is not gardening season, our Wal Mart did not have any in stock. But after some searching in other stores, I did find some.

Next, I primed all the pots and spray painted them orange.


Then, I used stencils to create the different faces of jack-o-lanterns. I used a Sharpie marker to outline the features...

...then used black and white craft paint to fill in the outlining.

I found it best to let the craft paint dry and apply a second coat. After all the features were like I wanted them, I sprayed the entire pot with a clear, protective coat.

Here they are, ready to decorate the front porch without fear of rot!

Tonight's Fall Festivities

We created these:


Even though the process was a little gross!


I can't help but giggle at his expression.

Fall Fun and Festivities

Fall has always been one of my favorite seasons of the year. Last fall I posted a series of posts about why I love fall in our area. You can read three of those posts here, here, and here.

Our family has been enjoying many of the sights, sounds and foods of fall. I have not been posting as often as I'd like, so this can serve as a "catch-up" post for the past couple of weeks.

I love the food of fall. This fall the kiddos and I made "moose munch". You can check out the recipe on my recipe blog.


We also made tie-dye shirts. My bloggy friend, Mer, has blogged several times about her family's love of tie-dying. So I thought it'd be fun to give it a try. We used white t-shirts and dyed them orange. The kiddos were thrilled to squirt the orange dye on their shirt and had a hard time waiting the 6 to 8 hours required to see how they turned out. I liked the result, but was really wishing for a darker orange. Perhaps I should have used bleach on an orange shirt. (any tips, Mer?)


Our church hosted its annual Fall Festival this past weekend. This is always a fun night of games and food and fellowship. My two dressed as a hunter and a ballerina. I love it that they choose costumes from their dress-up clothes rather than expecting a new store bought costume every year.


I've been feeling crafty lately. A friend recently told me about using bandannas to make a top for my daughter. It was super easy and the results were SO cute. It took me only 10 minutes to whip this thing together. I hope to make another one of a different color soon. I'll be posting pictures and instructions here when I do.


My in-laws visited us this last weekend, and we had a nice time with them. The kiddos were thrilled to have their grandparents with them and enjoyed lots of games of Chutes and Ladders and hide-and-go-seek. The grandparents also went with us to the pumpkin patch and the Fall Festival.



Speaking of the pumpkin patch, what better fall activity is there than choosing a pumpkin from the patch? Even though I was disappointed that all the pumpkins were rather small, the kiddos each found one they wanted to take home. We hope to carve them tonight if there is still time after soccer and soccer party!

In Case You Were Wondering...

I know that some of my readers don't have the privilege of living in the Southeast portion of the United States. And since those of you who don't live "down" here may have never seen the "lovebugs" I mentioned in my last post, you might be slightly curious enough to read one more post about them.

I thought I'd take this opportunity to educate you on the effects of "lovebugs" on our vehicles. To demonstrate, I took the following photo of the front of my hubby's truck:


This picture does a good job of showing you what happens when these bugs get excited about my hubby's truck. They swarm in for a closer look and before they know what hit them, bam! Now imagine these little smear spots all over the front of your vehicle. They are on the windshield, the front side of your mirrors, the hood, the grill and (heaven forbid)



your Florida Gator license plate!

Lovebugs:Hated or Welcomed?

You may remember me talking about how I love what I call the markers of the seasons....those things that happen every year at the same time marking the beginning of a new season. Strangely enough, I even like the pesky markers! In our region of the United States, we have "lovebugs" show up every fall. These little bugs are interesting creatures that I had never seen or heard of before moving here. They are little black and orange bugs that are called lovebugs because

"upon reaching maturity the lovebug spends almost the entirety of its remaining life copulating with its mate... The male and female attach themselves at the rear of the abdomen and remain that way at all times, even in flight. In fact, after mating, the male dies and is dragged around by the female until she lays her eggs." -wikipedia

Its during the fall of the year that they begin to swarm (probably more accurately called flights). They seem to be attracted to light or white surfaces (like the columns on our back porch). They are most pesky to our vehicles. Driving, especially on highways, results in lots of lovebugs splattered all over the front of the car. If they are not washed off pretty quickly, the remains dry and are very hard to remove.

While these unique bugs ARE pesky and bothersome, to me they mark the beginning of the fall season. The fall season around here means slightly cooler weather and a lot less humidity. And a lot less humidity means we can breathe and quit sweating non-stop. We can open the windows and enjoy the outdoors. The kiddos can spend much more time outside, and everybody seems more relaxed and happy. So, anything (even pesky bugs) that signals milder weather is a welcome sight to me!

I Couldn't Resist...

....taking pictures of this beautiful tree.


As I was visiting a friend at our local school today, I spotted this beautiful tree whose leaves were creating this spectacular yellow carpet.


I had to stop and take numerous pictures. Today was an overcast day, so I'm tempted to go back tomorrow if its sunny and take some more. Aren't you glad God gives us pretty things to look at?

This Week in Alabama!

Scary, isn't it? My friend Jennifer and I are having fun! She and her family are here all week (they live in North Carolina).

Here are all the kids on the way to church Sunday morning.

I won't be around the blogosphere much this week. We're too busy having fun. On tap for this week: hotdogs & s'mores over the fire in the back yard, fishin' at a friend's lake, playing outside, Thanksgiving dinner, Black Friday shopping, Phase 10 games, movie watching, x-box playing and so much more.

Phantom softball in the front yard

These pj clad kiddos don't look like they are going to bed any time soon!

I hope you are enjoying yourselves this week too. And don't forget why we're celebrating: God's goodness to us! We have a lot for which to be grateful both personally and as a nation!

A Series: Fall in Lower Alabama!

* the smell of sawdust and cow manure
* ferris wheels and tilt-a-whirls
* youth in helmets wrestling heifers


* dusty roads and parking lots
* ranchers betting on the weight of that large Brahma bull
* children begging for more tickets to use in the Midway
* loud music blaring from speakers
* lots of camoflage and cowboy boots
* the smell of funnel cakes and kettle corn
* monkeys dressed in clothes, elephant rides and camels
* photography exhibits and vendor give-aways
* pigs greased in peanut oil
* pageant queens
* barrels of free peanuts to eat!

These are the sights, sounds and smells of the National Peanut Festival on farmer's night.

A Series: Fall in Lower Alabama!

A local Botanical Gardens hosts "Scarecrows in the Park" each year. Local businesses submit themed scarcrows which are placed throughout the gardens. We spent part of last Saturday walking through the park viewing these creations.




I also took the opportunity to dress the kids in their fall clothes and photograph them. It was a beautiful (and not hot) day!

A Series: Fall in Lower Alabama!

Fall Festival At Our Church


Our church hosted a Fall Festival last Saturday. We were excited, because the neighbors on either side of us attended with us. My kiddos are pictured here with the neighbor children. The policeman and black cat live on one side and the girl in orange lives on the other.

A Series: Fall in Lower Alabama!

The Making of a Jack-o-Lantern

In Lower Alabama, Fall does not necessarily mean cooler weather. In fact, it usually does NOT. Case and point: our trip to the pumpkin patch. It took place on October 17th, a date that in most parts of the country would have cool breezes...a little nip in the air...a promise of cold weather to come. Not so here. While we had a really fun time taking the hayride out to the pumpkin patch, listening to a presentation on how pumpkins grow and choosing which two pumpkins we wanted to take home, it was all somehow dampened by the amount of sweat running down my back!

All of that aside, here are the steps to making a jack-o-lantern:

1. Pick out the two biggest pumpkins in the patch so your mom will have so much fun carrying them both back to the car. I mean, what's more fun than watching mom's arms turn to jelly from the weight of the pumpkins! (Truth be told, it was my idea to pick big ones so we could make jack-o-lanterns. I was seriously rethinking my words as I carried them to the car.)

(Do you notice how green everything is in the pic above? No changing leaves here)

2. Choose the most complicated template you can find. After all anything fun has to be extremely complicated, right? About two years ago, one of my sisters-in-law brought some Disney jack-o-lantern stencils to a family reunion that takes place in the fall. My daughter made a jack-o-lantern with Cinderella's face on it. Ever since, she will not settle for a simple face with eyes, nose and grin. She HAS to have a Disney character on hers. (Thanks, Dawn for making things so complicated!)


3. Get all the gooey, slimy, messy stuff out of the inside of the pumpkin. Or, if you hate the way it feels on your hands, make your kids do it!


4. Carve away....being careful not to cut off any appendages that belong to you or your offspring. And if you have a daughter like mine who won't settle for a simple template, have the ice pack ready for your sore fingers and strained wrist.

(Do you recognize the cat from the Disney movie, Cinderella?)

5. Light 'em up, step back and enjoy! This is especially fun if one of the native HUMONGO roaches is inside your pumpkin. There's nothing like the fragrances of toasted pumpkin and roach.

PS. Get a lot of enjoyment out of this first viewing, because the warm, humid climate will rot your pumpkin in about 2 hours!

OK, just in case, here is the disclaimer: The previous post was written tongue-in-cheek (cleverly amusing in tone; "a bantering tone"; "facetious remarks"). No part of it is meant to offend or besmirch (to detract from the honor or luster of) any person or aspect of Lower Alabama. The writer of the previous remarks loves this portion of the country and enjoys living here. She in no way seeks to discredit or sully the features of this region.

A Series: Fall in Lower Alabama!

You've heard me complain about the weather that remains hot and very sticky for way too long around here. So you won't find it surprising that when the cooler temperatures (and by that I mean low 70s with no humidity) prevail, I rejoice. I never appreciated Fall more than I have since living here.

But its not just the cooler temps that make Fall in this area so great. Our rural area is so beautiful in harvest time! I just sigh with satisfaction when I see the big round haybales, wrapped in white plastic, glowing under the huge full moon that never seems as bright as it does in Fall. I grin with pleasure as I gaze at the defoliated cotton plants ready for harvest. It looks a little like snow on the ground, and since that's as close to snow as we ever see, I call it "Alabama snow." The peanut farmers are in full swing, and I love to watch the big machines at work! I love to decorate my house with the orange, yellow and brown colors of fall. I love pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns and Fall Festivals and Harvest Day celebrations and so much more.

So, in celebration of what has become my favorite season, I will spend this week posting pictures and an occasional thought demonstrating what Fall looks like where I live! I hope you are loving Fall where you are and are giving Thanks to God for His provisions.

(the photo above shows some of the fall displays that decorate our town square)

Our House Smells Like Peanuts!

I am one of those people that loves the markers of seasons. By that I mean, I love all the things that happen every year at the same time. For example, I love that the Bradford pears are one of the first trees to bloom each March, marking the beginning of Spring and I love that we get to pick strawberries every April marking summer's approach.

We are experiencing one of those season markers right now. Our house smells like peanuts, because we boiled a big pot of them last night. Before moving to SE Alabama, I didn't know a whole lot about peanuts, but I have learned a lot since. Did you know that peanuts grow underground? At harvest time, a machine digs the plants up and turns them over in the field. After 2 or 3 days of drying in the field, a harvesting machine separates the peanuts from the plants and loads them in "wagons" that are hitched to trucks.
We are definately in peanut farming country here, so peanuts seem to effect many parts of our life. Our house is located just 1/2 mile from the peanut coop. Every fall, harvested peanuts are brought in the peanut "wagons"to the coop and attached to "blowers" for curing. Hot air is forced slowly through the wagons during this process. This makes a loud, but low (in pitch) humming type noise. There are many of these running at the same time, so we hear them day and night during peanut season. I have fond memories associated with the sound of the blowers, because my son was born during our first peanut season here. When I would be up to feed him at night, I would hear the almost hypnotic, comforting sounds of the peanut blowers down the road. Every fall, the event of the season is the Peanut Festival. This rivals most county fairs, is attended by just about everyone and climaxes with the Peanut Festival Parade through downtown.
Anyway, all that to say our neighbor gave us fresh peanuts yesterday and we took on the task of pretending to be natives: We boiled them! Boiled peanuts are a favorite snack of this region and we are in full agreement! We have enjoyed the taste of them every fall since we have moved here. But this time, we boiled them ourselves. It was fun and they were tasty. Now, our house smells like peanuts marking the beginning of Fall. It may still be terribly hot and humid and so far no leaves have changed colors, but we know Fall is on its way, because the peanut harvest is beginning.

Click on over to my recipe blog to learn how to boil peanuts.

The photos in this post were taken by Old Shoe Woman and shared on Flickr.