Leftover pie

Actually, the pie isn't leftover at all.  Rather, the filling is made from the leftovers of a large meal of roast beef and veggies.  These were left over from a lovely family dinner at Grandma's, and my aunt reccommended using the leftovers for a pie....

 And so of course I did .... two pies actually ~

I used half butter and half lard in the crust, to lend a more savory flavor.

 And it tasted quite good as well.  Thanks Grandma and Auntie!

 texture and steam...

~<>

photo by Motherdy

Autumnal Sunshine Colors
By Olivia, September 2006, age 12.

.Autumnal sunshine colors

Are the prettiest of all
The golden rays of sunshine
And the maple leaves that fall
.

Autumnal sunshine colors
The darkest, they are the best
The deepest red of apples

And the golden leaves at rest
.

Autumnal sunshine colors
Are the happiest it seems
And yet they are the saddest
Oh, the gold and silver streams
.

Autumnal sunshine colors
Some are warm and some are chill
The branches shed their beauty
Yet their beauty is there still
.

Autumnal sunshine colors
Are bountiful at harvest
The squash and oh, the pumpkin

And peppers--you're fully blessed
.

Autumnal sunshine colors
You can see them in a bird
See a gorgeous red or brown
Flash, they're gone without a word
.

Autumnal sunshine colors
Shine through Black Eyed Susans fair
And though it may be sunny
You feel crispness in the air
.

Autumnal sunshine colors
You can taste with every bite
Into a crimson apple
Or a piece of pumpkin bright
.

Autumnal sunshine colors
Are in each seed which does float

To the earth that softly waits
With a golden autumn note
.

Autumnal sunshine colors
They appear from left and right
Like a many featured gem
Like a ruby in sunlight
.

Autumnal sunshine colors
They are waiting ever near

Waiting for you to seek them
So search, whether there or here.

Skipping through puddles~

 laughing at clouds. . .

 Strolling through Autumnal glory ~<> ~<> * <>~ <>~

 Aha! I can take a picture of my own umbrella...

westering sun, as I stroll home...

Copiousness

"You will not be able to extemporize good thinking unless you have been in the habit of thinking and feeding your mind with abundant and nourishing food. Work hard at every available moment. Store your minds very richly, and then, like merchants with crowded warehouses, you will have goods ready for your customers, and having arranged your good things upon the shelves of your mind, you will be able to hand them down at any time without the laborious process of going to market, sorting, folding, and preparing. . . .  Take it as a rule without exception, that to be able to overflow spontaneously you must be full."

--Charles Spurgeon
Thanks, Justin!

of Autumn...by me

A limerick, a rhyme, a song

Pervades the light and merry throng

Of crimson rambling vines and leaves

A turquoise heaven through the trees

I can't but wonder if this strain

Of music woven in the wane

That haunts my heart in every year

To pen a single, yes a mere

Beginning or a passing note

Began when God Creation wrote

And wrote this too, this anthem long

Whose melody is here and strong

I must record the beauty frail

This golden and secluded vale

In season's play of history

This section full of mystery

But even so despite each page

Of my attempts in every age

To transfer sonnets into words

Or paint a rhyme of sky and birds

A single measure only comes

Of nature's song that always hums

The praise of God and ever wends

Beyond when lofty summer ends

And so I write of skies bright blue

Chrysanthemums adorned with dew

Of barren branches bathed in gold

And dells astir with leaves of old

I'll make a wreath of forest vine

And gather rose-hips to entwine

I'll set its band atop my hair

Inhaling draughts of crystal air

I'll call farewell to southbound geese

Go dashing through the leaves in peace

And ever with the seasons sing

"All glory be to Christ our king!"

autumn 2010, age 16

Ordinary Days~

Ah, these last few months seem to have gone by ridiculously fast.  After our first cold blast of autumn the weather warmed up a bit again, and we have had a lovely bit of Indian Summer here ~ warm and windy, and only a spattering of rain.  The vines up the north side of our house are turning dark red and purple-ish colors like the trees lining the streets of our little town.

Our days have been filled with the usual things: school, cooking, baking, cleaning, playing music, writing songs, singing, reading new books (and old books), walking to piano lessons in the falling leaves, and all that sort of thing.  I hope to post more soon, but here are a few pictures from the last several weeks. ~

molasses cookies on the first day of fall

watching Nigella while I bake...

Mama's and mine

picking up the fiddle a bit more lately ~

moving books about,

We moved this bookshelf into the livingroom, and it looks scrumptious there...

The Wind in the Willows ~ what a perfect title, and what a perfect book...

The leaves are turning fast,

Sunrise out Mama's window~

Hmmm... something very sticky and caramel-y that I made recently...

chubby nephew {squish}

Look-- my trees are almost bare!

my new little friend~