Greetings From the Chilly South, Y'all

It looks like cooler weather has officially come callin' in the South, Y'all. The leaves on all our trees dropped like rocks while we were in Virginia for Thanksgiving. Hope you're all staying warm. These two cloths were the November mid-month knitalong at Monthly Dishcloths.
In case the pic isn't clear for you this one says My Pal in Lion Brand cotton worsted.In Royal cotton worsted from Peaches & Creme this one says Friend.

Eeeeek! Colored popcorn stuck in my hairbrush? _snicker_

No, it's two lovely fancy fur scarves that Nana, moi, made for her dgds to play with when they're taking a spot of tea in their "dressup clothes." The yarn is Lion Brand Fancy Fur in Color Slide. It sure did, too. ;) That's a jar of Spiced Tea mix modeling one of the scarves. I thought everyone on earth had tried this lovely, heart warming concoction, but lo, I hear they haven't so look below for the recipe.

I'm a-workin' on yet another Shells and Fans afghan. I'm using Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Chestnut Heather for this one. I started it the day after Thanksgiving, and I've crocheted about 20 inches so far with only four more feet to go.

Spiced Tea
1 lb. Tang (or other orange-flavored breakfast drink mix)

1 cup instant tea

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground cloves

2 pkgs. lemonade drink mix

Mix all ingredients together stirring well and store in a tight container.

Use about 2 tablespoons of mix per cup of hot water.
Note: You can use the same amount of Splenda instead of the sugar if you need to limit sugar in your diet.

Our little propane heater...all the warmth of a fireplace without all the work! ;) Stay warm, Y'all!

Thanksgiving...it's the least we can do, Y'all

A lot of this blog's readers are knitting friends so I took a break from my yuletide knitting, which I can't post about for obvious reasons, and knit this little guy so I could add him here. It's a Gary the Gobbler dishcloth. The pattern can be found here.

I just couldn't resist a blue one for my kitchen...it is blue, afterall.Yes, I'm the thankful type so leave now if you don't want to hear it. Here we are sandwiched between halloween (wouldn't the pilgrims turn over in their graves..) & and the biggest moneymaker of the year. We're living in a country where bountiful tables are so numerous; we should be thankful for our blessings...so I'm thankful first for a saviour who took on mortal flesh to pay the penalty for my sins, I'm, also, thankful for my family, friends and a free country...
and I'm thankful we're getting to see beautiful color after such a long, dry summer. :)Here's a closeup of one of our sugar maples. Those speckles on the leaves are a testament to a very tough growing season. It was the driest summer the South has seen in a good while.

Here's my old Hoosier cabinet in the kitchen decorated for the season. I usually have it covered with a pile of schoolwork to grade or a batch of soap to dry, but this is much easier on the eyes. It took a while to collect a few leaves to add, but they're finally colorful enough to use. The big ol' turkey is a ceramic one that I bought and painted; he's about 12 years old. I hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

Road Trip to Kyle Carver's Orchard in Cosby, Tennessee

I've been taking a break from knitting, sorta. Sigh. Well, I did knit this little Nubbins Dishcloths in Peaches & Creme Royal. I started it on the road trip.
Also, I've spent some time reading Lynn Austin's 3-book series titled Refiner's Fire set in the Civil War Era. It's very thought provoking to say the least.

We took a little road trip, Y'all, to Kyle Carver's Orchard in Cosby, Tenn. The scenery made the trip nearly as fun as getting to the orchard.

We were in search of some old fashioned Winesaps (and a few peppers since the price was right. Have you noticed what they're wanting for red peppers in the grocery stores?) These were .25.

It took about an hour to get there. It's a very popular spot with their 100 varieties of apples grown on their 220 some acres of rolling hills. Here's one of the barns.

A view of the orchard from the restuarant. Oh, yes, the food is good! I had catfish w/ coleslaw and pinto beans. Yum! They serve you a small glass of cider with a couple of apple fritters per person while you wait. Try to get a table near the windows if you go, and allow plenty of time to look around. There are lots of apples to choose from and a candy store on the premises, too. It's a nice little trip.

Have a good week, Y'all!