Misty mornings and bright afternoons. Breezes that swirl with golden leaves. Drizzling rain. And dahlias. I was so pleased to see plenty of dahlias lighting up the garden on our return home. I'm cutting flowers for the house every few days.
I still have an old-fashioned recipe box (actually two of them, wooden, made by Tim) and when I pull out a recipe with a family member or friend's name on it, I'm reminded of them, and often of the first time I tasted the dish.
Anyways, back to pumpkin pies. I read a tip to add some freshly ground black pepper to the pie mixture, so I tried that. Everyone agreed the pie was good, but whether it was better than before, who knows? An apple cream cheese tart was also baked for those who don't care for pumpkin pie. Both were served with clouds of whipped cream. So, so good.
Here it is Saturday morning. The annular solar eclipse was visible between cloudy periods. I was reminded of seeing an eclipse when we lived in the jungle of Ecuador. Thousands of tiny eclipse shadows danced on the ground outside our home as the light filtered through the leaves of a tree. I looked for a similar occurrence today, but didn't see anything similar.
Today I'm doing some laundry and baking a cheesecake for tonight's dinner with friends. October is a good month for a bit of fall cleaning - windows and such are in desperate need of washing after a hot dusty summer. He'll do the outside, I'll do the inside. A good division of labour! After the work there will be tired satisfaction and definitely a cup of tea.
How fun to have seen the eclipse! Those happen so little and sometimes the timing is all wrong, so your were a lucky soul indeed! I love your beautiful pies and also how the hydrangeas begin to change color at this time of year. It's such a lovely time. I'm glad you had a lovely Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteYou make a good team. It's so good to be a help-mate. Those pies are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful fall blooms over there! I still have my original recipe box as well...including some handwritten recipes. I bake 'Marlene's' pumpkin pie very year, from a recipe card in my file.
ReplyDeleteYour Dahlias are stunning! Mine finished long ago. I have just picked a big bunch of deep red hydrangeas (once blue!) for our church Harvest festival. Mixed with some variegated leaves and a few Kaffir lilies ,they looked very Autumnal.
ReplyDeleteI love your beautiful Dahlias. And I also have noticed how the blooms on any given Hydrangea can vary in colour as they fade. So lovely. GM
ReplyDeleteSo sweet!
ReplyDeleteI love the dahlias and ever changing hydrangeas too. Windows desperately need a clean here too. B x
ReplyDeleteYour pies look fantastic!
ReplyDeleteCleaning is a good October task. They hydrangea colors are perfect.
The hydrangeas little flowers are very nice.
ReplyDeleteThe colourful dahlias are beautiful in a vase.
I am also cleaning the house and preparing slowly my travel to Dubai beginning of December my son having some holidays.
I am also baking and making fruits compote. Tomorrow I will make butternut soup.
There are still lots of blooms on my hydrangea plant too, and now having seen how pretty yours look, I will also bring a bunch indoors to enjoy - thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteGardens grow like Topsy, especially when you are absent from them.
Great photos. The old family recipes are the best, especially the handwritten ones!
ReplyDeleteThe solar eclipse picture is spectacular!
ReplyDeleteOctober is a good month for windows cleaning and garden work, making the house ready for Fall celebrations.
Your autumn flowers are lovely. I like how you are enjoying them inside while you still can.
ReplyDeleteI think your pie picture should be framed. I completely agree with your thoughts on recipe boxes. I recently went through mine and was flooded with memories. I found it so comforting.
Reading about your Thanksgiving always stirs anticipation for ours next month.
A lovely October post, Lori. I would like it if we celebrated Thanksgiving in October here in the US. It's such a beautiful month, and it would be nice to have a longer season of gratitude before the Christmas holiday rushes in. My recipe box (made by my husband) is filled with memories, too. I agree with you, I prefer to see a handwritten one, although I do have many printed out from the computer, too.
ReplyDeleteYour flowers and pie just made me smile. Oh yes, window cleaning. My husband cleans the outside and I clean the inside too. A good division of work. Hoping your Thanksgiving was extra special.
ReplyDeleteHi Lorrie! Oh, those pies are amazing! Hmmmm. We have to wait until November, but maybe I'll make a pie now in anticipation of Thanksgiving! Pretty blog! Pom Pom (https://pompomsponderings.blogspot.com/)
ReplyDeleteOh the eclipse -- first pictures I've seen on someone's blog; congratulations for "catching" it. Loving your flowers -- I've always said that hydrangeas were favorites because of how they are so beautiful in every stage as well as how the colors vary as you say. Your desserts sound wonderful. I'm sure your Thanksgiving was wonderful -- I'm always late with best wishes.
ReplyDelete"Clouds of whipped cream" sound nice, but I bet your pies are great without it. The dahlias are the greatest.
ReplyDeleteHow very beautiful is everything in this post! October is my favorite month with the change in nature and the turning leaves, all the stunning colors (that lasts into November here). Your dahlias look beautiful and so do the hydrangeas. Your climate is much better for hydrangeas than ours. Your pumpkin pies look delicious - I'm not a big pumpkin fan (except for pumkin bread), but I can still see that these pies are special. I love the decoration on top of them.
ReplyDeleteI love clean windows! Your pies look amazing and I do agree - there's something special about handwirtten recipes! I love the color of your hydrangeas. My white ones morphed into a rose color. They were almost dry by the time I cut them and I just put them in the vase like that.
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