Hints of Change

I went to Whole Foods and look what I found.
A hint that the seasons are changing.
The first pumpkins have arrived.
These are all carving pumpkins.
I guess, here in the tropics, they won't get mushy until they are cut!

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I found the Dump Cake recipe I was looking for.
Here it is:

Autumn Dump Cake

1 can (29 ounces) pear pieces in light syrup, undrained
1 can (21 ounces) apple pie filling
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 package (doubt 15 ounces) yellow cake mix
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into thin slices
1/4 cup caramel topping, warmed

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 
Spray 13x9 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Drain pears, reserving 1/2 cup syrup. 
Spread pears and apple pie filling in prepared pan; 
drizzle with reserved pear syrup. 
Sprinkle with cranberries. 
Top with cake mix, spreading evenly.
Top with butter in single layer, covering cake mix as much as possible.
Drizzle with caramel topping.

3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes 
or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.
Cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Makes 12 to 16 servings.

Image from Dump Cakes booklet.

Good with a scoop of ice cream!

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I always check out the flowers at Whole Foods
and I found some lovely tulips...
in Fall colors!

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Then I went to Trader Joe's to finish my grocery shopping
and I found more flowers.
I think the iris is near the top of my favorites list.
I just love everything about them.

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Meanwhile, in Musashi's Garden,
a little anole was shedding his skin.
It's busy around here!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Five On Friday

Willy Nilly Friday

Home Sweet Home

Mosaic Monday

SaveSave

It's September!

It's September!

Did you say "Rabbit, Rabbit" the first thing in the morning on September 1?

It's supposed to bring you good luck! 

I'm just hoping it will bring cooler weather.
How about highs in the 80s instead of 90s???!!!!
I'd go for that.

Down came the summer welcome sign from the front door 
and up went the burlap wreath.

It looks nice surrounded by the blue door frame.


I also changed out the flag that flies from the balcony.
The Scarecrow is flying high.




Then I went hunting for the fabric pumpkins.
I'm still looking for some of them,
but it's a good start.





Pumpkin Moonshine is one of my favorite little books by Tasha Tudor
and is always a Fall favorite.






When I'm not looking for fall decorations,
I have my knitting needles going.

I've made four (yes, four) Oblique Kerchief.
It's an easy pattern and the yarn is soft to the touch and easy to work with.

Now I'm working on the Ribbed Collar Bolero.
I have a stash of Lion Brand Homespun and this is an opportunity to use it up.
If I like the finished project, I'll make some more.
I've only "frogged" 4 or 5 times.
It is a simple ribbing, but trying to watch a baseball game
and having three kitties determined to sit on my lap and the knitting
makes dropping stitches very easy!
Knock on wood, but I seem to be moving right along now.

I finally got to my Stitch and Bitch group.
They are a crochet group that meets at a local restaurant twice a month.
Not much bitching, but a whole lot of stitching, laughing and eating going on.
They welcome knitters, too.







Now I'm looking for my little Dump Cake cookbook.
Autumn Dump Cake 
made with pears, apple pie filling, dried cranberries sounds good to me!










Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Willy Nilly Friday

Five on Friday

Mosaic Monday

Home Sweet Home

Ladies Who Lunch!

I have a good friend I like to lunch with.

We try to pick places for lunch that we normally don't visit

and we try to make it an adventure.

This time we took advantage of Houston Restaurant Weeks.
Houston Restaurant Weeks runs the month of August 
and benefits the Houston Food Bank.
Restaurants have special menus to pick from 
and a donation from each meal is made to the food bank.
It's a win win.
Good food, a chance to go to a "new" restaurant and try out the food.
We went to Bistro Menil.

I had the roasted tomato and artichoke quiche 
with the Menil salad followed by a lemon tart.
Yum!


Then we went across the street to the Menil museum to see the 
Outsider Art (self-taught artists) exhibit
as Essential as Dreams.
I'm only sharing three objects from three different artists.
 Twelve artists were featured in the exhibit.






On the left is Thornton Dial's Tiger On The Run
and on the right is one of Oscar Hardwiger's architectural structures --
this one of the Miraculous Staircase of the Loretto Chapel made when he was 80.





This is Spirit Codex by Solange Knopf.

The Menil has a wonderful bookstore that we did not visit.
There is a catalog for the exhibition and in my younger days
I would have loved a copy.
But I am now getting rid of all my old art catalogs.
It's hard, but better I do the work than leaving it to someone else.

I now wonder if there were postcards for the exhibit.
After all, postcards take up less space!







After lunch and the exhibit we made one more stop at Michaels.
We both wanted to check out the yarn.
Believe it or not, I didn't buy any.
I did look and I did touch but I kept telling myself I had enough yarn at home
and enough projects to finish.
I did make a wish list! 


Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Mosaic Monday

How To Meet Your Neighbors!

There's a lot going on in the neighborhood.

There was a birthday party.

It was a good way for us "oldsters"  to meet the young families 
living in the neighborhood.
And, it was FUN!








This is the "new" library for our neighborhood.
I walked by to see where it was located.
Found it without any problem.
And, I met some neighbors I did not know --
all of us out for an early walk (before it got too hot) 
and looking for the library.
Too cute and it's full of books.

The neighbor who made the little library 
made it from scraps being tossed out by another neighbor.
Teamwork! 
Recycling at its best.

When you meet your new neighbors,
invite them to walk into the village for a bit to eat.
Stop, and look at the new mural.





Still deciding if I like it.
Better than the brick wall, I guess!

Go to a child's birthday party,
walk around your neighborhood,
make a little library,
look at a new painting.

You might meet your neighbors and make a new friend!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Mosaic Monday

Make It Pretty Monday

It's Julia's Birthday

Julia Child was born in Pasadena, California, August 15, 1912.
 She would have been 104 years old today.

Sur La Table

I looked back at some of my posts about Julia.

I remembered I started my Julia craze after I read
Julie Powell's book (Julie and Julia, 365 Days, 524 Recipes, one Tiny Apartment)
about making each and every one of Julia's recipes
from Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Then the movie came out (which I loved). 

I read more books about Julia and her life including Julia's Cats.

I think there are a few more Julia books in my stacks that I should read.

Amazingly enough, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
didn't become a best seller until after the movie came out...
48 years after the book was first published.
This article from the NYTimes is one of my favorites:

After 48 Years, Julia Child Has a Big Best Seller, Butter and All

I remember watching Julia on television. 

I wasn't much interested in the cooking.

I just thought she was a hoot!

Associated Press Photo

I couldn't let the day go by without wishing Julia

a very happy birthday.

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Make It Pretty Monday

Mosaic Monday