Ah, it’s Fall 2006
This could be a morning fifty or sixty years ago. The air is nippy and there’s definitely a touch of fall in the air; however, inside the smell of turnip greens simmering on the back burner wafts through the air along with the fragrance of sourdough bread baking in the oven. Perhaps by the end of the week we’ll have to have to turn the heat on and I dread having to use that expensive propane gas we burn. To fill our thousand gallon tank takes money similar to that needed to make a payment on the national debt. Oh well, that’s life.
The sweet potatoes are out of the ground and curing in the dry — I can’t wait to put a pan of those goodies in the oven to bake. They’ll be a nice dish to serve along with the greens. My folks used to enjoy pepper sauce sprinkled over their turnip greens, but I never developed a taste for that hot dish. John eats the peppers, while my folks just used the liquid. With company coming in over the week end, I’ve made a few dishes ahead and put them in the freezer. I find it strange that I have to cook a company meal a little at a time. Do you suppose age has anything to do with it? In the freezer I have a coconut cake, two sweet potato pies and a hash brown potato casserole. I need to write down what I have and what I lack, but I hate lists. If I don’t write it all down no doubt I’ll fail to do or have something I had planned – should have written the plan down, too. Oh well.
Numerous fall jobs await; however, I absolutely have to get in that closet and dig out some cool weather clothes. With John being so cold natured, he’s already been dragging out sweaters and light jackets. One night he even slept in a sweat suit!! We have a large cardboard box in the floor of our walk-in closet which contains clothes for winter – when we take those clothes out to wear we’ll put in the summer attire to stay ‘til it’s needed again. I don’t know what I’ll find in that box that I can wear. Since last winter season, it’s been discovered that I have high blood sugar and I’ve been trying to watch what I eat. Thank goodness I’ve lost a few pounds; however, that means I have nothing to wear that fits. In my mind I’ve sort of gone over what’s in the box and there’s very little there that will fit. What will I do with it? Give it away? A family member tells me to hold onto it, I’ll gain those lost pounds back and need the clothes. Now isn’t that a comforting thought? I know exactly what she’s talking about – I’ve been there and done that, but I sure do hate to admit that it may happen to me again.(2013 NOTE: It happened).
For the last several years I’ve said I was not going to pay attention to my weight – anyway I have twelve pallbearers lined up – just in case. But now that my doctor has given me a lecture, I guess I have to be more mindful of what goes in my mouth. I can’t cheat and get by with it – that checker I now use tells on me every time. Yesterday our preacher titled his sermon “Turn Yourself In.” Well, if I don’t turn myself in, the checker will. By the way, do you know how many pallbearers Dolly Parton has lined up? Six – three a breast!
We have to get plants ready to bring inside, too. Frost can’t be too far away. Anyway we won’t have so many to deal with this year. I’d like to try to save the Fountain Grass and it cannot winter over in the ground. John shovels it out of the ground, divides it, pots it and puts it down in the apartment. There it gets a little sunshine and fares well during the cold months. Those who come and stay in the apartment just have to walk around the plants. Most things we put down in the basement where we have grow lights, but by spring they are really in need of better light and fresh air.
Even with all the fall chores, I can’t turn my back on the quilts I have started – there are two. I have a Grandmother’s Flower Garden put together and even started putting a green row of hexagons around the outer edge – well after several stitchings that was not satisfactory with me and now I’ve taken that out. I’m packing that project away for a while and have pulled the tatting out of what I call Vicks Salve Corner. I want to tat some ornaments for our Christmas tree and that takes time, plus they will have to be laundered, starched and stretched. At the after Christmas sale last year our eldest bought me a dozen large, clear ornaments and I meant to cover them all with tatting for the tree. Would you believe I’ve done only three, but I have knitted (with beads) four coverings for other balls. Now you talk about tedious – that is one more tedious job. My knitting needles are not much larger than a large straight pin – that’s to say nothing about stringing a vial of tiny beads on the knitting thread before I start – using a needle that’s nothing more than a piece of wire with an eye in it. I even put it away in a tiny plastic bag and put a note to myself in it so I would know something is in the bag! I still have one cover that has to be stretched over a Styrofoam ball and finished off for an ornament. Oh well, this is how it is with this style of country living.
Tatted Snowflake