Happy Fall Y’All!

As far as I’m concerned, fall is officially here with the flickering lights during the wind and rain storm. The generators are ready, though, even if I am not.

I have our second 20 pound box of apples waiting for applesauce and apple butter and apple pie and apple rings and apple…not to mention just for eating out of hand. And today I celebrated overcoming illness with baking two pumpkin pies from the pumpkin I baked and prepared a few days earlier. It’s that season of nutmeg and squash and creamy-whatever-soup, artisan bread baking and slathering the whole mess of it with butter and roasted garlic and goat cheese.

Here is an easy decorating idea that cost me $2 in paraffin wax from the grocery store and a lovely afternoon of gathering fallen leaves.

1. Melt the wax in a pot you don’t mind melting stuff like wax in.

2. Dip dried leaves into it and then lay it out to dry. This takes seconds. I did try some pretty purple leaves that were freshly plucked, but the wax didn’t take. So, use dry leaves.

3. Use needle and thread and string them up. I used a fine silky thread that was a pain because it kept slipping out, but I was too lazy to get up and get cotton thread, so I just dealt with it. Besides, I knew if I spent the time and trouble to go find other thread, my window of opportunity to do this would get lost in someone’s boo-boo or milk request.

They lasted a good half a week or so, but they did start getting more dry and crinkly even with the wax job. Even so, it sure was pretty! I think I’ll do some more for Thanksgiving placecards, and use a copper paint pen to write a name on each leaf.

Speaking of leaves, here’s a batik maple leaf table runner I made several years back. I just love how it turned out.

Enjoy the season!