Beauty, Comfort and Peace

Dear Sisters,

What is it about late fall that gets us farmgirls feeling so darned sentimental? Maybe I’m just getting soft the older I get. I turned 52 last week for heavens sake! Perhaps it has something to do with the leaves on the trees popping all around us like fireworks sending tracers of burnished red, harvest gold, brilliant yellow and deep purple slowly to the ground where they’ll lie until someone comes along with a rake and scoops them up into a pile. Or maybe it’s because we’ve finally succumbed to trading in our flip flops for fuzzy sox, swapped out the BBQ for the crockpot and tucked the garden in for a long winters nap. I like to think it has something to do with the beauty,comfort and peace another holiday season promises. I’m feeling festive already just thinking about what’s to come and grateful. Very, very grateful…How about you?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder~ Margaret Wolfe Hungerford

What would we do without a daily dose of natural beauty to smooth out the rough spots and bring our blood pressure down when life gets ahead of us? I know beauty is subjective, but I bet we can all agree that just getting outside for some fresh air, a short walk or or having a view to drift off in for a few minutes of each day can make all the difference. Of course there are many ways to bring nature inside your home as well. Right before the leaves begin to fall heavily I go out and cut branches from every tree and shrub in my garden and make a huge, wild and loose bouquet. In my top photo I have Japanese Maple, Sedumn, Burning Bush, Hydrangea, and  forsythia. I added water to a vase and was able to enjoy the arrangement for a few days before all the leaves fell off.

We have a table on our deck which I can see through our kitchen window so I put a couple of pumpkins out there to enjoy as the leaves outside continued to  turn.

I was standing at my sink doing dishes last week when I looked out the window and spotted Mr. Squirrel Nutkin burrowing into my decorative gourd on our outside table! I knew it was going to happen eventually; I was waiting for him or her to arrive and let the entertaining begin! I think he would have crawled all the way in if it was possible!

Sh. Don’t tell the Duck Dynasty Cast. They eat squirrel!

What’s not to love about a walk down the well traveled garden path in late fall? Beauty abounds in the garden even in it’s last stages of life. The last of the flowers peek out over the gone-by blooms of yesterday hanging on until the first real frost zaps them into submission.

I find comfort in the spent garden as I walk along observing the flower beds and I’m grateful for all the bounty that came from the busy work of spring racing to get seeds and seedlings in the ground at just the right time.

There’s nothing quite like the end of the season walk in the garden to get your juices going for the coming year. It’s the perfect time to make a few notes about what was successful, and what wasn’t. Don’t be afraid to pull out things you don’t like. I don’t think I’ll grow gladiolas again. They were pretty, but I found them to be a little to structured for my loosy- goosy flower arranging style.

Max got the best of the cherry tomatoes this year. I don’t think I harvested one bowl full! He mastered the art of sniffing out the ripe ones and plucking them from the vine. I remember the day he sheepishly appeared with tomato seeds covering his nose! I was calling out for him and it was taking him longer than usual to arrive and when he finally did appear his pointed little nose gave him away as to what he had been up to!

Now that the dahlias have been lifted and stored and the flower beds are cleared I can focus my thoughts on Thanksgiving! We are blessed to be guests this year rather than hosting and I’m looking forward to a relaxing day with our nearest and dearest, good food and lots of laughs! I don’t want to miss out on Thanksgiving day leftovers though, so I’ll be cooking at home the day after! I’ve got my order in for a locally raised Tom Turkey and I can’t wait to get him in the oven!

Jane Austen

There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.

I couldn’t agree more with Jane Austen! I absolutely love being at home and creating small comforts for my family. I enjoy pulling out the cozy throws for the living room and bedrooms, stocking the frig and pantry so I can cook and bake up a storm when the mood strikes and there’s always some re-decorating going on. I’ve been puttering in ” the Grammie’s” room this fall. Its really our den, but both Grammies have dibs when they visit!

I’ve been dying to try Annie Sloan’s Scandinavian Pink and the dresser in that room was the perfect candidate! Although I love the warm patina of this antique oak dresser it has lost it’s luster over the years and the top had a lot of water damage due to being used as a plant surface on my in-laws front porch for many years.

Here she is with her new coat of cozy warm pink! I think this color is very Grammy-ish but in a different room with cool grays and whites it could take on a very modern farmhouse look too!

No Grammies room is complete without a few reminders of home. The books are from her library, and the linen tea towel is from her attic. The lamp and silver tray are two of my latest vintage finds and the lovely quilted dresser scarf was a gift from sister Pamela De’ Marriss who I had the pleasure of meeting in person this summer right here in Plymouth! She does beautiful work and the cabbage rose theme fit right in! Thank you again Pam! We all love it!

I adore the original hardware so I kept it!

A few baubles at the ready is always handy. Especially for my two Grammies. They like to sparkle!

I have a ‘ thing ” for cabbage roses! I hit the ‘grand-mother load’ last time I was out pickin’ at my local thrift store when I came upon this quilt and two matching shams for 12.99! It was such a steel I had to bring it home!

And, look what else I found to go with it?

The perfect pillow! There’s still a little more fluffing to be done, but it feels good to have this part finished.

With comfort comes peace and that’s what I’m wishing all of you! May you find beauty, comfort and peace with your favorite people in your favorite places during the coming hustle and bustle holiday season and have a very, very Happy Thanksgiving!

Not a day goes by that I don’t feel grateful for MaryJanesFarm and each and every one of my sisters! You are forever in my heart!

Until our next shoreline visit~

BEACH BLESSINGS and MUCH LOVE!

Sister, Deb # 1199

P.S. I’ve jumped on the Etsy wagon and opened up a lil shop called

My Vintage Homestead! It’s all new and I’m stocking the shelves with all things vintage, homemade and up cycled. I’ve got a lot to learn but I’m having fun! Are you a fellow etsian? Leave us a link to your shop in the comments section!