~ Sunday Blessing ~

~ May your Day be Blessed with Simplicity ~

JoyceAnn

~ Scaredy Cat Soap & Black Cat Folklore ~

I've been participating in Mrs. B's 31 Days of Halloween over at http://silvermoonwitch.blogspot.com/~ , there are some great giveaways going on. Thursday , I won a bar of Scaredy Cat soap , the soap is perfect for the season. If you're interested in purchasing a bar of this soap , you can check-out her Gypsy Eye Studio shop on Etsy ~ http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5696240 .

Yesterday I was visiting some of the blogs that are participating in the " October Blog Party ". Chasing the Moon had a wonderful post about black cat folk lore and superstition's , you can click here to read her post ~ http://treaya.blogspot.com/2009/10/october-blog-party-day-10.html ~I really enjoyed reading it and found the answer to something strange that happened a few years ago. We had a yard sale one Saturday and a Hispanic man came to the yard sale , he was looking around when he spotted my black cat. I don't think he spoke much English , although he did nod and say hi. I noticed him watching my black cat and trying to get close to him , all of a sudden he swooped down and picked him up. He stayed bent down on the walkway , put my black cat Buddy up to his face and started rubbing his tail across his eye. My Mom and I were sitting there watching him closely , I wasn't sure what he was going to do next , but he put the cat down , got up and walked around looking again, then he left. I did notice that his eye was red as he was swiping Buddy's tail across it. We laughed about the incident after he left , I told my Mom that maybe it was some kind of Spanish healing folklore. Today as I reading the black cat lore , it mentioned that Appalachian folklore says that if you have a sty on your eyelid , rub a black cat's tail across the sty , it will make it go away. So , now I know the answer to the mystery at my yard sale (LOL). Do you believe in this kind of folklore healing , any stories to share ?

~ Autumn Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ October Blog Party Update ~

It's time for an update on the 2nd week of the October Blog Party .........................



October 8th ~ I posted my chili beans & jalapeno cornbread recipes and got the Happy Harvest place mats out , this is a great meal for those chilly October nights. I also spent time saving seeds for next years garden.


October 9th ~ The grand kids and I went outside and watched the leaves fall from the trees , we also attempted do a leaf rubbing when we came inside. That didn't go over so well , they just didn't understand the concept. Little Froggy was more interested in getting his taped leaf off the paper (LOL).


October 10th ~ Little Froggy and I went for a walk and collected some leaves , we made a collage with them. He loved painting the glue on the leaves , so this project turned out well. Saturday night , the boys spent the night and we watched a Little Bear movie called " Little Goblin ".



October 11th ~ We went to the Shakori Hills Fall Festival and enjoyed the day.


October 12th ~ I painted a saying on the pumpkin and added a raffia bow , before hanging it on the front door , also changed my background on my computer to a Fall scene.

October 13th ~ I made Mrs.B's cinnamon pancake mix , we had cinnamon pancakes with homemade applesauce for breakfast. They were delicious , you may want to popover to ~ http://silvermoonwitch.blogspot.com/ ~ and check-out her recipes , especially the cinnamon pancake mix.


October 14th ~ I had all 3 of the younger grand kids yesterday and it was a rainy day , so we didn't do much. They did color in a Sesame Street Hello Halloween coloring book , guess that counts. Last night I was reading some blogs and found this post on how to make a corn husk wreath , I want to try to make one of these , maybe next week. You can check it out here ~ http://suzannemcminn.com/blog/2009/10/14/how-to-make-a-corn-husk-wreath/ ~.

~ Autumn Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Shakori Hills Fall Grassroots Festival ~

Hubby & I headed out to my favorite Fall Festival yesterday , it's the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival that celebrates art , dance , environmental awareness , music , social issues and so much more. You can check it out here ( http://www.shakorihills.org/?section=407&PHPSESSID=96003f7d452cba40bba4ce27988f401c ). We had a great time , the weather was wonderful , it had that great fall nip in the air. I took pics , but I really need to get new batteries for my camera. Anyway hope you enjoy some scenes from a wonderfully eclectic festival.

The first band we saw is one of my favorites , Keith Secola

and the Wild Band of Indians. They were great as usual , we enjoyed a huge round dance , it was wonderful.

This is not a great photo , but I wanted to share this huge hoop art , it had c.d 's hanging in the center catching the sun rays , very eye catching.

There was some rock sculpting going on.

This was a neat project , Painting Parasols for Peace , they've been displayed in Washington D.C. and other places.

There was alot of drumming going on, sorry about the poor picture quality.

More Drumming around the fire .................

There were wood carvings , loved the awesome witch , definitely a sign of the season.

There was music by the Coffee Barn , a place for musicians to show off their talents.

More music by the Coffee Barn ..................

I love this beautiful mixed media art piece that was hanging by the Coffee Barn.

Poi dancing .........

Cane Creek Cloggers .............

Samuel Jones singing the blues ..........

The Gourds .................... a wonderful honky tonk style band.

Mountain Heart .......... a great bluegrass band .

A fun trolley giving rides from and to the parking lot , we didn't ride it , but it was fun to watch everyone else riding.

We had a blast , hope you all had a fun weekend !!

~ Autumn Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ * ~ Chilly Beans & Jalapeno Cornbread ~ * ~

Leasmom wanted me to share the recipes for my chili and cornbread , so I decided to post them today , it's a great meal for chilly October nights. I love chili beans , but I usually make them different each time , depending on what ingredients I have on hand and how much. So , I'll try to give a estimate of the ingredients , since I didn't measure most of them.

Chilly Beans

1 lb ~ Dry Pintos

1/2 lb ~ Dry Kidney Beans

1 Quart of canned tomatoes ( From Garden )

1 26 oz can of Del-monte spaghetti sauce ( had on hand instead of tomato sauce )

2 lbs of ground round or ground beef

1 onion

1 large bell pepper (I used 3 small ones from the garden)

Fresh Garlic ~ 8-10 cloves or to your taste (we love garlic)

3 tbsp of chili powder

1 tsp of paprika

Prep beans and rinse , put in pot with water to cover , bring to boil. Turn heat down , cook for 15 minutes. Turn beans off and let soak for a hour or two , you can do this the night before and let them soak overnight. At this point you can add beans to a crock pot or finish cooking on the stove if you're at home for the day. Go ahead and add canned tomatoes and sauce , you may need to add a little more water. Turn beans back on and let them start cooking again. Brown your meat , onions , peppers in a skillet , add to beans. I use my garlic press to mince the garlic cloves , add to bean mixture. Add chili powder and paprika , stir in well. Let beans continue to cook until done. I like hot chili beans , but since the grands will be eating them too , I just chop some jalapenos to add when we serve the beans.

Jalapeno Cornbread

2 eggs

2 cups self rising cornmeal

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup veggie oil ( I use canola)

1 cup of buttermilk or 1 cup milk (add 1 tbsp of vinegar) for sour milk

2 jalapenos , seeded and diced

8 inch cast iron skillet , greased and sprinkled with cornmeal

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add eggs to large bowl and beat slightly , add buttermilk and oil to egg mixture , stir well. Add 2 cups self rising cornmeal and 1 tsp of baking powder to mixture , stir well , add jalapenos , stir again. You can add some cheddar cheese to the mixture if you like or I just sprinkled some on top of the batter since I only had a small amount of cheese on hand. I'm not sure about the baking time , I just keep a close eye on it and bake until done.

Let me know if you have any questions.

~ Autumn Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ October Blog Party ~

Today marks the first full week of the " October Blog Party " , thought I would take the time to update about the activities I've done this past week ..........................................

Oct 1st ~ I started the month by adding a primitive Halloween background to my blog and heading out to the local county fair to see my grandson's " Fall Tree ".

Oct 2nd ~ Made an art trading card , called " Spirit ".

Oct 3rd ~ I gathered herbal wildflowers to make a flower arrangement for the kitchen table. I also took time that night to enjoy viewing the harvest moon , it was absolutely enthralling. Glad I did , it was cloudy on Sunday.

Oct. 4th ~ Dug the Fall & Halloween decorations out and started decorating the front porch.

Oct 5th ~ Made pot-pourri to celebrate harvest time , used , apple peelings , herbs , lemon and orange rinds , small fir cones and pine cone petals. I added green apple and lemon oils for the scent , smells like Autumn.

Oct 6th ~ There were two beautiful spiderwebs outside the front porch yesterday morning, so I grabbed the camera and took photos of them. The camera fogged up in the misting rain and gave the web a very eerie look , perfect for the month of Oct. , I think the photo looks wonderful with the sepia effect. I also cooked homemade chili beans and jalapeno cornbread , yummo.

Oct 7th ~ I read the grand kids a book called " The Haunted House ". I found this little board book at a thrift store a few years ago , it's great for toddlers. They enjoyed being spooked a little !

~ Autumn Blessings To All ~

JoyceAnn

~ Spidery Art ~

~ Autumn Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Fall Gardening ~

Greens , Greens , Greens

The mixed leaf lettuce and spinach are growing.


The broccoli , cabbage and collards have taken growth.


Patch of mixed greens sprouting up.


I planted these bell peppers and jalapenos back in the Spring , but they haven't produced because the deer ate the first blooms , then it got hot and dry. But the cooler weather and some wonderful rain has brought them back to life , hope to have a small harvest before the frost arrives.

~ Autumn Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Autumn Sunday Blessing ~

~ May your week be Blessed

with Beautiful Autumn Wildflowers ~

JoyceAnn

* County Fair , Fall Tree , October Blog Party *

~ Curious J's Fall Tree ~

Last night we ventured out to the county fair to see Curious J's art. His " Fall Tree " is beautiful , although I might be a bit biased (LOL). Curious J and Little Froggy enjoyed the rides and cotton candy. Our county fair is very small , you can see everything from the gate , but it was perfect for the kids and me (LOL).
I was hoping to take Little Missy and Little Tree , but they're sick. My daughter took Little Missy back to the Dr. last night , she took them on Monday and the Dr. said it was a respiratory virus. She wasn't drinking or eating yesterday , so she took her back again , this Dr. said it might be H1N1 virus (swine flu) , just to keep doing what we're doing. Today she seems fine , she's drinking , eating and playing. He said she would probably be better by Saturday or Sunday.

Yesterday was the first day of the October Blog Party , we're to do something holiday/seasonal related everyday of this month. I started the month off by decorating my blog and going to the county fair to see Curious J's " Fall Tree ".

~ Autumn Blessings ~

JoyceAnn