A Fall Flavored Five Among Friends!

This week's questions are from  are from Janine from Janine’s Confessions of Mommyaholic {& they have put me in the mood for a pumpkin latte who-ze-whatz-it with all the thinking of autumn I have had to do to answer them!}


1. What is your favorite part of the fall season?

The colors! Everything bursts into a riot of colors-- trees, clothes, food.  I love wearing tights & light sweaters & corduroy & boots.  I love eating fall squash & garden stews & autumn spices.  I love autumn decorations & cozy throws-- it is the best time of year!

All pictures are mine from autumn 2013-- can you believe the first pic is my backyard view??  I love Tennessee!

2. What tv show are you looking forward to watching now that the fall is almost here and the network TV shows are coming back for the season?

I don't watch tv really.  We do watch stuff on Netflix, but it isn't bound by seasons.  I am looking forward to the new season of  Doctor Who, but that won't be for a while yet!




3. What is the favorite part of your day?

Evening.  Day is done, food is eaten, kitchen is cleaned, homework checked, everyone is home & no one has anything particular to do.  Bliss.


4. What is the last book you read and would you recommend it?

Achieving Accountability in Higher Education: Balancing Public, Academic and Market Demands by Joseph C. Burke & Associates.  And yes, I would recommend it if you are into achieving accountability in higher education, which I am at present.

5. What is your go-to recipe when all else fails?

Anything with pasta.  Take whatever bits of veg you have in the fridge, chop, toss in a pan with some garlic & olive oil then throw in some walnuts {because everything is better with walnuts}.  If you are a carnivore, throw in some bacon or ham or some other bit of pig.  Boil up some gluten free pasta, drain, then add in the veg and toss.  Sprinkle a bit of grated asiago or parmesan on top & serve.  Quick, easy & yummilicious!


Be sure to check out the other friends, & let me know if you'd like to join in the fun!

Getting Ready for the First Day of School~*

Its that time of year, when the blogosphere will be overflowing with desire for, then adoration of, autumn.  Which is funny,  because a healthy percentage of said blogosphere residents will begin their autumn love-fest by announcing that they know its weird to love autumn.  Which it isn't.  

Acorn Necklace, Bullseye Beads

As an aside, what is it that makes so many people territorial of popular things?  Like Breaking Bad.  People talk about Breaking Bad like its some sort of in-cult thing.  Everyone realizes that it is one of the most popular shows out right now, right?  Its broken all sorts of records for viewership.  Its not an exclusive thing that only a few people "get."  It doesn't make a person special because they watch it, and it doesn't make the show worse because everyone watches it.  It is an immensely popular show, which 5.9 million people tuned in to watch.  Same with Orange is the New Black-- 3 million viewers and climbing.  That isn't unique or quirky, its mainstream!

As is love for autumn.  And why not?  Everyone loves autumn because its an awesome time of year-- not too cold, not too hot and lots of pretty colors & fun holidays to break up the time.

And school.  I love school. 

I would have stayed in school forever if I could have.  I love learning.  I have an inquisitive mind.  Which totally reminds me of Zoolander.

For the record, I don't care what bark is made of & I know what I'm doing.  Mostly.

One of the plethora of neat things about my job is that I get to relive that exciting first day feeling every semester.  Ooooh and the goodies.  The pens and fresh pads of paper & the wonderful smell of books.  Sigh.  Just the thought gives me warm fuzzies~*

Back To School & A Giveaway from Crafty Spices!

Well I'm back on campus full time today.   Faculty reports for a week and a half of convocation before the fall term begins.  It runs from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm.  Uhm...think of it as professor summer camp.  Sigh.  You can check my instagram for updates from my day iffun' you are so inclined~*

We spent the last few days jamming in as much summer fun as possible, which left little time for posting.  Thankfully Jeremy is doing a game review for Thursday, and Five Among Friends is set for Friday.

For today, I have a real treat.  Jay at Crafty Spices is running a fantabulous back-to-school giveaway for those of you with wee kiddos & she asked if I'd help her get the word out.  So, you know, HEY HERE IS A GIVEAWAY!!  Take it away Jay!

Jay @ Crafty Spices is running a Fun Giveaway, it's Funbites they are nice cutters that make meal and snack time for all little ones very enjoyable by creating small size bites. Even the most picky eaters end up eating what you serve them. You can read Crafty Spices full review Here

To find more information about Funbites visite them:

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Order you very own Funbites cutter Here,

all our readers can get FREE shipping by using Code FreeShipNow

Win It: 

Follow the rules on the Rafflecopter and enter for a chance to win you very own Funbites cutter of your choice. This contest is open to all U.S. and Canada residents age 18 and over, void where prohibited. The winner will be announced here, he or she will have 48 hours to respond, if not another winner will be selected.



Prize will be shipped directly from Funbites to the winner.

Good Luck.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: No monetary compensation was given for this post. Crafty Spices did receive a Funbites Cutter to facilitate this review. Her opinion may differ from yours. Crafty Spices and  THIS BLOG are not responsible for prize shipment. All entries will be verified. For Crafty Spices full disclosure and PR Info Click Here.

So That I Can Feel the Rain...

I've mentioned before our penchant for visiting local graveyards.  We are historians after all, and the residents of these plots are our people.  And I don't mean for this to be a depressing post!  

Growing  up in California meant that cemeteries were massive tracts of land somewhere out of regular view.  They were over there, where we didn't have to see them or be reminded of our own mortality.  But here in the mountains of Tennessee,  the graveyards are part of the neighborhoods.  Little family plots in the side-yard , slightly larger church cemeteries,  gated off necropolises near shopping malls & every so often a modern cemetery acres wide with uniform headstones & carefully manicured lawns.

The older ones are beautiful. From the detailed headstones to the random wrought iron. This particular cemetery has been around since 1803. Funny story about it. Way back before the Civil War, the cemetery was the family plot for one of the few slave owners that resided in the area. Our particular location in Tennessee was pro union, anti-slavery and generally opposed to obstinate displays of ill-earned wealth. When the Civil War broke out, this slave owner joined the Confederacy where his wealth made him a colonel and his incompetence made him a joke. They called him Old Mudwall, and his officers actually signed a petition against him, calling him "a man of irritable temper intensified by diseased nerves and aggravated by being in a position for which the man is morally and physically unfit."

Anyway.

Immediately after the war, the plantation was turned in to a school for boys.  But in 1876,  a prominent member of The Society of Friends purchased it and turned it in to a school for African Americans and a training campus for African American teachers, which it remained until 1910, when public schooling came to the area.

The people in this cemetery had amazing lives, every last one of them, however briefly they were on this planet.  Lives with stories and with families and with adventures.

So we do our best to remember them.  It is our job.

There is one fenced off section here where an achingly old tree resided.  It was planted when the first grave was dug, as a symbol of life from death.  

Its amazing to see that tangible evidence of time.  The wrought iron fencing literally goes through the tree, absorbed, and the massive tree hugs the faded stones.  

I find it all rather beautiful.

I know of bloggers who enjoy using cemeteries as backdrops to fashion photo shoots or places for picnics. They are beautiful places, but I don't like the idea of using them as scenery for something so self-indulgent. On the flipside, there are those who think of cemeteries as frightening places, or a dark and daring place to visit.

But they aren't scary places.  The whole reason people are afraid of them is the same reason Californians put their cemeteries where no one has to see them-- its fear of dying, not the place itself that frightens us.    

But a graveyard isn't about us, its about them, and ultimately its about love.  Someone loved this person so much that they couldn't stand the idea that they might be forgotten.  So they put up a stone as a testimony to the life lived.  

The point of a cemetery is to step outside our own narrow lives and to remember for a moment those that came before us,  as their loved ones fervently hoped we would.

If you get the chance, and are so inclined, go visit a local graveyard.  Just for a few minutes, just to read some names and recall the lives lived well loved.

   

Wading Through my Photos & Wandering Through the Stacks~*

This post is going to be photo heavy, fair warning. I haven't done a really wandering post in a while. I've been stockpiling adventure pics, waiting for inspiration. I still don't have a cohesive post or legitimate reason to display all these pictures. I just want to. And its my blog, so neener. So hit enter & surf the web or catch up on your blog reading while The Closet loads up & then lets go exploring.



You know, its funny that the more pictures I take, the more I seem to be developing favorite subjects to photograph.

I like signage. The fonts. The display. The overall look & what the maker was trying to achieve with the design. The period pieces & the chic & modern. All of them.





I don't take many people pictures. I suppose that is because I'm not a people person. I do like faces though, the creepy dolls or the fancy lady head vases. And animal figurines too, as they are also have faces with interesting eager expressions. Doesn't it look like those two vases are people watching? They look judgey and gossipy, like they are making comments to each other about what passes for fashion in today's antique malls.






Then there things that I love to look at it, but would never fit into my house or decor. Like the cushion holder from the 60's dying to be in my living room if my living room was larger, & different, & not mine. And the tchotchkes that I haven't room for. The little bits & baubles that look so lovely on the shelves and would be perfect if only...I suppose photographs, in some way, are my attempt at collecting them, without actually having to give up precious shelf space.






Then there are the linens. I can't begin to explain how many photos I have of miscellaneous linens. They are so soft...the fabric, not the photographs. There is something about the way they look in their piles, or in cardboard boxes. And the idea of them-- that fifty years ago a woman purchased this floral table cloth or that lace napkin for a smashing dinner party. I hope it was fun. I've no doubt it looked lovely.





You'll notice I don't have photos of books. That's because we buy those. We have books everywhere. We have a library room, where my husband's desk resides and the shelves are floor to ceiling. We have cubicles in our room stacked with them, and little piles everywhere else. To curb our addiction to ephemera, we've decided to collect two limited categories outside of what we need to keep up with our profession, of course-- old cookbooks, preferably from the 1920's and earlier, & old party books. Not etiquette books or manner manuals, but the sort of how to's that told housewives of old how to through a good old barn burner with class.The cookbooks are for Jeremy, the party books are mine. They are so funny.

Anchor Antiques 

A word on antique stores. In my experience there are three sorts of stores that call themselves "antique stores:" the junk shop trying to be classy; the booth brigade with items ranging from junk to knockoffs to the real deal; and the real antique dealer. Anchor Antiques falls into the latter category. The owner has exquisite taste-- really beautiful things, all neatly organized. A stunning 19th century needlepoint sofa, a framed impressionist painting on a marble mantelpiece. Mahogany bookcases brimming with sets of classic literature & histories. Busts & crystal & gilded lovelies everywhere. And in the back corner there was a book shelf jammed with handy household tomes.



We spent over an hour pouring over them. and lest you think that is a cobweb in the upper right of the picture above, its not- it was a plastic bag protecting a cookbook from the culinary institute, published in the 1930's. We looked through them all, & purchased more than we intended, but less than we wanted. Jeremy got a few choice cook books, & I got this:



Which I am madly in love with. It was published in 1941 & it is full of gems. I promise that sometime in the near future I will start a series of posts to share what Ms. Draper has to say on party matters. So many amusements & awesome illustrations & it really brings home how far women have come in seventy+ years. I snapped some with my phone to message my Mom who, it should be stated, never told me I needed not one but two table lamps before throwing a soiree.

So don't plan any parties until I get the posts written & posted. You wouldn't want to make some hideous faux paus that would lead to your social isolation now would you.



PS
There is still time to join in the freshest hop on the interwebs!  Celebrate your Wednesday right & join in the fun!