It is beginning to feel like Fall and the mornings and evenings are definitely cooler. Time for backyard fires and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. Our children were home recently and we enjoyed sitting around the fire on those cool evenings.
Fall brings to mind the making of cider at my Uncle Ray and Aunt Annie's home just up the hill from where we lived. I remember my Mom did not drink any as she said there were still worms in the apples when they pressed them! But we had fun with relatives making the cider. I am not a fan of cider unless it is hot with some good spices added.
Dad would get some corn stalks and make a shock around a pole or a tree and Mom would set pumpkins and gourds around it. Instead of pumpkin pie she always made squash pie. Yummmm!!!! I still prefer squash pie over pumpkin pie, seems to be sweeter. She would make small squash pies and we would sell them in the front yard along with gourds and squash.
We made Jack-O-Lanterns and lined them up on the front porch like sentries marching in a row guarding our house. We had to keep relighting them as the wind would constantly blow them out. Mom often would hollow out a pumpkin, set a container inside and fill it with mums in all the beautiful Fall colors.
I do not carve pumpkins anymore but I do like a few somewhere in my yard. Since orange does not fit into my decor, I spray them burgundy and cream so they match my house. A friend asked me once where I got my burgundy pumpkins. She had gone to several places and asked for burgundy pumpkins but of course they did not have them!
The Green Awning Gallery has a couple of Fall displays. If they remind you of Pottery Barn it is because my son Jordan manages a Pottery Barn and also does the visuals and he helped me do some displays. What fun we had!
All our summer items are 50% Off at the Green Awning Gallery so stop in to see our Fall displays and get some summer bargains! Until then...
I have an obsession for flower frogs. Maybe because I am reminded of the beautiful arrangements my Mom made with the gladiolas that she grew in our garden. She kept the long stems upright in a shallow vase by using a flower frog. I think I have more customers ask me what flower frogs are used for than any other item in the store.
I use one at home to display photos of my granddaughters, Honey and Maggie. They also work to display old family photos, old postcards, or some of those beautiful old greeting cards your Mother saved. You know the ones made with parchment paper and glitter.
This is an unusual green one that I have put old brooches in to display in my living room. I set it on a candle stand that I painted white. I have an amber frog that I paired with an amber figurine that was my Aunt's. It is just fun to see what display ideas you can come up with.
I have an old wooden bowl that I keep the glass ones in of all sizes. These also make excellent pen and pencil holders on your desk. You would be surprised how heavy this bowl full of frogs is!
I have some reproductions at the Green Awning Gallery that are fun to use for jewelry or again, to hold pens and pencils. Be creative and come up with your own uses.
And here are some more unusual ones that I have at home. I just put them all together for a picture. I have some of these on the window sills on my back porch. They might hold an item or just be for decoration or used as a prop to hold up an old souvenir plate. By the way, if you ever come across old Ohio Caverns souvenirs, I collect them and would be thrilled to add to my collection.
I don't remember a cookie jar in our kitchen when I was young. Maybe it was because it got broken or it could have been because cookies got eaten so fast we did not need a cookie jar. I do know we never had anything stale at our house. It was fun for me to get into the cookie jar at a friend's home.
I think Mom baked every day. Besides the dozens of cookies that she made, many evening meals ended with pie for dessert. Mom got up at 4:00 or 4:30 each day and had the baking done before we rolled out of bed. We were always greeted with the aroma of something baking when we made it to the breakfast table and we knew we would have something delicious for supper that night.
I enjoy finding cookie jars to sell at The Green Awning Gallery. The McCoy bucket jar is large and will hold a lot of cookies. The apple jar is smaller so you don't have to make as many cookies to fill it. The cookies pictured are my wax tarts. They look real and have a nice scent even if you just place them on a plate for decoration and don't melt them.
The grape jar is unique and the Fresh Baked Cookies jar is a fun jar. You don't have to use these for cookies, they can be a catch all jar to hide things so your counter does not get cluttered with things that need your attention.
Come to the Green Awning Gallery Fri. night and enjoy some cookies and meet Jackie who has a pottery display in the store. Until then....
The Green Awning Gallery has a couple of Fall displays. If they remind you of Pottery Barn it is because my son Jordan manages a Pottery Barn and also does the visuals and he helped me do some displays. What fun we had!
