Courtyard Patio w/ Flagstone Hopscotch

I found this photo on the MLS when I was searching sold properties near me. Isn't this a great idea? Look closely and you will see the impressed numbers on the stones arranged in a hopscotch pattern. I grew up loving this game, didn't you? Jacks, jump rope, and hopscotch were my favorites. This patio is perfect for all three. my image upload

Square Chestnuts

Fooled you, didn't I? The chestnuts aren't square but the photo is. That's one of the cool new features of IOS7 on my iPhone. You can choose regular, square or Pano before you take the picture now. I chose square for this one and didn't have to do any playing around with photo editing afterwards. My workers are here now taking down gutters, sanding, and who knows what else. I was out with Webster earlier and saw him eating the chestnuts, shells and all. I hope they aren't poison. He seemed to be enjoying them immensely. Checked, they are not toxic to dogs, cats, or horses. Mine are American Chestnuts. 

Power Wash Weekend

My cottage after a day of power washing yesterday.

He and I are both exhausted from power-wash Saturday. The house and barn/garage look fantastic. My workers were amazing and worked without stopping from 8am until about 5:30 in the afternoon. They were the only people I interviewed who didn't use bleach. My guys used Simple Green House and Siding Cleaner. One guy went around first with a backpack sprayer or a hand-held sprayer and sprayed it all surfaces and the guy with the power washer went behind him in due time. The power wash solution had Simple Green in it too. It is safe for all surfaces and is non-toxic to pets and plantings. It worked wonders on my mildew staining. Webster supervised from inside. The house looks fabulous. My photo above looks perfect but there is a lot that needs to be attended to. The front fascia has deteriorated and will be replaced with Azek. They are coming back tomorrow at 8am to start on carpentry repair work. 

Webster had a nice weekend. Henry spent several nights here and they had so much fun together. He's no trouble at all. I have had a pretty relaxing Sunday and I'm planning on tucking in early to watch the Emmys. I backed up and updated my iPhone 4S and iPad to IOS 7 and so far, I like it. See you tomorrow.

Charming Engrance

The slightly recessed arched door is perfectly framed by a beautiful flowering vine or climbing roses. It's absolutely beautiful and very charming. The old brick outbuilding is quite interesting too. Don't you want to open the gate and see more? I certainly do. via Have a great weekend.

Wonderful Quote by Albert Einstein

'A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." ~ Albert Einstein via

A Yawn from The Wonder Dog

Webster is ready to call it a day and so am I. We had the plumber here today and all went well. He will be back when the part he had to order comes in. It's so nice to have all my faucets working nicely without dripping. I had most of them turned off entirely. The furnace has been checked and serviced and it was fine. Webster and I are taking care of Henry, the Cavalier King Charles spaniel and he went to bed long ago. We have worn him out completely. The house is being power washed tomorrow so I guess the painting will start next week. This week I've had electricians, a plumber and a gutter repair person who knows what must be done but hasn't started yet. My punch list is slowly shrinking. Yay. Good night. We'll see you tomorrow.

The Leaves Are Falling All Around

The autumn leaves are falling

Yellow, Brown and Red

They patter softly like the rain

One landed on my head.

But when the sleep of winter comes

They settle down to rest

And Mother Nature tucks them in

with snow

As she thinks best.

That was the first poem my brother had to memorize in first grade and I helped him learn it. For some reason, I've always remembered it. My mother remembered it too and we would recite it together every fall. image source

Classic Deep Dish Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Fall and Pumpkin Pie are perfect together. I love the oak leaf and acorn cutouts made from piecrust scraps on this one.

Photo and Recipe from Williams Sonoma

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 Tbs. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
2 cups pumpkin puree
3 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup milk
Pre-baked and cooled deep-dish piecrust (Click here for recipe.)

Directions:
Preheat an oven to 375ºF.

In a bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Add the pumpkin, eggs, cream and milk and whisk to combine.

Pour the filling into the pre-baked piecrust and bake until the center is set, 60 to 65 minutes, covering the edges of the crust with aluminum foil after 30 minutes if they brown too quickly.

Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool completely, at least 2 hours, before serving. Serves 10.

Williams-Sonoma Recipe Kitchen.

To add a fanciful finish to this pumpkin pie, use decorative cutters to create autumnal shapes from rolled-out pie dough. If desired, use the tip of a paring knife to create details on the cutouts, such as veins on the leaves. Then bake the cutouts and place them on the baked and cooled pie. When preparing this pie, be sure to use a deep-dish pie dish.