Bounty

The daily haul from a little plum tree whose branches hang into my backyard.  I guess it's been our California weather this year, but I don't remember this little tree producing quite so many plums last year.  The branches practically touch the ground, they are so full of fruit, and each plum so perfect and sweet!  I managed to give these plums away at an event we attended in Portland yesterday.  For today's plums I decided to explore making some sort of jam without sugar, if I can find a recipe.  If I don't pick them daily, they drop into the yard and split open. I'll have more again tomorrow, then the supply will taper off. And I almost forgot to mention, I included my tile project in the photo.  I purchased these cute handmade tiles on Etsy earlier in the summer, and fixed up my old bistro table.  Shannon Cunningham Studio is where I got them.  Very cute and festive!

Backyard Study

Ah, November.  This might be a good post to make my annual declaration of November as my very favorite month.  I've been thinking about why I love November so much. It definitely has a different feel here in Washington than it does in the Midwest; we're well into our rainy season now, although we did have a good spell of morning frost last week.  Still, there's something about this particular change of season from fall to winter that I find so beautiful. 

I'm still working away in the kitchen.  And I'm still photographing the little tree near my kitchen window, but this time from the sliding glass door.  As I'm posting, it's gorgeously sunny; the rain spell I photographed was our second of the day, but probably not our last.  A good rainbow day.

Counting My Blessings

Today has turned into a big prep day for Thanksgiving, mainly because I've got to get some fermented veggies and chutneys going so they will be done in time.  It's got me reminiscing about past Thanksgivings, family, my own childhood and my grandparents. Playing charades, wearing radishes on my fingers, making a fort under the table as the adults had their conversations, the dessert table at Strongbow's, the turkey platter shaped like a turkey. And it's got my thinking of Thanksgivings to come.

It's a rainy day, and sort of unusual to have the rain hit the back window like this, but I thought it was especially pretty. Somehow the warm kitchen, the festive cooking, the beautiful scene out my kitchen window, and fond thoughts of family have all come together in my mood today.

Baking lots of love into my Thanksgiving dishes...