Good Morning!
It is brisk outside. My phone says 21, my computer says 26. The first sip of Cafe du Monde is tasting so freakin' good this morning!
The weekend was lovely. Relaxed and full of good things. And then last night I seemed wound up - stayed up later than normal trying to get sleepy and finally crawled into bed only to lay there awake for several hours. I did finally fall asleep, but I'm wondering what set me on edge. Nothing in particular on my mind. Another one of those mysteries of my life.
My 10 a.m. conference call on Friday was cancelled at 9:45 a.m.! Woo-Hoo. Fletch and I ran out and picked up our new glasses (so much better for knitting and reading!). It was a day with rain on and off, so our contractors did not show up. Nice to have a day off!
In the afternoon I drove over to Colin & Mailing's to water plants and drop off some food for their freezer. Then I drove to Otts to look for some baby gourds. The other week Kym posted about different gourd displays (so gorgeous - especially that cairn-like display with a bouquet on top) and there was a bit about hollowing out tiny gourds or pumpkins and putting tea lights inside. The grocery stores no longer have their bins of tiny pumpkins and gourds and the ones at Otts were bigger than I wanted, but I bought one anyway.
Well, I just about broke my hand trying to cut off the top. Fletch couldn't either. He finally used an electric drill to drill holes all around the top and then he was able to lift off the top. (It was still difficult to hollow out.) It's big enough that a tea light would sit down too far. I found a slightly larger candle and tried that.
It looks pretty, but still didn't really provide much light (unless you looked down on it). After dinner, I melted a bit of a taper and then stuck it in the gourd. We'll see how that works at dinner tonight!
So, pretty, but I will not be making a bunch of these for Thanksgiving! I might try it next year with the itty-bitty pumpkins (if I remember).
Meanwhile, the balance of the weekend was lovely. Dee and I met up as usual for a morning filled with laughter, coffee, knitting and friendship. So nice! I found pockets throughout the weekend that allowed for knitting, crocheting, reading and stitching. My kind of weekend!
Yesterday I made a crockpot full of vegetable beef soup. I have a container of that to take over to C&M's on Wednesday when I'm over there for their house to be cleaned. (So much easier now that Colin is no longer vegan!!)
Hard to believe, but today is my work holiday luncheon! Once again it is being held at Pomme Radnor which is where it was held last year. Some of you who have been reading my blog for a bit my recall that we used to (pre-pandemic) have work holiday luncheons ALL the time - Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, etc., etc. The pandemic, of course, changed all that. And now that no one is in the office regularly (certainly not daily), it has been pared down to a luncheon in the late Fall. It is always a lovely affair with plenty of gifts to go around, so it should be a fun time.
And the contractors will be back today...in fact, I should probably move my car out of the driveway before they arrive so that I can easily leave for the luncheon. I'd best get moving and dry my hair and then move my car.
Have a great Monday!
I wondered what kind of a challenge turning gourds into tea light holders would be... sorry that it was so much of a challenge! (but it is so cute!) Happy Monday... may the week allow time for making!
ReplyDeleteNew glasses always make me feel like I'm looking at a fresh, new world! I'm glad to read about work things that are conference calls being cancelled and holiday luncheons rather than mountains of work and more stupid emails. Have a lovely Monday!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if it would be a good idea to stock up on gourds and let them dry out, then try to make them into the candle holders. They'd be hollow then, and easier to work with. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteIt's way past time for me to get my eyes checked and new glasses. Thanks for the reminder.
Some of those gourds are super tough! I have enough trouble trying to cut a squash sometimes!!! It does make a pretty little decoration though.
ReplyDeleteso nice to be appreciated with a luncheon! the pandemic changed everything, sadly. I have never tried to cut a gourd but I know I would have an accident if I did try!
ReplyDeleteI haven't had a good cup of coffee in ages. I spent the morning looking online for not only a new system but a new coffee. I used to love Cafe Du Monde. I may have to go find some.
ReplyDeleteWe had a good layer of frost outside here this morning, so I'm happy the sun is now out and warming things up. I hope it's out near you, too!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to hear what you come home with from the luncheon!
You are in a busy stage of things even as work slows down! I agree that decorating with gourds means leaving them whole! lol
ReplyDeletewhoa, that's chilly! I'm having the boys over next week (they're off from school, so no afterschool time on Monday) to bake a cake for Thanksgiving dessert and I thought we might try making gourd tealights while the cake bakes ... might be rethinking that if I can't find LITTLE gourds (Marc does most of our grocery shopping, so I have NO idea what's available right now).
ReplyDeleteNow you have the chilly weather and we have 70F a couple of days before it goes down again. It sounds like a great weekend. Friends, crafting, reading and doing what we want, although that gourd thing all sounds too intense for me. :-)
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Blessings,
Betsy
Gourds definitely have tough skins. I’m surprised Fletch was able to get the top off even with a drill. Colin and Mailing will appreciate having a freezer filled with quick meals.
ReplyDeleteI hope the lunch was great--looking forward to a report!
ReplyDeleteI used to paint the very large gourds as santas. Ordered boxes of them from Texas. A few would not stand and shape was not right, so I threw them into the burning barrel. No one told me that a large hard shell gourd without cuts would explode in a fire like a cannon.
ReplyDeleteI found a few tiny pumpkin gourds at my grocery store, and I'm still hoping to turn them into tea light holders for Thanksgiving. I think I'll put Tom on alert with his drill . . . ;-)
ReplyDeleteI remember one year for Halloween I had this great idea of hollowing out a butternut squash instead of carving a pumpkin. Talk about rough going! It looked cool in the end but I never wanted to do it again! I hope the lunch was fun and the week ahead is good.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read Kym's post about tea lights in gourds, I wondered how hard it would be to cut into them. I hope your luncheon was a good time. The pandemic did change so many things.
ReplyDelete