A Little More Fall, In and Out

Well, autumn is officially here. I see it at the farmer's market with the shots of color: pumpkins, tomatoes, zinnias. (Oh, and because so many of you asked, camera info at the end of this post.)

And a row or two later, I am blown away by this gorgeous bunch of fungi.

I see it branded into the sidewalk as I move toward the Ditch, imprints of fallen leaves, leaving their mark on the cement.

I see it in the sumac and the astors.

I see it at Kohl's. And by the way, why anyone would spend 15.99 or 23.99 for these pumpkins when you could cover a faux pumpkin with artificial leaves, probably from Dollar Tree at best, a little more at worst, is beyond me. They're really cute. And all it would take is a pumpkin, leaves and a glue gun. You're welcome.

I see it in the falling leaves.

And I see it through the bare branches -- a spotted fawn on the Deer Island at the Ditch. I never would have spotted him otherwise.

It smells like fall, too, at least around my house! Heat up the oven -- make this simple chicken casserole and serve over wild rice.

Basic ingredients -- I use chicken tenders instead of the breasts the recipe calls for. Any dry white wine will do.

The joy of this is that you can make it up early in the day and later, when it's nearing dinner time, pop it in your 375 degree oven and in 45 minutes it's on the table. (Maybe a bit longer if straight from the fridge.) That's just about how long it takes me to do my wild rice.

Remember that farmer's market? Well, I bought a quarter bushel of tomatoes and so guess what!

Yup! Loads of batches of pasta sauce starter with onions, garlic and tomatoes. (One batch had artichoke hearts and mushrooms, too.) We'll dress it up with extras (olives, sausage) later! I took the immersion blender to one batch and it was the best tomato soup ever!

I've been making pesto, too. And I can't resist caramelizing a few more onions than I need while I'm doing the sauce!

You knew I had to add a little to the house, didn't you. Mostly, it's a few botanical elements, dried and faux. I love these leaves in the tin pail. That's one of Carol Gillot's (Paris Breakfasts) watercolors beside it. Pears are perfect for fall!

The china cabinet top got a bit of an upgrade.

And a few branches in the big vase with battery lights by Lizzie's bowl.

A quick peek at the other cabinet -- outside...

...and in.

I love this corner with my Stickley lamp, a few leaves and a photo of the Eiffel Tower by my friend, author Judy Winter. Can't wait to see it in person again!

A number of you asked about my new camera, what model and make. It's a Canon SX730 HS and has a 40x optical zoom (which stretches to 160, although at that full zoom, it's hard to steady.) It's reasonably lightweight (not as light as my earlier model) and fits easily into my purse. I got the little kit which included the memory card, battery, mini-tripod, card reader (disappointed my old Canon cord didn't fit) and a little cleaning kit. I found it on Amazon through a seller called WhoIsCamera. So far, I'm impressed, although I have to say, looking at these photos enlarged, they seem a little soft. That could be operator or setting error. We'll see.

 I guess I'll be putting it through its paces in October and look forward to sharing with you!

Meanwhile, enjoy some magical fall!

Sharing this week with:    Let's Keep In Touch     /   Pink Saturday   /     Thursday Turnabout