I love pumpkins

Errr. I REALLY love pumpkins :) These are not arranged as artfully as I'd like (and will hopefully get around to doing before they get carved up), but they have such charm in their sheer number and colour that I had to share! Originally I was going to arrange them all down the front steps, but when I got home today I saw that those blasted squirrels-- nasty little tree rodents!-- had been at the three that were already there, grrrr. (I used to like squirrels, until I moved out and got a balcony full of baskets and planters and they made war on my poor, innocent plants!) So for now they'll sit in our living room and greet everyone who comes in the front door.

I plan for Stacy (part of the Friend Brigade coming to help us with outdoor decorations tomorrow night) and I to paint black diamonds on three of the white ones tomorrow night; they'll be on the table during the party, amongst the cheesecloth runner and other black and white decorations.

Here are a couple of other pics:



There's my beloved wooden bowl again, this time with the additon of a pie pumpkin and some beautiful corn. The mini gourds are a mixture of ones I got for SO CHEAP at Trader Joe's and the Farmer's Market. I love how the colours and textures play against the simple beauty of the wood.

*A-hem. A word about the table: the left side looks wet, but it isn't. I bought this new wood polish, Old Craftsman's Lemon Oil & Beeswax, when we were in NC, and tried it out on a section of the table where the wax had gotten steamed off.... No. I'm not going to tell you that story! In any event, I wanted to see how it would work so I only did that part. I think it's lovely, though, so I'm off to finish the rest of it in a bit)*


Here's a closeup of the bowl (and the table):




Lastly, I'd like to leave you with a little story about thoughtfulness. I came home last night around 8pm after a REALLY long day (and always irritating commute) to find that my neighbor Michele had left this little lovely in our mailbox. Y'all should check it out at Amazon-- it's an adorable collection of Mary Englebreight's drawings and poems and lore about Halloween :



She had enclosed a note which read, "For your favourite holiday". Now I ask you, isn't it the greatest feeling to know that someone gets you? That she saw something so perfect and wanted you to have it? I am so touched by that spirit of thoughtfulness. Thank you, Michele.


And now I'm off to finish waxing the rest of the dining room table ;)
Kimberley